nt of exciting in any breasts the same
feelings of pity, mercy, love and zeal for these poor English heathens,
as is felt and carried into useful plans for the heathens abroad, by
christians of all denominations; he will then be certain that, by the
blessing of the Redeemer, the confidence of the Gipsies will be gained,
and, that they will be led to that Saviour, who has said, _Whosoever
cometh unto me_, _I will in no wise cast him out_.

CHAP. I. On the Origin of the Gipsies.

Of the Origin of these wanderers of the human race, the learned are not
agreed; for we have no authentic records of their first emigrations.
Some suppose them to be the descendants of Israel, and many others, that
they are of Egyptian origin. But the evidence adduced in confirmation of
these opinions appears very inconclusive. We cannot discover more than
fifty Hebrew words in the language they speak, and they have not a
ceremony peculiar to the Hebrew nation. They have not a word of Coptic,
and but few of Persian derivation. And they are deemed as strangers in
Egypt at the present time. They are now found in many countries of
Europe, Asia, and Africa, in all of which they speak a language _peculiar
to themselves_. On the continent of America alone are there none of them
found. Grellman informs us that there were great numbers in Lorraine,
and that they dwelt in its forests, before the French Revolution of 1790.
He supposes that there are no less than 700,000 in the world, and that
the greatest numbers are found in Europe. Throughout the countries they
inhabit, they have kept themselves a distinct race of people in every
possible way.

They never visit the Norman Isles; and it is said by the natives of
Ireland, that their numbers are small in that country. Hoyland informs
us, that many counties in Scotland are free of them, while they wander
about in other districts of that country, as in England. He has also
informed us, sec. 6, of a colony which resides during the winter months
at Kirk Yetholm in the county of Roxburgh. {10}

Sir Thomas Brown, in his work entitled "VULGAR ERRORS," says, that they
were seen first in Germany, in the year 1409. In 1418, they were found
in Switzerland; and in 1422, in Italy. They appeared in France, on the
17th August, 1427. It is remarkable that, when they first came into
Europe, they were black, and that the women were still blacker than the
men. From Grellman we learn, that "in Hungary,