THE SOCIAL EMANCIPA TION OF THE GIPSIES. 



understand. They arrived com- 

 pletely organized, in the form of 

 tribes, provincial chieftains, and a 

 king over all, with their hand against 

 every man, and the hand of every 

 man (at least in feeling) against 

 them. In short, they were a robber 

 tribe, which held in the highest esti- 

 mation successful and undiscovered 

 theft, practised, with some excep- 

 tions, on all outside of their own 

 fraternity. They were not originally 

 a part of the native population that 

 separated from the community, dur- 

 ing a social, religious tor political 

 convulsion, and adopted habits that 

 made them outcasts from society, 

 and afterwards regained their social 

 standing among their own race, by 

 resuming their original habits ; but 

 were a people differing nearly as 

 much from the inhabitants of Scot- 

 land, as the Indians did from the 

 colonists settling in America. They 

 were thus not Gipsies in consequence 

 of certain habits, so that a change of 

 habits, or the acquisition of means, 

 or education, or creed, could not 

 change them from being Gipsies 

 into some other family, tribe or 

 race. 



1 have spoken of the singular 

 feeling that is entertained for the 

 Gipsies. In the face of that feel- 

 ing, does it surprise you to be told 

 that the race should hide everything 

 connected with itself from others? 

 It would be contrary to the simplest 

 instincts of nature and all experi- 

 ence, should they have done other- 

 wise ; or that they should not 

 " marry among themselves," like the 

 Jews, and " stick to each other," what- 

 ever may be their positions in life. 

 Hence, the tribe have so far suc- 

 ceeded in preventing other people 

 from knowing almost anything con- 

 nected with them, that their very 

 existence as Gipsies is almost, if not 

 altogether, doubted, if not denied. 



A very natural question to ask is, 

 Where have the Gipsies gone to ? 

 Has their fate been that of the lost 

 ten tribes, which, it is generally ad- 



mitted, is beyond the reach of in- 

 vestigation ? How could that be 

 predicated of a people of such recent 

 introduction among civilized na- 

 tions that really belongs to con- 

 temporary history, and is to be 

 found in existence among us to- 

 day ? How unreasonable it is to con- 

 clude that the tribe has ended in 

 nothing, rather than by a careful 

 examination and induction discover 

 the real history of it ! You thus see 

 that the subject becomes one of dis- 

 interested and serious inquiry, in 

 which there should be shown none 

 of that apathy and contempt, and 

 unreflecting incredulity, that is gen- 

 erally manifested, and is so un- 

 worthy of the age in which we 

 'live, and especially of men of educa- 

 tion, and social and'official standing 

 in society. 



Speak of civilized Gipsies, and 

 even intelligent people become be- 

 wildered as to the meaning of the 

 phrase, or rise in arms against the 

 idea, and demand proof that there 

 is, or even can be, such a phenome- 

 non in existence as a civilized Gip- 

 sy. I, of course, appeal to the 

 fact, in all its bearings, showing how 

 it is a fact, and state, as a simple 

 elementary truth, that the children 

 or descendants of Gipsies are Gip- 

 sies, whatever their habits, charac- 

 ter or position in life may be ; leav- 

 ing to the intuitive intelligence of 

 others to realize the fact, as explain- 

 ed, and to their candour to acknow- 

 ledge it. I might even turn upon 

 such objectors, and ask them what 

 they mean, when they speak of Gip- 

 sies of any kind, and what these or 

 their descendants must do to divest 

 themselves of the character of be- 

 longing to a tribe that is to be found 

 everywhere, and become different 

 from what, in regard to blood, feel- 

 ings and associations, they really are. 

 Indeed, a remark of that kind gene- 

 rally closes the door to all further 

 questions or objections of that na- 

 ture. I might also expatiate on the 

 unreasonableness of people dogma- 



