Fifth Series,

Volume XXIII.

}

No. 1785.- August 31, 1878.

From Beginning,

Vol. CXXXVIII.

CONTENTS.

I. ORIGIN AND WANDERINGS OF THE GYPSIES, Edinburgh Review,

II. A DOUBTING HEART. By Miss Keary,

author of "Castle Daly," "Oldbury," etc.

Part VI.,

III. JOHNSON WITHOUT BOSWell,

Advance Sheets,

Contemporary Review,.

541

VIII. THE AGRICULTURAL PRODUCTS OF CYPRUS, Economist,

Spectator,

573

Public Opinion,

574

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alongside, casting fierce and suspicious glances at those they met from underneath their lowering brows; the elder children, unkempt and half-clad, swarmed in every direction, calling with shrill cries the attention of the passers-by to their uncommon feats of jugglery and legerdemain.

LATE in the year 1417 the Hanseatic towns on the Baltic coasts and at the mouth of the Elbe were startled out of their commercial propriety by a novel and fantastic apparition. A horde of swarthy and At the head of this motley caravan rode sinister figures, in aspect and manners two principal leaders, followed by a train strangely unlike any samples of humanity of minor dignitaries. They were pomwhich had till then come within the range pously mounted on gaily-caparisoned of the worthy burghers' experience, sud- horses, and all the insignia by which the denly appeared before the gates, first of baronial rank was at that period distinLuneburg, then successively of Hamburg, guished were parodied in their trappings Lübeck, Wismar, Rostock, and Stralsund. and accoutrements. It was observed, They were, the chroniclers inform us, un- however, that the hounds which their couth in form as well as hideous in com- attendants held in leash showed more plexion, and their whole exterior betok- eagerness to worry the peaceful inmates ened the lowest depth of poverty and of the farmyard than to chase the wild degradation. The wretchedness of their denizens of the forest; and their masters plight was rendered more conspicuous by were quickly suspected of entertaining a the bizarre fragments of Oriental finery livelier taste for domestic rapine than for with which it was sought to modify or field-sports. These nondescript chieftains conceal it. An ample cloak, draped in styled themselves "Dukes of Little classic fashion, and striped with gay col- Egypt," and called their followers Secané, ors, which, though half obliterated by time a word quickly transformed by Teutonic and travel, still recalled the fabrics of pronunciation into its modern representaTunis or Damascus, usually disguised tive, Zigeuner. Amongst the lower the filth and raggedness of their remaining orders, however, the new arrivals were apparel. Even when this relic of dignified long familiarly known by the appellation costume was absent, a gaudy handkerchief of "Tartars," which, in those days of or brilliant cockade never failed to denote the grotesque solicitude of these singular strangers for the adornment of their unprepossessing persons. The women and young children travelled in rude carts, drawn by asses or mules; the men trudged

rough and ready classification, was in Germany applied indiscriminately to all nomad tribes. Nor did the "Egyptian " dukes come unprovided with credentials. They presented to the magistrates of the various towns visited by them certain letters of protection purporting to have been given early in that same year at Lindau by the emperor Sigismund, then plunged deep

in the affairs of the Council of Constance. The imperial safe-conduct, having set forth that Dukes Michael and Andrew of Little Egypt, with their people, were engaged in a seven years' pilgrimage, imposed upon them by their bishops in expiation of the apostasy of their forefathers from the Christian faith, commanded that they should be received and protected by all loyal subjects of the Holy Roman Empire, whithersoever they might turn their steps. This singular document bore all the marks of authenticity, and in deference to its injunctions, the "peni

tents were at first treated everywhere | expired. Their leaders, who were evidently with respect and consideration. It was not wanting in astuteness, perceived that, not until their peculiar views on the sub-if their waning credit was to be restored, ject of property came abruptly into colli- some process of rehabilitation must be sion with the matter-of-fact notions of the gone through, and a visit to Rome was Hanse citizens, that the authorities so far decided on as the surest and easiest means departed from their obedience to the impe- of attaining the desired end. A prelimirial mandate as to compel several of the nary gathering seems to have been held in dusky strangers to terminate their "pil- Switzerland, long the chosen rendezvous of grimage" prematurely on the gallows. their scattered bands, and Duke Andrew was there appointed to lead the adventu

reach the chief city of Christendom, and penetrate, if possible, even into the august presence of the supreme pontiff. We find in the "Chronicle of Bologna," printed by Muratori,* a detailed account of their proceedings in that town, repeated, mutatis mutandis, in most of the others favored with their presence. It runs as follows:

Forsaking the Baltic provinces, the band then sought a more friendly refuge in cen-rous party, which was to cross the Alps, tral Germany; but their depredations in Meissen, Leipzig, and Hesse caused their speedy banishment, and in 1418 they turned their steps towards Switzerland. They reached Zürich on August 1, and encamped during six days before the town, exciting much sympathy by their pious tale and lamentable appearance. Their popularity was not diminished by the circumstances that, notwithstanding their penitential rags, their pockets were well filled with gold pieces; that they lived on the fat of the land, and paid in ready money for what they consumed. The credulous citizens believed that these ample supplies were furnished to them by the opulent and considerate relatives whom they had left behind in "Little Egypt;" had they been better acquainted with their habits and history, their unaccountable wealth would have presented itself in a more questionable light.

Soon after leaving Zürich the wanderers divided their forces. One detachment crossed the Botzberg, and by its sudden appearance created a panic amongst the peaceable inhabitants of the Provençal town of Sisteron, who, fearing the worst from these wild-looking "Saracens," fed them with a hundred loaves, and induced them to depart forthwith. The main body, led by two dukes, two earls, and a bevy of "knights," turned towards Alsace, swarmed through Strasburg, and on November I halted under the walls of Nuremberg, where they were gazed at succored with wondering hospitality. We next hear of them in Italy. This was in 1422, when the original term of their chartered vagrancy was drawing to a close, and when the short lease by which they held their reputation for sanctity had long since

and

On the 11th day of July, 1422, a certain duke of Egypt, named Duke Andrew, arrived in Bologna, with men, women, and children of his nation to the number of fully one hundred persons. This duke having denied the Christian faith, the king of Hungary conquered his country, and captured his person. Then the duke, having informed the said king of his desire to return to Christianity, was baptized with a portion of his subjects, amounting to about four thousand men. Those that persisted in their apostasy were put to death. After the king of Hungary had taken and re

baptized them, he ordained that they should wander through the world for seven years, that they should go to Rome, present themselves to the pope, and then return to their native country. When they reached Bologna, their peregrinations had already lasted five years, and more than half their number had perished. They had with them a decree of the king of Hungary, who was also emperor, in virtue of which they could rob without penalty or hindrance wherever they went during the entire course of those seven years.† On

* Scriptorum Rerum Italicarum tom. xviii.

† We are not called upon to believe that this incredible concession was actually contained in the imperial patent. The report of its existence was probably circulated by the ingenious wayfarers themselves as a cover for their predatory habits. Nevertheless, there is a certain parallel between it and the following singular form of oath, which, until comparatively recent times, was administered to gypsies in Hungarian courts of justice. "As King Pharaoh was engulfed in the Red Sea, so may I be accursed and swallowed up by the deepest abyss, if I do not speak the truth! May no theft, no traffic, or any other business prosper with

adds a curious hint as to their origin. "Some of them," he says, "maintained that they came from India."*

This statement is remarkable for its isolation no less than for its intrinsic significance. In this chance phrase of the historiographer of Forli we find probably the sole surviving vestige of a genuine Indian tradition brought with them by the

their arrival in Bologna, they took up their quarters at the Porta di Galiera, within as well as without the gate, and in crowds under the porticoes; but the duke lodged in the Albergo del R. They tarried fifteen days, during which time many visited them because of the duke's wife, who, they said, was a sorceress, and could tell the future events as well as present circumstances of each person's life; how many were their children, whether a woman was good or bad, and such like. With re-gypsies to Europe † an obscure and gard to most of these things, what she said neglected testimony, long afterwards unwas true. And of those who went to have expectedly confirmed. their fortunes told, few there were who had not their purses stolen, or some portion of their garments cut away. Their women also traversed the city six or eight together, entering the houses of the citizens and diverting them with idle talk, while one of the party secured whatever she could lay her hands upon. In the shops, too, they pretended to buy, but in fact stole, so that there were great robberies in Bologna. Wherefore an edict was issued, prohibiting recourse being had to them, under penalty of a fine of fifty lire and excommunication. They were amongst the cleverest thieves that the world contained. But license was given to those who had been robbed to steal in return from them up to the value of their losses, and thus it came about that several men went together one night to a stable where some of their horses were kept, and carried off the finest one amongst them. Whereupon the others, wishing to have their horse restored, agreed to make restitution to our people of a quantity of goods. Then, finding they could rob no more, they went on towards Rome. Be it noted that they were the most hideous crew ever seen in those parts. They were lean and black, and ate like pigs. Their women wore mantles flung across one shoulder, with only a vest underneath; they had rings in their ears, and long veils on their

heads.

We have no record of the progress of the "Egyptians " beyond Forli, where Fra Girolamo commemorates their arrival on August 7. He does not seem to have formed a more favorable opinion of their habits or manners than his brother chronicler of Bologna, describing them as "a people not over-civilized, but resembling rather savage and untamed beasts." He

me! May my horse turn into an ass at the next stroke of his hoof, and may I end my days on the scaffold by the ministry of the hangman!" (Hopf, "Die Einwanderung der Zigeuner in Europa," p. 37.)

The adventures in Rome of this singular tribe would doubtless have made an interesting story; but it has unfortunately remained unwritten. We only know that the object of the expedition was by some means successfully attained, since they subsequently showed all over Europe a papal brief, to every appearance genuine, confirming their pretensions to the alms and compassion of the faithful. It ought perhaps to be added that several respectable authorities, including Muratori, have treated both imperial and papal safe-conducts as palpable forgeries. We cannot share this view. Of the bonâ-fide character of the first, it seems to us there can be no reasonable doubt, and the authenticity of the second follows as a probable consequence. The Egyptian fable, it should be remembered, did not outrage the common sense of the fifteenth as it does that of the nineteenth century, when marginal possibilities have been reduced to a minimum by increased geographical and historical knowledge; and as Sigismund took it on trust at the recommendation of his Hungarian viceroy, Nicholas of Gara, so Martin V., or the officials of his court, would not unnaturally take it on trust at the recommendation of Sigismund.

During the ensuing years the nomad strangers emerge from time to time into

"Chronicon Fratris Hieronymi de Forlivio," Script. Rer. Ital. tom. xix.

†The conversation reporte 1 by Sebastian Münster in

his "Cosmographia Universalis" as having taken place between himself and some gypsies at Heidelberg, has been misinterpreted in this sense; and a misinterpretation, especially of a passage occurring in an obscure and ponderous volume, once started, is apt to gain authority by repetition, until nine full points of the law are in its favor. The truth is, that the passage in question proves nothing except the nomads' Homeric ignorance of geography.