THE GIPSIES
1.IT was in a hollow way，near the top of a steep ascent upon the verge of the Ellangowan estate，that Mr.Bertram met the gipsy procession.Four or five men formed the advanced guard，wrapped in long，loose great coats，that hid their tall，slender figures，as the large slouched hats，drawn over their brows，concealed their wild features，dark eyes，and swarthy faces.Two of them carried long fowling pieces，one wore a broad-sword without a sheath，and all had the Highland dirk，though they did not wear that weapon openly or ostentatiously.
2.Behind them followed the train of laden asses，and small carts，or tumblers，as they were called in that country，on which were laid the decrepit and the helpless，the aged and infant part of the exiled community.The women，in their red cloaks and straw hats，the elder children，with bare heads and bare feet，and almost naked bodies，had the immediate care of the little caravan.The road was narrow，running between two broken banks of sand，and Mr.Bertram‘s servant rode forward，smacking his whip with an air of authority，and motioning to their drivers to allow free passage to their betters.
3.His signal was unattended to.He then called to the men who lounged idly on before，“Stand to your beasts’heads，and make room for the laird to pass.”“He shall have his share of the road，”answered a male gipsy from under his slouched and large-brimmed hat，and without raising his face，“and he shall have no more；the highway is as free to our cuddies as to his geldings.”
4.The tone of the man being sulky，and even menacing，Mr.
Bertram thought it best to put his dignity into his pocket，and pass by the procession quietly，upon such space as they chose to leave for his accommodation，which was narrow enough.To cover with an appearance of indifference his feeling of the want of respect with which he was treated，he addressed one of the men，as he passed him，without any show of greeting，salute，or recognition，“Giles Baillie，”he said，“have you heard that your son Gabriel is well？”（the question referred to a young man who had been pressed.）5.“If I had heard otherwise，”said the old man looking up with a stern and menacing countenance，“you should have heard it too.”And he plodded his way，tarrying no further question.When the laird had pressed onward with difficulty among a crowd of familiar faces，in which he now only read hatred and contempt，but which had on all former occasions marked his approach with the reverence due to that of a superior being，and had got clear of the throng，he could not help turning his horse and looking back to mark the progress of the march.The group would have been an excellent subject for the pencil of Colotte①.The van had already reached a small and stunted thicket，which was at the bottom of the hill，and which gradually hid the line of march until the last stragglers disappeared.
6.His sensations were bitter enough.The race，it is true，which he had thus summarily dismissed from their ancient place of refuge，was idle and vicious；but had he endeavored to render them otherwise？They were not more irregular characters now，than they had been while they were admitted to consider themselves as a sort of subordinate dependents of his family；and ought the circumstance of his becoming a magistrate to have made at once such a change in his conduct toward them？Some means of reformation ought at least to have been tried，before sending seven families at once upon the wide world，and depriving them of a degree of countenance which withheld them at least from atrocious guilt.
7.There was also a natural yearning of heart upon parting with so many known and familiar faces；and to this feeling Godfrey Bertram was peculiarly accessible，from the limited qualities of his mind，which sought its principal amusements among the petty objects around him.
8.As he was about to turn his horse‘s head to pursue his journey，Meg Merrilies，who had lagged behind the troops，unexpectedly presented herself.She was standing upon one of those high banks，which，as we before noticed，overhung the road；so that she was placed considerably higher than Ellangowan，even though he was on horseback；and her tall figure，relieved against the clear blue sky，seemed almost of supernatural height.We have noticed that there was in her general attire，or rather in her mode of adjusting it，somewhat of a foreign costume，artfully adopted，perhaps，for the purpose of adding to the effect of her spells and predictions，or perhaps from some traditional notions respecting the dress of her ancestors.On this occasion，she had a large piece of red cotton cloth rolled about her head in the form of a turban，from beneath which her dark eyes flashed with uncommon luster.
