town or country, the next day the gypfies, from every neighbouring quarter, affemble and draw the fuffocated half-confumed beasts out of the afhes. Men, women, and children, in troops, are extremely bufy, joyfully carrying the flesh to their huts; they return feveral times, provide themselves plentifully with this roast meat, and glutto nize as long as their noble fare lafts.

The gyplies have, at least in Tranfylvania, a fort of regular government, rather nominal than real or effective. They have their leaders or chiefs, whom they diftinguifh by the Sclavonian title, Waywode. To this dignity every perfon is eligible who is of a family defcended from a former waywode; but the preference is generally given to those who have the best clothes and the most wealth; who are of a large ftature, and not past the meridian of life. Of religion, however, they have no fenfe; though with their usual cunning and hypocrify, they profess the established faith of every country in which they live. They alfo fpeak the languages of the refpective countries, yet have a language of their own; from whence derived, authors differ. The only fcience which they have at tained is mufic. Their poetry is ungrammatical indecent rhyme. They are in general lively, uncommonly loquacious and chattering; fickle in the extreme, confequently inconftant in their pursuits; faithlefs to every body, even their own caft; void of the leaft emotion of gratitude, frequently reward. ing benefits with the most infidious malice. Fear makes them flavishly compliant when under fubjection; but having nothing to apprehend, like other timorous people, they are cruel. Defire of revenge often caufes them to take the most desperate refolutions. To fuch a degree of violence is their fury fometimes excited, that a mother has been known, in the excefs of paffion, to take her small infant by the feer, and therewith strike the object of her anger, when no other inftrument has readily prefented itself. They are fo addicted to drinking, as to facrifice what is moft neceffary to them, that they may feast their palate with spirits. They have, too, what one would little expect, an enormous fhare of vanity, VOL. I. No. 3.

L

which flows itself in their fondness for fine clothes, and their gait and deportment when dreffed in them. One might imagine, that this pride would have the good effect to render a gypsy cautious not to be guilty of fuch crimes as fubject him to public fhame; but here comes in the levity of character, for he never looks to the right nor to the left in his tranfactions. In an hour's time he forgets that he is juft untied from the whipping poft. But their pride is grounded on mere idle conceit, as appears plainly from their making it a point of honour to abuse their companions, and put on a ter rible appearance in the public market, where they are fure to have many fpectators; they cry out, make a vio lent noife, challenge their adversary to fight, but very feldom any thing comes of it. Thus the gypfy feeks honour, of which his ideas coincide very little with those of other people, and fome. times deviate entirely from propriety.

Nothing can exceed the unreftrained depravity of manners exifting among thefe people, I allude particularly to the other fex. Unchecked by any idea of fhame, they give way to every de fire. The mother endeavours, by the most scandalous arts, to train up her daughter for an offering to fenfuality; and this is fcarce grown up before the becomes the feducer of others. Lazi nefs is fo prevalent among them, that were they to fubfift by their own labour only, they would hardly have bread for two of the feven days in the the week. This indolence increases their propensity to ftealing and cheating, the common attendants on idlenefs. They feek to avail themselves of every opportunity to fatisfy their lawless defires. Their univerfal bad character therefore for fickleness, infidelity, ingratitude, revenge, malice, rage, depravity, laziness, knavery, thievifhnefs, and cunning, though not deficient in capacity and cleverness, render thefe people of no use in society, except as foldiers to form marauding parties. Perfons in their company and under their difguife, have formed dangerous defigns against cities and countries. They have been banished from almost all civilized states, in their turn, except Hungary and Tranfylvania,

and

and to little purpose. It has been thought, that as Turkey would allow them toleration, it would be better for the European ftates to take some steps for cultivating and civilizing them, and making them ufeful. But while they are infenfible of religion, and firongly attached to their own manners, it is to be feared the attempt would be. im practicable. This appears from a very intelligent Hungarian lady's experience on the fubject, communicated in a let ter as follows: There are a great number of them on my eftates, but I have permitted two families in particu lar to cftablish themselves at the place of my own refidence, under the exprefs condition that no others fhall come here and join them. I took all poffible pains to make them reafonable creatures. I fet the elder ones to work; the younger ones tend the cattle. I obferved that they were more fond of horfes than any thing elfe; for which reafon I placed a gypty under each groom. I had their children clothed, that none of them might be running about naked, according to their usual practice. It appeared, however, that euftom was become nature with them. The old ones worked diligently, fo long as any body flood over them; the moment their back was turned, they all got together in a circle, their legs acrofs, facing the fun, and chattered. Thus they cannot poffibly, earn more, indeed hardly fo much, as would find them bread, although very cheap with ts. Even in winter they cannot bear a hat on their heads, nor fhoes on their feet. The boys run like wild things wherever they are fent, either on foot or on horseback; but they fpoil horfes unmercifully, beat them on the head, jerk the bits in their mouths, fo as to make them run down with blood. They cannot be brought by any means whatever to drefs horfes. Cloath them as you will, they always fell or lose their cloaths. In a word, one cannot but confider them as void of reafon; it is really thocking to fee even well grown children put whatever they find into their mouths, like infants before they can speak; wherefore they eat every thing, even carrion, let it flink ever fo much. Where a mortality happens amongst the cattle, there thefe

wretched beings are to be found in th greateft numbers.'

The origin of this people, as we have feen, has been generally believed to be Egyptian; and that belief is as old as their exiftence in Europe. Thomafius, Salmon the English geographer, and lately Signior Griffelini, have endeavoured to prove it by fatisfactory evidence. This theory, however, according to Grellman, is without foundation. The Egyptian descent of these people, he thinks, is not only deftitute of proofs, but the most pofitive evidence is found to contradict it. Their language differs entirely from the Coptic; and their cuftoms are very different from thofe of the Egyptians. They are indeed to be found in Egypt; but they wander about there as itrangers, and form a diftinct people, as in other countries. The expreflions of Belionius are ftrong and decifive: "No part of the world, I believe, is free from thefe banditti, wandering about in troops, whom we by miftake call Egyptians and Bohemians. When we were at Cairo, and the villages border. ing on the Nile, we found troops of thefe ftrolling thieves fitting under palm-trees; and they are esteemed foreigners in Egypt as well as among us."

**

He

The Egyptian defcent of the gypfies being rejected, he next endeavours to fhow that they come from Hindoftan. The chief basis of his theory, however, is no other than that very dubious one, a fimilarity of language. adds a long vocabulary of the gypsy and the Hindoftanic languages; in which, it must be confeffed, many words. are the fame; but many are different. The comparison of the two languages takes up above 30 pages; and Mr. Grellman thinks it establishes his fyftem. But here, as in other fuch comparisons, one is aftonished at the credulity of the comparers of orthography, which can have no connection in languages with which we are not perfectly familiar, even were both languages reduced to writing by their refpective people: how much lefs, then, where one of the two languages is never reduced to writing, as is the cafe of the gypfy, but is ever blended with the language of the country where the clan refides; This appears from the correfpondence

. of

of feveral words in all languages with the gyply. Mr. Grellman acknowledges the two gypfy verfions of the Lord's Prayer, at different periods, differ fo widely, that one would almoft be inclined to doubt whether they were really the fame language. We think we can difcern a few words differently indeed written, but probably pro. nounced alike. Nor can we, in all the languages in which Chamberlayne gives the Lord's Prayer, perceive the leaft refemblance to the gypfy name of father, Dade and Dad, except in the Welth, Taad. In profecuting his argument, Mr. Grelliman does not infitt on the fimilarity of colour between the two people, nor on the cowardice common to both, nor on the attachment of the Indians to tents, or letting their children go naked; all thefe being traits to be met with in other nations: but he dwells on the word Polgar, the name of one of the firft gypfy leaders, and of the Indoftanic god of marriage; alfo on the correfpondence between the travelling fmiths in the two people, who carry two pair of bellows; the Indian's boy blows them in India, the wife or child of the gypfy in Europe: as if every travelling tinker, in every nation where tinkers travel, had not the fame attendants. In lafcivious dances and chiromancy the two people agree; nor are thefe uncommon in other parts of the globe. The exceffive loquacity of the two people is produced as fimilar; as if no other nations in the world were loquacious. Fainter resemblances are, a fondness for faffron, and the intermarrying only with their own people. The laft pofition in his theory is, that the gypfies are of the loweft clafs of Indians, namely, Parias, or, as they are called in Hindoftan, Suders. He compares the manners of this clafs

with thofe of the gypfies, and enumerates many circumftances in which they agree: fome of the comparisons are frivolous, and prove nothing. As an inftance of which we may take the following: Gypfies are fond of being about horfes; the Suders in India likewife, for which reafon they are commonly employed as horfe-keepers by the Europeans refident in that country.' This reafoning does not prove that the gypfies are Suders, any more than that they are Arabians or Yorkthire farmers.

The objections, however, to which this learned and induftrious author's theory is liable, are fuch as only show it to be by no means fatisfactory; but do not prove that it is wrong. It may poffibly be right; and upon this fuppofition the caufe of their emigration from their country, he conjectures, not without probability, to be the war of Timur Beg in India. In the years 1408 and 1409 this conqueror ravaged India; and the progrefs of his arms was attended with devaftation and cruelty. All who made refiftance were deftroyed; thofe who fell into the ene my's hands were made flaves; of these very flaves 100,000 were put to death. As on this occafion an univerfal panic took place, what could be more natu ral than that a great number of terrified inhabitants fhould endeavour to fave themselves by flight ?--In the laft place, the author endeavours to trace the route by which the gypsies came from Hindoftan to Europe: but here he justly acknowledges that all that can be faid on the subject is mere furmife; and, upon the whole, after perufing all the preceding details, the reader will probably be of opinion that there ftill hangs a cloud over the origin of this extraordinary race.

operations

operations of a ship, to qualify him for a fea-officer.

On his firft entrance in a fhip of war, every midshipman has several difadvantageous circumftances to encounter. Thefe are partly occafioned by the nature of the fea-fervice; and partly by the mistaken prejudices of people in general refpecting naval difcipline, and the genius of failors and their officers. No character, in their opinion, is more excellent than that of the common failor, whom they generally fuppofe to be treated with great feverity by his officers, drawing a comparison between them not very advantageous to the latter. The midshipman ufually comes aboard tinctured with thefe prejudices, efpecially when his education has been amongst the higher, rank of people; and if the officers happen to answer his opinion, he conceives an early difguft to the fervice, from a very partial and incompetent view of its operations. Blinded by thefe prepoffeflions, he is thrown off his guard, and very foon furprised to find, amongst thofe honeft failors, a crew of abandoned mifcreants, ripe for any mischief or villany. Perhaps, after a little obfervation, many of them will appear to him equally deftitute of gratitude, fhame, or juftice, and only deterred from the commiffion of crimes by the terror of fevere punishment. He will difcover that the pernicious example of a few of the vileft in a fhip of war are too often apt to poison the principles of the greatest number, especially if the reins of difcipline are too much relaxed, so as to foster that idleness and dislipation, which engender floth, difeases, and an utter profligacy of manners. If the midshipman on many occasions is obliged to mix with these, particularly in the exercises of extending or reducing the fails in the tops, he ought refolutely to guard against this contagion, with which the morals of his inferiors may be infected. He fhould, however, avail himself of their knowledge, and acquire their expertnefs in managing and fixing the fails and rigging, and never fuffer himself to be excelled by an inferior. He will probably find ą virtue in almost every private failor, which is entirely unknown to many of his officers: that virtue is emulation;

which is not indeed mentioned amongst their qualities by the gentlemen of terra firma, by whom their characters are often copiously described with very little judgment. There is hardly a common tar who is not envious of fuperior skill in his fellows, and jealous on all occafions to be outdone in what he confiders as a branch of his duty: nor is he more fearful of the dreadful confequences of whittling in a storm, than of being ftigmatifed with the opprobrious epithet of lubber. Fortified against this fcandal, by a thorough knowledge of his bufinefs, the failor will fometimes fneer in private at the execution of orders, which to him appear aukward, improper, or unlike a feaman. Nay, he will perhaps be malicious enough to fupprefs his own judgment, and, by a punctual obedience to command, execute whatever is to be performed in a manner which he knows to be improper, in order to expofe the perfon commanding to difgrace and ridicule. Little fkilled in the method of the fchools, he confiders the officer who cons his leffon by rote as very ill qualified for his ftation, because particular fituations might render it neceffary for the faid officer to affift at putting his own orders in practice. An ignorance in this practical knowledge will therefore neceffarily be thought an unpardonable deficiency by those who are to follow his directions. Hence the midfhipman who affociates with thefe failors in the tops, till he has acquired a competent skill in the service of extending or reducing the fails, &c. will be often entertained with a number of scurrilous jets, at the expence of his fuperiors. Hence alfo he will learn, that a timely application to thofe exercises can only prevent him from appearing in the fame defpicable point of view, which which must certainly be a cruel mortification to a man of the fmalicft fenfibility.

If the midshipman is not employed in these services, which are undoubtedly neceffary to give him a clearer idea of the different parts of his occupation, a variety of other objects prefent themselves to his attention. Without prefuming to dictate the ftudies which are most effential to his improve

ment,