1814.] On the Origin of the Gypsies. a high veneration and deep impression of the miracles which that divinity had wrought. With these predispositions he resorted to the temple, where he had a whole day before him to ponder on his malady, and on every sort of remedy which might have been suggested to him; how natural was it not, therefore, for his busy imagination to fix, in his sleep, upon one particular remedy more forcibly than on another? Add to this, the solemn lonely hour of night was the appointed period for his sleep, which was preceded by prayers and other inspiring ceremonies, which would naturally elevate his devotion to the highest pitch. He had also previously perambulated the temple, and with a full heart surveyed the offerings of those whose sick ness had departed from them. If all these preparations were unavailing, the officiants of the temple bad still means in reserve, by which the credulous should be thrown into that bodily state which was indispensable to the divinatory sleep: of these succedanea instances will be hereafter produced. In those days there were, however, some from whom the somniferous faculty was withheld: they were, therefore, admonished to repeat their prayers and oblations, in order to win the divinity's favour; and the ultimate and customary resort was, if success did not crown their perseverance, to pronounce it a token, that such patients were an eyesore to the divinity. (To be continued.) men On the ORIGIN of the GYPSIES. To the Editor of the New Monthly Magazine. SIR, IN hopes that some abler hand would have sent you some communication concerning the origin of the Gypsies, according to the desire you expressed in your Magazine of March last, I delayed, till now, to send you the result of my researches on that subject. They are called in Turkey, Zinganees, from their first captain, Zinganeus, who, when Sultan Selim conquered Egypt, about the year 1517, with several other Mamelukes, and as many native Egyptians, as refused to submit to the Turkish yoke, retired into the desarts, where they lived by rapine and plunder, committing great outrages upon the towns upon the river Nile, under the dominion of the Turks; and by idle and dissolute people frequently resorting to them, they encreased to so formidable a body, that the Turks were glad to come to a treaty NEW MONTHLY MAG.—No. 7. 17 with them; wherein it was agreed, that they should lay down their arms, and be permitted to exercise any trade or profession, with the same privileges the other subjects enjoyed. But the Zinganees, having been so long used to a vagabond and rapacious way of living; during which, they had lost all sense of religion, and become averse to the following any art or science, began to have recourse to their former way of rapine, and robbery; and though they were often forgiven by the Turks, for fear of another insurrection, yet it being found that they were not to be reclaimed, the government was compelled to banish them, and power was given to any man to shoot a Zinganee, or make him his slave, if he was found in Egypt, after a certain limited time. This edict was so well executed, that a Zingaree was not to be found in Egypt for some years after, at least, any that durst profess themselves such; for the great body of them had agreed to disperse themselves into every country in the world. As they were natives of Egypt, a country wherein the occult sciences were supposed to have arrived at the greatest perfection, which at that time were in great vogue with people of all religions, they thought they could not gain a subsistence in a more effectual manner, and yet indulge the lazy wandering life they had been accustomed to, than by professing a more than ordinary skill in foretelling future events. There are some to be found in Turkey who wander about like others, but apply themselves to some trade, particularly to making edged tools, at which they are very excellent. And what tends more to confirm the opinion that they were Egyptians originally, is a statute made (a few years after the banishment of the Zinganees from Turkey) in the 28 Henry 8. c. 10. wherein it is recited, That whereas certain outlandish people, using no craft or merchandize to live by, but going from place to place in great companies, using subtle and crafty means to deceive the king's subjects, bearing them in hand, that they, by palmistry, can tell men's and women's fortunes, and so, many times subtlely deceive the people of their money, and commit divers felonies and robberies; it is enacted that all such offenders, commonly called Egyptians, who shall remain in this realm for the space of one month, shall be adjudged felons, and that every person who shall import such Egyptians, shall forfeit for every offence 401. I think from the VOL. II. D 18 The Real Author of the late Revolution in France. above we may reasonably infer that some or other of the Zinganees settled in the Caucasus, and still retain that original manner which is peculiar to them in whatever country they may be. June, 1814. Yours, &c. G. S. P. S. The native Egyptians have a prophecy amongst them that they shall recover the dominion of Egypt again, and the Turkish empire, after a certain time, shall be destroyed; which Mr. Hill has given in verse as follows: Years after years shall roll, Shall check the crescent's pride. To all their slavery. Then shall the warlike powers Egypt again be our's, And Turkish laurels burn. The foregoing was extracted from Salmon's Geography, Vol. II. p. 474. To the Editor of the New Monthly Magazine. WHEN we reflect on the events of the last eighteen months, they appear more like a dream than reality. In this short space of time we have seen a mighty usurper, who commanded even by a nod, three fourths of Europe, humbled with the dust. We have seen legitimacy take place of usurpation, and the most bloody of wars changed into a peace that is likely to prove profitable as it is honourable to all. For this change we render due praise to the Prince Regent and his ministers, the bravery of the allies, and the generosity of the Emperor Alexander. We say, that to the inild and conciliatory conduct of the latter may the restoration of the Bourbons be attributed, coupled with the just detestation which the execrable tyranny of Buonaparte had engendered in the minds of Frenchmen. To this circumstance alone, I say, have late events, and particularly the restoration of the Bourbons been referred. But, Sir, bow egregiously has the whole world been mistaken, and [Aug. 1, what wrong has there not been done to a worthy, modest knight, who never till now could prevail on himself to come before the public in his own behalf!! It appears that Louis the XVIIIth has to thank for his throne-not the Prince Regent of England or his ministers--not the Emperor of Russia or the Emperor of Austria-but Sir Richard Phillips! Bow down your head, Sir, with becoming reverence, and blush at your ignorance. Yes, Sir Richard Phillips is the cause of the restoration of the Bourbons! Sir Richard Phillips is the cause of the happiness of France! Sir Richard Phillips is the cause of the peace of Europe-the glory of our country and the felicity of thousands! Our children's children will bend before his statue, and recal his memory with rapture-praises to his honoured name! But you will wish to be informed how this is to be made apparent. The won derful man shall speak for himself, aud you must, perforce, be convinced. "We feel it but justice to ourselves to reprint from the Monthly Magazine published two years before (January 1, 1811,) an extract from an article signed ComMON SENSE, relative to Lomis XVIII. the communication of which article prompted the exiled monarch to write with his own hands, and under the impulse of his own benevolent mind, that proclamation which paced the way to his restoration; and which he published contrary to the feelings of others, by whom he was surrounded, and without the approbation of the British ministry, as they afterwards declared in parliament. It is evident, however, that without such a royal pledge, no powerful party in France would ever have treated with the Bourbons, and that without the aid of such party, the allies could never have advanced to the Rhine, and much less have reached or entered Paris! "Louis XVIII. waited for a suitable opportunity, which was presented at the beginning of 1813, in the destruction of Napoleon's army by the climate of Russia, and he then issued the following well drawn proclamation, which bears a close analogy, as well in juxtaposition as in sentiment, with the preceding propo sitions (those of Sir R. Phillips.) person can be at a loss to consider all that has since happened in France as the mere and sole effect of this cause; and it is our opinion that the same effec: would have taken place ten years before, if a No * The well known signature of the inge nious knight. 1814.] Biblical Query-St. Patrick's Purgatory. similar proclamation had then been pubAsbed, and if there had been no external confederacy against France, serving to give nilitary strength to its government, and to knit and bind all the French in one impregnable body."* It will be lamentable, indeed, should the King of France be infected with the "ingratitude of princes," and neglect to reward the worthy knight, who has incontrovertibly proved the cause of the second French revolution. MODERATOR. Portsmouth, June 14, 1814. BIBLICAL QUERY. To the Editor of the New Monthly Magazine. SIR, I SHOULD be gratified if, through the medium of your excellent magazine, I could have a satisfactory answer to the following query:-How, by what means, or on whose authority, was St. Mark enabled to convey to us, in the 39th verse of the 14th chapter of his gospel, the exact words of our Saviour's prayer in the garden, when the three disciples had fallen asleep, and himself had previously gone to a distance from them? I do not recollect another affirmation in the four gospels so positive as this, with such (seemingly) little authority for it. The above is of very little consequence to practical religion; but any Information on the subject will be to me of more use than the mere gratification of curiosity. That the "New Monthly Magazine" may experience the success it so justly merits, is the sincere wish of its admirer and constant reader, INQUISITOR. Holborn, June 13, 1814. ACCOUNT of ST. PATRICK'S PURGATORY. To the Editor of the New Monthly Magazine. SIR, THE following extract from a letter, written by an English gentleman who made the tour of Ireland in the summer of 1765, appears to me to be sufficiently curious for a place in your valuable miscellany, especially as I am assured that the superstitious custom here so accu The obstinacy with which this toad enter of the fallen Corsican adheres to the most palpable falsehoods, is truly admirable. He would insinuate, we suppose, that it was sot an external confederacy which so lately overturned the government of his idol, and to all intents and purposes conquered France.-EDITOR, 19 rately described still continues to be practised in that country. X. Y. "In the county of Donnegal, at the distance of four miles from Lough Ewins, and in the midst of mountains and morasses, extending every way to a considerable distance, there is a very fine lake, in ancient times called Lough Fins, or White Lake. This piece of water is about a mile and a half in breadth, and somewhat more in length. To an island near the centre of it, from the beginning of May until about the middle of August every year, popish penitents resort from all parts of Ireland to expiate their sins. This they do in obedience to their confessors, who may enjoin them any other penance at their discretion nearer home. The number, therefore, of these pilgrims who take this tour, depends more on the friendship of distant priests to the prior of Lough Derg, than on the opinion of superior efficacy in this particular expiation. However, to keep up that opinion, and to give a countenance to the lucrative practice founded on it, the priests frequently, the titular bishops sometimes, and now and then a Roman-ist of some fashion, appear among the penitents. The rest are all of the poorer sort, to the number of three or four thousand every year. Of these, the greater part are only proxies for wealthier people, who, at a small expense in cash, thus discharge their sins through the feet and knees of their indigent neighbours. "As soon as a pilgrim hath arrived at the summit of a neighbouring mountain, from whence the holy lake is to be seen, he or she is obliged to uncover both hands and feet; thus to walk to the water-side; and thence, at the expense of sixpence, to be wasted into the island. On this are erected two chapels, and fifteen other houses, all thatched, for the To these houses there are several conaccommodation of priests and penitents." fessionals, so contrived that the priests his conscience. Each pilgrim on landcannot see the person who disburthens ing here is confessed anew, and enjoined a longer or shorter station, (so the performance of this penance is called,) according to the quality of his sins, his leisure, or the judgment of his confessor. He subsists on oatmeal, (sometimes made into bread,) and on water, during his stay in the island, which lasts three, six, or nine days, as the station is more or less extended. To have a right idea of that part of the penance now to be 20 Superstitious Notion respecting Children's Cauls. [Aug. 1, mentioned, it must first be told, that there are seven heaps of rude stones, with each of them a cross at top, about five or six yards from one another. At a couple of yards distance from each is a circular row of the like stones, not above a yard in height, drawn round the central heap, with a little gap or passage on one side. The pilgrim is obliged to foot it, without shoes or stockings, nine times round the outside of each row, on a path consisting of very rough and sharp stones; and he must by no means pick his steps, for this would hinder the emission of his sins at the soles of his feet, their proper outlet, and, besides, divert his attention from the Ave Marias and Paternosters, whereof he is to mumble a certain number, letting fall a bead at each as he circulates; for on the holy string depends the arithmetic of a devotion which has number, but no weight. These heaps and rows are called the beds of so many celebrated saints in the Roman calendar. "When this is over, and the penitent's onscience and pocket are called to a fresh account, (for every day, sometimes more than once a day, he confesses and pays sixpence,) he is sent to traverse, on his bare knees, and on stones as sharp as before, the shorter paths within each row, and round the little heap nine times, repeating Aves, and dropping beads, till his account is out; at which he kisses the cross, and his knees make holiday. After this preparation he is admitted into purgatory; which is in reality nothing more than two parallel rows of pretty large stones, set upright, at the distance of scarcely three feet, with others as large laid over, and all together forming a kind of narrow vault, of not more than four feet elevation; pervious here and there to the light. This vault is only so long as to hold twelve penitents at once, who sit close to one another in a row, with their chins almost touching their knees, without eating, drinking, or sleeping, for the space of twenty-four hours, dropping beads as above. To prevent in this situation the danger of a nap, each penitent is armed with a long pin, more pungent, it should seem, than conscience herself, to be suddenly inserted into the elbow of his next neighbour at the first approach of a nod. But not to depend wholly on either, the priest hath inserted into his mind an article of faith more stimulating than even the pin, namely, that if any penitent should fall asleep in purgatory, the devil thereby acquires a right to the whole covey, having already swept away two, and having a prophecy in his favour that he shall get a third. To this is sometimes added, an extraordinary exposure or two in cases uncommonly criminal, such as setting the delinquents to roost on beams that go across the chapel, with their busts sticking through the thatch. "The sufferings here mentioned do not carry off the whole mass of sins. Some are forced through the feet, some through the knees, but the remainder is so softened and loosened, that a good washing is sufficient to scour them away. In order to this, the penitent is placed on a flat stone in the lake, where, standing in the water up to his breast or chin, according to his stature, and repeating and dropping beads to a considerable amount, he is reduced to the innocence of a child just christened. "When all is over, the priest bores a gimblet-hole through the pilgrim's staff, near the top, in which he fastens a cross peg-gives him as many holy pebbles out of the lake as he cares to carry away, for amulets to be presented to his friends and so dismisses him-an object of veneration to all other papists, not thus initiated, who no sooner see the pilgrim's cross in his hands, than they kneel down to get his blessing." SUPERSTITION attached to the possession shall, of Liverpool, makes some en- 66 From the observations, which my on the subject, I find this superstiopportunities have enabled me to make tion, (as indeed all others,) most pre valent in the western counties.A person, who happens to possess one of those membranes, considers it no mean prize, as the advertisement quoted by Mr. Marshall, sufficiently proves. This entertained by a great portion of the supposed value arises from a firm belief, lower class of mariners, that while such a thing is about them, they are effectually 1814.] Letter from Mr. Bartolozzi. protected from being drowned, under whatever circumstances; and I have known a case where even a master of a merchantman, to appearance well in formed, was fully persuaded of its virtue; and being in possession of one, (which cost him a considerable sum) he contemplated the chances of the ocean with the utmost indifference. Many other anecdotes have come to my knowledge of the same nature, and I never heard that any other virtue was attributed to the caul than what relates to the dangers of a seafaring life. Thus, sir, I am enabled to point out the existence of the superstition, and its object, without being able to throw any light on its origin. I presume it to have been handed down from a very early age of our country, when maritime knowledge was in a state of infancy. I am, Sir, &c. Portsmouth, July, 1814. ROBERTUS. LETTER from MR. BARTOLOZZI. IT is not too much to assert, that ne- Foley-Place, June 24. J. MINASI, 21 Lisbon, May 7, 1814. PARDON me if I have not answered your cordial letter, which I received by the hands of Mr. James Smith.-I should have called on him; but the infirmities of my advanced age prevent me from going abroad, except to church, and then not without an attendant; my legs being so feeble, and the streets so bad, that I run the risk of falling every moment. Your letter has afforded me very great consolation, as it shews that you keep in remembrance a poor old man already forgotten in the world, though you know that I have done a great deal, and that my humble performances have been borne with:-now they are despised; but so it happens when one reaches the age of eighty-six years. Yet God gives me the grace to be able to continue to do something. I was in hopes last summer of seeing London once more; but was detained by some work which I had in hand, and by the indifferent state of my health, and want of strength: though I had no expectation of obtaining employment, especially as you have so many eminent men in our profession. Some of those dealers, you well know, have made fortunes by my poor works-now there is no fortune to be made. Since, however, divine Providence has wrought so great a miracle as to send us peace, let us hope that things will change in this respect also. I might have written to my son, who informed me, he was in hopes that, if I returned, the Prince Regent would do something for me; but I must not trust to mere hope, since my good Prince here affords me a maintenance: I would, nevertheless, have sacrificed every thing with pleasure to revisit that country to which I owe such a debt of gratlaide for the benefits that I have received from it, that will never be erased from my memory, and which I shall ever humbly pray to the Almighty to prosper as it deserves. Here at present we are destitute of every requisite in our profession,-gravers, varnish, tracing paper, and black for printing, are all very dear and very bad. I have engraved one of the views of Lisbon; the copper furnished me resembled lead; so that with a bad drawing, and worse copper, I have made a wretched thing of it. Thus is an artist sacrificed! With sincere friendship and esteem, I subscribe myself, your poor old man and servant, F. BARTOLOZZI. |