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Article HISTORY OF THE GYPSIES. Page 1 of 4 →
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History Of The Gypsies.
HISTORY OF THE GYPSIES .
( O YPSIES are an outlandish tribe of vagabonds , who , disguising ^ - ^ themselves in uncouth habits , smearing their faces and bodies , ancl framing to themselves a canting language , wander up and down , and , under pretence of telling fortunes , curing diseases , & c . abuse the common people , trick them of their money , and steal all they ' can come at . They first made their in Germany
abotiappearance the beginning of the 16 th century . Historians inform iis , that ' when sultan Sciim conquered "Egypt in the year 1517 , several of the natives refused to submit to the Turkish yoke , and revolted under one Zinganeus ; whence thc Turks call them Zinganees ; but , being at length surrounded and banished , they agreed to disperse in small parties all over the worldwhere their supposedskill in the
, , black art gave them an universal reception iu that age of-Superstition and credulity . In the compass of a very few years the } ' gained such a number of idle proselytes ( tvho imitated , their language and com . ' plexion , and betook themselves to the same arts of chiromancy , begging , and pilfering ) , that they became troublesome , and even formidableto most of the states of Europe . Hence they were expelled
, from France in the year 15 60 , and from Spain in 1591 . But the government of England took the alarm much earlier : for in ij . -jo they are described by stat . 2 2 Henry VIII . c . 10 . as ' an outlandih people , calling themselves Egyptians , using no craft or feat of merchandize , AVIIO haA'e come in . o this realm , and gone from shire to
shire " , and place to place , in great companies , and used great , subtle , and crafty means to deceive the people ; bearing them in hand that they by palmistry could tell men aud women ' s fortunes : and so many times by craft and subtilty have deceived the people of their money , ancl also have committed many heinous felonies ancl robberies . * Wherefore they are directed to avoid the realm , and not return tinder pain of imprisonment ancl forfeiture of their goods and chattels ; and
, upon their trials for any felony Avhich they may have committed , tliey shall not be entitled to a jury de medielaie lingua . And after- , wards it is enacted , by statutes 1 st and id Ph . and Mary , c . 4 . and $ th Eliz . c . 20 . that , if any such persons shall be imported into the kingdom , the importer shall fofeit 40 I . Ancl if the Egyptians themselves remain one month in the kingdomor if any personbeing fourteen
, , years old , whether natural-born subject or stranger , who hath been seen or found in the felloAVship of such Egyptians , or who hath disguised him or herself like them , shall remain in the same one month at one or several times , it is felony ¦ without benefit , of clergy . And Sir M . Hale informs us , that at one Suffolk assizes no less than thirteen persons were executed upon these statutes a fetv years before the
restoration . But , to fhe honour of our national humanity , there are no instances more modern than this of carrying these laws into practice ; and the last sanguinary actis itself now repealed by 23 Geo . III . c . 54 . It is incredible to think IIOAV this regular swarm of banditti hifcj
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
History Of The Gypsies.
HISTORY OF THE GYPSIES .
( O YPSIES are an outlandish tribe of vagabonds , who , disguising ^ - ^ themselves in uncouth habits , smearing their faces and bodies , ancl framing to themselves a canting language , wander up and down , and , under pretence of telling fortunes , curing diseases , & c . abuse the common people , trick them of their money , and steal all they ' can come at . They first made their in Germany
abotiappearance the beginning of the 16 th century . Historians inform iis , that ' when sultan Sciim conquered "Egypt in the year 1517 , several of the natives refused to submit to the Turkish yoke , and revolted under one Zinganeus ; whence thc Turks call them Zinganees ; but , being at length surrounded and banished , they agreed to disperse in small parties all over the worldwhere their supposedskill in the
, , black art gave them an universal reception iu that age of-Superstition and credulity . In the compass of a very few years the } ' gained such a number of idle proselytes ( tvho imitated , their language and com . ' plexion , and betook themselves to the same arts of chiromancy , begging , and pilfering ) , that they became troublesome , and even formidableto most of the states of Europe . Hence they were expelled
, from France in the year 15 60 , and from Spain in 1591 . But the government of England took the alarm much earlier : for in ij . -jo they are described by stat . 2 2 Henry VIII . c . 10 . as ' an outlandih people , calling themselves Egyptians , using no craft or feat of merchandize , AVIIO haA'e come in . o this realm , and gone from shire to
shire " , and place to place , in great companies , and used great , subtle , and crafty means to deceive the people ; bearing them in hand that they by palmistry could tell men aud women ' s fortunes : and so many times by craft and subtilty have deceived the people of their money , ancl also have committed many heinous felonies ancl robberies . * Wherefore they are directed to avoid the realm , and not return tinder pain of imprisonment ancl forfeiture of their goods and chattels ; and
, upon their trials for any felony Avhich they may have committed , tliey shall not be entitled to a jury de medielaie lingua . And after- , wards it is enacted , by statutes 1 st and id Ph . and Mary , c . 4 . and $ th Eliz . c . 20 . that , if any such persons shall be imported into the kingdom , the importer shall fofeit 40 I . Ancl if the Egyptians themselves remain one month in the kingdomor if any personbeing fourteen
, , years old , whether natural-born subject or stranger , who hath been seen or found in the felloAVship of such Egyptians , or who hath disguised him or herself like them , shall remain in the same one month at one or several times , it is felony ¦ without benefit , of clergy . And Sir M . Hale informs us , that at one Suffolk assizes no less than thirteen persons were executed upon these statutes a fetv years before the
restoration . But , to fhe honour of our national humanity , there are no instances more modern than this of carrying these laws into practice ; and the last sanguinary actis itself now repealed by 23 Geo . III . c . 54 . It is incredible to think IIOAV this regular swarm of banditti hifcj