. 
y About the middle age. He is'merely lifted up 
re ‘times with the loulest: amidst a nu- 
jus concourse of the tribe; his wife is treated with 
nilar ceremony, while the dignity of both is recog- 
by all present. The titles assumed by these 
le are of'ancient date: they. in the nth 
ntury ; and in the commencement of the sixteenth, 
g James IV. of Scotland grants a pass and recom- 
lation to the king of Denmark, in favour of the 
of Anthony Gawino, an Earl from Little Egypt. 
_ He specifies that this miserable train had visited St 
land by command of the Pope, and having conducted 
’ . ly, they wished to go to Denmark : 
He therefore solicited the extension of his royal uncle’s 
; ificence towards them ; adding, at the same time, 
’ that these ter expe tians must be better known 
to'him, because the kingdom of Denmark was nearer to 
! In Hindostan, the gypsies have a chief who has 
- little direct authority over them, but he controuls 
the establishment of sets who profess dramatic exhibi- 
_ tions, and draw a tribute from their profits. They even 
_ acknowledge a rude judicial procedure before a court of 
five persons, or a general assembly, and any individual, 
for petty offences, has to pass the ordeal of applying a 
hot to his tongue. If conviction follows, the cul- 
prit is ae sentenced to pay a fine in liquor, of 
which his judges participate; or, as a mark of the 
highest ignominy, he may be condemned to have his 
nose rubbed on the ground. — i ects d> eens 
_- Almost in every country throughout the globe, the 
gypsies have long the objects of reproach and de- 
* testation. From their first appearance, they havé been 
wandering outcasts, and universally refused a settle- 
ment in towns, or in their immediate neighbourhood. 
The dislike manifested towards them, though attended 
_ to the detestation which has accompanied the Jews, 
since the destruction of Jerusalem. Those atrocious 
cruelties, however, that stain the annals of nations, can- 
not with confidence be charged on this nomadic tribe. 
If their crimes are numerous, they are of a de- 
scription, directed against the property more than the 
persons of their fellow creatures. The gypsies have 
no where manifested virtuous principles, or any desire 
_ to excel; the depravity of the parents passes to the 
children, who inherit, along with it, the detestation of 
the people among whom they seek an abode. In fo- 
reign states, many attempts have been made to reclaim 
them, but there, as well as in our own island, they have 
been for the most part indiscriminately condemned to 
exile. Neither has the politic and patriotic views ofthe 
governments thus directed, been attended with the suc- 
cess which they merited. 
» Inthe year 1782, the Empress Maria Theresa pro- 
mulgated an edict, prohibiting gypsies from dwelling 
in tents, and enjoining them to settle in fixed abodes. 
They were forbidden to wander about, to allow their 
childen to go naked, to deal in horses, and to wear 
cloaks whereby thefts might be easily concealed. 
They were also commanded to abstain from feeding 
on carrion, to frequent the churches, and to con- 
‘form to the manners of the inhabitants of the territory 
where they resided. Their usual name was to be 
abolished, and in future they were, instead of gy 
sies, to be called new boors, and occupy themselves in 
the active prosecution of agriculture. These regula- 
tions, wisely conceived, being ineffectual, severer en- 
actments followed. ‘It was decreed, that no gypsey 
should be permitted to marry, unless he onl ew 
GYPSIE 8. 
with less barbarous consequences, may be assimilated . 
599 
himself in a situation to maintain a wife and family ; Gypsies. 
and that those who’ had children shonld be forcibly =v" 
deprived of them, in’ order that therising generation 
should have the benefit of a better mote of education. 
The latter part of this ordinance was carried into effect, 
and in certain districts, all the children above five years 
of age were conveyed away in waggotis from their pa- 
rents. But it isnot evident that such compulsory mea~ 
sures were beneficial; and the failure of others in the 
eastern extremities of Russia, nearly at the same period, 
though more gentle, proye that it will be extremely 
difficult to reclaim the gypsies to habits of industry. 
Experience daily proves, that mankind, who have 
roamed at liberty, are averse to a settled residence, and 
that the controul of those living in society is an ar~ 
duous undertaking, while their management is easily 
accomplished should they be only in an isolated state. 
With the diminution of their own hordes, a gradual in- 
ration will take place with those around them, 
and probably is insensibly doing so at this moment 
where they are least numerous. No accurate compu- Number of 
tation can be formed of the extent of the united tribes the gypsies. 
of gypsies dispersed throughout the world ; for they are 
unequally distributed, and only ially known. Grell- 
man conjectures, that those in Europe may amount to 
700,000 or 800,000 ; of whom Twiss conceives 40,000 
to belong to Spain: there are many in the Turkish em- 
pire, but few in the island of Britain, particularly north 
“laine hisoey OF the’ gyi ry not less of 
e hist of the ies is an enquiry not less ob- jristory. 
scure than difiiealt ; and it mustbe allowed, that even 
tt we have no conclusive authorities relative to its ear- 
iest period. Analogies certainly prove the eastern 
paren of their tithes; but why they left their na- 
tive soil, or how they penetrated into Europe and its 
more distant islands, we are unable to discover. It is 
commonly believed, that they migrated from Egypt ; 
an opinion which has probably received greater corro- 
boration from their name than from other circumstances. 
But neither their size, complexion, manners, or ap- 
pearance, correspond with those of any Egyptians de- 
scribed in ancient or modern history ; hence, if we are 
to draw any argument from. their name, we must 
say it arises from Es t, being the last point of their de- 
parture from the East. Those observers who have 
most profoundly studied their history, find a striking 
resemblance between the gypsies and the natives of 
Hindostan: Should this hypothesis be correct, they 
may have reached the isthmus of Suez by the north of 
India, and crossed it into E ; a progress by no 
means impracticable, but which does not satisfactorily 
account for their immediate access to Europe. The 
time of their first appearance in this quarter of the 
lobe is unknown; but towards the beginning and 
middle of the fifteenth century, they attracted general 
attention as a strange people. They are recorded to 
have frequented Germany in the year 1417 ; Switzer- 
land in 1418 ; and they are spoken of as being in Italy 
in 1422, It is said that they were originally known 
in France by the name of Bohemians ; and arrived at 
Paris on the 17th of i er 1427. They travel- 
led in hordes, generally of 70 or 100 persons, pro- 
bably finding it expedient not to accumulate too much ; 
and each horde had a leader, who assumed a title 
which, however, has more the character of the West 
than the East. ° Rapidly spreading over Europe, they 
were at first believed to be pilgrims, chiefly from 
the Holy Land ; and, hence they both received pro- 
tection and indulgence, and were treated with marks 
