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230 DAYS IN THE SUN
Even in a crowd the gypsy will at once attract atten-
tion by the peculiar shape of his head and his swarthy
complexion, which resembles that of the negro in not
reflecting any light and at a glance registering only as
a dark spot on the retina of the eye. His bold and
somewhat peculiar manner assures him of attention,
even if he is alone among hundreds. He appears to
possess the same talent as the Jew for acquiring super-
ficially the peculiarities of the people among whom he
lives, retaining simultaneously at bottom his own racial
traits. He is swift in his motions and knows no
fatigue. He is frugal, proud, boisterously merry and
full of bubbling humor. He represents all the promi-
nent characteristics of the Andalusian in an exagger-
ated degree and is thus assured a prominent place in
the consciousness of the population. The merriest
tales are told of him. Puns and jokes often end with
the words: “as the gypsy said.”
In the case of the Andalusian, these qualities are in-
nate; they seem in their natural place. But in the case
of the gypsy they have been assumed for the purpose
usual with uprooted races: getting hold of money. The
gypsy can be carefree and unselfish. He can have just
as clever notions as the Andalusian, but this is merely
sand to be thrown in the eyes of gullible persons. He
is frugal, but only in order to be able to set aside his
savings, and because an appearance of poverty may call
forth charity. The gypsies down on the Huelva go
about naked the greater part of the year, with nothing
but a cloth about their loins, although they are by no
means poor and the climate is not exactly Eden’s. Up
at the Alhambra you may see a well-to-do beggar
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