贝壳电子书 > 英文原著电子书 > the zincali >

第44章

the zincali-第44章

小说: the zincali 字数: 每页4000字

按键盘上方向键 ← 或 → 可快速上下翻页,按键盘上的 Enter 键可回到本书目录页,按键盘上方向键 ↑ 可回到本页顶部!
————未阅读完?加入书签已便下次继续阅读!





barranco; grasp with its swarthy hands the crayon and easel; the 



compass; or the microscope; or the tube which renders more distinct 



the heavenly orbs; and essay to become a Murillo; or a Feijoo; or a 



Lorenzo de Hervas; as soon as the legal disabilities are removed 



which doomed him to be a thievish jockey or a sullen husbandman?  



Much will have been accomplished; if; after the lapse of a hundred 



years; one hundred human beings shall have been evolved from the 



Gypsy stock; who shall prove sober; honest; and useful members of 



society; … that stock so degraded; so inveterate in wickedness and 



evil customs; and so hardened by brutalising laws。  Should so many 



beings; should so many souls be rescued from temporal misery and 



eternal woe; should only the half of that number; should only the 



tenth; nay; should only one poor wretched sheep be saved; there 



will be joy in heaven; for much will have been accomplished on 



earth; and those lines will have been in part falsified which 



filled the stout heart of Mahmoud with dismay:…











'For the root that's unclean; hope if you can;



No washing e'er whitens the black Zigan:



The tree that's bitter by birth and race;



If in paradise garden to grow you place;



And water it free with nectar and wine;



From streams in paradise meads that shine;



At the end its nature it still declares;



For bitter is all the fruit it bears。



If the egg of the raven of noxious breed



You place 'neath the paradise bird; and feed



The splendid fowl upon its nest;



With immortal figs; the food of the blest;



And give it to drink from Silisbel; (46)



Whilst life in the egg breathes Gabriel;



A raven; a raven; the egg shall bear;



And the fostering bird shall waste its care。' …







FERDOUSI。











The principal evidence which the Gitanos have hitherto given that a 



partial reformation has been effected in their habits; is the 



relinquishment; in a great degree; of that wandering life of which 



the ancient laws were continually complaining; and which was the 



cause of infinite evils; and tended not a little to make the roads 



insecure。







Doubtless there are those who will find some difficulty in 



believing that the mild and conciliatory clauses of the law in 



question could have much effect in weaning the Gitanos from this 



inveterate habit; and will be more disposed to think that this 



relinquishment was effected by energetic measures resorted to by 



the government; to compel them to remain in their places of 



location。  It does not appear; however; that such measures were 



ever resorted to。  Energy; indeed; in the removal of a nuisance; is 



scarcely to be expected from Spaniards under any circumstances。  



All we can say on the subject; with certainty; is; that since the 



repeal of the tyrannical laws; wandering has considerably decreased 



among the Gitanos。







Since the law has ceased to brand them; they have come nearer to 



the common standard of humanity; and their general condition has 



been ameliorated。  At present; only the very poorest; the parias of 



the race; are to be found wandering about the heaths and mountains; 



and this only in the summer time; and their principal motive; 



according to their own confession; is to avoid the expense of house 



rent; the rest remain at home; following their avocations; unless 



some immediate prospect of gain; lawful or unlawful; calls them 



forth; and such is frequently the case。  They attend most fairs; 



women and men; and on the way frequently bivouac in the fields; but 



this practice must not be confounded with systematic wandering。







Gitanismo; therefore; has not been extinguished; only modified; but 



that modification has been effected within the memory of man; 



whilst previously near four centuries elapsed; during which no 



reform had been produced amongst them by the various measures 



devised; all of which were distinguished by an absence not only of 



true policy; but of common…sense; it is therefore to be hoped; that 



if the Gitanos are abandoned to themselves; by which we mean no 



arbitrary laws are again enacted for their extinction; the sect 



will eventually cease to be; and its members become confounded with 



the residue of the population; for certainly no Christian nor 



merely philanthropic heart can desire the continuance of any sect 



or association of people whose fundamental principle seems to be to 



hate all the rest of mankind; and to live by deceiving them; and 



such is the practice of the Gitanos。







During the last five years; owing to the civil wars; the ties which 



unite society have been considerably relaxed; the law has been 



trampled under foot; and the greatest part of Spain overrun with 



robbers and miscreants; who; under pretence of carrying on partisan 



warfare; and not unfrequently under no pretence at all; have 



committed the most frightful excesses; plundering and murdering the 



defenceless。  Such a state of things would have afforded the 



Gitanos a favourable opportunity to resume their former kind of 



life; and to levy contributions as formerly; wandering about in 



bands。  Certain it is; however; that they have not sought to repeat 



their ancient excesses; taking advantage of the troubles of the 



country; they have gone on; with a few exceptions; quietly pursuing 



that part of their system to which they still cling; their 



jockeyism; which; though based on fraud and robbery; is far 



preferable to wandering brigandage; which necessarily involves the 



frequent shedding of blood。  Can better proof be adduced; that 



Gitanismo owes its decline; in Spain; not to force; not to 



persecution; not to any want of opportunity of exercising it; but 



to some other cause? … and we repeat that we consider the principal 



if not the only cause of the decline of Gitanismo to be the 



conferring on the Gitanos the rights and privileges of other 



subjects。







We have said that the Gitanos have not much availed themselves of 



the permission; which the law grants them; of embarking in various 



spheres of life。  They remain jockeys; but they have ceased to be 



wanderers; and the grand object of the law is accomplished。  The 



law forbids them to be jockeys; or to follow the trade of trimming 



and shearing animals; without some other visible mode of 



subsistence。  This provision; except in a few isolated instances; 



they evade; and the law seeks not; and perhaps wisely; to disturb 



them; content with having achieved so much。  The chief evils of 



Gitanismo which still remain consist in the systematic frauds of 



the Gypsy jockeys and the tricks of the women。  It is incurring 



considerable risk to purchase a horse or a mule; even from the most 



respectable Gitano; without a previous knowledge of the animal and 



his former possessor; the chances being that it is either diseased 



or stolen from a distance。  Of the practices of the females; 



something will be said in particular in a future chapter。







The Gitanos in general are very poor; a pair of large cachas and 



various scissors of a smaller description constituting their whole 



capital; occasionally a good hit is made; as they call it; but the 



money does not last long; being quickly squandered in feasting and 



revelry。  He who has habitually in his house a couple of donkeys is 



considered a thriving Gitano; there are some; however; who are 



wealthy in the strict sense of the word; and carry on a very 



extensive trade in horses and mules。  These; occasionally; visit 



the most distant fairs; traversing the greatest part of Spain。  



There is a celebrated cattle…fair held at Leon on St。 John's or 



Midsummer Day; and on one of these occasions; being present; I 



observed a small f

返回目录 上一页 下一页 回到顶部 0 0

你可能喜欢的