George Borrow | Page 4

horses
clearing the deep ditches with wonderful alacrity. 'That's Gypsy Will
and his gang,' lisped a Hebrew pickpocket; 'we shall have another
fight.' The word Gypsy was always sufficient to excite my curiosity,
and I looked attentively at the new comers.
"I have seen Gypsies of various lands, Russian, Hungarian, and Turkish;
and I have also seen the legitimate children of most countries of the
world, but I never saw, upon the whole, three more remarkable
individuals, as far as personal appearance was concerned, than the three
English Gypsies who now presented themselves to my eyes on that spot.
Two of them had dismounted, and were holding their horses by the
reins. The tallest, and, at the first glance, the most interesting of the two,
was almost a giant, for his height could not have been less than six feet
three. It is impossible for the imagination to conceive any thing more
perfectly beautiful than were the features of this man, and the most
skilful sculptor of Greece might have taken them as his model for a
hero and a god. The forehead was exceedingly lofty--a rare thing in a
Gypsy; the nose less Roman than Grecian--fine yet delicate; the eyes
large, overhung with long drooping lashes, giving them almost a
melancholy expression; it was only when they were highly elevated

that the Gypsy glance peered out, if that can be called glance which is a
strange stare, like nothing else in this world. His complexion--a
beautiful olive; and his teeth of a brilliancy uncommon even amongst
these people, who have all fine teeth. He was dressed in a coarse
waggoner's slop, which, however, was unable to conceal altogether the
proportions of his noble and Herculean figure. He might be about
twenty-eight. His companion and his captain, Gypsy Will, was, I think,
fifty when he was hanged, ten years subsequently (for I never
afterwards lost sight of him), in the front of the jail of Bury St.
Edmunds. I have still present before me his bushy black hair, his black
face, and his big black eyes, full and thoughtful, but fixed and staring.
His dress consisted of a loose blue jockey coat, jockey boots and
breeches; in his hand a huge jockey whip, and on his head (it struck me
at the time for its singularity) a broad- brimmed, high-peaked
Andalusian hat, or at least one very much resembling those generally
worn in that province. In stature he was shorter than his more youthful
companion, yet he must have measured six feet at least, and was
stronger built, if possible. What brawn!--what bone!--what legs!--what
thighs! The third Gypsy, who remained on horseback, looked more like
a phantom than any thing human. His complexion was the colour of
pale dust, and of that same colour was all that pertained to him, hat and
clothes. His boots were dusty of course, for it was midsummer, and his
very horse was of a dusty dun. His features were whimsically ugly,
most of his teeth were gone, and as to his age, he might be thirty or
sixty. He was somewhat lame and halt, but an unequalled rider when
once upon his steed, which he was naturally not very solicitous to quit.
I subsequently discovered that he was considered the wizard of the
gang.
{picture: John Thurtell. (From an old print.): page9.jpg}
"I have been already prolix with respect to these Gypsies, but I will not
leave them quite yet. The intended combatants at length arrived; it was
necessary to clear the ring--always a troublesome and difficult task.
Thurtell went up to the two Gypsies, with whom he seemed to be
acquainted, and, with his surly smile, said two or three words, which I,
who was standing by, did not understand. The Gypsies smiled in return,

and giving the reins of their animals to their mounted companion,
immediately set about the task which the king of the flash-men had, as I
conjecture, imposed upon them; this they soon accomplished. Who
could stand against such fellows and such whips? The fight was soon
over--then there was a pause. Once more Thurtell came up to the
Gypsies and said something--the Gypsies looked at each other and
conversed; but their words had then no meaning for my ears. The tall
Gypsy shook his head. 'Very well,' said the other, in English, 'I
will--that's all.'
"Then pushing the people aside, he strode to the ropes, over which he
bounded into the ring, flinging his Spanish hat high into the air.
"Gypsy Will.--'The best man in England for twenty pounds!'
"Thurtell.--'I am backer!'
"Twenty pounds is a tempting sum, and there were men that day upon
the green meadow who would have shed the blood of their own fathers
for the fifth of the price. But the Gypsy was not an