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THE GYPSIES | 251
with red tassels over their brows. No Spaniard alive
can resist this spectacle, though he may have learned
to his cost a dozen times that appearances are decep-
tive. There is not a child that cannot tell you what
optical illusions may be resorted to by a gypsy when
it is important for him to sell an unsaleable animal to
some one else. Here you can buy the nicest little
donkeys and mules which later turn out to be nothing
but patchwork and may be taken apart almost like
sewing-machines. By the use of arsenic and secret
herbs the animals are stimulated into assuming a well-
nourished appearance, holding their heads high, pranc-
ing about in the presence of the purchaser. But on the
next day they are like wet rags, dejected; their beauti-
ful mouse-gray color comes off, leaving behind a dull
gray speckled hide, great pieces of which fall off, since
they have simply been pasted on to the wounded and
worn spots. And as for the tail, it often can be taken
off and put on again to suit your fancy.
When the gypsies, who do now impart a special
color to the general scheme of life in Andalusia, have
been completely absorbed by the rest of the population,
they will undoubtedly be found to have contributed
their marked talent for trade to the total impression.
In this regard the Andalusian proper has no gifts at
all; he may be deceived twenty times before he learns
by experience. He ascribes his undoings to the magic
devices of the gypsy, which the devil himself could not
cope with, no matter how wise he may be. The
Andalusian completely lacks ability to estimate a gen-
eral situation. All things are tinged for him in ac-
cordance with his personal feelings. He judges,
ponders and acts in accordance with insignificant
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