THE SPANISH GYPSY. 281 



called into requisition ; and, being aware of the origin of 

 the disease, they seldom failed to effect its cure. 



The gitanos were, and are divided into two classes : one 

 section have more or less settled colonies in the Spanish 

 towns and cities, where they dwell in quarters apart from 

 the natives, known as r/itaiwrias, wherein they ply their 

 trade of tinkers, horse-dealers and shearers, sorcerers, and 

 general thieves ; and from whence, in pursuance of their 

 inveterate vagabondism, they sally forth from time to time 

 to attend distant fairs and markets to dispose of their 

 stolen goods ; and, as occasion arises, to perpetrate fresh 

 crimes. The other section is more exclusivel,y nomadic, 

 roaming at large over the wilds of Spain, ha^^ing no home 

 save the shelter of forest or sierra, and to some extent 

 actuallv migratorv. 



The daily life of the Spanish gypsy has always l)een 

 characterized by a squalor and degradation exceeding 

 that of the residuum of any European nation. They 

 appear to have been devoid of the faintest conception 

 of religion beyond that undefined sense of superstition 

 which is common to savage races all over the world, 

 or to possess any sense of morality, decency, or self- 

 respect. Their food was of the foulest — they shrank not 

 from carrion, and have been accused, apparently not 

 without reason, of cannibalism, for which in early days 

 many a gitano swung from the gibbet. Male and female 

 alike, the}' were adepts at devilry and crime of every degree, 

 yet amidst such a category of evil, they still possessed the 

 one singular virtue of esteeming purity in their women. 

 We quote the following picture of life in a gitaneria from 

 Borrow (" Zincali," i., p. 76 et scq.) : — " The gitanerias at 

 even-fall were frequently resorted to by individuals widely 

 differing in station from the inmates of these places — we 

 allude to the young and dissolute nobility and hidalgos of 

 Spain. The gypsy women and girls were the principal attrac- 

 tion to these visitors. Wild and singular as these females 

 are in their appearance, there can be no doubt, for the fact 

 has been frequently proved, that they are capable of 

 exciting passions of the most ardent kind, particularly in 



