Of this singular phenomenon at Moscow the female Gypsies are the principal cause,having from time immemorial cultivated their vocal powers to such an extent that,although in the heart of a country in which the vocal art has arrived at greater perfection than in any other part of the world,the principal Gypsy choirs in Moscow are allowed by the general voice of the public to be unrivalled and to bear away the palm from all competitors.It is a fact notorious in Russia that the celebrated Catalani was so filled with admiration for the powers of voice displayed by one of the Gypsy songsters,who,after the former had sung before a splendid audience at Moscow,stepped forward and with an astonishing burst of melody ravished every ear,that she tore from her own shoulders a shawl of immense value which had been presented to her by the Pope,and embracing the Gypsy compelled her to accept it,saying that it had been originally intended for the matchless singer which she now discovered was not herself.The sums obtained by these performers are very large,enabling them to live in luxury of every description and to maintain their husbands in a princely way.Many of them are married to Russian gentlemen;and every one who has resided for any length of time in Russia cannot but be aware that the lovely,talented,and domesticated wife of Count Alexander Tolstoi is by birth a Gypsy,and was formerly one of the ornaments of a Rommany choir at Moscow as she is now one of the principal ornaments of the marriage state and of illustrious life.It is not,however,to be supposed that all the female Gypsies in Moscow are of this high,talented,and respectable order;amongst them there are a great number of low,vulgar,and profligate females who sing in taverns,or at the various gardens in the neighbourhood,and whose husbands and male connections subsist by horse-jobbing and such kinds of low traffic.The principal place of resort of this class is Marina Rotche,lying about two VERSES from Moscow,and thither I drove,attended by a VALET-DE-PLACE.Upon my arriving there the Gypsies swarmed out from their tents and from the little TRACTEER or tavern,and surrounded me.Standing on the seat of the CALECHE,I addressed them in a loud voice in the dialect of the English Gypsies,with which I have some slight acquaintance.A scream of wonder instantly arose,and welcomes and greetings were poured forth in torrents of musical Rommany,amongst which,however,the most pronounced cry was:AH KAK MI TOUTEKARMUMA -'Oh,how we love you,'for at first they supposed me to be one of their brothers,who,they said,were wandering about in Turkey,China,and other parts,and that I had come over the great PAWNEE,or water,to visit them.Their countenances exactly resembled those of their race in England and Spain,brown,and for the most part beautiful,their eyes fiery and wildly intelligent,their hair coal-black and somewhat coarse.I asked them numerous questions,especially as to their religion and original country.
They said that they believed in 'Devil,'which,singularly enough,in their language signifies God,and that they were afraid of the evil spirit,or 'Bengel';that their fathers came from Rommany land,but where that land lay they knew not.They sang many songs both in the Russian and Rommany languages;the former were modern popular pieces which are in vogue on the stage,but the latter were evidently very ancient,being composed in a metre or cadence to which there is nothing analogous in Russian prosody,and exhibiting an internal character which was anything but European or modern.Ivisited this place several times during my sojourn at Moscow,and spoke to them upon their sinful manner of living,upon the advent and suffering of Christ Jesus,and expressed,upon my taking a final leave of them,a hope that they would be in a short period furnished with the word of eternal life in their own language,which they seemed to value and esteem much higher than the Russian.
They invariably listened with much attention;and during the whole time I was amongst them exhibited little in speech or conduct which was objectionable.
I returned to Petersburg,and shortly afterwards,the business which had brought me to Russia being successfully terminated,Iquitted that country,and am compelled to acknowledge,with regret.
I went thither prejudiced against the country,the government,and the people;the first is much more agreeable than is generally supposed;the second is seemingly the best adapted for so vast an empire;and the third,even the lowest classes,are in general kind,hospitable,and benevolent.True it is that they have many vices,and their minds are overshadowed by the gloomy clouds of Grecian superstition,but the efforts of many excellent and pious persons amongst the English at St.Petersburg are directed to unveiling to them the cheering splendour of the lamp of the Gospel;and it is the sincere prayer of the humble individual who now addresses you that the difficulties which at present much obstruct their efforts may be speedily removed,and that from the boundless champains of Russia may soon resound the Jubilee hymn of millions,who having long groped their way in the darkness of the shadow of death,are at once blessed with light,and with joyful hearts acknowledge the immensity of the blessing.
GEORGE BORROW.
