136 



MR. BORROW ON THE GIPSIES. 



race to theirs. Indeed, the idea of be- 

 ing Gipsies never can leave the Gipsy 

 race. A Gipsy's life is like a continual 

 conspiracy towards the rest of the 

 world ; he has always a secret upon his 

 mind, and, from his childhood to his old 

 age, he is so placed as if he were, in a 

 negative sense, engaged in some gun- 

 powder plot, or as if he had committed 

 a crime, let his character be as good as 

 it possibly may. Into whatever company 

 he may enter, he naturally remarks to 

 himself, " I wonder if there are any of us 

 here." That is the position which the 

 mixed and better kind of Gipsy occu- 

 pies, generally and passively. Of course, 

 there are some of the race who are al- 

 ways actually hatching some plot or 

 other against the rest of the world (Ed., 

 P-453). 



The next extracts explain the 

 effect of the prejudice that exists 

 against the Gipsies : 



It appears to me that the more their 

 blood gets mixed with that of the ordina- 

 ry natives, and the more they approach 

 to civilization, the more determinedly will 

 they conceal every particular relative to 

 their tribe, to prevent their neighbours 

 ascertaining their origin and nationality. 

 The slightest taunting allusion to the 

 forefathers of half -civilized Scottish 

 Tinklers kindles up in their breasts a 

 storm of wrath and fury : for they are 

 extremely sensitive to the feeling which 

 is entertained toward their tribe by 

 the other inhabitants of the country. 

 " I have," said one of them to me, 

 " wrought all my life in a shop with fel- 

 low-tradesmen, and not one of them 

 ever discovered that I knew a single 

 Gipsy word." A Gipsy woman also in- 

 formed me that herself and sister had 

 nearly lost their lives on account of their 

 language. The following are the par- 

 ticulars : The two sisters chanced to 

 be in a public-house near Alloa, when a 

 number of colliers, belonging to the 

 coal-works at Sauchie, were present. 

 The one sister, in a low tone of voice, 

 and in the Gipsy language, desired the 

 other, among other things, to make ready 

 some broth for their repast. The colliers 

 took hold of the two Gipsy words shau- 

 cha and blawkie, which signify broth 

 and pot ; thinking the Tinkler women 

 were calling them Sauchie Blackics, in 

 derision and contempt of their dark, sub- 

 terraneous calling. The consequence 

 was, that the savage colliers attacked 



the innocent Tinklers, calling out that 

 they would " grind them to powder," 

 for calling them Sauchie Blackies. But 

 the determined Gipsies would rather 

 perish than explain the meaning of the 

 words in English, to appease the en- 

 raged colliers; "for," said they, "it 

 would have exposed our tribe, and made 

 ourselves odious to the world." The 

 two defenceless females might have 

 been murdered by their brutal assail- 

 lants, had not the master of the house 

 fortunately come to their assistance (p. 

 283). 



She stated that the public would look 

 upon her with horror and contempt, 

 were it known she could speak the Gipsy 

 language (p. 285). 



On the whole, however, our Scot- 

 tish peasantry, in some districts, do not 

 greatly despise the Tinklers ; at least 

 not to the same extent as the inhabit- 

 ants of some other countries seem to do. 

 When not involved in quarrels with the 

 Gipsies, our country people, with the 

 exception of a considerable portion of 

 the land-owners, were, and are even yet, 

 rather fond of the superior families of 

 the nomadic class of these people, than 

 otherwise (p. 284). 



This opinion is confirmed by the fact 

 that the Gipsies whom the Rev. Mr. 

 Crabbe has civilized will not now be 

 seen among the others of the tribe, at 

 his annual festival at Southampton. We 

 have already seen, under the head of 

 Continental Gipsies, that "those who 

 are gold-washers in Transylvania and 

 the Banat, have no intercourse with 

 others of their nation ; nor do they like 

 to be called Gipsies " (p. 283). 



The prejudice of their fellow -crea- 

 tures is a sufficiently potent cause in 

 itself to preserve the identity of the 

 Gipsy tribe in the world. It has made 

 it to resemble an essence, hermetically 

 sealed. Keep it in that position, and it 

 retains its inherent qualities undiminish- 

 ed ; but uncork the vessel containing it, 

 and it might (I do not say it would} 

 evaporate among the surrounding ele- 

 ments (Ed., p. 534). 



Then we have the way in which 

 the race gradually leave the tent the 

 hive from which they swarm and 

 acquire general itinerant or settled 

 habits. 



The primitive, original state of the 



