

UNCLE IN ENGLAND. 71 



From their supposed skill in magic, they were 

 Avell received ; and being joined by idlers in every 

 country, they became so troublesome, that mea- 

 sures were taken to expel them from England, 

 France, and Spain. It is a remarkable coinci- 

 dence, my uncle says, that in Turkey, the gipsies 

 are called Tcheeganes ; in Italy, Zingari ; and 

 in Germany, Zigeuner ; all which seem to be 

 derived from the name of their first leader in 

 Egypt : but, on the other hand, they are some- 

 times found wandering about in that country, ap- 

 parently a distinct race from the natives, and 

 without the least affinity to them in features, cus- 

 toms, or language. 



Attempts have been made to prove that they 

 have come from India ; and it is said, that near 

 the mouth of the Indus there is a people called 

 Zinganes, A learned German also has traced 

 several points of resemblance between the com- 

 mon language of the gipsies, and the dialect of a 

 district in Hindostan ; for instance, all words 

 ending in j are feminine in both languages, and 

 both add the article to the end of the word. 



These extraordinary creatures, my uncle added, 

 may be found in every country, from the western 

 extremity of Europe to the easternmost parts of 

 Siberia; and in all, preserve their wild strolling 

 habits, their filthy modes of eating, their pre- 

 tended power of fortune telling, their expertness 

 in petty thefts, and their love of intoxication, - 



