A Gypsy
family never speak of their dead save with regret and affection,
and any request of the dying individual is attended to, especially
with regard to interment; so much so, that I have known a corpse
conveyed a distance of nearly one hundred miles, because the
deceased expressed a wish to be buried in a particular spot.
Of the language of the English Gypsies, some specimens will be
given in the sequel; it is much more pure and copious than the
Spanish dialect. It has been asserted that the English Gypsies are
not possessed of any poetry in their own tongue; but this is a
gross error; they possess a great many songs and ballads upon
ordinary subjects, without any particular merit, however, and
seemingly of a very modern date.
THE GYPSIES OF THE EAST, OR ZINGARRI
What has been said of the Gypsies of Europe is, to a considerable
extent, applicable to their brethren in the East, or, as they are
called, Zingarri; they are either found wandering amongst the
deserts or mountains, or settled in towns, supporting themselves by
horse-dealing or jugglery, by music and song. In no part of the
East are they more numerous than in Turkey, especially in
Constantinople, where the females frequently enter the harems of
the great, pretending to cure children of 'the evil eye,' and to
interpret the dreams of the women.
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