GYPSIES 35T them a sort of protection. Italy, Den- ,rk, Sweden, the Netherlands, and Germany k measures against them. In the first half the 16th century they probably received an accession of numbers from Egypt, for in 1517 a revolt against the conquest of Sultan Selim place under one Zinganeus, whose follow- being banished, took to wandering through- t the world in small companies. The sover- .s of Germany made efforts to reclaim and tie the gypsies. Maria Theresa in 1768 or- red that the numerous bands throughout her minions should be gathered in settled habi- ions, practise some trade, have their chil- in educated, and be called Neubauern, new ants. As they failed to obey, severer ures were enforced by Joseph II. in 1782, d at present the gypsies of Hungary, Tran- sylvania, and Roumania, together about 250,- 000, lead a more settled life than their brethren anywhere else. In Transylvania they are un- der the rule of a waywode of their own race, elected by themselves. They are likewise nu- merous in the southern provinces of Russia and in Turkey generally. Spain contains about 40,- 000, some of whom follow a mixed occupation, as keepers of wine shops and horse dealers. A considerable number are in Norway ; in France there are few or none ; and in England their numbers have decreased to about 10,000. Es- timates of the total number of gypsies in Eu- rope are variously given from 500,000 to 700,- 000. The laws against them have in most countries fallen into desuetude, they having to contend with a stronger force than legal pro- hibitions in the increase of intelligence among the rural population, who were formerly their patrons and victims. In England the oppres- sive statutes against them were repealed in 1783, 1820, and 1856. The gypsy physiog- nomy is Asiatic in type, with tawny complex- ion, quick black eyes, black hair, high cheek es, slightly projecting lower jaw, narrow uth with fine white teeth, which, with eir lithe and agile figure, causes some of eir young women to be considered beauties, eir habits are, however, so squalid and de- praved as to cause them before they are past middle age to fall into decrepitude. The gyp- sies have few redeeming characteristics. They are treacherous, cowardly, revengeful, and cruel. They have little or no religious belief, d no words in their language to signify the soul, or immortality. Velasquez ys, " The gypsies' church was built of lard, d the dogs ate it." Marriage is a tempo- form with them, and the limits of con- inity are not respected. They pretend at their skill in palmistry is the lore of the ptians. Their industry reaches no higher the tinkering of hardware and turning all articles in wood, with occasionally some listance reluctantly given in farm labor. In Transylvania they do a little in washing gold. y frequently act as musicians, as they have remarkable quickness in acquiring tunes by ear. Some of them, as Kecskemeti, Kalozdy, and Bunko, have been celebrated violinists. The young persons of both sexes are fond of dancing, and exhibit their skill for money, es- pecially in Spain. The men wear no distin- guishing dress from other similar vagabonds, but the women indulge their passion for gay colors and trinkets. In England the recognized gypsy woman's apparel is a red cloak with a hood, and a handkerchief tied over the head. Their huts are mere kennels of earth and boughs. It has been a question whether a band of genuine gypsies has ever been in America ; but many English authorities main- tain that the decrease of their number in the British isles is in a great measure due to their having emigrated to the United States. The language of the gypsies, though everywhere preserving forms of an unmistakably Indian origin, differs greatly in the various countries in which it is spoken. The best known are the English, German, Hungarian, and Spanish gypsy dialects. We shall confine ourselves to the English dialect, and follow the statements made in regard to it by Bath 0. Smart before the English philological society in London. The English gypsies generally use the English article, and but seldom their own forms, o for the masculine and y for the feminine. Nouns generally terminate in a consonant, or else in o when masculine, and in i or y when feminine. The genitive is formed by adding esJco or esto ; the plural by yor or or, and sometimes with an additional s, taken from English ; as slcam- min, a chair, sTcamminyors, chairs. Adjec- tives have invariably a final o or y, added even to English words. The comparative is formed by adding dair or dairo when there are no special forms, like cooslco, good, fetterdairo, better. There seems to be no superlative ter- mination. The pronouns are in many cases preserved in their original form, as yov, he ; lesty, his; yoi, she; latty, her. Instead of "I," they use "me," but for "of me" they return to their own mandy. The numerals are : yek, one ; dooey, two ; tring, three ; star, four ; panch, five ; shov, six ; a/to, seven ; oitoo, eight; enneah, nine; and desh, ten. Afta, oitoo, and enneah are, however, of rare occur- rence. Verbs are generally inflected as in English, but av is sometimes added as a sign of the first, and ella or I of the third person singular. Prepositions are : agal, before ; ad- rey, within ; aprey, upon ; taley, down ; paw- del, over. The ease with which the gypsies introduce foreign words into their own speech will be seen from the following proverbs given by Charles G. Leland in his book " The English Gypsies and their Language " (London, 1873) A cloudy sala often purabens to a Jmo dimus. A cloudy morning often changes to a fine day. IPs sim to a choomer, kushti for kek till it's It's like a kiss, good for nothing until it i* pordered atwe&n dm,. divided between two.
