EXPERIENCED AND OBSERVED DURING MANY YEARS OF FRIENDLY INTERCOURSE WITH THE GYPSIES BY FRANK CUTTRISS ILLUSTRATED WITH A LARGE NUMBER OF UNIQUE PHOTOGRAPHS AND OTHER PICTURES BY THE AUTHOR MILLS & BOON LIMITED 49 RUPERT STREET LONDON, W. First published 1915...

I T is a curious fact, that while very few can be found nowadays to accept without question, fanciful or otherwise, unscientific statements concerning natural objects or supernatural happenings, many time-worn, misleading accounts of gypsies and what they are supposed to do—but do not—are still implicitly credited by a great majority of thinking people. A solution of this may be looked for in one or other of the following surmises, perhaps—more or less—in all: That the widespread unacquaintance

T HE terms “gypsy” and “tramp” are by many considered synonymous. It is not, however, by any means the case, for while gypsies may be, and sometimes are, mistaken for tramps, the genuine professional tramp and the Tachey Romany, or true gypsy, have very little in common. The tramp may perhaps be described as one who is dominated by the early instincts of our race,—instincts which in every one of us are but just below the veneer of civilization,—for we know that in the infancy of the human race m

R ECENTLY, while visiting a Romany encampment, I found so many old friends whom I had desired to see again, and from whom it was difficult—without giving offence—to tear oneself away, that the work of my pen was getting sadly in arrear, and I determined to devote two or three hours one afternoon to the task of writing. Selecting a spot under a hedge which seemed to offer sufficient privacy and a fairly comfortable seat, I set to work with a resolve to cover a lot of paper. I had been thus busily

“Though we travel the world over to find the beautiful, we must take it with us or we find it not.”— Emerson. H ITHERTO, the injunction, “Seek, and ye shall find,” would appear to have been construed with sinistral intention of seeking to discredit the gypsy, by most of those who have professed to give an insight to Romany life, presuming, of course, that the word-pictures presented by them have described their impressions and have not been filched ideas served up anew. This seemingly ungenerous

T HE fact that nearly all true Romanies have two surnames—one by which they are known to the gorgio, the other by which all genuine gypsies know them—will, unless given due consideration, be somewhat puzzling to those whose knowledge of the gypsies is but slight. Regarded cursorily, such an arrangement would appear to possess no advantage, but upon consideration it will be obvious that to a seclusive, suspicious and suspected people, the ability to converse—not only in the language of the countr

B EYOND an allusion now and again, I have not hitherto had occasion to say anything of gypsy jewellery or personal adornment, but as these subjects have an intimate connection with the Romany life and are in many respects notably characteristic of the people, they demand more than passing mention. Gypsies undoubtedly inherit from their Oriental forbears a love of jewellery, brilliantly coloured fabrics, and the use of ornaments of various kinds for the adornment of their persons, and, in common

F ROM time out of mind to the present day, country fairs have been noteworthy resorts of gypsies of high or low estate. In this connection—without even a passing thought of disparaging Romany folk—one is irresistibly reminded of the passage:— Wheresoever the body is, “thither will the eagles be gathered together.” For fairs seem to possess a certain fascination for gypsies apart from their recognition of such institutions as opportunities for doing business. Horse-dealing is a line of business t

I NTENT on “copy,” I was one day sauntering along a road in my own locality, when, just as a motor-car came into view round a curve, I felt a sudden tug at my sleeve, and at the same instant I was adjured to— “Come this side o’ the road; then, if they knocks you down, you gets compensation.” Turning to face the giver of this sage advice, I beheld, as I half expected, one of my gypsy acquaintances; he was carrying a workman’s rush bag in one hand, and from a pocket protruded the neck of a small v

T IME sped on apace,—as to the occupied mind it ever has,—and, before I fully realized how quickly the weeks had slipped by, I found myself bound for the Mecca of many a Romanichal and home-dweller alike,—the hop country. As the majority of my Romany friends were to be found in the Hampshire gardens rather than in those of Kent, I directed my steps to the picturesque district in the vicinity of Alton, and soon discovered that families with whom I was acquainted were located at two encampments so

I N previous chapters passing mention has been frequently made of the Romany language,—the tongue of the true gypsy,—and it is interesting to note that a writer, some fifty years since, said he regretted to have to say that in a few years the language would not be spoken, if, indeed, there would be any gypsies to speak it. Such a statement, made by an undoubted authority on the subject at that period, would probably be considered by many at the present time sufficient to warrant an assertion tha

I T is a Sunday night, and as I sit beside my fire, rejoicing in the grateful warmth afforded by the substantial billets, I can hear much that passes in the tent nearest to mine and in the vicinity of its fire; moreover, I can just distinguish one person from another in the group around the blaze which provides a patch of light with a softened edge against the velvety black background of a moonless night. A middle-aged woman commences singing the well-known hymn, “What a Friend we have in Jesus,

I T is at any time interesting to meet in propriâ personâ either the original, or an exact counterpart of a character with whom one has hitherto been acquainted only through the observations of a third person, and it has been my good fortune to meet one such in a certain Mr. Petulengro, a name, by the way, that is pretty well known as the Romany equivalent of the surname Smith. Almost every one who mixes at all with gypsies will come across a number of Smiths, especially in the southern and east

G YPSIES, being human, must of necessity obtain in some way the wherewithal to sustain life. As the earning of bread by the sweat of the brow is not by any means the curse some people try to make it, it may be logical to refuse a helping hand while pretending to think that gypsies should consider themselves fortunate in that they have to work hard—with a capital H for the most part—to obtain barely sufficient to keep together body and soul, but such sophistries are never convincing or conclusive

Shopping day, usually Saturday. The term is sometimes used for Monday, but this day is more frequently called “toving divvus,” or washing day. Literally, field the horse, but it is always understood to mean—to put a horse in a field, at night. Literally, talking wood,—Finger-post, sign-post. A better term, but not so commonly used, is— Drom sikkering engri ,—a thing for showing the way. PRINTED BY WILLIAM BRENDON AND SON, LTD. PLYMOUTH, ENGLAND...