ENGLISH AND IRISH MIXED GIPSIES. 



129 



there were (so many) of us." There 

 is another Gipsy, a neighbour, who passes 

 his wife off to the public as an Irish wo- 

 man, while she is a fair-haired Irish 

 Gipsy. Both, in short, played upon the 

 \vord Gipsy ; for, as regards fullness of 

 blood, they really were not Gipsies (Ed., 

 p. 509). In England are to be found 

 Gipsies of many occupations horse- 

 dealers, livery-stable keepers, public- 

 house keepers, sometimes grocers and 

 linen-drapers ; indeed, almost every oc- 

 cupation from these downwards. I can 

 readily enough believe an English Gipsy, 

 when he tells me that he knows* of an En- 

 glish squire a Gipsy. To have an En- 

 glish squire a Gipsy, might have come 

 about even in this way : Imagine a rol- 

 licking or eccentric English squire tak- 

 ing up with, and marrying, say, a pretty 

 mixed Gipsy bar or lady's maid, and the 

 children would be brought up Gipsies, 

 for certainty. There are two Gipsies, 



of the name of B , farmers upon 



the estate of Lord Lister, near Massing- 

 ham, in the county of Norfolk. They 

 are described as good-sized, handsome 

 men, and swarthy, with long black hair, 

 combed over their shoulders. They 

 dress in the 'old Gipsy stylish fashion, 

 with a green cut-away, or Newmarket, 

 coat, yellow leather breeches, buttoned 

 at the knee, and top-boots, with a Gipsy 

 hat, ruffled breast, and turn-down col- 

 lar. They occupy the position of any 

 natives in society ; attend church, take 

 an interest in parish matters, dine with 

 his lordship's other tenants, and com- 

 pete for prizes at the agricultural shows. 

 They are proud of being Gipsies. I 

 have also been told that there are Gip- 

 sies in the county of Kent, who have 

 hop farms and dairies (Ed., p. 509). 



The following extracts are de- 

 scriptive of the Irish Gipsies to be 

 found in the British Islands and the 

 United States of America : 



Gipsies have informed me that Ire- 

 land contains a great many of the tribe ; 

 many of whom are now rinding their 

 way into Scotland (p. 93). The Gipsies 

 in Scotland consider themselves to be 

 of the same stock as those in England 

 and Ireland, for they are all acquainted 

 with the same speech. They afford as- 

 sistance to one another, whenever they 

 happen to meet. The Yellowing facts 

 will at least show that the Scottish and 

 Irish Gipsies are one and the same peo- 

 ple (p. 324). These facts prove that the 

 9 



Irish Gipsies have the same language as 

 those in Scotland. The English Gipsy is 

 substantially the same. There are a great 

 many Irish Gipsies travelling in Scot- 

 land, of whom I will again speak, in 

 the following chapter. They are not 

 easily distinguished from common Irish 

 peasants, except that they are generally 

 employed in some sort of traffic, such 

 as hawking earthen-ware, trinkets, and 

 various other trifles, through the coun- 

 try (p. 329). It is only about twenty- 

 five years since the Irish Gipsies, in 

 bands, made their appearance in Scot- 

 land. Many severe conflicts they had 

 with our Scottish tribes, before they ob- 

 tained a footing in the country. But 

 there is a new swarm of Irish Gipsies at 

 present scattered, in bands, over Scot- 

 land, all acquainted with the Gipsy 

 language. They are a set of the most 

 wretched creatures on the face of the 

 earth (p. 356). But there are Irish Gip- 

 sies of a class much superior to the 

 above, in Scotland. In 1836, a very re- 

 spectable and wealthy master-trades- 

 man informed me that the whole of the 

 individuals employed in his manufactory; 

 in Edinburgh, were Irish Gipsies (j>. 

 358). 



This invasion of Scotland by Irish 

 Gipsies has, of late years, greatly alter- 

 ed the condition of the nomadic Scot- 

 tish tribes ; for this reason, that as 

 Scotland, no less than any other coun- 

 try, can support only a certain number 

 of such people who " live on the 

 roads," so many of the Scottish Gipsies 

 have been forced to betake themselves 

 to other modes of making a living. To 

 such an extent has this been the case, 

 that Gipsies, speaking the Scottish dia- 

 lect, are in some districts comparatively 

 rarely to be met with, where they were 

 formerly numerous. The same cause 

 may even lead to the extinction of the 

 Scottish Gipsies as wanderers ; but as 

 the descendants of the Irish Gipsies 

 will acquire the Scottish vernacular in 

 the second generation (a remarkably 

 short period among the Gipsies), what 

 will then pass for Scottish Gipsies will 

 be Irish by descent. The Irish Gipsies 

 are allowed, by their English brethren, to 

 speak good Gipsy, but with a broad and 

 vulgar accent ; so that the language in 

 Scotland will have a still better chance 

 of being preserved. England has like- 

 wise been invaded by these Irish swarms. 

 The English Gipsies complain bitterly 

 of them. "They have no law among 



