150 



THE SCOTTISH CHURCHES AND THE GIPSIES. 



ticularly should they be in a respectable 

 position in life, and be attached to their 

 nation. It serves no great purpose to 

 appear too serious with such a person, 

 for that soorf tires him. It is much bet- 

 ter to keep him a little buoyant and 

 cheerful, with anecdotes and stories, for 

 that is his natural character ; and to 

 take advantage of occasional opportuni- 

 ties, to slip in advices that are to be of 

 use to hirrv What is called long-faced- 

 ness is entirely thrown away upon a 

 Gipsy of this kind (Ed., p. 529). 



It is the Christian who should be the 

 most ready to take up and do justice to 

 this subject ; for he will find in it a very 

 singular work of Providence the most 

 striking phenomenon in the history of 

 man. In Europe, the race has existed, 



in an unacknowledged state, for a greater 

 length of time than the Jews dwelt in 

 Egypt. And it is time that it should be 

 introduced to the family of mankind, in 

 its aspect of historical development ; 

 embracing, as in Scotland, members 

 ranging from what are popularly under- 

 stood to be Gipsies, to those filling the 

 first positions in Christian and social 

 society (Ed., p. 532). 



It is the Christian who should endea- 

 vour to have the prejudice against the 

 name of Gipsy removed, so that every 

 one of the race should freely own his 

 blood to the other, and make it the 

 basis of a kindly feeling, and a bond of 

 brotherhood, all around the world (Ed., 

 P- 534). 



THE SCOTTISH CHURCHES AND THE SOCIAL 

 EMANCIPA TION OF THE GIPSIES* 



F) EVEREND SIR : I take the 

 J\ liberty of referring you to the 

 accompanying papers on the Gipsies, 

 a subject that well merits the atten- 

 tion of the Church, inasmuch as to 

 it has belonged, almost exclusively, 

 since the introduction of Chris- 

 tianity, the mission of raising up 

 humanity in the religious, moral, 

 and social aspects of its nature. 

 That being the case with regard to 

 the mere instruction of mankind, 

 it becomes a much greater claim 

 upon the Church, to treat people as 

 men, before attempting to make them 

 Christians, which is so necessary to 

 be done with the Gipsies ; for the 

 feeling that people in general enter- 

 tain for them is not much better 

 than that which is displayed for 

 toads and snakes, or reptiles of some 

 kind. And yet, the Gipsies are 

 physically a fine race of men, and 

 anything but dolts in apprehension 

 or capacity; and, in their way, are 

 very polite at all times, and espe- 

 cially when properly approached by 

 other people. 



This tribe appeared in Scotland 

 not later than the year 1506. Its 

 existence for generations thereafter 

 has been so established by the rec- 

 ords of tradition, and so many acts 

 of the Scots' Parliament, that its in- 

 troduction and long continuance in 

 the country cannot be questioned. 

 The subject, however, has of late 

 years so greatly passed beyond the 

 attention of the public, that some 

 even doubt the existence of the race 

 at all. The civil and political rights 

 of individuals or corporations may 

 be proscribed by lapse of time ; but 

 such cannot be said of a principle, 

 or of a people, so long as it can 

 perpetuate its existence, whatever 

 the form or aspect of its develop- 

 ment. 



The Gipsies entered Scotland in 

 possession of a language totally dis- 

 tinct from the Scotch, one word of 

 which they probably did not at first 



* This, and what is said of John Bunyan 

 and the Jews, formed a communication I 

 addressed to some of the Scottish clergy, 

 early in 1871. 



