e was no straw in the tent, and
only one blanket to lay betwixt six children and the frozen ground, with
nothing to cover them. The youngest of these children was three and the
eldest seventeen years old. In addition to this wretchedness the smaller
children were nearly naked. The youngest was squatted on the ground, her
little feet and legs bare, and gnawing a frozen turnip which had been
stolen from an adjoining field. None of them had tasted bread for more
than a day. The moment they saw their visitor, the little ones
repeatedly shouted, "Here is the gemman come for us!" Some money was
given to the eldest sister to buy bread with, at which their joy was
greatly increased. Straw was also provided for them to sleep on, four
were measured for clothes, and after a few days they were placed under
proper care. The youngest child died, however, a short time after in
consequence of having been so neglected in infancy.

During last June a Gipsy woman, of the name of Bishop, was found in one
of the tents, on a common just outside London, with her throat cut and
her child lying dead by her side in a pool of blood, and the man with
whom she cohabited--true to his Gipsy character--refused to answer any
questions concerning this horrible affair. An impression has gone the
round for years that the Gipsies are exceedingly kind and affectionate to
their children, in some instances it, no doubt, is true, but they are
rare indeed if I may judge from appearances. I have yet to learn that
starvation, allowing their children to grow up infinitely worse than
barbarians, subjecting them to fearful oaths and curses, and inflicting
upon the poor children blows with sticks, used with murderous passion, to
within an inch of their lives, exhibits much of the lamb-like spirit,
dove-like innocence, and childish simplicity fiction would picture to our
minds concerning these English barbarians as they camp on the mossy banks
on a hot summer day. In the presence of myself and a friend one of these
lawless fellows very recently hurled a log of wood at a poor Gipsy
child's head for an offence which we could not learn, farther than it was
for a trifling affair; fortunately, it missed the poor child's head, or
death must have been the result. In visiting an encampment last autumn I
came across six Gipsy children having their dinner off three small boiled
turnips, and drinking the water as broth; the eldest girl, although
dressed in rags, was g