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Chambers's Miscellany of Useful and Entertaining Tracts (v. 16,no. 136-v. 18,no. 160)
Chambers's Miscellany of Useful and Entertaining Tracts - v. 16,no. 136-v. 18,no. 160 Author:William Chambers Purchase of this book includes free trial access to www.million-books.com where you can read more than a million books for free. This is an OCR edition with typos. Excerpt from book: taught them that this was the most profitable employment in which they could engage; and the story of their coming out of IJgypt must have co-operated with the g... more »eneral wildness of their demeanour, and the unearthly expression of their eye, in placing them, in the popular estimation, at the head of their profession. Now, the gipsy women, especially the old and ugly ones, are in special request in all countries among those who wish to pry into futurity, and ascertain their marriage fate. The servant- maids of London pay their sixpences and shillings to gipsy women, who come to the low areas early in the morning, to tell them their fortunes, before the families are up; half-tipsy young men do the same thing in a frolic at fairs, where gipsies are usually to be found; in Spain, ladies of rank have been known to consult these swarthy seeresses ; and even in our own country, educated young ladies are said to go in pairs and parties to have interviews with some keen-eyed hag relative to their matrimonial prospects. Among the tricks practised by gipsy women on the continent, besides that of express fortune-telling, or La Bahi, as the gipsies themselves call it, are the Hokkano Baro, or Great Trick, which consists in persuading some credulous person to deposit money or precious articles in some place underground, with a view to obtain five or six times the quantity when they are again dug up; and the Ustilar Patesas, which consists in abstracting money by sleight-of-hand. While thus practising on other people's credulity, the gipsies do not appear to have any super- Spanish gipsies believe to be gifted with some miraculous qualities. Yet Mr Borrow, while he speaks of this exemption of the gipsies from belief in prophecy, relates the following extraordinary story, for the truth of whi...« less