THE TINKLER-GYPSIES.

"LS^

iflnl!! ToTOif^-lSv^sag

MW-

^''^ 1907.

Dumfries : | Edinhttrgh ^ Glasgow :

]. Maxwell & Son. I John Menzies & Co., Ltd.

London: SiMPKiN, Marshall, Hamilton, Kent & Co., Ltd.

-J ■■♦0-. .

TO MY MOTHER.

■c:.

41928

First Iinpressioti, December, igo6.
Second Intpression, December, igoj.

" .... I tell yoti -what, brother, frequently as I
have sat under the hedge in spring or siintiner time,
and have heard the cuckoo, I have thought that zve chals
and cuckoos are alike in many respects, hit especially
in character. Everybody speaks ill of its both, and
everybody is glad to see both of us again."

Jasper Petulengro in George Borrow's
" The Romany Bye."

" We a'x only beginning to recognise, the vast value
of all folklore or legends Juit as they are perishing ivith
great rapidity — '■ et on n' en fait pas des noiivelles'' — no
new ones are created . . . ."

C. G. Lelaml,
1). 320 " Gypsy Lore Journal," vol. i. (1st series).

" What is wanted in the present state of folklore,

I here repeat, is ' collection ' from original sources and

materials, that is, from people and not merely fom

books. The ciitics -we have— like the poor— akvays -with

us, and a century hence ive shall doubtless have far

better ones than those in -whom -we now rejoice or

sorrow."

C. G. Leland.
]). 369 " Gypsy Lore Jonrnal," vol. ii. iisl series).

^ %ip6y Chilli's Christina?.

T/ie child arose and danced through Jrozen dells,
Draivn by the Christmas chimes, and soon she sate
Where, ^neath the snow around the churchyard gate.
The plotighmen slept in bra>nble-banded cells :
The gorgios passed, half-fearing Gypsy spells,
While Rhona, gazing, seevi'd to meditate ;
Then laugh' d for joy, then wept disconsolate :
" De poor dead gorgios cannot hear de bells.'"

JVithin the church the clouds of gorgio-breath
Arose, a steam of lazy praise arui prayer
7^0 Him who weaves the loving Christmas-stair
O'er sorrow and sin and wintry deeps of Death ;
But where stood He ? Beside our Rhona there.
Remembering childish tears in Nazareth.

Kroni 'Tile CoiiiiilK of Love" iKhona linswells storji,
eighth cditiiin.

Mr Theodore Watts-Dunton, author of Ay/win^
The Co/ning of Love, &c., in kindly granting permission
to the author of this book to use the foregoing beautiful
sonnet, writes him as follows : —

The Pines, Putney Hill,

2^ih N'ovei/iber, igo6.
Dear Mr M'Cormick,

Of course I shall be delighted to have my
sonnet, " A Gypsy Child's Christmas,'" reprinted in your
book. It attracted more attention and gave more pleasure
to my readers than any other part of The Coming of
Love. I have had scores of letters from unknown friends
upon The Coming of Love, and most of them have
specially dwelt upon this sonnet. I can say this without
laying myself open to the charge of egotism, because the
subject of the sonnet was suggested by a beautiful anec-
dote of the child Lavinia Lee given in Frank Groome's
charming volume In Gypsy Tents.

I am, and always have been, a great lover of children,
and I know them well in all their varieties, and I do not
hesitate to say that for whimsical fascination the Romany
children surpass all others. They combine the bright-
eyed intelligence of Gorgio children with the unspeak-
able, unconscious fascination of kittens.

As to your graphic and admirable sketches, when I
read them in the proof I felt grateful to you for this
labour of love of yours. Your book will be greatly
prized, not only by all Romany Ryes, but by all who take
interest in Gypsydom.

Two cf the friends I have lost, George Borrow and
Frank Groome, would have prized it more than any
volume that has issued from the Press for a long time
past, and whatever may be its acceptance at the present
moment its documentary value will increase every year as
time goes on, and as the pictures of the Romanies become
more and more shadowy dreams of the past.

Believe me to be.

Very sincerely yours,

Theodore Watts-Dunton.

INTRODUCTION,

■"Does do^ prey on dog?" asked the Spanish Gypsy
soldier in I3orrow's Zincali. I fancied not ; yet here is
Mr M'Cormick, a brother Romano Rai, with his pistol
pointed at my head, demanding a benediction for his
Tinkler - Gypsies, or else — — Pretty work for the
Provost ! But I must e'en stand and deliver.

Gypsies are Gypsies all the world over — cousins
separated only by their different beats and a few family
peculiarities. Such at any rate was the opinion of old
Isaac Heme, in whose company I visited my first foreign
Gypsies, a band of Greek and Rumelian Romane, who
invaded this island some twenty years ago. Driven from
their squatting-place in a railway station, tlie picturesque
vavcr-teinengyos, looking for all the world like Callot's
Bohemians, were encamped in a large field near Aintree
race-course. " Dere, my boy !" said Isaac, gazing at
them much as Darwin must have gazed at the naked
Patagonians when the reflection occurred to him that
"such were our ancestors" — "Dere, my boy, centres
behind de time of day, but still de right breedipcn. Dat
must be de werry way we looked like when we first come
to Angiierra, years and years and double years ago. But
we've picked up a few bits of tings since den." Yet
Isaac's attitude was not wholly critical. He cast an
approving glance upon a merry Gypsy lass with mocking
eye and flashing teeth, whose perfect shape was little con-
cealed by the gad and choxa which formed her sole
apparel, and who had just retorted to some pleasantry of
the younger Boswells with thecjuaint saying — ".)//;// iiai
lashi : iniiij kand^d ?''^ — words surprising to ears whicii
have lost familiarity with the directness of primitive folk-
speech. "Not a bad-looking (7^(77, my dear />«/," quoth
Isaac ; "one of de right sort — a bit wildish just now may-
be ; but we could do werry well with her, my boy, if we
only took and trained her for a bit and poger''d\\zx adn' \.o
mendt's drouiyas " (broke her in to our ways).

Yes, Gypsies are Gypsies, but are Tinkler-Gypsies
Roman6 ? That is the cjuestion. And if so, where
about in the hierarchy of the Romani races should we

Introducticni. xi.

place them ? The classification of Miklosich is based on
linguistics alone, and ignores all the other features which
go to the making of a Gypsy. But Gypsies are none the
less Gypsies because they have lost a perfect knowledge
of their own tongue. Wherever may be the rank of the
Tinklers— and 1 propose to return to this point in a
moment if the Provost will kindly lower his blunderbuss —
there is happily no doubt whatever of the place they
occupy in the national afi'cctions of the Scottish people.
Their history is hound up with that of .Scotland in a way
which we never find in southern Britain — Johnny Faa
and the Countess of Cassillis ; Macpherson, the hero of
Burns' glorious lyric ; Maclellan of Bombie, who slew a
Gypsy (or Saracen) chief and took the tawny head of his
victim as his crest, are but a few cases in point. Nor is
it uncommon to find Scottish personages like Jeannie
Welsh, or the late Principal Story, who were proud
rather than ashamed of the Gypsy strain in their ancestry.
Nor, again, can any British student of Gypsy lore afford
to overlook the Scottish variety. He may turn for his
knowledge of the Romani tongue in its purity to the
Welsh descendants of Abram Wood, or seek for ancient
customs and traditions in the tents of the English
Stanleys, Lees, and Hemes, but his complete realisation
of the race will fall short unless he grasp something also
of the spirit of romance and adventure, the " life of start
and strife," best exemplified by the Scottish Gypsies.

But still this brings us back to the question— Who and
what are these Tinkler-Gypsies to whom the Provost has
given his hand and heart ? We are entitled to ask them,
as Borrow asked the Gypsy Queen of Yetholm : ^^ Shan
tu a Diiimpli-iniishi, or a tatchi Roinaiiy V (Are you of
mumping breed, or true Gypsy ?) If we go back jast
four centuries, there can be no doubt that the
" Egyptianis," who were paid seven pounds to "be the
Kingis command," " the Egyptians that danced before
the King in Holyrood House in the year 1530," and
the members of the band who ten years later gave
mocking Romani noinnies de guerre to the officers of the
law, were what Borrow would call "real Gypsies of the
.old order." With whom did these early Gypsy inhabi-
tants of Scotland intermarry, either with the assistance of
the Church or by the simpler ceremony of leaping over a
broomstick ? and to what extent can the Tinkler-Gypsies
of to-day be regarded as a Romani stock ? Until anthro-
pologists can agree as to the right method and value of
their anthropometric measurements we must fall back

-xii. Introduction.

upon the only criterion possible, tiiat of llie language.
And here fortunately we have valuable material in the
lists of Tinkler words collected by Scott's friend, Walter
Simson, author of A History of the Gypsies^ and by his
worthy successor, Mr M'Cormick, whose vocabulary is
not the least important part of this fresh and delightful
book.

Already in Simson's day we find that the Scottish
dialect of Romani had lost all its air of being a modern
Indian dialect like Hindustani or Sindhi, and had taken
its colour from the soil. Altogether about half of
Simson's words are debased Gypsy : the remainder is
derived from some different source, and it is from the
study of these words we must seek to identify the class of
people with whom the Scottish Tinklers interbred. The
historical student of secret or cant languages will have no
difficulty in recognising at once the predominant factor
in the non-Gypsy element. It is none oth.er than the
ancient cant of tlie Elizabethan rogue or vagabond, not
changed materially since it was first published to the
world by Thomas Ilarman in his Caveat for Cotnvton
Cursetors, and familiar to us from the conversations and
songs introduced into the plays of Fletcher, Greene,
Dekker, and other early dramatists. This cant is largely
a descriptive one, full of such simple coinages a% gliniiner
for "fire," lightiiians for "day," and darkmans for
"night," with here and there a Latin importation like
graiiiiaiii, "corn," showing that even before the days of
Glanvil's " Scholar Gypsy " the vagrants' bands must
now and then have been recruited by a broken scholar.
Among the words recorded by Harman three hundred
years ago which still, though occasionally with some
slight change of meaning or pronunciation, form part of
the Tinkler tongue are he)ie and /lotship, " good ;" bord,
"a shilling" (Simson, p. 305, "a penny"); chete, "a
thing ;" deli, " a young wench " (Simson, pp. 296, 394 ;
dtll, " a servant maid ") ; fambies, " hands ;" grannam,
"corn ;" ruffian, "the devil" (Simson, p. 305, ruffle) ;
strovuiiell, "straw;" while Mr M'Cormick supplies
additions to those noted by Simson in his -wiin, witig,
" penny," and luapsi, " merelrix " — a word formed from
Ilarman's verb wap, perhaps preserved in the name of
the old sailors' quarter in London, " Wapping."

The language test proves that the early Scottish
Tinklers must be a blend of Koniani and "gabcrlunzie "
man. Small wonder, then, if the descenclants of this

Introdiiclion. xiii.

stock should have won a name for themselves for reckless
daring and predatory ferocity. What this life and its
usual ending were in bygone days we may gather from
the legal documents and other historical evidence collected
in Mr MacRitchie's scholarly work, 77ie Scoliish Gypsies
tinder the Steivarts, or, even more vividly, in Ilarman's
account of his conversation with a travelling " doxy" —
"a pleasant wench, but not so pleasant as witty, and not
so witty as void of all grace and goodness " — or vagrant
woman, one of those nomads whom, the Kentish Esquire
himself tells us, he had bribed with good meat and drink
that he might the better "grope her mind."

"Then, first tell me," quoth I, "how many Upright
Men and Rogues dost thou know or hast thou known
and been conversant with, and what their names be ?"'
She paused awhile, and said — " Why do you ask me, or
wherefore ?" " For nothing else,"' as I si id, " but that I
would know them uhen they came to my gate." " Xow,
by my troth," quoth she, " then are ye never the nearer,
for all my acquaintance, for the most part, are dead.''
" Dead I" quoth I; "how died they? — for want of
cherishing, or of painful diseases?" Then she sighed,
and said they were hanged. " What, all ?" quoth I,
" and so many walk abroad, as I daily see ?" " By my
troth," quoth she, " I know not past six or seven by
their names," and named the same to me. " When were
they hanged?" quoth I. "Some seven years agone,
some three years, and some within this fortnight," and
declared the place where they were executed, which I
knew well to be true by the report of others. "Why,"
quoth I, " did not this sorrowful and fearful sight much
grieve thee, and for thy time, long and evil spent ?" "I
was sorry," quotli she, " by the mass, for some of them
were good loving men ; for I lacked not when they had
it, and they wanted not when I had it, and divers of them
I never did lorsake, until the gallows departed us." " O
merciful God I" quoth I, and began to bless me. "Why
bless ye?" quoth she. "Alas! good gentleman, every
one must have a living."

I turn next to another question upon which the language
test is able to throw light. Besides the Gypsies — the
aristocrats of the road — and the baser confraternity of
vagabonds there exists, here and across the Atlantic, an
ancient and widespread caste which has hitherto received
scant attention — the Irish Tinkers. Omniscient Shake-
speare indeed makes "Prince ffal" boast of being able

xiv. Introduction.

to " drink with any Tinker in his own language ;" but it
was not until our own day that " Hans Breitmann " dis-
covered that the caste of Cairds do actually possess a lang-
uage of their own which later research has shown to be a
perversion of old Irish, oritjinating as far back as the time of
King Alfred the Great. In Ireland this secret language,
commonly known as Shelta, is spoken by four classes —
the Tinkers, Beggars, Pipers, and Sieve-makers ; in
England by almost every knife-grinder. Examples of
this secret speech have been collected in localities so far
apart as the islands of Tiree and Coll in the north of
Scotland and Philadelphia in the United States. In ihe
four provinces of Ireland the Irish Tinkers occupy the
place of our own Gypsies ; in Wales they are the people
described by Borrow under the name of Gwyddelod,
" the men buying and selling horses, and someiimes
tinkering, whilst the women told fortunes ....
' What kind of people are these Gwyddelod ? " ' Savage,
brutish people, sir ; in general without shoes and
stockings, with coarse features and heads of hair like
mops.'" Borrow's guide, John Jones, describes "a
terrible fright " which they caused him returning from
the Berwyn. " It was night as I returned, and when
I was about half-way down the hill, at a place uhich
is called AUt Paddy, becau.se the Gwyddelod are in the
habit of taking up their quarters there, I came upon a
gang of them, who had come there and camped and
lighted their fire, whilst I was on the other side of the
hill. There were nearly twenty of them, men and women,
and amongst the r^st was a man standing naked in a tub
of water with two women stroking him down with clouts.
He was a large, fierce-looking fellow, and his body, on
which the flame of the fire glittered, was nearly covered
with red hair. I never saw such a sight. .As I passed
they glared at me and talked violently in their Paddy
Gwyddch, but did not offer to molest me. I hastened
down the hill, and right glad I was when I found my.self
safe and sound at my house in Llangollen."

Hear also Captain Bosvile on the relations between the
Irish Tinkers and the Gypsies : " I wonder you didn't
try- to serve some of the Irish out." said Borrow, the
peace-maker. " I served one out, brother ; and iny wife
and childer helped to wipe off a little of the .score. We
had stopped on a nice green, near a village over the hills
in Glamorganshire, when up comes a Hindify [Iri-^h]
family, and bids us take ourselves off. Now, it so
happened that '.here was but one man and a woman and

hitroduction. xv,

some childer, so I laughed, and told ihem to drive us off.
Well, brother, without many words there was a regular
scrimmage. The Hindity w«j-//"cameat me, the Hindity
nnishi at my jitwa, and the Hindity chaves at my chavi.
It didn't last long, iirother. In less than three minutes I
had hit the Hindity mush, who was a plaguey big fellow,
but couldn't fight, just under the point of the chin, and
sent him to the ground with all his senses gone. JNIy
juwa had almost scratched an eye out of the Hindity
muski, and my ckai had sent the Hindity childer scamp-
ering over the green. 'Who has got to quit now .' '
said I to the Hindity nntsh after he had got on his legs,
looking like a man who has been cut down after hanging
Just a minute and a half. ' Who has got notice to quit
now, I wonder ? ' Well, brother, he didn't say anything,
nor did any of them, but after a little time they all took
themselves ofl", with a cart they had, to the south. Just
as they got to the edge of the green, however, they turned
round and gave a yell which made all our blood cold. I
knew what it meant, and said, ' This is no place for us.'
So we got everything together and came away, and,
though the horses were tired, never stopped till we had
got ten miles from the place : and well it was we acted
as we did, for, had we stayed, I have no doubt that a
whole Hindity clan would have been down upon us
before morning and cut our throats. "

It is surely worth while to determine how far, if at all,
the blood of this amiable race runs in the veins of our
Scottish Tinklers. And the answer must be hardly at
all. For there is not a single SheUa word in any of
Simson's lists, and the few words I recognise as Shelta in
Mr M'Cormick's vocabulary show that any interfusion
of the Scottish and Irish Tinkers must be of compara-
tively recent date. These Shelta words are : hewr,
"woman;" hm, "little;" chant, "gill" (properly
" pint ") ; gather, " father;" gatter, " beer ; " gloinhach,
" man ;" gothliii, " child;" granyi, " finger ring ;" kain,
" house ;" vieltyug, " shirt ;" midjik, '' sixpence ;"
vionkery, "lodgings" (properly "counny"); niiiog,
"pig;" needi, "tinker" (not suggested as some might
suppose by Canning's needy knife-grinder, but a regular
backslang formation from Irish dame " person ") ; nyuk,
" a penny ;" trass (read hi ass), " food ;" tohcr, " road ;"
and tyitg, " coat."

Printed in a rare tract is a sermon of Parson Haberdyne
" in Praise of Thieves and Thievery . . . which he

xvi. Inttodidction.

made al the commandment of certain thieves, after they
had robbed him, Vieside Hartlerow in Hampshire, in the
fields, there standing upon a hill, where a wind-mill had
been, in the presence of the thieves that robbed him."
It is one of the most excellent discourses in the world,
with a happy conclusion, for we read that " Thus his
sermon being ended they gave him his money again that
they took from him, and ijs to drink for his sermon."
I have none of Parson Haberdyne's happy gift of impro-
visation, nor is the role of the rashai mine ; but to all
Tinklers and Tinkler scholars I have nothing but good-
will ; while to Mr M'Cormick's book I heartily wish te
jal develesa.

JoH.v Sampson.

Preface to the First Edition.

I AM grateful to all who havs in any way helped me in
the preparation of this book. I must commend and
thank my friends the Tinklers themselves for their un-
failing courtesy and kindness to me during my many
interviews with them. They have flung their " coats
upon the green " over some points treated of in this
book, and manfully maintained their arguments by hard
blows given and taken in real Tinkler fashion, but they
have on all occasions been kindly disposed and polite
to me. I owe a speci'il word of thanks to Mr David
MacRitchie, Edinburgh, formerly co-ediior (with the late
Mr F. II. Groome) of the Journal of the Gypsy Lore
Society, for invaluable advice, help, and encouragement ;
also to the late Mr Alexander Waugh, banker, Newton-
Stewart, and Dr M'Kie, Newton-Stewart, for information
in regard to local folklore and for helping with the revisal
of the proof sheets ; and to Dr J. Maxwell Wood, the
editor, and Messrs J. Maxwell & Son, the publishers of
The Gallovidian, for their forbearance and kindness
when the work was passing through the Press. To Mr
Theodore Watts-Dunton, the author of Aylwin, The
Coming of Love, &c., &c. , I am greatly obliged for
leave granted to make use of the foregoing beautiful
sonnet and generously-v\orded letter. To Miss E. M.
Johnstone, Edinburgh ; Dr Hamilton Irving, Iludders-
field ; Mr Malcolm M L. Harper, author of Rwiibles in
Galloivay, iSic. ; and Mr John Copland, artist, I am
indebted for sketches, and to ^Ir R. B. Sutcliffe for a
plan, specially drawn for this book, and to numerous
other friends for illustrations and information supplied.

The articles included — with the exception of chapter
vii. (chapter x. of this edition), now published for the
first time, and chapter viii. (chapter xi. of this edition),
which appeared in atjbreviated form in the Galloivay
Gazette — appeared in The Galloviaian under the title
" Billy Marshall, the Caird of Barullion and King of the
Galloway Tinklers." In respect that Billy Marshall was
ihe most noteworthy of the Tinklers of Galloway that
title was not altogether inappropriate, but in view of
the scope of the work it has been thought advi.sable to
change the title to " The Tinkler-Gypsies of Galloway."

The book itself is a record of some gleanings along a
literary Gypsy by-path. There is a Polish proverb which
says, " He who fraternises with a Gypsy becomes himself
a Gypsy," and so far as treatment of the subiect is con-

xviii. Prejace.

cerned I have grown Gypsy-like, for I liave roamed
about far and near— and ofuimes searched many a blind
alley — to rescue and record some of the meagre infor-
mation still obtainable about our Tinklers, and indeed
(must I admit it ?) I have at times strayed into subjects
merely akin to Gypsyism. In the hope of enabling
others, better able than I, to judge of the former gangs
by the presenl-day lot, T have recorded a number of
my interviews with some of the hitter at camps and
elsewhere, and copiously illustrated the book by photo-
graphs. Even the " nimminy-pimminy people" who
think such a subject loiv may find, by thoughtfully
studying the so-called common Tinklers, much that
will not only interest them but broaden their minds and
add to their humility and charity — unless they are only
capable of seeing what is loiv in these creatures formed
by God as part of the plan of the universe. Indeed,
such a book as the late Mr F. II. Groome's In Gypsy
Tents might, with propriety — and splendid results too —
be commended by " My Lords " as a model of the
intimate and cordial relationship which should exist
in every home circle.

It has been shown that the Irish Tinklers' language,
Sheila or Sheldrn —discovered quite recently by the late
Mr C. G. Iceland — is none other tlian that used by the
ancient bards of that country, and surely it is worthy of
an efil'ort on the part of philologists to try to prove what
the cant ((•rt'/w;// = speech) of the Scotch Tinklers is?

In pul)lishing this reprint I lake courage from the fact
that the late ^lr F. H. Groome has left it on record that
"There lives not a Romany Rye thai has not something
new to impart to his tellow-studcnts."' Loving to ramble
in the open air, and fond of reading, I have already
extracted sufficient reward for making this somewhat
belated attempt to rescue information about the strange
people treated of in the following pages. In summer my
visits to camps have added zest and excitement to many
an enjoyable walk in this lovely Galloway of ours. Only
those uho have caught the cult of Gypsyism can tell
what an extraordinary charm and fascination there is in
studying and reading and writing about the Gypsy race.
If, perchance, I have succeeded in comnninicaling some
of that enjoyment or of my enthusiasm to any of my
readers I shall feel driubly rewarded.

.\. M-CORMICK.

XK«T(1X-STR\VAKT,

Chiishnastitle, V.'Or,.

Preface to the Second Edition.

The generous impulse which caused the first edition of
my book to be bought up within a few weeks after it
was issued has placed me in the honourable position of
being invited to issue a new edition.

My warmest thanks are due to Mr John Sampson,
Liverpool, " our greatest Gypsiologist," for his fine,
scholarly Introduction, and to Mr George Meredith
for his admirable analysis of the character of the
Tinklers, which he has very kindly allowed me to make
use of in issuing this edition, and which will be found,
as a fitting final word about the Tinklers, at the end of
this book.

The book has been revised and amended throughout.
Two new chapters (No. \TI., "A Scotch fjvpsy A'iliage,"'
and VIII., " Tinklers' Bairns") and three Tinkler l-'olk-
tales have been added, and a number of new illustrations
are given. As a wider field is now covered by this work
it has been resolved further to alter the title to "The
Tinkler-Gypsies."'

I offer my most cordial thanks to my readers, and I
am proud to acknowledge that the kind words of praise
bestowed by many critics gladdened my heart. It would
be " like death to the Tinkler— something for newance "
— if my book had not, in some of its details, met with
adverse criticism. I have sought to benefit as much as
possible by the guidance of such criticism.

I have eliminated a good deal of local lore — which was
interesting to those for whom the articles were originally
written — to make room for a nuMiber of folk-tales and
traditions calculated to be of greater interest to the
general reader.

A word of explanation is called for by some of my
readers as to how I came to write this book and as to the
plan of it : For a reason which I need not give here,
I desired to study the Gyps)' character. I had read
several historical treatises c)n the subject when the
perusal of Ayhvin caused me lo fall in love with Gypsy-
ism, and mj' love still grows. I read everything I could
lay my hands on pertaining to it. Not long after I had
been thus infected I was approached by the Editor of the
Gallovidian to write an article on " Billy Marshall,' a
Gypsy who bulks largely in the public memory. At first
I could only find two brief references to that hero, and

XX. Preface.

these in comparalively rare voUiincs. I wrote the
article, but searched further afield both in books and by
conversing with the Tinklers and representatives of old
Galloway families possessed of traditions of the ancient
province — the result Ijeing that instead of writing one
article there are now twelve, all embodied in the volume,
the one on Billy Marshall being partly at the beginning
and partly at the end, with here and there a connecting
link throughout.

Vou have seen a rose Ijush grafted on a wild briar ;
and anon you may have observed the briar gaining the
ascendency and producing a wild rose. Just such a
flower, thrown off from the aboriginal stem, is my book,
for through the ages there has descended to me a love
for what is free, and wild, and grand in nature and in
people.

I trust that the wider publicity which this issue aims at
may both disseminate information about, and deepen
sympathy for, the [loor Tinklers, many of whom have
daily a liard struggle for existence.

A. M'CORMICK.

Xkwtdx-Stkwart,

Christ inaathle, 1'.I07.

CONTENTS.

Chapter.

I. — Billy Marshall, the Caird of Barullion and
King of the Galloway Tinklers

II.- Do. do. d

III. — The Gypsies of Guy Maniiering

IV. — Galwegian Gypsy Gangs

V. — Gypsy Gangs in Galloway

\T. — Gypsy Yarns and Camp Scenes

\TI. — A Scotch Gypsy Village

VIII. — Tinklers' Bairns

IX. — A Modern Gypsy Folk-tale Teller

X. — Tinkler-Gypsies' Origin Discussed

XI. — "German" Gypsies in Galloway .^

XII. — Galwegian Gypsy Worthies

" The Tinklers' Waddin' " .

42

85
126
204
266
324
347
365
386

457
484
536

Appendix : " Note on Shivering the Back LilL'

List of Authorities.

List of Authorities for Traditions.

Tinklers' Cant Vocabulary.
Index.

LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS,

Sketch : Tinkler Encampment

Sketch : Tinklers on the .March (Blackcraig)

Typical Marshall Encampment

Billy Marshall's Signature (fac-siuiile)

Billy Marshall's Signature

Boy's Hand, showing " Marshall Mark " .

Horn Cup made by Billy Marshall

Site of Billy's Camping Ground (Brig o' Dee)

" Dirk Hatteraick's " Cave, near Ravenshall

Sketch : Barholm Castle ('' Ellangowan ")

Cave on " Red Strand " ....

Cave near "Three Cairns," Cairnsmore

" M'Clave's Pantry," Cairnsmore

Cave on " Red Strand" ....

Sketch : " Old Minnigaff Fire-worshippers "
Tail-piece ......

Barholm Castle (" Ellangowan ")
Caerlaverock Castle .....

Carsluith Castle

"Julia Mannering" at " Ellangowan " (Barholm Castle)

Dominie Sampson and Meg Merrilies in the Vault

Map of Galwegian Localities

Terrs Cave .....

Sketch : " Dirk Hatteraick's" Cave, Ravenshall

A Modern " Meg Merrilies "

" Dirk Hatteraick's" (Vawkins') Pistol

"The Boy Tree" ....

" The Tinkler's Loup " .

Davock Marshall (" Roughie Paws ")

Descendants of Kilmaurs Marshalls .

"The Roughie Paw "...

Spoon-making Implements used by Marshalls .

Galloway, Perthshire, and Argyleshire Tinklers .

Malcolm Marshall

Horn Spoons and Ladles made by the Kennedies

" Caulms " used by Andrew Kennedy
Watsons ........

MacMillans

Galloway, Cumberland, Perthshire, and Argyleshire Tinkle
The Doctor and the Blind (Highland) Tinkler Woman
Vetholm (Black) Douglases .....
Galloway and Cumberland Tinklers ....
Galloway, Cumberland, Perthshire, and Argyleshire Tinklers
" King William" Foots it Gaily
.Marslialls

Page.
Frontispiece
Title Page
3

List of Illusirations.

Wilsons .....

Watsons, MacMillans, and ^larshall

Tail-piece

Pretty Partners .

" Kibsing goes by Favour '

" On Guard " .

Yetholm (Black) D.iuglases

English Gypsy Group

O I\iishto Diikkerin .

" Patience " and '"Lijah"

A Caught Smile

A Tickling Joke

Reading Happy Bozzle

Tacho Romanies (W.B.) .
,., . „ (G.B.) .

Tail-piece

Pocket-hook stolen by Billy's Gang

Marshalls ....

Marshalls ....

A Typical Marshal! .

A Marshall

A King and Queen .

MacMillans

A Gcnetan

Paper Flag Vendors .

Settled Marshalls

Watsons ....

Watsons ....

Tinkler "White Boys" .

A North American Indian Woman

Tail-piece ....

Gypsy Woman and Child at Las Pal

" The Good Samaritan " .

Cumberland and Galloway Tinkl

The Blind Tinkler Woman

Marshalls' Hardy Upbringing

A Derelict and an Orphan Boy

Spanish Gypsy Woman and Children

Tail-piece

The Gvpsy Folk-tale Teller

Tail-piece

Burns's "Jolly Beggars"' .

Spoiling the Gaiijoes .

A Gypsy Troup on the March through Lorraine, 1604

A Gypsy Troup on the March through Lorraine, 1604

"The Halt"

Piper Allan ......

Esther Faa Blythe, late Queen of the Scotch Gypsies
Site of the Blackmorrow Well, near Kirkcudbright
Kirk Yetholm, Headquarters of the Scotch Gypsies

List of Illustratiofis.

Charles Faa Blyihe, late King of tlie Scotch CJypsies
Officials of Gypsy Coronation at Yetholm .
Gypsy C'oronation at Vetholm ....

Irish Tinklers .......

Irish Tinklers . ...

Irish Tinklers . . ....

Orcadian Tinkler Boys .....

Perthshire Tinklers ......

M'Larens : Forfarshire Tinklers

Forfarshire Tinkler . ....

Tinkler (Roumanian " Calderar") of Gross-.Scheurn,

sylvania .......

Gypsy " Lingurar" (Spoonmaker) of Transylvania
Gypsy " Lingurar " (Spoonmaker) of Transylvania
Tail -piece .......

" German " Gypsies in Galloway (July, 1906) .
" German " Gypsies in Galloway (July, 1906) .
'Gyptian-wise .......

Marono and her Rom
Marono Dammo and Chabos
Marono Dammo ....

Posing for Bischli Geld

"An Early Visit " ....

Initial letter T (Cuddy and Creels)
Sketch from The Gaberhinzie^ s Walk-
Katie O'Neil or Marshall .
" Vagrants ".....

English Gypsies in Galloway

Irish Tinklers .....

"Cuddy's Cave,"' on Ilazelrigg Hill, near

umberland .....
Snuff " MuU" made by Billy Mar.shall
Horn "Dividers" made by Billy Marshall
Smoothing Iron made by Billy Marshall
" Ursari " (Bear-leaders) in Galloway
" Ursari " (Bear-leaders) of Asia Minor
"Ursari" (Bear-leaders) of Turkey .
" Edie Ochiltree's " Tombstone
Back of " Edie Ochiltree's " Tombstone .
Billy Mar.shall's Tombstone, Churchyard, Kirkcudbri
Back of I?illy .Marshall's Tombstone, Churchyard, Ki:

bright ' .

Marshalls and a Wilson .....
The " Murder Hole" of Tradition
The " -Murder Hole " of Romance . ,

Perthshire and Argyleshire Tinklers (with reduced y^c

note !jy Mr George Meredith on the Tinklers)
Reduced fac-sintile note by Mr George Meredith o

Tinklers .......

Tail-piece .....-,.

Chatton, Nortl

Tran-

;lit
kcud-

the

THE TINKLER-GYPSIES.

" The duddy deils, in mountain glen,

Lamenteth ane an' a', man ;

For sic a king they'll never ken

In bonnie Gallowa', man."

Epitaph on Billy Marshall (MacTayg-art^.

CHAPTER I.

ILLY MARSHALL was held in high
regard by the Galloway Tinklers
of whom he was Chief, and even
after the lapse of over a century
since Billy's death his name and
fame are known in every home in Galloway.

In the annals of the Gypsy race Billy stands
pre-eminent on account of his remarkable
longevity, and if the facts of his life could be
completely laid bare to the gypsiologist, that
would enable many a point in dispute with regard
to the Gypsy race to be settled. Billy was both
a Tinkler and a Gypsy, and is supposed, besides
being a renowned Gypsy Chief, to have been the

2 The Ti)ikler-Gypsies.

last of the Pictish Kings. A study of the
languages used by him and his gang should
therefore prove an invaluable auxiliary, not only
to the philologist in settling whether Billy really
was both a Gypsy and a Pict, but also to the
gypsiologist in determining the proper degree of
relationship of the Scottish Tinklers and Tinkler-
Gypsies to the wave of Gypsies which entered
Ireland or Great Britain either towards the
end of the fifteenth or the beginning of the
sixteenth century.

Our attitude towards the Tinklers renders it
somewhat difficult to obtain information from
them. When we chance upon a gang of Tinklers
— such as that depicted in Mr Malcolm M'L.
Harper's excellent sketch of a Tinklers' encamp-
ment, showing " Will Marshall, the Protestant
Tinkler," a descendant of our hero Billy Marshall,
busy making tin cans — what are our feelings ?
Do we not admire the picturesque scene, and then
noting the Tinklers themselves and the primitive
conditions under which they exist, does not some-
thing akin to contempt take possession of us ?
These same feelings are the direct descendants
of the feelings which have alw^s drawn out,
in self-defence, the worst characteristics of the
Gypsies. Their physical beauty, graced by a
pretty style of dress and ornamentation, charmed
our forefathers, who, nevertheless, persecuted

z^

5 -2 o

II

4 The Tnikler-Gxpsies.

and even hanged many of them merely because
they were habit and repute Egyptians. Need
we wonder, then, that in self-defence they
retaliated ? and so is it now. Our attitude of
contempt towards the poor Tinklers is our
surest way to perpetuate their worst characteris-
tics. Why should we treat them so ? There is
much in their ancestry and history to be justly
proud of. They possess a strong strain of
Pictish(?) and Gypsy blood. It is the strength
of that strain that has caused them to cling
longer than their neighbours to the manners and
customs of their ancestors. Their individuality
has been too strongly marked to allow them to
change with changing polities. Don't let us
pass them by merely as objects of idle curiosity.
They are a most intensely interesting class, and
if we would only break down that barrier of
reserve which we, by our attitude of contempt
for these poor strugglers with their own
individuality, have created in them, w^e would
draw out what is best in them, and, whilst
improving their minds and adding to their
comforts at the same time, obtain much useful
and interesting information. Our perpetuated
attitude of contempt for the Tinklers makes
them reserved and uncommunicative in the
extreme, but when once this defensive wall
is broken through, as Mr Watts-Duntons,

Tinklers' Defensive Reserve. 5

the late George l^orrow, and F. H. Groome
have all affirmed, " the charm of the Romany
character is ' frankness and simplicity.' " Often
as the reader may have seen and conversed with
the Marshalls, MacMillans, and other Tinklers
who frequent Galloway, did he ever imagine that
they possess the remnants of languages unknown
to ordinary Gallovidians ? It was only in the
summer before last — so the Marshalls say —
that any outsider has ever learned from them
that they possess a speech or " cant " of their
own in which there are many Romani words.

It is unfortunate that no systematic attempt
was made immediately after Billy's death to
record the stirring events of his life, and any
meagre particulars now obtainable are open only
to those having access to a few rare books, and
who have an opportunity of meeting with Billy's
descendants, of hearing traditions related by
old residenters, and of visiting the lonely haunts
which Billy used to frequent.

Since even such mengre particulars as remain
of Billy's eventful life can only be found in that
scattered form, it may be of interest if, in order
to get a belter insight into Billy's lifework and
character, an attempt is made to compile the
essential parts of written accounts, and if the
opportunity thus afforded is taken to place upon
record as many as po?sible of the floating tradi-

6 The Tinkler-Gyf'sies.

tions and particulars as are yet obtainable about
Billy. Even at this eleventh hour it may prove
useful to rescue from oblivion what little inftjrma-
tion still remains. It is only by supplying from
all quarters where Gypsies and Tinklers fre([uent
carefully collected local information that suffi
cient data will ever be obtained to enable some
clever Gypsiologist to write an up-to-date history
of the Gypsies, and in this connection it is a
thousand pities that The Gypsy Lore Journal*
has become defunct, for it is only through the
medium of a central journal, such as it wa"?,
that the collection oi such information can be
judiciously encouraged and the material so
obtained carefully classified.

There are many books in which references to
Billy occur, but in most cases these have merely
been culled from former records, and in this
account of Billy's life the primal record of any
event will, as far as practicable, be taken.

The M'Culloch family, of whom there are at
present several branches of landed proprietors
in the Stevvaitr)-, seem to have taken a kindly
interest m Billy, and in return he appears to
have been very grateful to them ; indeed to
this day Billy's descendants speak highly of
the varicnis branches of that family. Bill)-

* Revived, we rejoice to record, on -JuIn , 1!K>7, under the
Honorary Secretaryship of Mr R. A. Scott-Maefie, « Hope Place,
Liverpool.

Former Recnrds. 7

and his gang often halted at the home of
the M'CuUochs, and it is fitting and fortunate
that a scion of that house, the late Mr James
Murray M'Culloch of Ardwall, should have
placed upon record, in the following letter to
Blackwood's Magazine,^* what is the most
trustworthy account of Billy's life : —

" Some Account of Billy Marshall, a
Gypsy Chief.

" Mr Editor, — Among some instructive and
many entertaining articles in your magazine,
I have been a good deal amused in reading
your account of the Gypsies, and more particu-
larly of the Gypsies of our own country. The
race has certainly degenerated (if I may be
allowed to use the expression), and is in some
risk of becoming extinct — whether to the advan-
tage of society or not I will leave to the profound
to determine. In the meantime I am very well
pleased that you have united with the anonymous
author of Guy Maimering in recording the
existence, the manners, and the customs of this
wonderful people.

" But I have been, I assure you, in no small
degree disappointed when reading the names of
the Faas, the Baileys, the Gordons, the Shaws,
the Browns, the Keiths, the Kennedies, the

*Such numbers refer to a list of authorities which will be
found in the Appendix.

8 The Tinkler-Gypsies.

Ruthvens, the Youngs, the Taits, the Douglases,
the Blythes, the Allans, and the Montgomeries,
etc., to observe so noted a family as the
Marshalls altogether omitted. I beg leave to
add that your author will be considered either a
very ignorant or a very partial historian by all
the readers and critics in the extensive districts
of Galloway and Ayrshire if he persists in
passing over in silence the distinguished family
of Billy Marshall, and its numerous cadets. I
cannot say that I, as an individual, owe any
obligations to the late Billy Marshall ; but, sir,
I am one of an old family in the Stewartry of
Galloway with whom Billy was intimate for
nearly a whole century. He visited regularly
twice a year my great-grandfather, grandfather,
and father, and partook, I daresay, of their
hospitality, but he made a grateful and ample
return ; for during all the days of Billy's
natural life, which the sequel will shew not to
have been few, the washings could have been
safely left out all night without anything from a
sheet or a tablecloth down to a dishclout being
in any danger. During that long period of
time there never was a goose, turkey, duck, or
hen taken away but what could have been clearly
traced to the fox, the brock, or the fumart ; and
I have heard an old female domestic of ours
declare that she had known Billy Marshall and

Billy Proves his Gratitude. 9

his gang, again and again, mend all the ' kettles,
pans, and crackit pigs in the house, and make
twa or three dozen o' horn spoons into the
bargain, and never tak' a farthin' o' the laird's
siller.' I am sorry that I cannot give you any
very minute history of my hero : however, I
think it a duty I owe on account of my family
not to allow, as far as I can hinder it, the memory
and name of so old a friend and benefactor to
fall into oblivion when such people as the Faas
and Baileys, etc., are spoken of.

"Where he was born I cannot tell. Who
were his descendants I cannot tell ; I am sure
he could not do it himself if he were living. It
is known that they were prodigiously numerous
— I daresay numberless. For a great part of
his long life he reigned with sovereign sway over
a numerous and powerful gang of Gypsy Tinkers
who took their range over Carrick, in Ayrshire,
the Carrick mountains, and over the Stewartry
and Shire of Galloway ; and now and then by
way of improving themselves and seeing more
of the world they crossed at Donaghadee, and
visited the counties of Down and Derry. I am
not very sure about giving you up Meg Merrilies
quite so easily ; 1 have reason to think she was
a Marshall, and not a Gordon ; and we folks in
Oalloway think this attempt of the Borderers to
rob us of Meg Merrilies no proof that they have

lo The Ti>ikler-Gypsies.

become quite so religious and pious as your
author would have us to believe, but rather that
with their religion and piety they still retain
some of their ancient habits. We think this
attempt to deprive us of Meg Merrilies almost
as bad as that of the descendants of the
barbarous Picts now inhabiting the banks of the
Dee in Aberdeenshire, who some years ago
attempted to run off with the beautiful lyric of
" Mary's Dream," and which we were under the
necessity of proving in one of the courts of
Apollo to be the effusion of Low's muse on the
classic and romantic spot, situated at the conflux
of the Dee and the Ken, in the Stewartry of
Galloway. But to return from this digression to
Piilly Marshall — I will tell \ou everything more
about him I know, hoping this may catch the
eye of some one who knew him better, and who
will tell you more.

"Billy Marshall's account ot himself was this :
He was born in or about the year 1666, but he
might have been mistaken as to the exact year
of his birth. However, the fact never was
doubted of his having been a i)rivate soldier m
the army of King William at the battle of the
Boyne. It was also well known that he was a
private in some of the British regiments which
served under the great Duke of Marlborough in
Germany about the year 1705. But at this

Appreciation of Keltouhill Fair. \ i

period Billy's military career in the service of
his country ended. About this time he went to
his commanding officer, one of the M'Gufifogs
of Ruscoe, a very old family in Galloway, and
asked him if he had any commands for his
native country. Being asked if there rt'as any
opportunity, he replied yes ; he was going to
Keltonhill Fair, having for some years made it
a rule never to be absent. His officer, knowmg
his man, thought it needless to take any very
strong measures to hinder him ; and Billy was
at Keltonhill accordingly.

" Now Billy's destinies placed him in a high
sphere; it was about this period that, either
electively or by usurpation, he was placed at the
head of that mighty people in the south-west,
whom he governed with equal prudence and
talent for the long space of eighty or ninety
years. Some of his admirers assert that he was
of Royal ancestry, and that he succeeded by the
laws of hereditary succession ; but no regular
annals of Billy's house were kept, and oral
tradition and testimony weigh heavily against
this assertion. From any research I have been
able to make I am strongly disposed to think
that in this crisis of his life Billy Marshall had
been no better than Julius C^sar, Richard III.,
Oliver Cromwell, Hyder Alley, or Napoleon
Buonaparte. I do not mean to say that he

12 The Ti/ikhr-Gypsies.

waded through as much blood as some of those
to seat himself on a throne, or to grasp at the
diadem and sceptre, but it was shrewdly
suspected that Billy Marshall had stained his
character and his hands with human blood.
His predecessor died very suddenly, it never
was supposed by his own hand, and he was
buried as privately about the foot of Cairnsmuir,
Craig Nelder, or the Corse of Slakes without the
•ceremony, or perhaps, more properly speaking,
the benefit of a precognition being taken, or an
inquest held by the coroner's jury. During this
long reign he and his followers were not outdone
in their exploits by any of the colonies of Kirk-
Yetholm, Horncliff, Spital, or I-ochmaben. The
following anecdote will convey a pretty correct
notion of what kind of personage Billy was in
the evening of his life ; as for his early days,
I redly know nothing more of them than what
I have already told.

" The writer of this, in the month of May,
1789, had returned to Galloway after a long
absence. He soon learned that Billy Marshall,
of whom he had heard so many tales in his
childhood, was still in existence. U[)on one
occasion he went to Newton-Stewart, with the
late Mr M'Culloch of Barholm and the late Mr
Hannay of Bargaly, to dine with Mr Samuel
M'Caul. Billy Marshall then lived at the

Billy in his iijth Year. 13

hamlet or clachan of Polnure, a spot beautifully
situated on the burn or stream of that name.
We called on our old hero — he was at home —
he never denied himself, and soon appeared.
He walked slowly, but firmly, towards the
carriage, and asked Mr Hanniy, who was a
warm friend of his, how he was. Mr Hannay
asked if he knew who was in the carriage ? He
answered that his eyes ' had failed him a gude
dale,' but added that he saw his friend Barholm.
and that he could see a youth sitting betwixt
them whom he did not know. I was introduced,
and had a gracious shake of his hand. He told
me I was setting out in life, and admonished me
to ' tak' care o' my han', and do naething to
dishonour the gude stock o' folk that I was
come o'.' He added that I was the fourth
generation of us he had been acquaint wi'.
Each of us paid a small pecuniary tribute of
respect. I attempted to add to mine, but
Barholm told me he had fully as much as would
be put to a good use. We were returning the
same way, betwixt ten and eleven at night, after
spending a pleasant day, and taking a cheerful
glass with our friend Mr M'Caul ; we were des-
cending the beautifully wooded hills, above the
picturesque glen of Polnure, my two companions
were napping, the moon shone clear, and all
nature was quiet excepting Polnure Burn and

T4 The Ti/ikkr-Gypsits.

the dwelling of Billy Marshall, the postillion
stopped (in these parts the well-known and well-
liked Johnny Whurk), and turning round with a
I voice which indicated terror, he said ' Gude
guide us, there's folk singing Psalms in the wud.'
My companions awoke and listened. Barholm
said 'Psalms, sure enough,' but Bargaly said
' the deil a-bit o' them are Psalms.' We went
on, and stopped again at the door of the old king.
We then heard . Billy go through a great many
stanzas of a song in such a way as convinced us
that his memory and voice had, at any rate, not
failed him ; he was joined by a numerous and
powerful chorus. It is quite needless to be so
minute as to give any account of the song
which Billy sung ; it will be enough to say that
my friend Barholm was completely wrong in
supposing it to be a Psalm — it resembled in no
particular Psalm, Paraphrase, or hymn. We
called him out again ; he appeared much brisker
than he was in the morning. We advised him
to go to bed, but he replied that ' he didna
think he wad be muckle in his bed that nicht,
they had to lak' the country in the mornin' '
(meaning that they were to begin a ramble over
■V - the country), and that they ' were just takin' a
' \ wee drap drink to the health of our honours,
wi' the lock siller we had gi'en them.' I shook
hands with him for the last time ; he then

Remarkable Longevity Confirmed. 15

called himself above one hundred and twenty j
years of age; he died about 1790. His great I
age never was disputed to the extent of more I
than three or four years ; the oldest people in i
the country allowed the account to be correct. }
The great-grandmother of the present writer |
died at the advanced age of 104 ; her age was
correctly known. She said that Wull Marshall t
was a man when she was a bit callant (pro-
vincially, in Galloway, a very young girl). She
had no doubt as to his being fifteen or sixteen
years older than herself, and he survived her
several years. His long reign, if not glorious,
was in the main fortunate for himself and his
people. Only one great calamity befel him and
them during that long space of time in which
he held the reins of government. It may have
been already suspected that, with Billy Marshall,
ambition was a ruling passion, and this bane of
human fortune had stimulated in him a desire 1
to extend his dominions, from the Brig-en' of \
Dumfries to the Newton of Ayr, at a time when-
he well knew the Braes of Glenapp and the
Water of Doon to be his western precinct. He
reached the Newton of Ayr, which I believe is
in Kyle, but there he was opposed and com-
pelled to recross the river by a powerful body
of Tinkers from Argyle or Dumbarton. He said
in his bulletins that they were supported by

1 6 The Tinkler-Gypsies.

strong bodies of Irish sailors and Kyle colliers.
Billy had no artillery, but his cavalry and
infantry suffered very severely. He was obliged
to leave a great part of his baggage, provisions^
and camp equipage behind him, consisting of
kettles, pots, pans, blankets, ciockery, horns,
pigs, poultry, etc. A large proportion of
shelties, asses, and mules were driven into the
water and drowned, which occasioned a heavy
loss in creels, panniers, hampers. Tinkers' tools,
and cooking utensils, and, although he was as
well appointed, as to a medical staff, as such
expeditions usually were, in addition to those
who were missing many died of their wounds.
However, on reaching Maybole with his broken
and dispirited troops he was joined by a faithful
ally from the county of Down, who, unlike
other allies on such occasions, did not forsake
him in his adversity. This junction enabled
our hero to rally, and pursue in his turn. A
pitched battle was again fought, somewhere
about the Brig of Doon or AUoway Kirk, when
both sides, as is~iisual, claimed a victory, but,
however this may have been, it is believed that
this disaster, which happened a.d. 17 12, had
slaked the thirst of Billy's ambition. He was
many years in recovering from the effects of
this great pcjlitical error; indeed, it had nearly
proved as fatal to the fortunes of Billy Marshall

Bi/Ifs Character. I'j

as the ever-memorable Russian Campaign did
to Napoleon Buonaparte, about the same year
in the succeeding century.

" It is usual for writers to give the character
along with the death of their prince or hero. I
would like to be excused from the performance
•of any such task as drawing the character of
Billy Marshall, but it may be done in a few
words by saying that he had from nature a
strong mind, with a vigorous and active person;
and that, either naturally or by acquirement,
he possessed every mental and personal quality
which was requisite for one who was placed in
his high station, and who held sovereign power
over his fellow creatures for so great a length of
time. I would be glad if I could, with impar-
tiality, close my account here ; but it becomes
my duty to add that (from expediency, it is
believed, not from choice), with the exception of
intemperate drinking, treachery, and ingratitude,
he practised every crime which is incident to
human nature. Those of the deepest dye, I am
afraid, cannot with truth be included in the
exception. In short, his people met with an
irreparable loss in the death of their king and
leader, but it never was alleged that the moral
world sustained any loss by the death of the
man. " (Intd.) L.

"Edinburgh, May 26, 1S17."

1 8 The Tinkler-Gypsies.

Fortunate it is, also, that no less an authority
than Sir Walter Scott has furnished us — in his
additional Prefatory Note to Guy Mann'ring' — ■
with a list showing some of Billy's peculiarities.
That list, though not by any means exhaustive,
is sufficiently comprehensive and characteristic
to indicate that Billy was, at least, entitled to
notoriety : " ' Meg Merrilies ' is, in Galloway,
considered as having had her origin in the tradi-
tions concerning the celebrated Flora Marshall,
one of the Royal Contorts of William Marshall,
more commonly called the Caird of BaruUioiir
King of the Gypsies of the A\'estern Lowlands.
That potentate was himself deserving of notice
from the following peculiarities : — He was born
in the parish of Kirkmichael about the year
1671 ; and as he died at Kirkcudbright, 23rd
November, 1792, he must then have been in the
I 20th year of his age. It cannot be said that
this unusually long lease of existence was noted
by any peculiar e.xcellence of conduct or habits
of life. Willie had been pressed or enlisted
seven times, and had deserted as often ; besides
three times running away from the Naval
Service. He had been seventeen times lawfully
married, and besides such a reasonably large
V^ share of matrimonial comforts was, after his
, 1 00th year, the avowed father of four children
(, by less legitimate affections. He subsisted in

Some Peculiarities. 19

his extremely old age by a pension from the
present Earl of Selkirk's grandfather. Will
Marshall is buried in Kirkcudbright Church,
where his monument is still shown, decorated
with a scutcheon suitably blazoned with two
tups' horns and two cutty spoons."

Some of these " peculiarities," when practised
amongst Galloway men who fought and bled to
uphold their Covenanting principles, and who
at the period in question seldom read aught
save books on religious instruction — such as the
Bible, Bunyan's Pilgrim s Progress, and Boston's
Fom-fold State — would have branded any man
as infamous. Nevertheless, if the reader fails
to remember that Billy Marshall was possibly a
Pictish King as well as a Gypsy Chief, ruled by
different laws and customs from those prevailing
in the district frequented by his gang, he will
do the memory of Billy a grave injustice. And,
whisper it softly, it can be clearly demonstrated
that many of Billy's worst " peculiarities " are
not Romani characteristics, and must be attri-
buted to his Pictish blood, a strain common
alike to the Tinklers of Galloway and to many
another Gallovidian.

Reprehensible as many of Billy's peculiarities
may appear when judged by modern standards,
it would seem " that parsons contended for him,
and different parishes claimed the honour of

20 The Tifikler-Gypsies.

his nativity." Kirkmichiel, Dumfriesshire, and
Kirkmichael, Ayrshire, and Crossmichael and
Minnigaff in Kirkcudbrightshire, appear to be
the claimants for this honour.

The Scots Magazine'^ gives the palm to Kirk-
michael Parish, Ayrshire, in the following
obituary notice, under date November 28,
1792 :—

"At Kirkcudbright, aged 120, ^\'illiam
Marshall, Tinkler. He was a native of the
Parish of Kirkmichael, Ayrshire."

Sir \\'alter Scott, as above indicated, also
names Kirkmichael — but does not say whether
of Dumfriesshire or Ayrshire — as his birthplace,
and that information, according to the Memoir
of Joseph Train, the antiquarian correspondent
of Sir Walter Scott, ^ would be obtained from
Train, who lived for a time at each of Newton-
Stewart, Dumfries, Wigtown, and Castle-Douglas
— all towns situated within Billy's sphere of
influence. It is interesting to note that the Old
Statistical Account^ for the Parishes of Kirk-
michael, Dumfriesshire (1791), and Kirkmichael,
Ayrshire (1793), makes no reference to Billy
Marshall ; but in the Old Statistical Account for
the Parishes of Crossmichael (1791), Minnigaff
(1793), and Kirkcudbright (1794) — all in Kirk-
cudbrightshire— the followinii references occur :

Place of Birth. 2 r

CROSSMICIIAEL.— Vol.. I., p. 16S.
By the Rev. John Johnstone.
" The people live not in towns or villages, and most
of them are employed in agriculture, which is favourable
at once to health, longevity, and morals. Within these
twenty years at least 12 persons have died in the lower;
parts of Galloway from 100 to 115 years old. William I
Marshal, a tinker in this place, is now 118. lie might
pass for a man of 60. His faculties are unimpaired, and '
he walks through the country with ease."

MINNIGAFF.- -Vol. VII., p. 53.
By the Rev. John GAULiiis Maitland.
" Instances of longevity are frequent in this parish.
One man, still alive, is said to be 118 years of age.
This, however, rests chiefly on his own testimony, as
no authentic record of his birth has ever been produced.
Ilis name is William Marshall ; he has the remains of an
athletic frame. In his youth he was a soldier. He says
he served under King William in Ireland. If this was _
the case he certainly does not exaggerate his age, but of
this part of his history there is no better evidence than
that of his age itself. That his age, however, is very
great there is this presumptive proof, that none of the
oldest people in this county have ever contradicted his
assertion."

KIRKCUDBRIGHT.— Vol. XL, pp. 15 and 16.

By the Rev. Robkrt Muter, D.D.
" The following instances of longevity it may be pro-
per to insert. . . . And on 28th November, 1792,
VVillinm Marshall, tinker, died here at the astonishing
age of I20.^'' Though he was not a native of this place,
but of Kirkmichael, in the shixe_of Ayr, yet for several
years before he died he resided often in this burgh. This
miracle of longevity retained his senses almost to the
last hour, and distinctly remembered to have seen King

* Erroneously quoted as 90 at p. 5-21, Vol. II., reprint of
Chambers's Caledonia.

2 2 The Tinkkr-Gypsits.

William's fleet when on Iheir way to Ireland, ridint; at
anchor in the Solway Firth, close by the Bay of Kirkcud-
bright, and the transports lying in the harbour. His
funeral was attended by a large concourse of people of all
ranks, who paid due respect to his astonishing age."

It is only fair to Kirkmichael, Dumfriesshire,
to add that the following interesting account,
which may or may not refer to Billy, appears in
the Old Statistical Account for that parish
(1791) : —

KIRKMICHAEL IN COUNTY OF DUMFRIES.
Vol. I., p. 57.
" One man in the parish is 103 years old. His
account of himself is that he was born in the borrowing
days of the year that King William came in {i.e., in one
of the three last days of March, 1688), and that he was
baptised in hidlings {i.e., secretly) by a Presbyterian
minister the following summer, as the curates were then
in the kirks. Though he is now mostly confined to bed
he retains his mental faculties very distinct, and three
years ago he wrought at the harvest in perfect health and
spirits."

However, the accounts of liilly in the Statis-
tical Accounts for Crossmichael, Minnigaff,
and Kirkcudbright seem to negative any pro-
bability of that account being a description of
Billy. The fact also that when Mr M'Culloch
met with him in the month of May, 1789,
he was so hale and healthy as to be able to
indulge in an all-night spree before proceeding
"to tak' the country in the morning," and that,
when in his 120th year, he had journeyed from

Place of Birth. 23

Kirkcudbright, where he then lived, to Newton-
Stewart, where on 21st March, 1792, he signed
the conveyance of his property at Minnigaff,
precludes that it could be reasonably claimed
that the man referred to in the Kirkmichael
(Dumfriesshire) Account is the same as the one
(William Marshall) actually named in the other
three Accounts.

In the New Statistical Account (1845)" for
the five parishes above alluded to the following
is the only reference made to Billy : —

" Minnigaff. — The parish is liealihy, and instances
of longevity are not infrequent. The person mentioned
in the last Account as being 118 years of age died
aged 121."

In Herotis Tours' the conflicting claims of
Minnigaff and Crossmichael are thus dealt
•with : —

" William Marshall, a man of the gypsey-gang, a native
of the adjacent parish of Minnigaff, died lately at an age
considerably above an hundred years. . . . Old William
might have said that Parsons had contended for him and
•different parishes had claimed the honour of his nativity.
. . . Old Marshall has been claimed as a native of two
different parishes. One clergyman, willing to do his
parish all possible honour, took advantage of Marshall's
being accidentally in his neighbourhood, and popped
him down in his Account. When the minister of the
parish to which William truly belonged came to give in
his Account to the. compiler he found it necessary to
reclaim the waif. I am not sure, however, that any
personal contention took place between the two clergy-
men on account of Mr ^Marshall."

24 The Tinkler-Gypsies.

And again Heron disposes of the question
thus : —

" Later and more curious encjuiry has, however, evinced
that Egypt has no better claim to be considered as the
parent country of the Gypsies than Crossmichael to be
regarded as the native parish of old William Marshall."

Other references might be made, but these, it
is thought, are merely quotations from one or
other of the authorities already quoted. Now,
it will be observed that the Accounts for
Minnigaff and Crossmichnel above quoted do
not bear out — as alleged by Heron — that these
parishes claimed to be his birthplace, but it
should be noted that Heron made his tour
through Galloway in the autumn of 1792, that
is to say, just about three months before Billy
died, and may have obtained private informa-
tion about the claims of the respective parishes,
either then or when helping Sir John Sinclair
in compiling the Old Statistical Account. At
this late hour in the day it is difficult to bring
any further evidence to bear upon Heron's
contention. Even William Marshall, the present
" King " of the Marshall gang, is at a loss to
throw light on the matter; and in an amusing
letter recently received from him by the writer
anent the birthplace of his illustrious ancestor,
he hints that Kirkcudbright and Moniaive have
also somehow laid claim to the honour of being

Place of Birth. 25

Billy's native place. He says — "Just a fe\r
lines to let you know that I could not find out
where my friend was boren, though no' boren ini
Kilcoobrie. As far as I can hear he was boren
in Mineyhive, and no' Kilcoobrie."

It would seem, however, that the honour of
being Billy's birthplace lies between Kirkmichael,
Ayrshire, and Minnigaff, Kirkcudbrightshire, but
rather than give an opinion upon such conflict-
ing evidence, we prefer to content ourselves
with having recorded the pros and cons of the
case, and to leave the point undecided in the
hope that someone may yet be able to produce
evidence making it clearer which parish is Billy's
birthplace. It was natural that any "howf"
where he happened to make his headquarters
for a time should claim him ; but, in the absence
of direct evidence, the tent, or a barn, when the
gang_were_l' takin' the country," would be more
likely to be his birthplace than any village.

But whether or not Heron is correct in his-
contention that Minnigaff is Billy's birthplace,
it is certain that Billy made Minnigaff his head-
quarters for a considerable portion of his life.
We hear of him having as his headquarters aj
house, which he owned, in old Minnigaff Village, ^^
and a cottage in Bargally Glen, both in the
parish of Minnigaff.

The title deeds^ show that Billy was actually

2 6 The Tinkhr-Gypsies.

proprietor of that royal residence in Old Minni-
gafif from 21st November, 1766, to 2[.st March,
1792. As will be observed from the illustrations,
Billy's signature to the deed ])urchasing the
property is written in a b(jld masterly hand
thoroughly in keeping with his character, and
his signature on the deed disposing of the
property — though somewhat shaky — is surely
not only highly creditable to him, but unique as
a specimen signature of a Pictish King (?) and
Gypsy Chief written in his 120th year.

Billy, according to a tradition, for which
we are indebted to Mr James G. Kinna's
admirable History of the Parish of Minnigaff,^
being unable to sign his name, " conscientious
scruples would not allow of his making the sign
of the cross, but a printed copy of his name
^vas placed before him which he imitated as
nearly as possible." But the reader may
nevertheless ask, " Are these signatures genuine,
and was the later signature really written during
Jiiliy's 1 20th year?" The disjcjintt'd lettfrs in
all the seven signatures adhibited to the two
deeds go to confirm the tradition that Billy had
copied from a specimen signature, and it seems
■' from one of the deeds that the signature has in
the first instance been written in [)encil, and
that Billy has simply copied it over in ink.
Here and there throughout the signature there

< -J

2 8 The Tinkler-Gypsies.

are still distinct pencil markings indicating that
Billy had simply filled in with ink the signature
previously traced in pencil. But, apart from
the light which the story about Billy's
" conscientious scruples " undoubtedly throws
upon the adhibition of his signatures, the
tradition must be of some interest to readers of
Gypsy Folk Lore :

The late Mr F. H. Groome, in the
introduction to his Gypsy Folk Tales,^'^ says —
" Du Cange's last passage is by far the
most interesting. ' Anonymus de Passione
Domini. And when they arrive at the place,
the koinodromos coming to crucify him, (S:c.'
Why so interesting ? There does not seem
much in that, my readers may exclaim, ^^'hy,
because there is a widely spread superstition
that a gypsy forged the nails for the crucifixion,
and that henceforth his race has been accursed
of heaven. ... It is a far cry from the Greek
Archipelago to the Highlands of Scotland,
but in the Gypsy Lore Journal (III., 1892, p.
190) is this brief unsigned note : ' I should be
pleased to know if you have the tradition in the
South of Scotland that the tinkers are descend-
ants of the one who made the nails for the cross,
and are condemned to wander continually with-
out re!-t.' No answer appeared ; and I know of

Superstitions about the Cross. 29

no other hint of the currency of this belief in
Western Europe, unless it be the couplet: —

' A whistling maid and a crowing hen,
Are hateful alike to God and men,'

* because,' according to Lieut. -Col. A. Fergusson
(Notes and Queries, August, 1879, p. 93), though
he gives no authority, ' A woman stood by and \
whistled while she watched the nails for the
Cross being forged.' " ll

That the tradition about the whistling maid
also wields a powerful influence over the super-
stitious Irish peasantry is evidenced by the
following quotation from a recent article" : —
" Morning, noon, or night that Mairgread Kelly
would be going or coming through the village
it is either laughmg or whistling she'd be, oftenest
whistling. At that sound the women would
/:ross themselves and murmur one to another — ■

' A whistling maid or a crowing hen,
There's never luck in the place they're in.'"

According to a writer in the Gypsy Lore
Journal^'-^ the tradition about the gypsy forging
the nails for the cross is also widespread amongst
the continental Gypsies.

In Gypsy Folk Tales,^' No. 14, "The Red
King and the \\'itch," will be found this further
confirmation of the superstition with which
Gypsies regard the sign of the cross : "His father
gave him a couple of sacks of ducats, and he put

^^ i^i^N^

H

vCj \Jjj

'%.

i^^ :J ^1

Superstitious about the Cross. ^ i

them on his horse. The lad went and made a
hole on the border of the city. He made a
chest of stone and put all the money there, and
buried it. He placed a stone cross above and
departed. And he journeyed eight days and
came to the king of all the birds that fly. . . .
He came where his father's palace stood, and
looked about him. There was no palace, no
anything. And he fell to marvelling : ' God,
Thou are mighty.' He only recognised his
father's well, and went to it. His sister, the
witch, when she saw him, said to him, ' I have
waited long for you, dog.' She rushed at him
to devour him, but he made the si^n of the cross,
and slie perished."

Another WTiter in the Gypsy Lore Journal^^
also points out that the Lithuanian Gypsies
possess a tradition that they steal under Divine
patronage : " Stealing, they say, has been per-
mitted in their favour by the crucified Jesus,
because the Gypsies, being present at the cruci-
fixion, stole one of the four nails, by the aid of
which the Saviour was nailed to the cross ;.
hence it is that, when the hands had been
nailed fast, there was only one nail left for the
feet, and God allowed them to steal, and it is
not accounted a sin to them."

In reviewing Mr Andrew Lang's Cusioin
and Myth (London, 1885), in the Athtnceunv

32 The Tinkler-Gypsies.

of 2i!it February, 1885, Mr A\'atts-Dunton,
then Mr Theodore Watts, complains that
Mr Lang had ignored altogether Romani
customs and traditions, and states, among
other examples, that the cross is the most
powerful of all symbols amongst the
Romani : " Tattoed on the breast of the South
Papuan women we find the same cross (or
Sanscrit irisu/a), which the Romanis believe to
be the most powerful of all symbols — so power-
\ ful that the rainbow will fade from the sky 'at
'the very sight of it.'"^"'

Then most readers will remember the im-
portant part the trushul (gypsy, a cross) is
made to play in Mr \Vatts-I)unton's delightful
-Gypsy story, " Aylwin,"'^ and the superstitious
awe with which the Gypsies of " Aylwin " re-
garded it :

"A trushul V (queried Henry Aylwin). And
then the Gypsy heroine, Mr Watts- Dunton's
" Sinfi Lovel," is made to reply :

" \\'hat you call a cross. There's nothin' in
the world so strong for cussin' and blessin' as a
Irihhul, unless the stars shinin' in the river or
the hand in the clouds is as strong. . . ."

In Aiident and Modern Britons^' Mr David
MacRitchie abl)' discusses Billy's claim to be de-
scended from a family of ancient standing, and in
that connection it is also interesting to note that,

The " Marshall Mark." 35

in the various Marshall arms registered in the
Lyon Office at Edinburgh, the Saltire — i.e., the
St. Andrew's Cross — appears as the principal
charge.''*

There is also this further tradition,'** among
the present gang of Marshalls, relating to
the sign of the cross : Dr M'Kie, Newton-
Stewart — when attending a little boy, one of
the descendants of Billy Marshall — asked
the boy if he was a descendant of old
Billy, and the boy's mother at once said, " Oh,
ay, he's a real Marshall ; he's even got the
' Marshall mark.' " " What's that ?" asked the
Doctor. Thereupon she drew the little boy
forward and showed the Doctor the deeply
indented mark of an X upon the boy's hand.
The sceptical will no doubt say, " Many a one
has a similar marking on his hand," but have
they ever heard of any one in humble circum-
stances who had a similar tradition about the
lines on the palm of his hand ? It would,
therefore, have been highly appropriate for
Billy to have used the sign of the cross in
place of a signature, and, as a matter of fact^
Billy has actually carved with his own hands an
X between his initials on the horn mug after-
wards alluded to ; and the only explanation for

* Such letters refer to a list, of authorities for traditions, which
will be found in the appendix.

Boy d Hano, shjwing " Marshall^Mark '

I'holoby J. I'. Millies.
jPublislie 1 liy kinil p^jriiiisBion of Mrs Alexander Marshall, Tinkli-r, (ialloway.)

Aversion to Sigiiifig by an X. 35

his declining to sign by a cross must lie in the f
fact that the Gypsies as a class are most super-
stitious, and Billy, as will afterwards be shown,
was a victim to superstitious fears.

Bearing in mind that the Marshalls one and
all avow themselves to be Protestants, and that
the " Marshall mark " cannot therefore be
regarded as a Roman Catholic holy symbol,
may not, therefore, these two traditions — about
Billy's superstitious aversion to signing by an X,
and of a descendant possessing the " Marshall
mark " — form a belated though somewhat
indirect answer to the query contained in the
late Mr Groome's quotation from The Gypsy
Lore Journal ?

The genuineness of Billy's signature is
proved by all the requirements of the law
of Scotland, the signing, of each document,
has been duly witnessed by two witnesses — the
WMtnesses to the one deed being the steward and
the servant of Patrick Heron of Heron, the
superior of the ground whereon the house stood,
and to the other deed a merchant and a school-
master.

Then, as to Billy's age. it will be more con-
venient, when all these excerpts are fresh in
mind, to discuss this vexed question.

The obituary notice, already quoted, in The
Scots Magazine^ at the time of Billy's death

36 The Tnikler-Gypsies.

stated his age at 120, and the age given therein
is also corroborated by the following obituary
notice which appeared in The New Annual
Register^^ immediately after Billy's death :—

NEW ANNUAL REGISTER, 1792, No. 34, part 2,
p. 47.
"Died, 28th. (Nov., 1792). At Kirkcudl)right, Scot-
land, at the great age of 120, William Marshall, linker.
This miracle of longevity retained liis senses almost to
the last hour of his life. He remembered distinctly to
have seen King William's Fleet, when on their way to-
Ireland, riding at anchor in the Sol way Firth close by
the bay of Kirkcudbright, and the transports lying in the
harbour. He was present at the siege of Derry, where,
having lost his uncle, who commanded a King's frigate,
he returned home, enlisted in the Dutch service, went to
Holland and soon after deserted, and came back to his^
native country. Naturally of a wandering and unsettled
turn of mind, he could never remain long in any
particular place. Hence he took up the occupation of a
tinker, headed a body of lawless banditti, and frequently
traversed the kingdom from one end to the other. But
it is to be observed to his credit that of all the thieving
wandering geniuses who, during the weakness of the
established government, led forth their various gangs to
plunder and to alarm the country, he was far the most
honourable in his profession."

But there are even more reliable evidences
than those of obituary notices published at a
time when it was out of the question to trouble
enquiring for confirmation of such communica-
tions when forwarded from a distance ;

The Selkirk family, who helped in many ways
to make Billy's burden lighter for him in his old

Remarkable Loni^evity. 37

age, do not appear to have doubted that Billy
was as old as he professed to be. In October,
1905, an old box — belonging to the Selkirk
family — which had remained sealed for a great
many years, was opened, and amongst other
interesting relics handed over by Captain Hope
of St. Mary's Isle, Kirkcudbright, to Mr John
McKie, R.N., then Honorary Curator of the
Stewartry Museum, Kirkcudbright, were the
horn mug and spoon, which had been pre-
sented by Billy and his son to Dunbar, Earl of
Selkirk. Thanks to the above disinterested act
•on the part of Captain Hope and to the kind
permission granted by the Honorary Curator of
the Stewartry Museum, we are pleased to be
able to reproduce a photo of these very interest-
ing relics. The description embodied in the
photo is taken from the original labels found
attached to the mug and spoon, and it will be
noted that Billy has actually carved on the mug
his own initials, a cross and the year of carving ;
and on the other side his age, " 115," has also
been carved by him: — "W x M 115, 1788."
Since Billy carved that X between his initials
the question naturally arises did he, in this
particular instance, have recourse to a com-
promise by combining his initials with the
'' Marshall mark," or did a perception of the
distinction between signing by a cross and

to l.y T. II. I!;.nl;i.v.

Remarkable Longevity. 39

carving a cross suffice to allay his supposed
conscientious scruples and superstitious fears as
to using the sign of the cross ?

If, however, it was to Billy's interest to be
regarded as a miracle of longevity, then some
may be inclined to doubt his credibility. That
Billy's family are a long-lived race is further
supported by the writing on his tombstone in
Kirkcudbright Churchyard, and by the statement '
that one of his sons " lived to be over 100
years old." But perhaps the best proof of all
will be found in the recorded evidence^of Mr
James Murray M'CuUoch, of Ardwall, who had
actually met and conversed with Billy — con-
tained in his interesting and instructive letter
above referred to. That letter shows that Billy's
great age was never disputed to the extent of
more than " three or four years,'' and that the
" oldest people " in the country allowed the
account to be correct. Mr M'Culloch states
that Billy's own account was that he was "born
in or about the year 1666, but that he might
have been mistaken as to the exact year of his
birth," but as he undoubtedly died in 1792,
and as it is claimed that he was then 120, he
must have been born in 1672 or 1673. So it
would appear, in stating his age at 120, that the
" three or four years " which may have been
disputed have already been deducted. The

40 The Tinkler-Gxpsies.

carving upon the mug also indicates that Billy
himself must, notwithstanding Mr M'Culloch's
statement, have understood he was born either
in the end of 1672 or in the beginning of 1673.
In addition to Mr M'Culloch's own testimony,
and his record of the opinions in regard to
Billy's great age held by the " oldest people " in
the country, we have, in the letter above quoted,
this more particular and convincing, although
.also second-hand comparison of the ages of
Billy Marshall and Mr M'Culloch's great-grand-
■mother, Mrs M'Culloch of Kirkclaugh, corro-
borating the view that Billy must have been
about 120 years of age at his death: "The
great-grandmother of the writer (Mr M'Culloch)
of this article died at the advanced age of 104 ;
her age was correctly known. She said Wull
Marshall was a man when she was a bit callant
(provincially in Galloway, a young girl). She
had no doubt as to his being fifteen or sixteen
years older than herself, and he survived her
several years." Further corroboration may also
be had from The Life of James Allan ( 1 8 18),-" and
MacTaggart's Gallovidian Encyclopedia (1824),^'
and Sir WaHer Scott's Guy Ma7ineringi^-

To sum up then — That Billy lived till he was
ah. ut the age of 120 is borne testimony to by
(1) The Scots Magazine ; (2) The Neiv Annual
Jieiiister in their re^])ective issues immediately

Proofs of Billy's Longevity. 41

^fter Billy's death ; (3) The Old Statistical
Account for Crossmichael, Minnigaff, and Kirk-
cudbright Parishes — the reports alluding to
Billy's longevity being in all likelihood written
by ministers who would know Billy ; (4) The
New statistical Account (1845) for Minnigaff
Parish ; (5) Robert Heron, author of Heron's
Tours (Autumn of 1792) ; (6) Mr James Murray
M'Culloch of Ardwall, who had conversed with
Billy, as will be seen from the letter above
■quoted, three years before the date of Billy's
■death ; (7) Billy's own carving upon the horn ~|
mug, presented by him to the Earl of Selkirk I
<1788) ; (8) Life of James Allan (1818) ; (9)
MacTaggart's Gallovidian Encyclopcedia (1824); \^
■(10) Sir Walter Scott's Guy Mannering ; and
■(11) The Epitaph on Billy's Tombstone in
Kirkcudbright Churchyard. Is it not amazing
that there should remain such a formidable list
of corroboratory authorities, and yet even these
may fail to satisfy the hypercritical who, none
the less, may quite readily swallow every tradi-
tion that has been handed down accrediting
Billy with immorality, rapine, and murder ! j
But how many of those, of the men of Billy's
■day, who had no notion of becoming famous
in the days to come, have left such a mass
of artlessly corroboratory evidence as to their
respective ages ?

CHAPTER II.

" With Gypsy gangs, in dales and dells,
In woods and caves, on moors and fells,
Bedecked with bonny heather bells,

Where te-wits flew,
A caird I ken, who often tells
What lilts he blew."

From Verses on Jainus Allan.

.^^^^ ILLY MARSHALL had a daughter
J^ named Jean, who was married to
^? James Allan, the celebrated North-
umberland Piper, and the above
verse, taken from a poem written
about him, gives a very exact des-
cription of the homes and haunts of our herO'
Billy Marshall, who was sometimes known as
the Cairtl of Harullion. But for Billy's appre-
ciation of good music and Allan's uncommon
dexterity in " shivering the back-lill," * Billy's
Royal assent to the marriage might not have
been obtained. The following is the account
of the presentation by Princess Jean, of her con-
sort, to the King of the Galloway Gypsies '■^■' : —

" They (James Allan and Jean) soon arrived,
at a hovel near Carrick, where they found Will

■ See Ndtc I. in A)iiieiiili\.

Billy s Homes, Hauiils, and Avocations. 43

Marshall and some of his gang. He received-
Allan's companion with a hearty welcome, en-
quiring what success had attended her journey
and what places she had visited ; to all of which
questions she gave the most satisfactory answers.
At length, viewing Allan with particular atten-
tion. Will said — 'But wha's that wi' ye, Jean?'
She replied — ' My husband ; we were lawfully
pledged in presence of a lowland tribe.' ' Weel,
weel, lass, but what can the callan do?' ' He
can play fou weel on the sma' pipes,' replied the
nymph.

" Will rubbed his left elbow with his right
hand, as was his custom when pleased, and said,
' Gi'en that be leel, ye hae made a braw bargain ',.
but let's hae a swatch o' his skill.' Jean then
requested Allan to play ' Felton Lonen,' her
favourite tune ; knowing he was in the presence
of Royalty, James exerted his utmost skill, but
before the tune was half-finished, ^^'ill rose from
his seat, and, shaking Allan by the hand, said —
' Ye're weel worth your room ; nae music pleases
me but the pipes : Tam Fairbairn could maist
hae made them speak, but, puir chiel, he lost
his spunk wi' mony main' '"

The homes and haunts ot Billy are situated
in a district famed for its romantic beauty and
savage grandeur. For a freedom-loving people,,
the Galloway of those days held special

44 The Tinkler-Gypsies.

attractions. There were then no railway
communications, and so commodities and infor-
mation took a long time in transit. That made
■Galloway, isolated as it was, admirably suited
-alike for doing legitimate business and for
pursuing a nefarious^ calling. Where in all Scot-
land could a more suitable district be found ?
Wher>e in all Scotland could Billy have found
three more beautiful spots for his dwelling-place
than those at Old Minnigaff, Palnure, and
Cairnsmore ?

There is living in Kirkcudbright an old
gentleman whose grandmother knew Billy
Marshall well, and who has often heard his
^grannie speaking highly of Billy, and here is
how he sums up Billy's avocations : — " Billy was
no tinker in the modern sense. He was a
^. homer and handicraftsman. But the tinworker
, was in Billy's day not so much in vogue.
These were the guid aul' days of water stoups,
horn suoons, and porridge noggies — and that
Avas the case long after Billy's day. Billy made
such things, and also wrought in metals — •
making smoothing-irons, etc., and was probably
a locksmith — and hence it was that the Hammer-
men admitted him to membership of the Master
Craft and took the part they did at his funeral.'""
Billy's ordinary avocations sufficed as a mask to
enable him and his numerous gang to move

Billy s Homes and Haunts. 45

about over all parts of the district without excit-
ing suspicion, and at the same time to attend to
the more lucrative departments of their calling.

At the time in question Gallovidians were
still bearing a grudge for the treatment meted
out to them in Covenanting times and many of
them were ever on the alert to take up arms, as
in the rebellion of 17 15 and 1745, and they
looked upon smuggling as quite a legitimate
way of settling old scores. A weak government
and an impotent arm of the law made Galloway
and Ayrshire an ideal country for such a band
to operate in. In fact, in many districts
Gypsies were actually employed as constables,
and the writer has learned of one such case in
Galloway. Billy Marshall, however, without
even obtaining such an appointment, acted as
chief constable from Ayr to Dumfries, and his
gang of ruthless desperadoes policed the district,
the whole gang exacting blackmail, chiefly in
the shape of food for themselves and fodder and'
bedding for their horses, and billeting them-
selves wherever they pleased. Woe betide the
man who dared to say them nay ! Formerly,

" 'Twixt Wigtown and the town of Air,
Portpatrick and the Cruives o' Ctee,
No man need think for to bide there,
Unless he court Saint Kennedie."

But then, from the Brig-en' o' Dumfries to the V
braes o' Glenapp, Billy Marshall lorded it over ,

46 The Tiiikkr-Gypsies.

rich and poor. The gentry, however, naturally
received most of Billy's awkward patronage, for
it was one of Billy's traits of character never to
molest or wrong the poor. The old gentleman
above referred to, whose grannie knew Billy
well, says that she held Billy in very high regard
and resented any suggestion that he was a
common tinker — in the latter-day sense — or any
reflections upon his character. She held that
he was far above the average for honesty and
respectability, and so, it would seem, he can
have been no common or indiscriminating thief
or footpad.

Billy showed much tact in choosing the cen-
tres from which he operated. Minnigaff Village
had many admirable qualities to recommend it
to him. Being situated just between the flat
lands surrounding Wigtown Bay and the Minni-
gaff hills, a speedy retreat could readily be
effected to his mountain fastnesses. It was also
a place much freijuentcd by smugglers, with
whom Billy conducted a profitable trade in
aiding und abetting them in their nefarious call-
ing ; and occasionally in levying blackmail upon
even the smugglers themselves. In The Book
of Galloway, 77.^5 -^ (published 1882), M'Kerlie,
in his imaginary tour, points out that the
inhabitants of Minnigaff were so much ad-
dicted to smuggling that even their houses

Bil/ys Gang. 47

-were deafened to conceal smuggling operations.
M'Kerlie asked a mason why they used this
miserable substitute for lime, to which he
replied, " We like oor hooses weel deafened
here (to conceal smuggling operations) ; even
the quality are trying half-baked clay instead
■0' fog." In addition to these qualifications,
Minnigaff Village was also admirably suited
on account of its being the principal market
town in Galloway, which circumstance afforded _^
Billy and his gang — particularly the women
folks — a fine chance for attending to the
"cutpurse" department of their calling. One.
can fancy Billy sitting in his old thatched |
dwelling as the receiver of stolen goods. An
old residenter said his house in Old Minnigaff ■'
had been described to her as " a rum aul' den, '.
a' hung roun' wi' tipps' horns.""' No foe dare li
venture in, but if a friend should have lost his
purse or pocket-book in the market, Billy could
produce, from a safe hiding place, a large assort-
ment to enable him to pick out his own.

There is a place — just at the corner of the
wood at Thorneybrae, Minnigaff^ — which still
goes under the name of " The Tinklers' Loop."
Although being now enclosed with a dyke, and
no longer used as an encampment, in olden times
large companies of Billy's gang were wont to /
assemble there. A daughter of Billy Marshall

48 The Tinkler-Gypsies.

by his last wife was married to one Philip Phie^
a woodman, and ihey lived at Thorneybrae
Cottage. It is said by one whom the present
William Marshall would term " an aul' desiden-
ter " (residenter) that there was a time when
every second tumbril or cart that went up
Minnigaff belonged to one of the Marshall gang.
It appears, however, that our hero, when going
on a tour through his domains, seldom left Old
Mmnigaff with more than one or two followers ;
but if any one happened to meet him amongst
the hills the next day, the gang then consisted
of large numbers of men, women, and children.
A descendant of a farmer — Mr Carter, the Slack.
— -who used to have frequent visits of Billy and
his gang, says that there were usually about
thirty men in his gang, and a large number of
women and children besides. On one of these
visits, Mr Carter happened to be behind with his
harvest, and the whole gang turned in and soon
finished the work. They never dreamed of ask-
ing for pay ; but, of course, the big set-pot had
to be filled—^ v^^^^ ^^ -^■

" To set their gabs a-sleerin' O."

^Vhen asked if they never stole anything from
the farm, the writer's informant replied, " Not
they ; they were like the craws — they aye gaed.
awa' frae their nests to steal."''

Billys Homes and Haunts. 49

The dogs which usually accompanied the
gang were of a half-mastiff, half-lurcher breed,
and Mr Carter says they had the reputation of
being uncommonly wise, and had the useful
quality of being able to convey an alarm to
their masters without barking.

A heap of stones is all that now marks the
site of Billy's dwelling-place in Palnure Glen.
It should be noted that many of Billy's deeds
of derring-do happened in places far from the
present public roads, but on closer enquiry it
will almost invariably be found that an old coach
or military road used to run close to the place
indicated. Billy's house in Palnure Glen, for
example, was situated a considerable distance
from the new public road, and yet the old road
ran close by it. The site of that place of abode
will be found about 300 yards above the falls on
the Mill Burn near Bardrochwood. It is said
that this particular rendezvous, besides being a
place of comparative safety, owing to its prox-
imity to Cairnsmore and Craignelder, enabled
Billy to do a good trade in distilling whisky.

Tradition has it that when dyking operations
were renewed on Cairnsmore — not commenced
there, for it must be remembered that the famous
" Deil's Dyke " runs across Cairnsmore — Billy
succeeded in killing two birds with one stone.
The laird was greatly annoyed at the slow pro-

4

50 The Tinkler-Gypsies.

gress made in h,iikling the dykes, and eventually,
on that accouiit, dismissed the dykers ; but it
was shrewdly suspected that Billy not only did
a roarint( trade in supplying the dykers with
whisky made at his " still " on the Stell Brae on
Cairnsmore, but also — in pursuince of his
" levelling " propensities, and in case a ready
market should be removed from the neighbour-
hood— kept knocking over each night a bit of
the dyke which the men had built on the pre
vious day." Such may have been the real
inception of the great rebellion by farmers,
crofters, Gypsies, and labourers against the
proprietors, for fencing and annexing fields
moorlands, and commonties, and demolishing
old houses, and which innovations " The
Levellers '" considered to be a blow calculated
to prevent many from earning a livelihood.

Oil Cairnsmore Billy may have learned to use
the '' kent " stick to the greatest advantage in
knocking over a dyke. It appears that each
leveller " was furnished with a strong kent (or
piece of wood) from six to eight feet in length,
which he fixed into the dyke at the approved
distance from the foundation and from his
neighbour. lAfter having ascertained that all
was ready, the captain bawled out ' Ow'r wi't,
boys,' and 'ow'r' accordingly it tumbled with a
shout that might have been heard at the distance

Billy leads the Levellers. 5 1

of miles."'-''' Billy's experience thus gained may
have secured for him the leadership of the level-
lers. Sir Herbert Maxwell, Bart, M.P., in his
Historv of Dumfries and Gallowa\\^^ says : —
" The ringleader of these levellers was the cele-
brated Billy Marshall, of the blood royal of the
Gypsies, who desertei from the Royal Regiment
of Dragoons (the Scots Greys), when serving
under Marlborough in Flanders," and the author J
of the Memoir of Joseph Train '"' thus refers
lo Billy's leadership of the levellers : — " Another
worthy. Train mention,^, namely, Willie Marshall,
the King of the Randies, who encouraged the
insubordination of the peasantry of Galloway
in their last ebullition of discontent. This hap-
pened in 1724, and their attack was principally
-directed against the King's fences. In this they
were led by Marshall, who, despising all rule
and authority, was a proper [)erson to direct the
movements of the rebellious peasantry. The
summer fair of Keltonhill was at that time the
most general rendezvous in the south west of
Scotland for the transaction of business. Among
others, delegates from all the parishes in the
Stewartry of Kirkcudbright met for the purpose
of concerting measures for the levelling of all
the ' ring fences ' in the country. Over these
presided the King of the Randies. Before the
period mentioned, he had been frequently sent

52 The Tinkler-Gypsies.

to the army, and had served several campaigns
in Flanders ; but he always deserted in time to
reach Keltonhill Fair, which, it is said, he
attended regularly for above a hundred years,
without being once absent.

"The levellers found in him an active leader,
and under his directions they conducted their
operations with such secrecy, that every stone
which was laid above another for the formation
of a ring fence during the day, between Thigger
Law and Shambelly, was thrown down in the
night, without a single person concerned therein
being discovered either by the landholders or
their agents. The levellers became at length
more daring. They practised the use of fire-

i^arms on the hills by the light of the moon,
formed themselves into companies, and openly
res'sted every attem{)t on the part of the pro-
prietors to enclose their land. Many witty
sayings are related of Marshall. He was, like
the rest of his fraternity, greatly addicted to
whisky, which some individual in his hearing
denounced as slow poison. ' It maun be d — d
slow, for I ha'e drunk it for a hunner years, an'

,J'm livin' yet.'

" It was found necessary to march a regiment
of dragoons from Edinburgh to restore tran-
quility to the country. Marshall himself was
taken prisoner, but escaped by the assistance of

Billy leads the Levellers. 53

his intimate friend, Edie Ochiltree, or Andrew '
Gemmil, then a private soldier in the regiment
of Black Horse."

An account of the actions of the levellers
will be found in the second volume, p. 393,
et seq of Rev. W. Mackenzie's (Nicholson's)
History of Galloivay^ and those who wish more
elaborate information upon that subject can
turn with profit to Mr Crockett's Dark d the
Aioon and Mr Armstrong's The Levellers. It
was due to the astuteness of Mr Heron of
Kirroughtree that this local rebellion fizzled
out, and here is how that satisfactory termina-
tion was effected : — " The levellers likewise
exhibited much courage and coolness. On
their route from Kirkcudbright, through the
parish of Tongland, they knew that their
motions were strictly watched by a party of
dragoons, in company with a number of gentle-
men whom the increasing danger had roused
into exertion and called unto one pUce. The
insurgents proceeded along the east side of the
small river Tarff, and took up a position on the
braes of Culquha, nearly opposite to Barcaple,
where the military were stationed. The levellers
having held a consultation, arranged themselves
in order of battle, and seemed prepared to
make a desperate stand. The counsels of their
opponents were divided ; some proposed that

54 The Tinkler-Gypsies.

they should immediately cro'^s the river and
attack ihe insurgents, while others wished to
spare the effusion of blood and try the effect of
negotiation. Mr Heron, of Kiiroughtrce, who
had been in the army, was present with the
gentlemen of the district, and dissuaded them
from their rash design. He plainly informed
them that, from the appearance < f ihe insur-
gents, he was convinced they numbered among
them individuals well skilled in military affairs ;
and he entreated his friends not to hazard an
encounter which might prove dishonourable to
themselves and disastrous to the country. Mr
Heron's experience added weight to his repre-
sentations. A flag of truce, accompanied by
several gentlemen and ministers, repaired to the
position of the outlaws. This judicious step
produced the desired effect ; for, after some
fair promises had been made, the country
people partially dispersed, and never agaui
mustered in numbers so formidable and over-
bearing. The last remains of these deluded
men were defeated at Duchrae. in the parish of
Ba'maghie. The commanding officer of the
military party behaved on this occasion v ith
great lenity, and j rohibited his men from using
their swords, unless in Felf- defence. The
prisoners, amounting to upwards of 200 men, he
marched to Kirkcudbright : but manv of them

Site of Billys Camfing Ground, near Brig o' Dee.
Pl\(ito t..v D. C;ass. Rhnnehouse.

56 The Tinkler-Gypsies.

were allowed to make their escape on the
road thither.

" Mr Heron had been right in his conjecture,
for, exclusive of many of the disbanded soldiers
of inferior note, the ranks of the levellers were
dignified by the presence of the celebrated
Gypsy chief, the redoubted William Marshall,
who had been in the army."-'' Surely no ordi-
nary man, this Gypsy chief, who, either electively
or by sufferance, commanded the combined
forces of farmers, crofters, cottars, and Gypsies !
1 The Brig o' Dee has long been a recognised
abode of Tinkler Marshalls, but it does not seem
quite clear that Billy actually possessed a house
of his own there. Probably, when attending
Keltonhill Fair, he may occasionally have lived
with his relatives there, but it is more likely
that he simply encamped on the Kelton side
of the Dee, near the Brig o' Dee, where the site
of his camp is still pointed out. Its proximity
to Keltonhill, where important fairs were
frecjuently held, rendered it singularly well
situated for transferring other folks' money and
\aluahles into the treasury of the Marshall
gang. MacTaggart, in his entertaining Gallo-
vidian Kncyclopiedia (i824),-'' gives the following
detailed and graphic description of Keltoniiill
Fair, from which one is inclined to conclude
that Mac'l'aggart had freciuently been present

Keltonhill Fair. 57

at this interesting annual agricultural function :
— " Keltonhill Fair. — This is one of the largest
meetings or gatherings of Gallovidians that are
to be met with. This fair is held on a day
about Midsummer every year, on rising ground
beside the clauchan of Rhonehouse, in the parish
of Kelton. At this fair one is gratified with a
sight of the peasantry of both Scotland and
Ireland ; and here may sometimes be lifled a
tolerable idea of the Donnybrook of Erin or
Ballinasloe ; at one time in danger of having
the skull bared with a cudgel : at other times
hemmed in, as it were, with rowly-puivly men,
fling sticks, and siveetie ivives. Then the ears
get charmed with the hoarse throa's of ballad
singers, and not infrequently nearly rode over
with horse jockies. And all this humbug and)
jostling combined form the best of fun; one
gets del'ghted. Tennant's Anster rather seems
flatter than the reality, though sometimes we
see with the drollish poet. \Vhile the scenes
thicken the tents get crowded ; whisky is
skilted over like whey : bonny lassies aie to be
met with, who cling round one like binwud :
and who would not cling to them in return,
sweet souls ? For an hour or two of bustling
nonsense, then, I know of few places where it
is to be had in greater perfection than at
Keltonhill Fair."

58 The Tinkler-Gypsies.

Billy's usual mode of raisicig a ruction at the
fair was to send a number of his gang into a
drinking booth, and then from the outside of
the tent pressing hmiself under the counter he
raised himself up and upset the whole concern ! ^

The followuig story shows the modus opej-andi
of the cutpurse Gypsies at the fair :* " An uncle
of ours," quoth the relaters of this tradition,
"on our mother's side told us that two of their
forefolks, Milroys of the Blairs — a farmer and
his wife — went to Keltonhill Fair on one
occasion. The farmer had a horse to sell.
A\'hen passing through the fair a C'Vpsy woman
— probably a Marshall— came up to her and
asked her to hold her child for a moment. She
consented, and suddenly the mother disap-
peared. As she was long in returning, the
farmer's wife put the child on her shoulder and
proceeded to wend her way through the fair in
the hope of catching the eye of the Gypsy
woman. Suddenly a man en me rushing through
the crowd, and as he ran past the farmer's wife
he thrust something into the breast of her
dress, which at that time was worn o])en at the
neck. Next moment the (>>'i)sy woman came
back, claimed the child, and disappeared ere
the farmer's wife took aii\- thought about what

' But see a somewhat similar story told by Dr John Hrowri in
Unrae Suhxecicae under a "Jacobite Ka.nil v."

" Cutpurse " Gypsies. 59

the Gypsy man had done. She found sticking
inside her dress her hushand's pocket-book
with the price of the horse which the Gypsy
man must have stolen from him and had
intended to pa'^s on to the Gypsy woman, but
the child being on the shoulder of the farmer's
wife he (the Gypsy man) had unconsciously
restored the money to its rightful owner." =

Then there remain to be considered two other
resorts said to have been frequented by Billy,
viz.. The Fell o' Barullion, in the parish of
Mochrum, Wigtownshire, and " a large cave or
cavern in the high grounds of Cairnsmore, in
Galloway "' (the Stewartry). Obviously, both
places had great advantages as retreats in case
of pursuit, or as places for concealing plunder ;
but Billy knew that those particular retreats
enjoyed other advantages. Billy's gang un-
doubtedly were deeply implicated in the
smuggling trade, which, at that time, must have
been regarded as an honourable department of
his profession, for even the hands of ministers
were not clean in that respect : A story is told
that somewhere on our coast a vessel, contain-
ing a cargo of brandy, had been stranded —
whether by fair or foul means is not said — but,
in the bacchanalian orgie that ensued, a stranger
thought fit to intervene. " Are there no Revenue
ofificials present ?" he ventured to in(juire.

6o The Tiiikler-Gypiics.

" Thank gudeness, there's nane," was the laconic
reply. " Then," said he in desperation, " where's
the minister?" "That's him," was the answer,
and a hand pointed towards a man in black
holding up a torch to enable the smugglers to
broach another keg. In Sir H. E. Maxwell's
History of Dwiifries and Ga/Ioivay,''^' above
referred to, there is an interesting account,
showing the great extent to which smuggling
was carried on in this district, and indicating
that the Gypsies were instrumental in forwarding
" run goods " to their proper destination : —

"The Gypsies were numerous in the Border

counties in those days, and were among the

most intrepid riders concerned in smuggling.

j There were many grades of them, from big Will

\ Baillie, the chief (jf one sept, who marauded on

the romantic scale of Robin Hojd, to the

. common ' tinklers,' or ' cairds,' who pitched

their tents in Nithsdale, and harbaured among

the Galloway hills. Sir Walter Scott, who never,

so far as is known, was in Galloway,* was able

to make use of information given him by Joseph

'IVain, an Excise officer in Castle- Dougla'^, and

to describe truthfully, in Gi/y Afaniicnng, the

position held by Gypsies in ihe social scale.

* * * -;'r * *

■ sir Walter Scolt jircilmlilv did \ isit, (;allo\va\', but see
Chaplir HI.

Tinklers as Litigfowineii. 6i

" The contraband trade had become almost
as common an investment for men of capital as
any other business. Merchants fitted out well-
found vessels for smuggling ; lairds and ministers
not only connived at it, but put their ht ney
into the venture. Mr Carson, minister of
Anwolh, was deprived of his living in 1767,
because he was proved to be deeply implicated
in the ' fair trade.' " The lingtowmen were in
the habit of requisitioning the services of horses
belonging to crofters. On one occasion a
lingtowman shouted out a(ter the procession had
passed a crofter's house, " Did ye mind Grannie
Milligan's rum ?'' Whereupon a keg was taken
back, and the door being found to have been
conveniently left open, an entrance was readily
effected. A can of water silting inside the
passage was emptied, and the can was then
filled up with rum. Grannie Miliigan unwit-
tingly made her porridge with that rum, and
ever afterwards avowed that no dish could equal
" rum porridge.'"^

A glance at the map will show that both
places were admirably suited for keeping an eye
upon all " run goods," and for headquarters from
which to essay when the services of Billy and
his gang were required to act as " lingtowmen,"
to ensure a safe transit. The shore near Port-
william was a favourite place for smuggling, and

62 The linkltr Gypsies.

is within easy distance of the Fell o' Barullion.
An old road ran alon^ through amongst the
hil's nigli to Billy's retreat on Cairnsniore, and
Avas also connected with the military road which
passed over " The Corse o' Slakes," one of the
/ Marshall gang's favourite places for waylaying and
/ robbing travellers. The Corse is thus described
' in MacTaggart's Gallovidian Encyclopoidia'''^: —
'' Corse o' Slakes, Cross of Rocky H'lls — S'akes,
in Saxon, meaning rocky hills or rocky brows.
In Galloway there are no roads so wild as the
one which leads over the celebrated pass of the
above name, between Cairnsmoor and Cairn-
hattie ; it is a perfect Alpine pass, and was a
haunt of Billy Marshill and his gang in the days
of yore — even yet, it is frequently selected as a
.suitable station for the bludgeon tribe."

Billy is believed to have co-operated with the
celebrated Yawkins, the " Dirk Hatteraick "' of
Guy Manneri/^:^'- In the additional prefatory
note to that book, Sir Walter says : — " The
Black Prince (\'awkins' smuggling lugger) used
to discharge her cargo at Luce, Balcarry, and
elsewhere on the coast : bat her owner's favourite
landing jilaces were at the entrance of tlie Dee
and the Cree." In The Memoir of Joseph Traifi;^^
will also be found particulars about the illicit
j traffic, Yawkins and his smuggling lugger, The
\ Black I'rifice., antl of the modus operandi of trie

Tinklers as Lingioivnien. 63

smuggles : but this interesting description of
the lingtowmen — who would often be Gypsies
— had better be recorded here : —

"The carriers from the coast to the interior
Avere called lingtowmen, from the coil of ropes,
or lingtows, which they generally wore like a
soldier's shoulder belt when not employed in
slinging or carrying their goods. The fixed
price for carrying a box of tea, or a bale of
tobacco, from the coast of Galloway to Edin-
burgh, was fifteen shillings ; and a man with
two horses could carry four packages. Two
hundred horses have been frequently laden in a
night at Balcarry, and at the Abbey Burn-foot
of Dundrennan."

One of the most famous of these Galloway
caves is that known as " Dirk Hatteraick's
Cave," near Ravenshall, whereof the following
minute and graphic description is contained in
Gullotvay GHinpses^"^ the new edition of which
should be in the hands of all lovers of Galloway :
■ — "After resting ourselves in this delightful
summer-house, on the top of the moat-hill
(Ravenshall), and surveying the extensive scene
presented from it, we descend and wander
down to the sea-beach in search of the famous
cave of Dirk Hatteraick. The way to it, east-
ward, along the shore, is in places difficult of
'walking — the boulders being large and necessi-

64 The Tinkler-Gypsies.

tating careful footing. But, after a scramble of
a quarter of a mile or so, we arrive at that part
of the heuch which leads up to the mouth of
the cave. It requires a quick eye, or the guid-
ing of some one who has been there before, to
discover the entrance, for it is wooded, and
hidden up on the face of the cliff by large
boulders all around. The ascent from the shore
to the mouth of the cave is steep and rough,
and part of it requires to be climbed up on
hands and knees. Arrived at it, the entrance is
found to be narrow and difficult, the rock on
each side forming something like two sides of a
triangle. Peering through the opening, nothing
can be seen in the darkness which prevails
down in the cave. On throwing a stone down
into it, one ascertains by the hollow sound
below that the floor of the cave is composed of
gravel, and is a considerable way down. After
squeezing yourself through the narrow entrance
for a few yards, you come to the edge of a
precipice. You must then get down on your
hands and knees, turn your back to the cave,
hang on with your fingers to the ledge of the
precipice, let yourself down all your length, and
(full of faith) allow yourself to drop into dark-
ness. You land several feet down, on the
gravelly bottom of which we have spoken.
Recovering your breath and equilibrium, and

Di7-k Hatteraick's Cave. 65

having come prepared with matches and candle,
you strike a light, and the spacious cavern is
disclosed to view.

"The wiiter recollects his first introduction^
very many years ago —to this cave. With some
companions, he had sailed across from the
Wigtownshire coast. None of the party had
ever be^n there before. Arrived at the mouth
of the cave, and peering down into the darkness
within, the question arose, who was first to
enter and make the drop into the unknovvn
bottom. Lots were drawn, and the lot fell to
the present writer. Not then knowing anything
about the interior, and summoning up as much
courage, faith, and hope as he could pump up,
he descended to the edge of the interior preci-
pice, held on by his fingers, if not by the skin
of his teeth, closed his eyes, and — dropped into
the dark abyss. The result was that he found
himself prone on the shingle of the floor of the
cave, thankful, however, that he had not dropped
fathoms deep into water !

"The cave within is a high-arched, roomy
place, capable of comfortably accommodating a
considerable number of persons. Along one
side of the rock has been built a wall, perf )rated
with square pigeon holes for holding Dutch
bottles. The use to which the cave had been
put — a smuggling cellar — is thus disclosed. At

Dirk Hatt£raicks Cave 'Interior), ne^r Ravenshall.

li.v M. Ml,. 11mi|..i-.

Diik Hat tern ick' s Cave. 67

the upper end is a natural bunker in the rock,
very much like a berth in a ship's cabin, and
-evidently used for sleeping purposes. At the
top, and quite close to the rock-ceiling of the
cave, it is stated that there is a crevice, which
admits a man's recumbent body sideways, and
leads to yet another cave on the western side.
Many people, who have been in the principal
cave, and thought they had fully explored it,
have never seen this high crevice, or had any
suspicion that there was another cave entering
only from the top of the interior wall of the
principal one. In the event of this latter being
besieged and taken, this second cave would
prove a useful refuge, not likely to be easily
discovered. Altogether, the place is a very
interesting one. No doubt the cave was used
by smugglers, and amongst others, by that
notorious Dutch Captain, Hawkins (Yawkins),
the Dirk Hatteraick of Guy Mannering, who |
long visited the coast with contraband goods,
setting Revenue officers and cutters, and the
laws of God and man, at defiance."

The description of the cave itself in Guy
Mannering corresponds very closely with the
above, and the access to it from the Carsluith
side is very graphically described by Sir Walter's
words : " ' We maun go the precise track,' said
Meg Mcrrilies, and continued to go forward.

Yawkius and Billy and Flora Marshall. 69

but rather in a zig-zag and involved course than
according to her former steady and direct hne
of motion. At length she guided them through
the mazes of the wood to a little open glade of
about a quarter of an acre, surrounded by trees
and bushes, and which made a wild and irregular
boundary. Even in winter it was a sheltered
and snugly sequestered spot ; but when arrayed
in the verdure of spring, the earth sending forth
all its wild flowers, the shrubs spreading their
waste of blossom around it, and the weeping
birches which towered over the underwood,
drooping their long and leafy fibres to intercept
the sun, it must have seemed a place for a
youthful poet to study his earliest sonnet, or a
pair of lovers to exchange their first mutual
avowal of affection."

With the aid of a flash light photograph, of
the cave, kindly lent by Mrs Cliff-M'CuUoch
ot Kirkclaugh, Mr M. M'L. Harper has been
able to produce an excellent black and while
sketch ol Billy, his wife (Flora), and Yawkins
in the midst of imaginary smuggling operations
within Dirk Hatteraick's cave, Ravenshall, and
we are pleased to be allowed to reproduce it as
an illustration. Near to Dirk Hatteraick's cave
is situated Barholm Castle— one of the places
having claims to be the " Ellanguwan " of Gt^y
Mannerini;; but of that anon. ' Meantime we

70 The Tinkler-Gypsies.

direct the reader's notice to the accompanying
graphic sketch, of Barholm Castle, by Mr John
Copland.

It is evident that Luce Bay and Wigtown
Bay were favourite places for discharging
" run goods," and Billy's supposed retreat at
Cairnsmore would form a splendid point for
observation. The following account of a pro-
cession of lingtowmen from Wigtownshire shows-
that the old path taken on such occasions-
led right past " The Dore of Cairnsmore," where
Billy's cave dwellirg is supposed to have beenr
situated :—" In old times, smuggling was a
common practice in Galloway. All classes were
engaged in it more or less ; even the gentry did
not disdain to take part in it. \\'igtownshire
was a nest of them. W. Burnie, The Cuil,.
when a young man, had seen eighty pack horses
(with men in attendance), laden with brandy and
tea, pass the house on their way through the
moor by the Dore of Cairnsmore. They avoided
the public roads, all classes aiding and abetting
them, and none seeming to think there was any
harm in the practice."'

The smugglers from the Ravenshall side would

take the back road, which led from Dirk Hatter-

')aick's Cave, up The Cleugh, over the Nick o'

\Doon, past "The Gypsy Weil," and strike the

Corse Road at Billy's Brig. That lonely road.

Black Malthetv's Folk-tak. 7 1

the Corse, passes within a couple of miles of
the Dore of Cairnsmore, where Billy's famous
cave is supposed to have been situated, and from
which point of vantage Billy could not only see
whatever chanced to pass up the Cuil road or
along The Corse o' Slakes, but also what was
going on in Wigtown Bay and even in Luce
Bay.

In regar J to that " large cave or cavern in the
high grounds of Cairnsmore in Galloway," no
one living appears ever to have seen any cave
which corresponded with that description, and
still less with descriptions given in books subse-
quently published. The first hint given of the
existence of such a cave is contained in the
following story published in Black'cvooifs Alas^n-
zitie of i8i7'"': — "A correspondent ("-ays the
editor of Blackwood's i\/agazi?te) has lately sent
us the following anecdote of Billy Mar>hall,
derived, as he informs us, from Black Matthew
Marshall, grandson of the said chieftain : —
Marshall's gang had long held possession of a
large cave or cavern in the high grounds of
Cairnsmore in Galloway, where they usually
deposited their plunder and sometimes resided
secure from the officers of the law, as no one
durst venture to molest the tribe in that retired
subterraneous situation. It happened that two
Highlami pipers, strangers to the country, were

72 The Tinkler-Gxpsies.

travelling that way ; and falling in by chance
with this cave, they entered it to shelter them-
selves from the weather, and resolved to rest
there during the night. They found pretty
good quaiters, hut observed some very suspici-
ous furniture in the cave, which indicated the
profession and character of its absent inhabi-
tants. They had not remained long till they
were alarmed by the voices of a numerous band
advancing to its entrance. The pipers expected
nothing but death from the ruthless Gypsies.
One of them, however, being a man of some
presence of mind, called to his neighbour
instantlv to fiJ his bags (doing llie same him-
self) and to strike up a pibroch with all his
might and main. Both pipes accf)rdingly at
once commenced a most tremendous onset, the
cave with all its echoes pealing back the
■"Pibroch of Donuil I)hu" or such like. At
this very unex[)ected and terrific reception — the
yelling of the bagpipe-;, issuing from the bowels
of the earth, just at the moment the (jyi)sies
entered the cave — Billy Marshall with all his
band precip tately fled in the greatest constenia-
t'on, and Irom that night never again would go
near their fav(niriie haunt, believing that the
blast they had lieard ])roceeded from the devil
or some of his agents. 'l"he pi{)ers next morning
prosecuted their journey in s.ifety, carrying with

'' Life of James Allan.'" 73

them the spolia opii?ia of the redoubted Billy
and the clan Marshall.'' The presence of bag-
pipers— who were apparently not Gypsies — and
the story being told by a Gypsy — a race of great
folk-tale tellers — suggests that this storv may be
a folk-tale, like all the other wonderful tales of
bagpipers playing in subterranean galleries.
The parties in this case are, however, not even
accompanied by fairies. 'J'he tale is, of course,
spoiled in the recording. How different Black
Matthew's language would have been from the
spdha opima of the recorder ! But it had better
be stated that the present Marshalls as a class
are not nearly so fond of telling folk-tales as
the Macmillans. 'i'he only seemingly direct
confirmation obtainable of the existence of such
a cave will he found in The Life (f James Allan,
the celebrated Northumberland Piper, contain-
ing his surprising adventures and wonderful
achievements in England, Scotland, Ireland,
France, India, Tartary, Rus--ia, Egypt, and
various other countries in Europe, Asia, and
Africa, taken principally from his own relation
{1818),^" and while we regard the book as of
doubtful authority upon the subject under con-
sideration, it is only fair to cite it in pos-ible
confirmation of the tradition. There is no
intention, however, to cast doubt upon the
credibilitv of its author. Nevertheless, one

74 The Tinkler-Gypsies.

requires to take cum ^raiw the stories told ta
him by one whom the author shows in ahnost
every page of his book to be utterly regardless
alike of veracity and morality. That book
tacitly bears out this remarkable trait in the
Gypsy character, viz., the care with which they
manage to prevent outsiders from getting to
know about their language. If memory
serves aright, there is no indication whatever in
that book that Allan knew anything about the
Romani language, and yet he was married to a
Marshall — who, it will be shown in a later
article, spoke a cant language containing many
Romani words ; and mixed with Gypsies all
over England, Scotland, and Ireland. More-
over, although he was constantly getting into
trouble, and as marvellously — with Gypsy
cunning — getting out of it again, when commg.
from India through countries, travelled by
Gypsies, in passing from Ilindoostan ; visiting
Moscow and various other cities — where large
(jypsy colonies are known to exist — and whilst
he had to make his livelihood in these places by
playing his pipes, yet he never seems to have
attracted the attention of any Gypsies ! Nor
does his Gypsy language ever appear to have
stood him in stead. One is inclined to say if
James Allan ever visited these countries he left
the author (jf his life very much in the dark as-
to what actually hajjpened.

Billy s Caie-haioits. 75

But ihere are four small caves on Cairnsmore,.
although no trace can be found of a cave such
as that indicated, and which in books subse-
quently published is thus described : — " In the
side of the mountain (Cairnsmore), facing the
station (Dromore), there is a cave of very large
dimensions said to have been at one time the
safe retreat of the renowned Gypsy K.ing, Billy
Marshall, and his lawless followers." Now, you
will see that the original description does not
tally wnth this more recent one. In the former
description, " a large cave or cavern in the high
grounds of Cairnsmore in Galloway " is referred
to ; in the latter, the " cave of very large dimen-
sions " is described as situated in the " side of
the mountain (Cairnsmore) facing the station
(Dromore)." Having repeatedly searched
Cairnsmore and Craignelder for caves, and
either interviewed or communicated with every
proprietor, tenant, gamekeeper, foxhunter, and
shepherd likely to be able to give information
about Cairnsmore or Craignelder, we can find
no place that exactly tallies with either descrip-
tion. Four places, however, have been dis-
covered that might possibly — with a stretch of
the imagination — be described by the word
" cave."

First. There is, on the " Red Strand " — close
to a well-known fox-yard — which lies on the

Billy'' s Cav€-haiiii1s. 77

eastern sice of the neck of mountain which
joins Cairnsmore with Craignelder, a hole of
about three feet in width, and which runs back
between rocks for about eight feet. This, how-
ever, has no evidence of man's handiwork about
it ; there is no tradition about its ever having
been occupied ; and it is the least entitled of
the four to be called a " cave."

Second. — Near to the " Red Strand," and
situated — lower down — on the north-western
shoulder of Cairnsmore, there is a similar cave
which runs about 30 feet into the mountains,
and at its broadest part will be about nine feet
in width.

Third. U[ion the eastern face of Cairnsmore,
and to the left of the Mill Burn as you ascend,
there is a substantially built cave. It is situated
about 200 yards lower down the mountain than
the " Three Cairns " — which, by the way, now
number "four'' — and a little further to the left
of the cairns as you ascend. It will be seen
from the photograph (produced as an illustra-
tion) of this cave that it has been carefully con-
structed, and a large flat stone lying at the
entrance exactly fits as a door to obscure the
opening, and when thus closed it is most diffi-
cult, even for those who have visited it before,
to find it. A large flat boulder forms the roof,
and from its sloping position it would rather

78

The Tinkler- G i 'psies.

■seem as if the roof had fallen in, thus making
the cave smaller than it had originally been, bat
■even now there is room for three ordinary folks,

Lini.-liL-ht i.hni,

Cave on ''Red Strand

or four Marshalls, as, according to a story which
will be related later on, they had the knack of
huddling together as closely as herrings in
.a barrel.

Billy s Cave-haunts. 79

Fourth. There is a second cave on Cairns-
more, and this one goes under the name of
" M'Clave's Pantry." To find this cave one
■requires to follow the march dyke between
Bargally and Bardrochwood till it joins " The
Deil's Dyke ;" thereafter you follow " The
Deil's Dyke " along the mountain side in a
south-easterly direction until a ridge is reached,
and following, down the mountain for about 100
yards, a course taken almost at rigrit angles to
^' The Deil's Dyke," a rocky face will be found
wherein is situated " M'Clave's Pantry." It is
a cave of natural formation amongst rocks ; it is
about three feet in width, and runs back for
about nme feet. To enter it, one requires
to stoop. There is a tradition to the effect
that this cave is named " M'Clave's Pantry "
because it was the hiding-place in Covenanting
times of a man of the name of M'Clave. This
cave also looks as if it had to some extent fallen
in — probably as the result of foxhunters digging
round about it. Curiously enough, there is, all
along the brae in front of this cave, evidences
of illicit "■ stills " having at one time been much
in vogue. The place still goes under the
appropriate name of "The Stell Braes," and
near the cave will be found the remains of
several shielings, and close by them of several
•"stdls." Something similar will also be found

So The Tijtkkr-Gypsie<.

near the " rees," at the head of the Graddock
Eurn. Now, these two latter caves can neither
be said to be of "very large" dimensions, nor
even of "large" dimensions, but there is little
doubt that Billy, when he lived in his little
hut in Bargaly (lien, just at the foot of Cairns-
more, and only about a mile and a half from
the built cave and " M'Clave's Pantry," would
know about these caves. Billy, like many
another Tinkler, would be able to make the
"worm," the "copper," and other distilling
paraphernalia. When carrying on the distillmg
and " levelling " departments of his profession,
he would find the built cave and " M'Clave's-
Pantry " almost of daily use to him, and, when
hard pressed, all of these caves would afford
. him places of safety, where it would be courting
death for a foe to venture, and where, even if
anyone should venture, he would have great
difficulty in finding Billy's place of hiding, liut
this is not a point upon which to dogmatise.
We only wish, in regard to this matter, as indeed
in regard to all the other information collected,
to state frankly what has been learned, so that
others may take uj) the thread where it has been
left off. And while we say, after most careful
enquiry at likely sources, and after enjoying
many a long tramp in search of this mysterious
cave, no such cave is known to exist, we do not

Billfs Cave-liaunts. 8r

mean anyone to run away with the idea that
such a cave never existed. It may have
existed ; it may still exist ; but no one knows its
whereabouts. It must be borne in mind that it
is no easy task to find a cave on Cairnsmore or
Craignelder. From a rough calculation, it
would seem that Cairnsmore and Craignelder
cover an area of about 24 square miles of the
wildest and most rugged mountainous character
in the South of Scotland. In the course of our
enquiries, it was only after almost despairing to
find any cave on Cairnsmore that Mr Gavin
M'Crae, formerly of Bargaly, was approached
upon the subject, and he gave full particulars
as to where the built cave and " M'Clave's
Pantry " would be found ; but four visits had to
be paid to Cairnsmore — once in company with a
shepherd who had herded that mountain for
years, and once with a gamekeeper — before the
four caves were located. Even with the most;
careful written description before us, the shep-
herd and the writer hereof had to come away
without finding " M'Clave's Pantry." Now, all
this shows that Billy's cave should by no means
be regarded as a myth. Probably one of these
above described may be the cave referred to ;
but, on the other hand, there may exist some- /
where a large cave on Cairnsmore, the mouth of
which may at present be obscured. The late.

6

o S
_]
o ^

Billy s Pictish Descent. 83

Mr Stroyan, Clendrie, who knew every foot of
Cairnsmore, and particularly of the Dore of
Cairnsmore, offered this feasible solution. He
said " that landslips are of frequent occurrence
on the Dore of Cairnsmore, and that it is just
possible that the entrance to Billy's large cave
or cavern has been blinded up." Perchance,
through Nature's mysterious operations, the
mouth of the cave may again be laid bare, and
some lucky mountaineer may yet chance upon
the cave and " its many valuable articles," which
the author of Junies Allan's Life — writing in
full knowledge of the article which appeared in
Blackwood's Alaqazine, and which stated that
the two pipers carried off with them the spolia
opima of the redoubted Billy and the Clan
Marshall— says are still deposited in that cave.
But let us make a suggestion to those who
believe in the reality of such a tradition : why 1
not enter at the Co' o' Caerclaugh,''" and, resting 1
manfully upon tradition, struggle on — as did a |
certain dog who came out with his whiskers
singed — till you reach its other orifice, which
will be found at the Dore of Cairnsmore nearly
10 miles away, and then, and probably not till
then, will you find Billy Marshall's cave "of,
very large dimensions "I '

It is impossible to prove that Billy had any
real claim to being the last Pictish King. Any

84

The Tinkler- Gypsies.

evidence now forthcoming can only be regarded
• as of doubtful value, but whether his Scottish
ancestors were Picts or not, he and his gang
exercised many of the primitive characteristics
— such as polygamous habits, cave dwelling,
painting their faces with ruddle — practised by
uncivilised races.*

* See details in former edition.

CHAPTER III.

" Donald Caird can wire a maukin,
Kens the wiles of dun-deer staukin',
Leisters kipper, makes a shift
To shoot a muir-fowl i" the drift :
Water-bailiffs, rangers, keepers.
He can wauk when they are sleepers ;
Not for bountith, or reward,
Daur they mell wi' Donald Caird.

Donald Caird's come again,
Donald Caird's come again,
Tell the news in brugh and glen,
Donald Caird's come again."

" Donald Caird,' by Sir Walter Scott.

'h0' N the Additional Note to Guy
Ma?ineri7ig •''* we have Sir \A'alter
Scott's own authority for taking it
that "Meg Merrilies" may be re-
garded at least as ''a representative
of her sect and class in general —
Flora (Marshall, one of Billy's many wives), as
well as others." His utterance upon that
subject is somewhat equivocal : — •

"Now, I cannot grant that the idea of Meg Merrilies
was, in the first concoction of the character, derived
from Flora Marshall, seeing I have already said she was
identified with Jean Gordon, and as I have not the Laird
of Bargaly's apology for charging the same fact on two.

86 The Tinkler-Gypsies.

several individuals, ^'et I am quite content that Metj
should be considered as a representative of her sect and
class in general — Flora, as well as others."

It is the truth, but is it the whole truth ?
Indeed, does the wording not rather indicate
that the author, in identifying " Meg MerriHes "
with Jean Gordon, had been caught in faiUng
to attribute to Flora Marshall and the Galloway
Gypsies a fair share in what may at least be
described as a composite picture of Madge
Gordon and other Gypsy women ? In the
letter quoted in a previous chapter, Mr James
Murray M'Culloch, with whose farnily — the
M'CuUochs of Ardwall — Sir Walter was on
most intimate terms, says : —

" I am not very sure about giving you up Meg
MerriHes quite so easily ; I have reason to think she was
a Marshall and not a Gordon, and we folks in Galloway
think this attempt of the Borderers to rob us of Meg
MerriHes no proof that they have become quite so
religious and pious as your author would have us to
believe, but rather that, with their religion and piety,
they still retain some of their ancient hal:)its."

Do not Sir Walter's own remarks, above quoted,
about Y\o\i\ Marshall read like admitting — as
much as ever he could, consistently with having
already said Jean Gordon was the prototype of
" Meg MerriHes " — the truth of the claim made
by Mr James Murray M'Culloch many years
previously, and which he prefaced with the
words, " I have reasofi to ihink " ?

Train s Galloway Gypsy Stones. 87

In the groundwork of Guy Mannering, 1842,'^*
included in recent editions of Guy Mannering,
we find : —

" Shortly after (on Xovember 7th, 1814) the publica-
tion of IVaverley, as stated in the Life of Scott, Mr
Train forwarded to Abbotsford a MS. collection of
anecdotes relating to the Galloway Gypsies, together
with (in Mr Train's own words) ' a local story of an
astrologer. . . .'"

That these Gypsy stories contributed by Mr
Joseph Train had an important influence upon
Sir A\'alter is clearly indicated in a letter ""' ad-
dressed by Train himself to Mr J. G. Lockhart,
the writer of The Life, on ist July, 1833 : —

" Many of my earliest communications to Sir Walter
of which I have not a copy are now, I daresay, in your
hands, and I believe you will find what I have written in
the following sheets from recollection to be in strict
accordance with the original document referred to.

"At my last interview with Sir Walter he adverted to
having at nearly the commencement of our acquaintance
received a letter from me of which I had then only a
faint remembrance, which first directed his attention to
the peculiarities of the Gypsy character afterwards so
accurately and strongly delineated by his inimitable
hand."

That letter, written by Train to Lockhart,
forwarding a MS. volume re written under
Train's direction by his son William, contained
a resume of his communications and meetings
with Sir Walter. In acknowledging the letter,
Lockhart wrote as follows ■*' : —

88 The Tinkler-Gypsies.

"24 Sussex Place, Regent's Park,
" London, October i, if^33.
" Dear Sir, — Vour MS. volume, thougii dated July
the 1st, only reached me yesterday. I have perused it
with great interest, shall avail myself of it largely in
drawing up the narrative of your great and dear friend's
life, and then return it carefully to your hands. I have
now by me three volumes of your MS. communications
to Sir Walter which I found bound in one of his cabinets,
but I have not yet had time to read their contents. I pre-
sume I am at liberty to make use of them also, and will
do so unless you forbid me. The whole story of your
connection is most honourable to you, and in no account
of Sir Walter can your name ever fail to occupy a
distinguished place."

It would be interesting to know precisely
what these Gypsy stories were which Train
communicated to Sir Walter /r.w to publication
of the first edition of Guy Ma/mering so as to
see to what extent these had influenced the plot
or scope of Guy Manneriiio. But, alas, what
do we find ? In spite of Lockhart's protestation
that he would return Train's MS. volume
" carefully to your hands," there stand these
two notes in Train's own handwriting on the
volume*- itself, showing how Lockhart failed
to keep his promise : —

" I33> 1341 5' 6, 7, 8. These leaves were torn out by
Mr Lockhart and the contents published in his Life of
Sir Walter Scott, vol. v., pp. 325-6. (Intd.) f. T."

" 13-28. The leaves here wanting were lorn out by
Mr Lockhart and the contents published in his Life of
Sir Walter Siott, vol. iii., jjp. 405-6-7-8-9-10, 41 1 12-
13-14. (Intd.) J. T."

Sir Walter and Mr and Airs Thos. Scott. 89

And in regard to the three volumes of Train's
MS. communications which Lockhart found
bound in one of Sir Walter's cabinets, and
which Lockhart also had before him when
writing from London the letter above quoted^
these precious literary documents cannot now
be discovered. Is it a fair inference that these
interesting MSS. may al^o have fallen a victim to
literary vandalism, and have been cut up to suit
Sir Walter's biographer, and to save him the
trouble of having the quotations — which he
intended to use — re-copied? It', however, these
three precious volumes are still in existence, for
example, in the hands of whoever succeeded ta
Lockhart's library, surely this wail will cause
their present possessor to acknowledge where
they are now deposited. Enquiry at Abbots-
ford, and at most of the likely authorities upon
such a subject, has elicited the information that
these volumes are not in the catalogue of the
Abbotsford Library; J. G. Cochrane, 1830, are
not likely to be at Abbotsford : and also, that
it is not known whether the missing three
volumes are now in existence.

But from the information still available and
above quoted, it is quite clear that Sir Walter
derived a considerable amount of information
about the Gallow.iy Gypsies from Train.
Moreover, Captain and Mrs Thomas Scott and

90 The Tinkler-Gypsies.

their son and daughter all appear to have been
great favourites with Sir Walter, and from them
he would doubtless obtain furdier information.
Previous to Captain Thomas Scott's death in
1823, his son had spent two years at Abbotsford,
and Mrs Thomas Scott and the rest of her family
were also guests there for a considerable time
after she became a widow. Sir Walter was
attached to his brother Thomas, whom he
described as "a man of infinite humour and
e.xcellent parts," and Mrs Thomas Scott's apti-
tude in relating Galloway traditions to Sir Walter
may have had much to do with his regard for
her. We have already noted that her brother,
James Murray M'Cultoch of Ardwall, and even
his great-grandmother were both intimately
acquainted with the Marshall gang, and it is not
reasonable to suppose that any information about
Galloway Gypsies at the disposal of any member
-of the M'Culloch family would be withheld from
Sir Walter, their intimate friend and relative.

From an interesting, though somewhat loosely
conducted correspondence, which appeared in
the columns of the Galioiv ly Gazette newspaper
during the months of February, March, and
April, 1 88 1, a fair and reasonable construction
of the facts adduced seems to be {a) that prior
to publication of the first edition of Guy Man-
nering. Train had communicated to Sir Walter

'■^ Guy Mantiering" Cant JVords. 91

" a collection of anecdotes relating to the
Galloway Gypsies, together with (in Train's own
words) 'a local story of an astrologer . . . '" ; {l>)
that Sir Walter's brother Thomas was married
to Elizabeth M'CuUoch of Ardwall, that they
were on most friendly teims with Sir Walter,
frequently visiting him, and that, in all proba-
bility. Sir Walter would be furnished with all
the information at the di'^posal of Mrs EHzabeth
M'CuUoch or Scott and the M'Culloch family
in regard to Galwegian Gypsies, smugglers,
localities, and families ; and (c) that the balance
of evidence is in favour of Sir Walter's having
visited Galloway.* The fact that the evidence
in favour of Sir Walter's having visited Galloway
is imperfect rather confirms one's belief in the^r
accuracy than otherwise. George Borrow also
made a tour through Galloway at a much later
date than Scott, yet how many Gallovidians
could produce confirmation of that fact, or,
indeed, know anything about his visit ? But
fortunately it is referred to in Dr Knapp's Life
of Borroii\^^ and the Memorandum of his to'ir
through Galloway has been recoided in vol.
vii., p. 117, of The Ga/Iovidian.^

The cant language put in the mouths of the
Gypsies of Guy Maniiering is quite as appro-
priate to the Tmklers of Galloway as to the

* See details in former edition.

92 The Ti)ikler-Gypsies.

Yetholm Gypsies. The following words and
expressions used by the Gypsies of Guy Alanner-
ing appear to be still in use in one form or
another amongst Galwegian Tinklers : — ■

DoiiseJhe^oJim — Put out the light.

Cut hen zvhids and statu them — a gentry cove of the ken —

Stop your uncivil language — a gentleman from the

house below.
Kitchenniorl—K girl ; (? kinchenmort).
Aliliin' in the darkinans — Murder by night.
Cheat (pronounced chaet) — A thing ; a generic word of

very general application.
Bing cot and tour — Go out and watch.
Strain met — S t ra w.
Z)a;-^;Vj- — Handcuffs.
Shand—'Qz.d coin.

fauthtes (pronounced fammels)^Hands.
Kinchen — A child.
Libken — Lodgings.

These all seem to be known also to Yetholm
Gypsies, and most of them can be found in lists
of Yetholm (iypsy words. There are a few
others which do not now appear to be in use,
but may nevertheless have been common both
to Yetholm and Galloway Gypsies a century or
two ago. .Such are : —

Bhinker — ?

Oop — To unite.

Sttnkie —\ low stool or cushicjii.

Scouring the cramp-ring — Being thrown into fetters, or,

generally, into prison.
Cloyed a //W— Stolen a rag.
/; ammagemm'd you — Throttled you.

" Guy Alamieritig'' Gypsy Characteristics. 93

She sxvore by the sa 'iiion — The great and inviolable oaths
of the strolling tribes. {cf. Mr Francis Hindes
Groome's Note, p. 32, oi In Gypsy Tents, contrasting
that oath with the Gypsy use of the word " sacra-
ment " for an oath and the Tinkler-word " sallah "
for a curse. )

Roughies — Withered boughs ; unless the term " roughie
paws " applied to the Marshalls, the horners, of
Kilmaurs, on account of their rough hands, can be
held to be the same word.

But whilst even at the present day there are
still many Romany words in use amongst the
Galloway Tinklers, we have it from no less an
authority than the late Mr Groome that there is
only one word of real Rojna7ies amongst all the
cant words used in Sir Walter Scott's works.
He say.s^' : — " Whence, by the bye, did Scott
get chury, the only true Romany word in all his
works ? It occurs not in Guy Mannering, but
in The Heart of Alidlothiati and The Fortunes
of Nigeir To that one word Mr David
MacRitchie suggests that the term " Roughies "
applied by " Meg Merrilies " to withered leaves,
and the word " shand," used to denote bad
coin, should be added. ^^ Since, then, the
Gypsies of Guy Mamiering may be taken as
typical of Galloway Gypsies, let us glance at the
Gypsy character in the light of Sir Walter
Scott's masterly analysis of it :

Of all the many writers of literature treating
of Gypsies, Sir Walter Scott has succeeded the

94 The Ti /I kkr- Gypsies.

mosl admirably in hitting off the precise posi-
tion Gypsies then occupied socially ; in boldly
portraying their " idle and vicious " character-
istics ; and yet with sympathetic hand in at
same time recording their good qualities. Take,
for example, his splendid word-picture of the
eviction of the Gypsies from " Derncleugh." He
begins by giving a description of the relative
positions held by the Gypsies of that period
and the Lord of the Manor, where they
happened to have their headquarters : —

" A tribe of these itinerants, to whom Meg Merrilies
appertained, had long been as stationary as their habits
permitted, in a glen upon the estate of Ellangowan.
They had there erected a few huts, which they denomi-
nated their ' city of refuge,' and when not absent on
excursions, they harboured unmolested, as the crows that
roosted in the old ash-trees around them. They had
been such long occupants that they were considered in
some degree as proprietors of the wretched shealings
which they inhabited. This protection they were said
anciently to have repaid, by service to the laird in war,
or more frequently, by infesting or plundering the lands
of those neighbouring barons with whom he chanced to
be at feud. Latterly their services were of a more pacific
nature. The women spun mittens for the lady, and
knitted boot hose for the laird, which were annually
presented at Christmas with great form. The aged sibyls
blessed the bridal bed of the laird when he married, and
the cradle of the heir when born. The men repaired her
ladyship's cracked china, and assisted the laird in his "
sporting parties, wormed his dogs, and cut the ears of his
terrier puppies. The children gathered nuts in the
woods, and cranberries in the moss, and mushrooms on
the pastures, for tribute to the Place. These acts of

Barholm Castle (" Ellangowan").

Photr, by Wm. Hunter & Son.

96 The Tinkler-Gypsies.

voluntary service and acknowledgmenls of dependence
were rewarded by protection on some occasions, conniv-
ance on others, and broken victuals, ale and brandy,
when circumstances called for a display of generosity ;
and this mutual intercourse of good offices, which liad
been carried on for at least two centuries, rendered the
inhabitants of Derncleugh a kind of privileged retainers
upon the estate of Ellangowan. ' The knaves ' were the
laird's ' exceeding good friends ' ; and he would have
deemed himself very ill-used if his countenance could not
now and then have borne them out against the law of the
country and the local magistrate. But this friendly union
was soon to be dissolved."

Then Sir Walter humorously describes the
change in Mr Bertram's attitude towards his
erstwhile friends — owing to his advancement to
the office of Justice of the Peace : —

" But these halcyon days were now to have an end,
and a minatory inscription on one side of the gate intima-
ted ' prosecution according to law ' (the painter had spelt
\\. persecution — I'un vaut bien I'autre) to all who should
be found trespassing on these enclosures. On the other
side, for uniformity's sake, was a precautionary annuncia-
tion of spring-guns and man-traps of such formidable
power that, said the rubric, with an emphatic nota bene
— ' if a man goes in, they will break a horse's leg.' "

It is interesting to note how naturally Sir
Walter causes the breach between the laird and
-the Gypsies to commence — a breach for which
the onus of blame clearly lay most heavily at
the door of the laird : —

" In defiance of these threats, six well-grown Gypsy
boys and girls were riding cock-h.irse upon the new gate,
and plaiting May-flowers, which it was but too evident

^'' Guy Afa?menng" Gypsy Characteristics. 97

had been gathered within the forbidden precincts. With
as much anger as he was capable of feeling, or perhaps
of assuming, the laird commanded them to descend ;
they paid no attention to his mandate ; he then began to
pull them down one after another ; they resisted,
passively, at least, each sturdy bronzed varlet making
himself as heavy as he could, or climbing up as fast as he
was dismounted.

"The laird then called in the assistance of his servant,
a surly fellow, who had immediate recourse to his horse-
whip. A few lashes sent the party a-scampering ; and
thus commenced the first breach of the peace between
the house of Ellangowan and the Gypsies of Derncleugh."

Next followed, by instigation of the laird,
horse-whippings of the children of the Gypsies,
poindings of Gypsies' cuddies, curious enquiries
into the Gypsies' mode of gaining a livelihood,
and objections raised to their absence from
their sleeping hovels during the night. Soon
the Gypsies retaliated in defence : —

" Ellangowan 's hen-roosts were plundered, his linen
stolen from the lines or bleaching-ground, his fishings
poached, his dogs kidnapped, his growing trees cut or
barked. Much petty mischief was done, and some
evidently for the mischiefs sake."

The laird carried the war further ; warrants
against, apprehensions of, Gypsies, floggings of
children, "and one Egyptian matron sent to the
house of correction " : —

" Still, however, the Gypsies made no motion to leave
the spot which they had so long inhabited, and Mr
Bertram felt an unwillingness to deprive them of their

98 The Tinkler-Gypsies.

ancient ' city of refuge ; ' so that the petty warfare we
have noticed continued for several months, without
increase or abatement of hostilities on either side."

And yet in spite of all his cold-hearted treat-
ment of his former proteges, we find that "Meg
Merrilies" — " the Galwegian sibyl" — had not
forgotten what she had said of the laird in the
days when he treated the Gypsies of " Dern-
cleugh " kindly : —

" ' O troth, laird,' continued Meg, during this by-talk,
' it's but to the like o' you ane can open their heart.
Ve see, 'they say Dunbog is nae mair a gentleman than
the blunker that's biggit the bonnie house down in the
howm. But the like o' you, laird, that's a real gentleman
for sae mony hundred years, and never hunds puir fowk
aff your grund as if they were mad tykes, nane o' our
fowk wad stir your gear if ye had as mony capons as
there's leaves on the trysting-tree. And now some o' ye
maun lay down yer watch, and tell me the very minute o'
the hour the wean's born, and I'll spae its fortune.'"

But how did her gratitude for old-time kindness
find an outlet ? Little Harry Bertram had
been in the habit of wandering in the woods,
and occasionally even made a stolen excursion
as far as the Gypsy hamlet at Derncleugh : —

" On these occasions he was generally brought back
by Meg Merrilies, who, though she could not be pievailed
upon to enter the place of Ellangowan after her nephew
had been given up to the pressgang, did not apparently
extend her resentment to the child. On the contrary,
she often contrived to waylay him in his walks, sang him
a Gyp.sy song, give him a ride upon her jackass, and

'■'' Guy xMa/uiering" Gypsy Characteristics. 99

thrust into his pocket a piece of gingerbread or a red-
clieeked apple. The woman's ancient attachment to the
family, repelled and checked in every other direction,
seemed to rejoice in having some object on which it
could yet repose and expand itself. She prophesied a
hundred times ' that young Mr liarry would be the
pride o' the familj-, and there hadna been sic a sprout
frae the auld aik since the death o' Arthur MacDingawaie,
that was killed in the battle o' the Bloody Bay ; as for
the present stick, it was good for naething but firewood.'
On one occasion, when the child was ill, she lay all
night below the window, chanting a rhyme which she
believed sov-ereign as a febrifuge, and could neither be
prevailed upon to enter the house, nor to leave the
station she had chosen, till she was informed that the
crisis was over."

The laird's wife grew suspicious of Meg's
affection for and influence over her child : —

"The laird determined to make root and branch
work with the Maroons of ' Derncleugh.' "

The pathetic scene at the eviction — beheld " in
sullen silence and inactivity by the Gypsies " —
and that tragic picture, when the laird, who,
not having the courage of his convictions, was
slinking away out of the road to pay a visit to a
friend at a distance, came unexpectedly face to
face with the Gypsy procession as they sadly
wended their way — by the old road which leads
through the Nick o' the Doon (?) — from their
demohshed homes, are described with the
tender regard of one who has succeeded in
identifying himself with the Gypsies' standpoint,

^^ Guy Ala uttering" Gypsy Characteristics. loi

and shows himself capable of observing their
true characteristics. In the concluding part of
that chapter (x.) he also shows a keen insight
into the Gypsies' habit of mind : —

"'I'll be d d,' said the groom, ' if she has not

been cutling the young ashes in the Dukit park !' The
laird made no answer, but continued to look at the figure
which was thus perched above his path.

" ' Ride your ways,' said the Gypsy, ' ride your ways,
Laird of Ellangowan— ride your ways, Godfrey Bertram !
This day have ye quenched seven smoking hearths — see
if the fire in yer ain parlour burn the-ilither for that. Ye
have riven the thack oft" seven cottar houses-^look if your
ain roof-tree stand the faster. Ye may stable your stirks
in the shealings at Derncleugh — see that the hare does
not couch on the hearth-stane at Ellangowan. Ride your
ways, Godfrey Bertram — what do ye glower after our
folk for ? There's thirty hearts there that wud hae
wanted bread ere ye had wanted sunkets, and spent their
life-bluid ere ye had scratched your finger. Yes, tliere's
thirty yonder, from the auld wife of an hundred to the
babe that was born last week, that ye have turned out o'
their bits o' bields, to sleep with the tod and the black-
cock in the muirs ! Ride your ways, Ellangowan. Our
bairns are hinging at our weary backs — look that your
braw cradle at hame be the fairer spread up ; not that I
am wishing ill to little Harry, or to the babe that's yet to
be born — God forbid — and make them kind to the poor
and better folk than their father ! And now, ride e'en
your ways ; for these are the last words ye'll ever hear
Meg Merrilies speak, and this is the last reise that I'll
ever cut in the bonnie woods of Ellangowan.' "

He never hesitates to write down their worst
characteristics, but note with what tender
solicitude for truth he gives " Meg Merrilies " —

102 The Tinkler Gypsies.

even though she may have possessed all the
bad qualities, " harlot, thief, witch, and Gypsy,"
ascribed to her by " Dominie Sampson " — her
due for not visiting the iniquities of the father
upon little Harry or " the babe that's yet to
be born."

To the Gypsies' fidelity and steadfastness of
purpose, of which many cases in real life have
been recorded. Sir Walter indirectly pays a
noble eulogy in putting these words into " Meg
Merrilics' '' mouth : —

" It is to rebuild the auld house — it is to lay the
corner-stone — and did I not warn him ? I lell'd him I
was born to do it, if my father's head had been the
stepping stane, let alane his. I was doomed— still I kept
my purpose in the cage and in the stocks ; I was banished
— I kept it in an unco land ; I was scourged —I was
branded — my resolution lay deeper than scourge or red
iron could reach — and now the hour is come ! "

" Meg's " ability to write is also noteworthy.
Like the specimen of Billy Marshall's signature^
•given in a previous chapter, her writing was —

"a vile, greasy .scrawl, indeed — and the letters are
uncial, or semi-uncial, as somebody calls your large text
hand, and in size and perpendicularity resemble the ribs
of a roasted pig — I can hardly make it out."

The striking resemblance between the scenery
described in Guy Mantierifig and that in the
neighbourhood of Ravenshall can scarcely be

'■'• Guy Mannering^' Galweglati Localities. 103

accounted for by Sir Walter's glib accusation
against Gahvegians of " assigning to

' airy nothings

A local habitation and a name.' "

Nay rather, do not Sir Walter's own words,
written to Train about Old Mortality, lead one
to suppose that Sir Walter must have derived
intimate local knowledge from some source or
other ?^' : —

" That novel (Old A/oitality) displays the same know-
ledge of Scottish manners and scenery, and the same
carelessness as to the arrangement of the story which
characterise these curious narratives ( IVaverley and Gtiy
AIanneri)ig).''

It may be of interest to note some of the
principal local places with which the places
named in Guy Alanne>ing are identified :
" Dandie Dinmont " is said to have reached
" Portanferry," after " a trot of sixty miles or
near by," from Charlieshope in Liddesdale, and
if " Guy Mannering " rode — on " Soople Sam,"
" a blood bay beast " — from Dumfries to the
New Place of Ellangowan (Barholm) in four or
five hours, which could be easily accomplished,
then the distances can't be readily reconciled,
but it is thciught that Creetown, formerly called
the " Ferry Toun o' Cree," tallies best with the
story. As " Guy Mannering " in the early
pages of the novel is made, on his way from

\

M

Carsluith Castle.
From a fine line Drawing by Mr .1. S. Fleming, F.S.A., Glasgow.

'■^ Guy Ma/i/ieriiig" Galwegian Localities. 105

Dumfriesshire, to travel by winding passages
through '■ a wide tract of black moss," eventually
approaching the sea beach and had passed
" Kippletringan '" ere he reached " Ellangowan,"
it would seem that Gatehouse is the place which
corresponds most closely to " Kippletringan,"
-which lay to the " eassel " of " Ellangowan,"
and enjoyed the dignity of having an Inn and a
Mason's Lodge, but some consider that Kirk-
cudbright most nearly fits in with Sir ^^'alter's
description.

Undoubtedly the description of the actual
building of " Ellangowan " tallies most exactly
with Caerlaverock Castle, Dumfriesshire, and
while neither Carsluith Castle nor Barholm
Castle has " a front like a grenadier's cap," or is
situated on "a promontory or projection of
rock," or has a " Donagild's (Murdoch's) round
tower," yet the former was the castle of the
Browns — Harry Bertram having as an alias
" Vanbeest Brown," and the story of his wander-
ings being founded on a tradition about the
smuggling of a child belonging to that family
— and the latter was the stronghold of the
M'Cullochs. It is claimed by some that the
story of Harry Bertram's wanderings is founded
on a tradition about a descendant of the
Maxwells ot Orchardton, but in the days of 1
smuggling the mysterious disappearance of an

s. ^ 1 06 The Tt/ikkr-Gypsies.

I heir seems to have been a fashionable and
rough-and-ready way of obtaining possession
of an estate — for seemingly there is also a
similar tradition' about the Browns of Car-
sluith :—

"The incident of the kidnapped heir happened to the
old family of Brown of Carsluilh, now extinct in the male
line.''

" Donagild " (Donegan O'Dowill) is a name
which relates not to the Caerlaverock family, but
to the M'Doualls. Sir Walter rightly causes the
Browns of Carsluith to be related to the
M'CuUochs, who in turn were related to the
M'Doualls of r.arthland. Here is Harry
' Bertram's pedigree as taken from Guy Maiiner-
ing:—

" Good-night, colonel — good-night. Dominie Sampson
— good-night, Dinmont the downright — good-night, last
of all, to the new-found representative of the Bertrams
and the Mac-Dingawaies, the Knarths, the Arths, the
Godfreys, the Dennises, and the Rolands, and, last and
dearest title, heir of tailzie and provision of the lands
and barony of Ellangowan, under the settlement of Lewis
Bertram, Esq., whose representative you are.'

And on referring to Nisbet's Heraldry
p. 250 et seq. of the Appendix, and M'Kerlie's
Lands and their Owners in G:illoway^ vol. ii.,
p. 453 et seq., it will be found that most of
these names are traceable in the genealogical
trees of the M'Doualls and M'Cullochs.

'■'■ Guy Mannering'' Gaiivegia/i Localities. 107

Hence it would seem to arise that Carsluith
Castle and Barholm Castle are both claimed
to be the " EUangowan " of Guy Manneriiig,
Barholm Castle, however, standing on a wooded
height overlooking the sea, tallies best with
" Meg Merrilies' " proclamation : —

" Dark shall he 1 1^,^11 1

And wrong done to right

When Bertram's right and Bertram's might

Shall meet on EUangowan height."

Further resemblances will be found in its
proximity to the rocky prominence known as
"The Gauger's Loup," and in the fact that
close to "The Ganger's Loup," ahiiost opposite
Barholm Castle and half-way down the descent,
there still exists a fine spring well — correspond-
ing with —

" the fine spring well about half-way down the descent,
and which once supplied the castle with water."

A remarkable coincidence is also contained
in the statement :

"And several of her tribe made oath in her (' Meg
Merrilies ') behalf that she had never quitted her encamp-
ment, which was in a glen about ten miles distant from
EUangowan."

The site of that encampment would correspond
precisely with Palnure Glen, which, as has been
shown in a previous chapter, was a favourite
rendezvous of the Marshall gang and is tei\
miles distant from Barholm Castle.

^i^

A^ •'-

k4.'

Photo by J. P. >lilnes.

"JuLrA Mannering" at "Ellangowan" CBarholm CastleX

From a Paintins: l>y the late Mr .Tohn Kae<l. K.S.A. The oriinnal is in the roesession
of the represeiitatiTes of the late Mr Waugh. National Kink. Newton-
Stewart, l>y whose kind vemiissiou it is here tvprvxluoeJ.

'■'■Guy Ma/i/iering" Gakvegian Localities. 109

Be it remembered also that Train (an Ayrshire
man) was stationed at Newton-Stewart until 15th
December, 1820, five years later than the publica-
tion of Guy Ma?inering, and any informatiorr
supplied by him or the M'CuUoch family would
be far more likely to refer to the " Dirk
Hatteraick's Cave," and other places in and
around Ravenshall, than to the Torrs Cave or
even further afield. There are also references,
such as —

" Frank Kennedy's Ijeing away round to Wigtown to
warn a King's ship that's lying in the bay about ' Dirk
Hatteraick's' lugger being on the coast again, and he'll
be back this day,"

and about " Dirk's " lugger " standing across the
bay" which rather suggest the idea that Torrs
Cave is too far afield to be the " Dirk
Hatteraick's Cave " of the Novel.

The tradition*^ as to the fate of Supervisor
Kennedy, as recorded in Guy Manneringy
also relates to the Ravenshall district, and was
forwarded to Sir Walter by Train. As
"Kippletringan" was apparently on the same side
— the south-eastern — as " Hazlewood House,"^
the messenger from " EUangowan " having
" proceeded to a point where the roads to-
Kippletringan and Hazlewood separated,"
Ardwall House might fit in with that descrip-
tion, and as it also belonged to the M'CuUoch.

no The Tinkler-Gypsies.

family Sir Walter would be sure to know all
about it.

In "The Derncleugh " stood the impregnable
tower called "The Kaim of Derncleugh " with
its vault wherein "Meg Merrilies" and " Domi-
nie Sampson " had the interview so graphically
depicted in one of the late Mr John Faed's
sketches herewith reproduced : —

" ' Aweel,' said Meg, 'but an ye kenn'd how it was
gotten ye maybe wadna like it so weel.' Sampson's spoon
dropped in the act of conveying its load to his mouth."

"Derncleugh" is identified with " The Cleugh
Head " near to Carsluith Castle. This is a wild
and thickly wooded ravine, and a halo of
romance hangs around it. Apparently when
Harry Bertram, travelling from Liddesdale to
" Kippletringan," left " Dandie Dinmont " and
proceeded "across the country " he had travelled
by the hill road, and it would be quite a natural
mistake for him to stumble, as he did, in the
dark into "The Derncleugh" (The Cleugh
Head), in place of striking "The Nick o' Doon."
And why should not the old Castle of Carsluith,
standing as it does at the lower end of " The
Derncleugh " (Cleugh Head), have afforded to
Sir Walter the idea of describing an even more
ancient ruin, which he called " The Kaim of
Derncleugh " as situated there ? There is a
local tradition" associated with that trlen of a

Photo by J. P. Millies.

Dominie Sampson" and "Meg Merrilies" in the Vaul,t of
"The Kaim of Derncleugh."

From a Sepia Sketch by the late Mr John FaeJ, R.S.A.,
Kindly lent by Mr James Faed, jr.

112 The Tinkler-Gypsiis.

quarrel between two lovers which terminated
fatally, the blood-guilty one being tracked down
the ravine by his shoe-shods, which in these
olden days had been nailed on by a blacksmith,
who gave evidence against the guilty man. Alas,
that lovely Glen is being ruthlessly despoiled by
having its rocky faces blasted to supply stones
for building purposes ! There is also a further
tradition'" about a Gypsy killing a woman near
Kirkdale Ikidge. At 12 o'clock at night, it is
said, the ghost of a woman with half of her
head cut off, and all clad in white, appears at
Kirkdale Bridge and slowly wends its way along
the road and disappears by the wooded path-
way leading to Kirkdale Bank. This apparition
is firmly believed in by some folks in that local-
ity. A farmer told the writer that he knew a
farmer who at any time he had to pass Kirkdale
Bridge after darkness had set in, used regularly
to put his horse to the gallop, lest he should
be caught by the ghost. There is also a field
on a farm not far from Barholm Castle known
as " Little Egypt," but when asked why it was
so called, the farmer said, " Because it is a dry,
barren place." Mr David MacRitchie, in Notes
and Queries, Gypsy Lore Journal, vol. i. p.
53, shows that " Egypt " is a place name in
many districts frequented by Gypsies ; and surely
it is not without significance that we should

"•pORTANFERf?

Garsluiblv Village.
CarsluilhCaslley

"dirk hattericks cave:

*GAUG E R S L O U P^

l^iglon Bay

"' G/fV AIa}inering'^ Localities. i 13

have '' The Oypsy Weil," " The Gypsy Burn " at

Carsluith, and " Little Egypt " near Mossyard,

and the coincidence should not be so readily

accepted as accounted for by the farmer's simple

and quite natural explanation, especially when

that particular field is situated in a district

which, in the days when Billy Marshall and his

numerous gang held sway, must have been

greatly frequented by Gypsies, and which to this

day is a place where Gypsies, Tinklers, and

vagrants still

" Most do congregate."

The descriptions of local places are not quite
accurate, but are in most cases sufficiently
accurate to be recognisable, and are precisely
what one would expect to find where such had
first been accurately described by some one who
knew the locality thoroughly, to another who did
not and who had afterwards described them from
memory. Here, then, in this comparatively iso-
lated and romantic corner, at a time when the
country folks were much more superstitious than
they are now, the Gypsies, who were and still are
most superstitious, would find a suitable place T
for practising their black arts. " Meg Merrilies," '

i
" the Galwegian sibyl, . . . wha was the maist

nDtorious witch within a' Galloway and Dumfriesshire," ,

would be able to overawe the whole country side \

I

'•\\i glamour, cantrip, charm, and spell. '

!''■'"''■' ''J' TORSS Cave.

A. M'Cormiik.

Tinkkr-Gypsy Charactei-istics. 115

The Galloway Tinklers are still most super-
stitious. They will turn back if they meet a
"gley-eyed" woman when setting out in the
morning. A flat-footed person is so unlucky that
they won't tolerate one inside the door. Once
when a Tinkler woman told that to the writer
hereof, he looked down at his feet, and she said,
" I noticed ye werena fiat-fitted whun ye cam'
forrit to the door." " But," says an old Tinkler,
" the sonsiest thing on this yirth is, gin ye're
Jawin' avri (going away) to the t'ither watches
(another beat) in the morgen (morning) wi' a
yucal o' mashlam (dozen of tin cans) on yer
back, and ye meet a heavy tramplei'ed Jiianishi
(woman) wi' a clQeLw/oredru/?! (apron) and a big
back burden, ye may Jaw (go) alang the lig
(road) for ye'll get bara iowie (big money) that
devies (day) frae the been hantle (good country
people)."

They deem it very lucky to be first-footed by
a donkey or a sheep, but particularly the former ;
indeed, one of the gang generally makes it
his duty to lead the cuddy into the house first
thing on New Year s morning. One Tinkler
woman told the writer hereof that all the Mar- '
shalls she ever knew believed in witches. When ;
asked why she kept two little shoes — a cuddy's
and a pony's — hanging behind the door, she at
once replied, "To keep out the witches."

ii6 The Tinkler-Gypsies.

" But do you really believe in witches?" was
next asked.

" Certaintly, and wha had ever ony mair
reason to believe in them?" she replied, and
proceeded to tell a wonderful story of how at
her birth a gentleman had foretold that she
would marry a man of the same name as him-
self (Campbell), and how by a remarkable
coincidence his |)rophecy had come true. Then
she added that " a flat-fitted or a shan-ivinklered
(bad-eyed) body " was most unlucky, and related
this story : — " A flat-fitted woman yince first-
fitted my mither on New Year's day morning ;
the mare foaled on the 24th May ; it was kicked
to death by a horse in the field a few days efter,
and the foal didna survive it mony days " !

Frequently has the writer heard of the death
of animals accounted for in that way. Once
he heard a tale that shows the elasticity
of the Tinklers' belief in superstitions : In
Wigtownshire an old woman with a gley
eye had looked at a Tinkler's bairn. The
Tinklers were travelling towards Dumfriesshire.
The child cried all the way to Dumfries, when
another old woman looked at the child,
and at once said — " That wean has been
owerlookit." She advised them to take it
back to the first old woman, but the mother
being a Catholic took it to the priest, and

Dirk Hatteraicks Cave, Ravenshall.

From a Painting l.y Mr James Faei, sair., taken by the aid of a flambeau within
the interior of the Cave upwanls of forty years ago.

ii8 The Thikler-Gypsies.

the father being a Protestant beat the wife
unmercifully, as they still seem to think the\-
are entitled to do, " like the chief of the horde
who acknowledged he had corrected her (' Meg
Merrilies ') with a whinger." The husband
got h's own way, and took the child to the first
old woman to withdraw the spell she had cast
over the child. The Tinklers had not long
left her when " the wean a' at yince drappit
greetin', and the mare, lang by her time, at the
same meenit drapt a foal "" I So the Tinklers
of to-day cling to many of the traits ascribed
to " Meg Merrilies."

Tradition" has it that " Flora," one of Billy's
many dulcineas, whose maiden name appears
to have been P'loia Maxwell, " was so very
transparently fair of the complexion that one
could see a glass of (red) wine go down her
throat." Mr David MacRitchie, in his Ancient
and Afodern Briio/is,*'^ states that it was a
Gypsy who, to Mr Groome, ascribed a similar
compliment to Mary Queen of Scots, and that
it was also a Gypsy who ascribed the same
peculiarity to Fair Rosamond.

In the additional note to Guy Manuerin<:;,
Sir Walter relates the following story of liilly
Marshall, which — who knows? — may even have
been included amongst the Gypsy stories sent
to him by Train prior to publication of the first
edition of Guv Mnnnen'/n:; :

Billy befriends a Friend in Need. 1 1 9

" In his youth he occasionally took an evening walk on
the highway, with the purpose of assisting travellers by
relieving them of the weight of their purses. On one
occasion, the Caird of Barullion robbed the Laird of
Bargally at a place between Carsphairn and Dalmelling-
ton. His purpose was not achieved without a severe
struggle, in which the Gypsy lost his bonnet, and was
obliged to escape, leaving it on the road. A respectable
farmer happened to be the next passenger, and seeing
the bonnet, alighted, took it up, and rather imprudently
put 11 on his head. At this instant Bargally came up with
some assistants, and recognising the bonnet, charged the
farmer of Bantoberick ( PBarstoberick) with having robbed
him, and took him into custody. There being some like-
ness between the parties, Bargally persisted in his charge,
and though the respectability of the farmer's character
was proved or admitted, his trial before the circuit court
came on accordingly. The fatal bonnet lay on the table
of the court ; Bargally swore that it was the identical
article worn by the man who robbed him ; and he and
others likewise deponed that they had found the accused
on the spot where the crime was committed, with the
bonnet on his head The case looked gloomily for the
prisoner, and the opinion of the judge seemed unfavour-
able. But there was a person in court who knew well
both who did and who did not commit the crime. This
was the Caird of Barullion, who, thrusting himself up
to the bar, near the place where Bargally was standing,
suddenly seized on the bonnet, put it on his head, and,
looking the laird full in the face, asked him, with a voice
which attracted the attention of the court and crowded
audience — ' Look at me, sir, and tell me, by the oath
you have sworn — am not / the man who rcjbbed you
between Carsphairn and Dalmellington ? ' Bargally
replied, in great astonishment, ' By Heaven, you are the
very man.' 'You see what sort of a memory this gentle-
man has,' said the volunteer pleader : ' he swears to the
bonnet, whatever features are under it. If you yourself,
my Lord, will put it on your head, he will be willing to
swear that your lordship was the party who robbed him

I20 The Tinkler-Gypsies.

Letween Carsphnirn and Dalmellinglon.' The tenant of
Bantoberick (Barstoberick) was unanimously acquitted,
and thus Willie Marshall ingeniously contrived to save
an innocent man from danger without incurring any him-
self, since Bargally's evidence must have seemed to every
one too fluctuating to be relied upon.

"While the King of the Gypsies was thus laudably
occupied, his royal consort. Flora, contrived, it is said,
to steal the hood from the judge's gown ; for which
offence, combined with her presumptive guilt as a Gypsy,
she was banished to New England, whence she never
returned."

Strange to say, there is a somewhat similar
tradition — common amongst the Galloway
Tinklers at this day — which relates how Billy
intervened in Court and got off a prisoner in an
even more wonderful way. The resemblance of
the two stories is noteworthy, and it would be
interesting to discover in what words Joseph
Train first related the story recorded by Sir
Walter. The following is the tndiiion narrated
to the writer hereof by a Galloway Tinkler : —

" Billy Marshall and several of liis gang had l)een out on
a foraging expedition with some other Gypsy gangs. They
had killed a cow, and Billy had sent his comrades off l)y
finother road to his camp with his 'corner' of the cow.
Solitarily wending his way home to the encampment, he
met in with a gamekeeper who had formerly attempted
to have him imprisoned for poaching. Billy settled old
scores by killing the gamekeeper. He then pitched him
over a dyke, but when the gamekeeper lay there it occurred
to Billy that his own coat was not so good as the game-
keeper's, lie therefore exchanged coats and left his own
one l)ing on the dyke. As his camp had been situated
at some considerable distance, he thontrlit it advisable to

h-f

rK^^"

A Modern "Meg Mfrrilies''

122 The Tinkler-Gypsies.

spend the niglit in a ccjmmon lodgint^-house in a village.
He left the gamekeeper's jacket hanging on the back of
a chair and then went to sleep. Billy had not long left
the spot where he had left the gamekeeper's body lying,
when along came a tramp, who espied Billy's own coat
lying on the dyke, looked at it, and thinking it better
than his own also promptly made an exchange. The
tramp happened to hit upon the same lodging-house as
Billy. The tramp was early astir in the morning, and
seeing the gamekeeper's coat hanging on ihe back of the
chair, he coveted it, donned it, and was soon hurrying
along the road, having luckily for Billy left him in pos-
session of his own coal. The tramp had not gone far
when two 'beagles' (policemen) from Dumfries arrested
him. He was taken before the Circuit Court at Dum-
fries, and confronted with the damning evidence that
whilst he was wearing the gamekeeper's coat when
arrested, his own garment, as was clearly proven, was
found lying on the dyke beside the murdered man. The
tramp told a plain, straightforward story : He had been
coming along the road, saw a coat lying on the wall, and
thinking it better than his own had exchanged it ; and
had done the same in the lodging-house. Nevertheless
his guilt seemed established. But from the back of the
Court there stepped down a man rigged out in a long blue
coat, with huge silver buttons, and knee-breeks. Salut-
ing the judge with a military salute, he said — 'I crave
yer honour's pardon. May I ha'e a word wi' the Coort ?
I was comin' alang the road jist in the same way as
my unfortunate freen here, an' I too saw a better coat
than my ain lyin' on the dyke, an' put it on and left
this ane (holding up an old coat) lyin' on the dyke.
An' my freen here maun ha'e picked it up, for whun
I lay doon at nicht, I left the gude coal lyin' on the
chair, an' I see noo hoo I come to fin' my ain aul'
yin in its place in the morr.in'. He maun hae cheatit
me oot o' the gude coal I fun" ! ^'e may sen' baith o'
us to Botany Bay for stealin' a coat we fun' on the
road, but a' the Coorts in the land daurna rax oor gorgets
(hang us) for murderin' a man we never saw.' Billy,

'^Giiy Mannering'' Localiiy. 123

with Gypsy cuteness, had grasped the situation,, and*
had risked a little to befriend the tramp he had
placed in an awkward predicament. The tr.inip
was, needless to say, unanimous])- acquitted liy the jury. "^

In that romantic district which lies along
what, it is said, was described to her late
Majesty Queen Victoria as —

" The most beautiful shore road in Britain,"

and amongst folks of a superstitious turn of
mind, Sir Walter fittingly laid the scene of the
most popular Gypsy tale ever written. In almost
every letter addressed to Joseph Train, he kept
asking him for Galloway tradition*;, and to Sir "
Walter's honour be it said, no one could have
made more generous acknowledgment of
Train's invaluable services : — *'

" Well, Mr Train, you never run out of excellent
stories. You should really publish a collection of them.
I will assist you to prepare them for the press. You
know one good turn deserves another ; you have helped
me ; it is now my turn to help you. From my influence
with the booksellers, I will assure you of two or three
hundred pounds. Vou may even publish some of the
stories you sent nie ; the)- are not the worse of having
passed through my hands, as I disguise them for reasons
you well know."

But no matter though every panicle of the
information contained in Guy Manueriiig had
been furnished, in draft or otherwise, by Train
or Captain and Mrs Thomas Scott, Sir \\'alter's
most precious legacy to the world — that touch

12 4 The Tuik/cr- G ) 'psies.

of genius which transformed the other raw
materials, in passing through the crucible of Sir
\\'alter's brain, into his matchless novels — was
clearly all his own, and no one can possibly filch
that from him.

No one knew better than Sir AA'alter Scott

I'y "Dirk HATTERAlCKd " (Yawkins' PiiTOL. Ill- .1. imnn.

The aliove iiistol forinevly IjcloiiKeil to thf late ]\Ir .loseiili Train, anil it is

reproduced liere liy kind permixsion of one of his grand-daughters,

Jlrs Dunn, ('astle-J)ouglas, to whom it now belongs.

that there were inaccuracies and discrepancies
in his desc-ription of the locality, and Sir Walter
was therefore too astute to tie himself down to
any particular locality ; but his descriptions,
nevertheless, tally remarkably with the Ravens-
hall district. The family names used in the
[)lot of Guv Maiiueriiii:;. the traditions woven

Characf''rs, c^'c, of " Guv Alaiuiering^.''' 125

into it, the aptness of the descriptions of places
and characters, and the sources from which
such information was derived — all point to the
Ravenshall district as the one which Sir ^^'alter
had most prominently in mind when he wrote
Guy Mannering ; and, on the whole, less objec-
tion can be urged against the Ravenshall district
than any other claiming the honour of being the
principal scene of Guy Mannering.

Keeping in view, then, the aptness of Scott's
descriptions to the Ravenshall locality and to
the Galloway Gypsies, and the sources from
which that information is supposed to have been
derived, is it unreasonable to conclude that
Guy Mannering is the outcome of a composite
knowledge of (first) what Sir ^^'alter may have
known from personal acquaintance with the
Yetholm Gypsies — Madge Gordon, from whom
the portrait of " Meg Merrilies'" avowed proto-
type Jean Gordon was partially drawn, amongst
the number — and with Caerlaverock Casde; and
of (second) what he may have learned, from
Joseph Train and the M'CuUoch family, of the
Galloway Gypsies —Billy and Flora Marshall
amongst the number — and of Barholm Castle
and " Dirk Hatteraick's Cave," and the other
Galwegian localities around Ravenshall ?

CHAPTER IV.

'■' Hast thou not noted on the bye- way side,
Where aged saughs lean o'er the lazy tide,
A vagrant crew, far straggled through the glade.
With trifles busied, or in slumber laid ;
Their children lolling round them on the grass.
Or pestering with iheir sports the patient ass?
The wrinkled beldame there you may espy.
And ripe young maiden with the glossy eve,
IMen in their prime, and striplings, darlTand dun,
jScathed by the storm, and freckled by the sun :
Their swarthy hue, and mantle's flowing fold,
\JBespeak the remnant of a race of old ;
Strange are their annals ! — list and mark them well —
For thou hast much to hear and I to tell."

HE Marshalls are said to have been
Tinklers in Galloway '• time otit of
mind," but as no regular annals of
Billy's house were kept, it is impos-
sible to trace them back further
than his own time. Pitcairii^s
Criminal Trials reveal nothing, and thereafter
there is a hiatus (which covers the earlier part
of Billy's long lifetime) during which it is difficult
to consult the records. Hume's Commentaries
show that members of the Marshall gang have
frequently appeared in criminal cases. The
crimes libelled in some of these are character-
istic : "Stealing a horse," "stealing from a
thief," " prison breaking."

Galwegian Gypsy Gangs. 127

In Billy's day many Gypsy gangs appear to
have frequented Galloway. The principal gangs
were Baillies, Millers, Kennedies, MacMillans,
Marshalls, Watsons, Wilsons, and O'Neills.
The Marshalls, MacMillans, Watsons, and Wil-
sons still travel in Galloway ; and the Millers,
still numerous in the north of England, fre-
quently visit Galloway. The Kennedies have
recently died out in Galloway ; the O'Neills have
married into other gangs ; and the Baillies, of
whom there must be many still in Scotland, do
not seem to have frequented Galloway for some
time. At the time of the Levellers' rebellion,
1720, and for some years afterwards —

" Two bands of Gypsies infested the district and
occasioned great loss to the inhabitants by constantly
committing all sorts of depredations. One of them,
headed by Isaac Miller, acted as fortune tellers, tinklers,
and manufacturers of hornspoons ; but they lived chiefly
by theft. The other, commanded by William Baillie,
represented themselves as horse-dealers ; but they were
in reality horsestealers and robbers. William Marshall,
commonly called Billy Marshall, belonged to the first
mentioned party ; but, having killed his chief at Maybole,
who, he considered, was in terms of too much intimacy
with his wife or mistress, Billj entered the army. He
afterwards returned, however, and followed his former
calling." 5"

But while these various gangs as a rule
travelled by themselves, it often happened that
members ot one gang encamped with another
gang, and a gang was ofte 1 joined by Gypsies

128 The Tinkler-Gypsies.

from other districts. Indeed, from the names
mentioned in some of the old criminal trials,
one may infer that Billy's gang would often be a
composite one ; and there has also been a good
deal of inter-marriage between the various gangs.
In Mackenzie's History of Gallo7vay, vol. ii.,
pp. 401-3 and 433-7, there are some interesting
particulars in. regard to members of these gangs.
The following indictment and judgment are
curious instances of the brutal treatment meted
out, in consonance with the laws of the time, to
the Gypsies : —

" Vou, John Johnstone (better known in Galloway by
the name of Jock Johnstone), James Campbell, Christian
Ker, Margaret and Isabella Marshalls, now prisoners
within the Tolbooth- of Kirkcudbright, as vagrants,
gipsies, and sorners, are indicted and accused before the
quarter sessions for the Stewartry of Kirkcudbright, at
the instance of the procurator-fiscall, as being vagrant
people of no certain residence, guilty of theft, pickery,
and sorners and oppressors of the country, and so
common-nauseances, and, therefore, ought to be punished,
in terms of the acts of parliament made against sorners,
vagrants, Egyptians, &c.

"Quarter Sessions, Kirkcudbriglit, 7th of March,
1732. — Campbell acknowledges that he has no certain
place of residence, but goes up and down the country
making spoons and mending pans. Johnstone acknow-
ledges that he has no certain place of residence, but goes
up and down the country the same way as Campbell.
Margaret and Isabell Marshalls alledge they live in the
parish of Stratown, but cannot condescend upon the
name of the place, and the whole four acknowledge they
passed the boat of Tongland Sundays night last, and
stayed in a wast house near the Grenny ford all night.

Perseattion of Gypsies. 129

and that they lodged in a barn in the park of Balgreedan,
near John Grears, on Mondays night, and the two men
acknowledge that they kept two durks or hangers that
they had for defending of their persons. (Signed) Geo.
Gordon, J.P.J.

" Eodem die. — The Justices of Peace having advised
the indictment and judicial acknowledgments of the
within named vagrants, they find they are persons of no
certain residence, nor of any lawful! employments, and
that they are such persons as by the law are described for
Egyptians, vagrants, and sorners ; and, therefore, the
justices of peace ordain them to be burnt on the cheeks
severally, whipped on their naked shoulders, from one
end of the Bridge end of Dumfries to the other by the
hangman, and that upon the fifteenth day of March
instant, and all this upon the charge of the Stewartry,
which the collector of supply is hereby ordered to
disburse, and after said punishment is inflicted, the said
vagrants are hereby banished out of this Stewartry for
ever, with certification, if ever they be found in the
Stewartry thereafter, that they shall be imprisoned six
months and whipped once a month, and thereafter burnt
on the cheeks of new.— (Signed) J. P. Gordon, J.P.J.

■' And the quarter sessions recommend and committ to
John Neilson of Chappell, William Coupland of Collies-
toun, John Dalyell of Fairgirth, or any one of them to
see the before sentence put into lawful execution. —
(Signed) Geo. Gordon, J.P.J." -'i

The crimes charged in the itidictment are not
borne out by the evidence led, and the finding
of the Quarter Sessions — that the accused are
" persons of no certain residence nor of any
lawful employments, and that they are such
persons as are by law described for Egyptians,
vagrants, and sorners " — shows how unduly

9

130 The Tinkler-Gypsies.

keen the judges were to obtain an excuse for
persecuting the Gypsies, and was merely a
flimsy pretext for inflicting a brutal punishment
which branded the country's legislators and
those who carried out their behests as inhuman
wretches. Such treatment created an inveterate
hatred of house-dwellers in the heart of the
wild-natured, freedom-loving Gypsy. Little
wonder that they carried " durks or hangers to
defend their persons," and the following may be
taken as not an unnatural outcome of the cruel
injustice meted out to them : —

"John Johnstone was afterwards hanged for murder
at Dumfries ; being a very powerful man, the magistrates
found great difficulty in putting his sentence into execu-
tion. He is said to have taken hold of and broken ilie
rope by which he was to be suspended, and to have
leaped from the scaffold. Before he could be secured his
riglit arm was broken. After much exertion the
executioner succeeded in throwing him off."'''-

But even such drastic measures on the part
of the authorities failed to stamp out the
Gypsies : —

" Representation being made to me that severall houses
within this stewartry have been broke up in several nights
of last week supposed to be done by a parcell of gypsies
or vagrants that have been strolling through this country
grants warrant to Stewart officers and their assistants to
apprehend and secure liie persons of all gypsies or other
strolling persons. Joiix Dai.vei 1.."

" 2nd April, 1750."

Persuution of Gypsies, 13 r

"3rd April. — II. Carter in Trusliill and I'airick
M'Kean in l.itlle AJains brought before me a young
woman, calls herself Ann Gibson (or Marshall), spouse
to William Hamilton, a piper, in possession of stolen

goods. WlIX GORDONNE."

" 6 April. — Complaint, Fiscal against Henry Greg, alias
John Wilson, Margaret Stewart, his wife, Anne Gibson
(or Marshall), wife to Wm. M'Gregor, alias Wm.
Hamilton, travelling tinkers and vagabonds for house-
breaking. John Miller."

"6 April 1750."

" Warrant for Apprehension against Omer Brown
Milner, Bridge of Urr, for harbouring the above.

"April 1750." "Tho. Millkr."

" Homer Brown liberated in attestation of Mr Gordon
of Troquhain. Thomas Miller." ^3

"3 April 1750."

" The prisoners, Henry Greig, Margaret Stewart, and
Anne Gibson (or Marshall), gave in on the day of trial,
by their procurator, Roger Martin, a petition to the
Steward, acknowledging some parts of the crimes charged
against them in the indictment, and stating, ' that in order
to save the court from farther trouble, they were willing
to subject themselves to transportation to any of His
Majesty's plantations, never to return.' The Petition
having been openly read, the Procurator Fiscal (Mr
Miller) consented to the prayer of it, ' so far as concerned
Margaret Stewart and Anne Gibson. But so far as con-
cerned Henry Greig, alias John Wilson, he refused his
consent thereto, looking upon it as inconsistent with his
duty to enter into any compromise with so great a
criminal.'

" The judge having found ' the libel relevant, pro-
ceeded to name fifteen persons to pass upon the assise of
the said Henry Greig, alias John Wilson.'

"After the public pro.secutor had concluded his evidence,

132 The Tiiiklt)--Gypsics.

the jury retired, and next day returned a verdict unani-
mously finding the prisoner guilty of the crimes laid to
his charge, namely, ' theft, robbery, and housebreaking.'
' The Steward Depute then decerned, and adjudged the
said Henry Greig, alias John Wilson, to be taken upon
Friday the sixth day of July next to come, from the
tolbooth of Kirkcudbright to the ordinary place of
execution of the said burgh, and there between the hours
of two and four of the clock of the afternoon, to be
hanged by the neck on a gibbet until he should be dead,
and ordained all his moveable goods and gear to be
escheat and inbrought to his majesties use, which was
pronounced for doom. ' " "^

Well did the Gypsies know that the authorities
were bound by law— with or without just cause
— to exterminate them. Knowing that it was
well-nigh impossible to obtain justice under
such unjust laws, the Gypsies in many instances
cutely pled guilty to " some parts of the crimes
charged," and craved to be transported, hoping
no doubt either to escape before transportation
or to manage to secure a passage back to this
country by some merchant vessel. The Town
Council records also quoted, pp. 435-437 of
Mackenzie's History of Gallo^v M', show that it
was necessary lo incarcerate within the 'I'olbooth
the hangman, John Nevvall, before he could be
persuaded lo put the jury's verdict into force
by hanging (ireig. One can read between the
lines, from Omer Brown's kindly act and from
the hangman's reluctance to perform his duty,
that there were some at all events who recog-

''^ Cutpurse'' Gypsies Incarcerated. 133

nised that the punishment did not " fit the
crime."

In Wigtownshire the authorities seem to have
acted more humanely. The following is an
excerpt from the old Town Records of Wig-
town : —

" The Marshall Gang of Tinkers.

" Wigioune, 6th November, 1728.
"The qlk day . . . ihe Magistrals, and Council!,
having receaved Severall Complaints anent young
Marshall and his gang of thevs picking people's pocketts,
and particularly upon Mnndaj- last, being the fair day of
this Burgh, there was gripped one of the said Gang for
cutting purses, and putt in prisone. And Marchall's
wife and two young ones Lykeways Incarcerate in prisone
as of that Gang. The Magistrats and Councill haveing
brought before them the sd old wife, shee Judicially
acknowledged that she was the wife of Marchall that, was
hanged, and that all the Childreen in prisone with her
were Belonging to her ; Yrfore it is by the sds Magis-
trats enacted That in case any of the inliabitants of the
Burgh of Wigtoune shall harbour or entertain in their
houses any of the said Gypsie gang in time comeing, or
any within the borrowland Belonging to the Burgh, They
shal be deem'd art and part in all there Villanies, and
fyned in the soume of Twenty pund, Scots money, and
Imprisoned three Days ; And ordaines this Act to be
Intimate at the Mercat Cross of Wigtown and By the
presenter upon Sabbath nixt, Iinmediatly after Divine
Service is over ; and in the mean time ordaines the said
Gypsie wife and her Cliildreen to be Drummeil out of
Town, with Certificatione if ever they return within the
Burgh or Borrowland they shall be punished as the law
directs ; And ordaines the ofticers to putt them out of
the paroch of Wigtoune to the paroch of Peninghame,
and to acquaint the adjacent houses the cause ot there

134 The Tinkler-Gypsies.

being expelled furih of the said paroch ; And this Act to
comprehend all Sturdie Beggars and oyr vagrant persons
that cannot Give accott of themselves, and noe personne
to harbour any of the sd Gang above three in number in
time comeing, under the forsd penalty and corpall
punishment."'"''

Can the "young Marshall" referred to be
our hero Billy Marshall, who in 1728 would be
about fifty-six? If so, it would seem as if his
father had been hung, probably in his case for
being merely " habit and repute an Egyptian ;"
whereas Billy, notwithstanding the many capital
crimes laid to his charge, always managed to
evade his deserts.

On 2ist June, 1746, Sam Walker and Jon
MacMillan were also convicted of having com-
mitted a breach of the peace at Wigtown Fair,
and the sentence of the Court was as follows : —

" Therefore they are ordained to remove themselves,
and all concerned with them, immediately furth of the
Burgh and libertys of the same for the space of 3 months
after this date ; with certification if they, or any of their
company or gang, happen after the expiration of said
space to come to the place and be guilty of misdemeanour
or offence of any kind, they shall be punished more
exemplarly in their persons and effects, in further terror,
and immediately after be incarcerate. "'•''"

I>ut the Wigtownshire authorities did more
than act humanely ; they actually allowed a
Tinkler, who murdered a boy, to escape out of
their clutches. There is a tradition in W'itrtown-

Tinkler Bruiality and Slimness. 135

shire to the effect that a Tinkler named Cochrane
had been helping himself to a farmer's potatoes
from " the barn-fauld," near Drumbuie, when a
number of school children, as they passed along
the road, happened to see him. The children
shouted out —

" Tinkler, tinkler, tarrie bags,

Drap yer shears and clip yer lags."

Whereupon the Tinkler ran after them and
-caught hold of a little boy, Peter Douglas, who
had been attempting to climb up a tree for safety.
Some say "the Tinkler took him by the heels
and ' jauped ' out his brains against the tree,"
and others "that the Tinkler felled him with a
graipe with which he had been digging the
potatoes." The tree, of which an illustration is
given, goes by the name of " The Boy Tree,"
and may still be seen standing by the side of
the old road which leads past Ardachie, and
the Old Place of Drumbuie, near Kirkcowan.
Tradition also says that a brother of the Tinkler,
Cochrane, was allowed to have an interview in
the gaol with the murderer, and succeeding in
effecting a speedy change of garments enabled
the murderer to escape. Tradition in this case
is borne out by the Town Records : —

" At Wigtown the eighteenth day of June, one
thousand seven hundred and eighty four years, the
Magistrates and those of the Council hereto subscribing
taking into their consideration that Alexander Cochrane,

Magisirdfes Oninntted by a Tinkler. 137

Travelintj Tinkler, was lately Incarcerateii within the

Tolbooth cf this Buigh for the alleged murder of Peter

Douglas, son of George Douglas in Drumhuie and that

there is a great heazard of the said Cochrane's being

rescued or that he breake Prison it is therefore necessary

that a guard be appointed to prevent the same. We

accordingly hereby Decern Ordain and strictly- enjoine all

the Inhabitants and others holding of the Borrow to

perform watch and ward upon the said Alexander

Cochrane during all the nights which he shall remain in

our prison or till we issue contrary orders, and that two

and two as they shall be warned by an officer for that

purpose and we direct that the said two persons shall

begin to guard precisely at ten o'clock at night, and shall

continue and not be found off their duty till five o'clock

in the morning, and tiat under the hi.hest pains of Law

to be inflicted on them and their Employers. And we

appoint this Act to be intimated by Tuck of Drum

this evening. ^^ ,„. ,^ _. ,,^^, ^,

^ (Signed) James M'Colm, Ba.

,, John Hawthorn, Ba."

" At Wigtown the eighth day of July one thousand
seven hundred and eighty four the Magistrates and
Council considering that by the inattention of Alexander
Stewart their late Gaoler and the connivance of Janet
Maxwell his spouse Alexander Cochrane confined in the
prison of this Burgh for alledged murder had made his
escape. Therefore as a punishment in the meantime
they appoint that no salary shall be paid to the said
Alexander Stewart either as a (ia^jler. Bellman, or
Officer, since Michaelmass last and that they be both
immediately taken from the barr and ijicareerated in the
Tolbooth until tomorrow morning at six o'clock, when
they are ordained again to be set at liberty, and as a
further marks of the Displeasure of the magistra'es and
Council it is declared that the said Alexander Stewart
.shall be incapable of holding any office under this Borrow
in time coming, and in regard that by his dismission the
offices of Gaoler, Bellman, and Borrow Officer become

138 The 7 iiikler-Gvpsies.

vacant, and Jcilin Kennedy, Indweller in VVigtuwn being
recommended as a proper person to fill ihe said offices
the magi-itrates and Council therefore appoint him
Gaoler, Bellman, and Town Officer of this Burgh until
Michaelmass next provided he beliaves properly and
complies with the regulations and instructions after-
mentioned and he is to receive a salary as Gaoler at
the rate of Thirty shillings yearly, as Bellman at the
rate of twenty shillings sterling yearly, and as officer at
the ordinary rate of fourteen shillings and fourpence
yearly with the usual lees and perquisites of both offices
and he is likewise appointed scaffinger with liberty to
dispose of the Rubbish and Dung for his own emolument.
And the said [ohn Kennedy being present accepted of the
said offices and gave his oath de fideli ; and James
Guihrie burgess of Wigtown judicially hereby becomes
enacted and bound as Cautioner that the said John
Kennedy shall faithfully duly and attentively execute and
perform the offices to which he is nosv appointed ; and
the said John Kennedy is strictly enjoined to obey such
instructions as from time to time he shall receive from
the magistrates in office and particularly during the time
that any Prisoners are confined he is not to go to any
distance from the town, and in case of Criminals being in
prison he is not to permitt any person access to them
without the permission of the magistrates and he is to
Ije attentive night and day to do his utmost to secure all
prisoners that may be under his charge to the utmost of
his power ; And thereby prevent the disgrace and expence
that has come upon the town by the negligence of his
predecessor. In witness whereof this Minute signed by
the Magistrates and Councillors present, as also by the
said John Kennedy and James Guthrie place and date
first above written.

" (Si^fi-) J<^"><' K'''^'^'KI>V. (Sgd.)jAS. M'Coi.M.
Jas. Guthrie. Jas. Hannah.

Ro. Murray. Alex. Gulline.

Pat. Binxi.xg. John M'Carlie.

RoBT. Ferguson. "5'

" The Tinkler's Loi/p." 139

Truly the irreconcilability of the sentences
pronounced by these ancient magistrates is
amazing ! In the one county they hung people
merely because they were Gypsies, and in the
adjoining one they only mulcted a gaoler in
about ^£2 9s 8d, and put him in gaol a night
for allowing a murderer to escape from the
gaol. The death of the boy was not the only
loss to the family, for on their tombstone in
Kirkcowan graveyard will be found engraven
these pathetic words :—

" Of Peter Douglas his younger brother who was killed
by Cochrane the Tinkler in the Barnfauld of Drumbuie
June 1784 aged 11 years. His death may be said to have
brought on his mother's through grief."

A picturesque gorge on the river Dengh, near
Dairy, goes under the name of " The Tinkler's
Loup," the name being derived from a tradition
about a Tinkler, who being chased for some
misdemeanour jumped the linn. There are two
ways of the story. This is one account : —

" Here is the ' Tinkler's Loup,' where, according to
tradition, long before any bridge was built over the
stream, and about a century ago, a certain Tinkler, by
name Thomas (Marshall), made a fearful leap and
actually cleared the entire river at a bound. It is said
that the man was ' wanted ' by the authorities for some
theft, and that a party of dragoons was sent to take him.
He had eluded them for some days until they chanced to
come suddenly upon him asleep at this spot. Rushing at
him with a loud shout, Thomas was, of course, awakened.

140 The Tinkler Gypsies.

and, d;^shing at l!ie narrowest part of the river, he cleared
the boiling cauldron at a bound, his would-be captors, of
course, never seeing him again.'"

But the more popular account, and the one
related on the spot by a native, is as follows : —

" A Tinkler who had been mending cans for a farmer
named M'Cormick at the farm of Xether Cairnminnow,
near the Tinkler's Loup — (this was before the bridge was
built at the place) — became wearied of waiting for his
supper. Frizzling on the fire was a ' pan o' pudc'in's,'
too tempting tor resistance. -Seizing his opportunity
when the gudewife had left tlie kiiclien, the Tinkler
sprang to the fire, and rushed off with the ' pan o'
puddin's,' making straight for the linn. The hue and cry
of the farm-house was soon at his heels, but his start was
sufficient, and his courage equal to the emergency. ' lie
lowpit owre there,' said the relater — pointing to the linn
— ' wi' the pan o' puddin's in his teeth, sat doon on that
rock and ate them, and then he threw back the pan to
the owners and went his way.' " "

Presumably it was the same Thomas Marshall
who was the hero of the song " Galloway Tarn,"
and who is .said to have been a "stout and
athletic Galwegian Gypsy equally celebrated for
making songs, snuff mills, and horn-spoons.
Some of his descendants, it is said, still (/.f.,
circa 1819) inhabit Nithsdale and Galloway."'"*

Of the gangs which frequented Galloway
during the i8th century, and have since ceased
to travel that district, some note must be taken
of the Kilmaurs branch of the Marshalls and the
Kennedies.

Tlie Kil'jiaurs JMarshalls. 141

The Marshalls — The Horners of

KiLMAURS.*

The Marshall family has been located in
Kilmaurs, Ayrshire, between 200 and 300 years.
They have often heard of Billy Marshall from
their travelling relatives, but there is no personal
knowledge of him in the family so far as is
known. Francis Marshall, the father of
Malcolm Marshall, Stewarton, was married
twice, each time to his full cousin. He had
fourteen of a family by his first wife, and ten by
the second. Malcolm belongs to the second
family. His full brothers were Rab Jock, and
Davock. Rab and Djvock wrought regularly at
the spoons in Kilmaurs. The former was quite
an artist in horn, and for his wares there was
always a good demand. Davock and Rab's
wife hawked the spoons at Kilmarnock Cross
every market day so long as they lived. Their
figures were very familiar to the present genera-
tion of farmers, but they left no representative
of the industry. Jock gave up spoons and
became a mason's labourer.

x\ curious characteristic is the " roughie
paws " (g, guttural), which, however, is not

*Notc. — For the information embodied herein about
the Kihnaurs Marshalls we are indebted to the kindness
of Mr D. M'Naught, J. 1'. , Benrig, Kilmaurs, Ayrshire,
who in turn received his information chiefly from
Malcolm Marshall, Stewarton, Ayrshire.

Davock Marshall ( Roughie Paws"), the last of
THE KiLMAURS Horner?.

Keproiluceci by kiii.l pi-iinissioii of Mr D. M'Xautrht, .T.I'.. BenriR,
Kilmaurs.

The Kilmaurs Alarshalls. 14J

present in every member of the family. Davock
and his full sister had the peculiarity very highly
developed, and so has his son, but in a less
degree. The palm of the hand and the inside
of the fingers and soles of the feet are covered
by a cuticle of the consistence of horn, across
which run grooves corresponding to the knuckles
and finger joints, to enable the hand to be
closed. This is a curious illustration of
heredity originally acquired by external influ-
ences, which, in this case, have been the
soldering bolt, contact with heated substances,
and exposure to the elements.

Malcolm himself never wrought at spoons.
He was a country servant, and latterly a pack-
man travelling through Arran and north of
Ayrshire. His father, Francis, informed him
that his forebears wrought at the cutlet y manu-
facture in Main Street, Kilmaurs (Kilmaurs
was famous for cutlery at one time, and hence
the proverb " xA.s gleg's a Kilmaurs whittle ").
The whole family of twenty-four children were
born in one bed, and twenty-two of them were
baptised in Kilmaurs Parish Church. Francis
lived in same house (old U.P. Manse, now
the Western Tavern) for 42 years. The " tra-
velling " Marshalls from the south of Scotland
often called at Malcolm's father's house, and were
received as equals. Sometimes MacMillans and

The Kilmaurs Marshall s. 145

Kennedies called and were received as kinsmen.
The women sold the spoons. Francis's wife was
•drowned one wild winter night at Cunninghame-
head Mill when returning from Kilwinning Fair.
■Of the first family of fourteen only one was a
spoonmaker. Cow horns were mostly used in
the making of these ; rams' horns are more
difificult to work, though more durable. Like
the tailors of old who went out to "whip the
cat " for months at a time, the Marshalls
travelled from farm-house to farm-house working
up the rams' horns for the farmers for board
and so much money. Malcolm considers the
soup-divider (now in the Dick Institute) made
by Rah, and photo of which is given, to be
unique and a splendid specimen of the spoon-
maker's art, as it is difficult to find a ram's horn
so large. Francis Marshall also made smooth-
ing irons, and his name was put on the handle
of each ; and although the Tinkler's home-made
smoothing-irons have been superseded by the
Carron Company's goods, some specimens of
Francis's workmanship still exist.

Malcolm often saw eighteen of the family sit
down to a meal. His brother Rab married
Janet Clark from Mauchline, his double cousin
{i.e., her father was his uncle by blood, and her
mother his aunt by blood). This is character-
istic of such people, and the Kilmaurs Marshalls

10

2 3

= < : — .2

g <

I S

5 o

— 3

2^^

^ 2 .^-

S £

The Kilniaiirs Alarshalls. 147

are no exceptions, for they were sib lurd, and as
a probable result many of the Marshalls have
weak eyes and cannot look up to the light
unless with the eyes almost closed.

James Marshall of Muirkirk, Malcolm's uncle,
practised the tin manufacture. An uncle in
Maybole followed the same trade. The mould
for shoe lifts, as seen in the illustration, was called
a " caulm." The " whorl " was used with a
string and bow to revolve the brad-awl when
piercing handles for whistling spoons. The
scrapers were called oo'shaves (outshaves) and
inshaves. They made the rasp or file them-
selves from a used-up file by striking on a very
hard stone (still in existence). The mould for
soup-divider was made oi li^i^^nian vitce.

Big Francie, Jock's son, a factory operative
in Kilmaurs, showed his Gypsy blood by roving
about the parish with a fishing rod in his hand.
He was a renowned fisher and " guddler " in
summer time when the water was low. Even
through the medium of the post it has been
possible to prove that the Tinkler cant was
known to this branch of the Marshalls.

The Kennedies.

The Kennedies are held in kindly remem-
brance in almost every farm-house in Galloway.
They were said to have hailed from Hightae,

"^- •

^»L_^.:^

r.

..^httid

V

^IrA

C3 ^

The Kennedies (Homers). 149

Lochmaben, where it is said they claimed to
own property. They were a dark, handsome,
powerfully-built race, with strong aquiline
features.

If we go back for half a century the gang
then appears to have consisted of the father
and mother, John Kennedy and Isabella
Hutchison or Kennedy, three daughters named
Tibbuck, Janet, and Mary, and four sons
named Sandy, John, Andrew, and Rob.

There was also another horner named Andrew
Kennedy, who travelled Galloway at the same
time as the Kennedy gang, but he usually
travelled alone. Although he was not much
older than the sons and daughters above-
named, they always called him " Uncle Anra."
He appears to have passed as a sort of superior
Tinkler, and was inclined to disown kinship
with the others. Having saved some money in
his younger days, he arrived one day at an out-
of-the-way little inn where he was unknown. He
passed himself off as a great gentleman and a
descendant of King Robert the Bruce. He
entertained all and sundry who came about the
inn, and it was said that even the parish minister
was amongst the number, but one day an evil
chance brought the Kennedy gang along, and
one of them popping his head into a room
where "Uncle Anra " was busy entertaining a

150 The Tin k/er- Gypsies.

number of drouthy cronies, shouted out " Halloa,
Uncle Anra " !

He is said to have had lair, yea, even to have
pretended to have been educated for the Church
— and his appearance and stories generally
bore some clerical affinity ! He always wore a
tile hat and a frock coat, and was known as
" the preacher," or sometimes as " the gentle-
man Tinkler."

The men of the gsng were all homers, and
basket and creel makers. Eab and his sisters
often travelled in company, but if anyone passed
them on the road, they would be found straggling
along at considerable distances from one an-
other. Sometimes they had with them a pony,
and two large dogs of a half-collie, half-mastiff
type. The pony must have been a good one.
The farmer at Ingliston in those days was a
great horse-breeder, and one day seeing the
Kennedies' pony, he remarked :

" Ve'll lie showint^ liini at Kirl<ciKll)iii;ht Show?"
" Deed, ihir, we're juiilit thinking we would," said
Andrew.

" And ye'll lake a prize, too."

" Deed ay, maithter, if there ilhna a better yin there."

It seems that altliough the gang travelled in
separate detachments, they had cither some
pre-arrangement or system of informing one
another where they would be found at stated

The Kennedies (Hornets). 151

times. Occasionally a Kennedy would intimate
to a farmer with whom he was staying that their
ranks would be increased. AVhen the gang met,
they, however, generally adjourned to a public-
house, and men and women alike celebrated the
occasion by having a spree. The Kennedies
were always fond of a glass. As a rule, they
were nevertheless moderate drinkers.

They had the reputation of being honest, and
were try^ted everywhere. It is said that the
wife of one of the Kennedies had been caught
pilfering, and that ever afterwards her husband
gave her an allowance, and would not permit
her to travel along w'ith him. It was that same
w'oman who told a school naster's wife that she
had been bitten by an adder. In confirmation
of the story she exhibited a freckled swollen
ankle, and out of pity for her, the schoolmasters
wife collected and handed over to her a good
round sum of money. But it turned out after-
wards that both ankles were alike swollen and
freckled, owing, no doubt, to sitting over the
camp fires.

They seem to have had a great affection for
one another. For many years prior to the death
of the mother of the gang she was blind, and
used to go about leaning on her son Andrew's
arm, and latterly it was a humbling sight to see
that tall, handsome man, the outcast of a

152 The Tinkler-Gypsies.

Christian community, trudging wearily along
roads or through the heather to some outlying
farm-house, carrying his decrepit old mother
on his back.

No one appears ever to have learned from
them whether they spoke the Tinklers' cant, but
there need be no doubt upon the point, since
they were splendid specimens of the Tinkler
race, and as the writer hereof has met with
relatives of theirs who know the Galloway cant
thoroughly. George Borrow, in his diary, has
this significant entry : —

"July 17, 1S66. Stranraer. . . . The dark woman;
believed her to be a Gypsy. Did not speak to her : sorry
I did not." ■'■'3

A Kennedy doubtless ! We can only now
join with him in his regret, for in a very few
minutes he would have proved to the Gypsy
woman that he had the inten^sts of her race at
heart, and wouM have been sure also to have
left an interesting record of tlieir conversation.

The women folks vended the spoon«, etc.,
fashioned by the men and polished by the
women, and attended to the culinary depart-
ment. In some farms the Kennedies were
allowed to have a bed in the house, but they
generally carried with them their own bedclothes,
and a l)ed was made for them in an outhouse.
They usually also carried their own provisions,.

The Kenntdies (Homers). 153

but if they happened to wish to make a potful
of broth, in which, tradition relates, they often
boiled a dumpling, they always had some want
to be made good from the adjoining farm-
house. They were welcomed by the folks at the
farm-houses, but each farmer had his favourites
amongst them, and sometimes he would let one
lot in and refuse another. They were good at
overcoming such obstacles :

" If ye'll tak' uth in I'll make ye a richt nyth wee
bathket, inithtreth," one of them would say. When the
mistress came to ask for her basket, if they had been none
too well entertained, she would be told :

" Deed, mithtreth, I promithed you a bathket, but I
dinna mind thaying I would gie ye't for naething."

Those at the outlying farm-houses were
dependent on them for the news of the country
side, and no one knew better how to wield that
power than the Kennedies. The young folks
about the farm often gathered around them as
they sat on the ground in the cartshed making
spoons and baskets, and they delighted to enter-
tain them. Sandy would ask : — " Wud ye like
a thea thong, a war thong, or a love thong ?" and
soon he would have his audience listening open-
mouthed to his yarns and songs.

The " Plains of Waterloo" and " M'Guire's
Grey Mare " were great favourites of his, and
those who heard him sing them say it was quite
a treat. Here are three verses of the latter song

The KetDiedies (Homers). 155

as still sung, after the manner of Sandy Kennedy,
by a farmer : —

" If you had been on Gilmore Green,

You would have seen sport and play there,
Two English fliers, they came down
To beat Paddy M'Guire's grey mare.
Chorus —

i re a fal de la la
fal lal la de la le ro.

Away they went the very first heat,
She made all the people wonder.
The very first time she cam' round
Was like the roaring claps o' thunder.

C/^i^r/zj— same. "

The Kennedies' dialect, from what can be
gathered, seems different from that of the district
frequented by them, and all of them pronounced
"s" as "th." That lisp accentuated the peculiarity
of their speech. They were adepts at the art of
ingratiating themselves, but were never servile,
and had ever a ready answer. In almost every
farm-house in Galloway there are treasured up
stories about them or told by them. Surely it is
a pity that such should be lost ! We therefore
make a beginning by recording a few gathered at
farm-houses in different parts of Galloway, and
the writer hereof will be thankful if readers will
communicate to him any further stories about
the Kennedies : —

A very godly man, Mr Stevenson, first Free Church
minister at Barrhill, once came on " Uncle Anra " Ken-
nedy making baskets by the roadside, and, entering into
conversation with him, asked —

156 The Tinkler-Gypsies.

" Do you ever pray ? "

" Didtht thou ever make bathketh ?" retorted " Uncle
Anra," and relapsed into silence.

A minister of Kirkcowan parish, when visiting his
parishioners, once overtook " Uncle Anra." Out of
curiosity the minister had asked him —

" Do you carry a Bible about with you ?"

" No," replied " Unc'e Anra," adding as an after-
thought—

"Do you?" The minister triumphantly produced a
Bible from under his arm, and said —

"Certainly." Whereupon "Uncle Anra," dropping
his budget, and after fumbling about in it for a little,
produced his " caulms," remarking as he did so —

" I cairry my caulmth ; every man to hith ain tredd."

A servant girl who hailed from New Luce had been
unkind to " Uncle Anra." One day he was sitting by
the kitchen fire at the farm-house where she served, and
in presence of the servant girl he gave this conundrum to
her mistress —

" Why ith New Luce like Nathareth?" and when the
mistress gave it up, " Uncle Anra" said —

" Becauth nae guid can come oot o' eillier. "

" Uncle Anra " used to speak somewhat deprecatingly
of the workmanship of the other Kennedies. He would
say —

"They can make a guid thtrong thpune, but they
canna make a thweet gaun thpune."

The stories handed down about the other Kennedies
are like their spoons — prol)abIy not so well polished as
" Uncle Anra's," but just served the purpose for which
they were intended equally well.

One day the late Mr Kigby Wason, of Corwar, found
Andrew Kennedy fishing in a specially preserved loch.
Mr Wason was angry, and .said —

The Ke /me dies' Stories. 157

" Do you know these fish are mine ?" But despite Mr
Wason's great bodily strength, Andrew had confidence in
his own and was prepared to try conclusions, and so
replied —

" Them in ta loch may be yourth, but them in ta
bathketh mine. Ath thure aih you're there an' I'm
here the aul' fellowth are the betht fisherth, but Maithter
Thyminton o' The Holm could fish 1"

Another story may be given cliiefly to show that the
Kennedies inherited the Gypsy trait of being fond of out-
of-door sports. Sandy had been at a fox hunt, and
bare-footed, he had reached the top of The Dungeon o'
Buchan, when a fox bolted from a scree half-way down
the steep mountain side. Sandy shot from above and
someone shot from below the precipice, and Sandy
summed up the result thus :

" Vou fired and I fired and the fox ith dead."

A farmer, who, having had a little scientific training in
boxing in his early youth, got the name of being always
spoiling for a fight. Knowing that Sandy had the
reputation of being a great boxer and wrestler, the farmer
tried repeatedly 10 provoke a fight with him. Verbal
insults had proved of no avail, but at length one day, as
the farmer was driving along, he met Sandy walking.
As he passed Sandy the farmer struck him with his whip.
Sandy sprang at him like a tiger, and, hauling him from
the trap, gave him a most unmerciful thrashing, until the
farmer begged him to desist and promised better
behaviour. It was after this fight that Sandy said :

" Thienth ith a' verra weel, but it'th nae uth when
thuperior thtrength cometh into play."

A former tenant of Caldons, named MacMillan, on
one occasion tried to get Sandy's authority for a rumour
which he designed to circulate about a neighbour, but
Sandy was too wide awake for him :

"They tell me, Sandy," said MacMillan, slyly,

158 The Tinkler-Gypsies.

" lliat we are to ha'c )in o' your l)reeil (Kennedy by
name) as tenant o' the Stroan."

" 'Deed no," replied Sandy, cautiously. " I wadna
thwier to't either way. It'th mair nor pothible, for
thereth gentle bluid in hith veinth, Ijut whether he'th a
Tinkler or no, ril no thweir, but yer ain folkth are come
o' a far waur kin', for they're a mixture o' Kennedith and
MacMillanth. I yinth thaw the grun black wi'
MacMillanth, an' their cuddy cairts an' tin cans, frae
Babby Heronth to the Brig o' Dee (a distance of about a
quarter of a mile), an' they were the wildeth lot o'
Tinklerth I ever clapt een on."

Sandy was on a later occasion making spoons at
Caldons, when MacMillan passed through the steading
with the lambs on the way to the hog wintering.

" A pickle thnod lambth, Maithter Mac.Millan," said
Sandy, seeking to ingratiate himself.

" Ye may ken aboot horns, Kennedy, but what the
deevil dae ye ken aboot sheep?" growled MacMillan,
still bearing a grudge against Sandy.

" Atweel no," assented Sandy, " I think ye maun be
richt, for a' yer neebourth thay ye keep the warlh theep
in a' the parith o' Minnigaff. "

On one occasion Sandy had been sleeping in a stable
and he had been displeased with the quarters assigned to
him. He had turned out early to work at his spoon
making. The farmer as he passed, on his way to the hill,
remarked : —

" You're early at work this morning Sandy."
" Oh, yeth thir," replied Sandy, " we mutht be up and
doing, but gin I had been a man o' your thtation o' life I
wadna ha'e been oot o' my bed thith whyle yet."

Near a farm-house, Bardrochet, where a farmer, also
named Kennedy, lived, Sandy was busy one day cutting
willow wands for basket-making purposes, when a servant
lassie came running down the loaning and said : —

The Kennedits' Stories.. 159

" I was sent to tell ye that these wands are being kept
for Mr Kennedy.'"

" Gie back," said Sandy, "an' tell yer maithter that
Mr Kennedy ith juitht buthy cutting them." By the
time she had returned Sandy had decamped with'a big
burden of willow wands.

Sandy bore a grudge against a farmer, and one night
he was sitting by the fire in the kitchen, where a number
of hams were hanging from the rafters. The farmer
entered, and Sandy said :

" Man, maithter, hamth make gran' pictureth, but gin
ye were hog wunterin' theep for me I wad not care to
thee tho inony o' them hangin' frae the theiling ! "

He once told an ordained elder :

"Ye couldna thay a graith fit for a thow'th denner. "

But Sandy's tongue was like one of his old files, and
had both a rough and a smooth side. One night a
farmer's wife treated him to some haggis.

" That'th a gran' haggith," said Sandy. " . . . .
There'th a pickle o' gran' meal in that haggith, mithtreth.
. . . Yin could thune thup themthelveth oot o' a thpune
wi' that haggith, mithtreth."

Sandy used to praise tlie short-grained hard horn of the
Galloway sheep as compared with the soft " boss" horn
of the larger sheep of South Ayrshire. When he took
the heart out of a ram's horn he would say :

" Maithter, that ram wath in great condition when it
wath thlain."

"A ram'th horn," he held, " made a durable thpune
for the kitchen, but a gate'th (goat's) a thuperior yin for
the room."

" There," said Andrew, on one occasion to a customer,
" ye have what nae ither in the parith hath — thix
thpuneth oot o' twa ram'th hornth."

i6o The Tinkler-Gypsies.

Sandy had once Ijeen laid up at a farm-house. The
farmer being aihng at the same time, liad called in the
assistance of Dr Ilannay, The Gass, and had asked the
Doctor to examine Sandy. Jle told Sandy that there
was nothing seriously the matter, but that he would send
him a pill. Sandy told what happened thus :

" Whun I got the peel I juitht whuppit it under the
bowlhter, and whun the Doctor cam' next day, he thaid :

" ' J loo' re ye the day, Thandy?' an' I thaid :

" ' Thank ye, Doctor ; I'm better. Hoo much am I
in awin you ?' The Doctor said :

" ' Theeing I wath vithiting the maithter I'll no
charge ocht for my thkill, but it'll be eighteen penth for
the peel.'

" ' Thenk ye Doctor,' thaid I, 'for no chairgin' me ocht
for yer thkill,' an' I juitht whuppit the peel frae under the
bowthter and thaid :

" ' An' thereth yer peel. Doctor ; it'th no yae haet the
waur o' me ! ' "

There are two stories reflecting on the affection of the
Kennedies towards their parents, but we venture to
record them solely on account of the humour contained
in them, and because we know that no one would believe
that the men — who carried their mother about on their
backs when she was alive, and who also carried her
corpse a long distance to her burial place— were in any
degree lacking in filial affection.

The father, it is said, was nearly drowned on one
occasion, and as he was being rapidly borne down the
stream one of his sons, who was running along the bank,
shouted out :

" For the love o' God, fayther, throw oot the
caulmth."

On another occasion the mother had slipped off" the
back of one of her sons as he was carrying her across a
stream. It was said that she had just been allowed to
make the best of her way to the bank, and when chaffed
about this, Sandy replied :

The Last oj the Kennedies. i6i

" 'Deed ay, I micht hae thaved my mither, but I
wad hae lutht my tool bag I"

When Sandy was giving the final p ilishing to a spoon
he used to keep spitting in it, and a favourite saying of
his at that stage was :

" 'Deed ay, there'th mony a wyth man gled to lick
whaur I thpit."

One evening a Kennedy woman went up to a farm-
house, where the Kennedies had been making spoons,
and asked for twopence worth of milk. When she got
the milk she said :

" I daurna offer to pey ye the money on the Thabbath
day, but I'll pey't in the mornin' before we leave."

Next morning the farmer's wife spoke to them as they
were about to depart, and as there was no word of the
milk money she asked for it.

" Atweel," said the Tinkler woman as she fumbled to
get at her pouch, which she kept slung under her skirt,
"ye need hardly ha'e mentioned the milk, for it barely
coloured the thpune I"

These Kennedie.s, as is mostly the case with
the Tinkler class, seem in the end to have fallen
on evil days. John was killed at Corsock by
the breaking of a grindstone while he was
sharpening his tools, and he is interred in Kirk-
patrick-Durham Churchyard, where a tombstone
was put up to his memory at public expense. A
d3caying trade and supervening old age led to
poverty and misery. Robert is said to have died
in a lodging-house at Springholm about the year
1876. One by one the others dropped off,
broken down by exposure and an unduly keen

11

The Last of the Kennedies. 163

struggle for existence. One of the family was

named Mary, who was quite a character in her

way. She was harmless, and her visits were

always a source of amusement to the inmates of

the houses at which she called. Her figure was

peculiar, and once seen was never forgotten.

With a sun-bonnet which may have been lilac

when new, with clothing that had evidently seen

better days, with bare feet, and stockings ending

at the ankles, she moved about the country.

Mary, like some politicians, had a programme to

which, unlike them, she faithfully adhered. On

entering a house she asked something from each

inmate, and her questions generally followed

this order :

" Can ye gie's a penny ?
Can ye gie's a pipe ?
Can ye gie's a bit baccy ?
Can ye gie's an apple ?" etc.

After being supplied (for no one thought of
refusing Mary) she made a pretence of leaving,
when she was reminded that she had forgotten
to favour the company with a song. Hereupon,
Mary walked round a circle, and then began to
give a specimen of her vocal powers. One verse
ran as follows : —

" The boatman dance and the boatman sing,
The boatman can do everything ;
And when the boatman comes ashore
lie drinks his money, then he works for more."

164 The Tinkler-Gypsies.

Between the verses she executed a kind of
dance which added to the ludicrousness of the
performance. Another of her songs referred to
the " Merry Masons " with their aprons tied on,
and brought into prominence the " burr " which
marked her speech. Interesting stories could
be told about Mary and her doings, but these
little glimpses may perhaps be sufficient for the
present.''

One of the women always wore as headgear
a shawl drawn together around the face by
means of a ribbon. The shawl was also drawn
together on the nape of the neck, and the end
hung down the back. In her hair she wore a
long horn hairpin manufactured by herself.

Tibbuck, the last of the sisters, spent her
closing days in the ^^'^orkhouse, Dumfries, where
she died on 1st May, 1893, aged 84 years.

Andrew was weak both bodily and mentally
towards the end. Enquiries in connection with
an application for parochial relief elicited the
information that he was born at Laird mannoch,
Tongland parish, Kirkcudbrightshire. No doctor
had been available, but hearing that a medical
student, one Bennett, a son of the farmer's at
Gatehouse, Balmaghie, was at home, John
Kennedy had sent for Bennett. For timely help
rendered, the independent John would not suffer
himself to be a charity, and he presented the

The Last of the Kennedies. 165

medical student, who afterwards practised in
GatehoLise-of-Fleet, with a divider and a dozen
green horn spoons.

Latterly Andrew suffered from chronic cerebral
disease, and, though his mind was darkened,
his strong and abiding central passion — a love
of freedom and the open air — never seems to
have suffered eclipse. Let the simple facts pay
their own eloquent tribute to poor Andrew's
memory : — At West Crosherie, where he had
been allowed to sleep overnight in a barn, he
was found in the middle of the night wandering
about the farm-yard with a blanket wrapped
round him. At another farm— Barvennan —
whilst apparently rambling about in the same
way, he had fallen down a hatchway, and,
sustaining an injury to his spine, had to be sent
to the poorhouse. At one poorhouse he
threatened to smash the window if the keeper
would not let in the free air of heaven ; and in
another poorhouse, when the (}overnor came
round to lock up the place, Andrew declined to
sleep in the house if he did so, giving as his
reason, " I canna thleep in a hoothe an' the
door lockit." Finally, on 2nd September, 1892,
he was placed in Crichton Asylum, Dumfries,
where he remained until his death.

To complete the tragic outline of simple facts
about Andrew's closing years, we shall record an

1 66 The Tinkler-Gypsies.

account of a visit paid to him while he was an
inmate at the Asylum, from which, in spite of
his being incoherent and demented during his
lengthened detention there, it will be seen that
his absorbing passion continued to the end
nobly to assert itself : —

"The scene at the Asylum made a great
impression on my mind, though I had been
often in the Asylum seeing patients, and if one
thing more than another struck me on such
visits, it was their subdued air of resignation.
Th's is how my visit to Andrew Kennedy is
fixed in my mind now : I had occasion once to
take back to the Asylum a patient who had been
very violent at home. Under the firm hand-
clasp, the steady eye, and the kind words of the
doctor, it was wonderful to witness the fire
subsiding in the patient's eye, and a striking
calm overspreading the face. But when Andrew
Kennedy was brought before the doctor and
myself, I at all events felt myself confronted by
the commanding presence of a tall, erect man,
with good brow, and keen, dnrk eyes ; though
evidently worn out and broken down bodily, he
put intense energy without excitement into his
pleading for liberty :

" ' Oh, sir,' he ur ;ed, ' if ye've ocht to do wi'
me tak' me oot o' here.'

"'But,' said I, 'you are very comfortable
here, and you have nowhere to go to.'

Tinklers' Religion and Philosophy . 167

" ' I'm no fin'in' faut wi' the place, but I've
everywhere to gang to. O man, let me oot,
tak' me oot I ' he continued to plead.

" I tried to get him to speak about his early
days, his birthplace, etc. He answered sanely
enough, but always hastened back to his main
theme, repeating with pitiable eagerness, '0
man, let me oot, tak' me oot I ' "

He died at the Asylum on 4th February,
1894, of chronic cerebral disease.

Even so passed away the last of the
Kennedies, the far-famed horriers, a splendid
race, trusted by the public whom they served
faithfully for many a day.

Meredith, in his The Ordeal of Richard
Feverel, portrays a philosophic Tinkler, who,
regarding a pipe as a greater blessing than a
wife, also held other philosophic views of life.
Contrary to the usual religious indifference dis-
played by Tinklers, that Tinkler believed that
" God's above the devil," and from his superior
knowledge of the Bible reproved " Speed the
plough," who had asked —

" A — who's him (Paul) ?'' by answering

" Read your Bible."

" There's a Tinkler and a ploughman," says
Meredith, " who think that Ciod is always fight-
ing with the devil which shall command the
kingdom of the earth. The Tinkler's for God

1 68 The Tinkler-Gypsies.

and the ploughman — ." A Tinkler who reads
the Bible is an exception, but it is something to
find even one such case. Once the writer hereof
asked a Tinkler woman to allow him to set his
camera on a box. She assented, but said there
were some things in it that would require to be
removed to save them from getting broken.
When she opened the lid, there on the top was
a Bible. But be careful not to give too much
credit to the Tinkler in the matter of religion.
Two friends paid a visit to a Tinklers' camp on
a Sunday evening. They were disappointed
because the Tinklers " froze " and were as dull
as ditch water. The visitors attributed the
Tinklers' quiet demeanour to regard for the
Sabbath day. A few days afterwards a gentle-
man related that one of the Tinklers had told
him he knew one of the visitors well, but had
anxiously enquired : —

"But wha was yon wi' him ? ^^'e thocht he
might be a pawnbroker or a detective " !

There is a certam breezy lightheartedness —
call it philosophy if }()u will — about the Tinkler
that enables him to rise superior to the misery
of his lot. When we do so little to help him to
rise, need we grudge him such happiness, even
if it is the outcome of a spree ?

Their upbringing is of the hnrdiest order:
miserable shelter from exposure : alwavs on the

Tinkler:,'' Upbringing. 169

borders of starvation, and yet they are not
unusually prone to commit other than the most
trifling offences, such as helping themselves to
such things as wood, straw, hay, turnips, and
the like :

" The clerg}- take tlie tenth of swine,
Potatoes, poultry, corn, and hay ;
Why should not Gypsies, when they dine,
Have a tithe pig as well as they ?"

Dare we, who enjoy the necessaries, and
many of the luxuries, of life condemn them ?

Even in cases of petty theft, it is generally
diiest necessity that leads them to make the
depredation, which is only committed after they
have first exhausted their peculiar, inventive
genius for raising the wind : One day in the
depths of winter a little boy of about five
years of age might have been seen weeping

bitterly at the footbridge at railway station.

Moved to pity, a gentleiuan said :

" What's the matter ?"

" Boo, hoo, hoo," was the only response.

"Who has been hurting you?"' was next
asked.

" My mither," was the answer.

" ^Vhat's she done to you ?"

"She said she'd tak' me in the train."

" Which train is she in ?"

" Boo, hoo, hoo "

lyo The Tinkler-Gypsies.

At this stage it suddenly dawned on the
gentleman that the boy was a Tinkler, and he
said :

Stall (stop). Instantly the Tinkler boy said
" Eh ? " the boo-hooing stopped, and he dried
the big tears with his bonnet.

J'avri (go on) said the gentleman, and he
followed the boy along the footbridge. When
they reached the open road, the gentleman said
to the boy :

" Now, chavi (boy), was that a dodge to
raise money, or was your mother really in the
train ? "

And for answer the Tinkler laddie bolted down
the road as hard as his little legs could carry
him, and never once looked over his shoulder
till quite a distance of a quarter of a mile lay
l)etween him and his tormentor. A hard school
of acting that for the poor Tinkler boy, and only
a prospect of a copper or two for acting so
naturally ! But it would not be long till the
Tinkler woman would cause tliat little emissary
to appear in quite a new role. The women lay
their plans very deep at limes :

A tipsy Tinkler man was recently seen sitting
in a cuddy-cart nursing a child as the conveyance
moved along tiic road. Sometime afterwards a
Tinkler woman was seen rushing along the road
crying " My bairn ! my bairn !'' but all at once

Tinklers U/'l'ri/iguii:^. i 7 1

she wheeled as if possessed by some sudden
resolve and returned to a public-house, where
her husband, a Tinkler by marriage only, and
some other Tinklers were drinking. Her hus-
band came to the door, and she upbraided him :

" There never was yin o' the breed o' ye ocht
but a hard-hearted wretch." Suddenly he
jumped into his cart, in which two children
were already seated, and she jumped in after
him. He thrashed the old, broken-kneed horse
whilst she tried to prevent him ; and anon he
whacked her and the old bag of bones by turns,
and amidst the shrieks of " Murder ! help ! oh,
my bairn I " onward staggered the old horse,
followed by the groggy cart. It was a sickening
sight, but all the time the children sat laughing in
the cart quite unconscious that they were passing
through any danger. Deeply embedded in the
wild nature of that Tinkler woman was a love
for her child, and that seemed to be the sole
motive for her sudden resolve. Next day, how-
ever, the gentleman said to her :

'" Barrie davies, nawken, I wad like \o jan if
you got the wee kinchin ye were deekin for alang
the lig the t'ither raitieV (Good day. Tinkler,
I would like to know if you got the infant
you were looking for along the road the other
night ?)

67^/ (yes), she replied, adding in a triumphant

172 The Tinkler-Gypsies.

way, "an' I fekkit (took) the gudeman avri
(away) frae the peevin keir (drinking house) " !

But to see the Galloway Tinklers as they
renlly are let us take the liberty of recording, in
the first person, the actual experiences of a visit
to a Tinklers' encampment. One must bear in
mind if one wishes to profit by such a visit that
the iac/io droin to be a jiimevmengro is to shoon,
dick and ris^ in si (i.e, The true way to be a wise
man, is to hear, see, and bear in mind).""

Young Geordie MacMillan may be taken as
a good specimen of the MacMillan gang. He
is a strong, active fellow, who has travelled
both in the Highlands and Lowlands of Scotland,
and part of England and \Vales, and has spent
some considerable time in Canada. He was
married to a cousin of his own at Pictou,
Canada. His ruddy complexion, black hair,
dark eyes, quick inquisitive glance, and his
restless manner all go to show that there is, for
a Tinkler, an unusually large proportion of Gypsy
blood in his veins ; indeed, one could readily
believe that though Geordie knows only the
Galloway cant there is more Gypsy blood in his
veins than in many an English Gypsy who speaks
Romanes, and knows little or nothing of cant.

One day I was coming along a road when, at
a considerable distance, I spied a woman walk-
ing in front. She lifted her heels from the

A Tinklers' Eucaiiipmeiii. 173

ground so unusually smartly that I thought to
myself " that must be a Tinkler," for the Tinkler
women are generally smart on their feet. She
disappeared round a corner, and when I turned
the corner there was Geordie MacMillan sitting
in a cuddy-cart with a roll of waxcloth partly
hanging over the end of his cart. It was his

Photo by A. M'Coruiick.

Galloway, Cumberland, Perthshire, and
Argyleshire Tinklers.

Blarshalls, Jlonisous, Stewarts, anil (.'ampliells.

wife I had seen, and they were now talking to
one another.

" Good day, young man," said Geordie.

" Good day to you both," said I, and when
the wife moved to the other side, I asked :

" And how're you, Geordie ?"

" I'm weel," said he, "an' I was juist telling
my mither before I left ' Parliament Knowe '

174 The Tinkler-Gypsies.

that it was this sliaji wee gav (bad wee town)
that the }Oung man who was interested in
travellers leeved. Dae ye ken what she said,
young man ?"

" No," said I.

" ^^'eel, she said he maun be a rauge gnd^^i
(daft man) that wad ha'e ocht to do wi'
Tinklers."

Whereat I laughed and said I would just go
and interview her, seeing that I had never had
the pleasure of meeting her before.

" Parliament Knowe '" is an ideal camping
ground ; it sits high and dry, commands a
lovely outlook over the valley of Cree, and is
sheltered by some fine Scotch firs. Mrs Mac-
Millan was busy baking scones on her camp-fire
when I arrived on the scene.

" Good afternoon," I said somewhat stiffly.

" 'Tis that, sir," she formally replied, but
went on turning bar scones. Silence ensued,
but she was determined not to break it. Then
it occurred to me to ask :

"Can you show me your licence ?"'"

" Yes, young gentleman,'' she replied, rubbing
her floury hands on her apron. She produced
it from a box which had lieen used as a stool,
and said :

" That's the wee slangs " (pedlar's licence).

'* Have you the cart licence ?" I asked.

A Tinklers Enavnpinent. 175

" Yes, young gentleman," and as she handed
it over she sa'd :

" That's the big slanos " (waggon licence).

" But," said I, '■ it's not in George MacMillan's
name ?"

" No," she promptly rejoined, " ye see I'm a
widow."

" Oh, but isn't there one George MacMillan
camping here ?" I next asked.

" Yes, yer honour : he was here, but dear
knows whaur he is noo," and for a moment she
seemed at a loss what to say ; but then it
dawned on her to ask :

" But wha are you, to ask sae mony ques-
tions ? "

" Oh," said I, " Fm the range gadgi."

" Losh bless me," she ejaculated, "I could
like to hae hut ye on the face wi' a scone whun
ye asked for Geordie's leescience, for he's awa'
into Newton wi' waxclaith, an' it's three days

past the April (date when licences fall to

be renewed), and I kenna whether he's paid the
big siajigs or no. Weel, weel, ye're a range
gadgi richt eneuch."

Seeing that Mrs MacMillan was busy scone-
baking, I said :

" Are there any others about the camp ? " to
which she replied :

" Deil the body except an aul' blin' Hielan'
Tinkler wumman ower there at that far camp."

cc H

A Tinklers Encainpnieut. i-ji

"Well," said I, "finish your baking, and I'll
go and have a crack with her and come back
to see you later."

A poorjold shrivelled-up mite of a woman
was squatting on the ground in the mouth of
the tent. Her frock was in tatters and hung
loosely on her shrunken frame. Her bodice
being open at the necl^ showed that she wore
little or no underclothing. A cutty pipe was in
her mouth, and if clouds of smoke are any
criterion she was enjoying her smoke. She
moved not as I approached, but a bantam cock
which had been sitting on the top of the tent
flapped its wings and flew down. On nearer
inspection^the poor old body had no eyes in her
head. What a study for the antiquary 1 What
a reproach for Christian Scotland ! How comes
it that Tinklers — the Marshalls always — still
carry abouc with \.\\^\w bantam cocks and hens,
which seems also, from Callot's picture (see
illustrations to chapter ix.), to have been the
custom with continental Gypsies in 1604? (see
pages lo-ii, vol. ii. of The Gypsy Lore Journal).
In this changeable climate how is it that the tent
holds on the same as of old while other systems
of housing have their day and cease to be ?

" What care we though we be so small ?

The tent shall stand when the palace shall fall."

Could any more primitive sight have been seen

12

lyS The Tinkler-Gypsies.

a thousand years ago ? A\'hat has a boasted
civilisation done for such as she ? What has
religion done ? ^Vhat philanthropy ? Poverty-
stricken ! Religionless — who can tell ? The
eyes eaten out of her head with inflammation
through exposure, mayhap through misdeeds !
Yet, withal, she appeared to be quite contented,
and did not seem to consider she was enduring
hardship.

Barrie dnvies, graii-naisinort (Fine day,
grannie), I said, sitting down beside her.

" 'Tis that, kind sir," she said, turning her
sightless face round towards me. Momentarily
I was spellbound ; regaining myself, I asked :

" Don't you know cant, grannie ? "

" Oh ay, dear; but I seldom speak it."

" Why ? '' I asked.

*' Oh, it's juist no' nice."

" But why ? "

" Oh, it's juist hatefu' to hear't."

We talked for some time on the general
aspects of the Tinkler's life, and soon the other
members of the various gangs — there were four
on this occasion — all began to drop in from the
labours of the day, the women folk from selling
tin ware made by the men, or from selling small
drapery goods which they carry in rooskies
■(baskets), and the men from selling waxcloth or
brashes, or from horse-dealing, or, as is too often

A Tinklers' Enca}npment. 179

the case, from having a carousal. Mrs MacMillan
having finished her baking, came forward and
said :

" Geordie and this young man's great com-
rades ; he kens cant juist Hke yin o' oorsels."

" I hae juist been tellin' him it's hatefu' to
hear't," said old grannie.

" That's the God's truth, aul' wumman, and
it sometimes gets yin into trouble as weel as oot
o't : Yince me an' anither wumman went up to
Slogarie to sell cans. Whun we knocked at the
door a big fat wumman answert't it. Whun she
opened the door, I noticed a baskit o' aipples
sittin' on a stand. Says I to my neebor :

" ' I wish that barrie manishi (big Avoman)
would nash avri (go away) ; I would chor (help
myself to) some o' thae o-a/ishers (apples).' A
young leddy that had been listenin' behin' the
door cam' oot o' the room and said :

" ' Never mind the big fat wumman, and if
ye're decent we'll gie ye some o' the aipples.'
Lo'd, aul' wumman, if ye had stuck me I wudna
hae bled ! She had veesited aboot Yetholm
and had every word o' the cant."

While the Tinklers gulped down their rough
and ready meal, 1 amused myself by taking
snapshots of them, and chatting with old grannie.
Our conversation was interrupted by a loud
noise which proceeded from behind the tent,
and old grannie ciied out —

P

':imi

^

yi

I

O £ s

A Tinklers' Encampment. i8i

" Wull some yin look efter thae weans, or
they'll get killed?"

I looked behind the tent, and there was a
plucky bare-legged and bare-chested Tinkler
boy of about six years old trying to ride a
donkey. He was in the act of sliding over its
shoulder, though still embracing it round the
neck. Then another mounted. Up went
Neddy's heels and down went his head, and the
boy met the fate of the other. Several tried,
some of them making a better stand than others.
At last it was decreed that one nicknamed
■" BuUer " — a name to conjure with in the clan
Marshall — should mount the cuddy, and in vain
did Neddy for some time kick up his heels.
The rider twisted his long legs under the donkey.
At last Neddy seemed to sulk. He backed
steadily into a whin bush, and then feeling the
pricks, gave a spring forward which almost
unseated the valiant " Buller." Then the
donkey stood stock-still. He was thinking, and
looked decidedly wise. He began to back
more vigorously than ever, and when he regained
the whins he stood almost straight on end, and
then giving a half-wheel, he caused "Buller" to
lurch, and landed him in a whin close to the
one the donkey had formerly been pricked by.
Loud was the laughter, and Neddy, commonly
regarded as stupid, but who, the Gypsies all say,

A Tinklers' Encampment. 185

is most knowing, and " sees ghosts even quicker
than a horse, because of the cross on his back,"
was decreed the victor.

A Cumberland Tinkler and a Carlisle Lid who
were travelling in company as clog dancers next
favoured the company with a break-down. One
of the two played a mouth harmonium as they
danced, and better playing or dancing one could
not wish for. This merely served to whet the
appetite of William, the King of the Marshall
gang, and he speedily formed a square for a
reel. He and his consort were partners and
soon amidst much " hooching " and yells of
laughter, they were cleekin'j; and swinging and
footing gaily the jolliest reel imaginable. Some-
times it was the mouth harmonium that served
as an accompaniment, but King William had a
distinct preference for suiging out at double
quick time the chorus of the " Tinkler's
Waddin' " —

" Dirrim day doo a day,
Dirrim doo a da dee O,
Dirrim day doo a day,
Hurrah for the Tinkler's waddin' O."

At the close of the reel I left the breathless
dancers to go to resume my interview with old
Grannie Stewart, who, I learned, hiiled fr )m
Perthshire. She was standing alone with sight-
less eye sockets upturned — it almost see ned
pleadingly — towards the sun. A donkey had

184 The Tinkkr-Gypsies.

strayed over the b;ae Lxc^^ and " King William "
on his way to drive it hack passed between
grannie and me As he passed he said —

" God, that aul' wumman wad be far better
dead."'

" Syel'' ('deed ay), she listlessly assented.

"Come and sit down, old grannie," I said.

We sat down together on the brae face. I
soon found she was thoroughly versed in cant,
although she said, " I ken little aboot it com-
pared wi' some o' my forebears."

First one Tinkler came over and sat down, and
then another, and presently a little circle formed
round in front of us. The old Perthshire
Tinkler woman, Stewart, sat on my right ; and
on my left, her son-in-law, an Argyleshire Tinkler
named Campbell, a polite, intelligent, red-haired
man who spoke good English ; and the others
were in fron^ At times I still imagine I feel
the Argyleshire Tinkler's beard rubbing against
my cheek 1 Said I, '' What's your word for —

" Bacon ?" " Mass,^'' said a Marshall.
" y'lger," the Carlisle lad.
" Saw/lid," the Cumberland Tinkler.
" Road ?" " Drum" said William Marshall.
" Lig,^'' said a MacMillan.
" Aye and ' tober,^ " said Campbell.
" Shelta ? " " Never heard the word," chorus of voices.
" Miiiklcrs thari?" " Never heard it, from all sides ;
(Tinkler's talk) but the Cumberland Tinkler said,
'" It's t/iadi" and some of them
shouted "Gi'e Morrison a chance,"
and then he said :

A Tinklers' Encampment. 185

■" Stop your talk " is " Stall yei- thadiait," or
" N'tckso bullien^'' or
'■^ Stall yer whiiddiiC ,^'%2i\A^\\\\2im.
Marshall ;

''''Aye, or ^ Stall yer iiia?!oan,'' "
said old grannie.
" Tent ?" " Coininodation^'' said the Carlisle lad.
" Runk,^'' said several others.
" Wattle, ^^ added old grannie ;

and so on for over an hour I drank in the cant
of several districts. One must, as somebody
has remarked, strive to be " wax to receive, and
marble to retain," amidst such a babel of tongues.
The subject is full of interest, and a list of cant
words collected by me in that way from Gallo-
way, Perthshire, and Argyleshire Tinklers will be
appended to the final chapter. If similar lists
were collected in different parts throughout
Great Britain and Ireland, the cant language
would prove a splendid field for philologists.
The following are a few strange expressions
I heard for the first time on that occasion : —

Morgen — Morning.

Watches — England, Highlands, or America, land

beyond.
Dal zvatches — Ireland.
Dal gadgi — Irishman.

Sothern (pron. like so) gadgi — a Protestant.
Yarrachan — Roman Catholic.
Lenunaji cowl — An Orargeman.
Cangi-i (or kanli by a Perthshire Tinkler) —Church.
Dal ivhuddin chaet — Roman Cathobc chapel.
Test — Head.

1 86 The Tinkler Gypsies.

The cant lesson was rudely inteiTU[)ted by the
sudden appeornnce of a wild-looking female
figure over the hill. She was gesticulating
furiously, and raving louldly. On she came —
drunk and in a state of great deshabille, her
dark hair hanging loosely on her shoulders. She
halted on a knoll just above the company and
yelled :

''^\'haur is she ? Til tak' her life. I'll learn
the ... to insult me,"' and flinging her arms
widely apart, she continued :

" I'm as weel to be seen as her, the . . . ."

" Losh, that's awfu" talk !" said Mrs Marshall.

"There's a shannas (trouble) coming," said
old grannie.

Her words had a magical effect. The Tinkler
woman buttoned the neck of her dress and
glanced furtively over her shoulder as she
did so.

"Ay, it's Tarn" (the devil), said William
Marshall.

" But," added Mrs AFarshall, " he's lingin aree
(going away) again "; and presently the enraged
Tinkler woman sat dcjwn in a calmer state of
mind. A few moments later she joined in
the conversation, and in a cjuarter of an hour
she seemed (juite sober. I met her on several
other occasions, and she was always most polite,
but I owe her a grudge for spoiling a lesson in

A Tinklers' Encampment. 187

cant. A spirit of unrest set in : and it was left
to William Marshall to break up the class amidst
roars of laughter at my expense. I had said :

" What would you say for this in cant —
' Have a glass of whisky ? ' "

"Weel," said AVilliam, pushing in his oar
quickly, " I'd say :

" ' Thenk ye, yer honour; but if it's a' the
same to you, I'd prefer a chant o gatter (pint of
beer) to a cant oi peeve (glass of whisky) ! ' "

Each gang then gathered around its own
camp fire. Poor old Dnmbie Wilson sidled
— paralysed with disease — along towards his
bed-tent, avoiding the unevenness of the ground
as he went.

" Poor old Dumbie," said an English Tinkler,
"it's a wonder the authorities don't do some-
what for him. If they found him dead in the
morning they'd likely say, ' Damned good
riddance' ; never mind, my turn next ! "

As I seated myself beside Mrs MacMillan's
fire, I remarked :

" It's a pity to see old Dumbie in a state like
that?"

" It is," she assented, " but it's a greater peety
o' yon P^nglish traveller that spoke about him.
D'ye ken why he aye stands ? Weel, it's juist
because if he sits doon he canna get up withoot
help. He's discharged frae the Infirmary as

iMI^^^^^^^K^^m^MfiM

i

r^ ,- ■ m

*■ »K

A Tinklers Encampment. 189

incurable, an' he could show ye his certeeficate
to that effect."

" Poor fellows," I said; " who can fathom such
misery ? and that poor blind woman's face
haunts "

" Was she telling ye the King and Queen
yince honoured her by speakin' to her ? " inter-
rupted Mrs Mac Mil Ian.

"Oh, by the bye," I said, "I had almost
forgotten that. She told me that the King and
Queen, when Prince and Princess of Wales,
once spoke to them when camping near
Balmoral, and that on another occasion the
Duchess of Fife gave her a sovereign. When I
asked if she had kept that sovereign, she
replied :

" 'Deed, I wad hae liked to, but I had to let
it gaun for bedclaes and claes for the bairns.' "

" That's an example, na," said Mrs Mac-
Millan, ambiguously.

" But it isn't quite unique," I replied, and
then I told them about a similar kindness shown
to Gypsies near Windsor by her Majesty, our
late Queen, and of the gratitude expressed by
the Gypsies —

" .So if she wants a man to box,
I'll fight her battles, never fear ;
'Twas dry work talking of the socks^
Let's drink the Queen's good health in beer."

IQO The Tinkler-Gypsies.

" Tinklers," I added, " are just like other
folks ; they have their ups and downs, and
there's good and bad amongst them."

" We get the name o' being a bad lot, and
■God kens we're far frae gude ; but ' they're no
a' Tinklers that wield the budget,' " she replied,
and her remark is full of meaning.

Geordie said, " We'll soon be driven off the
road."

" 'Deed ay, faith," echoed his wife.

" Na," objected Leezie Morrison, a Marshall
who was nursing a baby, " they're no fit to do
that, but they micht make us, in the mterest
o' oor bairns, hae oor beds twa feet aff the
grun'."

" 'Deed ay," agreed Mrs MacMillan, as she
drew her little hunchback boy more closely to
her bosom, and then said feelingly — '' There's
mony a yin meets his death wi' sleepin' on wat
strae."

Surely Leezie's suggestion is worthy of an Act
of Parliament all to itself. It is simple, and
would prevent disease and the spreading of dis-
eise, and confer a real boc^i both on Tinklers
and the public.

Mrs MacMillan commenced to talk generally
about the life of the Tmkler, but I "airted" her
on to speak of folk-tales, and she replied —

" Losh, ye're a real rau^^e qadgi that wad listen

" The Steed o' Bells:' 191

to ony such trash. Lo"d, my brither, Stewart,
wad juist delicht ye, for lie never tires o' tellin'
auncient tales. He steyed \vi' me for a while
at Whithorn last wunter, and whunever he saw
me dull, he wad say ' Come on, Mary, and I'll
tell ye a fairy tale,' and wi' his gestures, girns,
and granes, he wadna be lang till he had us a'
roarin'."'

That statement contains a remarkable con-
firmation of the late Mr Leland's and Mr David
MacRitchie's theory about fairy tales serving as
a sort of religion and sol ice in time of suffering.

Presently a shower of rain came on, and I
drew the little dwarf boy in between my knees
out of the rain. Whilst he sat there he told
the wonderful folk-tale :

"The Steed o' Bells."

"In former days there were old Kings and
Queens. They lived long together. This
■Queen and King were married, and had two
sons, John and William. The Queen took
trouble and died. After a few years the King
felt lonely, and he said to the young gentlemen :

" ' I think I'll marry.' His second Queen
was a young lady unmarried. They lived a
long time together. She thought she would
like a family. She did not like her step-sons
William and John. She went to the old hen
witch and said :

192 The Tinkler Gxpsies.

" ' I am a young lady, and I would give any
money of gold and silver if only I had a family.
He adores those two sons, and if I should have
a family to him perhaps he would like them. If
you can make war with those two boys I'll give
you a peck of gold and silver.'

" ' I can do that, Queen. Go you home to
your bed. Kill the best fresh young chicken,
and drink its blood. Lie down and be very
bad. Send for your maid, and when she comes
tell her you want your husband, and be vomiting
blood.' She feigns illness, and when the waiter
comes the Queen says :

" ' Fetch my husband to me immediately,
waiter. I am going to die.' The King came.

" ' What is the matter, my loving lady ?'
Another mouthful of blood. ' She's vomiting
blood ! '

" ' Is there nothing would make you better ?
I will surely provide it.'

" ' Nothing but one thing. It is the Steed o'
Bells.' (This is a mare, the stalls' best, all clad
with silver bells.)

" ' If I don't get it,' pleads the Queen, ' I will
die. You have two sons. They must go and
find it.'

" The King called the two sons, and fetched
the two young gentlemen to the bedside.

" ' Sons, you will do this.'

" The Steed d Bells.'' 195

" ' Well, father, it is death for us, but we will
go, my brother and I.'

" Each gentleman got a parcel of victuals.
Each gentleman jumped on a steed and said
good-bye. They rode farther than you can tell
me, or I can teil you. and reached cross-roads.
The signboard said :

" ' You may go thnt way, but you shall not
come back. You may go that road, you may
not come back.' The one brother jumped
down, so did the other.

" 'We'll have a little refreshment.'

" They took a little food, and AVilliam said to
John :

" ' 1 will let you, the youngest son, go, and if
you do come back, in one year and one day you
and I shall meet here.' They shook hands.
John rode on and on, farther than I can tell
you, or you can tell me, until his horse and
himself were hungry and tired and drouthy.

" ' I will give my horse some grass and have
some food.' This young nobleman sat down
and opened his small parcel, and a totie wee
thmg, with a wee red mutch and a wee red
cloak, came up to him.

" ' You are comforting yourself. Give me a
bit of your piece and your meat.' The gentle-
man divided the piece and the meat with this
wee creature. So it stood alongside of him and
said :

194 The Tinkler-Gypsies.

" ' Mail}- thanks for great kindness. I know
■where you're going. You'll lose your life. I will
•do you a good turn.'

" ' I hope you will do what you can do.'

" ' \\'ell, jump on your steed,' said she, for
the totie wee bodie was a lassie. The gentle-
man jumped on his steed, and told her to get
up beside him.

" ' No, no : I will go as fast as you. You
must look at me well. I have something to
say. I will convoy you loo miles. Soon we
■will come to an iron gate with two large
pillars. You and your horse would not go
through it nor jump it. I will open it for you.
"W'hen you cross this gate you will go into a
field of lions. Some may be sleeping, some
grazing, some going about. They will make at
the horse to eat you and the horse, ^^l•len I
open the gate sorne will be sleeping and the
rest going about, but when they get a certain
distance from you, you will put your left hand
into the left ear of your horse, pull something
out, and scatter it all round you, and in place of
attacking you they will fly for this.'

" ' Thanks.' This wee creature and he rode
on a long distance. They came to this great
iron gate. The wee bodie said :

" ' You cannot open this. Your horse cannot
jump it.' She i)ut her wee linger on it and the
^^ate opened.

" The Steed r/ Bellsr 195

" ' Now drive on and on, and remember, put
your hand in your horse's ear when they are
coming to devour you.' He put his hand to
his horse's ear. When he pulled something out
it was like your finger and was like a tablecloth
with things for the animals.

" He went on 300 miles. He came to another
iron gate. They were both done. It was night.
The birds were going to rest.

" ' I will sit down and eat.' He sat down.
Another wee thing came to him with a wee red
cap and a wee red mantle.

" ' You will not slumber. I ken whaur you're
gaun. Many a hundred young gentlemen come
this journey and never come back.'

" ' I must try my best.'

" ' I am vexed to see you. You are a noble-
man's son. Give me a bit of your piece and a
wee bit of your meat.'

" ' I will do that.' So he divided with her.
She stood beside him till he took his refresh-
ment, and it would be wailted.

" ' Now I know where you're going. You
are a noble King's son. Your stepmother is
leading you astray. I will put you on a plan.
I will open this gate. The field is full of tigers.
You put your right hand mto the horse's right
ear. You will find a wee thing. You will pull
it out and scatter it. They'll not have power to

196 The Tinkkf-Gypsies.

touch you, and you'll keep the steed for speed.
You will come to another gate, and meet a
little boy there beside it. Good-bye.' So the
gentleman rode on, farther than I could tell you
or you could tell me, till he came to this tiger
place. They come in their direction to devour
him and his horse. He put his hand into his
horse's right ear, found something like a wee
thread, a tablecloth, and scattered it out — all
sorts of things for the animals. He went
through that place and came to this other iron
gate. It would be three or four hundredweights.
He couldn't open it. His horse was done. He
himself was done. It was getting dark.

" ' I will feed my steed.' He let his horse go
and opened his parcel. Up came a wee old-
looking boy, bareheaded and barefooted.

" ' It is a good day.'

" ' Yes.'

" ' You are very fatigued looking. I know
where you are going. Man, would you give a
wee boy a share ?'

" ' Yes,' said the nobleman. He divided his
piece. This boy had no shoes nor stockings.
They sat together and refreshed themselves.
He said :

" ' Nobleman, I am going to speak to you.
Will you take me with you for a servant ?'

" ' I have no place to put you.'

" The Steed d Bells r 197

" ' Just you say that you will take me, and I
will be a worthy servant.'

" ' Well, well, come with me. Your feet will
be tired. Jump on behind or before.'

" ' I will travel beside you.'

" ' But I must drive my steed.'

" ' You are going to steal the Steed o' Bells
from the Crystal Palace. It was your step-
mother sent you to lose your life, and you have
a brother in the t'other direction.'

" ' Well, well, come along.' No matter how
hard he galloped the boy ran beside him. He
came to a great, great castle. He said :

" ' You must wait here. This is an uncle of
mine. I have a message, and you must wait
till I come back.' So the gentleman pulled up
his bridle. The boy went away and came back
with boots and stockings. John mounted his
steed again, and the boy kept up with the
horse, always cracking and keeping him in
great comfort.

" ' Now here's another. This is a cousin.
I must go to him. Don't leave me.'

" ' I wnll wait.' He went to this great castle.
He came up with a bonnet and a bell and the
cloak of darkness.

" ' What do you think of me now ?'

" ' I think a lot of you.'

*• ' I have just one friend to call on now, and

ig8 The Tinkler Gypsies.

then we will enter the Crystal Palace. You see
the sun shining bright. You will see a great
spire shining like stars. Yon's the Crystal
Palace. We'll either lose or win there. There
is another great castle. A relation of mine
lives there. I am going down. Wait on me.'
He went away walking, but came back riding a
beautiful black steed.

"'What do you think of me now?'

" ' More than ever.' They rode along. He
said :

" ' Put your glass on and take a look. You
see the Crystal Palace now ? I am your
servant. I have to do a servant's duty to my
master, but whatever is to be done you must
obey me.'

" ' I am quite agreeable.'

" ' When we come in front of the Crystal
Palace we will come on giants who will swallow
us like a drink of water. But I know where the
Steed o' Bells stands, and the King of the
Crystal Palace sleeps by himself, and so does
the Queen. They will be in a heavy slumber.
When we go in the chamber door will fly open.
You will see a fine young lady lying sleeping.
Put your hand under the pillow. \'ou will find
the keys. We are all right if the bells don't
ring.' This noble Queen's door flew open.
He put his hand under the pillow and got the

'■'The Steed d Bells'' 199

keys. He came out to the lad now all clad in
the cloak of darkness. Said he :

" ' Now our hardships are only to commence.
This gentleman of the Crystal Palace was once
a little baby, and one of these giants lifted him
and took him to his house and told a female
servant to make a pie of him. When the giant
went away the King's son Jack happened to be
there and said to her :

" ' I will save your life and the babe's. Cut
a bit off its finger and put it in the pie — and the
King thought it was baby's pie. But the
servant took the baby away and reared him at a
shepherd's house.' They went to the stable and
opened it. The Steed turned round — the most
beautiful black animal all hung round with shin-
ing bells. The bells began to jingle and ring.

" ' I have got you now !' roared the giant. 'I
have the furnace waiting for you.' But the bare-
footed boy said to the King who had been
awakened from his slumber :

"'Whoa, my King! I did not let you be
bound and made a pie of. I saved your life as
a babe. Have mercy on my master. Look at
your hand.' When he looked he saw his finger
was away. The King said :

" ' Are you my friend of the Crystal Palace
who saved me ? Hundreds and hundreds have
come to steal the Steed o' Bells. I will save

200 The Tinkler-Gypsies.

your lives,' and then, turning lo John, he said :
' You get the Steed o' Bells in a present, but
when you go home you are to kiss your step-
mother and tell her she is to get corn and hay
for food.' Well, my boy and gentleman came
along a considerable distance together till they
came to the first place and went in, and there-
after his wee fairies convoyed him safely home.
Millions of gentlemen hjst their lives trying to
steal the Steed o' Bells, but could not manage
it. This young nobleman rode along and his
wee fairy always came to him.

" ' You got a very nice present. Have you
got a piece ? ' and he never failed to give them
a good one. So it came on to the last day and
he was coming to his native place. lie arrived
at the cross roads. He galloped up and down !
' I went that road. My brother wouldn't come,
but, hark ! I hear him whistling on me. One
year and one day we should meet on this spot.'
William hears the bells. He sets his steed away
and sees his brother's steed come flying.

" ' Well, you did not choose to come with
me, but you did come to meet me. Here is
the wonderful Steed o' Bells. Now, then, what
are you going to give to the old lady? Will we
give her her death as she intended to give us ?'

" ' We will put a bit in her mouth and feed
her on corn and hay till she dies.' They

" The Steed d Be Us." 20 (

landed at the Palace, and their father came out.
He was overjoyed when he saw them bringing
•with them the Steed o' Bells, and said :

" ' My lady will be spared now.' They were
entertained to a fine banquet. They went to the
place where the Queen was lying. They kissed
her. John said :

" ' You got your wish for your wife and your
lady.'

" ' Yes.'

" ' Well,' said he to the Queen, ' we have got
your cure, the Steed o' Bells. You said you
would give us our wish.'

" ' Yes.'

" ' Well, our wish is that our father will get a
bed put on the highest turret, and that you will
go mto the bed and eat corn and hay till
30U die.'

" Our horses are running around the castle,
our bagpipes are playing, our drums are beating,
and the jingling and music from the Steed o'
Bells as it pranced up and down could be heard
far farther than I'll tell you or you'll tell me.
The Queen from the lonely turret looks over to
see what was going on below when down bed
and lady and all tumbled, and that's what
comes of all wicked stepmothers."

A dark object appeared, on the knoll, against
the lingering sun';et light.

20 2 The Tinkler-Gypsies.

" JA;//« (talk) to her," said Mrs MarMillan,
and then under her breath she added, " It's the
wumman I promised to get a sweetheart for,
whun I sell'd her the wee pingle."

"Has he no come yet, \oung wumman?"
she asked, addressing her.

"No."

" Oh, he'll come yet."

" I'm tired waitin'."

" WuU ye no sit doon and gie's yer crack ? ""
then louder, so that all the camps could hear :

" It's the i'arra raii^i^e inanisiii " (big silly
woman).

Then from a distant c.imp came an English
Tinkler's voice :

" Come over here, my little jit-hi-jii, and I'll
be your doxy-poxy " (sweetheart).

" Gude nicht,'' she said, and ran away.

" Glide nicht, young woman," shouted Mrs-
MacMillan, "he'll come in the mornin'."

Mrs MaclNlillan again took the hunchback
on her knees, and soon he was sound
asleep in her arms. He was snugly clad
in a tartan suit. When Mrs MacMiUan
started to unlace his boots--a strong p.iir —
I rose to go ; but I noticed that there wasn't
a hole in his stockings. She laid him
quietly to bed without even wakening him — so-
(juietly and tenderly did she handle him.

A Tinklers' Encauipuient. 203

On my way fron camp, after bidding adieu to
my friends, I met William Marshall. 1 asked :

" Do you never tire of this kind of life ?"

He replied without hesitation :

" I like a free life in the open air, and we're
as happy as the birds on the tree. I'm come o'
the real aul' oreeginals. The life answer't them,
and it'll do me my time."

" Good-night, King William," said I.

'' Gude nicht, yer honour," he replied. " I'm
jawin awast (going away) the morn's iiwrgeii
(to-morrow morning), an' whun I iiash avree (go
away) I hope the country hanile (folks) wunna
be gloyin' (laughing) at ye or makin' a ai/I o'
yer nesis (a fool of you) for i}niiis;nn (talking) to
us and us like. Gude nicht, yer honour," he
repeated, adding this time, " and gude luck
to ye."

^^:i

iijj"ftMj'

I

CHAPTER V.

Can youy'rtj to starihen ?
Can you lei a kosht ?
Can you besh under a bor
Can you kel the bosh ?
Misto ! Roinani-chal
Del les ad It' his 7)iiii

S'help me diri dalikeii !
You can kitr inistd'
Said the Romani chai to
the Romani i at ""

<<tA

--^o.. .prison.
— gather ..sticks,
—sit... hedge.

— play. ..fiddle.

-Well done ! Gypsy man.
(Hit him in his face (literally
( " Give it " him.)

— -dear father.

— fight well.

j Gypsy girl... Gypsy gentle-
(^ man.

IRK VETHOL-M has for many
generations been regarded as the
capital of the Scotch Tinklers.
The colony there is, however, said
to be almost extinct, and yet no one
who knows anything about the
inherent love for moving about of those peculiar
people will doubt that there are still [)lenty of
Tinklers in the Border counties. Let anyone in
the neighbourhood of Kirk Yetholm make it
known to a Tinkler that he takes a genuine
interest in the affairs of Egypt, and he will learn
by the almost daily calls which he \\\\\ receive
from Tinklers that there are still plenty of the
ra:e, and that Gypsyin-j; is a life hard to relin-

I/i grained Habits. 205

quish. There are still Gypsies in Kirk Yeiholm,
and in Swinton there is quite a large colony of
Tinklers, or muggers as they are called. In
Galloway, too, the uninitiated would imagine
that the race was well-nigh extinct. At times,
on the contrary, and by actual experience, the
writer hereof begins to wonder if there are any
other people besides Tinklers in Galloway ! It
is astonishing the numbers of them who travel
through Galloway. Some stay in a house for a
few weeks in the dead of winter, but others
never have any shelter other than may be
obtained in their vans, tents, or in outhouses.
In spite of the many inducements which a
settled life holds out to them, they find the
greatest difficulty in exchanging for such the
freedom and absence of care which accompany
their happy-go-lucky life in the open air. The
following is a concrete example of the struggle
which Tinklers have to pass through in giving
up their nomadic life : — At a court recently
held at Wigtown for registration of parliamentary^
voters a claim was put forward on behalf of a
Marshall, his qualification being stated as
inhabitant occupier of six different dwelling-
houses within the qualifying period. He had
actually occupied six dwelling-houses inside the
twelve months ! The present writer had an
opportunity of opposing the claim, but, needless

2o6 The Tinkler-Gypsies.

to say, he could not see his way to discourage
such a vahant effort to obtain the badge of
•citizenship.

The firm administration of just laws has done
much to tone down the fierce nature of the
Tinkler. Any acts of violence committed by
them usually occur during a jollification. On
such occasions, when under the influence of
John Barleycorn, if one may judge from an
Irish traveller's dictum, they look at matters
somewhat obliquely : " Ach, sure, whin tliim
Marshalls get a neggin or two o' skaihope
(whisky) there'll be the divil an' all to pay. Ye
never know how they'll be afther taking ov a
joke. If it doesn't stroike them aroight, then
begorra ye may just stand up and get yer nose
broke. I've had to do it many's the time."

Ructions amongst them frequently have their
■origin in horse-dealing transactions. A Gallo-
way Tinkler, slightly under the influence of
drink, was recently observed elbowing his way
through a crowd at a horse fair. Another
Tinkler — a Yetholm lad — was busy showing off
the paces of a poor looking old horse. He
turned the horse right in front of the Galloway
Tinkler as he emerged. The Galloway Tinkler
gave the horse a whack with his whip over the
back — but the rider, although also the worse of
■drink, had little difficulty in retaining his seat.

Tinklers' Ructions. 207

^rhe Galloway Tinkler ran up to the other, and,
taking the horse by the head, enquired :

" What are ye speirin' for him ?"

" A flimsy {;^s) ^^^^ y^^' nawken (Tinkler), or
duce flimsies (y;£,\o) frae ■a. gadgV (house-dweller).

" Baa," said the Galloway Tinkler, " I'll gi'e
ye the geiuiitan (half-breed cuddy) foi't if ye'U
gi'e me a r4' (pound) byi. He's a meghrin'"
(staggered horse).

" Go on wi' ye, wha ever heard o' a three-
year-aul' jawin (falling) on his test (head).
Deek (look) at his mun " (mouth). The Gallo-
way Tinkler did so, and laughingly replied :

" Get out wi' ye, he's a hammy'' (bad-mouthed
horse).

" A shan hatver (bad feeder) that could ha
(eat) a gaunie d geeve ? '' (bag of corn).

" Syet " (ay), retorted the Galloway Tinkler,
"if he ever deeks (sees) it. Deek (look) at his
tramplers (feet), they couldna jaiv (carry) a
gaunie d geeve alang the droni (road). Bing
mackem (throw puddled clay) on his shan
tramplers (bad feet) and/fr>^ (take) ih^ grye aree
(horse away) oot o' deekment (sight) an' dinna
let the cleechy deek (policeman see) them. A
grye feniniler (horse dealer) maun hae wannered
(sold) the prod (done horse) to ye in the dark-
nient (night-time) or when ye were bumie "
(drunk).

2o8 The Ti/ik/er-Gvpsies.

" Ruffert (no). F , the unciioneer (auc-
tioneer), wantiered me the j^rye at a /evei go "
(square bargain).

" Syet," jeered the Galloway Tinkler, "but
ye hinged'*' him."

"You're a "

" He's only gude," flouted the Galloway
Tinkler, " for viulle-mass (dead meat) for the
nyowhicheats " (cats).

" VW. p agger (break; your test" (head), roared
the Yetholm lad as he cut him across the face
with his whi[x

Writhing with pain and mad with anger, the
Galloway Tinkler sprang at him, dragged him
from his horse, and flung him to the ground.

Two other Tinklers rushed up and interfered
to prevent the Galloway Tinkler from wreaking
his vengeance on him as he lay on the ground.

But these two Tinklers — a son and son-in-law
of one of the fighters — had no thought of stop-
ping the fight, and during the remainder of it
stood by thoroughly entering into the fun. Off
went the Galloway Tinkler's coat and vest, and
the crowd, which had collected, speedily scat-
tered as he rushed like a mad bull at his oppo-
nent. They met with a dull thud, and both

* To " hing " a dealer is to sell him a horse for a sum
of monev, pay him half the price, and owe him the
balance !

Tinklers' Ructio/is. 209

fell heavily to the ground. From the Tinklers'
and trenchers' tents and vans which lined the
field the women folks, attracted by the shout-
ing of the combatants and the crowd, came
streaming over. In a trice they forced their
way into the ring, and then the crowd swayed
hither and thither. After a time, amidst
shouts of '■^ /oiidnie "...'■'■ wapsie" ...Sind other
stinging, ashamed of frailties, and much tearing
of hair on the part of the rival factions of women,
there emerged from the crowd a dark, thick-set,
powerful virago, gripping as in a vice by the
hand her lord and master. He apparently did
not resist his queen, who, wearing a pair of
strong taehis (shoes), plain blue duffle toggrie
(dress), a red mortsplashtie (shawl), and a black
howfie (bonnet), had quite a commanding ap-
pearance. The Galloway Tinkler, as she led
him along, kept hurling back the choicest
of epithets at his quondam opponent ; his
shirt hung in rags around him, and blood,
streamed down his cheeks, but this was the
result of the cut with the whip. The fight
was said to have been a drawn one. Later
on he and two men of the same gang were
seen hurrying across the market field in the
direction of the Yetholm Tinkler's tent, and
the fight was renewed but without decisive re-
sult. It is even said that it was fought again

2 I o The Tinkler- Gypsies.

and again on different camping grounds, until
at The Ferry camp the Galloway Tinkler, after
an hour's hard fighting, was proclaimed the
victor. But humps and bruises, the satiating
punishment of the ancient and honourable trial
by fisticuffs — the parent of all courts — is now
deemed inadequate, and so these hardy and
manly administrators of the primeval and funda-
mental law of the realm had to appear before
their evolved betters (?), and were subjected to
the indignity of a plebeian 7/6 or five days.

That is how Tinklers occasionally misbehave
themselves nowadays, but they almost invari-
ably confine such attentions to those of their
own class — and after all it is not the worst way
for such people to settle their disputes.

By way of contrast one may profitably at this
juncture allude to the description (as contained
in M'Dowall's History of Dumfries^ p. 512 et
seq ) of the Kennedies, " who made Mid-
Annandale their chief haunt," the Gordons
" whose tents were chiefly set up in Dtyfesdale
and on the Galloway side of the Nith," and the
Baillies "who roamed about in all directions and
•were ranked as the ' upper ten ' of the Tinkler
tribes " : " And truly to see a band of Baillies
mounted on horseback attired in coats of scarlet
or Lincoln green, rufiled in front and at the
wrist, booted and spurred, with cocked hats for

Phuto by

Pretty Partners.

Miss Bryden.

2 12 The Tink/er-Gvpsies.

head gear, armed with swords and pistols, and
followed by hunting dogs, was an imposing
spectacle that went far to vindicate their claim
to high descent and gentle blood."

To complete the contrast let us turn again to
the sad case of Jock Johnstone, briefly alluded
to in chapter iv. Jock Johnstone belonged to
a humbler Tinkler gang than the Baillies, and
his tragic end will help to illustrate the darker
feature of so frequent occurrence in Gypsy life of
bygone days. The Gypsy race have a bad
record for such crimes, but in judging of them
let us not forget that unjust laws and a weak,
vacillating, and grossly unequal administration
thereof did much to foster a spirit of revenge in
the hearts of Gypsies, and to bring about such
crimes'" : —

"On the 7th March, 1732, John (or, as he
was usually termed, Jock) Johnstone was, with
several other Tinklers, found guilty by the Kirk-
cudbright Justices of being ' an Egyptian
vagrant and sorner ' ; and for such negative
crimes he was whipped through the Bridge-end,
and then burned on the cheek. This was not
the first or last time in which John suffered
punishment ; but all the stripes, scorchings, and
imprisonments he was subjected to did no more
to cure his wandering and thievish disposition
than to take the tan from his visage. \\'hen

An Attempt to Cheat the Woodie. 213

Jock was roaming about he was invariably
accompanied by quite a seraglio of women ; and
on one occasion — ever memorable to him — he
withdrew with some of them to a small ale-
house, kept by an old widow named Margaret
Parish, at Parkgate, eight miles from Dumfries,
on the road to Edinburgh. A quarrel between
one of his concubines and the hostess, about
the price of the liquor, provoked the interfer-
ence of Jock. Heated with drink and rage, he
repeatedly struck the poor old woman on her
head with a heavy pint stoup in which the ale
was served, killing her on the spot. He was
apprehended at Lockerbie next day, and forth-
with lodged in Dumfries Tolbooth. During
the dreary interval before his trial he was
allowed the companionship of a pet jackdaw,
which had travelled the district with him in
happier days for them both. But just as the
judges passed the prison, on their way to the
court, the heralds of the procession blew a
flourish with their trumpets, and that moment
the Gypsy's feathered favourite dashed convul-
sively against the iron bars of the window, and
dropped down dead. ' Lord ha'e mercy on me,
for I am gane ! ' cried Jock, naturally enough
considering that the fate of the poor daw was
ominous of his own, and so it turned out. He
was condemned to die ; but life was sweet, and

2 14 The Tinkle) -Gypsies.

he resolved to keci) it, or sell it dearly, while
deceitful hope buoyed him up with the idea
that the men of his own tribe would yet enable
him to elude the gallows. Jock doggedly re-
fused to leave liis cell ; and as he was one of the
strongest men in Dumfriesshire, it was with the
utmost difficulty that he was dragged out and
carried to the upper storey, from the front of
which the fatal noose hung dangling, waiting
for its human tassel. The convict wanted the
thumbs of both hands, and was often called
' Thoomie Johnstone ' on that account : but this
defect no way unfitted him from maintaining a
tremendous resistance. Apprehensive of rescue,
the authorities placed a hundred stout bu'-
gesses, armed with Lochaber axes, as a guard
around the Tolbooth. Eventually, long after
the appointed hour, the figure of Johnstone ap-
peared at the scaffold, enclosed by six towit
officers ; and we must leave the scene that
ensued to be described by the Rev. Dr Carlyle,
of Invcresk, who, when a boy, viewed it from
the neighbourhood of his uncle Provost Bell's
house, which was situated opposite the prison.
' When Jock first issued from the door,' says
Carl)le, ' he looked a little astonished ; but
looking round a while, he proceeded with a
bold step. P.salms and prayers being over, the
rope was fastened about his neck, and he was

Jock Johnsiotie s Tragic End. 215

prompted to ascend a short ladder fastened to-
the gallows, to be thrown off. Here his resist-
ance and my terror began. Jock was curly-
haired and fierce looking, and very strong of his
size — about five feet eight inches. The moment
they asked him to go up the ladder he took
hold of the rope around his neck, which was
fastened to the gallows, and with repeated
violent pulls attempted to pull it down, and his
efforts were so strong that it was feared he would
have succeeded. The crowd in the meantime
felt much emotion, and the fear of the magis-
trates increased. I wished myself on the top of
Crififel, or anywhere but there. But the attempt
to go through the crowd appeared more danger-
ous than to stay where I was. I returned to my
station again, resolving manfully to abide the
worst extremity. Jock struggled and roared,
for he became like a furious wild beast, and all
that the six men could do they could not bind
him ; and having, with wrestling hard, forced
up the pinions on his arms, they were afraid and
he became more formidable; when one of the
magistrates, recollecting that there was a master
mason or carpenter of the name of Baxter, who
was by far the strongest man in Dumfries, they
with difficulty prevailed on him, for the honour
of the town, to come on the scaffold. He
came, and putting aside the six men who were

2i6 The Tinkler-Gypsies.

keeping him down, he seized him, and made no
more difficulty than a nurse does in handling
her child ; he bound him hand and foot in a
few minutes, and laid him quietly down on his
face near the edge of the scaffold, and retired.
Jock, the moment he felt his grasp, found him-
self subdued, and became calm and resigned
himself to his fate.' Carlyle closes his gra[)hic
narrative by saying, ' The dreadful scene cost
me many nights' sleep ' — a circumstance not to
be wondered at. If a rescuing party of Jock's
friends had appeared in his time of need they
would very likely have succeeded in carrying
him away in trium[)h."

In chapter first it is shown that Billy, when
he succeeded to his high office of King of the
Galloway Gypsies, at once set about redding his
"beat," which included Carrick, in Ayrshire —
as a part of the ancient province of Galloway —
of the other Tinkler bands who sought to
encioach uptjn it. \\'e have seen also in
chapter ii. that Billy was appointed and
acted as Ringleader of "The Levellers.'" In
further testimony of his being thoroughly
embued with the militiry s[)irit, with a high
sense of the responsibilities of his high office,
and with a gn'm determination not to brook any
rivals within his realms, we give this thorough-
going specimen of the "Tinkler mettle " of the
old days*- : —

' ' Tinkkfi. 'Mettled 217

"After Billy was firmly seated on the throne
of his predecessor, he made a progress over his
extensive dominions, with an intention of
punishing severely those neighbouring Gypsy
chiefs who had made invasions on his empire.
'Twas on a Sunday forenoon in the month of
April, 1707, that he, along with part of his
clan, came to a solitary farm-house on the
borders of Dumfries and Roxburgh shires in
quest of a gang of Teviotdale Gypsies, who, he
had understood, had quartered there the night
before. The family were all out at church
except one female left to look after the house.
No sooner had Billy and his train arrived than
their antagonists turned out and instantly gave
them battle. The poor woman shut the door,
and remained in the house in great apprehen-
sion until the door was suddenly forced open,
when one of the combatants rushed into the
apartment, and she perceived with horror that
his left hand had been struck off. Without
speaking to or looking at her, he thrust the
bloody stump, with desperate resolution, against
the glowing bars of the grate ; and having
staunched the blood by actual cautery, seized a
knife used for killing sheep, which lay on a
-shelf, and rushed out again to join the combat.
All was over before the family returned from
■church, and both gangs had decamped, carrying

2i8 The Ti/ik/er-Gypsies.

probably their dead and wounded nlong with
them ; for the place where the)' fought was
absolutely soaked with blood, and exhibited,
among other reliques of the fray, the amputated
hand of the wretch w^hose desperate conduct the
maid-servant had witnessed."

In A[u?-rays Poems''"' there is a poem of
peculiar interest to those interested in the study
of Gypsy life. The details of the poem are such
as would lead most Gypsiologists to exclaim
" Gypsies !" The following is a note appended
to the original edition of tS6S, and ap[)arently
the poem has been founded largely upon the
information contained therein : —

" The above poem is founded on facts still
remembered in Galloway. They were com-
municated by Mr Joseph Tra'n to S'r Walter
Scott, in view of a fresh edition of his novel of
Redgaii?iilet. The narrative of Train is so like
an inventory of facts tiiat it is difficult to think
that it is not entirely correct, and yet there may
be reason to suspect that it was coloured and
modified in his zeal to find a prototype of
' Wandering Willie.' At all events, his version
of the story has not been adopted by the author
of ' Helen.' According tcj the testimony of
parties still living in Galloway, it was the
husband and not the wife who was blind, and

" JJ'a ndering Willie. " 219

her skilful performance on the IvM-p is still
remembered. This statement is largely con-
firmed by the Dumfries aftd Gaiioivay Courier
of the day, in whose columns the calamity i&
recorded, and where it is distinctly mentioned
that the hapless family did not frequent the
South of Scotland, as indicated by Train, but
were on their way home from Ireland to AVales.
Hugh Pritchard was a farmer's son of Carnar-
von, and his w-ife, Helen Hughes, was a curate's
daughter.

" Dumfries and Gadozvay Courier^ April 23,.
1816. — 'On the evening of Saturday a poor
man with his wife and five children, who were
travelling through the country with a small cart
drawn by an ass, being unable to find lodging,
took refuge in a sandhole, at the side of the
public road, near Twynholm Kirk. In the
course of the night a mass of earth, which haci
been undermined in taking out the sand, unfor-
tunately gave way and buried them all under it.
Their bodies were dug out on the Sunday morn-
ing, and carried into the church.'

'■^ Duiifries and Galloway Courier^ April 30,
1816. — 'Our correspondent at Kirkcudbright
writes us that the people mentioned in our pub-
lication of last week to have been smothered in
a sandhole near Twynholm Kirk, in conse-
quence of part of the earth falling on then)

2 20 The Tinkler-Gypsies.

while asleep, were travelling from Ireland through
Scotland, on their way home to Wales, and
being naturally anxious for accommodation till
the Monday following, they earnestly solicited
quarters at several places in that neighbourhood,
offering to pay for it thankfully, but were
uniformly refused ; and from this inhospitable
treatment were under the necessity of taking up
their quarters in the sandhole where they all
met their melancholy fate. The unfortunate
accident is the more to be lamented, as the un-
happy sufferers were not travelling the country
as vagrants, but on their way home. The man
was a discharged soldier, and his wife played on
a harp, by which they principally supported
themselves on their journey.'

" It may here be added that on the person of
the soldier were found a discharge, a letter
from a boy at sea, some little money and papers
connected with a small property in Wales, to
which the wanderers were looking forward.
The hapless family were placed in four coffin^,
and interred to the right of Twjnholm Church,
close to the churchyard wall. No memorial
•Stone marks the spot where they were buried.
The ass became the properi\- of Tibbie Mitchell,
the Borgue carrier, as did also the wicker-cart
of which the wheels were of solid wood, like
that of a peat-bairow. The har[) full into the

Photo by TiUsB Jess;e A. S. Armstrong.

The Welsh Harpers Tombstone.

222 The Tinkler-Gypsies.

hands of Mr Joseph Train, and remained with
him till the 7th December, 1852, when that
zealous antiquary, the friend of Scott, and
author of Tin BiiJianites, breathed his last.
A year or so after that event, when his curiosi-
ties were sold and dispersed, it was allowed,
being old and worm-eaten, to go to decay, so
that now only two fragments remain of the old
harp of Wales, which was so intimately connected
with Helen's early and chequered history, which
had cheered the wanderers in exile and poverty,
and was treasured to the last as a tuneful and
loved companion of the long and homeward
march."

To complete the picture of " Wandering
Willie," we shall record Train's description of
his meeting with that worthy'^* : —

" 1 was returning to Newton-Stewart when
the blind minstrel approached, with a large
harp over his shoulder, led by a wcMiian who, I
afterwards learned, was his wife, and followed
by some children walking, and others in a small
wicker-cart of singular construction, drawn by a
little cuddie of the old Gypsy kind. As I drew
near to them, the female caused him to raise
his harp and he began to play the well-known
air, ' Kenmure's on an' awa', \Villie.' It was a
calm evening in the month of April, and the
melodious sound of the harp soon brought a

" IVande/'i/ig Willie^ 223

•crowd of peasants from the neighbouring hamlet
of Machermore, and the fields of Kirroughtree,
which, with a fiddle played by one of the
younger branches ot the minstrel's family, formed
a band that called into action the dancing
powers not only of the other children, but like-
wise of several of the spectators. The appear-
ance of the minstrel was somewhat singular ; he
was seemingly upwards of fifty years of age, of
very diminutive stature, the small part of his
countenance that appeared above his bushy
beard was of a sallow complexion, very much
pitted by the smallpox, and nowise improved by
his large sightless eyeballs, which seemed to roll
instinctively as he moved his hand across the
strings of the harp. His habiliments seemed
to be just whatever chance had thrown in his
way. On his legs he wore a pair of blue rigg-
an'-fur stockings, partly drawn over the knees of
his small clothes, the original part of which had
been evidently worn by a person of more
spacious dimensions ; his vest of red plush
cloth, with deep pockets hanging over the
thighs, was in every way similar to that kept in
the wardrobe of Eglinton Castle, stained with
the blood of the unfortunate Earl, who was shot
by Campbell, the exciseman. The outside
colour of his coat was brown, the inside yellow ;
it was the only part of his dress which bore any

2 2}. The Tinkler-Gypsies.

proportion at all to his person. On his head
he wore a cap in old times called a megiskie,
with a large Roman letter in front, such as was
usually worn by Chattering Charlie, the last
professional jester of the House of Cassilis."

From the mass of conjectural and apparently
disputed information several agreed upon facts
may be gleaned : one of the company was a
Welsh harper : —

" When Helen touched her harp, and sani^
Lays of the mountain land,
There was a spell in Helen's voice,
And power in Helen's hand.

" In hamlet, town, or lonely cot.
The harp was still their stay ;
It was a friend and gained them friends.
And cheered the dreary way."

The husband was a soldier pensioner, and their
mode of life was characteristic of Gypsies : —

" There long they lived. If poor their lot,
They had a thrifty hand ;
Neat hose they sold, and baskets tiiui,
Made of the willow wand.

" In wicker-cart a patient ass

Dragged on their humble store ;
It bore the harp that Helen loved,
And played in days of yore."

The Gypsies of Wales are famous harpists — as
any one who has read Borrow's, Groome's, or
Watts-Dunton's Gypsy works will remember..

" Wandering JVil/ie." 225

The presence of the donkey is a further Gypsy
indication. The Gypsies of that period were
"pressed" into the service, and many of them
still take to soldiering. Even granting that the
allegation about Helen being a curate's daugh-
ter had been obtained direct from her own lips,
it would neither prove its truth nor even estab-
lish that she had not Gypsy blood in her veins,
as it is a well-known trait for Gypsies to claim,
at times rightly, at times wrongly, that they are
related by blood to families of high descent.
Mr Murray's poem is thus prefaced : —

" ' He's nae gentleman, nor drap's bluid o'
gentleman, wad grudge twa gangrel puir bodies
the shelter o' a waste house, and the thristles by
the road-side for a bit cuddie,' Sir Walter
Scott," and concludes its pathetic tale with this
scathing application of Sir Walter's lash : —

" Their living tomb may still be seen
By TarfFs wild-wooded vale ;
The house still stands where hearts of stone
Heard Helen's dying wail."

Mr Murray suspects Train of colouring his
narrative of the tragedy, ai:id claims that it was
Helen and not " Wandering Willie " who was
blind. It is, however, enough for our purpose
that it is^admitted that one or the other was a
blind harper. In Notes and Queiies, p. 180,
vol. I, of The Gypsy Lore Journal, there is an

15

2 26 The Tinkkt-Gypsies.

interesting account of Gypsy musicians in Wales
which may be regarded as throwing a sidelight
upon the question under consideration. The
writer thereof, "J. Ceiriog Hughes," explains
that he obtained the information from " a vener-
able minstrel, one of a tawny tribe, who had
twelve sons and a daughter who daily played
the triple-stringed instrument." He also in-
forms us, " ^Ir John Parry, of Ruabon (a blind
man), harper to Sir AA'atkin \\'. Wynn, Bart.,
taught ^^'illiam Williams of Penmorfa (a blind
man), who became afterwards Welsh harper to
the ancient family of the Hugheses of Tregib,
near Llandilo, Carmarthenshire. William
Williams taught the celebrated Richard Roberts
of Carnarvon (also a blind man), who had the
honour of performing upon different occasions
before the Royal Family."

Mr Hughes gives a list of Mr Roberts's pupils
who all "gained silver harps" for the excellence
of their playing, and concludes with a descrip-
tion " of the Egyptians who first came from
Wales and continue to the present day " :
"About 200 years ago came an old man, of the
name of Abraham Woods, his wife, three sons,
and a daughter. He brought with him a violin,
and he is supi)osed to be the first one that ever
played upon one in Wales. Then followed a
list of descendants who were either violinists or

" lVa/ideri;ig IViL'ie." 227

harpists, and very often both. ' All these
harpers (says the venerable minstrel) were after
' Parry of Ruabon.' " The same venerable
minstrel says at p. 124 of vol. iii. of The
Gypsy Lore Journal : — "The Ingrams lived near
Llanidloes, and the Woods near Llanbrynmair.
They were supposed to be in possession of
abundance of gold when taking these places ;
they were thought gentle folks of in those days."
Mr Leland tells us that there is a Gypsy tribe of
Hugheses who chiefly frequent \\'iltshire, and
are " short, stubby, and dark." May not, then,
this Gypsy-like family who were entombed
in the sandpit, and one of whom was said
to be named Helen Hughes, have been
related either to the Gypsy Hugheses or to
the ancient family of the Hugheses of Tregib ?

In claiming the honour of being the proto-
type of " Wandering Willie " for a Gypsy
harpist, we do not consider that we are putting
any undue strain upon the details supplied by
the various narratives.

Galloway has within the memory of living
man been frequently visited by large bands of
Gypsies. About 30 years ago a large band of
English Gypsies visited Galloway. Horse- deal-
ing was the occupation of the men, and the
women told fortunes. There was a large com-

Strange Gypsy Gangs. 229

pany on that occasion, and they encamped for
several weeks in a field— which they had rented
— near Newton-Stewart. Crowds of people
flocked to visit their encampment, and people
still speak of some of that company as being
the handsomest men and women they have
ever seen. A Gypsy, who was one of that com-
pany on the occasion referred to, says that at
the larger centres where they camped they gave
balls which the public were entitled to attend
upon paying a subscription.

About ten years ago a band of strange-look-
ing Gypsies passed through Galloway. Mr
Groome, in his introduction to his Gypsy Folk
Tales, describes that company as follows''' : — -

" ' Two years ago,' writes Mr Robert Burns,
the Edinburgh artist, to Mr Groome in 1895,
* while walking with my wife near Kirkcudbright,
I met a large troupe of Gypsies, of a type quite
different from any I had formerly seen. The
first to appear round a corner was a tall, swarthy
man leading a brown bear. My dog, a big,
powerful beast, immediately made a rush for
the bear, but I managed to catch him in time.
On seeing me holding the dog, the man came
up and, in very broken English, said the bear
would not hurt the dog. I explained that my
fears were not for the dog but for the bear, an
under-sized, emaciated beast, and strongly

2-?0

The Tinkler-Gypsies.

muzzled. By this time we were surromided by
the whole troupe, numbering, I should think,
sixteen or seventeen, all begging from the
'pretty lady' and 'kind gentleman,' which
•seemed to be about all the English they knew.
A good-looking young woman, with a baby on
her back, asked me in French if I understood
that language. I said I did, and asked her
where they came from. ' From Spain.' Then
she spoke Spanish also ? ' Oh, yes, and Ger-
man and other languages as well.' I tried her
with a few sentences in German and Spanish,
and found she spoke both languages fluently,
although with an accent which made it difficult
to understand her. While we were talking, the
men, not having stopped, were a considerable
distance off. So I gave the woman some silver,
while my wife distributed pennies among the
children, and with many smiles and thanks they
started off to join the others. They were very
dark in colour, like Hindoos ; the men and the
older women were aquiline in features ; some of
the younger girls really beautiful, with lithe,
graceful figures ; and all without exception had
splendid teeth. Their dresses, though ragged
and dirty, suggested Eastern Europe rather
than Spain ; some cheap brass and silver orna-
ments seemed to point in the same direction.
They had tsvo ponies with panniers, full of

The ' U/Siui" (or Bear-wards). 231

babies and cabbages, empty strawberry biskets,
and other odds and ends ; one of the ponies
had a headstall of plaited cord similar to those
used in Hungary. I saw them several times
about Kirkcudbright and Gatehouse-on-Fleet ;
and from mental studies painted the head exhi-
bited in the R.S.A. Exhibition in 1896.'

" These must have been Ursari, or bear-
wards, and recent arrivals in Britain ; but what
were they doing in that remote corner of Gallo-
way, in Billy Marshall's old kingdom ? Framp-
ton Boswell, an English Gypsy of my acquaint-
ance, met the very same band, I fancy, near
Glasgow in 1896, and they were perhaps the
foreign Gypsies encamped at Dunfermline in the
autumn of 1897. I was lying ill at the time in
Edinburgh. Almost certainly they were identical
with 'a little band of Roumanian Ursari ' whom
Mr Sampson met in Lancashire in the latter half
of 1897, and who were 'travelling in English
Gypsy vans which they had bought in this
country. They stopped for a month or more
at Wavertree, quite close to us, and I sa^v a good
deal of them. The first time, crossing a field
by night, and expecting to meet some of the
English breed, I stumbled among the six un-
muzzled bears, chained to the wheels of the
vans, and took them for large dogs till their
grunts undeceived me ; fortunately I got off with

232 The Tinkler-Gypsies.

whole legs. They spoke a jumble of tongues —
some Slavonic dialect (^^/-^/-brother), bad French,
Italian, no German, and little English ; but
with the help of Romani and scraps of other
tongues we held some instructive conversations.
The younger girls were beautiful, half clad,
savage, but the older women ugly as sin. When
I first spoke to them, they replied to a question
in Romani with an Italian denial : ' We are not
Gypsies, we are Christianos.' "

Another gentleman who met this band adds
the following peculiarities about their appur-
tenances : " Some of the women folks carried
poles — apparently either tent poles or kettle
props, and others carried a mat — slung from the
shoulders — behind them. Their babies were
either carried in shawls or in laced straw cases
■swung over their backs."

Single families of real English Gypsies
occasionally visit Galloway. Chumoinistos and
Petule/igros, as Borrow names them in Romanes,
generally pass once or twice every year. Gypsy
Greys also visit the district. Let us record —
again in the first person for the sake of direct-
ness— a few interviews with some of these
Gypsy families :

On entering Mrs C 's dukkeriii tan (for-
tune-telling tent) I informed her that I did not
want to have mv hand read.

Fortune-tellins. 233

"Then," she smilingly enquired, " why have
you come in ? "

" Oh ! " I repHed, " I want to make your
Will."

"Yes," she retorted, "I can see you are a
lawyer ; but we read the hand of all — good, bad,
and indififerent — and besides I have nothing
10 will ! "

A sharp discussion followed as to the remune-
r.itiveness of the fortune-telling business, in
which her glibness of tongue completely over-
matched the halting arguments of the village
lawyer. My views about palmistry had been
t()o orthodox for her, and she at once took me
seriously to task — •" There are palmists," she
said, " whose race have inherited a knowledge
of the art, and there are 7vafedi gorgios (wicked
house-dwellers) who pretend to tell fortunes.
A young gent volunteered to tell me my
fortune the other day. He told me a number
of things that anyone could tell, and then
he said :

' You'ie fond of dress ! '

'No, sir.'

' But you are.'

' It's untrue, sir, unless for business pur-
poses.'

' I know better.'

' You can read no such thing there.'

Foi-tinie-telling. 231;

' But I know better ; you are desperately
fond '

' 'Tis false, sir.'

' I never saw it more clearly.'

' Where do you find that ? '

Pointing to a line running from the wrist to
the tip of the middle finger, he said —

' Do you see that long line ? '

' Yes.'

' Well, that's the clothes line ! '

That is the class of palmists you have been
mixing amongst, sir."

Much has recently been written condemning
— and deservedly so — the host of sham fortune-
tellers, who deceive the simple. But is there
no good in fortune-telling? Do not professional
men use the past as a guide to the future ?
Is not the prototype of " Sherlock Hohnes "
famous for his cleverness in diagnosing a
man's calling, ailment, and character from his
general appearance ? The Prime Minister, in
choosing his Cabinet, also predicts the future
of these men. The Gypsies have a won-
derfully keen perception of character, and it
is that supersensitivene's of perception that
enables such men as Gypsy .Smith to sway
by his oratory large audiences. Mr Leland,
in his Gypsies, points out that, " It is this
ready intuition of feeling which, when it is

236 The Tinkler-Gvpsies.

raised from an instinct to an art by practice,
enables shrewd old women to tell fortunes with
so much skill." From a skilful reading of the
lines of the hand, but more especially from a
keen perception of the past through a rapid
survey of the face, such Gypsies can frequently
give useful hints for the future ordering of our
lives. But apart from the genius at times
displayed by clever, far-seeing Gypsies, the
wonder to me is that people don't flock in
hundreds and pay their shilling purely for the
pleasure afforded by meeting and chatting with
these most interesting people.

Being interested in the Gypsy race and its
traditions, I naturally enquired whether Mrs

C spoke the Romani language. " Yes,"

was the prompt reply, " I know it, and my
children know it too ; but my husband, who is
a bit older than myself, kncnvs it best of any
of us."

" Amongst yourselves do you speak it
often ? " I asked.

" Well, we have been living away from the
rest of our lot for a long time, and it is only
occasionally we speak Romanes, but when we
are amongst our own lot we speak Romanes
frequently."

" But," I entjuired, "is it really a language?"

" Oh, yes. It is not a jargon like what

Romanes. 237

tinklers, potters, and showmen speak. We
have names for almost everything, but we don't
like outsiders to get to know our language.
For instance, we avoid using Romanes except
amongst ourselves, lest others hearing it might
pick it up and make capital out of it by posing,
as real Gypsies."

The Chumomistos speak with a nice English
accent. Their accent, coupled with a melodious
rounding of the vowels in such words as Borrow^
Tiiorro (bread), lollo (red), makes their speech
very pleasant to listen to. That musical quality^
of Gypsy words has been admirably represented
by Mr Watts-Dunton in "The Coming of Love,"
in such verses as where he makes Rhona, a
kinswoman of these very Gypsies, say''":

" All night I heerd them bees and grasshoppers ;

All night I smelt the breath o' grass and may.
Mixed sweet wi' smells o' honey and the furze,

Like on that morning when you went away ;
All night I heerd in dreams my daddy sal,"^

Sayin', De blessed chi'- ud give de chollo"'
O Bozzles breed — tans,^ vai'dey,^ greis,'^ and all
To see dat tamo rye" o' \\&xxi palall^

Wots left her till the coming o' the swallow."

I assured Mrs C that I was acting from

purely disinterested motives, and that I had a
friend outside who was thoroughly versed in.

'Laugh, -girl, 'whole_ ■'tents, ■'■waafgon, "horses,
'young gentleman, "lack.

238 Tlie Tinkler-Gypsies.

Hindustani, and wished to compare that lan-
guage with Romanes.

" Well," she agreed, " under these circum-
stances, I don't mind telling you," and then
proceeded to name a lot of familiar objects.
Amongst others, pointing to a lighted lamp
she said, that is dood in our language ; a chair,
she said, was stavimen (as I caught it).

I then thanked Mrs C for the very

interesting interview, and left, so that my
Hindustani-speaking friend might talk with
her. As I passed out I observed, standing at
the entrance, a Gypsy girl (a young lady — I beg

her pardon !) G C , and it occurred to

me that I might put her mother's statements
to a stricter test :

"What is the Romanes for a lamp, please?'
I enquired.

Her mouth opened, revealing a perfect set of
white ivories — ^and I felt as if she had smiled
— but the smile was suspended ! " Well, what
is it yourself?" she warily asked.

" Dood," I at once answered.

" No, you are wrong. Dood means a light,"
and I perceived the mistake I had made in
thinking that the mother had pointed to the
/amp, when it was really the li^i^ht she had
indicated. I next more cauti(jusly asked —

Romanes. 239

"Well, what is the Romanes for a chair or a
seat ? "

"Well, what is it yourself?" she again
enquired.

" Stammen" I replied.

"You are wrong again," she laughingly
twitted me.

" What is it, then ? " I asked.

" Skamnien,''' she answered, and I remem-
bered that I had difficulty in making out the
word, as pronounced by Mrs C — ■ — -, but
observed the similarity of that given by her
daughter.

My friend emerged from the tent and pro-
ceeded to give me a number of words which he
said undoubtedly bore a similarity to Hindu-
stani—

Romanes.

Hindustani.

English,

grye.

gorah.

a horse.

pani.

paunie.

water.

riea.

rajah.

a king.

Ijoro.

burrah.

great.

churi.

choree.

a knife.

Moreover, he said, apart from similarity of
languages, he agreed — (with Leland, Borrow,
Groome, Watts-Dunton, and others) — in tracing
the Romani race back to Hindustan, because, he
said, there is an unmistakable resemblance be-
tween several of the Chumomisto Gypsies and the
offspring of Mohammedan-Christian alliances.

Romanies averse to being Photogt-aphed. 241

When we were standing conversing; at the tent
door, it suddenly occurred to my friend to ask
Mrs C :

" Am I a married man ? " and she at once
answered :

" '^'ou have tied a knot with your tongue that
you dare nut cut with your teeth."'

She had spoken truly. Then said my friend,
pointing to me :

"Is he married, then?" but laughingly she
told him :

" U'e never tell tales out of school ! "

Next morning I thought it would be interest
ing to contrast the appearance of Romanies
with those of Tinklers, and I again — this time
with camera in hand — visited the Chumoinistos'
living-waggon.

Raising my hat, I enquired at Mrs C

if they were in the habit of distributing photos
of themselves.

" No, sir," she replied, " and we resent any
attempts to snapshot us ; and whenever we see
anyone attempting it we at once conceal our
faces. But, sir, we have some photos of our-
selves, and I shall be most happy to show them
to you." My friend and I greatly admired the
photos, and I laughingly said :

" Oh, I see the name of the photographer,
and I suppose if I write her she will supply me
with one ?"

16

242 The Tinkler-Gypfiies.

" No, sir, she will not. I have taken precious
good care of that," was her reply.

I then thought I must take other means if I
wished to secure a photo, and it occurred to me
that the best thing I could do would be to tell
her I wished by photographs, as illustrations,
to show the unmistakable difference between
Tinklers and Romanies. The idea was a happy
one, and appealed to her

" There can be no doubt," she said, " we are
of a higher caste. Writers speak of Kings and
Queens of the Gypsies, but there are neither
Kings nor Queens, for the poorest amongst the
Romanies is regarded as good as the richest ;
but of course we sometimes single out the best
looking pair of Gypsies to appear as Kings and
Queens at fairs so as to draw the public. When
I say that Tinklers and potters are of a different
order, I don't want to say anything in disparage-
ment of them — they can't help being of a
different order."

I thought, and think, her statement fairly
and in moderate language represents Gypsy
opinion about " mumpers," as they sometimes
term Tinklers. I told her so, and added, " But
as with Tinklers, I suppose there have been some
very wicked men who were Romanies ? "

" Yes," she at once agreed, " and there are
good and bad amongst us still ; but there is a

Aversion Overcome and Explained. 243

great deal of misconception about us. We are
superstitious, and don't like our children to
marry the Gorgios " — that is, people who dwell
in houses — " hut we are even beginning to regard
that as foolish. I was married in an English
Church, and my children never take a meal
without asking grace before and after it. ' Don't
you, dearie ? ' " she asked of a sweet little dark-
eyed Gypsy girl who had been listening to the
conversation, and who winsomely smiled her
assent. " We always live in living waggons or
tents, and in the winter we have our head-
quarters at ■, where we are well known.

My children all attend school there."

" Well," said I, " my object is to use photo-
graphs to illustrate the difference between
Romanies and Tinklers."

" Then, if I must," she conceded, " I must
tidy myself a little," and asking to be excused,
she ran up the steps and disappeared into the
living-waggon. As we awaited, my Hindustani-
speaking friend informed me that "it is against
the strict tenets of the Koran to have any
likeness or image made of the true follower of
the prophet. Purity of race and aloofness
from people of other religions is also a trait of
the Mohammedans." This, he said, might have
something to do with their aversion to being
photographed. His opinion — and I give it,

€^"

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Gypsy Children. 245

though it differs from the opinion of Leland —
was that the Gypsies are more likely to be
descended from Hindustani-speaking Moham-
medans, who are nomadic in tendenc)' and not
tied down to any country by caste rules, than
from the Hindus, who are tied down by caste
to their own country.

How it came about I must leave my readers
to guess, but the four Gypsy children were
all beautifully dressed in their best Sunday-go-
to-meeting clothes, and scrupulously clean.
They remained outside, and I amused myself by

trying to get snapshots of them. Mo •, who

by-the-bye, was born in the Isle of Man, con-
cealed herself in the shadow of the waggon, and
the others kept turning away their faces, while
one of the little girls cried, " Mammy, the
ge'man wants to take us ; must we ?"

" \^ery well, my dear," she answered, "but
take off your hats — look out, he has already
lelled (taken) you," and so I snapshotted the

pretty little Gypsy children, whilst G

retired into the waggon to help her mother to
dress. Presently both appeared, and as Mrs

C • descended the steps I could not help

exclaiming, " I thought you said there is no
Queen of the Gypsies," for verily she looked
a Queen.

"V\'ell," said she, "if I am to be photo-

246 The Tinkler-Gypsies.

graphed, I must have it done properly, but

G here simply detests it," and jokingly

added, " Never mind, G dear, look your

best, and some young Gorgio will perhaps see
your photo and fall in love with y(ni ! "

Two family groups being taken, triumphantly
I bade adieu to my friends, and as I withdrew
I said to Mrs C :

" By-the-bye, I think you told the amateur
fortune-teller you were not fond of dress," and
she, laughing heartily, again retorted :

"Only in the interests of my business."

As we turned out of the field where the
Romanies were camped, we looked back, and
seeing Mrs C- walking towards the living-
waggon we raised our hats. " Ilia iiiciait
regina,'^ remarked my friend.

Next time the Chiunomistos came round I
again paid them a visit, but this time it was on
their camping ground near The Ferry. I had the

good fortune to meet with Mr W C ,

Mrs C^ 's husband. He is a tacho Rflmani-

chal (real Gypsy), and a son of the famous Syl-
vester, who gave so much valuable information
to Messrs Smart & Crofton for their book on The
Dialect of the English Gypsies. Fortunately, I
was able to show them a photo of old Westarus
(Sylvester), and I could not have done anything
to please them more. W — — is, to all api)ear-

Gypsy Children. 247

ance, a very mild, unassuming man. As I
squatted by the burn-side the children gathered
around, and I rhymed to them Gypsy songs, in
Romanes, which I had learned from the book
published by Leland. Their favourite was :

" Yeck bittD Rom'ni chal churyin ap a rukk,
Chury'd ap t' truppo an' beshed apr6 a shock."
{" One little Gypsy climbed a tree, and how ?

He climbed up the branches and sat upon a bough.")

But what took their fancy most was the story of
" Happy Bozzle," as told by Mr Grooaie in his
In Gypsy Tents. It was persoiral to them, and
seemed to revive old memories. Somehow
they thought they had heard it before, and little

L laughed — at the Baron Munchausen-

like feats performed by " Happy Bozzle " — till
his little beady black eyes, in the shape of two
dark drops of water, looked like rolling out

of their sockets. On Mrs C 's invitation,

I joined them at tea in their ivtirdo (van).

L had been sent an errand up to the village,

and G was deputed to attend to customers

in the dun-ikin tan (fortune-telling tent). Whilst

Mrs C busied herself getting tea ready

I tried to make friends with the two pretty little

Gypsy girls, Mo and Mu . But they

were as shy as wild deer. Mo sat at the end

of the van remote from me, casting side glances
out of the ciirners uf her dark eyes, whilst

A Gypsy Tea. 249

Mu sat with her back to me, and do as I

would I could not get them to speak except
in monosyllabic answers to questions about
Romanes. The mother had been outside the
van for water for the tea, and on re-entering
she said :

" Why, Mu , what has the Rye been

doing? Has he been kissing you?"

"No such luck,"' I replied; but turning to
Mu , I said :

" Muk mande del tuiti a chooma ?" (Let me
give you a kiss ?)

This set both the little git Is a-giggling, and
the ice was broken. Later on one of them did
come and sit on my knee, much as a little Scotch
girl would have done — with far less persuasion.

I had occasion to rise to let Mrs C get at

her best silver, when I observed through the
window which looked into the djirrtki/i fan

that G had been joined by Mo , nnd

that they were engaged in dancing a most
graceful dance. The mother laughed aloud,
and they hearing her, looked up at the window,
and espying me at once stopped dancing, but
do as I would I could not persuade them to

continue the dance. I advised Mrs C to

give them every opportunity for excelling in
singing, dancing, and playing the violin and
harp, the chief accomplishments of Gypsies

250 TJie Tiiikler-Gyl'sies.

throughout the world, so that they might go
through the country giving Gypsy concerts. She
seemed to be quite taken on with the notion,
and I do hope, in the interest, at all events,
of all Romaui Ryes (gentlemen interested in
Gypsies), that something may come out of my
advice, and that sooner or later we may have
public taste educated to see some of the good
qualities of these children of nature.

The tea table was tastefully arranged. The
table in the house of any Gorgio could not
have been nicer. The tablecloth was beauti-
fully white — bleached upon the green — and the
silver, placed upon the table out of compliment
to me — would have been a credit to any table.
The Gypsies take a s[)ecial i)ride in having good
silver. There were scones, tea cakes, biscuits,
and jams — all very much as the Gorgios have it ;
everything neat and clean, though plain — just
such a tea as a clean feeder can relish ; but

there was just one thing Licking : Mrs C

had said, " Mo , dear, will you ask the

grace ? " and she had responded, when I asked :

" But is the riukein' chci (])retty gypsy girl)
not t(j join us ? "

Mrs C laughed, got up, and shouted

out at the door : " G , the Rye wants to know

if the rinkeni chei is not coming in for tea ? "

Quick as lightning came the retort : " Kci see

A Gypsy Tea. 251

yoi V (where is she?) But though I saw her
not, I knew that the smile was no longer sus-
pended I

Ere long, however, she joined us, and we

had a very happy tea parly. Mo was too

bashful to ask for anything, but when she had
finished with a biscuit her heels commenced to
knock against the boarding. When I learned
her signal I kept plying her with biscuits to the

amusement of all. Mu , when eating, kept

her back turned towards me, but her mother
explained her attitude :

" Look at Mu 's mouth. Rye. She nibbles

biscuits just like a rabbit," and all of us roared

with laughter, in which Mu had to join.

After tea I spied little L returning from his

errand. He was running towards the van. I
stood up in a corner — where there was barely

room to conceal me — in order to give L a

surprise when he came up the steps, but the
little Gypsy girls laughed so much that I had to

unbend, and the joke was out long before L

reached the van I

" Oh," said the droll Mu , pointing to her

waist, " Mammy, dear, I'm sore all round here
laughing at the Rye.''

" Now, L ," said Mrs C , as he was

about to fall to, and L — — , before beginning,
asked grace aloud. On leaving the van I saw

252 The Tinkler-Gypsies.

W C , with shirt sleeves rolled up,

proceeding to enjoy an evening wash. His
appearance recalled Ryley Bosvil's address to
Yocky Shuri "' : —

" Tuley the Can I kokkeney cam,
Like my rinkeny Vocky Shuri ;
0()rey the chongor in ratti I'd cour,
For my rinkeny Yocky Shuri !"

(" Beneath the biight sun there is none, there is none,
I love like my Vocky Shuri ;

With the greatest delight, in blood I would fight
To the knees for my \'ocky Shuri 1"")

I jumped back from him and said, "Are you a
kooriii Roniiiichal ( fighting Gypsy) ?" He squared
up in professional style, and I could see from
the knit muscles of his neck and chest and the
fire in his eye that he had not always been so
mild as he looked. His passes were those of
the born fighter.

" Ah, yes" he replied, " me and my brother

A r, that's him as you may see in the ward»

(van), travelled the country with Jim Mace
giving sparring exhibitions. These were the
dear old times, Rye, but the best man I ever
stripped my jacket to was a sweep. He was

standing by poolc bridge, and he'd been

doing a little business, Rve, in the way of
brushing boots. Says he — ■

" ' Can I brush your boots, brotlur T alluding
to my tawny skin.

A Koorin Rom ni Chal.

'■^^6

" ' No, you shan't sir.' Then says he :

" ' I'll blacken your face for you,' and he
just played lick that way and this way cross both
sides o' my face. I picked up his bits o'
brushes and stand and pitched them over the
bridge. Says I —

" ' Now, you go and fetch them.'

" ' No,' says he, ' I've blackened your face,
and now I'm going to blacken your eyes.'

" ' Well,' says I, ' you take off your coat and
everything else, for you'll have to have a good
try at that first.'

" He was the biggest bully in all poole,

and a terror to the whole place. Well, we ats
it, and a big crowd gathered round, and proud
they was to see me putting up such a tidy fight."

'* Where were the police all the time ?'' I
enquired.

"Oh," said he, "they were down at the
pleasure grounds. Rye, where the sports were
being held."

"Well, how did it finish ?" I had interjected
again in ^V 's long description of the fight.

" Don't you hear what the gentleman is asking

you ?" said Mrs C , backing me up, as

W rattled on.

"Well, it ended this way, Rye. I feigned to
hit him with the left, and I hit him with the
right on the left jaw, and sent it right through

254 '^^^^ Tinkler-Gypsies.

his other jaw. That's the bit to hit him if you
want to hear his jaw go crack hke that (as he
snapped his fingers by way of illustration). Oh,
I could both '■ del and /c7 ' (give and take) a

bit could I. The folks of poole were so

pleased that they would have given me a hat
full of gold if I had cared to go round for it.'"

Mrs C then related some blood-curdling

stories of W 's pugilistic capacity, and

pointed me out some of his scars. A quiet-
looking, douce man, but when I got close up to
him and saw his movements and the look in his
eyes as he waxed reminiscent of his fighting
days, I saw there was still some of the fire of
the old kooromengro (pugilist) in him.

We had a chat about the affairs of Egypt,
and particularly about the language. He tried
me with some Romani test words. Some of
them I had heard before :

Saliwardo...

... a bridle

Weriglo . . .

... a watch chain

Bauseri . . .

... a waistcoat

But there was one word upon which he laid
special stress as being one of the real old
"deepo diredest" words, which I had not come
across in any list —

Kltiihtii ... ... a he<l,c;e slake

In turn I sought to trap him with a modern
word. The word " waxcloth " served as my

Roinani Simplicity and Frankness. 255

bait, but the Gypsies have a way of overcoming

such difficulties, and W ■ neatly escaped it

by translating the word thus : Dovva (that),
kovva (thing), tooti (you), perrov (walk), opre

(upon). I observed that the C s prefer to

use w in place of z', using iiKirdo and wafedi
instead of vardo and vafedi.

These Gypsies are — notwithstanding the
reputation of the race for craftiness — very sim[)le
and childlike in many ways. Had I approached

W by offering him money to induce him to

allow me to take his photograph, the chances
are he would have indignantly refused. No,
it was the simple, childlike side of his nature
that stood me in good stead, I had read over

to VV some of old Sylvester's own Romani

compositions from Smart & Crofton's book,
and when he saw old Sylvester's (his father's)
photo he was overjoyed. On reading him
'VVestarus's (that " well-known and popalated "
Gypsy's) certificate, as composed by himself,
W gleefully remarked :

" That's quite 'VVesterious, Rye. It's a right
good /// (book) — that is."

I then asked if I might take his photo, to
which request he at once agreed, but he asked
to be taken in the real old-fashioned way — as
depicted in one of the illustrations — sitting
with his legs criss-crossed by the yog tan (camp
fire).

< fc

I-

Rouiaui Chiricio (The Gypsy Bird). 257

As I was about to go I observed a water
wagtail tripping about on the stones on the burn

which flowed past the camp. I asked Mrs C

if she had any name for that bird :

" Oh, yes, Rye, that's the chiricio (Gypsy bird),
and we'll be sure to see some of our people
soon. But there is another bird which we do
not welcome about our camps — and as sure as it
comes there is a death. We call it the ' death-
hawk,' but I forget its proper name." It was a
strange coincidence that ere I left the green

Mrs C • exclaimed: '•'' Dik adoi ! Hokki !

Kon see yon ?" (Look there ! Behold ! Who are
they?) as another lot of Gypsies with horse and
van turned down the loaning.

Reluctantly I withdrew from my kind friends.
I made the parting as gradual and easy as

possible by giving little L a ride up the

lane on my bicycle, and by making him promise
to pay me a visit on his next return — a promise
I am still hoping he will fulfil.

Whilst walking up Queen Street, Newton-
Stewart, one evening I met a girl. She was fair
and rather pretty, but had a slight defect in one
eye. I thought I spotted a Gypsy, and at once
said, " Do you know what a rinkeni chei (pretty
Gypsy girl) means?" The girl blushed for answer
and passed on : and I knew I had surmised

17

258 The Tinkler-Gypsies.

correctly. Further along, and just outside the
town, I met two little children, and this time
they were unmistakably Tinklers' bairns. " Deek
at the cleechy ower the chaef'' (Look at the
policeman behind the dyke), I said. One of
the children immediately clambered up the
dyke. I asked them a few questions, and as
I moved on I heard the smaller of the two
crying: '■'■Deek (look) at the curdee (id) the
gadgi (house-dweller) gaed me." When I
reached the market field I saw several vans and
tents. A stout burly Roni'ni chal (Gypsy man)
sat in the field with his back to the road. A
koori (pot) hung from the ' kavvi-koshts (kettle-
props), and the Ronini chal was busy mixing a
bran mash in the pot.

" Good evening, sir," I had somewhat doubt-
ingly hazarded, and the Gypsy had as formally
replied, when along came a Tinkler, and as he
passed between the Gypsy man and me I heard
him saying :

" Do you Jail that gadgi wants to mang to
ye?" (Do you know that house-dweller wants to
speak to you ?). I promptly remarked :

" Oh, yes, the gadgi ja?is what you are
mangaii (saying)," whereupon the Roni}ii chal,
perceiving that I was conversant with the
Tinklers' cant, wheeled round on the stool upon
which he was seated and said :

A Gypsy Passport. 259

" ril bet you five pounds you don't know a
dozen words of real Romanes I " I had a few
Gypsy words at my disposal, but I did not think
it would be wise to air my knowledge straight
away. We talked for some time, and fortunately
I was able to hum over to him one or two
•verses :''^

' ' Can you rokker Romany ?
Can you kel the bosh ?
Can yoMjal adrd the slaripen ?
Can you chin the kosht ?''''

(" Can you speak Romany tongue ?
Can you play the fiddle ?
Can you go into prison ?
Can you cut and whittle ?")

This convinced him he had been somewhat
rash, but the little episode led up to a most
useful lesson in Gypsy. He said :

" If you want to make friends with us
Romanies always give it us back in our own
language."

Later on in the evening I visited the same
Gypsies. The father and mother talked of
Romanes with me, and the little Gypsy and
Tinkler children, peeping out from under the
wardo (van), plied me with Gypsy and cant
words. Occasionally, one would run away to
another van and bring me back a puzzler ; all
of which pleased me mightily, as it told me
1 had made friends. In the midst of a discus-
sion with my Gypsy friends as to the decadence

2 6o The Tinkler-Gypsies.

of the Civpsy race, an old man came to the door
of an adjoining van and shouted out in the
midnight air (for I had dallied long) :

" I know what the young gent is deluding
(alluding) to, but believe me if I opperehend
(apprehend) aright there isn't one drop of real
Romani blood in the whole of Engaland."

I had made an egregious blunder by omit-
ting to make friends with the old man of the
company, and I had to pay the penalty for this
blunder of the novice. I had never spoken to
the old gentleman, and apparently my visit was
not altogether to his liking. I arranged to take
photos of my Gypsy friends early next morning,
but, alas ! when I put in an appearance at the
appointed hour they had flown. The old gentle-
man's voice had been a power in the camp !

A few weeks afterwards I met the same lot —
the old gentleman, being, however, not one of
the company this time — and they apologised ;
explained that they had acted m the interests of
peace, and invited me to visit their camp, which
I did, and some of the photos taken then serve
as illustrations for this work. There were two
lots of Petulengros, camped on the green at The
Ferry on that occasion. One lot I had never
spoken to before, and the other lot — my friends
— were absent attending to their daily avocations
when I appeared at the camp.

A Right and a Mixed Ditkkerin. : 6 1

"Is Mr P about?'' I asked of a dark

complexioned woman who was sitting cooking
an evening meal. I had heard of that same
woman making, when on her basket and lace
selling round, a wonderful prediction which
had been strikingly confirmed the same day.
She had been much more fortunate than the
Gypsy who had got private advice in advance
about two of her lady patrons. Somehow that
Gypsy had mistaken the one for the other, and
the fortunes got mixed I When Leland chaffed
her about it she said : " ' Rye ' — with a droll
smile and a shrug — ' I think I see it now. The
dukkerin (prediction) was all right, but I put the
right dukkerin on the wrong lady.' '"'

To my enquiry she stiffly replied : " No, sir,
he isn't."

Apparently my company was not desirable
at this particular time, for — how she managed
it I can't say — the Gypsy children never drew
near me.

" Will he return soan ? " I next asked.

"You can get him over yonder "—pointing
to a stable at the other side of the conimon —
*' if you must see him,"' was her answer.

" May I sit down ? " I enquired, after assuring
her I was in no hurry.

" You're as welcome here as we are," was her
doubtful assent.

262 The Tinkler Gypsies.

I wondered how I could break this chilling
reception, but the savoury smell from the
frying-pan quickened my dull wits.

" If that were hotchi-wikhi (hedge-hog)," I
said, " I should like to have some,'' were the
simple words which it occurred to me to use.
That simple Romani word acted as magic. She
smiled for the first time.

" Yes," she said, " what wouldn't I give if
that were the hind leg of a hedge-hog ? I'm
sorry. Rye., we haven't anything half so nice to
offer you, but you're welcome to what we have
got so long as it lasts. Won't you have a cup
of tea, sir ? " I could not refuse such an invita-
tion, and so I said :

" I shall be delighted to join you." She
wanted to go for a cup, but I insisted on having
the tea in a basin like the others, and she had
just handed me a bowl of tea and a plate
hanging over with liver, bacon, sausages, and
steak when the other Gypsies arrived.

They seemed surprised to see me feeding,

but I told Mr P that it was "all along of

him," as he had told me to give it them back in
their own language, and I had discovered that
the use of the word " hotchi-^vitchi" had quite
unlocked the Gyps)- dye's (mother's) heart to
me. Gypsies, as a rule, do not take dinner in
the middle of the da)-. They are too busy at

High Tea with Gypsy Frie/ids. 263

work during the day, and so have a high tea
such as that I had the good fortune to partake
of. Open - mouthedly the mumply Gorgios
(house-dwellers) as they passed by stared at me
as some abandoned soul taken to hobnobbing
with Gypsies ! I had just had a long run on
my bicycle, and despite the rude gaze of the
passers-by never did I pai take of a repast with
greater relish. A happy group we were. My
friends the Petiilengros looked extra dusky as
they squatted round the snow-white table cover,
and one and all of us did ample justice to the
homely but sumptuous meal scattered promiscu-
ously on the cloth spread out upon nature's
table — green grassy mother earth. Their appear-
ance there did not belie their palmistry placard
which was headed, " Real Indian Gypsies."
But appearances must not always be trusted, for
some of these Petulengros and Chumomistos
(or Boshatiiks^ as old Westarus named them)
are merely didakeis (half-breed Gypsies), and
one or two of them — their swarthiness or tawni-
ness and even their knowledge of Romanes
notwithstanding — have not a single drop of
Gypsy blood in their veins. The smoke of the
camp fire curled up, partially veiling the rugged
form of Cairnsmore. With the song of birds
singing gaily in the woods, the call of sea-birds,
the rippling laughter of the brook hard by, and

264 T/ie Tinkler-Gypsies

the more distant sough of the sea, a spell of
deep happiness wove itself round my heart.
Pictures are at best but lifeless things ; but the
recollection of such a pleasant evening spent
■■.vith these children of nature — in their proper
haunts, in the green fields by stream and wood,
where they are regaled by nature's many voices,
is a living picture which memory must often
recall. It is by keeping as close to nature as
they can that Gypsies retain their love for the
open air and the open road. But, alas ! for
Gypsies, they are endowed with an instinct — ■
praiseworthy in landlords, but unpardonable in
poor Gypsies — for game, similar to that possessed
by landlords themselves, and the laws have
been framed to stamp out Gypsies and to kill
such poaching upon landlords' special preserves.
Rhona Boswell, in Mr Watts-Dunton's charming
Gypsy Heather, says :

" Things o' fur an' fin an' feather,
Like coneys, pheasants, perch, an' loach,
An' even the famous ' Rington roach,'
Wur born for Romani chies to poach,
Gypsy Heather."

I had a very interesting lesson in Romanes, but
unfortunately was not able to remember so
much of it as I could have wished. Further
meetings with other Gypsies, however, recalled
many words then heard for the first time.

Good-iiii^ht and Good Luck.

265

One little Gypsy boy, " 'Lijah," whose face
beamed with happiness, was just the living pic-
ture of his father, and little " Patience," with
fair ringlets clustering round her rosy, smiling
cheeks, might have passed anywhere — her
Romani extraction notwithstanding — for a
bonnie wee Scotch lassie.

Mr P suddenly arose, having remem-
bered that he had a deal to conclude at the
Head Inn, and I opined that it would be judi-
cious to follow his example ! Thanking my kind
friends, I wished them good-night, and they ex-
pressed the wish that I would visit them next
time they came round. As I walked briskly
over the common, my ears were greeted with
Kushto ratli, Rye (Good-night, sir), and Kushto
hokt {Good luck), and looking back I saw the
Gypsy children — with faces agleam with happi-
ness^waving their hands, and mingling their
adieus with those of the Gypsy women.

CHAPTER VI.

" Few things more sweetly vary civil life
Than a barbarian, savage, Tinkler tale."

— Christopher North.

■J EEDS of kindness, it is said, are
written in water ; and yet, there is
scarcely a farm-house in Galloway
where, after the lapse of 113 years
since Billy Marshall's death, stories
of his kindness are not still related.
These might be recorded by the hundred.
From such we get an insight into the nature of
this notorious character who still bulks so largely
in the memory of those amongst whom he
wandered. A King he was amongst his own
people — and by the laws of Little Egypt he had
the power to correct the members of his tribe
— and none but a strong, resolute, capable mail
could ever have held so well in check, as Billy
did, such a gang of desperadoes. His race
detested, and he himself said to have been an
outlaw, in order to maintain his gang and him-
self he had to have recourse to desperate
measures, in which the poor Gypsies had daily

Tinkler Tales. 267

to take their lives in their hands. Starvation^
the gallows, or banishment were the only other
courses open to them. And, be it noted, that
the Criminal Law Reports have not so far
revealed that Billy ever was either indicted for
murder or outlawed, and so, as in the eye of
the law a man is not held guilty of a crime
until it has been proven against him, let us bear
in mind that the graver crimes laid to Billy's
charge have, like the many stories of his kindly
acts, been merely handed down by tradition.
Nevertheless, in these traditions — a strange
blend of brutality and kindness — we find what
one would just expect from a chief at once
powerful, masterly, and having an eye jealous to
the rights and ever ready to redress the wrongs
of the wild and oppressed gang over which he
ruled. To confirm the acts of kindness brought
out in some of the stories which follow, many
similar stories about Billy could be recorded
did space permit of it, but we content our-
selves by recording a few which we thmk to be
most characteristic of Billy and his gang :

Billy Befriends a Tramp and Chastises Two
Cowards.— OwQ day Billy was walking leisurely
along the road, when he met a poor tramp crying
most piteously. He stopped him and inquired
what was the cause of his distress. The tramp
replied that two of the Border Gypsies or Tinklers

2 68 The Tinkltr-Gypsics.

had beaten him. Billy made him turn back,
and, going at a brisk pace, they soon overtook
the two Tinklers, whom Billy at once recognised
as the only two cowards in his gang. After
upbraiding them for such conduct, he made the
tramp punish first one and then the other ; then
giving the tramp some money, he sent him on
his way rejoicing, and, cutting a stout ash stick
from a tree close by, he beat the two bullies all
the way to the encampment, a distance of
two miles.''

Clever Ruse by a Rider Attacked by Billy. —
A farmer named M'Nab had the satisfaction of
outwitting Billy. M'Nab was riding slowly
along on a Galloway pony, when Billy suddenly
seized the bridle and demanded the rider's
money. The night was intensely dark, and
though M'Nab could not see Billy, he recog-
nised his voice, and knew what to expect if the
money, of which he had a considerable sum,
was not instantly given up. There being no
answer to this demand, it was repeated a second
time. A second time there was no answer. A
third time the demand was repeated, this time
with the addition that there would be no more
words. Neither there were; M'Nal) brought
his switch down with full force on the pony's
side, and in another moment Billy was holding
the empty bridle. M'Nab had succeeded in

Tinkler Tales. 269

unbuckling the cheek strap and in sh'pping the
bridle and reins over the horse's head. Billy
could not have his revenge, for M'Nab had
never spoken, and the bridle gave no clue
to its owner. ^"

Billy and His Harem. — As stated in a former
chapter, Billy lived in a hut on the Burn of
Palnure, near Bargally ; and Mr Douglas,
farmer. Little Park, on his way home one night
met Billy's wives — one report says he had seven
—running as for their lives. Billy was in hot
pursuit, brandishing a large knife ; he was very
scantily clad — the only garment he wore was a
shirt. It is not known if he caught any of them
or the punishment inflicted, but no doubt they
were made to suffer in some way. It was on
that occasion that he is said to have remarked,
" I wonder that they canna agree ; I'm sure
there's no' that mony o' them." Afterwards, Mr
Douglas called to have a crack with him. He
found him in bed, surrounded by his harem.
While they were talking, he observed Billy
getting irritable and making strange grimaces,
but feared to make any enquiries as to the
cause. Eventually he discovered that one of his
wives was pricking him through the blankets
with a pin. INIr Douglas fearing a repetition of
the former scene and thinking discretion the
better part of valour, took a hurried leave.'

270 The Tinkler-Gypsies.

Billy Drowm a Coiicubine. — - Billy and his
gang were one day coming from the Glenkens
down through the Orchar Farm, and his wives —
there were three on this occasion — ^were all fight-
ing, and the favourite one — Flora Maxwell — was
getting the worst of it, whereupon he caught the
one who was abusing her most by the neck and
heels and pitched her into a deep "wall e'e,"
which is said to be called " Marshall's Dub " to
this day. Some, however, point out Loch Gower
as the place where the tragedy was enacted. '^

Billys Criterion of Merit. — Billy said of his
favourite wife, Flora Maxwell : " I'd raither hae
yin rake o' Flora thro' Ayr Fair than o' a' the
ithers put thegither."''

^ Billy is Confronted by the Devil. — Billy took
a sheep whenever he wanted it, and once, up
in the Kirkcowan district (Calgalleach), he had
shot one, and asked one of his wives to wash
the pench, as he wanted a haggis. When she
had it washed clean, she put it over her head
and looked over the rees (dyke) where they
had been camping. He told my father, says
our informant, "I did think the devil was come
at last for me, but I took the whup and v/armed
her ])roperly."^

Billy Shoivs Kindness to a Stornistayed Way-
farer.— On one occasion Billy took pity on a
woman named Mrs James M'Connell, who lived

Tinkler Tales. 271

at the Ferry Toun o' Cree. \\'hen crossing the
Corse o' Slakes she had encountered a storm,
and Billy, remembering former kindnesses meted
out to him, insisted upon her taking shelter for
the night at his camp. The Tinklers treated
her kindly and saw her safely on the road in
the morning. In after years she used to speak
very highly of Billy Marshall, stoutly maintaining
to the end that he was far above the ordinary
Tinkler.'^

Billy Bites off a Thu>ni>. — -Billy one evening
came to Craighlaw, and as it was threatening
snow he wanted shelter for the night, and the
landlord would not give him it. Billy threatened
to set fire to the house. As there were no police
in the neighbourhood, the laird gathered all the
leish young men he could get in the district, and
they pursued him till he reached a loch ; but
Billy, being a capable swimmer, took to the
water. One of the young men managed to get
hold of him just as he was slipping into the
water. Billy turned round and bit the man's
thumb off and took it with him, and so they did
not manage to catch him then, but it was said
he was afterwards banished to Holland for that
affair. The man whose thumb was bitten off
was a William Stroyan. His father farmed
Arniemore — part of Carseriggan — and he was
an uncle of the late Mr Alexander Stroyan,

Photo liy J. P. Milnes.

Pocket-book stolen by Billys Gang,
but restored by billy

Tinkler Tales. 273

Clendrie, by whom the story used often to be
related. ^

Billy Proves Grateful. — Billy often stayed
about the Dinnans, near Lawrieston, when on
his way to and from Keltonhill Fair. On one
occasion the farmer, Affleck by name, after
returning from the Fair, missed his pocket-book
and a lot of money. Next day Billy paid him a
visit, and when Affleck told him his misfortune,
Billy said " Jist bide awee," and disappeared.
He soon returned with the pocket-book and the
money intact, and it was supposed that he had
made one of his gang give up his ill-gotten gains
so that he might restore it to its rightful owner,
who had so often befriended Billy and those of
his gang.*

Billy Shows Bis Metile.-^The late Mr Alex-
ander Stroyan used to take delight in relating
the following story : — " My father once told me
a story about old Billy having proved more

than a match for the laird of and my

father. The late laird of 's grandfather

was then farmer in , and his wife had gone

to the door when Billy called to ask for an
awmous. She refused to give it. Billy rounded
on her and called her vile names. She ran to
her husband, who was repairing cart spokes in
the workshop, and told him what Billy had
called her. The husband ran out in a passion

18

2 74 The Tinkler-Gypsies.

and pinned Billy with a spoke right on the back
of the head, knocking him to the ground. Billy
was soon on his feet again, and retaliated with
his brazier's anvil, and my father, who was
straightening the spittal croft, came running up
with the straightening pole in his hand, and gave
Billy a poke with it that knocked him down.
A terrible struggle amongst the three of ihem
ensued. I heard the late laird's father telling
my father that the Tinkler had given his
father and mine a good deal more than they
gave Billy, and all my father could say was
* Damn him, his skin was that teuch we couldna
pierce't.' "'^

Billy Repays Kindness.— '■'' On one occasion,"
relates our informant, " Mr Carter, then farmer
at Greenslack, was crossing the Corse o' Slakes
on his way to Creetown to pay his rent, when
he was suddenly accosted by several of Billy's
gang. Resistance was out of the question, and
when one of them demanded his pocket-book,
he had to hand it over : and lie was left in a sore
•dilemma about his rent. One of the gang, who
had disappeared with the purse, returned and
informed the others that ' aul' Billy wanted to
see the stranger.' My grandfather was taken to
a lonely dell where he found Billy sitting wi' a
gun in the one hand and the pocket-book in the
other. When he saw my grandfather, he sud-

Tinkler Tales. 275

denly jumped up and said ' Dodsakes ! is't my
guid frien' Greenslacks that I see?' Billy was
very much overcome, and at once handed back
the pocket-book (shown as an illustration),
remarking as he did so, ' Mony a meal o' meat
me and mine hae had at yer expense, and I'm
gled to save a frien' frae being rookit.' Billy
escorted him for a bit, and then, bidding ' guid
day' to one another, Billy returned to his gang,
and my grandfather proceeded to visit his land-
lord."<»

Billy Acts Diplomatically. — Two " footpads "
had attacked a coach when passing along a
lonely road amongst the mountains. They had
just succeeded in overpowering the drivers, and
had made two ladies, the only occupants of the
coach, deliver up everything in their possession.
At this juncture, Billy Marshall and two of his
sons arrived on the scene and turned the tables
against the " footpads." Billy told the ladies he
would see them safely into Kirkcudbright, and
jumping on to the "dickey" he accompanied
them as far as the outskirts of that town. When
he alighted, the ladies were profuse in their
expressions of gratitude towards him for the
timely assistance he had rendered them. They
asked if there was anything they could do for
him, as they would be willing to give whatever
he might ask. But Billy declined their kind

Tinklef Tales. 277

offers. At last one of the ladies said, " Then
who have we to thank for this timely succour ? "
but all Billy replied was, " It would be as
muckle as my head is worth gin I tell'd ye."
My informant told me that the ladies were of
the Selkirk family, and that it was through the
influence of that house that Billy, who was an
outlaw, was not hunted out of his fastnesses."

Billy Safeguards a Friend. — A son of Mr
M'Culloch, of Ardwall, travelling on horseback
by Thornhill to Edinburgh, met Billy on a very
lonely part of the road. Billy had affected a
stoop for the occasion, and, looking up sideways
as the traveller approached, he enquired
'•What's the time, sir?" But Billy was non-
plussed when the rider said, " But surely you're
my old friend Billy Marshall ? " Billy did not
at first recognise Mr M'Culloch, but on dis-
covering he was a son of Mr jVI'Culloch of
Ardwall, he drew a whistle from his pocket and
blew a shrill blast. Suddenly one after another
of Billy's gang popped up out of the moor. He
charged one of them to take care of the young
gentleman and see him safely into the courtyard
of the inn at Thornhill, which command was
duly attended to.'

Billy s Hardihood. — At Colmonell Fair Billy
had on one occasion raised a ruction with some
of the stalwarts attending the Fair, and finding

278 The Tinkle} -Gypsies.

he had too many enemies, he had to flee for his
hfe. He was hotly pursued, but, hickily for him,
the Stinchar was in full flood, and plunging in,
he swam across and thereby performed a feat
his pursuers dared not emulate. \\'hen over,
he shook his fist at them and defied them to
swim across ; but, observing that one of his pur-
suers had a gun, he ran away and rested not till
he was at Glenapp, where he asked for salt to rub
his bruises, which he had received in the fight.-"

Billy Accepts a Douceur. — M'Adam, laird of
Craigengillen, when returning from a Fair, was
once stopped by Billy. Billy had demanded his
purse. The laird said, " Billy, I am glad to see
you," and wisely handed him half-a-sovereign,
and asked him to convoy him, which he did.
Billy said, " There is a lot of our folks out to-
night, but tell them gin ye meet them whnt has
happened, and they'll no' daur harm ye."^

Billy Marshall or the Devil — The wre-tle
between the grandfather of the present Gordons
of Arnsheen — probably still the biggest type of
men in the South country — and Billy Marshall
was caused by Billy's cuddies eating the corn
from the kiln. Gordon, with a cow stake in his
hand, had followed him down the road, and as
Billy retreated, he said, " Never did a single
man cause me to retreat in my life before.
Throw doun the cow stake ami I'll wrastle ye

Tinkler Tales. 279

for wha'a the best man." Gordon accepted ihe
challenge, and though of prodigious strength, he
could not throw Billy off his feet. Billy had, as
already stated, very short legs, with wide built
body, as the Marshalls have to this day. 'Twas
when Arnsheen found himself unable to throw
Billy that he exclaimed, " By God, ye maun
either be Billy Marshall or the devil.'

Strength of Billy's Adversary. — The following
anecdotes about Billy's antagonist in the great
wrestling match will convey some idea of Billy's
strength. Mr Gordon, Arnsheen, carried a stone
— said to be over half a ton in weight — on his
loin, and that stone may still be seen in a field
near the Rees of Arnsheen. His daughter
helped to put the stone into position to enable
him to carry it.-'

Once when at Ayr buying tar, he laughed at
the ironmonger when he was vainly endeavouring
to get a barrel, weighing three hundredweights,
hoisted into a cart, and told him he could toss
it over his head. The ironmonger laid it down,
and told Arnsheen that he would not charge
him for the price of it if he tossed it over his
head. Whereupon he picked the barrel up, and
tossing it high over his head, it fell with a
smash on the pavement, to the great amusement
of the passers by.^

On another occasion he was at a funeral at

Kirkcowan when some of the mourners, who
were the worse of drink, fell a-fighting, and
Arnsheen put an end to the fight by throwing
several over the churchyard wall. It is said
he fiung them over two and three at a time,
remarking as he did so, " You Kirkcowan folks
are ill, but ye're unco wee bookit." ^

Black Maltha's Ruse. — The house in Minni-
gaff where Billy lived w-as, as explained in a
previous chapter, ultimately sold by Billy and
converted into a public-house. In after years
it was a great howff for the Marshall gang of
Gypsies. On one occasion a number of them
were drinking there, but, according to their
custom, the reckoning was never settled until
they were ready to depart. After they had had
many rounds, one of them asked :

" What o'clock is't ?" and when mine host
said :

" It's drawin' near to eight,"

" Dear me," said his interrogator, " eight
o'clock and ne'er a blow struck I "

This remark had scarcely fallen from his lips,
when two young Gypsies sitting at a round table
in a corner fell into an argument, and from
words it came to blows. Soon the house was
in a terrible uproar. The two men tumbled on
the ground, and several others joined in the
fray, and what with the terrible struggle upon

282 The Tinkler-Gxpsies.

the floor and the shrieking and tearing of
women's hair, it looked as if murder would be
the result. Eventually one of the original
assailants disengaged himself from the struggling,
swearing mass of humanity, and as he backed
out of the door he cried :

"Come on the haill ■ clanjamphry o'

ye, an' I'll learn ye better than ca' Mattha
Marshall a Papish 1 "

Out through the passage they forced Black
Mattha, and the fight continued for a time
around the door, and then right across to the
other side of the square, where it flickered out
as suddenly as it had originated. It was only a
well-known Gypsy ruse to avoid settling the
reckoning.^'

Scant Accommodation. — A gentleman saw a
little girl sitting inside half of a sugar barrel as
it lay on its side on the ground, and he asked
the child, " Do you really find room to sleep in
that barrel ?"

" Oh ay," came the ready reply, " and my
mither and faither an' aul' grannie forbye." "

Divorce Ceremony. — As a rule, Tinklers like to
have their children baptised, but they often
dispense with a religious ctremony when enter-
ing into the bonds of connubial bliss, and we
fear that they too frequently part company
without ever undergr)ing the form which.

Tinkle}- Tales. 283

according to Simson, they used to have recourse
to in the case of divorce :

" I have been informed of an instance of a
Gypsy falling out with his wife, and, in the heat
of his passion, shooting his own horse dead on
the spot with his pistol, and forthwith performing
the ceremony of divorce over the animal, without
allowing himself a moment's time for reflection
on the subject. Some of the country people
observed the transaction, and were horrified at
so extraordinary a proceeding. It was con-
sidered by them as merely the mad frolic of an
enraged Tinkler. It took place many years ago
in a wild and sequestered spot between Galloway
and Ayrshire." '^^

A gentleman avers that he remembers one of
the Kennedies parting company with his wife in
a similar way.

That ceremony, however, is not confined to
Tinklers, for an eccentric being known as " The
Laird of Trelorg," who used to wander about
Galloway, sleeping out, or in farm steadings
when he could manage it, once divorced his wife
by a similar process. They had been sleeping
together on a moor. The " Laird " killed a
sheep, and dragged it between them, awakened
his wife, and pointing to the dead sheep,
rema'ked "Till death does us part," and there-
upon deserted her for ever !

284 The Tinkler-Gypsies.

In Gypsies, Leland records a story, upholding
the Gypsies for honesty, told to him by Thomas
Carlyle. As Thomas Carlyle was brought up
in Dumfriesshire, the story is likely to refer
either to the Baillies, to whom Carlyle's wife was
related, or to the Kennedies, or to some of the
other Galloway Tinklers who occasionally visited
Dumfriesshire, and even Northumberland and
Cumberland ; and it may, therefore, be appro-
priately recorded here :

"You have paid some attention to Gypsies,"
said Mr Carlyle. " They're not altogether so
bad as people think. In Scotland, we used to
see many of them. I'll not say that they were
not rovers and reivers, but they could be honest
at times. The country folks feared them, but
those who made friends wi' them had no cause
to complain of their conduct. Once there was
a man who was persuaded to lend a Gypsy a
large sum of money. My father knew the man.
It was to be repaid at a certain time. The day
came ; the Gypsy did not. And months passed,
and still the creditor had nothing of the money
but the memory of it ; and ye remember
'■ Nessuin iiiagi^ior do/ore ' — that there's no
greater grief than to remember the siller you
once had. Weel, one day the man was surprised
to hear that his frien' the Gypsy wanted to see
him —interview, ye call it in America. And the

Tinkler Tales. 285

Gypsy explained that having been arrested, and
unfortunately detained, by some little accident,
in preeson, he hadna been able to keep his
engagement. ' If ye'U just gang wi' me,' said
the Gypsy, 'aw'll male' it all right.' ' Mon, aw
wuU,' said the creditor — they were Scotch, ye
know, and spoke deealect. So the Gypsy led
the way to the house which he had inhabited, a
cottage which belonged to the man himself to
whom he owed the money. And there he lifted
up the hearthstone — the hard stane they call it
in Scotland ; it is called so in the prophecy of
Thomas of Ercildowne. And under the hard
stane there was an iron pot. It was full of gold,
and out of that gold the Gypsy carle paid his
creditor. Ye wonder how't was come by ?
Well, ye'U have heard it's best to let sleeping
dogs lie. Yes. And what was said of the Poles
who had, during the Middle Ages, a reputation
almost as good as that of Gypsies ? ''Ad sea-eias
Foli\ curas extendere noW (Never concern your
soul as to the secrets of a Pole)."'"

In order to conceal their depredations, Gypsy
gangs had often to desert for a time the district
frequented by them, and the following story
shows that both Gypsy and Scot alike were pre-
pared to make considerable sacrifices to retain
or obtain possession of a horse : "'

In the beginning of the present century the

2 86 The Tinkler- Gypsies.

farm of Knockburnie was tenanted by Mr John
Kerr, the grand-uncle of the (then) present tenant
•of MarshaUmark. He was a man of generous
nature, and his house was ever open to rich and
poor : and because of the kindness they received,
■" gangrel bodies " made it a place of very
frequent resort. On at least one occasion the
farmer's open-hearted hospitality was no protec-
tion against the thieving propensities of his
guests. It came about in this wise : One
summer evening a small band of Highland
Tinklers arrived at the steading, and, as usual,
received nothing but kindness at the hands of
the master. After supper, in which the strangers
joined, every one retired to rest. Next morning
on going to the stable, Knockburnie was amazed
to discover that the stall was empty which should
have been occupied by his good grey mare. A
further look round disclosed the fact that the
Tinklers had disappeared. In the style of their
nomadic brethren of the East, they "had silently
stolen away,'" but they had stolen away the
farmer's pony also. Without any loss of time,
Knockburnie set out for the neighbouring farm
of MarshaUmark, and there he told the story of
his loss. The two farmers, who were also
brothers, found that each of them had lost a
pony, and after talking the matter over, resolved
to follow the thieves. One of the [)onies had

Tinkler Tales. 287

cast the half of a shoe a few days before, and
with that as a guide they soon found the track.
There could be no mistake about the first direc-
tion in which the thieves had gone, and following
the track they reached Old Cumnock. There
they learned that the party had rattled through
the town during the night. On went Knock-
burnie and Marshallmark. Inquiry by the way
assured them that the grey mare was still in
front. At last Kilmarnock was reached, and
there they learned that the Tinklers had gone in
the direction of Fenwick. Marshallmark went
no further, and turned himself homeward ; but
Knockburnie set out undaunted to follow the
robbers throughout the Mearns. Knockburnie
was not only upheld by righteous indignation,
but the " dourness " which every Scottish man
or woman has inborn in him or her would not
permit him to give up the pursuit. He had
come away unprovided with money, but the
country folks were nothing loth to supply him
with food as he paused at their doors and told
his tale. He traced the runaways right through
Glasgow, and having a hazy notion as to where
they had their stopping-place, he followed them
right into the Highlands, to the vicinity of
Glencoe. Before approaching the place, he
enlisted the services of a number of county
constables. The home of the Tinklers was in a

288 The Tnikle?--Gypsies.

secluded glen, and the policemen hid themselves
while Knockburnie went forward nlone. He
saw his grey mare, woefully jaded and tired, and
when he called her by her pet name, the pony
raised her head, neighed gladly, and came
limping towards him. While Knockburnie was
stroking her and speaking gently to his "wee
bit powney," an old crone came forward and
said : " Ye're faur afiel' this morning, guidman."
" Atweel that ; I'm faur afiel'," replied Knock-
burnie. "An' what may ye be wantin' this
mornin', guidman ? " she asked. " Oh, naething
ava," was the reply, " except my powney." Just
at that moment a man, the head of the gang,
appeared on the scene. He was struck dumb
with amazement, but at length he ejaculated
with a round oath, " I didna expeck to see you^
Knockburnie ! " " An' I," said Knockburnie,
" didna expeck ye wad hae stown my grey
mare." The Tinkler was about to lay violent
hands upon his unwelcome visitor, when the
policemen rushed upon the scene and secured
their man. He was taken to Edinburgh, tried,
and died upon the scaffold, according to the
law of the times, for the crime of horse-stealing,
aggravated in this case by the baseness of
robbing a man whose hospitality he had just
enjoyed. The other pony, that belonging to
Marshallmark, had been " swapped," but it

Tinkler Tales. 289

also was recovered with considerable difficulty.
Both horses were brought home, and one of
them, which lived to a great age, was ever
after known as the " Tinkler."

Years afterivards a band of Tinklers were en-
camped on a little green, situated in front of the
smithy, in what is now known as New Bridge
Street, Cumnock. Several of them were half-
intoxicated and began to quarrel. The women
of the company joined in and added to the
rowdyism of their proceedings with their shnll
voices and bitter tongues. At length one said
to another tauntmgly, " Your father took awa'
a helter frae Knockburnie." "Ay," chimed in
another, " an' wi' a bit beastie at the en' o't."
Evidently the memory of such a black day in
their annals was held as a deep di-=;grace by
these nomads, who have their code of honour
like every other society. The conversation was
overheard and related by a gentleman still
(then) living in Cumnock.

As a matter of fact, the story appears to be
erroneous in a few of its details. The trial took
place at Ayr, not Edinburgh, and the accused,
who was condemned to death and executed,
was a Watson ; and it is more than likely that
they merely withdrew to the Highlands to evade
capture.

The story as to the Gypsy spacing Burns's

ly

290 The Titikler-Gyf'sies.

fortune at his birth is told in Mr Dougall's
The Burns Country, and nia) be appropriately
quoted here : — '-

"The story goes, th:it on a certain 25th of
January, William Burnes rode from Alloway to
Ayr for assistance to bring a child into the
world. At the ford across the Curtecan he found
an old woman afraid to cross. With something
of the courte-)' which his son inherited, he turned
back to help her across the stream. Perhaps he
told her his errand. At any rate, when he
returned to the cottage, he found the Gypsy
woman sitting by his wife's bed, in order that
she might ' spae ' the fortune of the babe : —

The gossip keekil in his loot,

Quo' she, ' Wha lives will see the proof.

This waly boy will be nae coof,

I think we'll ca" him Robin."""

As we hope in a future chapter tt) demonstrate
that the Fais and the Marshalls were related,
the story as to the famous ballad on Johnnie Faa,
the Gypsy laddie, must not be omitted, and as
Mr Dougall, in his admirable book above
referred to, takes a more reasonable view of the
facts than most who have written upon that
subject, we quote what he says : —

" Cassillis is famous as the scene of the best
of the ballads of Ayrshire.

Tinkler Tales^'-'' Johnnie Faa.'" 291

The Gypsies cam' to our gude lord's yett.

And O, but they sang sweetly ;
They sang sae sweet and sae very complete.

That doun cam' cor fair lady.
And she cam' tripping doun the stair,

And all her maids before her,
As soon as they- saw her weel-faured face.

They cuist the glamourye o'er her.

' O come with me,' says Johnnie Faa,

' O come with me, my dearie ;
For I vow and I swear by the hilt of my sword

That your lord shall nae mair come near ye.'

' Gae tak' from me this gay mantil,

And bring to me a plaidie ;
For if kith and kin and a' had sworn,

I'll follow my Gypsy laddie.'

And when our lord came hame at e'en,

And speired for his fair lady,
The tane she cried, and the tither replied,

' She's awa' wi' the Gypsy laddie.'

"There is the usual circuinstantial account of
the origin of the ballad. John, sixth Earl of
Cassillis, a stern Covenanter, married Lady Jean
Hamilton, daughter of the Earl of Haddington,
a young lady already secretly betrothed to Sir
John Faa, a gallant knight of Dunbar. In the
absence of the lady's husband, her lover came
to Cassillis disguised as a Gypsy, and persuaded
her to elope with him. The ' Gypsy's Steps,' by
which they forded the Doon, can still be seen.
Unfortunately for the fugitives, the Earl returned
sooner than he was expected. He immediately

2g2 Tlie Tinkler-Gypsies.

set out in pursuit of the lovers, and captured
them with little difficulty. Sir John Faa and
his Gypsy companions were duly hanged from
the branches of the Dale Tree, and the lady
was confined for the rest of her life in a small
apartment of Maybole Castle, the quaint oriel
window of which still looks up the High Street.
There is ample proof that this account is pure
fiction. John, sixth Earl of Cassillis, was
devoted to his wife until her death in 1642.
There may have been an erring countess of an
earlier date.""

Another of Billy s Dukineas. — "One day my
grandfather, Hugh Carter, and his son were
busy trying to place a large granite slab on the
top of a dyke so as to hang a gate upon it, but
their efforts to raise the stone had proved use-
less. One of them was about to return to the
farm for assistance when he heard a sound like
someone singing. Looking along the road he
perceived a tall woman with a basket on her
head, and the younger man at once said : ' It's
Langteethy — she'll hclj) us.' Langteethy was
one of Billy's favourite wives. She ap[)ears to
have been, like many another Cy[)sy woman,
[)owerful in build, affable in manner, and blest
with a good gift of the gab. When she came
up she said : ' What are ye tryin' to dae wi' that
stane?' They told her. IMacing her basket on

Bv the Tinklt7-i Camp Fire. 295

the ground, kneeling down and stretching her
arms, she said : 'Lay't there !' The stone being
laid across her arms she, without assistance,
slowly raised it and securely placed it on the top
of the dyke. As she placed her basket on her
head she remarked : ' Ye're lazy guid-for-nae-
things, and no worth yer meat!' and then
resumed her journey, singing as she went !"'^

Having thus recorded a number of stories
indicative of the characteristics of Billy snd the
gang of Gyjisies frequenting Galloway m tlie i8th
century, let us now record a few interviews with
some of the present-day Tinklers of Galloway :

Late one April night I visited an encampment
of Marshalls, Wilsons, and Morrisons. Dark-
ness had just set in when I reached the camp,
and the red fire of the muir-burning was seen
high up on the mountain sides. A wild-looking
lot sat round the camp fiie. A young Tinkler
woman was feeding her baby, and the light of
the lire cast a fitful glare upon another child,
sitting half-naked in the bed camp, and crying
bitterly for his supper.

"Eh, eh," ejaculated a deaf and dumb
Tinkler, and Leezie Morrison explained that the
dumbie was ever mindful of children, and though
he heard not he always knew when they were in
distress, and often intervened if any on ; was

2 94 The Tinkltr-Gypsies.

rough with them, or even if any one swore at
them.

Leezie pointed to the ground, meaning that
they would be sent to the bad place if they
neglected the'r children, and the dumbie
chuckled an nssent.

Then T.eezie made a sign or two with her
hand — no deaf and dumb letters being used —
and explained she was telling him he should
get married. Dumbie again made a sound and
pointed to the front of his cap. Leezie inter-
preted this as meaning he would wait until he
went to the place (Ayrshire) where the men
(miners) wear lamps on the front of their caps.
Suddenly one of the Tinklers snatched a burning
brand from the fire, and, rising suddenly, up
went the end of the board on which he
was sitting, and down went the end on
which I sat, and to my dismay I found myself
rolling down an embankment into a ditch.
My mind was unensy until I heard him shouting,
" Oh God, look at the rats running along the
hedge," and perceived that the Tinkler had
merely picked up the burning brand to chivvy
the rats along the hedge.

" Eh, eh," said the dumbie, and made a sign
or two which Leezie interiTeted as meaning that
the rats were just running along the ditch by the
foot of the hedge towards the water for a drink.

By the 1 inkier s' Camp Fire. 295

" Watch yer fingers," shouted William
Marshall, " or ye'U get a sorn (thorn) in them."
(Mr D. MacRitchie points out on p. 387, vol. ii.,
of Ancient and Modern Britons that in the
Seventeenth Century Description of Cialloway it
is stated that " some of the country people,
especiaMy those of the elder sort, do very often
omit the letter ii after / as ting for thing," but
the Tinklers seem to retain even more archaic
forms and ridiculous transpositions.

" Naebody but asintelplom (simpleton) would
be feared o' a rat," said a Wilson.

" O God," said Leezie, '• they fa'r terrify me
since the dumbie's auntie was bitten by yin, an'
had to hae an operation in the infirmary."

"Oh," said ^Villiam, "a delation (relation) of
hers said she had spent owre lang in the pudlic
(public) hoose that day, or she wad hae heard
the babbie greeting suner. The greeting
wakened the faither onywey, an' it was him
that squeezed the life oot o' the rat afore (before)
it let go."

This gruesome story led me to speak of the
hardship of the'r lives. One Tinkler said that
one of his ancestors was bDrn in the snow, and
that that ancestor's twin sister was born in a
smithy, where the poor mother had been
hurriedly carried for shelter. That led William
to say, " Weel, a cousin (/ mine was born on

296

The Tinkler-Gypsies.

the street o' Tarbolion, an' my mither was fun'
deid near Shennanton Brig in a snaw drift."
And Leezie Morrison added :

"An' my grandfaither (Protestant Willie

A Typical Marshall.

Marshall) ;iye snid that the fairies helped her
awa', for whun found she was most beautiful,
an' the fairies had fiitly [ilniled her hair. It
was a' frozen on her breast, an" she was a'
co\ered owre wi' the spangle o' hoar frost."

By the Tinklers' Camp Fire. 297

U'illiani then, pointing to a hardy htlle girl
who sat with her bare feet painfully close to the
fire, said —

" That wee lassie was born on the green at
The Ferry, an' yer ain brither was the doctor.
She was born the yin day, an' her mither was
weshin' her duds in the burn the next nicht,
whun Henry (her gudeman) was gettin' the tea.
Aye," added AA'illiam, " ye ken the wumman
folks daurna cook a bite for weeks efter a wean
is born."

" Dear me," I said, turning to a young Tinkler
husband, " do you prohibit your wife too from
cooking at such times ? "

" By God," said he, " if she did, Fd break her
jaw." ■

I asked Leezie why her father insisted on that,
but all the answer I could get from her was — ■
" Oh, just because he's a clean aul' man."
This strange trait caused me to ask —
" Do you knovv what the patrin is ? "
Several at once exclaimed "A minister." I
said, " A minister, or one who shows the path,
is not unlike the meaning of the word ; but a
philologist would not admit that /(7/r///, a mini-
ster, and patrin or patteran are the same." I
explained that, according to the late Francis
Hindes Groome, patri/is are " heaps of grass or
leaves laid at cross roads to indicate to loiterers
the route that they must follow."

298 The Tinkler Gxpsies.

"Oh," said Geordie MacMillan, "pull a wheen
feinmcl (hand) fuls o^ fnizim (grass) an' lay't at
the end o' the drum (road) or rross drums
(roads), an' twirl the ends o't the lig (road) the
hur/y (cart) Jawd (went) — that's the MacMillan
ch.irt a' the worl' ower."

"Ay, an' the Marshalls' chart, too," added
\\'illiam Marshall.

Bearmg in mind these Gypsy traits, I asked
\\'illiam Marshall whether he thought the Mar-
shalls favoured the Tinkler or the Gypsy tribe
most.

" By richts," said \\'illiam, " we arc Ciypsy
yins ('Gyptians?), for we leeve here, there, an'
everywhere, a' owre the country ; an' I'm shure
we're as yellow as dockin's." His logic was not
quite convincing.

" But are you not come of an older race than
the Gypsies ?" I then asked.

" Oh, ay, yer honour," he assented, " there
are aul' dessidenters (residenters) wha leeved
aboot Kilkcoobrie (Kirkcudbright) that tell't me
our forebears were in this country six/y years
before the 'Gyptians landed frae Ireland."

In attempting to fix a date William displayed
woeful ignorance, but it is strange that nearly
all the Scotch Tinklers maintain that their
forefolks came into this country by way of
Ireland.

By the Tinklers' Camp Fife. 299

I told them that I once heard a Gypsy
describing Tinklers as a "swarthy, dirty, pelted
lot who never use soap."

" Ay," siid Leezie, " we get oor skins weel
eneuch washed, an' though I'm aye weshin'
mine, there's some o' us wjcl be the better to
see saip oftener. There are upstart Gypsies that
baud up their noses far aboon us, but we're
come o' the real aul' oreeginals, an' ha'e been
far langer in the country than ony o' them."

I then related some st iries nbout Billy, and a
Tinkler said that he had heard of Billy, when he
was a hundred years of nge, hiving a wrestling
match with a powerful farmer. Billy had thrown
him with comparative ease, and, clapping him
on the back, said :

" Tak' care o' yer han'. There'll be the
makin's o' a man in ye if ye leeve till ye're
a hunner," and William Marshall told a story
about Billy having a wrestling match with a
farmer in presence of a lot of his friends at
Canobie. Billy was at the farm-house making
horn spoons for the farmer, and was easily
vanquished before the gallery. ^Vhen he was
leaving, however, he invited the farmer to have
another wrestle, and threw him three times in
quick succession. The farmer was greatly sur-
prised, and asked :

300 The Tinkler-Gypsies.

" Why couldn't you do that before ?" and
Billy's partuig rejoinder was :

" O, ye hadna peyed me for the spunes then ?""

Morrison then told about a cute dodge which
enabled a Tinkler to escape hinging for horse-
stenling : A horse had disappeared from a
certain farm ; it transpired that the farmer had
two horses precisely like one another, and both
the horse which the Tinkler had obtained
possession of and the farmer's were inspected by
the court. The cou't asked if either the farmer
or the Tinkler had any maik whereby he could
identify the animal. The farmer s.iid the two
horses matched one another, but the Tinkler
went one better by saying he could tell his
horse anywhere because it had a i/i/f y (smooth)
sixpence concealed under its eyebrow. He
thereupon cut the horse underneath the eye-
brow, and producing the slypcy sixpence satisfied
the court that the horse was really his. The
Tinkler had taken the precaution a month or so
before he [jerpetrated the theft to cut the
farmer's horse under the e)ebro\v, insert the
slypey sixpence, and seal up the wound.

William interrupted the story - telling by
yelling at a towsy-headed MicMillan boy :

" Watch that cuddy or it'll get drownded,
an' ye'll be the onl\- cuddy left in the camp."
" Vc're an iggorant (ignorant) aul" man,"

By the Tinklers' Camp Fi>e. 301

said another MucMillan, and added, " Do ye
ken that boy has some of the maist naturable
(natural) things in his heid ye ever Ustened
to. Let them hear ' Dick Darby, the Strod-
gribber,' boy.'"

In confirmation of the joke unconsciously
perpetrated the boy scratched his towsy head
and then sang and acted "The Strodgribber "
(shoemaker). The following is a verse of it
with the chorus (to the tune of " Mush,
Mush ") :—

■" yiy ///an/s/iPs'^ rumpy and .sluinpy,
Raw-boned, farn-teckled, and tall,
And above all the skukar dickin tiiaiiishis'^ e'er I saw,
She beats the old rtiffie' and all.

Wi' my twang, twang, twang, fal di di do,
Wi' my twang, twang, twang, fal dal de,
Wi' my hub bi bub bi, fal di do,
Richt fal dal dal doodle dal de."

After the applause had subsided, Leezie
Morrison said, " Losh bless me, that boy minds
me o' my aul' faither (Protestant Willie) when he
had a dram in. He used to shout ' I'm Willie
Marshall, the Protestant Tinkler, a kind-hearted
fellow ; Erchie, ye're a Papish,' an' holding out
a ha'p'ny in his horny paw, he'd say, ' Could ye
pit a penny to that ?' " A young Tinkler woman
then said that she once saw him nearly killing a
child out of kindness for herself. Old Protestant

1. Wife's. 2. Good-lookiny women. 3. Devil.

By the Tinklers' Camp Fire. 303

Will, it appeared from the story, was very fond
of that Tinkler woman when she was a child,
and one day he and she and another child had
all been eating potatoes out of a pot, and
Protestant Will had thought his little friend
was not getting fairplay with the other child.
He had warned the offender, but she paid no
attention, and finally he hit her with a
" sootherin' airn " that had been lying handy,
and the favourite child then rushed out scream-
ing, " The aul' man has killed the wean. She's
lyin' on the flure wi' the blude a' rushing oot o'
her, an noo he s eating a' the tatties." I said
that I remembered the cheery face of Old
Proiestant Will and likewise that of his bosom
crony Erchie O'Neil, and repeated the war cry
he usually emitted in reply to Protestant Will's :
" Come on, I'm Erchie O'Neil frae the back o'
Belfast ; can fecht ony man, walkin' or creepin',
be he as licht as a pig's blether or up to my ain
wecht." I also recalled to them his favourite
boast when he had a neggin o' whisky in : " I
once hit an Irishman so hard that I knocked
him through a plate-glass window, scaling
thirteen tailors, an' then sent him flying through
a brick wall on the other side, an' he's never
since been seen."

Several anecdotes were told showing how
simple-minded, credulous, and superstitious,

304 The Tinkkr-Gypsies.

both these Tinkler men had been. Of Erchie,
one of the Marshalls related an aiiusing story :
On arriving at a village in the north of Ireland,
where a number of his friends were housed for
the winter, a young Tinkler infcxmed Erchie of
the death of a friend, and asked him to attend
his lykewake the same evening. Erchie hailed
this as an excuse for imbibing even a larger
supply than usual of whisky. He had been
asked to sit at the head of the table, where the
corpse was placed ; but he had only had a drink
or two, when his head dropped forward on the
table and he fell sound asleep. The cloth,
which hitherto concealed the corpse, was silently
withdrawn ; and with it the rest of the company
withdrew to watch the after proceedings through
the window. A sound was made on the window
and Erchie awoke, mumbling to himself and
feeling for his pipe ; but on looking straight in
front of him a look of ghastly terror came over
his face ; his hair stood on end, and for a
moment he was rivetted to the chair. Then he
staggered to his feet, and staring at the corpse —
that of a pig — all the while, and with his back
to the wall, he made for the door, and finally
rushed out into the street shrieking with terror.
He ever afterwards believed that his friend —
who, by the bye, had died some months
[)reviously — had really been transmogrified into

Tinkle }■>,'' Reticence. 305

a pig. The explanatiun ia that the Tinklers
had bought a pig on the cheap that had died
suddenly and mysteriously, and doubtless thev
could have explained how : and it occurred to
them when they saw the corpse hanging up
that it would be a good joke to invite Erchie to
attend its lykewake, but it would have been as
much as their lives were worth had they tried to
persuade him that he had been present at the
lykewake of a poisoned pig.

One of the Tinklers said he would have to
go and watch a pony whilst it fed along the
road-side. I then arose and bade them all
good night ; but a Tinkler volunteered to see
me safely along the road a bit, and without any
signal, so far as I could make out, passing to the
dumbie, he also got up and walked away with
me. Whether it was native courtesy, or he had
been asked to do it, I know not. Between
these two, on that pitch dark night, I walked for
nearly a mile ; and then, after thanking them
and bidding them good-bye, the one said '• Gude
nicht, an' may gude luck gang wi' ye," and the
dumbie endorsed that sentiment by ejaculating
" Eh, eh." As I walked home, I thought of
the tragic figure in the snow, and the fairy-like
work wrought on it by the hoar frost.

The Gypsies are at great pains to {.wevent
house-dwellers from getting to know their

20

3o6 The Ti/ikkr-Gypsies.

language. Indeed, until recenlly, whoever
communicated such information did so at the
peril of their lives ; and those who, like Grell-
mann, Borrow, Leland, Groome, and Simson,
obtained such information had to act with great
caution in using it. Even now, although one
can learn so much from books upon the subject,
•Gypsies and Tinklers have an ingrained aversion
to giving information about their language or
cant. They have been and are still a much
persecuted race, and being able to speak in a
language or cant known only to themselves,
serves as a sort of protection, and helps them
round many an awkward corner. Need it be
wondered, then, that they still regard their
language or cant as a useful asset ? There is
scarcely any trait in the Gypsy that you don't
tind repeated — in a modified form, it may be —
in the Tinkler. In the following interviews my
readers will observe that until you gain the
Gypsies' or Tinklers' confidence they can prove
themselves very ignorant ; hut once prove that
)ou have their real interest at heart, they will
frankly tell you all they know :

One day, accompanied by a parson, I hap-
pened to be walking along Duchanan Street,
Glasgow, when I spied a (iypsy woman coming
along. She was conspicuous by the bright
colours of her dress and headgear, and by the

Tinklers'' Reficeuce. 307

leisurely way she came sauntering along, as if
the whole place belonged to her, and as if she
were strolling through a meadow instead of a
busy thoroughfare. " Shorshan pen f (How art
thou, sister ?) I said in language known to every
Gypsy, and raised my hat as I said so. But she
moved not a muscle, and sailed out of sight
without ever looking back over her shoulder.
That, surely, is the one way in which a Scotch
lady would not have acted under similar
circumstances \

Having become afficionada towards Gypsies,
I had undergone a course of pretty extensive
reading upon the subject. That was a fortunate
circumstance for me, because had I approached
the Galloway Tinklers without first having had
some knowledge of cant, then I would have
stood a poor chance of getting any information
from them. Speaking of the reticence of the
Scotch Gypsies in regard to their language,
Simson says :

" On speaking to them of their speech, they
exhibit an extraordinary degree of fear, caution,
reluctance, distrust, and suspicion ; and, rather
than give any information on the subject, wall
submit to any self-denial. It has been so well
retained among themselves that I believe it is
scarcely credited, even by individuals of the

Tmklers Beticence. 309

greatest intelligence, that it exists at nil, at the
present day, but as slang, used by common
thieves, house-breakers, and beggars, and by
those denominated flash and family men "

Until lately the Galloway Tinklers were
despised and regarded merely as 'common"
Tinklers having nothing in common with real
Gypsies ; but now it is both clear that there is
Gypsy blood in their veins, and that their cant
contains many words of real Romaius.

In one of my first interviews with William
Marshall, the present head of the few descen-
dants of Billy, who still travel Galloway, I had
some experience of his reticence on the subject
of language. He had told me about an old
woman named Marshall, who lived at the Brig
o' Dee, and who had horn spoons and ladles
made by the Marshalls. As I was anxious to
obtain photographs of such, I suggested that I
might call upon her, but William said she might
now be dead, as he had not seen her for nearly
three years, and she was then " an aul' bodie
d>'i!i(;erin on her feet."

" \Vhal's driugerin^'' I at once asked.

"Oh, just doated," he replied.

" Have you any other words like that ?''

" No," he said emphatically ; but I thought I
observed a sort of shiftiness in his eyes, and
when he added " I maun awa'," I wondered if

3IO The Tinkler-Gypsies.

he could really be in possession of words similar
to those I had learned from Simson's lists of
Yetholm Gypsy words. I saw he was restless,
and knew I must be quick if I wanted any
information, because Tinklers won't wait long
when in that state.

" Have you any other word for a horse?"

" Ay," he promptly replied, " a mare," and
I would have dropped the subject, but lie
again showed that it was not to his liking by
adding :

" I maun awa', for they'll won'er what's come
owre me.'

" Have you no other word for a cuddy ?"' I
asked.

"Ay, a genetan " (half-breed mule), he cuitly
replied ; and as he made for the door he said
" I maun really gaun, for the auV wumman's
waitin' at the Brig-en'.''

" Just one moment," I intervened ; " would
you call it an aizel or an oozel f

Smiling frankly, he came back towards my
desk and said :

" We ca't an ooze!., but losh bless me, whaur
hae ye picked that up ?" His fit of uneasiness
had passed off, and for upwards of two hours he
communicated to me the cant words in use
amongst the Tinklers of Galloway. And so the
Gypsy's advice — to talk to Gypsies in their own

Cant Test Fails. 3 1 r

language if you wish to make friends with them
— proved good even in the case of Tinklers.

It is said that in old times when Gypsies were
being cruelly persecuted, they sometimes betook
themselves to callings where their identity could
be concealed. They often became sweeps, as
the soot concea'ed their tawny complexions.
One day a Marshall, a sweep, whose father was
also a sweep, paid me a visit.

" I see," said he, " ye say in the Gallovidian
that all the Marshalls are Protestants. Now,

that's a d d lie, for I'm a Catholic, but ye're

richt a' the same, for it was my mither was the
Catholic, but what I called to say is that if ye
can make me oot to be a freen o' aul' Billy's
ye're welcome to do't if ye like, an' ye can pit it
in the papers beside."

I made inquiries of him and found he hailed
from the Mochrum district, where a branch of
the Marshalls settled. I bethought me of the
cant.

" Do you know any uncommon words ?"
I asked.

" No,'' he replied.

" Have you any other word for a horse ?"

" Ay, a mare, of coorse," he replied.

" No, that is not what I mean — ^any strange
word ?"

Li, il - .,: , -yj

Paper Flag Vendors. 313

" No, what ither word could there be ?" he
queried.

" Well, do you know any cjther word for
a donkey ?"

■'Ay, a cuddy or a mule," he answered.

" Tut, tut ! Well, did you ever hear your
father call your mother by any other name than
' wife ?' " (hoping he would answer manishi).

" No, never " (a halt for a second) : " ay weel,
I wull admit it, ' a yammerin' blastie.' " And
so, though there are indications of a Gypsy
origin, I have failed in redding up that bit of
family history !

The other day I espied an old man and
woman, with a cuddy and cart, coming along a
street. A little boy, with a bottle in his hand,
came running up to them, and the old man and
woman ran to meet him. The woman took the
bottle and the man lifted a paper flag from the
rails of the cart, which was gaily decorated with
these, and handed the flag to the boy, who ran
off cheering lustily, and soon after other boys
followed suit, and trade was brisk for a time
with the old couple. Their appearance sug-
gested that they were Tinklers, and after my
first word with them, I could have sworn they
were Tinklers. I had gone up to the old man
and said :

314 The Tinkler-Gypsies.

"What's an aizel f (Tinklers" cant f(K a
donkey), and he at once pointed to his donkey
and reph'ed :

" That's one."

Then I said ;

" You are Tinklers then ?"

" No," he rejoined, " we are bad and bad
enough, but, thank God, we are not so low
down as Tinklers."

" Well," I said, "o/s^/is Tinklers' cant."

" That may be, hut it's German tongue, and
if you want the Cxerman, French, or Holland
tongue, come to me and I can give it you
grammatical true."

Further conversation elicited that he was born

at Mnrseilles, was a Schneider (tailor) to trade,

fought in the Franco-Pruss'an war, and also for

the Northern States in the American Civil War.

He gave me the following as cant words used

on the Continent : —

Aizel — cuddy.

Skee/htr — tailor.

Kip pa — cap.

H6te—\\z\.

S/io — boots.

Steve! —long-legged boots.

Bucksa — trousers.

Mushfakir (Eng. ) — umbrella man

A' //(-/•— coat.

I was doubtful about the spelling of this last
word, and on asking him to spell it, he said
" R-u-c-ka."

Tinklers' Wily Ways. 315

The following conversation ensued :

" What is the value of bottles ?" I enquired.

" Fourpence ha'p'ny a dozen," he replied.

" And you give a flag for each ?"

"Yes."

" How much profit is that on each trajis-
action ?"

" Nigh a ha'p'ny."

" How that ?"

" Well, you see, the paper doesn't cost us the
most of nothing, an' we only lose our labour."

"And how much a week do you usually
earn ?"

"Oh, mebbe half-a-croon ; or, if tredd be
good, three shillings."

As I passed Palnure one evening on my wa}'
to The Ferry, I observed some Tinklers en-
camped. Further on, I met two women driving
a " float," as they term a kind of light lorry. I
had never seen them before, but asked if I might
take their photo. They consented. As I fixed
up my camera, I heard them comparing notes
as to how best to circumvent me ; and after
taking their photo, and whilst fixing my camera
on to my bicycle, I heard the one say to the
other, " Maiig to him, iiia7ig to him (speak him
fair), and we'll get barrie lozvie (big money)."
Having obtained from them an address to which

3i6 The Tinkler-Gypsies.

I promised to send them photos, I handed one
of the women threepence, remarking that that
was all the change I had. All at (jnce the other
flew into an assumed passion and shouted out,
" An' am I to get nothing, me that has been
hawking The Ferry a' da\', an' hasna made a
sixpence lo feed the six hungry bairns that are
waiting for their supper at the camp ?" I had
spoken truly, and could not pander to her
trickery if I had been so inclined ; and so I
mounted my bicycle and left her still mildly
fuming. On my return journey I called lo see
them at their camping ground. l"he fir.-t to
meet me was the man whom I had on a former
occasion, at the .Market Field, Newton-Stewart,
surprised by showing that I understood him
when he spoke in cant. He at once turned to
the two women who were busy cooking at the
camp fire and said, " \'ou have made right
fools of yo'.-rselves ; this man knows cant, but
you're not the first he has made look silly in
that way," and turning to me, he added, " I'll
never forget how ye took me down before big
Henry Smith, the Gypsy." I told them that
houses had ears, and that they should be more
-careful in future, as I had found their conversa-
tion so absorbing that I had spoiled the photo
by forgetting to turn along the film, and had
come to take them over again. Later on, an

Kennedies. 3 1 7

old cotman and his wife and dog came down to
the camp to see what was going on. After
Hstening for a Httle to the talk about taking
photographs, the old man said : " The collie
an' the aul" wumman an' me would tak' a gude
photie," but I did not rise to that fly. The
Tinklers commenced to talk in cant, which at
best is but a broken jargon. I remarked :

" The auld g^idgis (house dwellers) would like
to know what we are niangan (talking) about,"
whereat the Tinklers laughed. The old man
looked at the old woman, who said :

" I think I maun awa' up to mind my kettle,'"
and in a second or two the old man put his pipe
in his pocket and said :

" An' I'll hae to awa' an' water the beasts."

Later on a Tinkler had gone up to the cot-
house to get a kettle of boiling water, and when
she came back she said :

" That aul' majiishi (woman) says — ' Losh
bless me, I never did hear the likes o' yon.
Wha's he, yon ? He maun be yin o' ye, but he's
better put on than the lave o' j^e.' "

Being in the neighbourhood of a town where
some relatives of the Kennedies who travelled
Galloway resided, I thought I should like to en-
deavour to ascertain whether they knew any
cant words. I persuaded a friend to accompany

3i>S The Tuikler-Gypsies.

me. The door was answered by a woman who
had not by any means a characteristic Tinkler
face ; it was too full and flabby. I enquired
" Are you Mrs Kennedy ? "
" Yes," she replied.

" Are you related to the Kennedies, the
■Galloway homers ? "

"Ay, mygudeman was ; but he's deid."
" Do you know any cant words ? "
''^^'hat may that be?" she innocently enquired.
" Oh, words known only to Tinklers."
'"No," she emphatically answered.
I then said :

" You were the wife of a Kennedy and don't
know any cant words ? "

'■ Well," she said, " ye see, I wasna aye a
Tinkler, though I married yin."

" But," I said, " what do you take me for ?
You lived with a Kennedy for twenty years and
never picked up any cant words ? "
" No, never."

Then tlie following was the dialogue :
Myself: " What is ■d.gryeV
Mrs Kennedy : " \\'hat is't yersel'."
Myself : " A horse, is it not ? "
Mrs Kennedy : " Weel, may be it is."
Myself: What's /^w/ ; "
Mrs Kennedy : " What is't yersel' ? "
Myself: "Water, is it not?"
.Mrs Kennedy: "Weel, may be it is."

Tinklers^ Reticence. 319

But I had to prove my knowledge by giving
-about six different cant words ere she gave any
direct admission of knowledge of cant. It
turned out that she and her family, who stood
.silently around, eargerly listening all the time,
knew cant thoroughly. An old woman who sat
just outside an inner door of Mrs Kennedy's
house, after listening for a time, threw up her
hands and exclaimed, " Weel, I never heard the
likes o' that ; I kent the Marshalls at the Brig
o' Dee, an' ihae Kennedies for the past forty
years, an' I hae come oot an' in this hoose for
lang eneuch, an' I never did hear yae word o'
that afore. Ye maun be yia o' them yersel'."
But the mixture of tramp and homer soon
makes itself apparent. I asked her son to allow
me to take a photo of him holding in his hands
two baskets — specimens of his father's handi-
work. He replied gruffly, " Wull ye gie me a
shuUing if I let ye tak' my photie ? " Now, no
pure bred Tinkler would ever have contrived
to get money in such an im.polite, uncrafty
manner.

As we were leaving, Mrs Kennedy shouted
after me :

" Do you ken what a manishi (woman or wife)
is ? "

" Oh, yes," I replied.

" Hae ye got yin ? "

Tiuklei-s like Hunted Hares. 321

" Yes," I answered, thinking of my mother
and sisters, and then, to avoid misleading her,
I thought it wise to add :

"But I'm no\. ackomed'' (married), whereupon
Mrs Kennedy flew into a passion, and stamping
her feet, she yelled at me —

" Eh, man, ye haena the C-0-U-R-R-R-AGE."

My friend, who had beaten a speedy retreat
round the corner, anxiously inquired what had
gone wrong with her, and when I explained
about the ambiguity contained in the word
manishi, he then understood how I could afford
to laugh, and has had many a hearty laugh at
the little episode since.

'I'o make the peace, however, 1 took the pre-
caution to send them a number of the photos
taken on that occasion, and apparently this had
the effect of soothing her temper, because the
next time she met me, she did not even allude
to the incident : Some months afterwards I had
been at a beagle hunt on the hills near Lang-
holm. One of the hares was started quite close
to me. It sped past me with its ears flat
against its neck, and with the beagles following
closely on its scent. I happened to be sianding
on a hill and could watch the chase for miles
around on either side, The hare ran gamely,
but the hounds were not to be shaken off. The
huntsmen, however, who had to follow on foot,

21

32 2 The Tinkler-Gypsies.

found the pace too swift for them, and had to
take up the chase in relays — a fresh one taking
up the management of the pack whenever a
huntsman fagged. Once the hounds had ahiiost
caught up on their quarry, when it disappeared
into a wood, followed closely by the whole pack ;
but, as it emerged much sooner than the hounds,
it was evident that it had thrown them off the
scent. The hare headed straight for where it
had been started from. As it neared the spot
where I had remained standing, the poor, terri-
fied creature came panting up the hill, and it
was pitiful to see it bobbing about, trying to
find a place amongst the long heather, where it
might conceal itself. Soon the baying of the
hounds again started it, and I cared not to
witness the final tragedy. Returning from this
beagle hunt by the road to Langholm, I met a
poor woman with a number of little children
straggling along behind her. As I passed I
said, " Barrie davies, nawken " (Good day,
'I'inkler), whereupon she bent forward her head
and hastened her steps, and all ihe children
huddled closely in to her, much in the same way
as, when alarmed, chickens creep under the
wings of their mother. Strange to say, I had
just been speaking to the friend, who was
walking with me and who was also interested
in Gypsies, about the reticence of the Gypsy

Tii/klers Perseiiiied. 323

race, when this striking example happened.
I said :

" That is a Tinkler and I know her."

" Mrs Kennedy," I cried and they hurried
faster forward. I said to my friend :

"She does not want to admit she is a
Tinkler, but I'll make her speak."

"Did you get the photographs I sent you ?"
1 shouted, and she immediately turned round
and replied :

" Oh, it's you ; I didna recognise ye. Yes, I
got them, an' mony thenks to yon, kind sir."

Soon, to the great amusement of my friend,
all of them, from the mother down to the
youngest child, were plying me with cant words.
Somehow I felt that these poor creatures bore a
striking resemblance to the hunted hare as it
bobbed about, trying to find a safe hiding-place
amidst the long heather. Gypsies have been
persecuted for centuries, and an insane law
seeks to kill their hereditary roving tendencies
by compelling them not to stay more than a
night or two at any camping ground. Could
anything be better calculated to perpetuate their
instinct for a free, wandering life ?

-tT-:

CHAPTER VII.

A Scotch Gvpsv Village.

" From the moorland and the meadows
To the City of the Shadows,

Where I wander, old and lonely, conies the call I
understand :
In clear, soft tones, enthralling
It is calling, calling, calling —

'Tis the Spirit of the Open from the dear old Bor-
derland."

From " Tlie Bor.lerland," liy Roger Quinn, Tramp Poet,
descended from the Faasoflvirk Yetliulm.

'^^TEADILV, though imperceptibl)- it
may be, the mould of civiHsation is
so impressing itself upon Gypsies as
to cause them to lose their striking
appearance, characteristics, and, yea,
even their individuality. In an
" Evening ^Valk " Wordsworth alludes to the
once pretty general custom amongst Gypsies of
using panniers :

" Their panniered train a group of potters goad
Winding from side to side up the steep road."

And Hogg shows that the custom also prevailed
in Scotland :

" With loitering steps from town to town they pass,
Their lazy dames rocked on the panniered ass."

Change in External Thiiigs. 325

The panniered ass is a sight rarely, if ever,
seen in Scotland nowadays. Change in external
things, however, takes place much more rapidly
than is the case with habit of mind. If one
keeps his eyes open he will be surprised how -^

Watsons.

(Photo by A. M'Cormick.)

frequently in interviews with Tinklers the Gypsy
characteristics peep through.

That thought was borne in upon my mind
during a recent brief visit to a village still much
frequented by Scotch Tinklers. My principal
errand was to find out whether the muggers

326 The Tinkler-Gypsies.

there knew the Tinklers' cant. Sir George
Douglas, in his " Essay on Kirk Yetholm
Gypsies " in his book The Diversions of a
Coutitry Gentleman, says, in alluding to the
language of the Border Gyps'es : " It has died
hard, if indeed it can be said even now to be
dead"; and my friend the Doctor of the village
I was visiting had led me to understand that
the muggers did not know cant.

To reach the village I had to drive a number
of miles from the nearest railway station. My
driver was a nice, bright lad of about 17 yenrs
of age. To pass the time I thought I would
try to draw him about the inhabitants of tlie
village. I asked him :

" Are there any Gypsies living in Kirkton ?'"

" No," was his curt reply.

" Tinklers ?"'

" No."

" Muggers ?"

" No."

I was pu/.zled because I had been informed
otherwise.

" Are there any Wilsons?"

" Ay."

" What do they do?''

"Oh ! they're horse-dealers"

" ^Vhat sort of people are they ?''

" Oh I cannir folks the \Vilsons^big horse-
dealers — an' aye pey cash doon on the nail."

Gypsy Traits. 327

I wondered if my Doctor friend, who had led
me to understand that these very people were
possessed of Gypsy blood, could have been
mistaken. Presently a trap approached us. The
horse came along in grand style, and as I
looked at the driver I noticed he was black-
avised and possessed of keen black eyes.
Undoubtedly he was a born horseman, for the
impression left on my mind was that horse,
trap, and man were all of a piece I

" That's," said my driver, " yin o" the Wilsons.
He's the boy to handle a horse," and then after
a few minutes' reflection he added :

" But there's queer differs (differences) in
drivers. Noo, there's the Doctor (mine host I),
he just let his horse tak' him richt oot owre
that bank the ither d:iy."

I had not done musing over professional
jealousy which my driver's remark had sug-
gested when I alighted at the Doctor's door.
The Doctor was out making some calls, but his
sister greeted me. My Gypsy errand soon
became the topic of conversation. She informed
me her brother was convinced that the muggers
in the village were all of Gypsy extraction, but
nevertheless he was prepared to bet that they
did not know the Tinkler-Gypsy cant. I
enquired as to the age of the oldest, and being
informed that " R 1 is over So." T replied

328

The Tinkler-Gypsies.

that I would be greatly surprised if she did not
know cant thoroughly.

The Doctor soon came in, and being informed
of my views on the subject he said : " Well,
you will soon have an opportunity of judging of

iPlioto by A. M'Cormick.)

them for yourself, because, this being Christmas
time, I am expecting a visit from the
' Goloshians,' who, in this village, are generally
muggers' children."

In the afternoon three little girls most daintily
dressed in white dresses did call, and were

Gypsy Traits. 329

brought into the dining-room. I was nonplussed
by their up-to-date style of dress — the change
fashion had wrought upon them — and felt I had
been over-confident in thinking that this tribe
would still he possessed of cant and of other
Gypsy traits. I was soon undeceived, how-
ever. The girls (young ladies all of them) were
invited to sing a song, and it was singular ttat
out of the many songs, of which I knew them to
have been possessed, they should choose first
^' Navaho," and then by way of encore " Idaho,"
songs which savour of the songs of Red Indians,
and which, like some of our own choruses, in
many cases have no words but merely vocables :

" E-a-aha-ah-E-he-a-ha."

I had no longer any doubt as to their having
a strong strain of Gypsy blood in them
when two of them clapped their hands and
stamped their feet and the third one danced as
they sang this verse :

" Na-va, Na-va, my Na-va-ho,

I have a love ft)r you that will grow ;
If you'll have a coon for a beau,
I'll have a Na-va-ho."

None of the non-Gypsy villagers could have
evinced such striking vivacity as they did.

Gypsy blood was easily diagnosed, but whether
they possessed cant was still a moot point. We
took them out to have their photos taken,

33C The Tiukler-Gxpsies.

dancing the " Navaho " dance. I thought I
would throw a fly over them. All of them had
nice " patten " shoes on, and that gave me my
opportunity. While looking steadily at their
faces, I said, " Keep your pretty *■ pieris ' closer ;
I must have them in the photo."

Instantly they all looked suspiciously at my
friend the Doctor, then at one another, and
finally at me- They burst out laughing, looked
down at their feet, and drew them clo-er
together. W^ord after word I tested them with
in the presence of the Doctor, and to his great
surprise he learned that even theG\psy children
knew cant. Just as these Gypsy girls were
leaving there was heard a loud knocking at the
door, and there were ushered in three little boys,
wearing by way of disguise men's coats turned
outside in and Tam o' Shanters, and each with
his face blackened. Without any palaver by
way of introduction, they commenced to go
through the usual " white boys' " rhymes,
ending :

" Here comes I, old Beelzehulj,

And over my shoulder I carry in\' clnli,

And in my hand the fryiiig-pan,

I carena a damn for ony man.

I come here neither to beg nor l(j t>orro\v,

But I come liere to sweep away all sorrow.

Please put a penny into old Heel/.ieV hat ?"

Before complying with that rccpiest I tried haal to

Tinkler " White Beys" 331

get those three Httle boys to admit they knew
cant. Word after word I tried them with, but
they said me " Nay." I had given up in despair,
and was proceeding to hand them some copper>,

Tinkler ''Wh.te Boys."

when all at once an idea struck me. Holding

up a halfpenny, I said :
"\\'hat's that, Johnnie?"

Greedily Johnnie shouted out, "A curdee, sir."
'•Now," said I, " Davy, you were done that

time."

332 The Tinkler-Gypsies.

" Haud up anither yin, sir,"' said Davy.

This time I held up a penny, and all of
them in unison shouted out " A hij-a^ sir,"
and grabbed at the penny. Thereafter all was
plain sailing. The Gypsy women are much
cleverer and possessed of much keener sen-
sibilities than the men, probably due to the
greater scope for work given to them for having
their wits developed and sharpened — a strong
argument for the suffragettes I And it is a
strange coincident that these more alert Gypsy
girls should have evinced more decided Gypsy
characteristics, by favouring the song and dance
of the Coons or Red Indians while their more
phlegmatic brothers should have evmced a liking
for something more in keeping with the Tinkler
element in their character by preferring a per-
formance common to all Scotch children.

Writing of the Algonkin race of Red Indians,
Professor Prince in Kiiloskap the Master, by
Leland and Prince, .says : — " No man can ever
know now whence the Algonkin races came.
Whether they, with other peoples, were emi-
grants from palceoliihic Europe, crossing by way
of some long since vanished land-bridge, or
whether they wandered into their present
habitat from the western part of our own con-
tinent, having had their origin in pre-historic
Asia, it is impossible to say, and, in view of the

Red Indians Gypsy-like. 333

absolute darkness in which we grope all theories
are futile."

There is much, however, in the history,
traditions, and characteristics of Indians, Red
Indians, and Gypsies which is strikingly similar.

In " The Light of Asia," Arnold ascribes
Gypsy-like traits to Siddartha (Buddha), who
sought to win his love, the sweet Yasodhara, in
open combat at bending the bow, swaying the
sword, and backing a horse. After he had
beaten the other Sakya lords at using the bow
and sword, he displayed a Gypsy-like trait and
won his prize by taming the mighty stallion —

"Till men, astonished, saw the night-black horse
Sink his fierce crest, and stand subdued and meek,"

which the others had failed to do.

A gentleman who lived for a long time in
India described Billy Marshall as wearing skins
of lamprey eels tied round his wrists, but as he
never saw Billy Marshall, the statement must
either be founded on tradition or it may be that
he attributed to him the characteristic of some
Indian tribe he had come across. Longfellow
describes a somewhat similar practice amongst
the Red Indians : —

" On his head were plumes of swansdown,
On his heels were tails of foxes,
In one hand a fan of feathers,
And a pipe was in the other."

334 The Tinkler-Gypsies.

But the proof is more suggestive than con-
clusive, and it does not do to overplead the
cdse. These similarities may all be what one
might expect to find in races at a similar stage of
development, apart altogether from a common
origin ; but the one race casts an interesting
sidelight on the other.

\Vhether or not Red Indians and Gypsies
have had a common origin, it is certain that
they will meet the same fate, for white civilisa-
tion is steadily submerging and stamping both
races out of existence. Such an interesting
human document as Schuhze's My Life as an
Indian bears out many striking resemblances
between Red Indians and Gypsies — in pride,
dignity, appearance, love of horses, tender-
hearted faithfulness and love, their child-like
natures, innate refinement of mind, similarity of
oudook on life, and in being highly superstitious.
That delightful book also proves that they have
been similarly tram{)led upon by the "tender-
feet," and is a most damning indictment of the
effects of white civilisation upon the dark races.

The Gypsy children at least proved them-
selves to be possessed of the capacity — enjoyed
also by many Gypsiologists — for being fascinated
by Indian folk-songs; and whether or not there
be distant racial affinity between Red Indians,
• Gypsies, and Indians, we may at least give the

Tinkler Children Polite.

335

-Gypsy children credit for having evinced a
<;haracteristic common to all three races — a love
of dancing.

These mugger children vvere, one and all,

^^'-^h^

A North American Indian Woman.

most polite, and had great aptitude for intro-
ducing the word " sir " on the slightest provo-
cation.

Later the same evening I resolved to pay a
visit to the head of the mugger colony. My
friend the Doctor kindly volunteered to accom-

336 The Ttnkltr-Gypsies

pany me, but I had heard from his own hps that
he had once published an article on the
muggers, in which he had applied such an un-
fortunate and inaccurate word as ' mendacious '
towards the Gypsies. I guessed that that one
slip would cause the whole clan to preserve the
secret of the cant from him, and I decided to call
alone, but asked him to drop in after I had been
in the mugger's house some little time When
I stepped out into the badly lit street I ran
against a lad who was standing in the middle of
the street right opposite the Doctor's door. It
was a bitterly cold night and I wondered what
he could be standing there for. He said (quite
casually as if he had been standing there
awaiting me) :

" Halloa."

1 looked into his face and then recognised my
driver. I said " Halloa ! what are you doing
here ? "

He made no answer, but proceeded to walk
alongside of me.

I then asked, " Where are you going? " and
he re[)lied

" Naebit, sir ! Whaur are you gaun ? "

The thought somehow flashed across my
mind that the mugger community might have
put the boy up to watch me. It was a bit eerie.
I was puzzled. I asked him if he could tell

Gypsy Traits. 337

me where R— — 1 Wilson lived. To my surprise
he said, "Ay, sir, that's my grannie."

Regaining my composure I said :

" Oh ! then you are one of the cannie
Wilsons ?"

He laughed and partly reassured me by
saying, " Come on, an' I'll tak' ye in to see my
grannie, sir."

Grannie happened to be out at the time, but
her son — the man I had seen driving the flash
turnout — a straight, lithe, handsome - looking
man with the keen resourceful look of a Gypsy
stamped upon his face, was in. He was most
reluctant to talk about the affairs of Egypt, and
I began to deplore the absence of the old
grannie. I could not effect a proper opening
on the subject of cant. I tried to chaff him
into good humour. I bantered him about the
huge profits be had been making, and then said
I would be glad to make his will (as I had once
heard another lawyer offering to do) and to hand
him back half a sovereign with it on the off
chance of getting such a fat estate to wind up !
Laughingly he answered, " I kent by the cut o'
yex Jib ye were a lawwer."

"■Jib," I repeated, " what's that ?"

" Yer lawwer's tongue, an' that reminds me
1 sell't a man six horses ■"

" What's ' tschib,' then ?" I interrupted.

338 The Ti)ikler-Gypsies.

" I don't know what you iDcan, but as I was
saying the man got the horses, but I didna get
the money •"

My thoughts were on another tack and I
again interrupted, " What's ' chee '?"

" I don't understand you," and then he
rattled on, "but as I was saying, he's aff wi' my
horses to Hamburg without peying them, an'
he's naethin' that I can get ava "

"What's '■chee chee'' T I again enquired,
and he answered, " 1 tell ye I don't understand
what yer talkin' aboot, but setting the case as I
hae said "

"Do you know what 'cant' is?" I bluntly
interrupted.

" I ken fine what ye mean, noo. I never
learned ocht o' the kin'. But whit wad ye dae
in siccan a case ?"

To humour him I said :

" Well, if he has nothing at present you
might think it wasting money to take out a
decree, but if he is in the habit of dealing, it
would come in handy for poinding the next
consignment of horses he wishes to ship
abroad."

Just as I had given my gratuitous advice, a
little boy entered without shutting the door. I
turned and said to him sternly :

" Klissen the 7vooder, chauvie /" (Shut the
<ioor, boy).

A Baillie. 339

Without hesitation he wheeled roLind and
shut the door. Turning to my friend I said,
" I perceive that cant has a way of skipping a
generation." He smiled, and thereafter he was
frankness itself, and would have told me any-
thing. A little later on the old grannie came
in, and I think she must have heard of my
kindness to her grandchildren, the singers,
dancers, and "white" (black) boys, because
she at once entered upon a long dissertation
on the affairs of Egypt. The generally accepted
idea is that the Border " Gypsies " are a dif-
ferent race from the Tinklers of the rest of
Scotland, but the truth is that they are one and
the same race. I soon gathered sufficient infor-
mation from her to know that she was well
versed in cant, and that the cant spoken in
that neighbourhood is that common to all non-
Gaelic-speaking Scotch Tinklers. She was a
pleasant-looking, dark-eyed, olive-complexioned
old lady, and the description given by George
Borrow of Esther Faa (quoted in chapter x.)

would have been equally applicable to R 1,

who was one of the Baillie family. Later on the
Doctor arrived, and we spent a delightful evening
sitting chatting in as clean and as comfortable a
kitchen and before as nice a fire as it has ever
been my good luck to do. I was sorry to have
to leave, and on going away I thought it my

340 Tlie Tinkler-Gyf'sies.

duty to compliment her on the tidiness of her
" wee " house. But she wanted no half compli-
ments, and as sharp as a needle came her
Gypsy-like retort : —

" Wee ! I have five other rooms as big as
this and every yin as clean." Although the
Doctor attended her professionally, and they
were evidently the best of friends, yet apparently
she had not altogether forgotten about the
unfortunate application of the word " men-
dacious," for when he rose to go she gave him
this neat parting shot : " Gude nicht, Doctor.
It's a while since ye hae bided sae lang at my
fireside !"

Next morning was a Sunday. After breakfast
I was vacantly gazing out of the dining-room
window and across the street, when I heard the
click of a latch, and there emerged from a
cottage opposite an old lady-like woman, with
an air of gentility and a pale ascetic counten-
ance that bespoke trouble and a will to bear
it. She wore a large scoop bonnet known as
an "ugby," and was bent on getting a can
of water from a " well " hard by. The well had
a covering on it, apparently meant to protect it
from the drip of an overhanging tree. As she
stood there, lifting the can by means of a rope,
I thought she made a quaintly beautiful picture.
She seemed a woman wedded to " the trivial

The Simple Life! 341

round, the common task." I attracted the
Doctor's attention to her, and he informed me
her sister had but a few hours to Hve. How sorry
I felt for her, and my sorrow was apparently
shared by many others^ though I doubt if, in their
case, it was not misplaced. One after another
came along, as noiselessly as possible opened the
door, and slipped in, until there must have been
half a dozen women folks inside. As the Sabbath
bells tolled mournfully there passed into the
house a man whom I surmised to be an elder
who thought it his duty to absent himself from
the house of worship to attend the house of
mourning. He had not been in long when the
door opened with a bang. A woman rushed
excitedly out and ran clattering along the street,
and it was evident that the stricken woman had
" won awa'." I often recall the beautiful picture
of that heroic figure at the well. The lives of
her sister and herself had probably been spent
in that little cottage, and daily they would draw
the water from that self-same well. How
different from the free open life of the Gypsy,
and who dare gainsay that the Gypsy life is the
more likely to produce real happiness ?

Next day I paid a visit to a well-known Gypsy
character, " Wag Stewart." Being the festive
season, he had been conforming strictly with
the customs of the country. He was in a

342 The Tinkler Gypsies.

talkative mood, and voluble as Gypsies always
are when the\' mean to be frank with you. I
asked him who was the best authorit)- on cant
in the village, and he replied modestly :

" Me and Teddy Billington " (an Englishman
then being entertained in one of His Majesty's
places of detention).

So 1 thought I had better take ni)- festive
friend to task sharply. "Well," I said, "for
every cant word you give me for that hat, I'll
bet you a shilling Til give you four."

" Youj::;/" finished his store, and I at once
gave him four cant words for it. He looked at
his wife and said :

" Leezie ! ye haena treated the gentleman."

She produced the bottle. I thanked her,
but declined her kind invitation, and without
uncorking it she replaced it in the press. Never
shall I forget the aggrieved look that Tinkler
man gave me as the bottle disappeared.
He .sat revolving the matter in his mind
for some minutes, and then, looking up l)learily,
it suddenly dawned on him that something was
dangling in front of him intercf^pling his line of
vision.

"That's a S7viishie (hare)," he saitl. " I'll bet
you a shilh'ng I ken whaur to catch four o' them
for every yin you'll catch."

An old woman was sittting with her back to

The linkiers' Den. 343

me. Wag's wife was feeding a baby as she
walked about the room, and when I rephed,
" Being a detective, I have a fair guess where
that one came from," the sudden fierce look
that came into all their faces caused me to feel
that I could not have said that with impunity
in such a company a hundred years ago. I
smiled, and they calmed down ; but I had lost
their confidence. Ere long one of the women
said :

" Wha's that comin' up the road?"
The other woman snatched down the hare
skin and flung it out of sight, and the Gypsy
man moved towards the back door. How she
could see the road bewildered me, because she
was not looking at the window. I noted her
line of vision, and following it I perceived that
there was a little pane in the partition which
surrounded the door, and through which they
had complete command of the road approaching
the house It was a false alarm, but it enabled
me to slip out quietly, after bidding them a
hurried good-bye.

That evening the Doctor proved that, despite
his slip in using the word "mendacious," he
possessed the true instincts of the Romani Rye.
He told me the story of the passing away of
Jimmy, "the last of the Border Gypsies." Here
is his fine description of how the end came :

344 The Tinkler-Gypsies.

" ' My dear friend,' the minister remarked, as
he bent over the dying man, ' yours has been
a trauchled and an eventful Hfe.' ' Ay, ay,'
gasped Jimmy. ' But, Mr Methven, wha's
pownie micht that be ? ' ' It's the Doctor's,'
replied Nance. 'Imphm!' was the rejoinder.
'That pownie minds me o' the spirited beastie
we had when we camped in Muirdroggat wud-
Ye mind the wud o' Muirdroggat, Nance?'

"At this stage Jimmy's recollections were cut
short by a paroxysm of coughing, which left him
utterly prostrated. Still the minister sat as if
rivetted to his chair. Everything in the humble
apartment had a new interest for him. Suddenly
a smile broke over the face of the dying man.
' Nance,' he whispered, ' I thocht it was
hame, but it's the wud o' Muirdroggat. D'ye
hear the burn an' the singing o' the Unties?
It's graun ! It's graun !' And, transported by
fancy to the moorland where the happiest hours
of his life had been passed, the last of the
Border Gypsies passed from the known to the
unknown land."

But my friend the Doctor has since been pre-
vailed upon to record the whole story, and my
readers will do well to refer for the complete
story to page 138 of vol. xi. of that admirable
monthly. The Border Magazine.

In the afternoon I had arranged to take some

The Muggers' Clii'dren Confide. 345

photos of Gypsy children. I had no sooner
turned the corner into the street where dwell
the muggers when a little boy came up, and,
taking me by the hand, led me along in triumph
and chatted gaily as we went.

"Will you come back the morn?" he
anxiously enquired.

" Will you pray for me to come ?' I asked.

" Ay, sir," he answered to my surprise.

" What prayer do you ask, my boy ? "

Glibly he replied :

" Four posts to my bed,

Four angels round my bead —
Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John,
Bless the bed ihat I lie on."

Bah ! I was disillusioned. I speedily took
the photos, and on my leave-taking the children
cheered lustily. As I passed along to the
other end of the street where a trap awaited me,
heads popped out at every door to see what
strange being this could be who was interested
in Gypsies. As I sped along in the Mugger's
trap I talked for a time of Romany matters
to my driver, and then I fell to musing over the
constant recurrence of Gyj^sy charactetistics in
the Tinkler, but alas, alas ! there can be no
further doubt as to the decadence of the Scotch
Gypsy race, for had not the little lankier boy
said, "Four posts to my bed; " and how sharp

346 The Tinkler-Gypsies.

a contrast there is between such a sleeping place
and that of the English Gypsy's bridal chamber
depicted in one of Mr \Vatts-Dunt()n"s beautiful
sonnets : —

" The young light peeps through yonder trembling
chink,
The tent's mouth makes in answer to a breeze ;
The rooks outside are stirring in the trees
Through which I see the deepening bars of pink.
I hear the earliest anvil's tingling clink
From Jasper's forge ; the cattle on the leas
Begin to low. She's waking by degrees ;
Sleep's rosy fetters melt, but link by link.
What dream is hers ? "'

CHAPTER VIII.

Tinklers' Bairns.

Avien a shel d Gorgios Jitias leu Romany.

(Among a hundred Gorgios you'd know the Romany.)

Barrere and LelancVs " Dictionary of Slang.'

^T would be difficult to prove that
people who live in houses are happier
than people who live in tents : but
short of asking the Tinklers to give
up their style of dwelling, many things
might be done for them which, in the
course of time, would tend to ameliorate their
condition. It is, at least, our duty as a
Christian nation to see that the hardship of the
lot of Tinkler children is minimised as far as
possible.

People are prone to regard Tinklers in their
worst possible light. They see a Tinkler man
or woman maltreating a child or dumb animal,
and the whole Tinkler tribe are judged in the
light of such an incident. But, out of a fairly
intimate experience of Tinklers, I wish to
preface this chapter by saying that the one thing
that surprises me on my frequent visits to

348 The Tinkler-Gypsies.

Tinklers' camps is the kindness bestowed upon
children.

I h.ive been struck by the way in which
Tinkler women fondle and caress their children,
as, sitting by the camp fire, they put them to
sleep by singing some quaint lullaby. There
are, however, Tinkler women and Tnikler
women, and as with house-dwellers so with
tent-dwellers, any rightly directed attempt to
protect little Tinkler children from maltreat-
ment by bad parents will be welcomed by those
of the Tinklers themselves who are kind to their
ciiildren. It is to plead for the Tinkler children
that I here record a few incidents in their lives.

Of the kindliness and sensitiveness of the
nature of some of the Tinklers, let me give an
example. Recently, when writing an article on
Tinklers (see p. 190 supra), I was at some
pains to show how a Tinkler woman's love had
gone out to her delicate boy. To bring out the
point in my story I had described him truly as a
dwarf ho)\ Some one had read the article to
the Tinkler woman, and she had wept bitterly
when she hid heard the word "dwarf" read.
^Vhen asked why she wept she said : " His
words are kind eneuch, but Tinklers ha'e their
feelings as weel as ither folk, an' he had nae
business ca'in' my wee boy a dwarf." My
attempt to fathom the depth (jf that Tinkler

Gypsy Woman and Child at Las Palmas Grand Canary.
(Photo by A. MacNeur. t

35° The Tinkler-Gypsies.

woman's feelings had failed, and il took her own
remark to clinch my argument — that, despite
the Tinklers' uncouthness and rough-and-ready
way of bringing up their children, they are, as a
rule, exceedingly fond of, and kind to, little
children. I should have avoided writing such
an expression about my little friend, and should
these words ever reach them, both mother and
boy may know that they have my apology.

As a reflex of the Tinkler women's kindliness
of nature, they trade upon the same feelings
in the hearts of house-dwellers. A little nephew
of mine, who hails from the far north, repeats a
rhyme which sounds like what Tinklers would
say in vending their wares :

" Do you want
A slander,
A brander,
Or a gey guid pailey,
Or a raltle for the bairnie ? "

Sometimes their pleading takes this form :
" Guid day to ye, mistress ; can I sell ye a nice
wee pingley-tingley to boil a fresh egg for the
maister's breakfast ? Eh ! but that's a bonnie
wee bairn, an' she fiivours you, my lady ; what
age is she ?"

" Only four."

" Dear me ! an' what bonnie blue een ; they
wad wile a deuk (duck) aff the water."

Tales about Tinklers Bait ns. 351

And after all, what child can be prettier in
the eyes of a mother than her own ? and so she
fall'; a ready victim to the Tinkler's clever wiles.

The uncouthness and roughness in appearance
and manner of Tinklers is due largely to the
circumstances in which they are reared. Lately
I foregathered with a blind Tinkler woman (see
p. 177 supra) \\\\o "izX in the mouth of her tent
smoking a clay pipe, whilst her little grand-
children played on the ground in front.

"Do the children ail often?" I asked: and
she replied :

" Yin o' them yince had the measles, but
nane o' the rest ever ailed for an hour. They're
as healthy as troots."

Later on, noticing one of the children busy
grubbing up dirt with a spoon and eating it, I
told grannie what the child was domg, but she
merely answered :

" Never mind ; it'll gar the bairn grow."

In the course of a further chat I asked her :
" What do Tinklers do when any of them take
ill T

"■ We get the doctor," she answered, " an'
they're generally guid to us travellers, but they
canna do muckle for us, for ye see ive''re aye in
the fresh air.^'

So there's the Tinkler's imprimatur on the

Tales about 2 inkier s Bairns. 353

recent awakening as to the benefits to be
derived from the open-air treatment.

Think of the misery the poor Tinklers must
endure when ill-health overtakes them, and they
have to lie on a bed of wet straw. What terrible
suffering must have been endured by that blind
Tinkler woman, for the eyes have actually been
eaten out of her head by inflammation. That
same old blind Tinkler woman, it will be remem-
bered, had the honour of being spoken to by
the King and Queen when they were Prince
and Princess of Wales, and on another occasion
received a present of a sovereign from the
Duchess of Fife. When asked if she had kept
that sovereign, she replied :

" 'Deed I wad hae liked to, but I had to let
it gang for bed-claes and claes for the weans."

It was the duty of a little Tinkler child to
lead about that old blind Tinkler woman from
door to door, ostensibly to sell some trifling
.wares, but really to play upon the good folks'
sympathy for the poor old blind Tinkler woman.
I put it to a Tinkler if that wasn't the case, and
he frankly admitted :

" Aul' grannie is the best spoke in oor wheel."

One winter day I met a scantily-clad, bare-
footed Tinkler boy, and asked him :

" Do you never catch cold ?" He at ones

23

Tales about Tinklei-s' Baii-ns.

;55

glibly jerked out- much as if it had been one
word he had been saying :

'' I-ne'er-had-a-toit-in-a'-the-days-o'-my-life."

Early one summer morning I visited a Tinkler
camp. The only signs of life were a mule, a
cuddy, and a horse grazing near the camp,
and a little naked boy who came toddling to
meet me. I gave him a penny and he ran
away back to the camp holding aloft the penny
and shouting ^'' Deek" (look), and soon all the
camp was astir. After taking some snap-shots
of the Tinklers, I noticed the little fellow, who
heralded my arrival, still naked and at a con-
siderable distance from the camp, waving vigor-
ously to some other little Tinklers. I asked a
Tinkler what the child was crying out :

" Oh," said he, " he's trying to get the ither
bairns awa' owre to the road (about 200 yards
away) to play at pitch-an'-toss !"

A child had died at a Tinklers' encampment.
Next day a little Tinkler boy — a brother of the
child who had died — called at a farm, house near
where the Tinklers were encamped. The door
was attended by the farmer's wife. The little
Tinkler boy said to her :

" Please, mem, Til sing ye a sang if ye'll gie
me a scone ?"

Tales about Tinklers Bairns. 357

The woman was shocked at his apparent
levity, and said :

" Eh, sirce, ha'e ye forgotten already what
happened at the camp yestreen ? "

" Beg pardon, mem," replied the little Tink-
ler boy, " I was greetin' a wee while ago."

Lately I fell in with a friend of mine — poor old
grannie MacMillan or Campbell. She was accom-
panied by a little orphan Tinkler boy. Their
whole belongings in this life are seen in the photo
given as an illustration. Old grannie was the
worse of drink that day, and by way of apology
she proceeded to tell me a most pathetic story,
but, alas ! her maudlin state had made her for-
get that she had tried the same story on me on
a former occasion. She said she had been
going up the road and a kind lady had found
her leaning against the railings in front of her
house. " Oh, kind lady," she told me she had
said, " I was juist comin' alang there an' some-
thing went wrang ; a' at yince a darkness come
owre me, an' something like shutters cam' doun
owre me een " (here she gasped for breath),
"an' the kind dear lady said, 'A mouthful o'
speerits would revive you,' an' she kindly gied
me a wee c'a«/ 0 peeve ^' (glass of whisky). . . .
"Ye wudna deny't till aul' grannie, yer honour,
whun it keeps the verra breath o' life in her?"

The "kind dear" lady had been taken in,

358 The Tntkler-Gypsies.

and all the time grannie was telling me this
story the little orphan boy stood by giggling.
I said to him I had heard that crack before,
and the boy said :

" Ay, weel ye ken she telled the wumman
lees, for grannie's /^^t//V (drunk) the day."

After chatting with them for a while I gave
the boy a few coppers and he quietly disap-
peared. Soon after the old grannie missed him
and cried out, " Isaac." I bade adieu to her,
and long after I could hear her bawling out
'■'■ Imac ! Isaac P' On reaching the town I
beheld poor little Isaac busy eating a scone
outside a baker's shop.

The Tinklers are a queer mixture. Even
that old Tinkler woman, in spite of her wily
ways and of being addicted to drinking, is
possessed of a kindly nature, because, after she
sold the mother of the puppies shown in the
illustration, she wept all day.

All that milder type of hukni (deception of
house-dwellers) is quite legitimate in the eyes of
Tinklers, ^^'ith good reason they regard house-
dwellers as their hereditary persecutors, and to
work (as they term it) the gadgis is a matter in
which they pride themselves.

Drink is directly responsible for much of the
misery entailed on Tinkler children. I have

o ^:

360 The Tinkler-Gypsies.

seen a towsy-headed, half-drunk Tinkler woniaiT
handing out, fr<jm a public-house where the
Tinkler men and women were carousing, a jug
of beer to a little girl as she sat watching the
Tinklers' cart outside. I have been told also of
a half-drunk Tinkler woman going about with
her newly-born babe slung in a shawl, but with
its head down and its heels up I Ht)w can
children reared in such a way, and with their
very blood tainted with a craving for drink,
have a chance to live good moral li\es ?

Example has a most important influence on
the upbringing of a child, and where the parents
are almost constantly under the eye of their
children, as is the case with Tinklers, the
children are influenced to an exceptional extent
by the example of their parents. The whole
family are too frequently huddled together into
small vans or bed-tints. Recently a gentleman
friend of mine saw a little Tinkler girl sitting
in the half of a sugar barrel which was lying on
its side, and asked her :

" Do )ou really lind 100m to sleep in there?'
" Ay," was the ready reply, " and my mither
an' faither an' aul" grannie forbye."

Let me close these rambling notes nbout
incidents in thu life of Tinkler children by

Tinkler Bairns Despised. 361

recording the chorus of a pathetic little song
which a poor little Tinkler child once sang to
me. The pathos of it lies in the fact that it is
a song greatly to the liking of Tinklers boih old
and young, and might even be regarded as
showing that Tinklers have, after all, a kind of
vague craving for a more settled and restful life :

" For it's nice to liave a little iiome of yoiu" own.

And sit on your own fireside ;
If ye've only got a table and a chair

It's all your own and you're welcome there ;
Ye're as good as anybody in the land,

You're as happy as a king upon the throne ;
What more is it ye want,

When ye've got the wife and kiddies,
And a nice little ho.ne of your own ?"

In these days of desire for a return to the simple
life there is much in the mode of life of the
Tinkler thai might be imitated with profit
Their love of fieedom, of fresh air, and of living
amidst beautiful scenery are all commendable.
In their simplicity of tastes — particularly where
such takes the form of freedom from that
craving for luxury which is sa;jping the nation's
manhood — they possess a quality which we
might well strive to possess. But doubtless it
will occur to the reader, after perusing the fore-
going anecdotes indicative of the bid upbringing,
neglect, and suffering of m my Tinkler children,
that something remains to be done for them ;

!62

The Tinkler-Gypsies.

indeed for the children of all tent-dwellers. Any
reform should be gradual, and the regulations
should be such as would bear lightly upon
these poor, oppressed people. We must bear in

Spanish Gypsy Woman and Children.

mind that the\' are the residuum of an ancient
race — something (luilc tliffcrent from the ne'er-
do-weels of the p esent generation —and are
struggling against strong hereditary tendencies.
Some very simple regulations would do much

Beneficial Regulations. 363

good. By way of indicating the kind of regula-
tions which, I consider, might prove beneficial,
let me tentatively suggest a few — and my
readers will likely be able to suggest amend-
ments on some, and other regulations will
probably also occur to them :

1. Make it incumbent that every Tinkler's
bed tent should be kept at least a foot off the
ground.* This simple, effective, and admirable
regulation was suggested to me by a Tinkler
woman. One of the company had suggested
that Tinklers would soon be driven off the road.

"Never," replied the Tinkler woman, and, as
she hugged her little baby to her bosom, she
added, " But in the interests o' oor bairns they
micht make us keep oor beds a foot off the
grun'."

2. Make it the duty of sanitary inspectors
systematically to inspect Tniklers' camps.

3. Insist on Tmkler children, of proper age,
attending school regularly for two months or so
in winter time when they usually take to living
in houses.

4. During these two months arrangements
might also be made to give facilities for grown-
up Tinkler lads and lasses to learn some simple
trade that could be turned to profit when they

^The so-calleJ " German " Gypsies had an ideal airangement.
The Gypsies lay all round \vith their feet in the centre, in which
■direction the wooden floor sloped downwards.

364

The Tinkler-Gypsies.

are moving about. (Note. — Their principal
callings, horn-.spoon making and making of tin
cans, have fallen on evil times, and surely it is
not impossible to find some other useful
industry to which they might now, with profit,
be taught to turn their hand.)

5. Regular visitation by pupil teachers,
Children's League of Pity officers, and tactful
Bible readers and such like. (I italicise the
word tactful because the Tinklers are not over-
religious, and a prosy Bible reader or a prosy
parson would simply serve as a butt for the
Tinklers' ridicule, and make religion a laughing-
stock.)

CHAPTER IX

" Genls, I'll have title jin (you know) that when you
thai is inandy (speak to me) you rakker (talk to) a reg'lar
fly old beiver (woman)."

A Tinkler woman, from "The Gypsies, '
by C. G. Leland.

"We do not want your money, sir," screamed the
woman after me ; "we have plenty of money. Give us
God ! Give us God I "

"Yes, your haner," said the man; "give us God !
we do not want money."

Irisli Tinklers, from " Wild Wales,"
by George Borrow.

A Modern Gvpsy Folk-tale Teller.

'^>: LD grannie, who often looks in to
tell me a Gypsy folk-tale, is quite a
remarkable woman. Her name, she
says, with a vigorous rounded accent
pleasant to hear, is Mary MacMillan
or Cam'ell. She is a widow of some
75 years of age — her partner, a Crimean veteran,
having died about a year ago.

Politeness is grannie's weakness. " I humbly
crave yer honour's pardon," she said, curtseying
low, " but a gentleman was kind eneuch to say
ye had been tellin' him ye hadna seen grannie
for some time, an' had been askin' for her

366 The Tinkler-Gypsies.

health, an' I thccht there could be nae harm in
askin' for the kind gentleman's health, seein' he
had been kind eneuch to ask for mine. I hope
ye're weel, sir ?"

That is how she accosted me during a recent
visit. Politeness is, however, a characteristic of
the pure-bred Tinkler, even though — as the late
AJr Groome puts it about his Gypsy friends in
/// Gypsy Tents — they may have " a sharp eye
for a little gift, a trait by no means confined to
Gypsies," or Tinklers either. Why, politeness
is the best part of their stock-in-trade. How
otherwise could they vend their paltry wares?

Old grannie is a treat to listen to, and is
possessed of the most useful gift a Tinkler can
possess — that of persuasive eloquence. Daily
she shoulders her rooskie (hawker's basket)
and goes from door to door extolling her small
wares, for, frail though she be, she is credited
with not having a lazy bone in her body.

Grannie is no dissembler. Ask her to stop
takmg'whisky, and straight she'll tell you, " I'll
no' deny that I like a cant u peeve (glass of
whisky) in the niort^en (morning), hut ye
wadna tak' it frae aul' grannie, whun it keeps
the verra breath o' life in her ?"

A model, I should say, at circumvention ;
deep and " wide !" Vet that, too, is a part of •
her equipment ; and, withal, old grannie is

A Gypsy Folk-tale Telltr. 357

honest, for where is the Gypsy who cannot
reconcile honesty with hiikni (deception of the
gadgis — house-dwellers) ? Stress of circum-
stances and failing health had compelled her to

The Gypsy Folk-tale Teller.

Photo ):>y J. P. Millies.

seek the shelter of a common lodging-house,
and the other day she told me she had handed
her landlady 6d — " 4d to pay my lodgings, id
for a wee pickle o' tea, ^d for some sugar, an'
|d for a wee bit o' saip to wash thae dirty

368 The Tinkler-Gypsies.

\feiiunels,^" outstretching her hands, " an' I'm in
awin her a ha'p'ny, for she kindly gied me a
bake ; but I'll pay her back her ha'p'ny. Puir
aul' grannie'll ne'er dee owin' onybody a ha'p'ny.
Oh ay — savin' )er presence, kind sir — she'll
shurely get back her lousy ha"p'ny."

A born folk-tale teller, but one wants to hear
and see her tell her tales fully to appreciate
them. The grip she takes of her words, her
intonation, attitudes, and gestures, all make for
a fuller comprehension and enjoyment of the
tale. The tales she tells have generally fairy-
like titles such as " The King of the Fairies,"
" The Steed o' Bells," " The Crystal Palace,"
" The Enchanted Man," " The Enchanted
Castle," " The Bottle o' Water frae the Worl's
End," and such like. Some of these she spins
out for hours, and never halts for a word, but
space only permits me to record three of the
tales I have heard her tell.

If, as Mr David MacRitchie and the late Mr
C. G. Leland aver, folk-tales serve as a religion
for Tinklers and Gypsies, then should we not
be ashamed of ourselves and of our lack of
enthusiasm over The Book when we find that a
poor despised Tinkler woman has the w(jrds
upon which she grounds her conviction and
hope off by heart ? A strange, elusive study
these Tinklers and Gypsies afford. 'l"he public

A Gy/'sy Folk-tale Tt//fr. 369

see most of the bad, rough side of their charac-
ter, but they have a kindly inner nature, and
are not devoid of high ideals ; and a high
morality is quite^within their mental purview, as
their intimate knowledge of folk-tales proves.

I ventured to say to her at the conclusion of
one of her tales : " Grannie, I like to hear you
telling these fine old stories," and she answered
tenderly :

" Do you, wean ? Weel, I'm aye thinkin'
an' thinkin' aboot them as I gang alang, an'
as lang as there's breath in my aul' body I'll
gie ye a ca' to crack to ye aboot them."

Poor old grannie, the teller of wonderful folk-
tales ! " Why art thou not more appreciated
and better cared for ?" I wondered as I ventured
to put her in a position of being able to pay off
that "lousy ha'p'ny."

" No, no, kind gentleman," she objected ; but
her protest was in vain.

" Weel, weel," she assented, " I hae naethin'
I can gi'e ye ;" and then added as an afterthought,
"ye'll no be angry if I offer ye a wee pocket
naipkin, kind sir, wud ye ?"

Who could have refused grannie's thoughtful
kindness ? and as she shouldered her " ?-ooskie "
lightened, one felt glad to think by a rare " wee
pocket naipkin," she left also this benediction
behind her, "May God bless you, kind gentle-

24

37° The Tinkler-Gypsies.

man, an' mony thenks, \vi' great kindness."
But had I incurred the displeasure of this
modern " Meg MerriHes," her parting shot in
the cant language used by the Galloway Tinklers
would likely have been, " May the been gaugi
sallach ye " (May God curse you).

The Old Tinkler Wife's Folktales.*

JoHx THE Fisherman.

Well, then, John and Janet were man and
wife, and lived for a long considerable time
together, far langer than I'll tell you or you'll
tell me. The weather came on very stormy,
very coorse. Old John went down with his
creel every day to the shore. He carried his
creel down thinking he would get fish to carry
home. He went for a long, long time, but he
could get no fish. The weather was coorse and
stormy, and there was no fish to be got. He
said one night to old Janet, his wife :

" Our fire's done and our meat's done, and
how are we going to live ?"

" I don't know. We'll starve now, but our
neighbours are as bad as ourselves. They
can't help."

' See " Huuipty and the King of the Fairies," recorded at
pp. 21)8-301 of the former edition of this hook, and " The King of
the Fairies," recorded in tlie Galloiiiay Gazette of 14th June, 1904,
and " Tlie Enchanted Man" and " Nan Gordon,'" to he recorded
in a future nuniljer of Tht Gypiy Lore Journal.

John the Fisherman. 371

" I'll tell you what I'm for doing, Janet. I'll
lift my creel again in the morning, and go down
to the boat and try my luck again, and do you
know what I'm going to do, wifie ?"

" No, John."

" Well, Janet, I'm going to commit suicide ;
and, Janet, you'll take a chair and put it below
one of the hooks that we hang the meat on in
the winter, and you'll put a rope over the hook
and commit suicide, too, and never die of
hunger. If I'm not home at five o'clock you'll
know that I'm not coming back."

" Weel, John, I'll watch :or you till the last
minute, and if I don't see you I'll take your
advice. I couldn't live without you. Honestly
I'll do what you tell me."

" Honestly, Janet, I believe you. We'll
shake hands. We shall part in love and unity,
auld wife and husband, maybe to meet and
maybe never again."

" Providence go with you. I hope that my
blessing and my good wishes will follow you.
We'll just trust in Providence."

John got his creel on his back and went off
to his boat. He fished and fished and fished
up and down and up and down, but could get
nothing.

" I'll not deceive my wife. What I told her
I would do I will do. Where will I get a deep

372 The Tinkler-Gypsies.

enough place to go in ? Will I pray before I go
in ? Yes, I'll have to make a wee prayer. I'll
just walk up and down and look at the water."

So he walked up and down by his boat and
by his creel, and was just going to make the
plunge when a gentleman came up— a very
dressy gentleman :

" You're looking very melancholy to-day.
What's the matter with you ?"

" Oh, sir, I needna tell you."

" Why ?"

" You could do nothing for me."

" Tell me your complaint and perhaps I may
relieve you."

" \\'ell, then, Janet and I have been such a
period of years married, and I've gone out
every day for so long a time, and I can get no
fish, and our house is in starvation, and I told
Janet when I left her this morning that she was
to hang herself if I wasn't home at five o'clock,
and I would commit suicide, too. I would go
in the water."

" That won't do at all. If you'll give me the
gift I'll ask of you I'll make you the richest man
in the whole woild."

"But I have nothing. I tell you I'm in
starvation."

" Would you give me what I ask of you ?"

"Well, sir, when are you going to tell me the

John the Fishennan. 373

request you want of me ? I haven't a thing in
the house you could go and see, but if you'll
ask it in decency I'll give heed, to save my old
wife and myself."

" Well, all I ask of you is the first-born son
your wife has."

" Man, Janet and I have been away about
I no years married and we never had one, and
you know perfectly that I'm too old and done."

" Will you promise to give me your first-born
son at the age of 18. You'll want for nothing.
I'll allow you servants to attend Janet, and you
men-servants and women-servants."

" I'll do that," quoth he. " It's easy to pro-
mise that."

" Well, John, I've got all I request of you at
present, but remeaiber your son's mine at the
age of 18."

" Honestly I'll give you that, for I'll never
have one."

" Do you know what you're to do now,
John ?"

'' I hope you'll give me the riches now, sir."

" Get your fishing lines. Throw them into
the water in front of you."

John cast the lines in (imitating throwing
nets).

" Pull them out now."

John gave them a pull. He can scarcely

374 The Tinkler-Gypsies.

draw them in, they are so heavy with fish. He
put the fish into his boat.

"Throw again, John."

If the first catch was heavy, this is far
heavier. He can scarcely get it out.

" Cast your lines again, John."

If the second catch was heavy, the third
was much more so. John could scarcely get
the fish out. He lay down and sat down and
pulled and pushed and pulled and pushed till
he got it into the boat.

" \\'ell, then, John, do you know what you
are going to do now with these fish ?"

"Sell them, Janet and I. I'll take the fish
home. Our neighbours are in as great starva-
tion. Janet'U be for giving a fish to this one
and to that one."

" But you're not to let her give the fish away
till she sits down, takes the heads off them,
cleans them and guts thjin."

" Well, sir, we can do that, but fish don't sell
well wanting heads ; still I'm very much obliged
for your advice."

Well, then, John got liis creel on his back
and started for home, but it was so heavy that
his knees and his nose nearly met. Janet was
putting the chair underneath the hook to
commit suicide, when she looked out of the
window and saw John coming.

Jdlin the Fisherman. ^ilS

"Oh, there's my John," and she ran to meet
him " What a load of fish, John ! My word,
but .ve're gentry !"

" Ay, and the boat's loaded full, Janet. Ye'll
have to get a creel as well as me and carry your
loads as well, wifie, till we get them all home."

" I'll do that, John. Surely something good's
come our way to-day."

They went back and forward to and from the
boat until it was empty. Janet said :

" We'll give so and so and so and so, our
neighbours in starvation."

" Janet, you won't give a fish of them away,
lassie. A gentleman allowed me to get them.
You'll gut them along with me, and then you
can give them to whom you think fit."

" Well, John, I'll do that, boy ; I'll do it to
please you. "You're a very good old man."

" I'm very proud o' you, Janet, that you were
not away before I came back."

" I saw you coming, John, and I thought I'd
run and meet you."

They sat down and gut, head, and clean
the fish, and nothing came out of the fish but
gold and silver, and diamonds and silver and
precious money.

" Oh, John, John, we're gentry for life. You
and I have plenty now. We'll not see our
neighbciurs hunger, John."

376 The Tinkhr-Gypsies

"Divide your fish now, Janet. The ger de-
man told me far more, but I'm not going to
tell you what he said. Ha, ha, ha I" (He was
laughing at what the gentleman said about the
baby, and him being so long married and never
had one.) " Ha, ha, Janet ; but I'll no tell ye
all the crack I got."

" Very well, John ; I'm no going to ask you
anything."

She gave the fish away, divided and divided
and divided to save life.

They were going along the shore to the boat,
and found .a beautiful sununer cottage, with
men servants and women servants, but John
kept his boat and his creel. He fetched them
and laid them up foment the house. ^Vell,
they got this most beautiful cottage, and it came
about like the old gentleman had said. They
were only one year and one day in this cottage
when Janet had a fine young son. Oh, that son
was the nicest and finest that ever was ! W'lien
he grew eld enough they put him to school.
He got extra education more than plenty —
everything of the best. John drove him in the
machine to school, and drove him back from
school. The young man was now between 16
and 17 years old. The father was sitting out-
side one day looking at his boat and his old
fishing creel when ttie old man's words canie to

John the Fisherman. 377

his mind. He remembers the hunger and want
of that day, and look nt the state he is in now !
'J'hat was a year and a day before his son was
born. The father thought the Hght of day was
too much to shine on this son. ^\'ell, he thought
of the gentleman's words, and he fell into a
kind of doldrum, and John walked up and down
and back and forward talking to no individual.
Young John, when he came home from school,
Avould look at his fiither and think that he
wasn't so bright and cheery as he used to be.
Janet one day said to their son :

" There must be something materially wrong
with your da. Have you offended him in any
way, for your da's so melancholy, not talking to
me at all. From the time you go to school he
never gives me any talk. He just walks up and
walks down, and never speaks to me.''

" No, mother ; consciously I haven't done
anything to vex him."

" We'll ask him to-night when you come
houie from the school what's wrong." Well,
night comes on, and the son comes home
from school. When tea-time's past, John
sits down in his old chair with his auld wife
gey near hand him, and their son sitting by
the fire.

" Wei!, John, I've been your wife for a long
time, and I uould like to know what's wrong

3/8 The Tmkler-Gypsies.

with you. Have we done anything to vex you —
have we assaulted (insulted) you in any way ?
What makes you so melancholy in my com-
pany ?"

" Well, Janet, I'll tell ye what's wrong. Dinna
vex yersel', wifie ; ye've never done any wrong
to me. Ye've aye been a guid wife. I'll tell you
what's wrong. Do you remember the time
when you and I were in starvation?"

"Yes, well?"

" We hadn't that boy till we were very old.
I am proud of my son. I'm frightened to tell
you, but I must tell you. The day that I
fetched the boat of fish home, Janet, the gentle-
man said that the first-born son we had, he was-
to get him at the age of i8. He's 17 past, and^
Janet, we'll have to lose our boy."

" And when will the man come for the boy^
John T

" I don't know."

"Well, father," said the son after he had
heard the story, '" I'm going to take my bonnet
off and make my obedience to you. Mother,,
give me that table and my religious books."

" V^es, dear son."

" Mother, hand them all to me. Fetch yon
wee round table and la\ it down there."

She laid the table down and all his good
book=.

John the Fishertnan. 379

" When is my time to be, father, that I have
to go with this gentleman ?"

" So and so."

" I'll not go."

"But, son, you'll have to go."

" Well, well, father, we'll see when the time
comes."

The time wears up and wears up. The ap-
pointed day comes that the son has to go away.

" Aie you coming to convoy me, father V

" I'm coming to see you go away, my son."

'' But, father, you won't see me go away. I'm
coming home to my mother and you, along witb
you,"

" Well, son, I hope your words will be true,
but I am frightened."

Well, away father and son went this morning,
down to the shore to meet this gentleman.
The son took the small table with him, and his-
precious good books. He set the table down
on the shore and spread out his books on the
table. He went back and fetched two chairs.
He took a stick in his hand and went round
and round the table and chairs — a chair for his
father and one for himself^and drew a circle on
the sands. Very good.

"Sit down, now, father, and take your Bible,
and I have mine, and we have always our trust
here."

380 The Tinkler-Gypsies.

Father and son rtad and read the Scripture.

Up comes this man, dressed as he was before.

" I have come," he says.

" What have you come for?" says the young
gentleman.

" I bought you. You are my property. I
paid for you one year and a day before you
were either gotten or born.''

" \^ery good," said the young gentleman,
^'you bought me. Read on your Bible, father."
He looks at the leaves of his book again. He
looks up. '"Begone, Satan '" he says. "You
have no power over me more than you have
over any other young man. Begone !''

Satan rushed into the sea gnashing his teeth,
wringing his hands, tearing his hair, and fire
blowing out of his mouth, and eye'^, and nostrils.

'I'he Enchanted Castle.

There was a great gentleman, and he had
lived a long considerable time in this castle, but
he had left it owing to its being m some way
disturbed. He got a castle repaired at some
distance off it, and went to live there. He
would give any amount of monev to any indi-
vidual who would stay in this casllc for three
nights. There was plenty waited one n'ght,
but couldn't wait the second. .\ poor man, a

The Ejwhanted Castle. 381

traveller, heard of this great handsome sum of
money. He thought to himself that it would be
his provided he could come to the castle and
stay in it three nights his lone. He got plenty
of victuals, fire, light, everything he liked,
except company.

"I shall," he says to hmiself, " I shall take
the chance and see if I can earn this great sum
of money." He went and told the gentleman
that he would be thankful to go to the castle.
There was a man of business sent with him.
Great fires were put on. He had plenty of
victuals— everything he required. Night came
on, and he sat by the fire. He was disturbed
by a noise.

" I'll see what that noise is,'' he said to him-
self. He rose and opened the door. Well,
then, he saw a lot of steps. He went to the
bottom of the steps, but saw nothing.

" Tuts ! it's imagination." He turned and
came up, and there was all sorts of dancing and
music in the kitchen, but he could see nothing.

" It must be imagination," he said to himself.
He sat down again, but there was something
annoying him. He got up, and a man came to
him without a head. The old man looked at
him and said :

" What do you come to torment me for ? Go,
Satan ! Begone by the name of the Lord !" The

382 The Tinkler-Gypsies.

headless man departed. He sat down again,
and was reading when there was a great noise
down this stair again. He opened the door
and walked with a light in his hand. He could
«ee nothing. He gave up. When he was
coming up the stair again someone blew the
light out in his hand. He moved forward to
the kitchen fire. He turned to look round him,
and saw a woman dressed all in black. He
said :

" What shall your request be ?"

" 1 was killed here," she said, " for the sake
of my money, and my money is here, and as
you have spoken to me I shall tell you where
you'll find it. You'll go down to that cellar
and lift a flag at the back of the door, and
you'll find a crock. That is where my money
is contained, and you shall get it for speaking
to me. I'll bid you good-bye, and I'll go to
rest. Nothing more shall disturb this castle."
She departed. He said to himself :

" I'll go down and take a light and see if it
is the case. It must be imagination. I'll go
and make myself perfect."

He went to the cellar and found the f!ag
half-lifted. He lifted the flag to the floor and
found the crock with a wooden lid on it. He
fetched it upstairs and laid it on the kitchen
table. This was the second night. The third

The Enchanted Castle. 383

•day the gentleman came to him and asked
him :

" How did you rest last night, and how did
you get on ? Did anything disturb you ?"

" Nothing disturbed me," he said.

"This is your last night. You have been
very clever. I hope you will be able to put in
this night."

" Oh, yes, I'll manage to-night."

Everything was renewed for his comfort
through the night. He walked about and sat
down, but heard and saw nothing till next
morning. Then a wee young child, a' cled in
white, came to him, and he said :

" In the name of God, wee baby, where do
you come from, and what do you want?"

" My mamma came to you last night and
told you where her gear lay. She forgot to tell
you where mine lay. You lift a brick off the
hob. One brick you draw out and put your
hand in and you shall get my fortune."

" You wee dear lamb, will I do it now ?"

" Yes, do it now."

"Well, good-bye, wee dear, and I hope you
•will rest."

" I'm going to mamma. I'll find good rest
now," and he went away.

The man drew a brick out and put his hand
in at the side of the fire and pulled out a large

384 The Ti/ik/e/ -Gypsies.

hook. And in this book was paper money
iincountalDle. He laid it on the table. In the
morning the gentleman came across from the
other castle and opened the door and walked in.

" How did 30U rest last night ? Did any-
thing disturb you? Did you hear or see any-
thing?"

" Well, please your honour, I did ; but
whether I should tell you or not, 1 do not
know."

" \\'hat did you see ?"

" The first night I saw a gentleman wanting
a head.'"

" And what did you see the second night?"

" A handsome lady, dressed all in black,
with gold chains and bracelets hanging all
round her. I asked her, in the name of God,
what she was coming to me for ? She told me she
was killed in this castle for her riches, and she
couldn't get rest to lie in the grave till she told
some one where this money was. Well, then,
there was a little beautiful wee baby dressed all
in white. It ne\cr spoke till I spoke to it. I
said :

" In the name of God, wee baby, where do
you come from, and what do you want?"

It said, " I am so proud that you spoke to
me. You had my mamma last night, and you
spoke with strength to my mamma. She told

The Enchanted Castle.

385

you where her vakie lay, and my mamma's in
rest. But my mamma didn't tell you where my
fortune lay. As you have spoken to me I'll
tell you : You'll draw one brick out of the side
of the hobstone, and you'll put your band in
and you shall find my fortune there. Ta, ta,
I'm going to rest, to my mamma."

25

CHAPTER X.

( Tune — " Clout the Caudroii." )

" My bonny lass, I work in brass,

A Tinkler is my station ;
I've travelled round all Christian ground,

In this my occupation ;
I've ta'en the gold, and been enrolled

In many a noble squadron :
l)ut vain they searched when off I march'd

To go and clout the caudron."

From Burns's '.lolly Beggars

ROM what race or races are the
Tinklers descended ? That is a
question to which, in the light of the
present incomplete state of informa-
tion on the subject, only an imper-
fect and conjectural answer can be
given. A great deal of data has already been
amassed, but much still lies awaiting its gather-
ing, and we wish, by adding our humble quota,
to strengthen the chain of evidence, and also
by arranging and focussing such evidence as
has already been gathered, to help forward
the solution of the above cjuery. By-and-bye,
when completer information has been recorded
regarding the various gangs of Tinklers, those

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From an old Painting representing Burns's
" Jolly Beggars "

In possession of Thomas Ferguson. Esii., Seiford, Kilmarnock.

388 The Ti)ikl€7--Gypsies.

competent to analyse and pass judgment upon
such information will probably be able to give
an authoritative answer to the problem.

Mr David MacRitchie, author of Ancient and
Moder7t Britons, has, in this discussion as in
many others of a similar kind, borne the brunt
of the work at a period of its history when
information was scarce and more widely scattered.
As an eminent Antiquary and Gypsiologist, he
possesses rare qualities for the conduct of such
an enquiry. Of those who incline to the view
that there were Gypsies in Scotland prior to the
arrival, about the year 1505, of the wave of
Romani-speaking Gypsies, Mr MacRitchie (in
his Scottish Gypsies itnder the Stewarts), like a
zealous pioneer, has so patiently and skilfully
amassed and arranged the facts upon which he
bases his conclusions that the task of others
taking part in the discussion must always be
very much simplified.

There is no mistaking the Tinkler. His folk
are unmistakably something different from
the ordinary inhabitants of the country. We
may be deceived by descriptions we read
of peoples who have lived and ceased to be.
Antiquaries may try to clothe the skeleton,
and may even succeed tolerably well, but we
are never quite sure whether or not the descrip-
tion is absolutely truthful. With the Tinkler

Orv^in of Tink/er-Gypsies. 389

race we have at least the advantage of studying
their appearance, characteristics, and history
from the live models, and the most casual
observer cannot fail to note a strangeness and
uncommonness in the appearance of those
so-called " common " Tinklers :

" O mark them well when next the group you see
In vacant barn or resting on the lea ;
They are the remnants of a race of old ;
Spare not the trifle for your fortune told."

But Hogg goes on to say that the Gypsies were
descended from the Israelites — a contention
still considered highly probable by many
believers in the testimony of traiition, and
the Gyi'sies themselves have a tradition that
they hail from Egypt, but one which has not
so far been proved to be founded on fact.

Whence, then, arises that unmistakable
strangenes-s in the Tinklers' appearance 1

Habit and environment have undoubtedly
played their part, but we consider that the
strangeness in their appearance arises princi-
pally from a two-fold source, namely, from the
lineage of the Tinkler element and from the
lineage of the Gypsy element in the composite
breed of Tinkler-Gypsies It is generally con-
ceded that Romani-speaking Gypsies must either
have originally hailed from Hindustan, or at
all events their forebears must have sojourned

Origin of Tiiik/ef-Gvpsies. 391

there for a very long period indeed. Their
appearance, characteristics, and the preponder-
ance of Hindustani words in Romanes conspire
to prove that.

Although for. brevity's sake we use throughout
this book the word " Tinkler " to denote
"Tinkler-Gypsy," in discussing this question
we have preferred to use the expression
" Tinkler-Gypsies '' in place of the generic and
loosely-applied word " Gypsies." The use of
that latter word has probably been caused by
the haziness and incompleteness of the informa-
tion hitheito at the disposal of students of the
subject, but such use is undoubtedly misleading.
Petulengro (Smith) was not so far out when he
said there isn't "a drop of real Komani blood
in the whole of Engaland," for it is perhaps
impossible to find a pure-bred Romani-speaking
Gypsy in England. But there are certainly
people known by the name of " Gypsies."
Gypsiologists may not even be at one as to
whom should be included under such a name.
Simson, the author of the excellent History of the
Scottish Gypsies, is at great pains in marshalling
his facts to prove, and in harping upon, his
theory, " Once a Gypsy always a Gypsy,"
no matter though the family may have nine-
tenths Gorgio (house-dweller) blood in their
veins and have been settled in houses for

Origin of Tinkler-Gypsies. 393

many generations. But be the prepotency
of transmission ever so strong in the Romani-
speaking Gypsy race, the majority of Mr
Simson's readers would go on holding to the
popular notion that a Gypsy is a Gypsy only so
long as he continues — in the exercise of his most
distinctive characteristic — to roam about the
country and live in tents or vans. So that we
must be careful to avoid, as far as possible, this
ambiguity which arises through the various
readers holding different definitions of the word
Gypsy.

Mr MacRitchie, on the other hand, in his
Ancient and Modern Britons and Scottish Gypsies
under the Stetvarts, while he seeks to prove a
little more proves at least, we think, that there
were in Scotland, prior to the wave of Romani-
speaking Gypsies of 1505, so called Gypsies, or,
to put it more specifically, Tinklers having
characteristics similar to the Romani-speaking
Gypsies. But then his definition of the word
" Gypsies " is so elastic as to admit of the
proposition that Tinklers are Gypsies. He comes
practically to the same conclusion in discussing
the question as to the date of the arrival of the
Romani-speaking Gypsies in Europe. " In
effect," says Mr MacRitchie, " the inference to
be drawn from all these statements is that if the
Gypsies did not enter Western Europe until the

394 The Tvikk/'-Gypsies.

fifteenth century they found on their arrival
there that the ground was already occupied by
a caste whose cha^acteristic!^ were those of the
Gypsies themselves."''* It has been shown by
other writers that there were Tinklers in this
country prior to the arrival of the wave of
Romani-speaking Gypsies of whom Mr Crofton,
in his excellent monograph Engiisk Gypsies
under the Tudcrs,''' shows the following, quoted
by Pitcairn from the accounts of the Lord High
Treasurer of Scotland, to be the first authentic-
British record :

" 1505, April 22. Item to the Egyptianis be
the Kingis command, vij. lib."

Mr Crofton also says :

"It is at present by no means certain when
the Gypsies made their first appearance in
England. According to the views of Mr
Kilgour, as expressed in several letters to Notes
and Queries (London : Fifth Series, vol. iii.)
in 1876, Gypsies have been in these islands
from prehistoric ages. His chief reasons seem
to be that they are called Tinklers in Scotland,
and Ipswich used to be spelled Gippeswic. He
also believes that Hungary derives its name
from Zingari I Tinkler can be traced back to
about the year 1200. Tinker and Tinkler were
not uncommon titles at that time. Between the
years 11 65 and 1214 James 'Tinkler' held

s ?

396 The Tinkler-Gypsies.

land in the town of Perth (Liber Ecclesie de Scofi,
Edinburgh, 1843); ''"' 1265 Editha le ' Tyne-
kere ' h'ved at WaUingford, in Berkshire (Hist.
MSS. Com., 6th report, 1878); \n 1273 a
'Tincker' and MVilliam de Tyneker' hved in
Huntingdonshire (Dnvers Patronyin. Brit.,
from Hund , Rot.); and before 1294 Ralph
Tincler had a house in Morpeth, in Northum-
berland (Hist. MSS. Com., 6th report, 1878).
All these seem to have had fixed abodes, and
not to have been of the same itinerant class
with which we now associate all 'I'inklers, and
which used to require the epithet ' wandering '
to distinguish them. The fact is the prehistoric
English Gypsy existence is very soon reached.
All is surmise beyond the year 1500, though it
is by no means improbable that the race sent
scouts across the channel from France even
before 1400, which is the date suggested by M.
Paul Bataillard ( De P Apparition des Bohe miens
en Eui'ope, Paris, 1S44, p. 53)."

It should be noted, however, that Tinklers
often — as was the case with Billy Marshall
— possess a house into which they retire for
a few weeks in the dead of winter, and that
fact may readily account for the Tinklers
referred to l»y Mr Crofton having fixed ahodes.
And further, Mr Crofton points out : — '"

"All (iyi)sies may be pedlars, braziers, or
Tinklers, but the reverse may not follow."

Origin of Tin kler- Gypsies . 397

Tinklers, then, it has been proved, existed in
this country prior to 1505, but the further and
more difficult problems to decide, as to (i)
whether or not Tinklers were originally a
Romani-speaking race, or (2) whether the
Romani words in Tinklers' cant were introduced
by a wave of Romani-speaking Gypsies of 1505
or by an anterior wave, still await to be solved.

The Tinklers, like the Irish Crinks, are, as
Mr Groome puts it, " but half and halfs, or
rather a thimbleful of Romani to a bucket of
Gorgio blood." '' The blood of this country
undoubtedly bulks largely in their veins. But
whence arises that so-called Gorgio (house-
dweller) element in the Tinkler ? Tinklers,
like Gypsies of the Romani-speaking order, go
through very little ceremony in entering into
marriage. In most cases they merely take one
another's word as constituting marriage. They
are, however, as a rule like the Romanies in
preferring to marry one of their own kind.
They seldom marry outsiders, and too often
marry one of their own gang. As has been
observed in a former chapter, marriage with
cousins is of very frequent occurrence, and has
much to do with the deterioration of the race.
The preponderance of the so-called Gorgio
element is not likely, then, to have come through
marriage with house-dwellers. Upon this phase

Orij^in of Tinkler-Gypsies. 399

of the question the fact that Tinklers had a
secret language of their own, and still have the
same in a more or less decadent state, has, as
will afterwards be shown, an important bearing
upon the question.

We see the process of fusion between
Romani-speaking Gypsies and these ancient
cant-speaking Tinklers in force when Johnnie
Faw, as a captain of a gang many of whose
names were clearly Romani-Gy[)sy names, peti-
tioned the King. Mr David MacRitchie has
shown in his Ancient and Modern Britonsi^'^ that
Faws — a synonym for Tinklers — existed in this
country long before the arrival of the wave of
Romani-speaking Gypsies of 1505 — and surely
"Johnnie" was never a Gypsy name brought
with them from the Continent ? Anthony
Gagino, or Gavino, the first Lord of Little
Egypt of whom we read (July, 1505) in the
history of the British Isles, may or may not
have been of British extraction, but there can
be no mistake that when Johnnie Faw as Lord
and Earl of Little Egypt succeeded in getting
King James the V., on 17th February, 1540, to
befriend Gypsies, a fusion had taken place
between the Romani-speaking Gypsies and the
Faw or Tinkler caste.

Mr David MacRitchie, in his Scottish Gypsies
under the Steivarts^'"^ states that the word " Faw "

4CC The Tinkle?- Gypsies.

means " paiti-coloured " (referring to the colour
of an ancient race in the same wa}' as the word
"pict" — painted people — does), and was also
applied to muggers, Tinklers, and potters, and
suggests, on the testimony of Harry the Minstrel,
that there were P'aws in the Biggar district
during the 13th century.

There can be no doubt that the Marshalls
have also Gypsy blood in their veins. The
appearance of the various members of the
family prove it, and the presence of many
Romani words in their cant confirms it. Tra-
dition relates that the Marshalls have been
Tinkle IS in Galloway "time out of mind ";*''and
it is likely that there were Tinkler Marshalls in
Galloway in 1505.

When pressed by legal persecution most
Gypsies looked out for new names, and in
cases where Romani-speaking Gypsies joined
with the pre-existing roving bands of Tinkler
Britons they would naturally assume the name
of the caste with whom they threw in their lot,
and thenceforth the Gypsies with real Romani
names would take such names as Faw, Baillie,
Gordon, Marshall, Blythe, Macafie, Newlands,
Maxwell, Yorstoun, Graham, MacMillan, Ken-
nedy, Stewart, Scot, Ruthven, Young, Wilson,
MacDonald, Macpherson, Campbell, Douglas,
Watson, Wilson, M'Laren, Baxter, Neil, White,
Norris, and so forth.

Man ha lis' Gy/^sv Strain. 401

Borrow has some fanciful names — not often
known to the Gypsies themselves — for Gypsy
tribes.**^ The Marshalls he names Bwigyorers —
(cutters of bungs or corks) — but these must
be lost arts to the Scotch tribe of Marshalls, and
he name is no longer applicable to them unless
the drawing of corks could be said to entitle
them to retain it !

In this connection it is interesting to note
that Mr Groome regards some of the Gypsy
names given in the Privy Seal records as
fictitious or nicknames, e.g., Tovvla Bailyow —
— tulla baulo, fat pig (but c.f. bailo, pronounced
baifyo, Russian Gypsy for " white ").-'-

Not only are the Marshalls possessed of
the same blood as Romani-speaking Gypsies,
but it is probable that they were related to the
Faas. We have seen from a former chapter
(p. 42) that Billy Marshall had a daughter
Jean, who was one of the many wives of Piper
Allan. In the Life of James Allan, already
alluded to, the following account of the nuptials
is given : — -■'

"Allan next arrived at Moffat, where he met
a Gypsy girl, who had been mending china and
telling fortunes in that neighbourhood for
several weeks. His manly appearance, added
to the sweetness of his melody, soon captivated
the heart of the vagrant brunette, and after an

2(5

402

The Tinkler-Gypsies.

acquaintance of a few hours they agreed to be
united, and were pledged (the Gypsy mode of
marriage) in the presence of a gang of muggers,
who were vendinar their earthenware in the

Piper Allan.

iThe Pipes live now in the possession of !\[r John I.illey,
I);irinth Terraie, Tyne Dock, South Shiel Is.)

same place. Several days were spent in merri-
ment amongst the Faa gatig on account of the
nuptials."

But it would appear from the following
account that the charms of the vagrant brunette
soon ceased to fascinate Allan, and he out-

Marshalls related to the Fans. 403

gypsied his Gypsy consort by robbing her of
several pounds and then deserting :

" Allan now determined to break his connec-
tion with this gang, and although he \vas amply
supplied with cash, having preserved most of
what he had brought from Annan, yet knowing
that his wife had several pounds in her posses-
sion, his covetous disposition prevailed over
better feeling, and he hastened back to where
he had left her, contrived to steal her pockets
during the night while she slept, and took his
departure for Edinburgh in a bleak winter night
through a trackless country and an unknown
path ; impressed at the same time with a dread
of encountering any of Will Marshall's strollers.
During his dreary walk he took a retrospect of
his former misspent life, and such is human
inconsistency after the commission of a very
mean and unfeeling action, he made a solemn
vow to reform, provided he ever reached a
place of security. It is not, therefore, wonder-
ful that on drawing near to Edinburgh his
evil propensities began to return and gather
strength."

To complete the chain of evidence to show
that the Marshalls are probably related to the
Faas let us turn to George Borrow's description
of his visit to Queen Esther Blythe or Faa C^

" I asked her if she had not seen some queer

404 The Tinkler-Gypsies.

folks at Yetholm in her grandfather's time.
' Dosta, dosta,' said she, ' plenty, plenty of queer
folk I saw at Yetholm in my grandfather's
time, and not the least queer is he who is

Esther Faa Blythe, late Queen of the
Scotch Gypsies.

il!y kiml iicniiissioii of The Century C'o., rninn ISiiuare, New York.)

asking nic questions.' ' Did you ever see Piper
Allan ?' I said ; ' he was a great friend of your
grandfather's.' ' I never saw him,' she replied ;
'but I have often heard of him. He married
one of our people.^ 'He did so,' said I, 'and
the marriage feast was held on the green just

Tinklers rehiied to Broken Clans. 405

behind us. He got a good clever wife, and she
got a bad, rascally husband. One night, after
taking an affectionate farewell of her, he left her
on an expedition, with plenty of money in his
pocket, which he had obtained from her and
which she had procured by her dexterity. After
going about four miles he bethought himself
that she had still money, and returning crept up
into the room in which she lay asleep and stole
her pocket, in which were eight guineas ; then
slunk away and never returned, leaving her in
poverty, from which she never recovered.' "

Probably, therefore, one of Billy's many wives
was a Faa.

Mr MacRitchie, in his Ancient and Modern
Britons, shows that the ancient races of Britons
were like to Romanies, and that many of the
foregoing Tinkler names are those of broken
clans.

There is a tradition about the waning of the
power of the House of Douglas, once the most
powerful in Scotland, which is often cited as
the first reference to Ciypsies in the history of
Scotland. Crawfurd states that, after having been
forfeited in the middle of the fifteenth century :-''

" The Barony of Bombie was again received
by the MacClellans after this manner : In the
same reign (that of James the Second of Scot-
land), says an author of no small credit (Sir

4o6 The Tinkler-Gypsies.

George Mackenzie in his Baronage MS.), it
happened that a company of Saracens or Gypsies
from Ireland infested the country of Galloway,
whereupon the King emitted a Proclamation
bearing ' Tkaf w/ioever should disperse them, and
bring in the Captain dead or alive, should have
the Barony of Bombie for his reward! So it
chanced that a brave young gentleman, the
Laird of Bombie's son, fortuned to kill the
person for which the reward was offered, and
he brought his head on the point of his sword
to the King, and thereupon he was immediately
seized (vested) in the Barony of Bombie; to
perpetuate the memory of that brave and re-
markable action he took for his crest a more's
head on the point of a sword, and think on
for his motto."

In Sir George Mackenzie's account, in the
Science of Herauldry,^*' an older authority ( 1680),
the word Gypsy is not employed, but he adds
"to the killer of whom (the more — the captain
of the gang) the King promised the forfeiture of
Bombie, and thereupon was restored to his
father's lands as his evidents yet testifie." A
diligent search has been made — through the
Lyon King of Arms, Captain Hope, and the
present descendants of the MacClellans — but
no such "evidents" can be discovered, and so
we must trust to the accuracy of tradition.

1 he Black More Tradilioii. 407

The late Mr MacClellan, London, who was
the authority upon the history of the Mac-
Clellans, was also a firm believer in the
authenticity of the trcidition. His son, Mr
G. P. MacClellan, Baragali, Murree Hills, Pun-
jaub, says that his father gives the date of the
foileiture as 1452, and of the reinstatement as
1455, ^^<^ adds :"'

" You will note that both dates are given
straight out ; I lay stress on this point, as in
several places where he was not absolutely
certain of the dates they are left blank, and
when making any statement of the truth of
which he is in any doubt he invariably lets the
reader see that that is the case ; in this story he
does not do so, and I [personally am therefore
sure that he had good grounds for his state-
ments."

Mr MacRitchie supplies the key to explain
the tradition.*'' The Black Douglas had caused
a ]MacClellan to be hanged by a rope from a
projecting stone in the Castle (Threave) wall,
yet to be seen, and took his dinner calmly
while his hangmen were doing so. The Black
Douglas had been making desperate attempts
to assert supremacy over iving James, and Mr
MacRitchie points out that it would be the
Black Douglases, and not the King whom the
MacClellans had invariably befriended, who

4o8 The Tinkler-Gypsies.

had wrested from the MacClellans the lands of
Bombie and declared them to be forfeited.

Two years after the death of the cruel Earl,
his brother, the last Lord, was confronting the
army of King James in the open field. Douglas,
it appears, was deserted by his vassal lords and
their forces and fled into Annandale, where he
lurked till the following spring, 1455, and after-
wards escaped into England, from whence he
made several raids into (ialloway, and did not
die until 3^ years after the MacClellan's sword
had severed the more's head in Galloway.

It could not, therefore, Mr MacRitchie
points out, have been the nominal head of the
clan whom the young MacClellan killed. Mr
MacRitchie concludes that "The leaders of
the Black Douglases, when finally brought to
bay, were the chiefs brothers — the Earls of
Moray and of Ormond. Thus the Gypsy or
Moor of the MacClellan story was in all proba-
bility one of these. It may be that he was the
Earl of Moray, who was killed at the crushing
defeat of Arkinholme or Langholm — ' durked '
in Annandale, as the local tradition has it. But
it is much more likely that he was the third
brother, Hugh, Earl of Ormond, who is not
said to have been slain c)n the field of liattle as
was Moray, but to have been taken prisoner and
afterwards beheaded."

The Black More Tradition.

409

Doubtless the leader had retired with a
following of irreconcilable Douglases, and
amongst these we may not unreasonably assume
were at least Tinkler Douglases, if not Gypsies
as the tradition asserts.

Tradition, then, in this case, as in so many

Site of The Blackmorrow Well, near Kirkcudbright.

Photo I'J- A. M't'ormiok.

others, does not seem to be so far out. The
" more " would be a Tinkler — probably either
one of the Black Douglas race of Tinklers, or, as
tradition suggests, a man named Black Morrow,
of Irish Tinkler descent, who was first drugged
and then killed at the spot still known as
" The Blackmorrow ^^'ell." 'J'radition is sub-

4IO The Tinkler-Gypsies.

stantially correct, and if the word Tinkler had
been used in place of the word Gypsy, the tradi-
tion might be accepted as quite consistent with
present-day information. Tinklers may be
regarded as a kind of Gypsies, but they have
never been proved to be de facto Romani-
speaking Gypsies.

What could be more natural than that the
Douglases should, in the hour of defeat, come
lurking into the neighbourhood of their ancient
stronghold ? These various castes would ap-
pear, then, to have their origin partly in special
Tinkler castes of ancient clans, and partly, but
we think to a small extent only, in irreconcilable
broken men of ancient clans. These irreconcil-
ables would, for protection and concealment,
join in with these wandering Tinklers or Tink-
ler-Gypsies, who, probably, vassal-like, also bore
clan names, and in this way tlie Tuiklers or
Tinkler-Gyps'es may in some few cases be
actually related by comparatively recent alli-
ances to some of the chief families in the
country.

In the same way if we look at the Tinklers
of Ireland we will find that they go under such
names as Fury, Somers, Reilly, M'Donald,
Casey, Gorman, Hind-;, Martin, Noon, Joyce,
Tocher, Mayb.irry, Fennau^hty, .M'Morron,
Royans, Donnaghue, Murray, Hunter, and
so on.

MarshaUs probably of Piclish Descent. 4 ( r

These names were all given by an Irish
Tinkler, and he mentioned that Smith was a
recent importation of English Gypsies. Doubt-
less the Tinklers of England acquired their
names in a similar manner. Until quite recently
many of the Tinklers in Scotland gave them-
selves out as being connected with some of the
old clans. With some it might have been an
illegitimate connection, with others it might
have been that founded upon similarity of race.
As may be gathered from what has already
been said, the Douglas Tinklers are probably
partly descended from the broken men of the
Black Douglas race and partly from a caste (of
metal workers) thereof known as Tinklers.
Similarly with the Marshalls. The name is
certainly not Pictish, but might have been
acquired subsequently. That the Picts were
finally overthrown in Galloway, and at the forti-
fied promontory of the Mull of Galloway, tends
to confirm the tradition about the Mai-shalls
being descended from the Picts. Has history,
however, ever recorded a case where a race was
extinguished to a man by being defeated in
battle ? Many Picts would be absent from that
battle, and many who were present would
escape. Many would also — as we hear of going
on at present in the case of the conquered
Boers — marry into the conquering race. Mr

412 The Tinkler-Gypsies.

MacRitchie again comes to the rescue with a
valuable suggestion by pointing out that the
Picts of Galloway were relentless foes of Bruce ;
that John Mareschal (1346-7) was the first to
use the name Marshall as a surname, and that
he too was throughout one of Bruce's most
consistent enemies.'*" In that way Mr Mac-
Ritchie shows that it is highly probable that
Marshall became the. surname of a Pict.

Marshalls are probably descended from John
le Mareschal de Toskerton, who in the year
1296 swore fealty to Edward I.

Assuming that a number of the Picts did
escape, it would be quite natural that they
should be found where they were finally over-
thrown— in along the peninsula of which the
Mull of Galloway is the terminus. Toskerton
is situated in that peninsula in the parish of
Stoneykirk.

A Pict may liave distinguished himself and
been honoured by having the title of " Marshal "
conferred on him, and afterwards continued to
use Marshall as his surname ; or the Picts may
have for a generation or two held themselves
aloof and refused Icj intermair}- with their
conquerors, but eventually as the subject race
they would have to take shelter as vassals under
the conquerors. It was quite usual for the
vassals to take the name of their overlord, and

Kennedies are Tinkler- Scot-Gypsies. 413

so a Pictish name may have had to give place
to the name Marshall, or that result may have
been achieved by the marriage of a Pictess with
a Marshall, the bridegroom being probably a
Scot who, or an ancestor of whom, had distin-
guished himself and had been honoured by
being made a " Marshal."

The name Marshall may, then, have been
acquired directly or indirectly by their Pictish
ancestors.

So, too, with that other Tinkler tribe, the
Kennedies, now, alas ! extinct in Galloway. Mr
MacRitchie informs us that :'•"'

The most notable of all those who bore the
appellation of Kenneth, Kynadius, Kinat, or
Cinead was assuredly the son of Alpin, who
"was the first King of the Scots who acquired
the monarchy of the whole of Alban, and ruled
in it over the Scots." This was in the year
844, "the twelfth year of Kenneth's reign, and
the Chronicles of Huntingdon tells us that ' in
his twelfth year Kenneth encountered the Picts
seven times in one day, and having destroyed
many confirmed the kingdom to himself.'"
Thus by the year 844 "the blackherds of Scots
and Picts, somewhat different in manners, but
all alike thirsting for blood," had completely
fallen out amongst themselves, and the former
.had conquered the latter.

4^4 ^li<^ Tinkler-Gypsies.

A worthy successor to that fierce Kennedy
who encountered the Picts seven tmies in one
day and overcame them may be found in the
half Tinkler -Scot half Romany -Gypsy who
acquitted himself so courageously at the
battle of Hawick Brig.

From the gruesome and graphic account of it
given in Simson's History,^' it would appear that
in the early stages of the battle the Kennedies
and the Ruthvens, who were allied on the one
side, suffered badly at the hands of the Taits
and Gordon*;, the allies on the other. The
fight on that occasion must have been one of
brutal ferocity — the women as well as the men
sustaining terrible wounds. The courageous
old Andrew, with his bleeding myrmidons in
the rear, holding the bridge against the infu-
riated Taits and Gordons, affords a splendid
picture of spirited action — still awaiting its
painter ! Alexander Kennedy's part in the
fray is thus graphically described :

" Having now all the Taits, young and old,
male and female, to contend with, Kennedy,
like an experienced warrior, took advantage of
the local situation of the place. Posting him-
self on the narrow bridge of Hawick, he de-
fended himself in the defile, with his bludgeon,
against the whole of his infuriated enemies.
His handsome person, his undaunted bravery,

Tlie Battle of Haivick Brig. 415

his extraordinary dexterity in handling his
weapon, and his desperate situation (for it was
evident to all that the Taits thirsted for his
blood, and were determined to despatch him on
the spot), excited a general and lively interest in
his favour among the inhabitants of the town,
who were present and had witnessed the con-
flict with amazement and horror. In one dash
to the front, and with one powerful sweep of his
cudgel, he disarmed two of the Taits, and
cutting a third to the skull, felled him to the
ground. He sometimes daringly advanced
upon his assailant and drove the whole band
before him pell-mell. When he broke one
cudgel on his enemies by his powerful arm, the
townspeople were ready to hand him another.
Still the vindictive Taits rallied and renewed the
charge with unabated vigour : and everyone
present expected that Kennedy would fall a
sacrifice to their desperate fury. A party of
messengers and constables at last arrived to his
relief, when the Taits were all apprehended and
imprisoned ; but, as none of the Gypsies were
actually slain in the fray, they were soon set
at liberty."

The battle was renewed at Eskdale Moor,
when the Taits and Gordons appear to have
been " completely routed and driven from the
district in which they had attempted to travel
by force."

41 6 The Tinkler-Gypsies.

The Tinklers, as we have remarked, seldom
marry out of their own caste, and so amongst
Tinklers we are apt to find purer blood of the
ancient tribes than amongst those who, with
blood mixed by intermarriage, are entitled to
call themselves the titular, though nominal,
heads and chief families of these ancient tribes.

Kirk Yetholm, Headquarters of the
Scotch Gypsies.

In a remarkable letter (juoted in the Times
Herbert Spencer is said to have addressed the
following advice to liaron Kaneko in reply to a
question respecting the intermarriage of
foreigners and Japanese :

" To your remaining question respecting the
intermarriage of foreigners and Japanese, which
vou say is ' now very much agitated among our
scholars and politicians,' and which you say is

Mixed Racial Characteristics. 417

■* one of the most difficult problems,' my reply is
that, as rationally answered, there is no difficulty
at all. It should be positively forbidden. It
is not at root a question of social philosophy. It
is at root a question of biology. There is
abundant proof, alike furnished by intermarriage
of human races and by the interbreeding of
animals, that when varieties mingle beyond a
certain slight degree tiie ?-esult is inevitably a bad
one in the long run."

Is not that practically the result which
followed the intermarriage of Romani-speaking
Gypsies and Tinklers ? At first there were as
offspring some splendid physical types with wild
and mixed racial characteristics, but the type
has steadily deteriorated. One of such early
types was Matthew Baillie,"- who would steal a
horse from under the owner if he liked, but
always left the saddle and bridle — "A thorough
gentleman in his way, and six feet four in
stature."

Another was James Macpherson,*' the ancient
freebooter and musician, the offspring of a
beautiful Gypsy and a Highland gentleman,
who grew up in strength, stature, and beauty
seldom equalled. Macpherson is said to have
been executed, and when about to be hanged
he displayed both supreme contempt for death
and nobility of nature. It is said that when

27

Con. Cil.sun, CnMstlvaii)

Charles Faa Blythe, late King of the
Scotch Gypsies

Early Scotch Gypsy Types. 419

standing at the foot of the fatal tree he played
on his violin some of his favourite tunes, and
then turning to the crowd he enquired if he had
any friend to whom a last gift of his instrument
would be acceptable. As no friend came
forward, he broke the violin over his knee and
threw away the fragments :

" Sae rantonly, sae wantonly,
Sae daunlingly gaed he ;
He played a spring and danced it round
Below the gallows tree."

The courageous Alexander Kennedy, above
alluded to as the hero of the bloody battle of
Hawick Brig, and Billy Marshall himself, are
other splendid types of the offspring of such
early Tinkler-Gypsy intermarriage. On the
female side similar splendid types^, such as
" The Duchess Jean " and Madge Gordon,^*
resulted. Madge Gordon, who was, in her day^
"accounted Queen of the Yetholm clans," was
" a grand-daughter of the celebrated Jean Gor-
don," and was said to have much resembled
her in appearance. " Madge Gordon," con-
tinues a writer in BlackivoocTs Magazine^ was
descended from the Faas by the mother's side,
and was married to a Young. She was rather a
remarkable personage, of a very commanding
presence and high stature, being nearly six feet
high. She had a large aquiline nose, penetrat-

420 The Tinkler-Gypsies.

ing eyes (even in her old age), bushy hair that
hung around her shoulders from beneath a
Gypsy bonnet of straw, a short cloak of a pecu-
liar fashion, and a long staff as nearly as tall as
herself. ... If Jean Gordon was the pro-
totype of the character of Meg Merrilies, I
imagine Madge must have sat to the unknown
author as the representative of her person." To
such splendid female types Leyden's lines could
more fittingly be applied than to the Tinkler
women of the present day : '''

" While scarce the cloak of tawdry red conceals
The fine turned limbs that every breeze reveals,
Her bright, black eyes through silver lashes shine,
Around her neck the raven tresses twine."

Yea, the types have steadily degenerated
since the days of such fine Gypsies as "The
Duchess Jean," Madge Gordon, Matthew Baillie,
Billy Marshall, Alexander Kennedy, and James
Macpherson.

In those Tinkler battles we may see a con-
tinuation of the old tribal warfare that raged
throughout Scotland, and which to this day the
various Tinkler tribes still perpetuate, though
in a milder way. The contention that the
Tinkler element in the Tinkler appertains to a
descent from the ancient Scotch races accounts
also for the varied complexions of Tinklers.
Speaking of the Yetholm Gypsies, Mr Mac-

42 2 The Tinkler-Gypsies.

Ritchie, in his Scottish Gypsies under the
Stezvarts, quoting from a writer of the year
1835, says:*'

" The principal names of the Gypsies resid-
ing at Yetholm are Faa, Young, Douglas, and
Blythe. The two latter are most numerous,
but they are evidently not of the same race.
The Douglases, Faas, and Youngs are gene-
rally dark-complexioned with black hair, while
the Blythes mostly are light-haired and of fair
complexion."

Borrow describes a Yetholm Gypsy woman
thus : " She had a full, round, smooth face, and
her complexion was brown or rather olive, a hue
which contrasted with that of her eyes, which
were blue."^'

The various Tinkler gangs all differ in
appearance, and can be quite easily distin-
guished. Borrow's description of a Yetholm
Gypsy corresponds with a Baillie of the present
day. The Kennedies were tall, handsome people
with swarthy complexions and black hair. The
MacMillans are tall, with fair to ruddy com-
plexions and jdarkish hair. The Marshalls, on
the other hand, are short in stature, swarthy
complexioned and dark haired. Like their
Pictish friends the Douglases — who are now
.sometimes black Douglases and sometimes red
Douglases — when a Marshall becomes settled

Tinkler Elemeiit in Ancient Scotch Races. 423

and marries into a non-Tinkler family the result
is often a family of red-haired Marshalls, and of
such there are now quite a number in Galloway.
It may be argued that the Scotch racial
characteristics could be got by the inter-
marriage of pure Romani-Gypsies with Scotch
people of a more or less settled type. That
may be true to some extent, but the hardship
of the Tinklers' life is one that detracts from
the strength of that argument. It takes gene-
rations of training to inure them properly to
the life. A non-Tinkler may try it for some
time, but he is not nearly so likely to continue
the life as those who have inherited the
tendency from their ancestors or who have
been Tinklers or Gypsies from time immemorial.

But in addition to those objections to that
manner of accounting for the presence of
Scotch racial characteristics, if a Romani-
speaking Gypsy had married an ordinary Scots
man or woman the offspring might have spoken
Romanes and Scotch, or probably even Gaelic,
but certainly not Tinklers' cant.

'J'he relationship of Tinklers to the ancient
races and families of Scotland also helped them
out of many an awkward situation. The Baillies
of Lamington are said to have successfully inter-
vened in favour of \Villiam Baillie, thereby
thwarting the ends of justice. Similarly, Billy

Tinklers related to the Nobility. 425

Marshall, despite the many crimes with which
tradition associates his name, enjoyed a singular
immunity — so far as can be learned from law
books — from trial for his crimes.

Tradition has it that on one occasion — when
he is said to have killed his former chief, Isaac
Miller — he at same time killed, for her infidelity,
one of his own wives with whom Isaac had
been too familiar.

Tradition also affirms that Gordon of Ken-
muir liberated Billy, on that same occasion^
after his precognition had been taken.

It is also said that the Selkirk family had
interceded more than once on his behalf. In a
former chapter it has been shown that Billy
befriended two of the ladies of the Selkirk
family, and therefore merited consideration at
the hands of the family. But it is more likely
that Billy's claim to being related to a well-to-do
family of Marshalls, and to having had an uncle
who "commanded a King's frigate,'' weighed
more with the Eail in taking an interest in Billy
till his death, and, as tradition affirms, in
offering a hundred pounds to the Tinklers if
they would allow him to lay Billy's head in the
grave — a privilege which the Hammermen had
previously declined to grant as the Earl was not
a member of their guild. The Tinklers are also
said to have declined. Thev must have been

426 The Tinkkr-Gypsies.

both wealthy and proud the Tinkle: s of those
days !

For a similar reason it would be that the
Duchess of Gordon saved Tarn Gordon and the
" Duchess Jean " from paying the penalty for
serious crimes. And so it may have come
about that the ancient relationship between the
Tinklers and the Gordon race or family, pre-
sumably known to the Duchess of Gordon, may
now be the reason — although unknown to him
— that a certain nobleman is still regarded as
the hereditary chief of a settlement of Gypsies.

On the other hand, Mr David MacRitchie
points out, in The Monthly Review^"^ for May,
1905, and on the authority of the Hungarian
scholar Emil Thewrek de Ponor, that the
Gypsy captaincy was vested in the nobility
of Transylvania and Hungary, that the
voyvodeship or captaincy was an office of State
bestowed on distinguished personages as a
reward of merit, but not on Gypsies, and sug-
gests " that Scotland may not have differed
from Hungary in that respect, when in the
Privy Council writ the Scottish King calls the
Master of the Egyptians ' our lovit,' an expres-
sion (signifying beloved) which, in the legal
phraseology of Scotland, denotes a loyal
subject."

Some also nia\- think that the mere fact of

Tinklers Entered Scotland from Ireland. 427

being the landowner of the ground on which the
Gypsies have their headquarters would account
for the title, but, in view of the actions of the
forebears of those now holding the hereditary
chiefship, we incline to the reason first above
given as being the only satisfactory explanation.
The Tinklers have always contended that they
came into Scotland by way of Ireland, and
the theory above advanced confirms the tradi-
tion. The Picts, Dalriads, and Scots all seem
to have sojourned in Ireland, and the Scots and
Dalriads at all events appear to have entered
Scotland by way of Ireland, and the Tinkler
element in the Tinkler would in most cases be
likely to descend through families pertaining to
such tribes. We may see a lingering trace of
the Irish origin of Scotch races as well as of
Scotch Tinklers in the periodical visitations
which Billy Marshall and his gang appear to
have made into Ireland. It appears that " now
and then, by way of improving themselves and
seeing more of the world, they crossed at
Donmghadee and visited the counties of Down
and Derry." Tinklers in Stornoway who had
recently sailed over from Orkney say that they
hailed originally from Ireland. The folk-tales
of the Tinklers must also to some extent have
been handed down to them from their fore-
bears on the Tinkler side.

Buiiyan a Tinkler-Gypsy. 429

Mr MacRitchie, in \\\% Ancioit and Modern
Britons, also shows that the Marshalls' plan of
*' ruddling " or keeling their faces to conceal
their appearance is of ancient — ^probably Pictish
— origin, and a further indication of their anti-
quity may be found in their use of very old
Scotch and other archaic words, and also in
using such words as — delation for relation,
susplain for explain, deturn for return, soosand
for thousand, sorn for thorn, pudlick for public,
-sintelplom for simpleton, potagree for photo-
graph, afreshment for refreshment, desidenter
for residenter, you and you like for such as you.
The fact that Billy Marshall is designed in
the title deeds of the dwelling-house he owned
as " brazier " and on his tombstone as " Tinker "
leads us to remark that John Bunyan was also
designed as brazier and Tinker, and here again
the distinction we have sought to draw between
"Tinkler" and "Gypsy" helps to clear up a
point. Mr Groome gives the following fresh
link to the chain of evidence to attempt to
prove that John Bunyan was a Gypsy :"" " In
the St. Mary Magdalene's Launceston Parish
Register (vol. i., fol. 74), is this entry in 1586:
^ Marche the IVth daie was christened Nicholas
Sonne of James Bownia an Egyptia rogue.' "
He explains that " Egyptia " and " Bownia" are
■evidently " Egyptian " and " Bownian," other-

43° The Tinkler-Gypsies.

wise Bunyan, and controverts the argument of
the Rev. John Brown, of Bedford, who, in his
Life of Bunyan (1SS5), as well as in the article
"Bunyan" in Chambers's Encyclopcedia, con-
tends that Bunyan cannot have been a Gypsy,
because "Bonyons" had been settled in Bed-
fordshire since 1199, if not earlier. Mr Groome
also points out that although Bosvvell is a Gypsy
name, it is also an old and honourable York-
shire name ; but the simple and natural expla-
nation is that Bunyan was of that so-called
(iypsy class sometimes called braziers, as
Bunyan admittedly was, and sometimes called
Tinkers or Tinklers, as Bunyan also admittedly
was. He may or may not have had Romani
blood in his veins, but Mr Leland in his
Gypsies shows that he had many Gypsy-like
characteristics.^"" He says :

I should have liked to know John Bunyan
as a half-blood Gypsy-Tinkler ; he must have
been self-contained and pleasant. He had his
wits about him, too, in a very Romanly way.
When confined in prison he made a flute or
pipe out of the leg of his three-legged stool, and
would play on it to pass time. When the jailer
entered to slop the noise, John replaced the
leg in the stool and sat on it, looking innocent
as only a Gypsy-Tinkler could— calm as a sum-
mer morning. I commend the subject for a
picture."

^^^^^^^^^^^^^■tSv-, (

-.-»■-

Si '

^K .

43- The Tinkler- Gypsies.

The evidence so far available does not
-warrant the conclusion that there were any of
the Romani-speaking Gypsies in this country
prior to the arrival of the wave first authori-
tatively taken notice of in 1505. Until direct
evidence is brought to controvert Mr Groome's
view of the subject, we prefer to accept his
opinion as that borne out by the facts available
up to date.'°^ " Mr Groome," says Mr Eggeling,
in reviewing Mr F. Hindes Groome's article in
Chambers' s Encyclopcedia, "on linguistic grounds,
lays down a perfectly sound axiom, which no
one, I think, can gainsay, that the modern
Gypsies {i.e., Romani speaking Gypsies) were
descended not from successive waves of Oriental
emigration, but all from the self-same European
Gypsy stock, whenever that stock may have first
been transplanted to Europe." Adopting that
statement as a basis, it is practically certain
that, as Mr MacRitchie and Mr Crofton have
both in substance indicated, when the Romani-
speaking Gypsies arrived in Britain somewhere
about the beginning of the sixteenth century
they found Gypsy-like castes wandering about
this country much in the same way as the
Romani-Gypsies themselves were wont to do.
These castes would be the bards. Tinklers,
cairds, homers, faas, muggers, potters, jugglers,
and such like, who were castes of tribes which

Distributio7i of Cant. 435

formerly inhabited certain parts of Great Britain.
Some of these names seem now to be synony-
mous, and it would now be difficult to prove
whether in its origin each name represented a
distinct caste. Their distinctive features have
at least become intermixed, and traces of the
characteristics of all of them may now be found
in Tinklers.

On the arrival of the Romani -speaking
Gypsies in Scotland, it is clear that a fusion
took place with the Tinklers, the offspring being
the Tinkler-Gypsy race, and, as one would
naturally expect, the resultant composite cant
(language) confirms that theory.

The strength of the cant basis which predo-
minates in the Tinkler language, and which
they still prefer to term cant {i.e., cainnt speech),
would seem to indicate that, however mongrel
or effete it may now be, it was at one time a
language. Apparently the language of these
castes differed. Mr D. MacRitchie, Mr John
Sampson, and Professor Kuno Meyer have all
contributed largely to the elucidation of what
Shelta or Sheldru, the cant in use amongst the
Tinklers of Ireland, is, and Professor Meyer has
shown it to be none other than the same lan-
guage as was used by the ancient bards. ^"■- It
has been said that if Shelta exists in Wales it
has still to be discovered. If a real Welsh

28

Distribution of Cant. 435

Tinkler can be found, we believe, however, it
will not be difficult to ascertain that besides
Romani words he uses c-int words either of the
Shelta or some other form derived from some
language used by ancient inhabitants of that
country. An obituary notice has just appeared
in Tlie Cambrian News of the death, at Llany-
cyfelin, of Grace Mannion, aged 80, widow of
Larry Mannion, tinman, and, strange to say,
we happened last summer in Galloway to inter-
view a "traveller" woman named Mannion, and
she knew some words of the Galloway Tinklers'
cant. She said, however, she hailed from near
Manchester. Mr Groome's description of Evan
Roberts, the ancient bard of Wales, points to
the conclusion that the blood of some of the
ancient inhabitants of Wales as well as Romani
blood fiowed in his veins :"^ " No, the light
only revealed a hale old man of middle stature,
with snowy hair, who, to look at, might be a
divine, a poet, or a legislator— anything rather
than a 'stancient Romani chal.' His voice,
too, high-pitched and voluble as any Welsh-
man's, helped him, though not for long, to keep
up his incognito in the ensuing discourse." His
appearance, also his name, his calling and voice,
" voluble as any Welshman's," all point to his
having something besides Gypsy blood in his
veins. Each case requires to be considered on

436

The Tinkhr-Gy/'sies.

its own merits, and doubtless there have been
cases where Gypsy blood has been mixed with
that of ordinary house-dwellers. In such
cases the language would be Romanes, plus

Orcadian Tinkler-Gypsy Boys.

the language in use by such house-dwellers
at the time of the intermixture or subsequent
thereto. lUit in many cases — where bards,
Tinklers, cairds, homers, faas, muggers, potters,
and jugglers, and such like castes have married
Romanies — the language is something that has

JJ'es^ B/[i^/i/cu/d Shelta.

437

been handed down from the tribe of which they
were castes, plus a smattering of Romanes. The
Sheldru or Shelta or Minkler's thari of the Irish
Tinkler is such a language, and the language of
the Gaelic-speaking Tinklers of the West

Perthshire Tinkler-Gypsies.

Highlands is apparently also a form of Sheldru
or Shelta.

From what is stated by Mr G. Alick Wilson,^'"
Shelia, although bearing a similarity to Gaelic,
is not intelligible to Gaelic-speaking people.
The Tinklers, however, of the rest of Scotland,
and of Orkney and Shetland and part of the

438

The Tinkler-Gypsies.

north of England, have a language, which they
term cant, which is different from both. A
Shelta-speaking Irish Tinkler tells us that when
he came into Galloway he didn't know a word
of the Galloway Tinklers' cant, and the Gallo-
way Tinklers couldn't understand a word of his
Shelta or Sheldru. That is not strictly true,
because during a short catechising we took
down a few of his Shelta words and found that
there were certain words used by the Irish
Tinklers and known to the Galloway Tinklers.
We subsequently tested a Galloway Tinkler with
the words, and the following were the results :

Uhh ThMcr.

Galloway Tinkler.

Tinkler's talk Minkler"s

iharie

Cant

Tinkler

Minkyer

Xawken

Hat

Caidie

(

^aid:

i, howfie, scroof, gougl

Cuddy

Prance r

Aizel

Drink

Shkimniera

Peevie, rauniel

Whisky

Sky hope

Peeve

Night

Darkie

Dark m en t, rattie

Town

Gry

^"ile, gaave

Money

Thanig

Lowie

Children

Kinchen

Kinchen

Woman

Beur

Manishie, beur

Boy

Suiblean

Chavie

Girl

Lackeen

Goorie

Pipes

Stumera

Tchutlie (a tobacco pipe)

Water

Pannie

Pannie, nioniyclear

Bread

Pennam

Pennam

>j

Durra

Ilabben

Coat

Tyug

Tyug, loggri'j, shokie

Yourself

\'our gels

Your nesis

Boots

Wogies

Taehis, si rods

Soldier

Gora woll;

ihs

Klieslie

Shelta and Cant Contrasted. 439

" Mislie and don't tharie another lubba for
the beur of the kain is sufmyin ye in the pee^
(Move on and don't speak another word for the
woman of the house is watching you or looking
into your face.)

The Irish Tinkler's assertion, however, is sub-
stantially correct. The words known to both — ■
caidie, kinchen, beur, pattnie, pennam, and tyug —
are common enough to be known by almost any
" traveller," but there seems to be a marked
absence of Romani words in Irish Shelta when
compared with Galloway cant.

It will be seen that the Irish Shelta and
Galloway cant differ widely, and the words
selected in this case happen by accident to have
an undue proportion of Romani equivalents, as
cant words proper seem to predominate over
Romani words in the composite language. My
Tinkler friend assured me that Irish Tinklers
don't know Romanes, and he led me to under-
stand that the Romani words used by him —
pannie and pennam, like dura and gora ivollahs
— were " H'Indian," and that he learned them
when a soldier in India. Canon Ffrench also
confirms this view. He says in a letter to the
writer hereof :

" Our Irish Tinklers are not Gypsies — in fact,
I doubt if there are any Irish Gypsies. There
w-ere a very respectable family of Gypsies who

44° T)'^ Tinkler-Gypsies.

frequented these parts some two or three years
ago ; they had a very nice Uving van such as
that pictured on page 54 (page 234 hereof) of
the journal you sent me, clean and in good
order and nicely got up in every way, and
outside they had a tent such as that pictured on
page 48 (page 162 hereof), but these people
were English Gypsies."

A Tinkler woman named Stewart, hailing
from Perthshire, and a non-Gaelic-speaking
Tinkler man named Campbell, from Argyle-
shire, both informed us that the cant used in
Galloway was practically that used by Perth-
shire Tinklers, but they assured us that the
Gaelic-speaking West Highland Tinklers had a
cant which they didn't understand, and which
Gaelic-speaking people could no more under-
stand than Galloway people could understand
the meaning of the Galloway Tinklers' cant
words. That Cumberland, Galloway, Argyle-
shire, Perthshire, Inverness-shire, Caithness-
shire, Orkney, and Yetholm Tinklers all use
the same cant — which is something different
from the Shelta or Gaelic cant — should give a
basis and distribution sufficiently pronounced
to cause philologists to wonder if it would not
be worth while to examine patiently lists of
cant, although it has dwindled into something
like a jargon. It must have been a language

M Larens : Forfarshire Tinkler-Gypsies.

iReptoJuced by kind iiermtss^on from Dundee " Evening Telegi'aph.")

442 Tlie Tinkler-Gypsies.

that has made a lasting impression upon these
wandering castes. Cant may turn out to be
merely a kind of li/igua franca. Shelta did not,
and when philologists' efforts in that direction
were crowned with success, surely even greater
effort should be put forth to solve this even
more complicated problem.

The debris at the mouths of rivers and
conglomerite rock have proved invaluable aids
to geologists, and so, too, might something
valuable yet be ascertained by patient search
amongst, and a comparative analogy of, these
Tinkler cants (languages).

Sufficient data may not yet be to hand. In
Sir Walter Scott's day little seems to have
been known of the Tinkler language, for he
has availed himself almost entirely of words
which will be found in the Appendix to
Banipfylde Aloore Carew. Yetholm and other
lists are now, however, available. The lists
collected by us in Galloway and from Perth-
shire and Argyleshire Tinklers, with any other
information in our possession, are at the dis-
posal of any philologist interested in the subject.
These lists will be appended, and with the
following results, of encjuiries made at selected
places in Great Britain and Ireland, imperfect
though these are, will, we hope, help to stimu-
late and encourage further cncjuiry. A circular

An Appeal to Philologists. 445

was addressed to a correspondent in each of the
places named in both of the following lists,
asking that a Tinkler should give the English
for the cant words in the first list and the cant
words for *"he English words in the second list.
The results are shown in the schedules, and if
any reader can supply further information they
will confer a favour by communicating same to
the writer hereof :

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Forfarshire Tinkler-Gypsy.

iRupriiclucuJ lij- kiiul pormis'-'o i from Dundee " EveMiiig;Telegi'ai)h.")j

Tubal Kaiii the First Tinkler. 449

Professor Sayce shows^"'^ that Tubal Kain was
the first Tinkler noted in history, and that the
Kenites will have been a clan of wandering
blacksmiths like a clan of smiths who once
wandered over Europe ; and Professor H.
Van. Elven gives us some notion of who these
wandering smiths were and of the nature of
their workmanship r^""

" Prior to the Middle Ages in the dawn of
history, and also during the little known period
of the settlement of Celts, Gauls, and other
Eastern peoples in the West of Europe, the
Gypsies have played a very important role in the
introduction of bronze working into the West.
Our archaeological collections and our proto-
historic data warrant us in saying that the Celts
and Gauls were preceded by a brown race of
medium stature, knowing how to make and
work in bronze, who, concurrently with the
Phoenicians and the Pelasgians or Etruscans,
brought into Europe the art of working in
bronze.

" On the other hand, it is proved by our
numerous archaeological deposits of the Bronze
Age, which are unreservedly attributed to
nomadic prehistoric founders, that the Celts,
Gauls, and other peoples coming in from the
East were accompanied in their movements by
nomadic founders, coming like themselves from

29

45^

The Tinkler-Gypsies.

the East. These nomadic smiths are the
Gypsies, and their appearance in Europe dates
not from the fifteenth century but from about

Tinkler (Roumanian " Calderar ') of Gross-Scheurn,
Transylvania.

Photo liy Thfolor Glatz.

the year 2000 b.c. These behefs rest upon the
following data : The objects discovered in our
archaeological deposits of the Bronze Age are all

Piehistoric Metal<vorker$ Tinklers. 451

those of a small-handed race, or resemble the
ornaments of Buddhist idols. Their lechnique,
then, is of Hindu origin.

" The Aryan peoples had long roamed from
east to west, and from north to south, before
they finally settled in Europe. Wherever the
invaders went their nomadic metal workers
accompanied them, but as a caste apart, living
by preference in secret places such as caves and
woods. In a cavern at Sinsin, and in many
other Belgian localities, hoards of bronze ob-
jects have been found which belonged to these
metal workers of the Bronze Age. The Sinsin
hoard is remarkable for the number, the qua-
lity, and the finish of the bronze objects, whose
ornamentation, executed on the spot, is derived
from moulds or from designs which are certainly
of Eastern origin.

" After the settlement of the Aryans, the
nomadic metal workers continued to wander
from one colony to another, repairing articles
of ornament, arms, and armour, and manufac-
turing and selling the objects of the hoards.
Especially they visited fortified places, where
markets were held, like our modern fairs. For
a long while the prehistoric Gypsies confined
themselves to the bronze industry, an artistic
and sacred mystery. But a little while — about a
century — before the Roman Conquest we see a
division taking place in metallurgic art. Certain

452

Tlie Tinkler-Gypsies.

nomadic iron smelters settle down in the mineral
regions and become, if not the originators, at
least the principal leaders of our steel and iron

Gypsy " Lingurar" (Spoonmaker) of Transylvania.

Phot" liy .Toll. Ni'.'kliie.

work. The unaltered minority continued to
roam about, working chiefly in bronze and
copper, but sometimes in gold and silver."

Prehistoric Metal-ivorkers Tinklers. 453

In such descriptions we find a people whose
characteristics and occupations bear a remark-
able resemblance to Tinklers and Tinkler-

Gypsy '"Lingurar" (Spoonmaker) of Transylvania.

Photo by Job. Xicklas.

Gypsies, and we wonder if Professor Elven
would not be inclined to admit "Tinklers" to
be the Gypsies in whom he discerns these

454 '^^^'^ Tinkler-Gypsies.

ancient nomadic smiths. T'inklers were cer-
tainly in Scotland prior to 1500, but it is still to
be proved that Romani-speaking Gypsies were,
and so meantime we must regard the Tinklers
as being the remnant of these ancient nomadic
smiths.

It would be passing strange if it could be
proved that some of the curious forms of Romani
words, and even Romani words unknown to the
English Romani-speakmg Gypsies and still in
use amongst the Tinkler-Gypsies have been
brought over by these ancient non)adic metal-
workers of Hindu origin. The opinion, how-
ever, above quoted of that eminent Gypsiolo-
gist, Francis Hindes Groome, appears to be the
one most strongly supported by the facts
adduced, and there is so far not sufficient
evidence to prove that such Romani words
were not introduced by the wave of Romani-
speaking Gypsies first taken note of in 1505.
It should be noted, however, that the Romani
wave of 1505 may have consisted of various
castes of Gypsies having the same fundamental
language, more or less contaminated by long
residence in other countries. Some of these
Gypsies may have been of the Calderari (pot-
menders) type, who would probably have
Romanes in a mongrel form ; and what more
natural than that that caste should show a

Tinklers all over the Globe. 455

preference for mixing with the Tinklers whom
they found in Scotland ?

Castes resembling Tinklers in a more or less
singular degree would seem to be scattered over
the face of the globe. The Gypsy Lore Jourtial
(first series) shows that there are Tinkler-like
castes in the following places, viz. : Hungary^"'
(The Calderari), England"* (Tinkers), Italy"^
(Zingari-Calderai), Asia Minor"" (Ruri), Monte-
negro"' (Majstori viz Artificers), Venezuela""'^
(The Chingareros), Ceylon"" (Telugus), Ire-
land"'' (Tinklers), Spain,"' Palestine"' (Kenites),
Switzerland"^ (Doerfers, or the Homeless),
Crimea"' (Elektschi), North-West Bohemia,""
Eg)pt'-" (Berber and Rhagaran Tinklers), Bel-
gium^-^(Nieumarklenaars,Boemiens,andNutons),
Transylvania'" (Lingurari and Calderari). While
Tinklers or Tinkler-Gypsies are seemingly indi-
cated in each of these instances, careful local
enquiries would require to be instituted in
almost every case before it could be demon-
strated whether Tinklers or Gypsies are alluded
to.

To sum up, then, the appearance, manners,
and customs of present-day Tinkler-Gypsies, the
descriptions of the characteristics recorded of
those of former days, their cant (mixed with
Rotfianes) language, the extraordinary interest
taken in Tinkler-Gypsies by aristocratic families

456

The Tinkler-Gypsies.

bearing the same names, all tend to show that
the Tinkler element of the Tinkler-Gypsy is of
Scotch (possibly chiefly nomadic [metal workers
of Hindu origin), and the Gypsy element is of
Gypsy (Hindustani) extraction.

CHAPTER XI.

" Mark, liark, the dogs do liark,

The beggars are coming to town,
Some on nags, and some in rags,
And one in a velvet gown."

Tin-: "Gi:r.man" Gypsiks.

a storrn of hutred the
" German " (jy[)sies have aroused
throughout Scotland and Eng-
land I The cause must indeed
have been grievous to create such
a universal persecution of them.
It was a sore thought to me that Gypsies could
be such a scum of rascality as they were said to
be in the ne\vspa[)ers. Hearing of the arrival in
our neighbourhood of a band of these wanderers,
I made up my mind to see them for myself.

The services of a lady interpreter (Miss
Drummond, Dumfries) were duly obtained.
The prospect of a visit to a (iypsy encampment
always thrills me with a delightful exciteaient,
and the fact of my Gypsies being on this
occasion foreigners, the language of the country

458 The Tinkler-Gypsies.

from whence they hailed beiny; unknown to me,
and the Romanes differing widely from English
Romanes, of which I have a smattering, made
my proposed visit unusually exciting. I con-
fess to having mixed up a great number of
questions in Romanes with mj- prayers the pre-
vious evening, and when most folks were still
asleep we were speeding our way to the Gypsy
encampment. Whilst walking up a steep brae,
near to it, we enquired of a lad, " Have you
seen the German Gypsies ?"'

"Yes," he said.

" What are they like ?"'

" Just like black devils ! And they helped
themselves to cabbages oot o' Aaron Marr's
gairden, and bought bread at the baker's and
forgot to pey't, and when he ran after them the}'
just lauched and said, ' No moneish.' "

When we reached the encamimient there
was no one astir. A hasty consultation decided
my line of action. Fortified, by my kind inter-
preter, with two German sentences, I approached
the principal tent, and peeping through the
door, I looked down upon three sleeping
figures — an old Romany Dye (wife), her Rom
(husband), and what appeared to be their son
— all lying on comfortable, clean, raised beds,
and, to my surprise, all wrapped in elegant
sleeping suits.

' ]Vake/iifig the " German " Gypsies. 459

" WoUen sie iiicht aufstehen f (Are you not
going to get up ?) I asked. The old man
blinked and said something in German, which
I could not follow. Then I fired off my second
sentence — " Eine Jiinse Dame ist kier, die
deutsch spricht''' (There is a young lady with
me who speaks German). Again he replied in
German and did some more blinking, and
wound up by saying, " Cigarette ?" with which
request I at once complied. Then, having
run short with my German, I said in Romanes :

'■'' Laicho Divvns Romaiiichal" (Good day,
Gypsy man), and he eagerly replied :

" Latclio Divous Romanno Rye,'' and, turn-
ing to the others, he said, ''^Romanno Rat"
(Romany blood), and in a mon.ient the old
woman hopped out of bed, the others followed,
and how the news was spread I know not, but
soon the Gypsies poured out of every tent.
They swarmed around us, asking for bischen
('"'■ bischli'' ) geld (a little piece of money), and
moiieish, alte stiefei, alte jackets, and so on.

My young lady friend explained to them that
I was deeply interested in the Gypsy race. I
asked them several questions in Romanes,
which they understood perfectly, but they said
their language was different, and my lady friend
said she observed they mixed up German and
Romanes a good deal. The chief was asked in

"German ' Gypsies in Galloway (July i906'.

Pilot ris hv A. Mc.ji-rni.k.

Status of '■'' German''' Gypsies. 40 1

German if he ■.vould mind answering some
queries which I had prepared, and he at once
assented. The following are the questions and
answers :

" Are you Zigeiinerf (Gypsies).

" No."

" Calderari .? " (potmenders).

"Yes."

" Are you Lingurari ? " (spoonmakers).

" No."

" Are the Calderari and Lingurari real
Zigeutier ? "

" There is a world of difference between the
real Zigeuuer and the Calderari .'' They also
admitted being known as Chaudronnier.

" What is the cause of your coming to this
country ? "

" Because we were advised it was a free
country, with better opportunities for making a
living."

" Is it on account of the tax levied on horse-
dealing in the country you have abandoned % "

" Yes, that is so."

" Is it because there is likely to be civil war
when the Emperor Franc Josef dies ? " They
explained that they came from Alsace Lorraine,
Miinster, and different parts of Germany, and
had travelled in Transylvania, Bohemia, Italy,
and such like, and as apparently they have

462 The Tinkler-Gypsies.

travelled in many countries that may have
accounted for their answering "yes" to that
query.

" Is it, as the newspapers have suggested,
that you are German spies to take note of
fortifications, roads, etc.?" They pooh-poohed
this query.

" Do you consider that the police have been
unfair to you ? Have they harassed you ?
Have the people treated you unkindly ? Have
you had a chance to earn a livelihood by horse-
dealing, etc. ? " They said they had on the
whole not been treated unkindly, but they
beheved some of the other Gypsies had not
been so fortunate.

" Why do you allow your folks to beg so
persistently ? " It was explained to them that
begging created prejudice, that they would
obtain more sympathy and help if they did not
insist on getting " moneish," and that Scotch
people can't tolerate inveterate begging. They
answered they were so arm (very, very poor)
and had kein ge/d (no money), and as they
were hampered by ignorance of the language,
they could do little so far at horse-dealing or as
kessel-flkker (pot-menders), and so they must
beg to live. As an indication of their desire
to work, they produced this certificate from a
friend in Paisley :

" German " Gypsies liked Scotland. 463

" This is to certify that the Gypsy man can
mend pots and pans at a very reasonable price
— the one he shows costs sixpence, which is
cheap to what we pay here.

" (Sgd.) S. Lehmann.

" Cross Restaurant."

" From a monetary point of view do you find
Scotch people kinder or the reverse than the
people of the country from whence you have
come V They answered :

" We like this country very well, and tind the
Scots kinder than the English."

" Have you ever met any English Gypsies ?"

" Yes, lots."

" Could you understand their Romanes .? "

" Yes j but English Ronianes is very different
from ours.''

" Have you met any Scotch Tinklers ? What
think you of them ?"

" Yes ; " but they refrained from criticising
them.

" What strikes you most about the folks
here ? Are you taken with the country or the
reverse? Do you intend to remain in this
country ? " They said :

" We like this country and the people, but
we are undecided as to where we are going."

AVe next expressed a desire to take their

Half-blood Gypsies Despised. 465

photos, but again iheir extreme anxiety to
obtain bischli geld became manifest. Being
assured that we had no intention of taking
their photos and then departing without paying,
as they indicated had frequently been done
before, they desisted. Like all Gypsies, they
seemed to despise the posh and posh (half and
half) blooded Gypsies, and so two poor women
were excluded from the photos — and one of
them sat at the mouth of her tent hurling
violent language at the others, and assuring
them that she was come of as good folks as they
were.

The Queen Marono Dammo — did us the
honour of dressing specially to have her photo
taken, and donned a lovely shawl, asking my
lady friend if it was not sehr schones tuck (a
very pretty shawl), and indicating to me in
Romaties the various colours — kaulo (black),
selno (green), loUo (red), and so forth. A crowd
having gathered round, one of the Ronia7n-chals
caused considerable amusement by shouting
in most approved Galloway dialect to a boy
who was likely to spoil the photo — " Haud oot
o' the road, boych !" Marono kept telling me
that the Friiulein had a " shiikar tnui" '^^ Rin-
kennif '•'• Ja-rinkenni.^^ I pointed out the
Sergeant, and asked her if he was a tnoccoddo
vianush (dirty, nasty fellow), like some of the

30

466 The Tinkler-Gypsies.

other prastermeiigros (policemen), but she said,
" No, he is a most handsome man, and has
been unusually kind and considerate." Having
explained that I meant to pay the old Queen
trill trin gorishis instead of giving to all of
them, I paid the money to her, and she thanked
me and returned to the mouth of her tent
smiling most sweetly but complacently all the
while— for her myrmidons knew their duty !
She did not even, when pretending to conciliate
us, require to say //lang prala viang (beg on,
brother, beg on). They begged most invete-
rately. I gave them a few pence, and then
turned my trouser pockets inside out and ran
back to the Queen, and said in Romanes —
" Tell them to atch mangan " (stop begging).
She at once complied, and I shall never forget
the strange rattling sound she uttered like what
might have been the war chant of a host of
people. She afterwards came close up to me
and said I must have Rortianno rat (Gypsy
blood) in my veins when I took such a great
interest in Gypsies. Her order had the desired
effect with all except one didakei (half-caste)
Gypsy woman, who followed holding on to me
and begging most persistently. ''' Ja kair!^''
(go home) T said. Still she clung to me.
""^ Jal lo beng ! " I shouted, and the other
Gypsies laughed, but still the cry was for

Imaginary Delicts. 467

vioneish and " bischli geld." At last in my
extremity I said to one of my friends, " Hold
my bike," and catching the chei hy the shoulders
I tried to jump her on to the bike ; and when
she struggled to get free I hopped on, and
moved off amidst roars of laughter and cries of
" Guten Mo7-ge?i Fraidein-latcho divvus Rcmanno
Rye ta shukar bakt ! "

Of course, their visit produced the usual
fitrore. Doors were bolted, and cannie shop-
keepers either blocked the entrance to their
shops with their own manly forms, or, deeming
discretion the better part of valour, put the key
of the door in their pocket, and stood on the
footpath feigning that they had no connection
with the shop ! Stories were at once set afloat
and exaggerated. Here it was that a Gypsy
woman had sprung at a man and scratched his
face, but on inquiry the incident out of which
the story had been exaggerated reflected not
the slightest discredit on the Gypsy woman.
Indeed, it was manufactured out of the simplest
of good-natured joking. In another case a
.shop, which the shopkeeper assures me the
Gypsies had never entered, was said to have
been completely ransacked.

A Gypsy woman was also said to have got
the better of a greengrocer, into whose shop she
had gone to buy vegetables. The greengrocer

lield up a cabbage, and the Gypsy woman
answered '' Neiu, iiein,'' whereupon the shop-
keeper laid down nine cabbages, and the Gvpsy
woman quickly whisked them into her mofiging
gum (begging bag), and putting down a penny
departed proud of her bargain. Unfortunately
when I chaffed Marono about her cleverness in
getting the nine cabbages for a penny, she said
she only regretted it was not true. There must
have been some real cases of depredation or
complaints could hardly have been so numerous,
but the above prove th:it there were many cases
of " giving a dog a bad name and you may hang
him." There are stories also about their acting
rudely and roughly to people who refused them
alms, but it is difficult to ascertain the precise
facts in each cas?. Whilst watching the
" German " Gypsies begging along a street a
gentleman remarked, " Look at them ; they
take every door except the public-houses ! "
Assuming, however, for argument that every-
thing is true that has been alleged against
them in the newspapers, are our own actions
towards them all that could be desired from a
Christian nation, and the foremost among the
civilised nations ?

' The newsj)apers have been filled with letters
from correspondents condemning the Gypsies,
but few of the writers ever made the experiment

470 The Tinkler-Gypsies.

of trying to find out if they possessed any good
qualities ; and if they did discover any such
qualities, then they kept the knowledge severely
to themselves. Let us look at a few extracts
from some of my correspondents who have
approached the subject sympathetically : (a)
" I hasten to tell you (as I know your interest
in the Gypsy folk) that walking up from
Dumfries yesterday I came upon the German
Gypsies' camp on the road between Holywood
and Friars' Carse, out-picketed by three bobbies
as if they were thieves and blackguards. My
Romany is too slight to be of any use, but their
eyes glistened when they heard ' Gitten Tag
Freiinde wie gehfs ? ' from my Galloway tongue,
and glad I was to interpret for them to the
police, who, of course — asses as they all are —
know nothing but the Dumfries dialect. I
spent half-an-hour with them smoking, talking,
and laughing, thereby irretrievably damaging
my reputation in the eyes of the too well-paid,
fat, and sleek men in blue. They will be in
Dumfries to-day, and are anxious to get home,
having been deceived by information they got
in Germany as to prospects here. I daresay
you'll think it worth while to spend a returi\
ticket and go and interview thcni. Only one —
a half-breed evidently — descended whinitigly to
beg for ' moneish.' She didn't get it, though,

Sympathetically Rega7-ded.

471

but got a ' through-pittin' ' from the headman.
One glance at the swarthy skins, svelte forms,
glistening teeth, Gypsy love of jewellery, and

Posing for "Bischli Geld."

Phuto by J. Dunn.

ban eiifant altitude to those who show sympathy,
show them to be no Gorgios, but true Romany.
All they would take from me — all I offered, in

472 The Tinkler-Gypsies.

fact, for their mien was independence itself —
was a stick of tobacco. I would have spent
more time with them, but I had 1 1 miles to
walk for dinner, so zacuus procedit if not cantat."
(b) " . . . I came upon the poor nomads
about 3.30 in the afternoon at a colliery
village called Throckley, 5 miles from the
city (Newcastle-upon-Tyne). They had already
travelled 15 miles from Hexham, and were
destined to travel another 15 miles before they
could find rest for their weary bodies and their
worn -out horses. ... I did not like to
intrude on the privacy of their poor meal, but
my fellow-countrymen had no such scruple.
Some pushed and stared and sneered. A
young cki, with a deportment like a queen,
jumped up, walked round, and said m broken
English, ' Stan' back ! ' and they stood back !
1 shall never forget these foreign
Romany folk sipping their cups of coffee. I
thought of the champagne flowing at Gosforth
Park ! . . . . The chabos themselves
called me Kuslili /{oina/ino, and begged for
cigarettes and pennies. They patted my back
and mounted my bike, and fell off and shouted;
then all hands pushed at the back of the van
when we came to a steep [)arL of the road.
A policeman now interfered, and said
the van must not lto 011 to the moor at this

Symf^atheticallv Regarded. 473

point. . . . Meanwhile he telephoned to
the central police station. He told me he
had no instructions. A\'hy had the county
police not wired ? Here was a bad case of
cruelty to animals. He blustered away at me
and the Gypsies in the usual style. Had it not
been for domestic reasons I should have broken
out into open rebellion against poHcemanisation,
but it would only have resulted in a charge
of 'drunk and disorderly,' and respectability
would have turned up the whites of its eyes.
. There were some handsome young chies
about with their uncombed hair and travel-stained
.skirts, and the contrast between these festival
people and the poor Bohemians was to me
unspeakably sad. A man jeered at me and
said, ' They stink.' Oh, for George Borrow and
Long Melford ! Dirty : Yes, I felt dirty,
too, covered with road dust. Where were
the hospitable baths of Novo Castra for us
travellers ? . . . But no I another stop-
page. Presently a personage with silver lace
and his peaked cap took command, and the
vans were all moved away from the land
of promise, and the weary, merciles=, un-
pitying Harass continued. Hospitable New-
castle I Never let that title be claimed again !
Is it not all chronicled in the local Press
how the pony fell after crossing the Tyne

474 T/i<^ Tinkler-Gypsies.

and the men of Gateshead put their shoulders
to the vans 1"

Even so, and much more to a similar effect
writes a gentleman who made a long trekk with
the Gypsies to see for himself how they acted
and how they were treated. Frequent meetings
with the " German " Gypsies increased his in-
terest in them, and this is his excellent pen-
picture of their departure from the quay at
Newcastle : " During the week ending 3rd
November, 1906, I was a great deal with the
foreign Gypsies — up soon in the mornings at
their encampment before seven, and out late at
night with the policemen. I had a busy time,
and until I saw the van and pony of Gypsy
King Joseph -Steinbach hoisted on the Sir
William Stephenson I could not rest. It poured
with rain all that week. One of the daughters
sobbed bitterly as the vessel slowly moved away
from the wharf, and the big burly King took off
his hat, and striking an attitude with his arm
and hat held over the side of the boat, said
'Good-bye, England !' So he remained till out
of sight, and I raised my hat and shouted
' Hurrah ! hurrah ! ' unheeding the expostula-
tions of my wife."

These Gypsies were apparentl)- the higher
class known as the Sigeuner. A scholarly
account of a visit paid to the same lot by Mr

Gypsy Detracfoj's. 475

John Sampson, Liverpool, in which he records
the first " German " Gypsy folk-tale ever re-
corded by a Gajikano Rom, will be found at
page 1 1 1 of No. 2 vol. i. of The Jounial of the
Gypsy Lore Society (new series).

In many cases, be it said to their credit,
newspapers have loudly condemned the con-
duct meted out to these Gypsies by Hooligan
mobs. One Christian gentleman — Pastor
Geyer, an Austrian, though minister of the
German Protestant Church, Glasgow — deemed
it his duty as a minister of the Gospel to offer
these poor oppressed wanderers spiritual minis-
trations, not because they happened to come
from Germany, but because they had souls to
save. Amongst other Christian acts done by
him on their behalf be appealed through the
columns of the Press for clothing for the
scantily-clad Gypsy children to be baptised by
him. All honour to the generosity of the kind
folks who promptly complied with the good
pastor's appeal, but one minister of the Gospel
expressed the hope that no one would respond
to the pastor's request since we had enough
poor people in Scotland without any German
Gypsies, and yet such as he beg for money to
send missionaries to preach the glorious Gospel,
but when they have the heathen brought to
their own door they would spurn them from it

476 The Tinkler-Gypsies.

and persecute them. Alackaday ! Where is
the vaunted zeal of the young ministers who go
abroad to preach the glorious Gospel to the be-
nighted heathen ? Is it too drivelling, common-
place, and unheroic to preach the Gospel to
such heathen at our own doors ? Why did not
an Archbishop and a Moderator, ever zealous
for the honour and missionary prestige of their
Churches, write a letter to the newspapers en-
joining pastors in each district to show at least
a friendly interest in these despised and down-
trodden Gypsies ? All credit to the parson
who, probably at great personal risk, achieved,
what the police either could not or would not
do, by staying the fury of that ^///-British Perth-
shire mob, who stoned — a grievous wound
being inflicted on a Gypsy woman — and other-
wise maltreated a gang of the foreign Gypsies.
Surely if the Gypsies were as bad as they were
said to be. Pastor Geyer's and every other
Christian's duty was on that very account all
the more clear ! But a leading member of one
of (jur Protestant Churches told the pastor he
had no business to " cast pearls before swine."
Shame upon such canting hypocrites whose
sham rcligifjn makes religion a byword and is
a stumbling-block to the acceptance of a Gospel
that has loving kindness and charity for its
root-princi[jle, and may Pastor Geyer's own

Hereditary Detractors. 477

conscience reward him richly through the know-
ledge of a Christian duty faithfully discharged
in the face of spiteful opposition, jealousy, and
boycotting !

I do not for a moment doubt that much
exaggeration and mahgnraent have crept into
newspaper accounts and letters, and I hope
that, on calmer reflection, tte Gypsies' heredi-
tary detractors may see that they have allowed
resentment to upset the balance of their reason,
and that in the stoning of the Gypsies, spitting
in their food, harassing them, compelling them
to overwork their horses, driving them from
camping grounds of which they had actually
paid the rent, and boycotting those who,
rightly or wrongly, considered it their duty
to proffer friendly treatment to the Gypsies,
they have simply been acting unthinkingly, and
proving themselves capable of doing even more
inhumane tilings than anything attributed to the
poor, despised, down-trodden Gypsies. Why,
the wonder is that the impulsive and passionate
nature of the Gypsies has been held so well in
check, and, speaking with some knowledge of
them, I say we ought to be deeply grateful to
them for having kept their tempers so well
curbed under great provocation. Undoubtedly
the police have had a most difificult task to
carry through. The machinery of the law is

4/8 The Tinkler-Gypsies.

not adapted for such emergencies, and so the
law devised a plan whereby each district
hustled them on to the next. It may be that
each constable did his part kindly, but the
aggregate of such treatment when continued
from 6 a.m. till ii at night, as happened, can
only be characterised as inhumane. Only two
criminal cases appear to have been raised
against any of them, the one for trespassing — or,
more properly, trespassing at the instigation of
the police — having ultimately been abandoned,
the worst of all examples to the Gypsies — and
the other for passing a base coin, which the
Gypsies maintained had been palmed off on
them, and which they in turn merely tried to
pass on to another. If they stole, as was so
constantly averred, why was the first reported
case of theft not acted upon, and the thief
popped in jail ? That would have been an
example the Gypsies could have understood.
The head and front of their offence is their
inveterate begging, and doubtless it is most
reprehensible, but there is always this to be
said in mitigation — -these Gypsies are a strange
people, a peculiarly constituted people — and
who dare blame them for that ? — a people who
carry with them to our doors the customs,
habits, manners, style of dress, and speech of
the East, and put into practice the latest

Htredita/y Detractors. 479

recommendation of scientists as to the
desirability of living a simple life in the
open air. In short, they are here on show
— and a show well worth paying to see for
those who can appreciate it — and in that view
is there any grave wrong in asking for a trifle
for allowing you to inspect them either at their
encampment or at your own doorway, if they
should present themselves there for exhibition ?
Why should people be allowed to come gazing
at these poor wayfarers, watching their every
movement, and taking photographs of them, if
they are not prepared to pay for it 1

It is needless now to discuss the right or the
wrong of admitting them into this country. The
law having permitted them to land should from
the outset have treated them firmly but kindly
within the limits of the law. Dare the law
have meted out such treatment, as it has to
these poor wayfarers, to any subjects of His
Majesty? Some folks condemn them on
account of their roving habits, and because
they are not at precisely the same stage of
development as themselves, forgetful of the fact
that our own forebears are supposed also to
have come westwards, and that but a thousand
years ago we were a race addicted to raiding
and reiving. Begging and pilfering were the
chief complaints made against them, and

Sco/s and Gxpsies Contrasted. 48 r

indeed all the world over these easily detected
delicts are the only ones they are addicted to.
But what of their hereditary detractors ? There
is much veneer about our modern civilisation.
When " German " Gypsies come amongst us,
or in times of war, what horrid passions gain
the ascendency ! And even in times of peace
there are known to be " tricks in every trade,"
gigantic swindles and pious frauds in every
trade and profession, that the law is not
sufficiently perfected to cope with — yea, even
many of such "open secret" crimes are
practised under the very guise and cloak of
religion and charity ! In view of our
inhumane treatment of these unfortunates in
a strange country there is more aptness than
seems in Sorrow's comparison of the Scots and
the Gypsies : " ' Ay, but the Scotch are ' — foxes,
foxes, nothing else than foxes, even like the
Gypsies — the difference between the Gypsy and
Scotch fox being that the first is wild, with a
mighty brush, the other a sneak with a gilt
collar and without a tail." " Marono Dammo,"
on a begging tour, chanced to wander into
Rutherford Free Church, Newton-Stewart, dur-
ing divine service. Immediately she saw her
mistake she crossed herself, knelt devoutly, and
repeated, "La preche I La preche I" — and the
minister and congregation being engaged in

81

482 The Tinkler Gypsies.

prayer — no one invited her to sit down, and so
she wandered out again. Naturally my readers
will expect that when the elders came round to
the plate they found that " Marono " had
gone off with the whole collection ! Not so, my
kind, charitable. Christian friends ! The collec-
tion had been carefully lifted immediately
before the " heide}i " entered, but " Marono,"
instead of stealing from the plate, had proved
how charitable she could be by placing therein
a small silver coin in aid of the funds of
a congregation which had failed to extend
the hand of welcome towards her ! The minis-
ter, who takes a real interest in the wandering
tribes, was very naturally mucli annoyed that
she should have arrived at such an inopportune
moment, and so had vanished ere anyone had
tried to persuade her to worship with them.

Let my readers try to picture the condition
of a band of Scotch Gypsies in Germany with
no knowledge of German, and it will help them
to understand the full poignancy and pregnancy
of meaning of that one word moueish, the use of
which by the German Gypsies has been their
chiefest reproach. Why, if our own Gypsies
were harassed and hustled as these were they
could not exist ivithout trespassing, begging,
and stealing, the very things the stupid policy
of the law was hastily improvised to prevent.

I must only speak of these foreign Gypsies

Improved on Acquaintance. 483

as I found them. They begged invelerately.
They, however, appreciated kindly treatment,
and my lady friend said they repeatedly said
" Die leute verstehen nns nicht " (The people
misunderstand us), from which she gathered
they would not fail to reciprocate kindness.
Although those interviewed by us were merely
of the calderari species, a caste corresponding
to our Tinklers, they were comfortably dressed,
had nice clean beds, appeared to be clean them-
selves, bore no trace of drunkenness, and,
my lady friend assured me, they spoke most
politely in high German, and I came away
with a much better impression of them than I
had gathered from reading of them in the news-
papers. I have also read of the Gypsy women
benig condemned for their decolletees costume.
J found, however, they were simply attired as
one would expect to find, and as one does find,
Gypsies attired everywhere, but let Emerson's
jioble tribute defend them on that score :

" The sun goes down and with him takes
The coarseness of my poor attire ;
The fair moon mounts and aye the flame
Of Gypsy beauty blazes higher.

Pale Northern girls I you scorn our race ;

You captives of your air-tight halls,
Wear out in-doors your sickly days,

But leave us the horizon walls.

And if I take you, dames, to task,

And say it frankly without guile,
Then you are Gypsies in a mask.

And I the lady all the while."

CHAPTER XII.

HERE'S wee Tammie Twent)-, tlie

auld Tinkler bodie,
Comes here twice a year wi' his creels

an' his cuddy ;
\Vi' Nancy, his wife, sae gudgy and

duddy,
Il"s hard to say whilk is the queerest

auld bodie.

From Wee Tammie Twenty in
" The Gaberlunzie's Wallet. "

In this Galloway of ours it is interesting to
take stock of the various types of mankind one
meets there. A clever, observant Aberdonian
once remarked at a public dinner in Galloway
that he had been struck by the abnormal
number of large and regular featured men
gathered around the table. The remark was
completely justified by the appearance of the
guests. At a Tinkler camp where there is so
much that is interesting, if one has only the
knowledge to assess things at their proper value,
one must not omit to take stock of the types
one sees there. The Marshalls are interesting
as types of the Romani-speaking Gypsies, and
possibly of the Picts. But even the swarthy,
short, thick-set William Marshall, the present
head of the remnants of the Marshall gang, is

486 The Tiiikkr-Gypsies.

not, in our opinion, nearly so striking or so
interesting a type as that of his partner in
h'fe, who is an O'Neil. Arriving early one
morning at an encampment of Marshalls,
we found Katie O'Neil or Marshall bus)-
dressing a little grandchild with his scanty
garments. The old Tinkler woman is black-
haired, squat, and swarthy in complexion, with
a tinge of red in it. There is a look, wiped all
over her face, that gives one the impression
she is labouring under a constant grievance
against society. This same look is common to
ethers of her own lot, and still it does not, so
far as we are aware, imply that they are cross-
grained. On the contrary, we have always
found them most civil and polite. To our
surprise, the skin on the body of the grand-
child was almost as dark as one would expect
to see on a Mongolian child. Unfortunately
the camera can't produce colour, but the chikl
is still alive and its colour will bear out what is
here recorded. The Irish Tinklers are said
also to be "dark-haired and of swarth)- appear-
ance, and they seldom marry out of their own
caste." '^'^ One of the illustrations to a former
chapter showed William Marshall with his arm
round the neck of his partner in life, Katie
O'Neil. That illustration is a remarkable
photo in many respects : in Mr David Mac-

'■'• Niall of the Nine Hostages." 48 7

Ritchie's Ancient and Modern Britons, p. 397,
we find :

" In the century preceding this discovery of a
trans-Atlantic ' White Man's Land,' the kings
who ruled in Dublin were Northmen, the first
of this line being Olave the White, who con-
quered Dublin in 852, 'and founded the most
powerful and permanent of the Norse kingdoms
in Ireland.' And it is said that, five hundred
years before this, the 'supreme King of Ireland '
was a man bearing the Icelandic name of Neil,
Nial, or Njal (remembered as ' Nial of the Nine
Hostages ')."

That " Nial of the Nine Hostages " was none
other than the " Niall of the Nine Hostages "
who finally conquered the Picts. Founding
partly on tradition and partly on history. Sir
Herbert Maxwell, Bart., in his Dnke of Briton,
tells in words worthy of such a splendid theme
the thrilling tale of how the last of the Picts
sacrificed themselves rather than submit to the
usurpers. The Great King "Niall of the Nine
Hostages," with his invading Scots, after a
slaughter which extended over six days, remem-
bered as the " Bloody Half-dozen," had hemmed
the remnants of the Picts into a disused fort at
the extremity of the promontory of the Mull of
Galloway. There the Picts made their last
stand. Niall and bis swarthy followers had

Katie O'Neil or Marshall.
riicito liy A. MConnick.

The Last Stand of the Pic's. 489

•either killed or starved all the Picts save
Donachy the Leech and his sons, Trost of the
Long Knife and Faelchu. A traitorous druid
priest named Sionach tlie Fox, who was fighting
for the Scots against his erstwhile friends, had
suggested peace to Niall in order that the secret
of brewing heather ale should be revealed by
Donachy i ia and his two sons. They alone
knew that secret, and it ' was due to their
possessing the secret of preparing the biadh-nan-
ireun, the compressed food by virtue of which
Pictish hunters were able to endure almost
incredible fatigue and privation, that these
three remained strong and healthy, sustained
by a secret store thereof. Feigning to discuss
terms of peace, here is how they acquitted
themselves according to that author's fine
version of it^'-"* :

" ' Why, this is well now, Donachy Lia ! Wo.
could not kill out the breed of you. Haste
thee, man, and make known to us that whereby
you shall be none the poorer and we the better
off.'

" ' Nay, my lord,' answered the old man, ' but
this is no matter for haste. You would wring
from my bosom that which is known to no
living soul but those in my house. It comes
not readily to my lips. Nothing but the
extremity of our danger would have stirred it.

49C The Tiiikkr-Gypsies.

Give me but a little time to reflect and prepare
myself.'

" ' Such time thou shalt have as I give the old
wolf when my hound is at his throat !' excluimed
the King furiously, while a flush deepened on
his brow, the darker in contrast with the gleam
of his pale blue eyes. 'What! a rebel taken
with arms in your hands, and you dare to talk
to me of time ! Out with it at once, dog of a
Leech, or by the bloody eye of Eochy Mac-
Luchta, thou shalt die a thousand deaths !'

" ' You are the conqueror, O King.' replied
Donachy, bowing his grey head, ' and with the
conqueror rests the power. Your will shall be
done, though it may not be from my lips that
you learn the secret. Life is well-nigh sped
with me \ it is not worth buying. But my sons
there are young men ; the light of day is still
dear to them. They know my secret. Trost
of the Long Knife, my eldest born, is willing to
buy our lives by revealing the secret.' Niall
clutched the slat-ii-eanchann as if about to dash
out the brains of him who dared thus parley
with him : but his cupidity got the better of his
ire, for this famous secret of heather ale had
long been the source of much of Crindal's
wealth.

" ' Let Trost speak then !' roared the King,.
' and let his words be few. And look you, ye

492 The Tiiikler-Gypiies.

dogs ! if any falsehood is attempted, I swear
by the Rock of Cashel that death is the least
thing ye shall suffer. Ye shall be torn piece-
meal with hot pincers !'

" ' My words shall be few, Niall,' said Trost.
' Life is sweet, and for nothing less would 1
part with what I have vowed to die rather than
reveal ; but none of my race must live to see
my shame. See here, King Niall, before I
speak, my father and my brother must be taken
to yonder brow and cast into the sea ! I have
spoken.'

" 'Ho, ho 1' laughed Niall, ' be it as you will.
It is a strange request, but one easily granted.'
He made a sign to some spearmen, who
l)romptly seized the defenceless men and bore
them to the brink of the cliff. The crowd
pressed round, bloodthirsty Sionach foremost
of all. Faelchu and his father exchanged a
brief, earnest glance, then closed their eyes, and
a score of strong arms flung them out into the
abyss. In the deep, green water beside the
Black Rocks there was a hissing splash Two
<,-ircles of white foam drifted away widi the tide.
Uonachy and Faelchu sank to rise no more.
Trost looked on with folded arms.

"'One more conditicMi, King Nial,' he said,
' without which you cannot learn what you
desire. This secret must ])ass from me not to

The Last Stand of the Picts. 493

thee, nor to any but one of my own race. To'
Sionach, the arch-druid, alone will I reveal it.'

" ' Three boons a man may ask from a King/
growled Niall, ' and no more. Thou liast had
two — the death of your father and brother.
This also I grant, but beware how you try me
further ! Sionach, we will withdraw a space.
Keep your sword in hand. This man is un-
armed ; he cannot harm you.' He motioned
back the crowd ; Sionach and Trost were left
standing alone. Trost, with hands behind his
back, turned to walk along the brow ; the druid
followed him warily. But not warily enough
for the old hunter. Where the cliff was
steepest, the brink most abrupt, Trost turned
like a flash, wrapped his sinewy arms round the
druid, crying out, ' The secret dies !' — next
moment both men disappeared over the edge
and were never seen again. A cry of baffled
rage broke from the crowd. Many agreeable
visions of rivers of good liquor to be brewed
from the herbage under their feet were shattered,
and from that day to this no man has ever
revived the art of brewing ale from heather " :

" But now in vain is the torture,
Fire shall never avail ;
Here dies in my bosom
The secret of heather ale." ^2">

Little did William Marshall dream, when he
put his arm round his consort Katie's neck.

Scot and Pict Wedded. 495

what an emblem of peace his strong arm
represented — a possible representative of the
Picts and of the last reputed king of the Picts,
swearing fealty to a possible representative of
" Nial of the Nine Hostages," and of the
conquering Scots who overwhelmed the Picts.
One could hardly have expected the happy
result to come about without a protest. Nor
did it ; for when William put his arm round his
consort's neck, she uttered this mild protest,
" Ye're no aye sae kind to me when we're gaun
lie at nicht."

Gypsies have peculiar views of family relation-
ships, e.g.^ old Sarah Boswell of Blackpool was
known amongst the English Gypsies as " my
Aunt Sara-" There is also a similar loose use
of the w^ord " uncle " amongst them — ^^'illiam
Marshall once gave me the word " sister" as an
equivalent for the word " wife "^and in view
of the fact that history shows that the Scot
Nials conquered the Pict Marshalls, it is a
curious coincident that WilHam Marshall should
say — " I ca' her (alluding to his consort) the
haurie rye (great king), but she's just a bauric
mort (braw wife) for a' that."

It must, however, have been a long time
since the Tinkler O'Neils came over, for they
have little or none of the Irish brogue. The
only difference noticeable in their dialect is

Kelifliihill Fair. 497

that they speak quickly and jerkily, with a
harsh guttural accent.

Tinklers are generally anxious to get their
children baptised, and it is told of a Tinkler —
probably Billy Marshall — who, when questioned
at a christening as to his fitness to hold up the
child, replied, " I could hold up a stot if
necessary." Formerly, however, it was said
that at Keltonhill Fair they used to have an
allocation of the children !

What a lively function Keltonhill Fair must
have been ! I'he poor Tinklers must have had
a busy time of it between drinking, cutting
purses, vending wares, horse-dealing, allocating
their children, and stealing. In that last
department the Gypsies hold that they steal
under divine authority, but there are others
besides Gypsies who shelter themselves behind
the Deity when performing acts of dishonesty.
The following story is told of a farmer who
invoked the Deity to help him — in case of
extremity — to score a success in cheating.
The farmer had been conducting family worship
on the morning of a certain Keltonhill Fair day,
and this is said to have been the tenor of his
prayer^'-" : " Oh Lord, again the great day of
Keltonhill Fair has come round. Let us go in
hope and come back in pleasure, neither
cheating nor being cheated, but raither by the

32

498 The Tinkler-Gypsies.

raitherest gie the cheat than get it." The poor
Tinklers would require to have recourse to their
cutest dodges to draw level with such a keen
blade as that old farmer must have been.

Tinklers have as a rule very loose notions
about matrimony. Even the customs of jump-
ing over a budget to constitute marriage, or of
breaking the marital knot over a dead horse are
now almost unknown. Mr David MacRitchie,
quoting from a description supplied by an Irish
lady, gives particulars of a system of exchanging
wives common amongst Irish Tinklers — proving
that polygamous habits were not confined to
the Galloway Tinklers'-' : " The Tinklers seem
to think very little of the matter, which they
designate by the somewhat vulgar term of
'swap.' I'o the following 'swap' or exchange
a friend of mine was an unseen witness.
Tinklers are great horse-dealers, and the one
in question was no exception to the rule.
Seeing a promising young foal in the possession
of a fellow-tinsman, he longed to become its
owner. How to do so was the question, for
Tinkler Number Two refused to part with the
animal. Some months later the two men met
at the village fair in cjuestion. Number Two
had a very ugly old wife, with only one eye,
whom he longed to ' swap ' ; while Number One
was the possessor of a young and pretty one,

Loose Notions about Matri/Jiouy. 499

whom, so far, he had no wish to dispose of in
the usual way. But business was business, and
so good an opportunity was not to be lost, so
he offered the pretty young wife for the old one
with the one eye, provided the coveted foal was
given, too, so as to make the exchange equal.
Tinkler Number Two demurred, but over a few^
friendly glasses the bargain was concluded.
He got the young wife, and gave in exchange
the foal and the ' old woman,' as he called her.
In all these ' swaps,' horses, money, so much
whisky, perhaps a new budget, or a suit of
clothes, form part of the exchange."

As a connecting link between Billy Marshall
and the present generation, we shall now record
some information about a few of the clan who
have lived their lives, and departed since his
■day :

Some sixty or seventy years ago a well-known
figure in the Thornhill district was Moses
Marshall, one of the Kilmaurs breed of
Marshalls. About that date he would be
about sixty years of age. He walked very
erect, and was invariably dressed with a frock
coat having large white buttons. At that time
he had a good grey horse, and mostly a donkey
as well. He was always spoken of as one of
the most respectable of the Tinklers. Once or
twice every year he camped with his wife and

500 The Tinkler-Gypsies.

family (of whom there appear to liave been
three sons — John, William, and Charles) some-
times at the " Wee Wood " near Campleslacks,
and sometimes at the foot of Crichope Linn,
both in Closeburn parish. A favourite place of
call during those visits was William Martin's
" Smiddy," where he was wont to give great
amusement by the yarns he told. There used
to be a fair at Wanlockhead many years ago, at
which the cottagers sold their cows at the end of
the .sea.son, not being able to winter them. On
one occasion there was a large gathering, and the
Tinklers w^ere well represented — the Kennedies,^
Baxters, and Moses Marshall, with his followers,
being there. Moses was a steady man, but the
others had taken drink, commenced to fight,
and wanted to draw Moses into the quarrel.
He got hold of an old "hame blade" (part of
horse collar) and laid about him right and left,
to the terror of all around, and .speedily cowed
his assailants. The old smith having been at
the fair buying a cow was an eye witness, and
used to delight in relating this story. He said
the thrashing of the Kennedies and Ba.xters by
Moses was like Samson slaying the Philistines.''
Another link of the past was a somewhat
droll and eccentric character named Billy Mar-
shall, who frequented Northumberland, and is
said to have been a "thorough nomad and

Fine Types of Modern Tinkkr- Gypsies. 501

vagrant." About fifty years ago the scion of the
clan Marshall, like the famous Billy, evinced
Pictish characteristics by living in a cave known
as Cuddy's Cave on Hazelrigg Hill, near
Chatton, in the north of the county of North-
umberland. His wife Peggy and himself
tramped the northern part of Northumberland
singing and selling ballads (locally known as
■*• ballants "), one of his favourite songs being
very appropriately, "Willie, we have missed
you," which first came out in the fifties. After
the death of his wife, Billy wore her petticoat
and bonnet with an " ugby," and hence was
afterwards dubbed by the country folk " Peggy
Marshall."

Francie Marshall, of whom an illustration (to
a former chapter, p. 296) showed him sitting
clipping tin, is a good representative of the
Kilmaurs branch of the family. He appears to
have belonged to Mochrum. It is said his fore-
folks were blacksmiths there, probably hailing
originally from Kilmaurs. Francie was a short,
wiry, active little man — full of fun and frolic,
and never moie at home than when taking part
in a ruction. He lived near an inn in the
village of Kirkcowan, and whenever he heard
the noise of fighting in the street he would say
to his wife, " Gie me the paniniler''^ \ and out
he would lush and into the thick of the fight,

o <

Fine Types of Modern Tinkler-Gypsies. 503

scattering the crowd in all directions. On one
occasion, however, it is said that his " sootherin'
aim " played him false. Francie had a grievance
against a certain man, and spying him through
the window one day Francie picked up his
" sootherin' airn " and, concealing it under his
coat tails, warily followed his foe up the street.
He struck him on the back of the neck, and
the man fell stunned at his feet. Francie
proceeded to make rings round him, brandishing
the " sootherin' airn " aloft, but when he got in
front of his enemy to his consternation he saw
he had felled the wrong man. He rushed up
the back gaiden, and it is said that it is with
the greatest difficulty they dissuaded him from
committing suicide. He lived almost opposite
the churchyard at Kirkcowan, and his house
was a great place for old and young to fore-
gather to hear Francie's droll tales. One night
a visitor had drawn a stool towards the fire,
and was proceeding to light his pipe. His eye
caught something on the hearth :

" Bless my life, Francie," said he, " what's
this ye hae got here?" pointing to an epitaph
on the hearth-stane.

" Oh," said Francie, " I was juist owerby in
the yaird — (alluding to the churchyard) — and I
noticed that lying an' I thocht it would make a
gran' hearth-stane !"

504 The Tinkler-Gypsies.

Francie was famed far and near as a maker
of " sole cloots " for ploughs. One day a farmer
came wanting him to do some repairs to a
plough, but Francie was on his high horse. He
said he had no time to do it. The farmer
pressed him, but Francie was obdurate, saying

Snuff "Mull" made by Billy Marshall.

Pliotoby.T. P. Milnos.

(By kind i)eniiission of Mr Hugh Carter, Selkirk Arms.
Kirkcuilbrigbt.)

that he " had nae time for such coorse wark as
there was to be a marriage in the village, and
he was working da)- and nicht putting i)reens in
brooches and making bits of jewellery for
marriage presents." Whether Francie ever did
wcjrk in anything but the baser metals is not

Billy s llandicrajtsmaiiship. 505

known, but from far and near he was sought
as a handy man for all kinds of smith, plumber,
and tin work. A farmer aptly described him
thus : " There was siccana humoursomeness
aboot Francie that a' folks buist (must) like the
wee bodie."

These were all fine types of the Tinkler,
and help us to gather some idea of what Billy
Marshall must have Oit'dw. We have seen, as
an illustration to a previous chapter, a specimen
of Billy's handicraft as a homer in the fine horn
mug presented by him to tlie Earl of Selkirk,
and we now give as a further illustration speci-
mens of horn snuff "mulls" and horn "divi-
ders " of Billy's own workmanship. We are
also permitted by the kindness of Dr Trotter,
the author of Gcilhnvav Gossip, to give as an
illustration a specimen of a flat-iron made by
Billy in 1759, and we now quote from Galloway
Gossip the Doctor's apt description of Billy's
ordinary avocations, and incidentally of the flat-
iron : " He use't tae make bagpipes, an' horn-
spunes, an' flat-airns, an' bress an' siller
brooches, forbye tins, an' boosums, an' bee-
skeps, an' orra thmgs o' that kin'. A hae a
flat-aim in the hoose o' Billy's mak', wi' the
date 1746 (1759?) on the upper side o't. It's
gettin' faint noo, but it's still heicher nor the
rest o' the aim, an' the aim's lang an' nairra an'

s S

Billx Commits Murder.

.-)"/

thin, but it's a gran' yin for dressing necks an'
breasts." We are informed that, despite its
being a century and a half old, the i'on is still
in daily use, and that Mrs Trotter cannot be
tempted to hang it on the drawing-room wall
with a nice blue silk ribbon to adorn it, as she
can't find any iron of modern invention to aim
"necks an' breasts " as well as it does.

That Billy worked in various metals is con-
firmed by the following tradition which shows
Billy in a new guise — that of a counterfeit
coiner : In one of the old cottages at Lagwine,
where the forebears of the M'CuUochs — still
represented there — lived, he was busily engaged
one day melting a copper or brass pan and
making pennies. His wife — "Judy" on this
occasion — was his helper keeping his blow pipe
going, and he was overheard shouting — " Blaw,
Jud\', woman I Blaw, or ye'll spile the folk's
coppers !"' Probably these coppers were similar
to the old card pennies referred to by Mr
Sampson at page 157 of volume iii. of 1 iit
Journal of the Gypsy Lore Society.

The tradition that Billy killed one of his
wives for a frailty committed with Isaac Miller,
whom he also killed, and then assumed the
kingship of the clan, is confirmed as to his
having killed the former chief and thereafter
acted as his successor by the folknving circum-

/

% <

Billy Kills his Predecessor. 509

stantial details given in The Life of James Allan,
p. 49, et seq. ;—

" Matters went on thus for a season, when I
was sent one morning to rouse our chief, who
had agreed the preceding night upon an excur-
sion to Ayr. On entering the place where he
slept, what was my sur[)rise at finding him lying
dead on his shake-down. The floor was covered
with blood, and various stabs appeared to have
been inflicted on his body ; at his side this
(drawing a long blood-encrusted knife from his
bosom), yes ! this identical knife which I had
bought at the fair of Ayr twelve months before,
and had sold it to Will Marshall the day before
the murder was committed ; but what durst I
say ? He was powerful and amongst his friends,
whilst I stood alone, and in a strange country.
I, however, secreted the knife for my own pre-
servation, as he had bought it of me when no
one was present, and I have every reason to
suppose that he left it there in order that I might
be thought the murderer, as the knife was
known to be mine : but I am determined to
retain it, and will on my death-bed (by present-
ing it) try to awaken his conscience to a sense
of his guilt. He had for some weeks before
been hinting that he was nearly related to our
chief by his mother's side, but that, I have since
been informed, was false. The death of our

Billy Kills his Predecessor. 5 1 1

king was no sooner made known, when, on
account of Will's pretended kindred, he took
upon himself the management of affliirs, and
began by ordering the body of the deceased to
be buried the same night, as privately as
possible, in an obscure place ; nor was any cog-
nisance taken of the affair, though his sudden
death, and the suspicious circumstances attend-
ing it, were well known through the country.
But Will having failed in implicating me, he re-
ported that our chief had been his own murderer,
and has since that period acted as our leader,
in which office, to do him justice, he behaves
with impartiality; but I am positive that his
guilty conscience renders his existence nn'ser-
able, for ever after the affair of the cave at
Cainmuir (Cairnsmore), Kirkcudbrightshire, he
dares neither travel in the dark nor sleep alone."

We have adopted the plan of narrating inci-
dents, whether handed down by written records
or merely by tradition, in the life of Billy Mar-
shall and his gang, and their successors, because
we think that from these incidents the fairest
estimate of them can be obtained.

Billy was no ordinary or humdrum individual.
He had blood in his veins that compelled him
to be a ruler, even though he h^d to kill his
former chief to obtain his kingly power. He is
unique in his way. In him we see a dual per-

512

The Tin k/et-- G) '/> s/es .

sonage — prubahly the last in this country to
represent in so glaring a form the peculiar
characteristics of Romani-speaking Gypsies and

"Ursari" (Bear-leaders) of Asia Minor.

Photo by P. Sebali.

the aborigines. Place and time both conspired
to cause these characteristics to blossom forth jn
the person of Billy. The laws of the country

Revieiv of BillVs Characteristics. 513

were oppressive to the Gypsies, and were un-
evenly administered by weak and vacillating
executive officers. To Billy, descended from

"Ursari" (Bear-leaders) of Turkey.

Photo by P. Sebah.

(The five illustrations of foreign siioonmakers. tinklers, and
bear-leading Gypsies are given by kin J p-rmission of Mr David
MacRitchie, Joint-Secretary of the former Gypsy Lore Soriety
during its brief but highly useful existence.)

33

514 The Tinkler-Gypsies.

one of the races who had formerly owned the
whole country, the laws of the country, and
particularly the land laws thereof, must have
been unbeasable. Bit by bit the whole country
had been filched by land-grabbing aliens. When
Billy attained t(j his kingship, he saw the last
act of the drama being performed. Ancient
commons and pieces of waste ground and run-
rig lands were being enclosed and cottages
demolished ; and cottars, small farmers, and
the roving tribes were thereby thrown out of
employment, homes, and camping grounds.
It was fitting, then, that a man of Billy Mar-
shall's strength of body and will, and one who
doubly grudged that encroachment on the
rights of the people, should come to the front
at such a crisis, and be hailed as the leader of
" The Levellers," who, as already shown, took
up arms in vindication of their rights. But
there is ample evidence that Billy followed in
the footsteps of a more notorious freebooter :'-■

RoRiE Gill.

" \'ei break we not ihe orphans' bread,
Nor Ijring down woe on the widow's head ;
We pass without harming the child of care,
Nor wish we industry's meed to sliare ;
VVe only lake from the lordly Thane,
What honesty deems ill-gotten gain ;
And even the foeman's blood to spill,
Was ne'er the desire uf Rorie Gill."

Billy in Jail. 515

The crimes laid to Billy's charge were brutal
-enough, but even these should not be held
proven unless some unpublished records bring
fresh light upon the traditions which have
handed down the story of these crimes. We
gave, in a former chapter, an excerpt from
the Court Books at Wigtown which referred
to the incarceration of the wife and two children
of " young " Marshall for cutting purses, and
that record may refer to Billy Marshall ; and
the only other direct reference which the
Law Records have so far divulged is the
following'-^ : — '■''New Galiotvay, i6th May, 1744,
— There being one vagrant person named
•William Marshall taken by the constables of
Carsphairn and transmitted by them to this
place. The Commissioners and Justice of the
peace, at their meeting here. Does hereby
ordain the said William Marshall to be transmit-
ted to Kirkcudbright, and there to be detained
in your close goall until he be properly lifted
by some one of His Majesty's Officers. To the
Magistrates of the Burgh of Kirkcudbright. —
James McAdam Pry." That may have refer-
ence to the occasion on which Ciordon of
Kenmure let Billy slip after taking his precog-
nition, for the court books do not divulge any
further trace of the incident.

In mititration of the crimes attributed to him

5i6

Thi Tinkler-Gypsies.

by tradition, and assuming that the traditions
are well founded, it may be pleaded that (i)
some of these crimes, such as " correcting "
and punishing any members of the tribe, were

" EDIE OCHILTREE'S " TOMBSTONE.

From "The Scott Couiiti-y,' l.y W. S. Crookett (A. & C. Black).

justified by the laws of the Gypsies ; (2) some
of these crimes, such as his polygamous habits,
were due to strongly inherited aboriginal tenden-
cies ; (3) most of such crimes were, if not
exactly in his time then in a generation or two

Billy Refuse J a Seat in Church. 517

previous, frequently committed even by the
nobility of the land ; and (4) some of his crimes
were directly due to bad laws unevenly admin-
istered and to persecution. As a quaint

Back of " Edie Ochiltree's" Tombstone.
From "Tlie Scott Country." l>y \V. S. Crockett (A. & C. Black).

illustration of the extent to which that persecu-
tion was carried, the following quotation is taken
from entries in the cash book anent the erection
of the loft in the old Church of Alinnigaff^''" : —
■" Sthly. And in regard the Session are in-

5i8

The Tinkler-Gypsies.

formed that it will be very disagreeable to
most of the parishioners to have the two Tinklers
of Monnygoff to sit before them in said loft,
it is hereby expressly provided that the said
Tinklers, or any in their name, are not to be

r 1 1 ,<

Billy Marshall's Tombstone, Churchyard,
Kirkcudbright.

Plioto li.v T. H. D:ircl:i.v.

allowed to offer for any seat excepting the num-
ber nearest the gavel wall on each side of the
loft.— (Signed) Ehenr. Stott, Modr." The
two Tinklers would probably be the head of the
Marshall gang and the head of a large gang of

Billy Alarshall and Edie Ochiltree. 5 1 9

Youngs whom tradition also says had Minnigaff
as their headquarters. .

A noted compeer of Billy Marshall was
Andrew Gemmil (or Edie Ochiltree as he
appears in the pages of the Antiquary), who was

Back of Billy Marshall's Tombstone, Churchyard,

Kirkcudbright.

Photo Iiy T. H. Barcby.

a native of Old Cumnock, in Ayrshire, where
many of his descendants yet reside. He was
well known throughout the whole of Galloway,
and there was not a farm-house in the whole
shire but had received a visit from the sturdy

520 The Tinkler-Gypsies.

beggar. He was " twenty years a soldier,
twenty a garrison fogie, and twenty a beggar."

When Billy Marshall was taken prisoner by
the soldiers who cjuelled " The Levellers," he
managed to escape " by the assistance of his
intimate friend Edie Ochiltree, or Andrew
Gemmil, then a private soldier in the regiment
of the Black Horse." Andrew Gemmil and
Billy Marshall both sorned on the public and
set the laws at defiance. Public opinion, how-
ever, has neither been unjust nor unkind to
their memories. Both of them have had
monuments erected to their memory at public
expense.

Billy proved plucky to the end. During his
last illness some one hinted at the likelihood of
its being the last :

'■ Na, na," quo' he, " every pin in my auld
tabernacle's o' richt gude aik ; feint a fear o' me
this time yet." But, like his friend Andrew
Gemmil, he had at l^ist to " behold the end o't."
One version^^' states that " he subsisted in his
extreme old age by a [jension from Dunbar,
Earl of Selkirk," and it adds, " L-ord Daer
attended his funeral as chief mourner to the
Churchyard of Kirkcudbright, and laid his head
in the grave " ; but, on the other hand, tradi-
tion affirms that that honour was denied to the
Earl of Selkirk, and Mactaggart'''- affirms that

52 2 The Thik/er- Gypsies.

Billy "was buried in state by the Hammermen,
which body would not permit the Earl of Sel-
kirk to lay his head in the grave merely because
his Lordship was not one of their incorporated
tribe." Billy, however, had evidently some
reason for gratitude to the Earl, and the pre-
sent of the carved horn mug, which Billy had
given him, proves that he had not forgotten the
Earl's kindness.

The traditions of Galloway are replete with
blood-curdling ta'es that make Billy Marshall's
crimes sink into in<^ignificance. The exploits
of Rorie Gill have been recorded in verse by
Joseph Train'-'-' : —

"Well was our trip to St. Mary's Isle
Paid with the jewels of Devorgoil ;
Merrily on from Kenmure we
Fast galloped to Castle Kenned)' :
The currach we launched, we sailed the pond,
We pillaged the Castle, and stript the ground ;
And this night from Cruggleton we must bring
The stud of the Gallovidian king —
This golden spur once gleamed on his heel —
His was this baldric of burnished steel ;
And long ere the morning my merry men w ill
Bring his best geldings to Rorie (jill."

" Oh ! it was the searching bloodhound's yell,
And the tramping of horsemen down the dell.
And the shouts of many a forrester brave ;
Ho I now they reach the robber's cave."

" And long ere his men could rise on the hill.
Stiff hanged on a wuddie was Rorie Gill."

Blood-curdling Traditions. 525

In the Traditions of Galloivay and Mr Crockett's
The Grey Alan are recorded the horrible deeds,
upon which we need not here dwell, of " Sawney
Bean " and his incestuous, cannibal, cave-dwell-
ing crew.

Tradition has also handed down a gruesome
tale known as "The Murder Hole" "The
Murder Hole " of tradition was situated near the
Rowantree Schoolhouse. It is said to have
been " eighty feet deep, from which human
bones have been brought up." In connection
therewith, perhaps the most blood-curdling and
exciting of Galloway tales is told in the Tradi-
tions of Gallowoy. It relates to a gang of
waylayers and murderers who lived at the
Rowantree Toll on the borders of Galloway
and Ayrshire, and tells of a youth who had been
stormstayed and spent the night in their house,
and how he managed to escape by throwing the
blood-hounds off his scent. Tradition says that
when these wretches were brought to book they
confessed before their execution to having put
fifty victims out of sight in "The Murder Hole.'^
Sir Herbert Maxwell, Bart., in Good Words for
December, 1894, gives another version of the
story as told to him when a lad by his mother
as they were travelling in a postchaise to Ayr.
Sir Herbert's account of the tradition winds ui>

The "Murdfr Hole" of Tradition.

Pilot I l.y A. M'Cormii'k.

Romance Coitfoumis Tradition. 525

with this interesting observation: "The ethno-
logist may perhaps trace in this low-statured,
swarthy band of murderers a survival of the
aboriginal, pre-Celtic race in Britain, of whom
the Irish chronicler, MacFirbis, wrote long ago :

" ' Every one who is black-haired, who is a
tattler, guileful, noisy, contemptible ; every
wretched, mean, strolling, unsteady, harsh and
inhospitable person ; every low thief, every
slave or churl, every one who loves not to listen
to music and entertainment, the disturbers of
every council and every assembly, and the pro-
moters of discord among the people, these are
the descendants of Firbolg."

The " Murder Hole " of tradition is in dan-
ger of being lost sight of in the " Murder Hole "
of romance. Mr Crockett, in his Raiders., re-
moves it, for strategic purposes, about seven
miles away to the end of Loch Neldricken in
the midst of the wilderness of the Galloway
mountains. Alas ! the traditional " Murder
Hole " is in danger of being forgotten. The
younger generation know only the " Murder
Hole " of romance, and the good farmer at

seems to be in league with the novelist

in helping to make that of tradition and that
of romance one and the same. It appears
that some of his sheep had fallen into the
*' Murder Hole " of tradition and been drowned,

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1

A Blood Spot Creditabie. 527

and so, despite its traditionary depth, he managed
to fill it up, and now all that marks the scene of
the real " Murder Hole " is a luxuriant growth
of rashes.

In the light of aristocratic ideals, if Billy sinned
it was only because he arrived a little late upon
the scene. His purer aboriginal blood may have
prolonged his aboriginal tendencies. George
Borrow in his Romatiy Rye says : " Does not a
blood spot, or a lust spot on the clothes of a
blooming emperor give a kind of zest to the
genteel young god ? Do not the pride, super-
ciliousness, and selfishness of a certain aristoc-
racy make it all the more regarded by its
worshippers ? . . . . Why is there a beggar or
trumpery fellow in Scotland who does not
pretend to be somebody ? Is not every Scotch-
man descended from some king, kemp, or cow
•stealer of old, by his own account at least ? "
Thus we see that what is deemed an honour in
■one family tree may prove a perpetual blot in
another. An example of that kind came recently
under our notice. One of the Marshalls had
been out fighting our battle in the Boer War.
A rumour was circulated that young I\Iar-hall
had been executed for some grave crime.
Fortunately the Surgeon who had attended him
in his last illness happened to return to this
country, and hearing of that untrue and malig-

528 The Tinkler- Gypsies.

nanl rumour at once wrote to the local news-
paper to this effect : — '"''

" I found him to be a quiet and inoffensive
man, who had many friends and, I believe, no
enemies. I attended him in his last illness of
enteric fever, and can only say that he showed
the spirit of a Christian man in his last passage.
For the sake of his widow and children I would
be glad if you would demolish the aforesaid
rumour."

A curious mixture Billy undoubtedly must
have been — a law unto himself when the coun-
try was almost devoid of policemen or executive
officers to enforce properly the laws such as they
were. He gave many occasion to hate him,
but these had to bottle up their hatred for he
sorned on them with impunity. Others treated
him kmdly — some because they knew about his
descent, some because they dreaded him, and
some because he was an interesting character
who carried from house to house the "tittle-
tattle " of the district — and in return he appears
to have proved grateful to them. In that state
of matters we must not fail to note what he
accomplished. In point of ftict, " frae the
braes o' Glenapp to the Brig-en' o' Dumfries "
he played the part of an overlord — though his
was a kind of catholic superiority for which he
could produce no title.

Billy a Curious Mixture. 529

Under these circumstances, what might have
been the result had the control of his gang been
in weaker hands ? Probably the very crimes
attributed to him were essential to terrorise his
gang and bring them into subjection. A strong
man physically; a splendid wrestler ; a good
boxer; famous at the quarter-staff; a master
handicraftsman, and member of the Hammer-
men's Guild ; possessed of ingenuity and an
ever-ready wit : quick to assert the rights and
avenge the wrongs of his gang, he was an ideal
leader for such a gang, and well for the district
through which they roamed they had such a
strong man as leader. Even the notorious
" Piper Allan " had to admit that as a leader,
" to do him justice, he behaves with impar-
tiality." Little wonder, then, that :

" The duddy dells, In mountain glen,

Lamenteth ane an' a', man,

For sic a king they'll never ken

In bonnie Gallowa', man."

But his popularity did not end with those of
his tribe. He was appointed leader of " The
Levellers" by the cottars and farmers— which
proved how firmly they relied on his integrity
and ability. That we may err by judging him
by the present-day types is confirmed by a
gentleman who says that his grandmother
maintained that Billy, whom she had often met,
was " something far above the ordinary Tinkler."

34

53© The Tinkler-Gypsies.

His life was in a manner a final protest
against usurpation and aggrandisement on the
part of the white race over the dark. Might
had despoiled and was despoiling the dark of
their rights, and Billy raised a last unavailing
protest on behalf of his race against the law
that " Might (or its modern equivalent, money
and brain power) is right." The kindlier nature
in us applauds his protest, but civilisation
shrieking " Might is right," and with hands oft-
times dripping with blood, marches forward,
fulfilling the destiny of the world.

The peculiar circumstances in which Billy,
possessing a Gypsy chief's prerogatives and the
tendencies of the aborigines, was placed, and
the kindly, mellowing influences of time may
have softened memories of his crimes ; but
these crimes, if tradition errs not, will always
stand against him in the eyes of modern civili-
sation. Despite these traditionary crimes, how-
ever, Billy is held in kindly remembrance
throughout the length and breadth of the
ancient province of Galloway.

Let us also try to think kindly of him. As a
Gypsy chief he played his part nobly in the
eyes, at all events, of his own subjects. On the
Tinkler side he was the victim of the tendencies
of an aboriginal race. As a man he appears to
have had the saving grace of gratitude. Over and

Billy's Mission in Life. 531

over again did he risk his own neck to repay a
kindness. In a measure, Galloway owes Billy a
debt of gratitude for holding so well in check
his gang of ruthless desperadoes, and we are
glad the Tinklers nowadays seldom appear
before the Courts for other than petty misde-
meanours, and as to such crimes we, who do
not know what it means to be daily on the
borders of starvation, should surely avoid judg-
ing harshly these sorely-tempted folks. Soon
the Tinklers will be absorbed by the Gorgios
whom they despise, and then information about
them will only be obtainable in books.

" If 'if's' and 'an's' were pots and pans
There would be no use for Tinklers "

is a well-known proverb, though one not likely
to harm Tinklers, but gradually they will cease
as a separate race if they don't cease the making
of pots and pans and adopt more remunerative
trades.

It is but a generation since the pots and pans,
horn spoons, and ladles made by the Tinklers
found a ready market everywhere. Now, how-
ever, the machine-made articles are preferred to
the rough, stronger handiwork of the Tinklers.
The late noble Earl of Stair, in the course of
his reply to a deputation of his Oxenfoord
tenantry, who made him a handsome presenta-
tion on attaining his eighty-first birthday, made
this happy reference to the horn spoon, showing

532 The Tiiik/er-G)psies.

that it was then in favour boih in " house and
ha' " :^*^ " I was born in the village of Inveresk.
My father was then that highly respectable but
generally impecunious individual best known in
Scotland as ' Jock, the Laird's brither,' and he
then occupied a small house in Inveresk. We
often hear a wealthy man spoken of figuratively
as having been born with a silver spoon in his
mouth. Well, when I first appeared upon the
scene at Inveresk one fine ' Hunt the Gowk '
mornmg — for I was born on that auspicious day
— I don't think we had much to do with silver
spoons, as the earliest thing I can remember is
supping my parritch with a horn one. This was
deeply impressed on my memory from the fact
that it had a whistle at one end of it. I never
could discover what this was intended for. If
it had to do with ' \Vhistle and I'll come tae
ye, my lad,' it was a great failure, as I am
sure I blew my best, but no bonnie lassie ever
responded. I soon, however, found out the use
of the other end of the spoon. I have been
told that I used it vigorously and whiles grat
for mair."

The photo of the Perthshire and Argyleshire
Tinklers contains an excellent homily on life.
That picture was obtained just after they had
been out three days and three nights in the
heaviest rain we can recollect to have fallen in
Galloway — with only a tattered tent to protect

Happy in Hardship. 533

them by night. We had met them on the road,
and as we conversed about their hfe, manners,
customs, and language the sun broke through
the clouds and the photo was then taken.
Could we, who enjoy so many of the luxuries of
life, look so happy after enduring such hardship
— probably with the pangs of hunger thrown in ?

" My children are huns^ry — hungry — wungry ;

They're dying of the bitter cold —diddle diddle dum.

All night we're a-cryin' — for a bit o' bread a-dyin'.
My babes ha'e got no mother — nor father — nolher.
Certainly I should die but for my master standing by. '"i-"S

That typical open-road picture with the dear
little fellow chattuig away with the cuddy and
the whole company smiling and unconscious of
their sordid conditions, proves the infinite
elasticity of human nature. Luxury often kills
happiness, and yet these poor unpampered folks
can smile delightfully whilst undergoing the
direst hardships. Robert Louis Stevenson, in
his "Apology for Idlers," records a delightful
incident about a ragged, barefoot boy running
down the street after a marble with so jolly an
air that he set every one he passed into a good
hiiuiour. Oh that we might all bear in mind
the pleading of the sightless eyes of that poor
Tinkler grannie and that triumphant smile on
the Tinklers' faces 1 It would help each of us
to be more cheerful and contented with his own
lot. If we who luxuriate wish to avert the

Perthshire and Argyueshire Tinkler?.

(Stewarts and Campbells.)

A. MCoiiiiick.

^--{^iMy^^\^^k

Tinklers Redeefiiim^ Features.

^o:)

natural growth of socialism we ought to bestir
ourselves by bestowing more in the shape of
charity and legislation on poor folks such as
they.

In conclusion, our feelings and wishes about
Billy Marshall, the most notorious and note-
worthy of the Tinklers, may best be given
expression to in the equivocal language of his
own favourite toast :

" May ne'er waur be among us."

And if we, who are both differently constituted
and differently circumstanced from the Tinklers,
wish to break down the barrier of reserve which
prevents all improvement in the condition of
these poor people, we must lay to heart the well-
balanced judgment of our greatest analyst of

character : ^■"

" Tinkler-Gypsies.

How simple they are, on a background
of our better qualities, as far as poverty can
allow. But it keeps them closer to Nature
than we are; so they should be cared for
charitably by those who love our Mother.
Georse MeredUh."

THE TINKLERS' WADDIN\

Live I 'J.

aE^h^;.>^-T7^f^h^,=^^E^

s

In June, when broom m b!oom was scsn, And brad-:en waved fu'

^^^^^^^^S

fresh and green, And warm the sun, wi' sil

^fe^^^^^^^^

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-:^$

nd glens did gladden, O ; Ac day up • o:) the

i;5;EEg::^;^e;^=§Eg!EEgEgEE§EEp

s

Border bent. The tinklers pitch'U their £ip - sv lent, And

auld and young, wi' ae consent, Resolved to l-^ud a v.'^ddin', O

Chorus.

^m^^^^m

DiiTim day doo a day, Dirrim doo a da ^ee, C,

^^^^^^^^^

;y dco a day, UoorAy ^•^' '-^ tinkers" waJdin'. 0.

In June, when broom in bloom was seen,
And bracken waved fu' fresh and green,
And warm the sun, wi' silver sheen,

The hills and glens did gladden, O ;
Ae day, upon the Border bent,
The Tinklers pitch'd their Gypsy tent.
And auld and young, wi' ae consent,
• Resolved to baud a waddin', O.

Dirrim day doo a day,

Dirrim doo a da dee, O,
Dirrim day doo a day,

Hooray for the Tinklers' waddin, O.

The Tinkler^' Waddbt'. 537

The bridegroom was wild Norman Scott,
Wha thrice had broke the nuptial knot,
And ance was sentenced to be shot

For Ijreach o' martial orders, O.
His pleesome joe was Madge M'Kell,
A spaewife match for Nick himsel'.
Wi' clamour, cantrip, charm, and spell

She frichted bailh the Borders, O.

Nae priest was there, wi' solemn face,
Kae clerk to claim o' crowns a brace ;
The piper and fiddler played the grace

To set their gabs a-steerin', O.
'Mang beef and mutton, pork and veal,
'Mang paunches, plucks, and fresh cow-heel,
Fat haggises, and cauler jeel.

They clawed awa" careerin', O.

Fresh salmon, newly taen in Tweed,
Saut ling and cod o' Shetland breed,
They worried, till kvtes were like to screed,

'Mang flagons and flasks o' gravy, O.
There was raisin-kail and sweet-milk saps.
And ewe-milk cheese in whangs and flaps,
And they rookit, to gust their gabs and craps,

Kicht mony a cadger's cavie, O.

The drink flew round in wild galore,
And soon upraised a hideous roar,
Blithe Comus ne'er a queerer core

Saw sealed round his table, O.
They drank, they danced, they swore, they sang.
They quarrell'd and 'greed the hale day lang.
And the wranglin' that rang amang the thrang

Wad match'd the tongues o' Babel, O.

The drink gaed dune before their droolh,
That vexed baith monv a maw and niooth.
It damp"d the fire o' age and youth.

And every breast did sadden, O ;
Till three stout loons flew ower the fell.
At risk o" life, their drouth to quell.
And robb'd a neebourin' smuggler's stell

To carry on the waddin', O.

538 The Tinklers' Waddin .

Wi" thunderin' shouts ihey hailed ihem back
To broacli the barrels they werena slack,
While the fiddler's plane-tree leg they brak'

For playin' " Fareweel to Whisky, O. '
Delirium seized the 'roarous thrang.
The bagpipes in the fire they flang,
And sowtherin' aims on riggin's rang :

The drink play'd siccan a plisky, O.

The sun fell laich owre Sohvay banks.
While on they plied their roughsome pranks,
And the stalwart shadows o' their shanks,

Wide ower the niuir were spreadin', O.
Till, heads and thraws, aniang the whins.
They fell wi" broken brows and shins,
And sair craist banes filled mony skins,

To close tlie Tinklers' waddin', C).

(By kind permission of Mr Alexamli-i- Ganln-r. ijublisher, Paisl.-y-

APPENDIX.

Note on *^ Shivering: the back-Iill/

The following instructive excerpt is taken from Mr D.
MacRitchie's article on " The Proof Sheets of ' \\.&A.-
^2inx\-AQ\.,''" Long/nail's Magazine, March, 1900:

" . . . . One detail overlooked by Mr Lang is that
Scott did not refer to Steenie Steenson as having ' the
finest finger for the back-lilt,' but for the ' back-////.'
There is no doubt about this, for the marginal addition
is written wilJi unusual clearness, and, moreover, it was
so printed in the first edition of the novel. Indeed, Dr
Jamieson, in his Scottish Dictionary, quotes that very
passage as one of the examples of the use of ' lill.'
There seems to have been a good deal of confusion
between ' lill ' and ' lilt ' for a very long time, as far back
as The Book of the Hoivlat, wherein there is mention of
the ' lilt-pype.' Possii)ly this confusion is due to the
printers. At any rate it is beyond question that the
' lill-pipe' was the bag-pipe, and that both that name and
the companion ' doudle-sack ' (whence the adjective sack-
■doudling in Wandering Willie's Tale) are derived from
the same source as the Dutch liillcpijp and doedelzak. It
would be out of place here to enter further into the com-
plications of ' lill ' and ' lilt,' but as it is certain that
Scott used the first of these forms in the passage referred
to, the spelling ' lilt ' ought to disappear from all future
editions of ' Redgaunllet.' "

LIST OF AUTHORITIES.

No. Page,

1. BlackuDOOifs Edinburgh Magazine, \o\. I., p. 462 7

2. Guy Mannering — additional Prefatory Note

(Adam and Charles Black, 1902) 18

3. Scots Magazine for 1792, pp. 621-622 ... 20 and 35

4. Paterson's Memoir of Train (1S57), pp. 129 and

149-151 20

5. Old Statistical Account, vol. I., p. 57, and

vol. VI., p. 102 .. ... .. ... 20

6. New Statistical Account (1845) for Kirkcud-

brightshire— Minnigaff parish, p. 118 ... 23

7. Heron's Observations made in a Journey through

the Western Counties of Scotland (1792),
vol. II., p. 257, ct seq. ... ... ... 23

8. Feu Contract between Patrick Heron of Heron,

Esq., and William Mar.shall, brazier in Moni-
gaff, dated 21st Nov., 1766 ; and Disposition
and Assignation by William Marshall, brazier
and feuar in Moneygoff, in favour of James
Jamieson, watchmaker in Newton-Stewart,
dated 21st March, 1792 ... ... ... 25

9. History of the Parish of Minnigaff, by James G.

Kinna, p. 73 ... ... ... ... ... 26

10. Introduction to the late F. H. Groome's Gypsy

Folk-tales, p. .xxvii. ... ... ... ... 28

11. Glasgow Eveniiio News article on "The

Whistling Maid " 29

12. Journal of the Gyp.sy Lore Society (ist Series),

vol. III., p. 180 ... ... ... ... 29

13. F. H, Groome's Gypsy Folk-tales, pp. 59 and 61 29

14. Journal of the Gypsy Lore Society, vol. I., p. 253 31

15. Do. do., vol. I., p. 120 32

16. Aylwin — Illustrated Edition (Hurst & Blackett),

by Theodore Watts-Dunton, p. 142... ... 32

17. Ancient and Modern Britons, 2 vols (Kegan

Paul, Trench, & Co.), by David MacRitchie 32

18. An Ordinary of Scottish Arms, by Sir James

Balfour Paul ; Lyon King of Arms, p. 197,

et se<i 33.

A/>/>endix.

No.

PaKe.

19. New Annual Register (1792), vol. XXXI\\,

part 2, p. 47 36

20. The Life of James Allan, by Andrew Wight

{1S18), p. 43, et se<} 40

21. The Gallovidian Encyclopaedia (1824), hy Mac-

taggart, p. 66, f/ 5^y 40

22. Additional ( Prefatory) Note to Guy Mannering,

by Sir Walter Scott ... ... ... ... 40

23. The Life of James Allan, p. 45 .. ... ... 42

24. Book of Galloway, 1745 {Gallozvay Gazette,

1882), p. 25 .' 46

25. The IIereditar\- Sheriffs of Galloway, vol. IL,

P- 251 ... ' ' 51

26. History of Dumfries and Galloway, by Sir

Herbert Maxwell, Bart., M. P., p. 303 ... 51

27. Memoir of Joseph Train, p. 149 ... ... 51

28. History of Galloway (Nicholson's), by Rev. W.

MacKenzie (1841), vol. H., p. 399 ... 53-56

29. The Gallovidian Encyclopedia, p. 292... ... 56

30. History of Dumfries and Galloway, p. 322 ... 60

31. The Gallovidian Encyclopaedia, p. 142... ... 62

32. The Additional (Prefatory) Note to Guy Manner-

ing, p. 19 62

33. Memoir of Joseph Train, p. 185... ... ... 62

34. Galloway Glimpses, by A. W., p. \\i, et seq.... 63

35. Blackivood's Mao-azine, vol. L (1817), pp. 618-9 7i

36. The Life of James Allan, p. 51 ... ... ... 73

37. The Gallovidian Encyclop3edia, p. 139... ... 83

38. Additional (Prefatory) Note to Guy Mannering,

p- 22 ' 85

39. Ground work of (Prefatory) Note to Guy

Mannering (1842), p. 23 ... ... ... 87

40. Letter in possession of one of Train's grand-

daughters (Mrs Dunn, Castle-Douglas) ... 87

41. Do. do. do. ... 87

42. Train's ^LS. Volume, in the hands of Mrs Dunn,

Castle-Douglas 88

43. Life, Writings, and Correspondence of George

Borrow (2 vols.), by Dr Knapp, at p. 219,

et xeq. of vol. II. ... ... ... .91

44. Galioijidian, vol. \'H., p. 116 ... ... ... 91

Appendix. v.

No. Page.

45. The Journal of the Gypsy Lore Society, vol. I.,

P- 105 ' ' 93

46. The Journal of the Gypsy Lore Society, vol. IIL,

pp. 189-190 and 253 93

47. The Memoir of Joseph Train, p. 65 ... ... 103

48. Ancient and Modern Britons, vol. L, pa^je 394 118

49. The Memoir of Joseph Train, p. 122 .. ... 123

50. History of Galloway, vol. II., p. 401 ... ... 127

51. Do. do., pp. 402-3 . . 129

52. Do. do., p. 403 ... 130

53. Excerpts taken from a MS. Book in the Kirk-

cudbright Museum ... ... ... 131

54. History of Galloway, vol. II , p. 435 ... ... 132

55. Lowland Lore, by Gordon Fraser, p. 40 ... 134

56. Gordon Eraser's Sketches and Anecdotes of the

Royal Burgh of Wigtown, p. 42 ... ... 134

57. Town Records of the Royal Burgh of Wigtown

in the hands of Will. M'Clure, Esq , Town
Clerk, Wigtown 138

58. " Galloway Tam," in Cromek's Remains, p 77... 140

59. Life, Writings, and Correspondence of George

Borrow, vol. II., p. 219 ... ... .. 152

60. Romano Lavo-Lil., by George Borrow (John

Murray, London), pp. 98-99. ... ... 172

60. " English Gypsy Songs and Rhymes," by John

Sampson, at p. 80 of vol. II. of the Journal

of the Gypsy Lore Society ... ... ... 204

61. M'Dowall's History of Dumfriesshire, pp. 560-562 212

62. Exploits and Anecdotes of the Scottish Gypsies,

by William Chalmers, LI^. D. , p 62, et seq. 216

63. Helen, the Welsh Harper, by George Murray,

minister of Balmaclellan (1868), p. 10 ... 218

64. The Memoir of Joseph Train, p. 49 ... ... 222

65. Introduction to the late F. H. Groome's Gypsy

Folk-tales, p. xliii. ... ... ... ... 229

66. The Coming of Love and other Poems, by

Theodore Watts-Dunton (John Lane), p. 49 237

67. Romano Lavo-Lil, p. 249 ... ... ... 252

68. The Journal of the Gypsy Lore Society, vol. II.,

P-"8i 259

69. A History of the Gypsies, by Walter Simson

(1865), p. 275 283

vi. Af^pendix.

Xo. Page.

70. Gypsies, by the late C. G. Ltland, p. 172 ... 285

71. New Cumnock, its History and Associations, Ijy

Helen J. Steven, p. 96, ei seq. ..." ... 285

72. The Burns Country, by Chas. S. Dougall, M.A.,

Headmaster of Dollar Institution, p. 31 ... 290

73. Do., do., pp. 292-3 .. 292

74. The Journal jf the Gypsy Lore Society, vol. HI.,

p.' 185 ' 394

75. The English Gyjisies under the Tudors, hy

Henry C. Crofton (reprinted from the Papers

of the Manchester Literary Club, vol VL), p. 4 394

76. Do. do., pp. 1-2 396

77. No/es and Qtien'es, July 8th, 1876 (5th Series,

VL), quoted in Scottish Gypsies under the

Stewarts, p. 5 397

78. Ancient and Modern Britons, vols. L and H — 399

79. Scottish Gypsies under the Stewarts, p. 16 ... 399

80. The Gallovidian Encyclopaedia, p. 66 ... ... 400

81. Romano Lavo-Lil, p. 190 ... ... ... 401

82. The Journal of the Gypsy Lore Society, vol. IH.,

p.9 401

83. The Life of James Allan, p. 43 401

84. Kotnano Lavo-Lil, Y>- 267 ... ... ... 403

85. Scottish Gypsies under the .Stewarts, pp. 20-21 405

86. The Science of lierauldry, by Sir George Mac-

kenzie (1680), p. 90 406

87. Letter— Mr G. P. MacCIellan to Mr A. M'Cor-

mick, dated llth July, 1905 ... ... ... 407

88. Ancient and Modern Britons, vol. L, p. 20S, ('/fiy. 407

89. Do. do., vol. H., p. 36 ... 412

90. Do. do., vol. n., p. 88 ... 413

91. A Hi.story of the Gypsies, p. 198, etseq. ... 414

92. Scottish Gypsies under the Stewarts, pp. 3-4 ... 417

93. The Journal of the Gypsy Lore Society, vol.HL,

pp, 190-191 417

94. Blackwood s Edinburgh Magazine, vo\. \. (1S17),

pp. 54, 161, and 618 ... ... ... .. 419

95. The Life of James Allan, p. 620 ... ... 420

96. Scottish Gypsies under the Stewarts, p. 2 ... 422

97. Romano Lavo-Lil, \i. 258 ... ... ... 422

Appendix. vii.

No. Pa Iff.

98. "The Peijple of Little Egypt," by David Mac-

Ritchie, in 1 he Monthly Rcviezv, May, 1905,

p. 41" ... ... ... ... ... ... 426

99. The Journal of the Gypsy Lore Society, vol. IL,

P- 378 429

100. Gypsies, p. 213 ... .. ... .. ... 430

101. The Journal of the Gypsy Lore Society, vol.

n., p. 187 432

102. The Journal of the Gyp.sy Lore Society, vol.

I-> P- 353 ; vol. IL, pp 204 and 321 ... 433

103. In Gypsy Tents, by the late Y. H. Groome,

(William V. Nimmo & Co.. 1880), p. 149 ... 435

104. The Journal of the Gypsy Lore Society, vol.

II. , pp. 121-122 437

105. The Journal oi the Gypsy Lore Society, vol.

IL, p. 62 ... ... .. ... ... 449

106. The Journal of the Gypsy Lore Society, vol.

III., pp. 141 and 233 449

107. The Journal of the Gypsy Lore Society, vol.
to I., pp. 52, 202, 248, 249, 303, 306, 312, 355 ;

122 vol. iL, pp. 62, 63, 64, 74, 79, 138, 193, 249,

250 ; and vol, IIL, p. 67 .., ... ... 455

123. The Journal of the Gypsy I,ore Society, vol.

Im p. 351 • 486

124. A Duke of Britain, by Sir Herbert Maxwell,

Bart. ( Wni. Blackwood & Sons), p. 408, el seq. 489

125. Robert Louis Stevenson... ... ... ... 493

126. MS. Reminiscences of John M'Kie, It.N.,

Anchorlee, Kirkcudbright ... ... ... 496

127. The Journal of the Gypsy Lore Society, vol. I.,

P- 352 498

128. The Memoir of Joseph Train, p. 144 ... ... 514

129. Excerpts from a MS. Book in the Kirkcud-

bright Museum ... ... ... • SLS

] 30. Appendix to Mr J. G. Kinna's History of
Minnigaft'as same appeared in the Galioway
Gazette ... ... ... ... ... ■•■ 517

131. Nicholson's (Mackenzie's) History of Galloway,

vol. IL, p. 403 .. _ 520

132. The Gallovidian Encyclopaedia, p. 68 ... 520

133. The Memoir of Joseph Train, p. 145 ... ... 520

134. Galloway Gazette, 2nd ]u\y. 1904 ... ... 522

135. Galloway Advtrtiser and IVigtoiviishlre Free

Press, loth December, 1903 .. ... ... 532

136. English Gyp.sy Songs, by Leland (Palmer and

Tuckey), p. 100 ... 533

137. Excerpt from a Letter by Mr George Meredith

to the Author 535

35

List of Authorities for Traditions,

PaRe.

a Norman James M'Kie, M.l)., Newton-Stewart . . 33

/) Mr William Thomson, "ex-CDbbler," Kirkcudbright (since

deceased) ......... 44

(■ Mrs Simpson, Arthur Street, Newton-Stewart . . 47

d Mr Hugh Carter, Selkirk Arms, Kirkcudbright, 48,270,275,293

e Miss M'Crae, Ailsa Cottage, Ayr ..... 50

/ Mr Hugh Carter 58

o Mrs Orr (since deceased) and Mrs Carter, High Row,

Creetown ......... 59

/^ Mr William Thomson . . . . . 61, 271

t Mrs Carter ...... 70, 269, 277

J Mr Gordon, Arnsheen, Barrhiil . . . 278, 279, 2S1

J An Article on "Joseph Train" in Household Words, i6lh

July, 1853 (vol. 173, p. 479) 106

k I'he Memoir of Joseph Train, p. 86 . . . . 109

/ Mrs Pick en, Bridport, near Creetown . . . .110

m Mr Hunter, Mossyard, near Gatehouse. . . . 112

11 MS. Notes by a Native of Wigtownshire on a copy of Tlie
Gallovidian Encychjpivdia belonging to Mr William
Macmath, Edinburgh . . . . . . iiS

0 Rev. Geo. F. A. MacNaughton, The Manse, Carsphairn,

Galloway . . ....... 140

p Courie)- and Herald, Dumfries, 20th Feb., 1907 . . 164

(/ Mr (ieorge Hunter, retired schoolmaster, Ringford, near

Kirkcudbright ........ 166

;■ Mr Alexander Morton, solicitor, Newton-Stewart . 26S-9

,r Mr Alexander Stroyan, retired farmer, Benfield, near New-
ton-Stewart (since deceased) . . . 270, 273, 274

t Mr James M'Guffie, Palnure, near Newton-Stewart . 273

u Mr George MacMillan, Tinkler-Gypsy . . . . 277

i> Mrs Simpson ........ 282

IV Mr James Lavvson, Marchhall Road, I'resionfield, luliii

burgh ......... 282

.V -Mr Thomas Melrose, TliDrnhill (since deceased) . . 500

TINKLER-GYPSY CANT VOCABULARY.

!n this Vocabulary, as in Smart it (Jrofton's Dialect of the English Gypsies, we
have endeavoured to adhere to a phonetic orthography, and " the vowel sounds
are expressed aiid pronounced as follow : —

au, aw ,,
final i as
ee as in

liait
gnat
baa

caul, caw
ai in bail
beet

net

height

knit

coal

not

feud
nut

cool, foot
foil
foul

As to the consonants the majority are pronounced as in English."

This space is

Galloway

left blank for the

Tiukler-G.viisics.

Tinkler-liypsies.

useof Cant Word
Collectors.

A

Adder

linkie

Anything

okrie

Apples

kranhers

kranshers, pauvers

Apron

foredruni'

Arch (of a

forge

bridge)

Ass

aizel, oozel, seefer

seefer

Aunt

"sister,"- naismort's,
prawl

Away

awast," avree

avree

B

Bacon

guffie, mass, tiger,
sawnle

Bad

shan

shan

Badness

shannas (? ncss)

Bag

aaunie

goni, goi

BaUer

habben kairer

Baker's shop

habben keir

Barley

rools

1 " When ye're binc/iii avree (going away to a t'itlier tvatches (beat) in the iiwraen
(morning), gin ye meet a manishie (woman) wi' a big back burden o' nawkens'
charterie (tinklers' tins), an' wi' a clean forednnn (apron) an' heavy tramplered
(footed), ye couldna meet a sonsier or luckier thing in this worl'."

•! William Marshall saj-s he would call his aunt his sister !

3 " Ye're a beenship (nice) ijadgie (gentleman) an' I'm jatoin (going) awast (awa\ )
the morn's vwiyen (morning), an' whun I nash (go) avree (away) I hope the
country hantle\io\ks) wunna be glojiin (laughing) at ye or making a cull
(fool) of yer nesis (self) for manijan (talking) to us and us-like."

App"''' ■'/A'.

Pertlishire and

This space is

Englisli.

Galloway

^riryieshiie
Tinklei--Gyi>8ies.

lefi blank for the

Tinkler-Gypsies.

us-e of Uant Word
Collectors.

Barn

graunzie

granzie

Basket

rooskie

ruskie

Beans

rattlers

Beautiful

barrie, baurie

barrie

Bed

kip,' wuddrus

wuddrus

Bedclothes

kincheiis' toggerie,
wautheries'

Beef

mass, earn is

carnis, mast

Beer

rauniel

ringel

Beggar

sprachin manishie

Bell

ehaet, yaik

Big house

bara kier

gran-kiar

Boat

beerie- bawt

Bog

ged

Bone

flint

Bonnet

nabchit (cap), scroof
(good lioiuiet), caiily
(hat), ;;oogl (hat),
howfie (nintch)

howfie, kaidie, scroof

Bookcase

yaik

Boots

strods, taehis,

chaeterie (old boots)

strods, teahis

Bottle

vallin, maachtie,"
rootlie, rouble

Bowl

brickler

brockler

Boy

chavo, chau\ ie, gourie

chavey, gaidie, callach

Black or black

kallo, kaulo

man

Blankets

coories, kinchins' tog-
gerie, wautheries'

coories, toggerie

Blind

shan winklered*

bin yerram

Blood

yerrim

rockens

Brackens

Brat or apron

foredrum

Bread

pennam.

habben, halin,

„ (good)

pennam (sknker)

pennam

Break

pagger'

marred

Brooch

been-cheetrie

been-chaet, been liuer
(silver), prinukler,
ginn

Broth

shauch

shach

Dud

coldnie

Bull

bovie

Butcher

carnis-cowl

Butcher's shop

masser-kier

Butter

sniout

smout

1 A good bed is a shukcr kip or a imutheric, a bad beil being a xhan kip.

■J liiitxie hire is a winged l)oat.

;5 Jaio't (drink) cot of the innarhtir (bottle)-

t A ijadf/ie (house-dweller) wi' .than whiklrrx (bad eyes) an' eanna ilcck (see).

5 I'll pa(jf/er (break) your lest (head).

Appendix.

Perthshire and

This space is

English.

Galloway

Argyleshire
Tinkler-Gypsies.

left blank for the

Tinkler-Gypsies.

use of t'ant Word
Collectors.

C

Cabbasj'e

shauch

Cat

matchka, nyovvinchaet

neowinchaet

Calf

routler

Camp (or tent)

wattle

Can

drum

Candle

blinkin, muiiilie, glim

blinkan, blinklum

Cap

nabchit

Cart

hurley, float

whirl i

Cartshed

whirliceir, whurli-
kean

Chair

bettiment, yaik

Chapel

dahvhuddin chaet

Cheat

gladdher (Irish)

Cheese

keal, chizcazin, kaisim,'
kaisin

kaisuni, kaj

Chemise

gawd

Child

gothlin (Irish)

conyin, lurin, lairin

Children

chauvies, kinchen =

Choke

rachle"

Church

cangrie, cangeerie,
liggie

kanlie, kangrie

Clock

tartler, teckler, tattler

Clogs

thatches

Clothes (old) |

ehaeterie,

cleidim, cleidin.

Clothes (

toggerie

toggerie

Clout

fichel

Coach

postigie

Coal

yag

yag

Coat

shuha, schoochie.flaffur,
tog or tyug/ swinger

tog, guttin, hinger

Cold

sheelra

Collier

yagger

Come

bing

bing

Coney

buntie, muitie

Coin "

lowie, lour

Ad, hira or curdee

id, a wun

nyuck, wun. wing

2d, duce wuns

juce wuns

3d, thrums, 3 nvuok

(Irish)

two 3d-bits, duce

thrums

5d, fippence or 5 wains

_

6d, a sy or sigh

6d, midjik (Irish)

4d, a Crocker

1 SImker bepiuhip haisiim is awfully good chee.se. A tJalloway farmtrs wife says

kaisiin denotes the cheesy part of milk.

2 Smug (kiss) the wee kinchen (child) and fa(k (give) it a wun (penny) to put in

its fenimel (hand).

3 " Rachle (choke) that gadgie (house-dweller) till I get at his swag (pocket).
i A shukci' or a harrie tog means a greatcoat.

Appendix.

Perthshire aiid

This space it-

KiigUsli.

Galloway

Argylfshire

left blank for the

Tiiikler-tiypsies.

Tinkler-uypsies.

use of Cant Word
Collectors.

1/-, a hog

hog

5/-, a J cop, yoick,

yowp

yockora, bull

2/6,' half do.

£1, a rij

£5, a flimsy

£10, duce flimsies

Corn

geeye, sjreenam

greenam, gran,
grannani

Cow

rentier, hurley,

routler, bad, banyie

g-oornie

(milk), gownie,
govni

Cow-house

routler- kiar

Cranks

jumpers

Crown

yowp

yowp

Cruelty man

jrad>,'ie '

Cudd\-

aisel, oozel, hoosel,
seefer -

Cup and saucer

brickler ^

Cursing-

sallachin

sallachin

D

Day

davies

Daylig-ht

beenlightment
beenlightie

Daushter

in-awl

Death

nioulid

moudit, mullet

Deserter

nasher

Desk

yaik

Devil

ruffie, " Tain " '

DifT

jrrib

grit)

Do-JT

yucal, jooj^al, buffert.

buffert, yeli)er, jiigal,

\attin

yaffin

Donkey

aisel, oozel, hazel

oozel

Door )

belliment,'" jigger '•

belliment, jigger,"

Doorwa.\- 1

doris '

Dozen

jukal

jucal

Drink

peeve, bumie

pieve, peeve,
sgeamhas

Drinkinsj-house

peevan-kier

peevan-kien

1 " Hoy, would yeja'rec (move on)? Here's the i/adi/ie (cruelty man) coming."

2 Si/efer is sometimes applied by Galloway people to anything foolish or knavish.

3 " Biic for the cup and hler for the saucer," so my Tinkler friend explained !

4 The use of the word " Tam " for tlie Devil or Spirit of Darkness occurred in an

attempt by a Tinkler to frighten his wife. He said " S/inuiian, d'lie deek'm .'
(Keep still, 'lo you see hiin'O He's liiiinia (coming) nearer. It's ' Tam ' (the
Devil) hhijiin arer (coming this way)." Then the womati arose and said,
" Let's iiash (depart) oot o' this." (c.f., Taiid'i, adj. (dark) ; pasp., timi (blinil)
— Slikl., i., 43. Taiiilo rnati (dark night). — " Dialect of the English (Jypsies.")

ft Chad (>' the belUiiK'nt i.i the screen over the tent door.

(i Jill the jitjQi'T is shut the door.

7 Dinatj (>i don's is shut the door.

Appendix.

Xlll.

Gallowny

Tinkler-Gyiisies.

nioul.vin'
chaei

lennam
jeer

kecklers, van-as
yarrows

yak, oyle, deekor,

winkler
rachle

keir
naiskel

trash -

peeries, traniplers

Perthshire and

Argyleshire
Tinkler-Gypsies.

quaker, quacker,
quackie

slang ■"■

inarn

been

been gadgy, been cowl

been manishie, beenship
niort

femmel
fannie

\ag, glimmer
glimmer chaets
glimmers
chaeterie, kashties,

filshes, yag
matchko, flattrin
fo punch
grossum (4d) and a

wun (Id)
carnis
varro

This space is
left blank for the
use of Cant Word
Collector-.

game

cacklers, yerras,

tunnock
och

kran

kran, kain, krankair
naiskel, datair, gathei
datan(little father)
datchen

been
been gadgy ,been cowl

baurie been cowl
been manishie,

beenship mort,

calleach ma,

bori raunie
fable, famble, femme
granie, granyie,

graineol
yag, glimmer

kashties, filshes, yag

flattrins
cuig

1 Gallovidians sometimes term a horn spoon a "niun."

2 " I'd be Iraxh (afraid) to J'ek (take) okrie. (anything) off her for she's upeevie

(drunken) old manishi (woman)."

3 Slatifi the gry (put the horse into the field).

Appendix.

Perthshire and

This Fjiace is

English.

Galloway
Tinkler-Gypsies.

Argyleshire
Tinkler-liypsics.

left blank for the
use of Oant Word
Collectors.

Folk

hantle '

liantle '

Food

habben," pe))nam

haliben, pennani,
prass

Fool

cull

I'oot

peerie, tranipler

Foi'tune-tellin<,'

dukkerin' (Eng.)"

Four

cair, ceithir

I'om'peiice

grossum

Im)\v1

caunie

gaunie

I'^iog-

frod

Frosty

sheelra

G

Cardeii

garrie

gadie, garrie

(Jt'iUle

been, been, baurie

been, been, barrie

(U'litlenian

been gaugie, baurie rye

(leiitlewoiuan

been niort, been rauiiie,
baurie manishie,
been gourie

Cill

chant * or cant

Cirl

a young beur (Shelta)

gourie, gowrie,
racklie, dillie

(Jlasoow

Glazie

Go

nash, ja, bing

jan, ja

Go away

ja avree, javree, ja'ree

ja avree

Ood

Been gaugie

Been Cowl

Good, great

been, shukar,beenship, ■

beenship, sncar

grand

baurie, ljar6, baro

Good day

beenship davies, baurie
ilavies, shukar, davie

Good metal or

lieer.ship niashlani

tin

Goodness

.shukarness

Good night

beenship rattie

Go in

ja anee, or ja andree

Going

bingin', jawin'

1

Go on

nash avree, j'avree

Granary

graunzie

Grand, good,

been, baurie, bare, baro

baurie

great

■' The Aor;»'e (policeman) /Wifct* (took) me a\n-ee (away) an' the country hanlle

(folks) a' .stallin' (standing) dcekin' (looking) at me, an' he feckit (put) me in a

ilnrkinent (black-hole) in the staiirdie (gaol)."
" What's a mill V "The thing ye get the habben (food) cot o' for the f/ry

(horse) or for our ne>iis (selves)."
Galloway Tinkler-tJypsiesknow this expression, but they say : " Grib (take) the

t'i'iiiiii'ft (hand)" is " the aul', aul' style o't." " Orih her femmel and fek Ihe
■'" is "Tell her fortune and get the money."

4 A cfiant n' ijatter is a glass of l>eer : a cant o' peeve is a glass of whisky.

5 " B eiishi'p davieXy nawkena," or "Baurie detox, nairldiu," is "Good

Tinkler."

'lay,

Appetidix.

Perthshire and

This space is

English.

Ualloway

Argyleshire

left blank for the

Tinkler-Gypsies.

Tinkler-Gypsies.

use of Cant Word
CoUeetors.

Grandfather

nais-gadgie, naislvel's-
naiskel

gran-naiskel

Grandmother

naismort's-naismort

gran-naisraort

Grass

fizani, faizini

Great, good,

been, baurie,bar6, baro

baurie

grand

Ground

lennam '

lennam, lennum

Gull

feddar

Gypsy language

Roniani

H

Hair

faizim -

ballast, faizim

Hand

vast, fenimel, famniel

Handhasin

feni'iielcliaet

Handcuffs

yaiks •'

Handkerchief

wype

plashti

Hang

rachle

Hang him

grib him

Halfpenny

curdee, liirae

Hare

a baurie niaccam

swishy (Eng. Rom.)

Hat

nabchit (cap), scaf,
scroof (good bonnet),
kaidie, gougl,
hovvfie(nmtch),culdee

Hay

faisini, carse, cass, cas,
pennam

faisim

Head

test,* block,' cowie''

Hedge

chaet

Hen

raunie (? kaunie).

kaunie

kaunie, jirgin,' kanie"

gaunie

Herring

flatte rn

flattern, scadden

Hill

granie, montanes

Hold your

atch yer mangan

tongue

stall " yer vvhuddin,
stall yer mangan

1 " If ye meet a fjadgie (house-dweller) jcnviii' (going) to his grV/hin (work) wi' ducc

gryu (two horses) to (//i'b (plough) the 2«iH«m (ground) j« (push) on, there'll
be baurie Imvie (big monej) that devas (day)— yin o' the luckiest things in the
worl' if ye meet that in the inorgen (morning)."

2 Faizim oot o' the slang (field) = hay ; hnt faizim on the test (head) = hair.

3 " 2^he horneys (policemen) are jawin' avree (going away) with the yaiks (hand-

cuffs) to put on their fniDiiels (hands)."

4 " If ye meet a carroty tented (headed) niort (wife) on her bare tramplers (feet)

whun ye're bingin' aivast (going away) to the tvatches (country) in the morgen
(morning) turn back into the keir (house), for ye'll get neither luck nor luor
(money) that devas (day)."

5 Deek (look) at his block (head).

6 Pagger (break) his coivie (head).

7 Jirgin is a hen " ettled to be killed." Kaiii is a hen "ettled to be kept."

Moud the kaunie is Kill the hen.
S " Stall {sto-p) ! there'sthe cleechie (policeman). Shangos {Wsten) \"

XVI.

Appe)idix.

English.

Galloway
Tinkler-Uypsies.

Horn

nab

Horse

gry, greham

Horse-dealer

gry-femmler, grv-

gribber, grv-fekker

Horse-hair

Hot

fisho (given as Highland

cant, ? fait ehaud,Fr.)

Hound

jugl, buflfert, velper,

vaffin, seefer

House

kair, keir

Ice

mashlam

Iron

sauster, vergin

Irish

Dal, Yerrachan '

Itch

reel

J

Jewe's

cheetrie, chaeterie

Jewellery

clieetrie, chaeterie

Jug

K

Kale

shauch

Kettle

l)la\vkie, drum, joogl -

Kettle props

chittie bawks, cheeties,

chaet-filches

Key

thraw, cowie, chaet,

^•aik

Kill

nioolie, niond ■•

Killed

rachelt

Kill it

nioolit it

Kilt

Kindest

cothiest

Kinj;

baurie riah, rajah or

gaJgie

Kiss

smug,* grib ^

Knife

ehurie, choorie, eutlan

Perthshire and

Argyleshire
Tinkler-Gypsies.

This Brace is
left blank for the
use of Cant Word
Collectors.

1,'ry, cappel, gillin,
prod

faizim

buffert, yelper, joogl,

>affln
keir, kain, kean,

kian, kiam, kair,

kiar, tve

cheetrie
cheetrie
niaisie

ringan,bla\vkie

rachelt
hinger

choorie, cutler

1 "Are you a Yerrachan (Irishman) or a .Sot/tccj). (Protestant) ? Do you jan (go) to

the dal ivhuddcn chaet (chapel) on the Hefiilifih/ie (Sunday), or do you./rt (go)
to the caniirit' (cluircli) on the Dce»U()]iliiinit (Saliliath) .'" " That's a real nice
thing na," said the old Tinkler woman wlio utlered tlie al)Ove. Is the word
Yerrnchnn related to Dubh EireaniMch ("a black Irishman ") and Eirlon-
naich (" Irish ") referred to on pages 45 and J35 of vol. i. of Mr D. MacKitchie's
Ancient and Modern liritons?

2 A joogl of monteclear is a can of water.

3 I'll moud ye, I'll mooUe — I'll kill you.

4 Smii;/ (kiss) the barr'ie inhnishi's (good-looking woman's) inui (mouth). Smug

the ijourie (kiss the young lassie).

5 Let me grib (kiss) yer miii (mouth) !

Appendix.

xvii.

Perthshire and

This space is

English.

Galloway

Argyleshire

left blank for the

Tinkler-Gypsies.

Tinkler-Gypsies.

use of Cant Word
Collectors.

Knocker

chaet, yaik

Know

jan 1

L

Lamb

meggat

Lassie

gourie

Leeks, and that

hotchets

class of veget-

ables

Lice

paries

Licence, pedlar's

stiff

,, cart

big slangs

,, pedlar's

wee slangs

certificate

Light

glim

diekman, dicklie,
glim

Listen

deek, shannas,"
pyre it,-' ogle it •''

Little

been, chico, picanninie

Lo^f

' habben

Lodgings

nionkerie,* loudlie,
libbitch stallin,
shan keir "

Look

ogle, deek, ^ pyre '

M

Mad

rauge •*

Magistrate

riah

Man

gadgie, cowl, cull

bodachan, gaugie,
cowl, cull, glom,
glomhach

Marriage

aukaman

Marry

akhoni ='

Matches

spirnies

diokman, blinkin.s,
diklies, spurnies,
spirl, spirlie

Weal

blaw, '" vairo

blaw, varrie

1 " Do ye jan (know), (jadijle (house-dweller), what a weed hlaiohie is?" "Yes, a

teapot." " 'Then ye jan mair nor plenty, and I can tell ye nae mair."

2 .S/ia (Mils (hark) ! someone bingin' a ree (coming this way).

3 A Tinkler says pi/re and ogle are the older cant words for look and listen. Ogle

(listen) the gadgie mnngaii (house-dweller talking).

4 Deek (see) if ye can get stallin (staying) in a flash inonkerie (lodging-house).
a A nhan keir is a bad lodging-house.

6 Deek (watch) the hallo (man) owre the chaet (hedge). Deek (look) round the

corner if ye deek (see) anybody coming. Deek for mj- habben — C4o and look for
something for my supper.

7 Pi/re (look) at his barrie test (big head).

8 Fair range (mad) wi' shannas (rage).

9 " Are ye akhomed (married), or are ye only gaun aboot wi' that wuniman ?"
10 Jaie (put> the blaie (meal) in the blawkie (pot).

Appendix.

Perthshire and

This apace is

English.

Galloway

Arffvleshiie

left blank for the

TinKler-Gypsies.

Tinkler-Gypsies.

u.'eof Cant Word
Collectors.

Meat

habben (food),
mas ' (meat)
carnis (flesh)

Metal

mashlani

„ (old)

aul' grue

Mild

baurie

Milk

thood, yerrin -'

yerrim

Mind, to

jan

Minister

barra rye, patteran or
patrin •

Money

lour, lo«ie

dius, jius, duce, lewr,
grip, grop, gowp,
blunt, hog

Moonlight night

shuker rattie

Moorfowl

raorghee

Morning

morgen *

Mother

naismort

camir, naismort

Mountain

grainie

Month

inui, mooey, mun

mun

Move on

nash avree, jaw drom,
ja'ree, ja'vree

Mutch

howfie, mort's howfie

Myself

my nesis

N

Name

furnish

Neck

gorget

Neckerchief

"vype

Needle

carthoun, carthron

Night

rattie, darkment

darkment, darkie

No

rufifert

rutfert

Nose

nabchit, nabohaet

Nine

nye

Ninny

cull

cull, hantle

1 5/1 ufcej- jHfts (fat meal).

2 I have heard an inhabitant of a remote part of Galloway describing curdled milk

as yerrined milk, and in an old Scotch poem, " The Broken Bowl," it is so
described.

3 Is this word tlie same as " padrin" — a priest? The minister certainly points out

the path for his tlock, but the Tinklers do not know their "chart" for the
road by the name patteran or patiin ; indeed, I have seldom met even a
Gypsy who knew the word patteran. Tinkler-Gypsies have, however, a simi-
lar custom to the Gypsies. Here is a Tinkler-Gypsy's description of it : —
" Pull a wheen/cy;i/«^*(hand) fuls of faiziin (grass), and lay't at the end o' the
(/ru)H (road) or the cross (<n((;is- (roads), and twirl the ends o't the li<f (way)
the hurln (covered cart) went." A Tinkler told me if he wanted to stop at the
next village, after putting down handfuls of grass as above indicated he would
go a little further and put down three or four more handfuls at most ; if, how-
ever, he intended to go right on through the next village he would put down a
numljer of handfuls indicative of the distance he intended going. "That," he
assured me, " is the chart o' the clan a' the worl' ower. "

4 iJid you fek (tak') ony beenship paplerx and jierriin (porridge and milk) in the

morgen (morning) to yer hablien (l)reakfast)':'

Appendix.

Perthsliire and

This space is

English.

Galloway

Argyleshire
Tinkler-Gypsies.

left blank for the

Tinkler-Gypsies.

use of Cant Word
Collectors,

o

One

yaik

yaik

Onions

hotchets

Ourselves

our nesis

P

Pail

pingle, pinkie

pingle, pinkie

Pan (a wee)

skew

Parsley

green cheetris

(vegetables of all
kinds)

Peas

bobies

Peats

glimmer yaks, mouds

glimmers

Pedlar's licence

stiff

Penis

earie

Penny

wun, \\vi\%, hirae

hirie, wun, wing

Pepper

hot chitrie

Person

deasag

Petticoat

inside toggerie

tog

Pheasant

wild kaunie

Pig

grumphy, " old cant for

•grifie, grumphy,

a pig "

muog

Pins

jagler?, prinklers

Pipe

tchitlow, fluffan-chaet

cliutshie, stiumer

" aul', aul' cant "

(bagpipe), tutehie
pluffan-chaet
(tobacco pipe),
tutsie

Pistol

powiskie

Plantation

baysh

Ploug-h

grib '

Pocket

swag -

Policeman

catch-gadgie, naiscowies,

bathonia, theekie,

hornie,-' cleechie,

shan gaugie,

kliestie, poskie,

reeler, hornie, vria

poskay, catch-cowl,

catch-cowie

Poorhouse

grubbin kier

Porridge

paplers *

paplers

Pot

blawkie,^ chaet

l)la\Tkie, ringan

Potatoes

moulins,"

neds, moulins, spuds

Pot lid

blawkie cowie

1 Glib (plongh) the Itnnayn (ground). Grih is a generic word meaning — plough

tlie ground, hang him, shoot him, throttle him, steal from him ; " do any
mortal thing you can put into it. It's the main cant word."

2 A pickpocket is a shan yaugie (bad man) \vho would grib (ripe) yer swag

(pockets). He would jaw (put) hUfeiiunel (hand) into yer toggerie (pockets).

3 "Bing (take) the grg (horse) arce (away), and no' let the Ao/';iie (policeman) be

deekin (looking) at his shan trainplers (sore feet)."

4 Paphrs and yerrita (porridg:e and milk).

5 Weed blawkie is a teapot.

6 Moulins a.nc\ flattiins (potatoes and fish).

XX.

Appeiidix.

'

Perthshire aud

This space is

English.

Galloway

Argyleshire

left blank for the

Tinkler-Gypsies.

Tinkler-Gypsies.

use of Cant Word
Collectors.

Pound

rij, fliinsie, flatter,
claeh '

Prattler

lurin

Prison

staurdie, quod

Prostitute

loudnie, wapsie

loudnie

Protestant

sothern

Pudenda

bi^^ht

Put

jaw (?)

Q

Queen

baurie raunie, head
niort (woman) o' the
cit.v, been nianishie,"
baurie nianishie,''
baurie mort, been
raunie

R

Rabbit

maccam, nierrjfeet,
misferret

muitis, l)uiitis

Rags

fechles

Rat

rattan

raecan

Red

hi-colour, '-'arnie,
ruadh

Rich

been, baurie, bare,
barro

Ring

fannie ••

Road

drum, tober, lig

lig', drom

Rock

bar, clach

bar, craig, claeh

Romp

loudnie

loudnie, shan goorie

S

Sabbath

beenlii;htnient,
beenlightie

Salt

salliment

Ion, salliment

Sand

cretum

Screen

chaet

Sea

baurie paunie, monty-
clear, barrie panic,
barrie montyclear

panie, monteelear

Self

nesis

Serpent

lupie

Servant

dill

Sell

wanner

Seven

duce (Irish oant)

sava

Shawl

niorts plashtie, wype

wyjie

1 A clach (pound) of rnoU (barle,\) for the ghauch (brothl

2 " The been manishie (g-ood woman, i.e. , Queen) in the bi^- gnare (town).' " What

big paavc.'" " The big (jaave (London), in llie t'ither watches (England)."

3 Tlie present William .Marshall calls his better-half the " KinL,'," but she says she

is only a baurie iii(n>i,-<hie !

4 Mori's fannie is a ring on a woman's hand.

Appendix.

Perthshire and

This space i»

English.

Galloway

Artrvlt^shire

left blank f..r the

Tinkler-Gypsies.

Tinkler-Gypsies.

useof Cint Word
Collectors.

Shears

snips, snypes '

sheepers

Sheep

bakrie, bokra

bakrie, meggat,
carey, me, mi,
kanie

Shilling

hog

midjik, hog

Shirt

dreeper (Fifeshire),

carmush, smeisb,

gawd, kirmush.

miltaug (coat),

miltyug

gad

Shoes

strods

Shoemaker

strodgribber

Shoot him

ffrib him

Shop

kier

chovie

Shut

cleg, klissen

Silver

lowie

Sit

baish

Sit down

baish down -

Six

S.V

shay a, sigh

Sky

beenlightnient

rinnies, beenlight-
ment

Sleep

slump

Smoke, smokin

fluff an

chitshie, chutshie

Soap

pelt

Soldier

kliestie, klistie, wagliii,

Son

praw

Sour milk

rodgered yerrim

Soulder

sother

groder, soister

Speak

mang

Spectacles

winklers

Spoon

tillum, tellum, heefie

tillum

Springwell

montyclear

beenship monle-
elear

Stack

stogie

Sta^jrered horse

megrin ^

Stake

nanwil

Steed

graisie

Steal

ohor,-* choar, lagged
(Irish cant)

Steal from him

grib from him

Stick and staff

kashtie, filch,' castie''

filches (sticks),
kashties (fence
stobs)

Stick feood)

baurie kashtie, sbukar
kashtie

1 Maaishi's (women's) S7it/pes (shears) for grihbin (cutting) toggerie (clothes

2 Bainh (sit) down on the bettimeat (chair).

3 "A megrin is a staggered hor.se, or a gri/ (horse) that would ja (fall) on to his

test (head)."

4 Chor a gaugie is Steal from that man.

5 CAoryzYc/ics is steal sticks.

6 A bit castie (stick) for a glimmer (fire).

Appendix.

Perthshire and

This M"H-e is

EngliBh.

Galloway

Argyleshire

left blank fr.rtlie

Tinkler-Oypsies.

Tinkler-C^yiisif*.

use of rant Word

Collectors.

Stone

bar, ' cleuiniie, clach,
clack

elach, bar, outliers

Stocking's

Olivers

hollofers, holovers

Stop

stall -

Straw-

stramniel

strammel

Street

drom

Strike

mar '

Sugar

sweetening

inealie, mealish,
sweetnie

Sunday

beenlightment
beenlightie

Sunshiny day

shukar davies

Swearing-

sallachan, shan mangs

Sword

a barrie cutlan

Swine's flesh

guttie

Swindle

hing ■■'

T

Take

bing,-* feck,*faik,
fekkan

Tea

weed, taste

slab, weed

Teapot

weed, blawkie

Teeth

dana ^

Ten

dec, chace

Thief

chor

chor, choar

Thing, a

chaet '■ (a generic word)

Three

Threepence

three nyuck (Irish)

try, three nyuck

Throttle liim

grib him, raclile him,
grib his gorget

Tick

chuck ■

Tin

mashlam, yergan

yergan

Tin cans

mashlam," nawkens'
chaeterie

Tin dishes

pinkies

1 Mar (fell) the gaugie (man) wi' a clemmie, clach, or bar (stone).

2 Stall yer maiiijan. is Stop your talking.

3 " To hinij a (jmlin'i' (liouse-dweller) is to sell him a horse for £6, pay him £3, and

owe him the balance !"

4 Bing (take) it oot o' deekment sight. Ring (throw) it over the chaet (hedge).

Feck (take) a bar (stone) and mar (fell) the gadgic (house-dweller).

5 A ahuker tnui is a good moutli or teeth.

6 Chaet o' the helliiiient is the screen at the mouth of a, tent. Chad also stands

for a knocker, a bell, a hedge, a pot, and such like ; and chaetrie or cheetrie
stands for clothes, boots, firewood, scrap-iron, tin cans, and such like — e.g.,
aul' chaetrie (scrap-iro.i) for been lowie (good money); nawkeii's chaetne
(tinkler's tin cans).

7 " I'm jawin (going) to the ha1>benkcir (hakev's). Imt I hae nae lour (money) for

■/icnnam (bread), but I'll try to get it on chitck (tick)."
H Ajucal (dozen) o' mas/dciin (tin cans).

Appendix.

Perthshire and

Thii space is

English.

(ialloway

Argyleshire

left blank for the

Tinkler-Gypsies.

Trnkler-Gypsies.

use of Cant Word
0 Hectors.

Tinkler

nawkens, needie (given
bv a Northumber-
land Tinkler),

skillyg-ows '

Tinkler's tools —

borers, elsins, and

punches,

jumpers

srimlets

Tobaceo

fluffan -

pluffan, mishib, thowie

Tonars

frliaimer chaets ■'

Tooth

dant

Town

g-aave, vile

gav, iraff, gaur, vile

Train

rattler, hurlie

Tramp

sprachers

Tripods (for

chittie bawks, chitties

kettle)

Tree or fruit

eastie, kashtie, filsh

tree

Trouble

shannas *

Trousers

calshes, screevers

calshes, calisis, calsie,
cleaspis, truther,
cleashes, breckets

Two

duce

duce, dius, juee

Twopence

duce wuns

juce, juce wuns

Turnips

noytees

sueeps, runis

U

Umbrella

buniniie, slums

Umbrella

mush fakir

mender

Uncle

naiskel's prawl

V

Veg-etables

green cheetris

Villag-e

vile, eaave ^

Village (large)

baurie vile, baurie
gaave

W

Walk

ja,*^ jaw

Walking- stick

kashtie

Wand

yaik

AVatch

tecklvr. vack

iod'.:e, tickler, docker

1 A Tinkler who had taken up house referred to travelling Tinklers as skilly ijoivx.
t Fluffan (tobacco) for the tclnttlie (pipe).

3 A pair of tongs are a pair of cowies (irons) for gribbin (catching) the (jlimmer

(firewood).

4 "There's shannas (trouble) drawing nearder."
?i A chan gaave is a bad wee town.

6 Ja to kip is Go to bed. Jaic to chovei/ is Go to the shop.

Appendix.

English.

Galloway
Tinkler-(;yp9le8.

Perthshire and

Argyleshire
Tinkler-Gypsies.

This space i»
left blank for the
use of Cant Word
Collectors.

Water

panie, nionty clear

panie, nionteclear,
mire

Waxcloth '

waxie, niarlev (Cumber-
land Tinkler)

Wet (lay

panie deevies, pennie
devies

Whip

yaik,'- chupnie

Whisky

peeve, romanie

peeve, piovin

White

sneepa

Whore

loudnie

Wife

niort

Wife and child

uiort and kinchin

Window

yaik, w inkier, blinker,

blinkie, winkler,

glue

widdera

Wire

faizini, rattie,
niashlam

M'oman

manishie, bewr, blev.r

manishie, mort,
cailleach, blon,
beor, ^oorie,
moiit

Wood

castie, kashtie

castie, kashtie, va.\ sh
(a wood)

Write

grib ••'

screeve

Y

Yes

syet

syet

Vouno; person

g-ochlin

1 A Tinkler described waxcloth as togqrie (floorcloth) for the keirn (houses) to fek

(put) down on the lennain ((rround).

2 "A shykei- yaik (jfood whip) for i)aggerin (lashing) the gry (horse) ; but ye

manna pagger (whaek) the gry (horse), young man." Vaik is said by a
Tinkler to be kinchin's (children's) language, and is a generic word meaning a
bookcase, a chair, a desk, a knocker, a bell, or a hat-peg, &o.
8 Grib ver furnitih is Write vour name.

INDEX.

A I'aijc.

Allan, Piper —
\'erses on . . . . . . . . 42

Marries Jean Marshall . . 42, 40]

\'isits Billy Marshall . . . . 42, 43

The Life of 73, 401

Appearances deceiiti\ e . , . 263-4

Appei:dix —

" The Tinklers' Waddin'."
Note on " Shivering the back lill."
List of Authorities.
List of Authorities for Traditions.
List cf Cant Words collected from
Galloway and Perthshire and
Artryleshire Tinklers.

A. W., author of Gallinvafi Glimpses 6^

I'.aillies, swagger appearance of

. 210

l'.:iillie, Matthew

41V

lliillie, a

33!)

rai'uallv, the Laird of, robbed

bv

Billy Marshall..

118-123

Carholm Castle — " Ellangowan "

. 107

lUiira raugi inanishi

. 202

Barullion, Fell o' — one of Billj

's

haunts . .

59

^.attle of Hawick Brig-

. 414

■eagle Hunt

321

I'.ertrani, Harry —

'Jonflicting traditions about

]05-10(i

Pedigree of

. 100

Hilly Marshall (.ycc Marshall, Billy

).

l;lackniorrow tradition

40,1-410

'.liiid Tinkler Woman

177

lioirow, George 151, 239, 30C,

403, 422

\isit of to Galloway

91

'.'■swells (see Clnniunnistns).

I'.oswell, Silvester ..

. 240

"•> >y Tree

. 146

'.nnyan a Tinkler

129-430

l;urns, R. —

" Jolly Beggars •' ..

. 386

Gypsy spaes his fortune . .

. . 2S9

C Paf/e^

Caerclaugh, Co' o' 83

Caerlaverock Castle resembles

"Ellangowan" .. .. 105

Cairnsniore, Caves on . . . . 71-83

Camp scenes 168, 172, 206, 232-265,

293-305, 457
Cant, 2, 5, 91-93, 178, 179, 184, 185,

207, 208, 209, 257, 315-331, 433

Distribution of . . . . 433-495
Cant and Shelta contrasted . . 437-438
Cailvle, Thomas, Stor.\ told by him

about Gypsies .
Carsluith Castle
Caution of Gypsies . .
Cave-dwellers in Galloway . .
Caves on Cairnsmore
Ceremonial purity of the Tinkler-
Gypsies

Characteristics of Gypsies —

Frankness and simplicity'

Secretiveness
Cheating, Invoking the Deity to

aid in . .
Chumomistos (Boswell's) —

In Galloway. .

Palmistry

Language of . .

Glibness of . .

Photographing the .. 242-257

Opinion of Mrs Boswell about

Tinklers 242

Gvpsy, Tea with 247

W. G. describes a fight . . 252-254

Cleugh Head- " Derncleugh " . . 11*
Cochrane, the Tinkler —

Murders Peter Douglas . . . . 134

Escapes from gaol . . . . 135

Corse o' Slakes 62

Creetown — " Portanferrv '" . .. 103
Crockett, S. R. . . ' . . . 523
Crofton.H. C 394-395

284

107

261

63-84

71-83

297

497

232
233
236-
241

XXVI.

Index.

Page.

•"Derncleugh" ■• ■• •

"Dirk Hatteraick"-(see under

Hatteraick).
^'Donald Caird"

Dougall, C. S. .. ■• ,,••,,
Dou^'las, Peter, imudered by Coeh

" rane, the Tinkler
Dumbie Tinkler-Gypsies

-" Edie Ochiltree " . • ■ • 51^^!- ^l"
Estgelin^', Prof. J. •• ■• ■•
" Ellan'TOwan " resembles Caerlav e-

rock Castle . . • , „ ■ •
Emerson's "The Romany Girl
English Gvpsies in Galloway i'li
Ereiiie (VNeil {we ONeil Erchie).
Evan Koberts . .

8.5
290, 292

232

134
293

.519
432

10.5
428
265

435

Fell o' BaruUion

Fire- worshippers

Flv old Bewer • • , , \\,

Folk-tales .. 28-31,71,120,191,

" .John the Fisherman ' . .

" The Enchanted Castle " •

Folk-tale Teller .. •• . ^''p

Frankness and simplicity ot Gypsies ;>,

59

82
365
365
370

380
-385
262

■Gallovidian Cave-dwellers .
OalKiviilian hnriidopmiM
(xMacTajfScart)-
Epitapli on Billy Marshall
Keltonhill Fair

Corse o' Slakes

Co' o' Caerclautrh

Galloway Gypsies—

Train's MS. relatm^' to . . oi, ■
Ginjjs of ■ • ■ • • ■ • ■ .
Brutal treatment of .. l^

Cute Pleailin'„' <if .
Marshall Kill''- i'l™'"''^'"'^''"'' „ ••
Gatehouse—" Kippletnngan
" Gausrer's Loup " .- •■ ••
^'German " (Jypsies in Gallowa.\ +■
Visit of, aroused hatred . .
Visit to an encanipnienit of 4

Like black devils

AwakiuLC them

Catechisiiitr th'-ni .. • ■ •

Xot Ziireuncr nor Limrnrari. but
CaUIerari or Chaudronmer. .
Keasons for visit of
Treatment meted out to . .
Excuses ffiv en for beyrsfing
Certificated Tinklers
Liked Scotland and the Scots .

. 63-84

1
56
62

S3

,89
128
132
132
133
10.5
107
483
457
-467
458
458
461

401
461
462
462
463
46 i

Hnije.

463
465
465

465

465
466
467

467
469
470
. 470
470 477
473

En^'lish Romanes differs from

theirs . .
Photosrraphinfr, the . .
Despised the half-V>loods .
Fhotoeraphinff (^.een Marono-
Dammo . • • ■ •

Often cheated by photographers
Inveterate beg-ars
Furore created by . ■• ■•
E"L°lrerated and unfounded

" stories about • • •

Attitude of Press towards them

Considered sympathetically
Independent mien of
Harassing the
Ktvo^>-totheiranimals472-473

^I'i^arture^ofGerman Gypsies . . 474
ESiaratk^ of Pastor Geyer ^_^

UnchiSn attitude of Gorgios

towards
Attacked by a mob . ■

Creditable behaviour ot .. ••
Insaneattitudeof pohce..
i),-.s aliter visuin . . • • • •

Scotch and «>^V.l'^%^,","e^"S .able 481
The Uiieen of the, pro\ es ..nan _^
Poignant cry of "No moneish 4S.

Better than they were named
Decolletdes costumes ot . .
Gever, Pastor— t .. fv,.,„an "

Christian treatment of t'''""%' .^yy

Gvpsies bv .. • , "

Malignn'ient, persecution, and

boycotting of

Gordon— 419-420

Duchess Jean ■ . 419-420

Mad'-'e ■ • ■ • ' ' ' q^q

Gordons .. ■; 3 , ^o, 239, "

Groonie, KH. .), 28, -9,.m^ 430,432-435

c. •„= ' 295-305

Gruesome Stories

Guij Maunrriat)- 91-93,442

Cant words ot . . ■ • g_^ g^

Gypsies of. •• • •■ ()4.\o2

Eviction Scene . . •. •■ ^,, .^.,.
Galwegian localities ot.. •■ ■■.;.,
BUlv robs the Laird of Balgally 118-123
Guide Map to Ou,, Maanenn,j
localities.
Gypsies—

\nd Soots contrasted
First arrival in Britain .
Tinklers in liritain before

Gvp-v Burn

G\psv Folk-tales— _
'Aiipeal for Collection ot . .
Al)OUt the nails of the cross

475
476
477

■-479
477
481

483
483

481
393
394
113

0

29

Index.

xxvu.

Page.
Al)OiU the sign of the cross . . 29-31
Stealiiiu; permitted to Gypsies by

Divine favour . . . . 31

Cross, most powerful of all symbols 32
Serve as a religion and solace . . 190
Gvpsv—

Glibness 241

Iiiterniarria^'e with Gorgios . . 243

Tea . . ^ 247, 263

Children 247

Bo\ 's Prayer 345

Bird 257

Caution 260-261

Honesty 284

Gypsy well . . . . 70, 113

Grellman . . . . . . 300

Happu Bozzle 247

Hark, hark, the dogs do bark " 457
" Hatteraick, Dirk," cave of, near

Ravenshall . . . . 63, 109

Hawick Brit;-, Battle of . . 414-415

Hazlewood House . . . . . . 109

Heather ale, how the secret of brew-

iiitf perished . . . . 487-493

Helen, theWelsh Harper, aGypsy,218-227
Highland (Gaelic-speaking) Tinklers

speak Shelta . . . . . . 437

Hogg . 126

Horse-dealing transactions. . .. 206

Horse-stealing 2S5, 300

House-dwellers, Gypsies' hereditary-
foes 24

Intermarriage of human races,

result of . . . . . . 416

Irish Tinkler names .. .. 410

Irish Tinkler wishes God . . . . 365

Irish Tinklers speak Shelta 437, 438

Dark haired and sw arthv . . 486

Swap wives 498

Jock Johnstone . . . 128-130

,, tragic end of 210-216

Johnnie Faa . . . . . . . . ii90

' Jolly Beggars " (Burns) .. .. 387

K

Kelton Hill Fair . . . . 50, 497

Kennedy, Alexander. . .. 414,419

Kennedy, Andrew .. 149

A superior bonier . . . . - . 150

Tragic closing years of . . . . 164

Remarkable love of freedom and

the open air .. .. 165-1(7

Page..

Kennedies, the horners . 147-167, 210-

Greatl.v respected 147

Appearance of . . . . 149

Gang of 149

Modus operandi . . . . 150, 153

Honesty of . . . . . . . . 151

Fondness of one another . . . . 151

Stories about the . . 150, 153, 155-161
In distressed circumstances latterly 164
Forebears of 413

" Kippletringan," Gatehouse .. 105

Kirkdale bridge haunted by a white

lady '. .. 112

Kirk Yetholm, decadence of Gypsy

colony at 2 04

Language of Tinkler-Gypsies 2, 5,
91-93, 178, 179, 184, 185, 186,

187, 203, 207, 208, 307-323, 433
Legal executive. Weakness of . . 45
Leland, C. G., 191, 239, 245, 284, 306, 430

Levellers, The 49-56

Lingtowmen, Tinkler-Gj-psies as 61-71
" Little Egypt," Field known as .. 113
Lockhart, J. G., Letter to Train as
to 3 vols. MS. sent Sir Walter
Scott 88

M

" M'Clave's pantry " 79

M'Culloch family 6

M'Culloch, James Murray, of Ardwall—
His account of Billy Marshall . . 7

Claims "Meg Merrilies ' to have

been a Marshall . . . . 9

Visits Billy at Palnure . . . . 12
M'Kerlie —
As to Scott's supposed visit to

Galloway 90-91

Mr and Mrs 'Thomas Scott and

Guy Mannering .. .. 90-91
MacClellans of Bombie— The Black-
morrow tradition . . 405-410
MacMillan, Mary, a Gypsy Folk-tale

Teller 365-385

MacMillan and ^yalker convicted. . 134
Macpherson, James . . . . 417-419

MacRitchie, David, 93, 112, 118, 191,
388, 393, 399, 405, 407, 408, 412,

413, 422, 426, 429, 432, 433, 486
JIacTaggart {see Gallovidian Eneij-

clopcedia).
Marshalls —
Related to the Faas . . 401-405
Addicted to ructions . . . . 205
The real aul' originals . . 203, 299
Possessed of Gjpsy blood . . 400
Unjustly blamed 527

xxvni.

Marshall Arms -a saltire
Marshall, Bill.N —

Epitaph on . .

Of widespread fame

Tinkler-Gypsy-PiL-t

Gratefulness of

Honesty of

Index.

Page.

1

1

1-2

.. C, 8
S, 9, 46

Honesi.\ ui . . ••, . -.o .J- Q« -ir Ai
Longevity of S, 10, 1.-, 18, 3o, 36, 3/, 41
Principality of • • • • • ' ,,

Numerous progeny of .. ■•
Deserts Armv to attend Kelton-

hill Fair .-.■■,,, •• \\
Aristocratic relationships (.') - • J-i
Murders his predecessor . . 12, 4-o, ou<
Lives at Palnure .. •• • • ,.-! i a
Midnif?ht, spree of.. .. •• ^^-\*
Drinks Ard wall's health .. ■• j*
Suffers a reverse .. -. ■• '

Characteristics of . . 17, 18, 4j-oJ, jii
Seventeen tim^s lawfully m^^^ie/.,^ f„

Birthplace of - . • ^'^^ ^° "f q

His worst peculiarities not Romam 19

Earl of Selkirk befriends. • • 1^

His signature .. 26, 2r, 30, io^ Li4

<lbjects to sign by cross - .

l^ireat longevity of . .

Handicraftsmanship of . .

Appreciates good music . .

Homes and haunts of

Avocations of

Lords it over Galloway ..

A smuggler . .

A den of his..

Gang of his . .

King of The Levellers . .

ilodua operandi oi

■Cave of

Flees from jjipers . .

Of possible I'ictisb origin

Robs the Laird of Bargaly

Anecdotes about, 119-123, 266, 283 ^^^

.< „ 4. .. „t .T "' 216

" Beat of . . ■•,,.■■ 01R

Tinkler " mettle" of his gang .. 216
Good qualities of ..26,, 512 530

Held in high regard .. ..-6^-268

Befriends a tramp and chastises

two cowards ■• ■■ -°'

Clever ruse hy a rider attacked b\- 268

' '. 270
. 270
. . 270

His harem

Drowns a concubine

His criterion of merit

Confronted by the devil . . • •

Shows kindne-ss to a storm-stayed

wayfarer
Bites off a tluimb ..
Proves grateful
Shows his "mettle"
Repays a kindness..
Acts diplomatically

Page.

Safeguards a friend

His hardihood

Accepts a douceur

Or the devil

Strength of his adversary

WrestHng powers of .•

Wears lamprey eel wristlets .. ■_■-•-

Befriended by noblemen, 425, 51.-^, o20

Designed as a " brasier . . •■.,.?-;_

Plealin mitigation of his crimes olo,32.

Refused a seat in chm-oh.. .. ^li

Tombstone of .. •■ 5'^' ''^^

A member of the Guild of Hammer-

. 520
278
278
279
308
333

7

522
529
533
500

270
271
273
273
274
275

71

281

men
A curious mixture . .
His favourite toast . • •

Marshall, Billv (N'orthumberland)

Marshall, Black Matthew-
Anecdote by

Ruse of .. ■• •• n.-l'^^■i i5q

Marshall, Flora Ma.xwell, or 8o, 92, 118, 129
Marshall, Francie . . . • •''"^

Marshall gang of Tinklers incarcerated 133
Marshall mark, a cross (X) . • ■■ -^
Marshall, Moses .. ■■ ' ; , , Ti?

Marshalls, the homers of Kilmaursl41-147

143
147

And the " Roughie Paw
Worked also in metal
Marshall, Wilhe—
Sketch of
Story about..

War cr\' of

Maxwell, Sir Herbert
" May ne'er waur be amang us
Meredith's, George-
Philosophic Tinkler . .
Analytical Note on Tinklers b\
"Meg Merrilies"—
Flora Marshall, prototype of (.')• «
A composite character .. »3. J-^
Handwriting of, like Billy Marshall s 102

3

.. 301

. . 301

487, 523

533

16?
535

The "Galwogian Sibyl" ..
Minnigaff, one of Billy's haunts
" Murder Hole"

Of tradition

Of romance

Muggers
Murray. Rev.
roem>:

113
48
523
523
525
325

George — Murraii's

218-225

N

Newton-Stewart, Train at . . _ • • 10?
" Nial of the Nine Hostages . . ;•»'

North. Christopher-The Tmklerlale 2b6

" Ochiltree Edie

O'Neil. Erchie..

Stories about

War cry of . .

516, 517, 519, 520

303

; . 303-305, 312

. . 303

Index.

ilniisitry 232-236

ilnure Glen, one of Billy's haunts49, 107
tnniers, obsolete . . . . . . 324

iper tlaff vendors . . . . . . 313

Parliament Knowe " . . . . 173

atrin or patteran 297

etvleiu/roes (Sxniths) .. ?57-265

Gypsy— Tea with 262

liiip Phie (Fea V) marries a Marshall 48
cts —

Last stand of 487

per Allan (s'ce Allan, Piper).

an of Galwegian Localities . . 113

etry —

Epitaph on Billy Marshall . . 1

Verses on James Allan . . . . 42

Donald Caird " 85

A G'psv encampment .. .. 126
Tlie Tinklers' Waddin' O " 183, 536

Somani Chilli 204

^I^rra^'» Poems .. .. 224-225

The Comint;- of Love " . . . . 237

f4vpsv Heather" 264

Hnider'sTale 266

Johnnie Faa" 291

The Strod^ribber" .. .. 301

The Borderland " . . . . 324

turns' " Jolly Be<rgars " . . . . 386

Miulish Gypsy's Bridal Chamber 347

Avirn a she.l o' gorgios. . . . 346

' Hark, hark, the dogs do bark " 457

\\'ee Tammie Twenty " . . . 484

ortanferry," Creetown. . . . . 103

nee and Princess of Wales and

the blind Tinkler woman

189

nn, Roger, poet, descended from
Faas 324

ige Gaugie, The 174

'enshall resembles scenery of
Gug Mannering . . 102-125

)na Boswell 264

oughie Paw, The " . . . . 141
naries (Gypsy language) 236, 254-5, 259
iiani blood scarce in England . . 260

iiani Ghilli. .
nany Girl, The
imanian Ursari-
1 Galloway . .
I Lancashire

ipson, John

204, 259
.. 483

229, 510
.. 231

S

Introduction
231, 433
tary arrangements at camps —
ea for better . . . . 190, 363, 364
.wney Bean " . . . . . . 523

Scant accommodation

Scott, Sir Walter

Verses on " Donald Caird " by .

Supposed visit to Galloway by

Page.

282

18, 85

85

90-91

Admirable description of Gypsies by 94
Solicitude for truth . . " . . 101

Praises Train 123

" Wanderin' Willie " .. .. 218
Cant words used by . . . . 442
Scott, Capt. Thomas," and Mrs Eliza-
beth M'Culloch or Scott . 89-91
Scots and Gypsies contrasted 479, 527
Scottish Tinkler-Gypsy names, how

..411
. 433
. . 438
.. 340
.. 306
246, 255

70
46, 59-72

acquired
Shelta or Sheldru
Shelta and Cant contrasted
Simple life. The
Simson . .

Smart and Crofton . .
Smiths (see Petulengroes).
Smugglers' route
Smuggling
Stair, Earl of, refers happily to horn

spoons ' . . 531

" Stell Brae, The " 79

Superstitions of Gypsies— The Gypsy

bird 257

Superstition of Tinkler-Gypsies 115, 186

Tinklers' Bairns

Claims of

Women kind to

Hardihood of

Ever ready \\ith an answer

Bad e.\ample to

Drink brings miserj' on .

Huddled together .' .

Yearnings of

Better upbringing needed for

Regulations to benefit . .
Tinkler " njettle "
The blind Tinkler woman . .
The drunken Tinkler woman
"Tlie Tinkler's Loop "
•'The Tinkler's Loup"
"The Tinklers' Waddin' O"
Tinkler Boy, The Dwarf . .
Tinkler-Gypsies —

Superstitions of . .

Origin of

Types of

Contempt for
• Worst characteristics of . .

Redeeming feature of
Frankness and simplicity of
Seeretiveness of, 5, 306, 307,
310, 326,
Superstitions about the cross
Cutpurse

.. 346

. . 340

. . 348

352, 355

. . 357

. . 357-8

.. 360

. . 360

.. 361

.. 362

363

216

175

186

47

139

183

190

115, 118
386-456
413-422

4
5

309,

331, 337

. . 26-35
. . 58-59

XXX.

Index.

Page.
As smugg-Iers and linsftowmen 59-72

Galloway g-angs of 126

Characteristics of 16S-203, 281-293,

29:{-30o

Philosophy of 168

Taught dodges to raise money . . 169
Fond of their children, 171, 190, 202, 348

Reli-rion of 178

Hardihood of 178, 181, 295, 296, 301

Denounce cant 178

Riding the cuddy .. .. 181,183

Dancing . . . . . . . . 183

Their "King " had power to correct 266
Wouldn't change their mode of

liying . 203

Still numerous 205

Roving ingrained in them . . 205

Scant accommodation required by 282
Divorce, ceremony of .. .. 282
Stealing horses . . . . . 286

Ceremonial purity of . . 297

Gypsv-like 325

Slyness 326, 336

As singers and dancers . . 329

As " White Boys" .. 331

Like Red Indians . . . . 233

As poachers 342

Form of pleading . . 350

Commendable qualities . . . . 361

Resemble hunted hares . 321

Sometimes fair complexioned . . 420
Decadence of . . . . . 324

Appearance of . . . . . . 422

Related to aristocracy . . . . 423

Scattt red over the world .. 454

Partly of Scottish (nomadic metal

workers)
Partly of Gypsy (Hindustani)

extraction . . . . . . 456

Language . . . . . . . . 2

Who read the Bible? .. 167

Castes of . . 455

Strange elusive study . . 368

Page.

Tinkler-Gypsy woman and che Prince

and Princess of Wales . . 18i

Tinkler-Gypsv Folk-tale Teller . . 36;

Politeness of 36.'

Eloquence of . . . . . . 36;

As dissembler . 36;

Deep and " wide " . . 3(>:

Independence of .. .. 367-3(i

Histrionic power of . . . 361

High morale known to . . . . 36

A good listener appreciated by. . 36
Gratefulness of .. .. .. 36

Benediction of . . . . . 36

Folk-tale by 370-38

Tinkler-Gypsy Sweeps . . . 31

Tinklers in Britain before Gypsies 39

Train, Joseph —
Galloway Gypsy Stories . . . . ^
MS. sent Sir Walter Scott 87, 1(

Praised by Sir Walter Scott . . 12
" Wanderin' Willie " .. 218-22

" Rorie Gill " . . . . 514, 55

Trelory, the Laird of, deserts his

wife ii

Tubal Kain, the first Tinkler . . 4-

Ursari (Gypsy bear- leaders), visit of
to Galioway . . . . 229-2

W

W. A., author of Galloway GKmi)ses
" Wanderin' Willie, " a Gypsy 218-2,

Watsons, the Tinklers, remarkable

anecdote about . . 2S5-2

Watts- Dunton.. .. Prefatori/ LeU
5, 32, 239, 2
" Wee Tammie Twenty " . .
Willie Marshall (see Marshall, Willie).

GYPSY LORE SOCIETY,

President — David MacRitchie, F.S.A., Scot.

This Society, founded in i8S8, but dormant
since 1S92, resumed in July, 1907, the publi-
cation of its quarterly y(3«;7/fl/, devoted to the
study of Gypsy History, Language, Customs,
and Folk-lore.

The Journal is a large illustrated octavo
containing ninety-six pages in each number,
and all the most prominent authorities, British
and foreign, on Gypsy subjects, have pro-
mised to contribute.

The annual subscription is one pound
sterling, and intending members should com-
municate with the Honorary Secretary,

R. A. Scott Macfie, M.A.,E.Sc.,
6 Hope Place, Liverpool,

w ho will be glad to give further information.

The Trmeg. — "We welcome the revival of .a journal \vhi<!h deserves the
support of students of philology and of racial character, as well as that of the
specialists, to whom it more directly appeals. Mr David MacRitchie has
enlisted the help of so many scholars at home and abroad that the enterprise
may claim to be of international interest."

The Athenreum.—" We welcome Vol. I., Xo. 1, of the Journal of the
Gypsy Lore Society, the revival of which is an excellent idea. The Journal
has started again with every promise of a long and interesting life."

Mature. — "All students of anthroijology, linguistics, and folk-lore offer a
friendly welcome to the revived Society, which will, it may be hoped, enjoy a
longer lease of life than its,i)redecessor."

^ ^

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