CHAPTER I

Transcribed from the 1901 John Murray edition by David Price, email

ccx074@pglaf.org

[Picture: Book cover]

THE ZINCALI

* * * * *

AN ACCOUNT OF THE

GYPSIES OF SPAIN

BY GEORGE BORROW

AUTHOR OF

‘THE BIBLE IN SPAIN’

‘LAVENGRO’

ETC.

* * * * *

‘_For that which is unclean by nature_,

_thou canst entertain no hope_; _no washing_

_will turn the Gypsy white_.’—FERDOUSI

* * * * *

NEW IMPRESSION

* * * * *

LONDON

JOHN MURRAY, ALBEMARLE STREET

1901

* * * * *

Edinburgh: T. and A. CONSTABLE, Printers to Her Majesty

TO

THE RIGHT HONOURABLE

THE EARL OF CLARENDON, G.C.B.

KEEPER OF HER MAJESTY’S PRIVY SEAL

ETC., ETC., ETC.

MY LORD,

_I feel it not only a gratification but an honour to be permitted to

dedicate these volumes_ {0} _to your Lordship_, _the more particularly as

they are connected with Spain_, _a country in which it was so frequently

my fortune to experience such prompt and salutary aid from your Lordship

in the high capacity of representative of our Gracious British

Sovereign_.

_The remembrance of the many obligations under which your Lordship has

placed me_, _by your energetic and effectual interference in time of

need_, _will ever in heartfelt gratitude cause me to remain_, _with

unfeigned sentiments of respect_,

_My Lord_,

_Your most devoted Servant_,

GEORGE BORROW.

PREFACE

IT is with some diffidence that the author ventures to offer the present

work to the public.

The greater part of it has been written under very peculiar

circumstances, such as are not in general deemed at all favourable for

literary composition: at considerable intervals, during a period of

nearly five years passed in Spain—in moments snatched from more important

pursuits—chiefly in ventas and posádas, whilst wandering through the

country in the arduous and unthankful task of distributing the Gospel

among its children.

Owing to the causes above stated, he is aware that his work must not

unfrequently appear somewhat disjointed and unconnected, and the style

rude and unpolished: he has, nevertheless, permitted the tree to remain

where he felled it, having, indeed, subsequently enjoyed too little

leisure to make much effectual alteration.

At the same time he flatters himself that the work is not destitute of

certain qualifications to entitle it to approbation. The author’s

acquaintance with the Gypsy race in general dates from a very early

period of his life, which considerably facilitated his intercourse with

the Peninsular portion, to the elucidation of whose history and character

the present volumes are more particularly devoted. Whatever he has

asserted, is less the result of reading than of close observation, he

having long since come to the conclusion that the Gypsies are not a

people to be studied in books, or at least in such books as he believes

have hitherto been written concerning them.

Throughout he has dealt more in facts than in theories, of which he is in

general no friend. True it is, that no race in the world affords, in

many points, a more extensive field for theory and conjecture than the

Gypsies, who are certainly a very mysterious people come from some

distant land, no mortal knows why, and who made their first appearance in

Europe at a dark period, when events were not so accurately recorded as

at the present time.

But if he has avoided as much as possible touching upon subjects which

must always, to a certain extent, remain shrouded in obscurity; for

example, the original state and condition of the Gypsies, and the causes

which first brought them into Europe; he has stated what they are at the

present day, what he knows them to be from a close scrutiny of their ways

and habits, for which, perhaps, no one ever enjoyed better opportunities;

and he has, moreover, given—not a few words culled expressly for the

purpose of supporting a theory, but one entire dialect of their language,

collected with much trouble and difficulty; and to this he humbly calls

the attention of the learned, who, by comparing it with certain

languages, may decide as to the countries in which the Gypsies have lived

or travelled.

With respect to the Gypsy rhymes in the second volume, he wishes to make

one observation which cannot be too frequently repeated, and which he

entreats the reader to bear in mind: they are _Gypsy compositions_, and

have little merit save so far as they throw light on the manner of

thinking and speaking of the Gypsy people, or rather a portion of them,

and as to what they are capable of effecting in the way of poetry. It

will, doubtless, be said that the rhymes are _trash_;—even were it so,

they are original, and on that account, in a philosophic point of view,

are more valuable than the most brilliant compositions pretending to

describe Gypsy life, but written by persons who are not of the Gypsy

sect. Such compositions, however replete with fiery sentiments, and

allusions to freedom and independence, are certain to be tainted with

affectation. Now in the Gypsy rhymes there is no affectation, and on

that very account they are different in every respect from the poetry of

those interesting personages who figure, under the names of Gypsies,

Gitános, Bohemians, etc., in novels and on the boards of the theatre.

It will, perhaps, be objected to the present work, that it contains

little that is edifying in a moral or Christian point of view: to such an

objection the author would reply, that the Gypsies are not a Christian

people, and that their morality is of a peculiar kind, not calculated to

afford much edification to what is generally termed the respectable

portion of society. Should it be urged that certain individuals have

found them very different from what they are represented in these

volumes, he would frankly say that he yields no credit to the presumed

fact, and at the same time he would refer to the vocabulary contained in

the second volume, whence it will appear that the words _hoax_ and

_hocus_ have been immediately derived from the language of the Gypsies,

who, there is good reason to believe, first introduced the system into

Europe, to which those words belong.

The author entertains no ill-will towards the Gypsies; why should he,

were he a mere carnal reasoner? He has known them for upwards of twenty

years, in various countries, and they never injured a hair of his head,

or deprived him of a shred of his raiment; but he is not deceived as to

the motive of their forbearance: they thought him a _Rom_, and on this

supposition they hurt him not, their love of ‘the blood’ being their most

distinguishing characteristic. He derived considerable assistance from

them in Spain, as in various instances they officiated as colporteurs in

the distribution of the Gospel: but on that account he is not prepared to

say that they entertained any love for the Gospel or that they circulated

it for the honour of Tebléque the Saviour. Whatever they did for the

Gospel in Spain, was done in the hope that he whom they conceived to be

their brother had some purpose in view which was to contribute to the

profit of the Calés, or Gypsies, and to terminate in the confusion and

plunder of the Busné, or Gentiles. Convinced of this, he is too little

of an enthusiast to rear, on such a foundation, any fantastic edifice of

hope which would soon tumble to the ground.

The cause of truth can scarcely be forwarded by enthusiasm, which is

almost invariably the child of ignorance and error. The author is

anxious to direct the attention of the public towards the Gypsies; but he

hopes to be able to do so without any romantic appeals in their behalf,

by concealing the truth, or by warping the truth until it becomes

falsehood. In the following pages he has depicted the Gypsies as he has

found them, neither aggravating their crimes nor gilding them with

imaginary virtues. He has not expatiated on ‘their gratitude towards

good people, who treat them kindly and take an interest in their

welfare’; for he believes that of all beings in the world they are the

least susceptible of such a feeling. Nor has he ever done them injustice

by attributing to them licentious habits, from which they are, perhaps,

more free than any race in the creation.

PREFACE TO THE SECOND EDITION

I CANNOT permit the second edition of this work to go to press without

premising it with a few words.

When some two years ago I first gave _The Zincali_ to the world, it was,

as I stated at the time, with considerable hesitation and diffidence: the

composition of it and the collecting of Gypsy words had served as a kind

of relaxation to me whilst engaged in the circulation of the Gospel in

Spain. After the completion of the work, I had not the slightest idea

that it possessed any peculiar merit, or was calculated to make the

slightest impression upon the reading world. Nevertheless, as every one

who writes feels a kind of affection, greater or less, for the

productions of his pen, I was averse, since the book was written, to

suffer it to perish of damp in a lumber closet, or by friction in my

travelling wallet. I committed it therefore to the press, with a

friendly ‘Farewell, little book; I have done for you all I can, and much

more than you deserve.’

My expectations at this time were widely different from those of my

namesake George in the _Vicar of Wakefield_ when he published his

paradoxes. I took it as a matter of course that the world, whether

learned or unlearned, would say to my book what they said to his

paradoxes, as the event showed,—nothing at all. To my utter

astonishment, however, I had no sooner returned to my humble retreat,

where I hoped to find the repose of which I was very much in need, than I

was followed by the voice not only of England but of the greater part of

Europe, informing me that I had achieved a feat—a work in the nineteenth

century with some pretensions to originality. The book was speedily

reprinted in America, portions of it were translated into French and

Russian, and a fresh edition demanded.

In the midst of all this there sounded upon my ears a voice which I

recognised as that of the Mæcenas of British literature: ‘Borromeo, don’t

believe all you hear, nor think that you have accomplished anything so

very extraordinary: a great portion of your book is very sorry trash

indeed—Gypsy poetry, dry laws, and compilations from dull Spanish

authors: it has good points, however, which show that you are capable of

something much better: try your hand again—avoid your besetting sins; and

when you have accomplished something which will really do credit to —

Street, it will be time enough to think of another delivery of these

_Gypsies_.’

Mistos amande: ‘I am content,’ I replied; and sitting down I commenced

the _Bible in Spain_. At first I proceeded slowly—sickness was in the

land, and the face of nature was overcast—heavy rain-clouds swam in the

heavens,—the blast howled amid the pines which nearly surround my lonely

dwelling, and the waters of the lake which lies before it, so quiet in

general and tranquil, were fearfully agitated. ‘Bring lights hither, O

Hayim Ben Attar, son of the miracle!’ And the Jew of Fez brought in the

lights, for though it was midday I could scarcely see in the little room

where I was writing. . . .

A dreary summer and autumn passed by, and were succeeded by as gloomy a

winter. I still proceeded with the _Bible in Spain_. The winter passed,

and spring came with cold dry winds and occasional sunshine, whereupon I

arose, shouted, and mounting my horse, even Sidi Habismilk, I scoured all

the surrounding district, and thought but little of the _Bible in Spain_.

So I rode about the country, over the heaths, and through the green lanes

of my native land, occasionally visiting friends at a distance, and

sometimes, for variety’s sake, I stayed at home and amused myself by

catching huge pike, which lie perdue in certain deep ponds skirted with

lofty reeds, upon my land, and to which there is a communication from the

lagoon by a deep and narrow watercourse.—I had almost forgotten the

_Bible in Spain_.

Then came the summer with much heat and sunshine, and then I would lie

for hours in the sun and recall the sunny days I had spent in Andalusia,

and my thoughts were continually reverting to Spain, and at last I

remembered that the _Bible in Spain_ was still unfinished; whereupon I

arose and said: ‘This loitering profiteth nothing’—and I hastened to my

summer-house by the side of the lake, and there I thought and wrote, and

every day I repaired to the same place, and thought and wrote until I had

finished the _Bible in Spain_.

And at the proper season the _Bible in Spain_ was given to the world; and

the world, both learned and unlearned, was delighted with the _Bible in

Spain_, and the highest authority {1} said, ‘This is a much better book

than the _Gypsies_’; and the next great authority {2} said, ‘something

betwixt Le Sage and Bunyan.’ ‘A far more entertaining work than _Don

Quixote_,’ exclaimed a literary lady. ‘Another _Gil Blas_,’ said the

cleverest writer in Europe. {3} ‘Yes,’ exclaimed the cool sensible

_Spectator_, {4} ‘a _Gil Blas_ in water-colours.’

And when I heard the last sentence, I laughed, and shouted, ‘_Kosko

pennese pal_!’ {5} It pleased me better than all the rest. Is there not

a text in a certain old book which says: Woe unto you when all men shall

speak well of you! Those are awful words, brothers; woe is me!

‘Revenons à nos Bohémiens!’ Now the _Bible in Spain_ is off my hands, I

return to ‘these _Gypsies_’; and here you have, most kind, lenient, and

courteous public, a fresh delivery of them. In the present edition, I

have attended as much as possible to the suggestions of certain

individuals, for whose opinion I cannot but entertain the highest

respect. I have omitted various passages from Spanish authors, which the

world has objected to as being quite out of place, and serving for no

other purpose than to swell out the work. In lieu thereof, I have

introduced some original matter relative to the Gypsies, which is,

perhaps, more calculated to fling light over their peculiar habits than

anything which has yet appeared. To remodel the work, however, I have

neither time nor inclination, and must therefore again commend it, with

all the imperfections which still cling to it, to the generosity of the

public.

A few words in conclusion. Since the publication of the first edition, I

have received more than one letter, in which the writers complain that I,

who seem to know so much of what has been written concerning the Gypsies,

{6} should have taken no notice of a theory entertained by many, namely,

that they are of Jewish origin, and that they are neither more nor less

than the descendants of the two lost tribes of Israel. Now I am not

going to enter into a discussion upon this point, for I know by

experience, that the public cares nothing for discussions, however

learned and edifying, but will take the present opportunity to relate a

little adventure of mine, which bears not a little upon this matter.

So it came to pass, that one day I was scampering over a heath, at some

distance from my present home: I was mounted upon the good horse Sidi

Habismilk, and the Jew of Fez, swifter than the wind, ran by the side of

the good horse Habismilk, when what should I see at a corner of the heath

but the encampment of certain friends of mine; and the chief of that

camp, even Mr. Petulengro, stood before the encampment, and his adopted

daughter, Miss Pinfold, stood beside him.

_Myself_.—‘Kosko divvus {7}, Mr. Petulengro! I am glad to see you: how

are you getting on?’

_Mr. Petulengro_.—‘How am I getting on? as well as I can. What will you

have for that nokengro {8}?’

Thereupon I dismounted, and delivering the reins of the good horse to

Miss Pinfold, I took the Jew of Fez, even Hayim Ben Attar, by the hand,

and went up to Mr. Petulengro, exclaiming, ‘Sure ye are two brothers.’

Anon the Gypsy passed his hand over the Jew’s face, and stared him in the

eyes: then turning to me he said, ‘We are not dui palor {9}; this man is

no Roman; I believe him to be a Jew; he has the face of one; besides, if

he were a Rom, even from Jericho, he could rokra a few words in Rommany.’

Now the Gypsy had been in the habit of seeing German and English Jews,

who must have been separated from their African brethren for a term of at

least 1700 years; yet he recognised the Jew of Fez for what he was—a Jew,

and without hesitation declared that he was ‘no Roman.’ The Jews,

therefore, and the Gypsies have each their peculiar and distinctive

countenance, which, to say nothing of the difference of language,

precludes the possibility of their having ever been the same people.

_March_ 1, 1843.

NOTICE TO THE FOURTH EDITION

THIS edition has been carefully revised by the author, and some few

insertions have been made. In order, however, to give to the work a more

popular character, the elaborate vocabulary of the Gypsy tongue, and

other parts relating to the Gypsy language and literature, have been

omitted. Those who take an interest in these subjects are referred to

the larger edition in two vols. {10}

CONTENTS

INTRODUCTION

On the Gypsies in general—Name and Language—The Russian 1

Gypsies—Gypsies at Moscow—Hungarian Gypsies—Wallachia and

Moldavia—English Gypsies, or Rommany—Gypsy

Fortune-tellers—Gypsy Jockeys—Gypsy Will—Thurtell—Gypsy

Clans—Names of Families—Gypsy Law—Pazorrhus—The

Patteran—Baptismal Papers—Gypsies of the East—Artifice of

Timour—Bishop of Forli

THE ZINCALI

PART I

CHAPTER I

Of the Spanish Gypsies in general—Names—Arrival—Egyptian 41

Penitents—Peculiarities of Spain—Provinces which the Gypsies

principally frequented

CHAPTER II

Manner of Life—Predatory Habits—The Traveller—Jews and 48

Gypsies—The Forge—The Sparks—Gypsy Counts—Martin del

Rio—Facility in speaking Languages—Proverbs

CHAPTER III

Excesses of the Gitános—The Bookseller of Logroño 61

CHAPTER IV

Gypsy Colonies in various Towns of Spain 71

CHAPTER V

Cannibalism—The Forest—Anecdotes—Food of the 76

Gypsies—Child-stealing—Connection of the Gitános with the

Moors of Barbary

CHAPTER VI

Barbary and its Tribes—Beni Aros—Sidi Hamed au Muza—The 85

Children of the Dar-Bushi-Fal, a Sect of Thieves and

Sorcerers, probably of Gypsy Origin

CHAPTER VII

Chiromancy—Torreblanca—Gitánas—The Gitána of Seville—La 98

Buena Ventura—The Dance—The Song—Tricks of the Gitánas—The

Widow—Occult Powers

CHAPTER VIII

The Evil Eye—Credulity of Eastern Nations on this 115

subject—Remedies for the Evil Eye—The Talmud—Superstitions

of the North

CHAPTER IX

Exodus of the Jews: that of the Gypsies—Indifference of the 122

Gitános with respect to Religion—Ezekiel—Tale of Egyptian

Descent—Quiñones—Melchior of Guelama—Religious Tolerance—The

Inquisitor of Cordova—Gitános and Moriscos

CHAPTER X

The Expulsion of the Gitános; a Discourse addressed by Dr. 137

Sancho de Moncada to Philip the Third

CHAPTER XI

Various Laws issued against the Spanish Gypsies, from the 151

time of Ferdinand and Isabella to the latter part of the

Eighteenth Century, embracing a period of nearly Three

Hundred Years

CHAPTER XII

Carlos Tercero—His Law respecting the Gitános 166

PART II

CHAPTER I

Badajoz—The Gypsies—The Withered Arm—Gypsy Law—Trimming and 177

Shearing—Metempsychosis—Paco and Antonio—Antonio and the

Magyar—The Chai—Pharaoh—The Steeds of the Egyptians

CHAPTER II

Madrid—Gypsy Women—Granada—Gypsy Smiths—Pepe 194

Conde—Seville—Triana—Cordova—Horses—The

Esquilador—Characteristic Epistle—Catalonia, etc.

CHAPTER III

General Remarks on the Present State of the 207

Gitános—Inefficiency of the Old Laws—Prospects of the

Gitános—Partial Reformation—Decline of the Gypsy Sect—Fair

of Leon—Love of Race—Gypsy executed—Numerical Decrease

CHAPTER IV

Illustrations of Gypsy Character—The Gypsy Innkeeper of 221

Tarifa—The Gypsy Soldier of Valdepeñas

CHAPTER V

Various Points connected with the Gitános—Dress—Physical 243

Characteristics—The Gypsy Glance—Extracts from a Spanish

work

CHAPTER VI

Certain Tricks and Practices of the Gypsy Females—The 252

Bahi—Hokkano Baro—Ustilar Pastésas—Shoplifting—Drao—The

Loadstone—The Root of the Good Baron

CHAPTER VII

The Marriage Festival—Eastern Jews—Their Weddings 266

CHAPTER VIII

Attempts made to enlighten the Gitános—The Inward 274

Monitor—The One-eyed Gitána—Pépa and Chicharóna—The Gypsy

Congregation

PART III

CHAPTER I

The Poetry of the Gitános 287

CHAPTER II

Spurious Gypsy Poetry of Andalusia 298

Brijindope.—The Deluge 304

The Pestilence 310

On the Language of the Gitános 313

Robber Language 335

The Term ‘Busno’ 354

Specimens of Gypsy Dialects 357

Vocabulary of their Language 365

APPENDIX

Miscellanies in the Gitáno Language 415

The English Dialect of the Rommany 428

LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS

Gypsy’s Marriage Dance (_photogravure_) _Frontispiece_

The Rearguard of the Marching Gypsies _To face page_ 50

Travellers attacked by the Gitános 52

A Song of Egypt 108

The Gypsy Smith of Granada 196

The Murder of Pindamonas by Pepe Conde 198

Roasting Chestnuts by the side of the 200

Guadalquiver

A Gypsy Family 222

THE GYPSIES

INTRODUCTION

THROUGHOUT my life the Gypsy race has always had a peculiar interest for

me. Indeed I can remember no period when the mere mention of the name of

Gypsy did not awaken within me feelings hard to be described. I cannot

account for this—I merely state a fact.

Some of the Gypsies, to whom I have stated this circumstance, have

accounted for it on the supposition that the soul which at present

animates my body has at some former period tenanted that of one of their

people; for many among them are believers in metempsychosis, and, like

the followers of Bouddha, imagine that their souls, by passing through an

infinite number of bodies, attain at length sufficient purity to be

admitted to a state of perfect rest and quietude, which is the only idea

of heaven they can form.

Having in various and distant countries lived in habits of intimacy with

these people, I have come to the following conclusions respecting them:

that wherever they are found, their manners and customs are virtually the

same, though somewhat modified by circumstances, and that the language

they speak amongst themselves, and of which they are particularly anxious

to keep others in ignorance, is in all countries one and the same, but

has been subjected more or less to modification; and lastly, that their

countenances exhibit a decided family resemblance, but are darker or

fairer according to the temperature of the climate, but invariably

darker, at least in Europe, than those of the natives of the countries in

which they dwell, for example, England and Russia, Germany and Spain.

The names by which they are known differ with the country, though, with

one or two exceptions, not materially for example, they are styled in

Russia, Zigáni; in Turkey and Persia, Zingarri; and in Germany, Zigeuner;

all which words apparently spring from the same etymon, which there is no

improbability in supposing to be ‘Zincali,’ a term by which these people,

especially those of Spain, sometimes designate themselves, and the

meaning of which is believed to be, _The black men of Zend or Ind_. In

England and Spain they are commonly known as Gypsies and Gitános, from a

general belief that they were originally Egyptians, to which the two

words are tantamount; and in France as Bohemians, from the circumstance

that Bohemia was one of the first countries in civilised Europe where

they made their appearance.

But they generally style themselves and the language which they speak,

Rommany. This word, of which I shall ultimately have more to say, is of

Sanscrit origin, and signifies, The Husbands, or that which pertaineth

unto them. From whatever motive this appellation may have originated, it

is perhaps more applicable than any other to a sect or caste like them,

who have no love and no affection beyond their own race; who are capable

of making great sacrifices for each other, and who gladly prey upon all

the rest of the human species, whom they detest, and by whom they are

hated and despised. It will perhaps not be out of place to observe here,

that there is no reason for supposing that the word Roma or Rommany is

derived from the Arabic word which signifies Greece or Grecians, as some

people not much acquainted with the language of the race in question have

imagined.

I have no intention at present to say anything about their origin.

Scholars have asserted that the language which they speak proves them to

be of Indian stock, and undoubtedly a great number of their words are

Sanscrit. My own opinion upon this subject will be found in a subsequent

article. I shall here content myself with observing that from whatever

country they come, whether from India or Egypt, there can be no doubt

that they are human beings and have immortal souls; and it is in the

humble hope of drawing the attention of the Christian philanthropist

towards them, especially that degraded and unhappy portion of them, the

Gitános of Spain, that the present little work has been undertaken. But

before proceeding to speak of the latter, it will perhaps not be amiss to

afford some account of the Rommany as I have seen them in other

countries; for there is scarcely a part of the habitable world where they

are not to be found: their tents are alike pitched on the heaths of

Brazil and the ridges of the Himalayan hills, and their language is heard

at Moscow and Madrid, in the streets of London and Stamboul.

THE ZIGÁNI, OR RUSSIAN GYPSIES

They are found in all parts of Russia, with the exception of the

government of St. Petersburg, from which they have been banished. In

most of the provincial towns they are to be found in a state of

half-civilisation, supporting themselves by trafficking in horses, or by

curing the disorders incidental to those animals; but the vast majority

reject this manner of life, and traverse the country in bands, like the

ancient Hamaxobioi; the immense grassy plains of Russia affording

pasturage for their herds of cattle, on which, and the produce of the

chase, they chiefly depend for subsistence. They are, however, not

destitute of money, which they obtain by various means, but principally

by curing diseases amongst the cattle of the mujíks or peasantry, and by

telling fortunes, and not unfrequently by theft and brigandage.

Their power of resisting cold is truly wonderful, as it is not uncommon

to find them encamped in the midst of the snow, in slight canvas tents,

when the temperature is twenty-five or thirty degrees below the

freezing-point according to Réaumur; but in the winter they generally

seek the shelter of the forests, which afford fuel for their fires, and

abound in game.

The race of the Rommany is by nature perhaps the most beautiful in the

world; and amongst the children of the Russian Zigáni are frequently to

be found countenances to do justice to which would require the pencil of

a second Murillo; but exposure to the rays of the burning sun, the biting

of the frost, and the pelting of the pitiless sleet and snow, destroys

their beauty at a very early age; and if in infancy their personal

advantages are remarkable, their ugliness at an advanced age is no less

so, for then it is loathsome, and even appalling.

A hundred years, could I live so long, would not efface from my mind the

appearance of an aged Ziganskie Attaman, or Captain of Zigáni, and his

grandson, who approached me on the meadow before Novo Gorod, where stood

the encampment of a numerous horde. The boy was of a form and face which

might have entitled him to represent Astyanax, and Hector of Troy might

have pressed him to his bosom, and called him his pride; but the old man

was, perhaps, such a shape as Milton has alluded to, but could only

describe as execrable—he wanted but the dart and kingly crown to have

represented the monster who opposed the progress of Lucifer, whilst

careering in burning arms and infernal glory to the outlet of his hellish

prison.

But in speaking of the Russian Gypsies, those of Moscow must not be

passed over in silence. The station to which they have attained in

society in that most remarkable of cities is so far above the sphere in

which the remainder of their race pass their lives, that it may be

considered as a phenomenon in Gypsy history, and on that account is

entitled to particular notice.

Those who have been accustomed to consider the Gypsy as a wandering

outcast, incapable of appreciating the blessings of a settled and

civilised life, or—if abandoning vagabond propensities, and becoming

stationary—as one who never ascends higher than the condition of a low

trafficker, will be surprised to learn, that amongst the Gypsies of

Moscow there are not a few who inhabit stately houses, go abroad in

elegant equipages, and are behind the higher orders of the Russians

neither in appearance nor mental acquirements. To the power of song

alone this phenomenon is to be attributed. From time immemorial the

female Gypsies of Moscow have been much addicted to the vocal art, and

bands or quires of them have sung for pay in the halls of the nobility or

upon the boards of the theatre. Some first-rate songsters have been

produced among them, whose merits have been acknowledged, not only by the

Russian public, but by the most fastidious foreign critics. Perhaps the

highest compliment ever paid to a songster was paid by Catalani herself

to one of these daughters of Roma. It is well known throughout Russia

that the celebrated Italian was so enchanted with the voice of a Moscow

Gypsy (who, after the former had displayed her noble talent before a

splendid audience in the old Russian capital, stepped forward and poured

forth one of her national strains), that she tore from her own shoulders

a shawl of cashmire, which had been presented to her by the Pope, and,

embracing the Gypsy, insisted on her acceptance of the splendid gift,

saying, that it had been intended for the matchless songster, which she

now perceived she herself was not.

The sums obtained by many of these females by the exercise of their art

enable them to support their relatives in affluence and luxury: some are

married to Russians, and no one who has visited Russia can but be aware

that a lovely and accomplished countess, of the noble and numerous family

of Tolstoy, is by birth a Zigána, and was originally one of the principal

attractions of a Rommany choir at Moscow.

But it is not to be supposed that the whole of the Gypsy females at

Moscow are of this high and talented description; the majority of them

are of far lower quality, and obtain their livelihood by singing and

dancing at taverns, whilst their husbands in general follow the

occupation of horse-dealing.

Their favourite place of resort in the summer time is Marina Rotze, a

species of sylvan garden about two versts from Moscow, and thither,

tempted by curiosity, I drove one fine evening. On my arrival the

Zigánas came flocking out from their little tents, and from the tractir

or inn which has been erected for the accommodation of the public.

Standing on the seat of the calash, I addressed them in a loud voice in

the English dialect of the Rommany, of which I have some knowledge. A

shrill scream of wonder was instantly raised, and welcomes and blessings

were poured forth in floods of musical Rommany, above all of which

predominated the cry of _Kak camenna tute prala_—or, How we love you,

brother!—for at first they mistook me for one of their wandering brethren

from the distant lands, come over the great panee or ocean to visit them.

After some conversation they commenced singing, and favoured me with many

songs, both in Russian and Rommany: the former were modern popular

pieces, such as are accustomed to be sung on the boards of the theatre;

but the latter were evidently of great antiquity, exhibiting the

strongest marks of originality, the metaphors bold and sublime, and the

metre differing from anything of the kind which it has been my fortune to

observe in Oriental or European prosody.

One of the most remarkable, and which commences thus:

‘Za mateia rosherroro odolata

Bravintata,’

(or, Her head is aching with grief, as if she had tasted wine) describes

the anguish of a maiden separated from her lover, and who calls for her

steed:

‘Tedjav manga gurraoro’—

that she may depart in quest of the lord of her bosom, and share his joys

and pleasures.

A collection of these songs, with a translation and vocabulary, would be

no slight accession to literature, and would probably throw more light on

the history of this race than anything which has yet appeared; and, as

there is no want of zeal and talent in Russia amongst the cultivators of

every branch of literature, and especially philology, it is only

surprising that such a collection still remains a desideratum.

The religion which these singular females externally professed was the

Greek, and they mostly wore crosses of copper or gold; but when I

questioned them on this subject in their native language, they laughed,

and said it was only to please the Russians. Their names for God and his

adversary are Deval and Bengel, which differ little from the Spanish

Un-debel and Bengi, which signify the same. I will now say something of

THE HUNGARIAN GYPSIES, OR CZIGÁNY

Hungary, though a country not a tenth part so extensive as the huge

colossus of the Russian empire, whose tzar reigns over a hundred lands,

contains perhaps as many Gypsies, it not being uncommon to find whole

villages inhabited by this race; they likewise abound in the suburbs of

the towns. In Hungary the feudal system still exists in all its pristine

barbarity; in no country does the hard hand of this oppression bear so

heavy upon the lower classes—not even in Russia. The peasants of Russia

are serfs, it is true, but their condition is enviable compared with that

of the same class in the other country; they have certain rights and

privileges, and are, upon the whole, happy and contented, whilst the

Hungarians are ground to powder. Two classes are free in Hungary to do

almost what they please—the nobility and—the Gypsies; the former are

above the law—the latter below it: a toll is wrung from the hands of the

hard-working labourers, that most meritorious class, in passing over a

bridge, for example at Pesth, which is not demanded from a well-dressed

person—nor from the Czigány, who have frequently no dress at all—and

whose insouciance stands in striking contrast with the trembling

submission of the peasants. The Gypsy, wherever you find him, is an

incomprehensible being, but nowhere more than in Hungary, where, in the

midst of slavery, he is free, though apparently one step lower than the

lowest slave. The habits of the Hungarian Gypsies are abominable; their

hovels appear sinks of the vilest poverty and filth, their dress is at

best rags, their food frequently the vilest carrion, and occasionally, if

report be true, still worse—on which point, when speaking of the Spanish

Gitános, we shall have subsequently more to say: thus they live in filth,

in rags, in nakedness, and in merriness of heart, for nowhere is there

more of song and dance than in an Hungarian Gypsy village. They are very

fond of music, and some of them are heard to touch the violin in a manner

wild, but of peculiar excellence. Parties of them have been known to

exhibit even at Paris.

In Hungary, as in all parts, they are addicted to horse-dealing; they are

likewise tinkers, and smiths in a small way. The women are

fortune-tellers, of course—both sexes thieves of the first water. They

roam where they list—in a country where all other people are held under

strict surveillance, no one seems to care about these Parias. The most

remarkable feature, however, connected with the habits of the Czigány,

consists in their foreign excursions, having plunder in view, which

frequently endure for three or four years, when, if no mischance has

befallen them, they return to their native land—rich; where they squander

the proceeds of their dexterity in mad festivals. They wander in bands

of twelve and fourteen through France, even to Rome. Once, during my own

wanderings in Italy, I rested at nightfall by the side of a kiln, the air

being piercingly cold; it was about four leagues from Genoa. Presently

arrived three individuals to take advantage of the warmth—a man, a woman,

and a lad. They soon began to discourse—and I found that they were

Hungarian Gypsies; they spoke of what they had been doing, and what they

had amassed—I think they mentioned nine hundred crowns. They had

companions in the neighbourhood, some of whom they were expecting; they

took no notice of me, and conversed in their own dialect; I did not

approve of their propinquity, and rising, hastened away.

When Napoleon invaded Spain there were not a few Hungarian Gypsies in his

armies; some strange encounters occurred on the field of battle between

these people and the Spanish Gitános, one of which is related in the

second part of the present work. When quartered in the Spanish towns,

the Czigány invariably sought out their peninsular brethren, to whom they

revealed themselves, kissing and embracing most affectionately; the

Gitános were astonished at the proficiency of the strangers in thievish

arts, and looked upon them almost in the light of superior beings: ‘They

knew the whole reckoning,’ is still a common expression amongst them.

There was a Czigánian soldier for some time at Cordoba, of whom the

Gitános of the place still frequently discourse, whilst smoking their

cigars during winter nights over their braséros.

The Hungarian Gypsies have a peculiar accent when speaking the language

of the country, by which they can be instantly distinguished; the same

thing is applicable to the Gitános of Spain when speaking Spanish. In no

part of the world is the Gypsy language preserved better than in Hungary.

The following short prayer to the Virgin, which I have frequently heard

amongst the Gypsies of Hungary and Transylvania, will serve as a specimen

of their language:—

Gula Devla, da me saschipo. Swuntuna Devla, da me bacht t’ aldaschis

cari me jav; te ferin man, Devla, sila ta niapaschiata, chungalé

manuschendar, ke me jav andé drom ca hin man traba; ferin man, Devia;

ma mek man Devla, ke manga man tre Devies-key.

Sweet Goddess, give me health. Holy Goddess, give me luck and grace

wherever I go; and help me, Goddess, powerful and immaculate, from

ugly men, that I may go in the road to the place I purpose: help me,

Goddess; forsake me not, Goddess, for I pray for God’s sake.

WALLACHIA AND MOLDAVIA

In Wallachia and Moldavia, two of the eastern-most regions of Europe, are

to be found seven millions of people calling themselves Roumouni, and

speaking a dialect of the Latin tongue much corrupted by barbarous terms,

so called. They are supposed to be in part descendants of Roman

soldiers, Rome in the days of her grandeur having established immense

military colonies in these parts. In the midst of these people exist

vast numbers of Gypsies, amounting, I am disposed to think, to at least

two hundred thousand. The land of the Roumouni, indeed, seems to have

been the hive from which the West of Europe derived the Gypsy part of its

population. Far be it from me to say that the Gypsies sprang originally

from Roumouni-land. All I mean is, that it was their grand resting-place

after crossing the Danube. They entered Roumouni-land from Bulgaria,

crossing the great river, and from thence some went to the north-east,

overrunning Russia, others to the west of Europe, as far as Spain and

England. That the early Gypsies of the West, and also those of Russia,

came from Roumouni-land, is easily proved, as in all the western Gypsy

dialects, and also in the Russian, are to be found words belonging to the

Roumouni speech; for example, primavera, spring; cheros, heaven; chorab,

stocking; chismey, boots;—Roum—primivari, cherul, chorapul, chismé. One

might almost be tempted to suppose that the term Rommany, by which the

Gypsies of Russia and the West call themselves, was derived from

Roumouni, were it not for one fact, which is, that Romanus in the Latin

tongue merely means a native of Rome, whilst the specific meaning of Rome

still remains in the dark; whereas in Gypsy Rom means a husband, Rommany

the sect of the husbands; Romanesti if married. Whether both words were

derived originally from the same source, as I believe some people have

supposed, is a question which, with my present lights, I cannot pretend

to determine.

THE ENGLISH GYPSIES

No country appears less adapted for that wandering life, which seems so

natural to these people, than England. Those wildernesses and forests,

which they are so attached to, are not to be found there; every inch of

land is cultivated, and its produce watched with a jealous eye; and as

the laws against trampers, without the visible means of supporting

themselves, are exceedingly severe, the possibility of the Gypsies

existing as a distinct race, and retaining their original free and

independent habits, might naturally be called in question by those who

had not satisfactorily verified the fact. Yet it is a truth that, amidst

all these seeming disadvantages, they not only exist there, but in no

part of the world is their life more in accordance with the general idea

that the Gypsy is like Cain, a wanderer of the earth; for in England the

covered cart and the little tent are the houses of the Gypsy, and he

seldom remains more than three days in the same place.

At present they are considered in some degree as a privileged people;

for, though their way of life is unlawful, it is connived at; the law of

England having discovered by experience, that its utmost fury is

inefficient to reclaim them from their inveterate habits.

Shortly after their first arrival in England, which is upwards of three

centuries since, a dreadful persecution was raised against them, the aim

of which was their utter extermination; the being a Gypsy was esteemed a

crime worthy of death, and the gibbets of England groaned and creaked

beneath the weight of Gypsy carcases, and the miserable survivors were

literally obliged to creep into the earth in order to preserve their

lives. But these days passed by; their persecutors became weary of

pursuing them; they showed their heads from the holes and caves where

they had hidden themselves, they ventured forth, increased in numbers,

and, each tribe or family choosing a particular circuit, they fairly

divided the land amongst them.

In England, the male Gypsies are all dealers in horses, and sometimes

employ their idle time in mending the tin and copper utensils of the

peasantry; the females tell fortunes. They generally pitch their tents

in the vicinity of a village or small town by the road side, under the

shelter of the hedges and trees. The climate of England is well known to

be favourable to beauty, and in no part of the world is the appearance of

the Gypsies so prepossessing as in that country; their complexion is

dark, but not disagreeably so; their faces are oval, their features

regular, their foreheads rather low, and their hands and feet small. The

men are taller than the English peasantry, and far more active. They all

speak the English language with fluency, and in their gait and demeanour

are easy and graceful; in both points standing in striking contrast with

the peasantry, who in speech are slow and uncouth, and in manner dogged

and brutal.

The dialect of the Rommany, which they speak, though mixed with English

words, may be considered as tolerably pure, from the fact that it is

intelligible to the Gypsy race in the heart of Russia. Whatever crimes

they may commit, their vices are few, for the men are not drunkards, nor

are the women harlots; there are no two characters which they hold in so

much abhorrence, nor do any words when applied by them convey so much

execration as these two.

The crimes of which these people were originally accused were various,

but the principal were theft, sorcery, and causing disease among the

cattle; and there is every reason for supposing that in none of these

points they were altogether guiltless.

With respect to sorcery, a thing in itself impossible, not only the

English Gypsies, but the whole race, have ever professed it; therefore,

whatever misery they may have suffered on that account, they may be

considered as having called it down upon their own heads.

Dabbling in sorcery is in some degree the province of the female Gypsy.

She affects to tell the future, and to prepare philtres by means of which

love can be awakened in any individual towards any particular object; and

such is the credulity of the human race, even in the most enlightened

countries, that the profits arising from these practices are great. The

following is a case in point: two females, neighbours and friends, were

tried some years since, in England, for the murder of their husbands. It

appeared that they were in love with the same individual, and had

conjointly, at various times, paid sums of money to a Gypsy woman to work

charms to captivate his affections. Whatever little effect the charms

might produce, they were successful in their principal object, for the

person in question carried on for some time a criminal intercourse with

both. The matter came to the knowledge of the husbands, who, taking

means to break off this connection, were respectively poisoned by their

wives. Till the moment of conviction these wretched females betrayed

neither emotion nor fear, but then their consternation was indescribable;

and they afterwards confessed that the Gypsy, who had visited them in

prison, had promised to shield them from conviction by means of her art.

It is therefore not surprising that in the fifteenth and sixteenth

centuries, when a belief in sorcery was supported by the laws of all

Europe, these people were regarded as practisers of sorcery, and punished

as such, when, even in the nineteenth, they still find people weak enough

to place confidence in their claims to supernatural power.

The accusation of producing disease and death amongst the cattle was far

from groundless. Indeed, however strange and incredible it may sound in

the present day to those who are unacquainted with this caste, and the

peculiar habits of the Rommanees, the practice is still occasionally

pursued in England and many other countries where they are found. From

this practice, when they are not detected, they derive considerable

advantage. Poisoning cattle is exercised by them in two ways: by one,

they merely cause disease in the animals, with the view of receiving

money for curing them upon offering their services; the poison is

generally administered by powders cast at night into the mangers of the

animals: this way is only practised upon the larger cattle, such as

horses and cows. By the other, which they practise chiefly on swine,

speedy death is almost invariably produced, the drug administered being

of a highly intoxicating nature, and affecting the brain. They then

apply at the house or farm where the disaster has occurred for the

carcase of the animal, which is generally given them without suspicion,

and then they feast on the flesh, which is not injured by the poison,

which only affects the head.

The English Gypsies are constant attendants at the racecourse; what

jockey is not? Perhaps jockeyism originated with them, and even racing,

at least in England. Jockeyism properly implies _the management of a

whip_, and the word jockey is neither more nor less than the term

slightly modified, by which they designate the formidable whips which

they usually carry, and which are at present in general use amongst

horse-traffickers, under the title of jockey whips. They are likewise

fond of resorting to the prize-ring, and have occasionally even attained

some eminence, as principals, in those disgraceful and brutalising

exhibitions called pugilistic combats. I believe a great deal has been

written on the subject of the English Gypsies, but the writers have dwelt

too much in generalities; they have been afraid to take the Gypsy by the

hand, lead him forth from the crowd, and exhibit him in the area; he is

well worth observing. When a boy of fourteen, I was present at a

prize-fight; why should I hide the truth? It took place on a green

meadow, beside a running stream, close by the old church of E-, and

within a league of the ancient town of N-, the capital of one of the

eastern counties. The terrible Thurtell was present, lord of the

concourse; for wherever he moved he was master, and whenever he spoke,

even when in chains, every other voice was silent. He stood on the mead,

grim and pale as usual, with his bruisers around. He it was, indeed, who

_got up_ the fight, as he had previously done twenty others; it being his

frequent boast that he had first introduced bruising and bloodshed amidst

rural scenes, and transformed a quiet slumbering town into a den of Jews

and metropolitan thieves. Some time before the commencement of the

combat, three men, mounted on wild-looking horses, came dashing down the

road in the direction of the meadow, in the midst of which they presently

showed themselves, their horses clearing the deep ditches with wonderful

alacrity. ‘That’s Gypsy Will and his gang,’ lisped a Hebrew pickpocket;

‘we shall have another fight.’ The word Gypsy was always sufficient to

excite my curiosity, and I looked attentively at the newcomers.

I have seen Gypsies of various lands, Russian, Hungarian, and Turkish;

and I have also seen the legitimate children of most countries of the

world; but I never saw, upon the whole, three more remarkable

individuals, as far as personal appearance was concerned, than the three

English Gypsies who now presented themselves to my eyes on that spot.

Two of them had dismounted, and were holding their horses by the reins.

The tallest, and, at the first glance, the most interesting of the two,

was almost a giant, for his height could not have been less than six feet

three. It is impossible for the imagination to conceive anything more

perfectly beautiful than were the features of this man, and the most

skilful sculptor of Greece might have taken them as his model for a hero

and a god. The forehead was exceedingly lofty,—a rare thing in a Gypsy;

the nose less Roman than Grecian,—fine yet delicate; the eyes large,

overhung with long drooping lashes, giving them almost a melancholy

expression; it was only when the lashes were elevated that the Gypsy

glance was seen, if that can be called a glance which is a strange stare,

like nothing else in this world. His complexion was a beautiful olive;

and his teeth were of a brilliancy uncommon even amongst these people,

who have all fine teeth. He was dressed in a coarse waggoner’s slop,

which, however, was unable to conceal altogether the proportions of his

noble and Herculean figure. He might be about twenty-eight. His

companion and his captain, Gypsy Will, was, I think, fifty when he was

hanged, ten years subsequently (for I never afterwards lost sight of

him), in the front of the jail of Bury St. Edmunds. I have still present

before me his bushy black hair, his black face, and his big black eyes

fixed and staring. His dress consisted of a loose blue jockey coat,

jockey boots and breeches; in his hand was a huge jockey whip, and on his

head (it struck me at the time for its singularity) a broad-brimmed,

high-peaked Andalusian hat, or at least one very much resembling those

generally worn in that province. In stature he was shorter than his more

youthful companion, yet he must have measured six feet at least, and was

stronger built, if possible. What brawn!—what bone!—what legs!—what

thighs! The third Gypsy, who remained on horseback, looked more like a

phantom than any thing human. His complexion was the colour of pale

dust, and of that same colour was all that pertained to him, hat and

clothes. His boots were dusty of course, for it was midsummer, and his

very horse was of a dusty dun. His features were whimsically ugly, most

of his teeth were gone, and as to his age, he might be thirty or sixty.

He was somewhat lame and halt, but an unequalled rider when once upon his

steed, which he was naturally not very solicitous to quit. I

subsequently discovered that he was considered the wizard of the gang.

I have been already prolix with respect to these Gypsies, but I will not

leave them quite yet. The intended combatants at length arrived; it was

necessary to clear the ring,—always a troublesome and difficult task.

Thurtell went up to the two Gypsies, with whom he seemed to be

acquainted, and with his surly smile, said two or three words, which I,

who was standing by, did not understand. The Gypsies smiled in return,

and giving the reins of their animals to their mounted companion,

immediately set about the task which the king of the flash-men had, as I

conjecture, imposed upon them; this they soon accomplished. Who could

stand against such fellows and such whips? The fight was soon over—then

there was a pause. Once more Thurtell came up to the Gypsies and said

something—the Gypsies looked at each other and conversed; but their words

then had no meaning for my ears. The tall Gypsy shook his head—‘Very

well,’ said the other, in English. ‘I will—that’s all.’

Then pushing the people aside, he strode to the ropes, over which he

bounded into the ring, flinging his Spanish hat high into the air.

_Gypsy Will_.—‘The best man in England for twenty pounds!’

_Thurtell_.—‘I am backer!’

Twenty pounds is a tempting sum, and there men that day upon the green

meadow who would have shed the blood of their own fathers for the fifth

of the price. But the Gypsy was not an unknown man, his prowess and

strength were notorious, and no one cared to encounter him. Some of the

Jews looked eager for a moment; but their sharp eyes quailed quickly

before his savage glances, as he towered in the ring, his huge form

dilating, and his black features convulsed with excitement. The

Westminster bravoes eyed the Gypsy askance; but the comparison, if they

made any, seemed by no means favourable to themselves. ‘Gypsy! rum

chap.—Ugly customer,—always in training.’ Such were the exclamations

which I heard, some of which at that period of my life I did not

understand.

No man would fight the Gypsy.—Yes! a strong country fellow wished to win

the stakes, and was about to fling up his hat in defiance, but he was

prevented by his friends, with—‘Fool! he’ll kill you!’

As the Gypsies were mounting their horses, I heard the dusty phantom

exclaim—

‘Brother, you are an arrant ring-maker and a horse-breaker; you’ll make a

hempen ring to break your own neck of a horse one of these days.’

They pressed their horses’ flanks, again leaped over the ditches, and

speedily vanished, amidst the whirlwinds of dust which they raised upon

the road.

The words of the phantom Gypsy were ominous. Gypsy Will was eventually

executed for a murder committed in his early youth, in company with two

English labourers, one of whom confessed the fact on his death-bed. He

was the head of the clan Young, which, with the clan Smith, still haunts

two of the eastern counties.

SOME FURTHER PARTICULARS RESPECTING THE ENGLISH GYPSIES

It is difficult to say at what period the Gypsies or Rommany made their

first appearance in England. They had become, however, such a nuisance

in the time of Henry the Eighth, Philip and Mary, and Elizabeth, that

Gypsyism was denounced by various royal statutes, and, if persisted in,

was to be punished as felony without benefit of clergy; it is probable,

however, that they had overrun England long before the period of the

earliest of these monarchs. The Gypsies penetrate into all countries,

save poor ones, and it is hardly to be supposed that a few leagues of

intervening salt water would have kept a race so enterprising any

considerable length of time, after their arrival on the continent of

Europe, from obtaining a footing in the fairest and richest country of

the West.

It is easy enough to conceive the manner in which the Gypsies lived in

England for a long time subsequent to their arrival: doubtless in a

half-savage state, wandering about from place to place, encamping on the

uninhabited spots, of which there were then so many in England, feared

and hated by the population, who looked upon them as thieves and foreign

sorcerers, occasionally committing acts of brigandage, but depending

chiefly for subsistence on the practice of the ‘arts of Egypt,’ in which

cunning and dexterity were far more necessary than courage or strength of

hand.

It would appear that they were always divided into clans or tribes, each

bearing a particular name, and to which a particular district more

especially belonged, though occasionally they would exchange districts

for a period, and, incited by their characteristic love of wandering,

would travel far and wide. Of these families each had a sher-engro, or

head man, but that they were ever united under one Rommany Krallis, or

Gypsy King, as some people have insisted, there is not the slightest

ground for supposing.

It is possible that many of the original Gypsy tribes are no longer in

existence: disease or the law may have made sad havoc among them, and the

few survivors have incorporated themselves with other families, whose

name they have adopted. Two or three instances of this description have

occurred within the sphere of my own knowledge: the heads of small

families have been cut off, and the subordinate members, too young and

inexperienced to continue Gypsying as independent wanderers, have been

adopted by other tribes.

The principal Gypsy tribes at present in existence are the Stanleys,

whose grand haunt is the New Forest; the Lovells, who are fond of London

and its vicinity; the Coopers, who call Windsor Castle their home; the

Hernes, to whom the north country, more especially Yorkshire, belongeth;

and lastly, my brethren, the Smiths,—to whom East Anglia appears to have

been allotted from the beginning.

All these families have Gypsy names, which seem, however, to be little

more than attempts at translation of the English ones:—thus the Stanleys

are called Bar-engres {25}, which means stony-fellows, or stony-hearts;

the Coopers, Wardo-engres, or wheelwrights; the Lovells, Camo-mescres, or

amorous fellows the Hernes (German Haaren) Balors, hairs, or hairy men;

while the Smiths are called Petul-engres, signifying horseshoe fellows,

or blacksmiths.

It is not very easy to determine how the Gypsies became possessed of some

of these names: the reader, however, will have observed that two of them,

Stanley and Lovell, are the names of two highly aristocratic English

families; the Gypsies who bear them perhaps adopted them from having, at

their first arrival, established themselves on the estates of those great

people; or it is possible that they translated their original Gypsy

appellations by these names, which they deemed synonymous. Much the same

may be said with respect to Herne, an ancient English name; they probably

sometimes officiated as coopers or wheelwrights, whence the

cognomination. Of the term Petul-engro, or Smith, however, I wish to say

something in particular.

There is every reason for believing that this last is a genuine Gypsy

name, brought with them from the country from which they originally came;

it is compounded of two words, signifying, as has been already observed,

horseshoe fellows, or people whose trade is to manufacture horseshoes, a

trade which the Gypsies ply in various parts of the world,—for example,

in Russia and Hungary, and more particularly about Granada in Spain, as

will subsequently be shown. True it is, that at present there are none

amongst the English Gypsies who manufacture horseshoes; all the men,

however, are tinkers more or less, and the word Petul-engro is applied to

the tinker also, though the proper meaning of it is undoubtedly what I

have already stated above. In other dialects of the Gypsy tongue, this

cognomen exists, though not exactly with the same signification; for

example, in the Hungarian dialect, _Pindoro_, which is evidently a

modification of Petul-engro, is applied to a Gypsy in general, whilst in

Spanish Pepindorio is the Gypsy word for Antonio. In some parts of

Northern Asia, the Gypsies call themselves Wattul {26}, which seems to be

one and the same as Petul.

Besides the above-named Gypsy clans, there are other smaller ones, some

of which do not comprise more than a dozen individuals, children

included. For example, the Bosviles, the Browns, the Chilcotts, the

Grays, Lees, Taylors, and Whites; of these the principal is the Bosvile

tribe.

After the days of the great persecution in England against the Gypsies,

there can be little doubt that they lived a right merry and tranquil

life, wandering about and pitching their tents wherever inclination led

them: indeed, I can scarcely conceive any human condition more enviable

than Gypsy life must have been in England during the latter part of the

seventeenth, and the whole of the eighteenth century, which were likewise

the happy days for Englishmen in general; there was peace and plenty in

the land, a contented population, and everything went well. Yes, those

were brave times for the Rommany chals, to which the old people often

revert with a sigh: the poor Gypsies, say they, were then allowed to

_sove abri_ (sleep abroad) where they listed, to heat their kettles at

the foot of the oaks, and no people grudged the poor persons one night’s

use of a meadow to feed their cattle in. _Tugnis amande_, our heart is

heavy, brother,—there is no longer Gypsy law in the land,—our people have

become negligent,—they are but half Rommany,—they are divided and care

for nothing,—they do not even fear Pazorrhus, brother.

Much the same complaints are at present made by the Spanish Gypsies.

Gypsyism is certainly on the decline in both countries. In England, a

superabundant population, and, of late, a very vigilant police, have done

much to modify Gypsy life; whilst in Spain, causes widely different have

produced a still greater change, as will be seen further on.

Gypsy law does not flourish at present in England, and still less in

Spain, nor does Gypsyism. I need not explain here what Gypsyism is, but

the reader may be excused for asking what is Gypsy law. Gypsy law

divides itself into the three following heads or precepts:—

Separate not from _the husbands_.

Be faithful to _the husbands_.

Pay your debts to _the husbands_.

By the first section the Rom or Gypsy is enjoined to live with his

brethren, the husbands, and not with the gorgios {28} or gentiles; he is

to live in a tent, as is befitting a Rom and a wanderer, and not in a

house, which ties him to one spot; in a word, he is in every respect to

conform to the ways of his own people, and to eschew those of gorgios,

with whom he is not to mix, save to tell them _hoquepenes_ (lies), and to

chore them.

The second section, in which fidelity is enjoined, was more particularly

intended for the women: be faithful to the _Roms_, ye _juwas_, and take

not up with the gorgios, whether they be _raior_ or _bauor_ (gentlemen or

fellows). This was a very important injunction, so much so, indeed, that

upon the observance of it depended the very existence of the Rommany

sect,—for if the female Gypsy admitted the gorgio to the privilege of the

Rom, the race of the Rommany would quickly disappear. How well this

injunction has been observed needs scarcely be said; for the Rommany have

been roving about England for three centuries at least, and are still to

be distinguished from the gorgios in feature and complexion, which

assuredly would not have been the case if the juwas had not been faithful

to the Roms. The gorgio says that the juwa is at his disposal in all

things, because she tells him fortunes and endures his free discourse;

but the Rom, when he hears the boast, laughs within his sleeve, and

whispers to himself, _Let him try_.

The third section, which relates to the paying of debts, is highly

curious. In the Gypsy language, the state of being in debt is called

_Pazorrhus_, and the Rom who did not seek to extricate himself from that

state was deemed infamous, and eventually turned out of the society. It

has been asserted, I believe, by various gorgio writers, that the Roms

have everything in common, and that there is a common stock out of which

every one takes what he needs; this is quite a mistake, however: a Gypsy

tribe is an epitome of the world; every one keeps his own purse and

maintains himself and children to the best of his ability, and every tent

is independent of the other. True it is that one Gypsy will lend to

another in the expectation of being repaid, and until that happen the

borrower is pazorrhus, or indebted. Even at the present time, a Gypsy

will make the greatest sacrifices rather than remain pazorrhus to one of

his brethren, even though he be of another clan; though perhaps the

feeling is not so strong as of old, for time modifies everything; even

Jews and Gypsies are affected by it. In the old time, indeed, the Gypsy

law was so strong against the debtor, that provided he could not repay

his brother husband, he was delivered over to him as his slave for a year

and a day, and compelled to serve him as a hewer of wood, a drawer of

water, or a beast of burden; but those times are past, the Gypsies are no

longer the independent people they were of yore,—dark, mysterious, and

dreaded wanderers, living apart in the deserts and heaths with which

England at one time abounded. Gypsy law has given place to common law;

but the principle of honour is still recognised amongst them, and base

indeed must the Gypsy be who would continue pazorrhus because Gypsy law

has become too weak to force him to liquidate a debt by money or by

service.

Such was Gypsy law in England, and there is every probability that it is

much the same in all parts of the world where the Gypsy race is to be

found. About the peculiar practices of the Gypsies I need not say much

here; the reader will find in the account of the Spanish Gypsies much

that will afford him an idea of Gypsy arts in England. I have already

alluded to _chiving drav_, or poisoning, which is still much practised by

the English Gypsies, though it has almost entirely ceased in Spain; then

there is _chiving luvvu adrey puvo_, or putting money within the earth, a

trick by which the females deceive the gorgios, and which will be more

particularly described in the affairs of Spain: the men are adepts at

cheating the gorgios by means of _nok-engroes_ and _poggado-bavengroes_

(glandered and broken-winded horses). But, leaving the subject of their

tricks and Rommany arts, by no means an agreeable one, I will take the

present opportunity of saying a few words about a practice of theirs,

highly characteristic of a wandering people, and which is only extant

amongst those of the race who still continue to wander much; for example,

the Russian Gypsies and those of the Hungarian family, who stroll through

Italy on plundering expeditions: I allude to the _patteran_ or _trail_.

It is very possible that the reader during his country walks or rides has

observed, on coming to four cross-roads, two or three handfuls of grass

lying at a small distance from each other down one of these roads;

perhaps he may have supposed that this grass was recently plucked from

the roadside by frolicsome children, and flung upon the ground in sport,

and this may possibly have been the case; it is ten chances to one,

however, that no children’s hands plucked them, but that they were

strewed in this manner by Gypsies, for the purpose of informing any of

their companions, who might be straggling behind, the route which they

had taken; this is one form of the patteran or trail. It is likely, too,

that the gorgio reader may have seen a cross drawn at the entrance of a

road, the long part or stem of it pointing down that particular road, and

he may have thought nothing of it, or have supposed that some sauntering

individual like himself had made the mark with his stick: not so,

courteous gorgio; ley tiro solloholomus opré lesti, _you may take your

oath upon it_ that it was drawn by a Gypsy finger, for that mark is

another of the Rommany trails; there is no mistake in this. Once in the

south of France, when I was weary, hungry, and penniless, I observed one

of these last patterans, and following the direction pointed out, arrived

at the resting-place of ‘certain Bohemians,’ by whom I was received with

kindness and hospitality, on the faith of no other word of recommendation

than patteran. There is also another kind of patteran, which is more

particularly adapted for the night; it is a cleft stick stuck at the side

of the road, close by the hedge, with a little arm in the cleft pointing

down the road which the band have taken, in the manner of a signpost; any

stragglers who may arrive at night where cross-roads occur search for

this patteran on the left-hand side, and speedily rejoin their

companions.

By following these patterans, or trails, the first Gypsies on their way

to Europe never lost each other, though wandering amidst horrid

wildernesses and dreary defiles. Rommany matters have always had a

peculiar interest for me; nothing, however, connected with Gypsy life

ever more captivated my imagination than this patteran system: many

thanks to the Gypsies for it; it has more than once been of service to

me.

The English Gypsies at the present day are far from being a numerous

race; I consider their aggregate number, from the opportunities which I

have had of judging, to be considerably under ten thousand: it is

probable that, ere the conclusion of the present century, they will have

entirely disappeared. They are in general quite strangers to the

commonest rudiments of education; few even of the most wealthy can either

read or write. With respect to religion, they call themselves members of

the Established Church, and are generally anxious to have their children

baptized, and to obtain a copy of the register. Some of their baptismal

papers, which they carry about with them, are highly curious, going back

for a period of upwards of two hundred years. With respect to the

essential points of religion, they are quite careless and ignorant; if

they believe in a future state they dread it not, and if they manifest

when dying any anxiety, it is not for the soul, but the body: a handsome

coffin, and a grave in a quiet country churchyard, are invariably the

objects of their last thoughts; and it is probable that, in their

observance of the rite of baptism, they are principally influenced by a

desire to enjoy the privilege of burial in consecrated ground. A Gypsy

family never speak of their dead save with regret and affection, and any

request of the dying individual is attended to, especially with regard to

interment; so much so, that I have known a corpse conveyed a distance of

nearly one hundred miles, because the deceased expressed a wish to be

buried in a particular spot.

Of the language of the English Gypsies, some specimens will be given in

the sequel; it is much more pure and copious than the Spanish dialect.

It has been asserted that the English Gypsies are not possessed of any

poetry in their own tongue; but this is a gross error; they possess a

great many songs and ballads upon ordinary subjects, without any

particular merit, however, and seemingly of a very modern date.

THE GYPSIES OF THE EAST, OR ZINGARRI

What has been said of the Gypsies of Europe is, to a considerable extent,

applicable to their brethren in the East, or, as they are called,

Zingarri; they are either found wandering amongst the deserts or

mountains, or settled in towns, supporting themselves by horse-dealing or

jugglery, by music and song. In no part of the East are they more

numerous than in Turkey, especially in Constantinople, where the females

frequently enter the harems of the great, pretending to cure children of

‘the evil eye,’ and to interpret the dreams of the women. They are not

unfrequently seen in the coffee-houses, exhibiting their figures in

lascivious dances to the tune of various instruments; yet these females

are by no means unchaste, however their manners and appearance may denote

the contrary, and either Turk or Christian who, stimulated by their songs

and voluptuous movements, should address them with proposals of a

dishonourable nature, would, in all probability, meet with a decided

repulse.

Among the Zingarri are not a few who deal in precious stones, and some

who vend poisons; and the most remarkable individual whom it has been my

fortune to encounter amongst the Gypsies, whether of the Eastern or

Western world, was a person who dealt in both these articles. He was a

native of Constantinople, and in the pursuit of his trade had visited the

most remote and remarkable portions of the world. He had traversed alone

and on foot the greatest part of India; he spoke several dialects of the

Malay, and understood the original language of Java, that isle more

fertile in poisons than even ‘far Iolchos and Spain.’ From what I could

learn from him, it appeared that his jewels were in less request than his

drugs, though he assured me that there was scarcely a Bey or Satrap in

Persia or Turkey whom he had not supplied with both. I have seen this

individual in more countries than one, for he flits over the world like

the shadow of a cloud; the last time at Granada in Spain, whither he had

come after paying a visit to his Gitáno brethren in the presidio of

Ceuta.

Few Eastern authors have spoken of the Zingarri, notwithstanding they

have been known in the East for many centuries; amongst the few, none has

made more curious mention of them than Arabschah, in a chapter of his

life of Timour or Tamerlane, which is deservedly considered as one of the

three classic works of Arabian literature. This passage, which, while it

serves to illustrate the craft, if not the valour of the conqueror of

half the world, offers some curious particulars as to Gypsy life in the

East at a remote period, will scarcely be considered out of place if

reproduced here, and the following is as close a translation of it as the

metaphorical style of the original will allow.

‘There were in Samarcand numerous families of Zingarri of various

descriptions: some were wrestlers, others gladiators, others

pugilists. These people were much at variance, so that hostilities

and battling were continually arising amongst them. Each band had

its chief and subordinate officers; and it came to pass that Timour

and the power which he possessed filled them with dread, for they

knew that he was aware of their crimes and disorderly way of life.

Now it was the custom of Timour, on departing upon his expeditions,

to leave a viceroy in Samarcand; but no sooner had he left the city,

than forth marched these bands, and giving battle to the viceroy,

deposed him and took possession of the government, so that on the

return of Timour he found order broken, confusion reigning, and his

throne overturned, and then he had much to do in restoring things to

their former state, and in punishing or pardoning the guilty; but no

sooner did he depart again to his wars, and to his various other

concerns, than they broke out into the same excesses, and this they

repeated no less than three times, and he at length laid a plan for

their utter extermination, and it was the following:—He commenced

building a wall, and he summoned unto him the people small and great,

and he allotted to every man his place, and to every workman his

duty, and he stationed the Zingarri and their chieftains apart; and

in one particular spot he placed a band of soldiers, and he commanded

them to kill whomsoever he should send to them; and having done so,

he called to him the heads of the people, and he filled the cup for

them and clothed them in splendid vests; and when the turn came to

the Zingarri, he likewise pledged one of them, and bestowed a vest

upon him, and sent him with a message to the soldiers, who, as soon

as he arrived, tore from him his vest, and stabbed him, pouring forth

the gold of his heart into the pan of destruction, {36} and in this

way they continued until the last of them was destroyed; and by that

blow he exterminated their race, and their traces, and from that time

forward there were no more rebellions in Samarcand.’

It has of late years been one of the favourite theories of the learned,

that Timour’s invasion of Hindostan, and the cruelties committed by his

savage hordes in that part of the world, caused a vast number of Hindoos

to abandon their native land, and that the Gypsies of the present day are

the descendants of those exiles who wended their weary way to the West.

Now, provided the above passage in the work of Arabschah be entitled to

credence, the opinion that Timour was the cause of the expatriation and

subsequent wandering life of these people, must be abandoned as

untenable. At the time he is stated by the Arabian writer to have

annihilated the Gypsy hordes of Samarcand, he had but just commenced his

career of conquest and devastation, and had not even directed his

thoughts to the invasion of India; yet at this early period of the

history of his life, we find families of Zingarri established at

Samarcand, living much in the same manner as others of the race have

subsequently done in various towns of Europe and the East; but supposing

the event here narrated to be a fable, or at best a floating legend, it

appears singular that, if they left their native land to escape from

Timour, they should never have mentioned in the Western world the name of

that scourge of the human race, nor detailed the history of their flight

and sufferings, which assuredly would have procured them sympathy; the

ravages of Timour being already but too well known in Europe. That they

came from India is much easier to prove than that they fled before the

fierce Mongol.

Such people as the Gypsies, whom the Bishop of Forli in the year 1422,

only sixteen years subsequent to the invasion of India, describes as a

‘raging rabble, of brutal and animal propensities,’ {37} are not such as

generally abandon their country on foreign invasion.

THE ZINCALI

PART I

CHAPTER I

GITÁNOS, or Egyptians, is the name by which the Gypsies have been most

generally known in Spain, in the ancient as well as in the modern period,

but various other names have been and still are applied to them; for

example, New Castilians, Germans, and Flemings; the first of which titles

probably originated after the name of Gitáno had begun to be considered a

term of reproach and infamy. They may have thus designated themselves

from an unwillingness to utter, when speaking of themselves, the detested

expression ‘Gitáno,’ a word which seldom escapes their mouths; or it may

have been applied to them first by the Spaniards, in their mutual

dealings and communication, as a term less calculated to wound their

feelings and to beget a spirit of animosity than the other; but, however

it might have originated, New Castilian, in course of time, became a term

of little less infamy than Gitáno; for, by the law of Philip the Fourth,

both terms are forbidden to be applied to them under severe penalties.

That they were called Germans, may be accounted for, either by the

supposition that their generic name of Rommany was misunderstood and

mispronounced by the Spaniards amongst whom they came, or from the fact

of their having passed through Germany in their way to the south, and

bearing passports and letters of safety from the various German states.

The title of Flemings, by which at the present day they are known in

various parts of Spain, would probably never have been bestowed upon them

but from the circumstance of their having been designated or believed to

be Germans,—as German and Fleming are considered by the ignorant as

synonymous terms.

Amongst themselves they have three words to distinguish them and their

race in general: Zíncalo, Romanó, and Chai; of the first two of which

something has been already said.

They likewise call themselves ‘Cales,’ by which appellation indeed they

are tolerably well known by the Spaniards, and which is merely the plural

termination of the compound word Zíncalo, and signifies, The black men.

Chai is a modification of the word Chal, which, by the Gitános of

Estremadura, is applied to Egypt, and in many parts of Spain is

equivalent to ‘Heaven,’ and which is perhaps a modification of ‘Cheros,’

the word for heaven in other dialects of the Gypsy language. Thus Chai

may denote, The men of Egypt, or, The sons of Heaven. It is, however,

right to observe, that amongst the Gitános, the word Chai has frequently

no other signification than the simple one of ‘children.’

It is impossible to state for certainty the exact year of their first

appearance in Spain; but it is reasonable to presume that it was early in

the fifteenth century; as in the year 1417 numerous bands entered France

from the north-east of Europe, and speedily spread themselves over the

greatest part of that country. Of these wanderers a French author has

left the following graphic description: {43}

‘On the 17th of April 1427, appeared in Paris twelve penitents of

Egypt, driven from thence by the Saracens; they brought in their

company one hundred and twenty persons; they took up their quarters

in La Chapelle, whither the people flocked in crowds to visit them.

They had their ears pierced, from which depended a ring of silver;

their hair was black and crispy, and their women were filthy to a

degree, and were sorceresses who told fortunes.’

Such were the people who, after traversing France and scaling the sides

of the Pyrenees, poured down in various bands upon the sunburnt plains of

Spain. Wherever they had appeared they had been looked upon as a curse

and a pestilence, and with much reason. Either unwilling or unable to

devote themselves to any laborious or useful occupation, they came like

flights of wasps to prey upon the fruits which their more industrious

fellow-beings amassed by the toil of their hands and the sweat of their

foreheads; the natural result being, that wherever they arrived, their

fellow-creatures banded themselves against them. Terrible laws were

enacted soon after their appearance in France, calculated to put a stop

to their frauds and dishonest propensities; wherever their hordes were

found, they were attacked by the incensed rustics or by the armed hand of

justice, and those who were not massacred on the spot, or could not

escape by flight, were, without a shadow of a trial, either hanged on the

next tree, or sent to serve for life in the galleys; or if females or

children, either scourged or mutilated.

The consequence of this severity, which, considering the manners and

spirit of the time, is scarcely to be wondered at, was the speedy

disappearance of the Gypsies from the soil of France.

Many returned by the way they came, to Germany, Hungary, and the woods

and forests of Bohemia; but there is little doubt that by far the greater

portion found a refuge in the Peninsula, a country which, though by no

means so rich and fertile as the one they had quitted, nor offering so

wide and ready a field for the exercise of those fraudulent arts for

which their race had become so infamously notorious, was, nevertheless,

in many respects, suitable and congenial to them. If there were less

gold and silver in the purses of the citizens to reward the dexterous

handler of the knife and scissors amidst the crowd in the market-place;

if fewer sides of fatted swine graced the ample chimney of the labourer

in Spain than in the neighbouring country; if fewer beeves bellowed in

the plains, and fewer sheep bleated upon the hills, there were far better

opportunities afforded of indulging in wild independence. Should the

halberded bands of the city be ordered out to quell, seize, or

exterminate them; should the alcalde of the village cause the tocsin to

be rung, gathering together the villanos for a similar purpose, the wild

sierra was generally at hand, which, with its winding paths, its caves,

its frowning precipices, and ragged thickets, would offer to them a

secure refuge where they might laugh to scorn the rage of their baffled

pursuers, and from which they might emerge either to fresh districts or

to those which they had left, to repeat their ravages when opportunity

served.

After crossing the Pyrenees, a very short time elapsed before the Gypsy

hordes had bivouacked in the principal provinces of Spain. There can

indeed be little doubt, that shortly after their arrival they made

themselves perfectly acquainted with all the secrets of the land, and

that there was scarcely a nook or retired corner within Spain, from which

the smoke of their fires had not arisen, or where their cattle had not

grazed. People, however, so acute as they have always proverbially been,

would scarcely be slow in distinguishing the provinces most adapted to

their manner of life, and most calculated to afford them opportunities of

practising those arts to which they were mainly indebted for their

subsistence; the savage hills of Biscay, of Galicia, and the Asturias,

whose inhabitants were almost as poor as themselves, which possessed no

superior breed of horses or mules from amongst which they might pick and

purloin many a gallant beast, and having transformed by their dexterous

scissors, impose him again upon his rightful master for a high

price,—such provinces, where, moreover, provisions were hard to be

obtained, even by pilfering hands, could scarcely be supposed to offer

strong temptations to these roving visitors to settle down in, or to vex

and harass by a long sojourn.

Valencia and Murcia found far more favour in their eyes; a far more

fertile soil, and wealthier inhabitants, were better calculated to entice

them; there was a prospect of plunder, and likewise a prospect of safety

and refuge, should the dogs of justice be roused against them. If there

were the populous town and village in those lands, there was likewise the

lone waste, and uncultivated spot, to which they could retire when danger

threatened them. Still more suitable to them must have been La Mancha, a

land of tillage, of horses, and of mules, skirted by its brown sierra,

ever eager to afford its shelter to their dusky race. Equally suitable,

Estremadura and New Castile; but far, far more, Andalusia, with its three

kingdoms, Jaen, Granada, and Seville, one of which was still possessed by

the swarthy Moor,—Andalusia, the land of the proud steed and the stubborn

mule, the land of the savage sierra and the fruitful and cultivated

plain: to Andalusia they hied, in bands of thirties and sixties; the

hoofs of their asses might be heard clattering in the passes of the stony

hills; the girls might be seen bounding in lascivious dance in the

streets of many a town, and the beldames standing beneath the eaves

telling the ‘buena ventura’ to many a credulous female dupe; the men the

while chaffered in the fair and market-place with the labourers and

chalanes, casting significant glances on each other, or exchanging a word

or two in Rommany, whilst they placed some uncouth animal in a particular

posture which served to conceal its ugliness from the eyes of the

chapman. Yes, of all provinces of Spain, Andalusia was the most

frequented by the Gitáno race, and in Andalusia they most abound at the

present day, though no longer as restless independent wanderers of the

fields and hills, but as residents in villages and towns, especially in

Seville.