A short account of their parents may not be out of place here. The mother was a great fortune-teller and swindler. She once robbed a poor shepherd in Dorsetshire of twenty pounds, by promising to fill his box with money. Their father was a most depraved character. Their life and practices are well described in the language of the Apostle, Let us eat and drink, for to morrow we die. 1 Cor. xv. 32. The man was the
buffoon of their company, and became more depraved every year. They often had a great deal of money, which was, no doubt, obtained through dishonest means. On one occasion, he and many other Gipsies, entered the parlour of a small public house on the borders of Hants, when emptying the contents of a dirty purse into an half-pint cup, he nearly filled it with sovereigns; and declared, they would not leave the house, till they had spent it all. His wife, at this time, who was intoxicated, was robbed of all the money she had got from the poor credulous shepherd, excepting one pound.
The same man once put 150 sovereigns into his kettle, to treat himself with what he called, gold water, for his tea; a piece of folly and wickedness only equalled by a fact with which the author is well acquainted, when an old man had his gold put under his pillow, and often shown to him, when he was dying. We need not wonder, therefore, that the children of this Gipsy couple should be so ignorant, depraved, and destitute. For money that is ill-gotten, and squandered in extravagance, entails a double curse on the parties concerned. But to return to the subject of this chapter.
To visit the Gipsies in their tents is of great importance. Clergymen of the Establishment, dissenting ministers, and home missionaries, have at various times done this, and conversed freely with them on the Christian religion; and it has not been in vain. Indeed, nothing that is done, through Jesus Christ, purposely
to please God, and benefit the wretched, can fail to produce a good effect. The Rev. Messrs Hyatt and Cobbin, who were deputed by the Home Missionary Society, to visit many parts of England, to enquire into the condition of this people, had no doubt, but that much good may be done among them, if proper means are pursued. It has many times been proved, that to attempt to raise them in society, without the influence of religious instruction, would be improper. They have not sufficient principles of honesty, nor purity of conduct, till they are taught those principles, and changed, by religion. One, among several instances, may be named.
A young female Gipsy, remarkable for the beauty of her person, was much noticed by a lady of rank. She was made to sit many times for her portrait, was introduced into the drawing-room, and became of consequence as one of the family. She might have done well, had she not given up all her prospects by running away with a Gipsy youth, for whom she had an attachment, and with whom she has ever since lived in great misery. If less attention had been paid to her beauty, and more to the cultivation of right principles, she might now have been reformed, religious, and happy.
To those who wish to forward the instruction of the children of these wanderers, which is of vast importance, the use of tins with letters and monosyllables stamped upon them, is recommended. A little ink or paint will be necessary to make the letters visible.
This plan would save much expense, and render elementary books unnecessary. They could not be torn, as books generally are. The pieces thrown away by the tinman, if the corners were taken off, would answer every purpose. To induce those children, who cannot be got from the tent, to learn from these tins, the visitor might promise them an old garment, or some other trifle. Should the Gipsies conduct themselves properly, when thus visited, a little willow-wood may be given them to encourage them in industry, and forward the manufactory of baskets. And it might be well were a small piece of ground devoted to the growth of willows, in neighbourhoods frequented by them, on purpose to encourage them thereby. It might be adviseable, too, to give them testimonials on a card, of good conduct, when about to remove to another district, which might serve as an introduction to benevolent persons, and those interested in their welfare in other places; and this means would effectually prevent all imposition, keep up the attention of the good among them, and would constantly bring them before the notice of christian society. Such kindness would be felt by the Gipsies, and, in time, might produce a good effect. This method has been attended to by the Southampton Committee.
The great object that Christians should have in view, should be to instruct them in the blessed truths of the Christian religion, imbue them with a happy sense of honesty and morality, and then reclaim them wholly from their unsettled and wandering habits; for
until they have some knowledge of religion, and some anxiety to reform, they would only be worse by being brought constantly before the bad examples that would be set them in towns. Of course, such a change cannot be fully accomplished in the present generation; it cannot be expected. But their conversion to God will wholly be accomplished in time, if all Christians do their duty, depending on the influence of the Holy Spirit.