for glory, but they fought because the one would not yield
to, or be defeated by the other; and he desired his soldiers to take a
_moral_ lesson from the barn-door fowls. Cock-fighting thus became among
the heathen Greeks a political precept and a religious observance--and
the _Christian_ inhabitants of Britain, disregarding the _religious and
political moral_, kept up the practice, adding to it more disgusting
barbarity, for _their amusement_."

"Coom," said a third, who, from his tongue, appeared to be a thorough
Northumbrian, "we wur talking about Rothbury, but you are goin' to give
us a regular sarmin on cock-fighting. Let's hae none o' that. You was
saying what clever chaps had been born here--but none o' ye mentioned
Jamie Allan, the gipsy and Northumberland piper, who was born here as
weel as the best o' them. But I hae heard that Rothbury, as weel as
Yetholm and Tweedmouth Moor, was a great resort for the Faa or gipsy
gangs in former times. Now, I understand that thae folk were a sort o'
bastard Egyptians; and though I am nae scholar, it strikes me forcibly
that the meaning o' the word _gipsies_, is just _Egypts_, or
_Gypties_--a contraction and corruption o' _Gyptian_!"

"Gipsies," said he who spoke of Rumney and Brown, and abused the
practice of cock-fighting, "still do in some degree, and formerly did in
great numbers, infest this county; and I will tell you a story
concerning them."

"Do so," said the thorough Northumbrian; "I like a story when it's weel
put thegither. The gipsies were queer folk. I've heard my faither tell
many a funny thing about them, when he used to whistle 'Felton Loanin,'
which was made by awd piper Allan--Jamie's faither." And here the
speaker struck up a lively air, which, to the stranger by the fire,
seemed a sort of parody on the well-known tune of "Johnny Cope."

The other then proceeded with his tale, thus:--

You have all heard of the celebrated Johnny Faa, the Lord and Earl of
Little Egypt, who penetrated into Scotland in the reign of James IV.,
and with whom that gallant monarch was glad to conclude a treaty. Johnny
was not only the king, but the first of the Faa gang of whom we have
mention. I am not aware that gipsies get the name of Faas anywhere but
upon the Borders; and though it is difficult to account for the name
satisfactorily, it is said to have had its origin from a family of the
name of _Fall_ or _Fa'_, who resided here (in Rothbury), and that their
superiorit