Japhet, in Search of a Father

nd all connected with them, except birth and parentage, which app

we sat down on our bundles, chatting for about five minutes, when our new acquai

and be better received, for there is a gathering now, and some of them are queer customers. However, you have nothing to

e?" inquired I, as I put my

s. She is, by descent, one of the heads of

-are you

ic; but do not think that you are to remain long here; we shall leave in a few days, and may not meet the tribe again for months, although you may see my own family occasionally. I did not ask you to

junctions, to keep silence. At last we stopped, and perceived ourselves to be standing by the fool, who was dressed like us, in a smock frock, and Mr Jumbo, who was very busy making the pot boil, blowing at the sticks underneath till he was black in the face. Several of the men passe

lly formed; mouth small, thin lips, with a slight curl of disdain, and pearly teeth. I never beheld a woman of so commanding a presence. Her feet were bare, but very small, as well as her hands. On her fingers she wore many rings, of a curious old setting, and a piece of gold hung on her forehead, wher

ear nothing, you have no cause to fear. Be faithful, then, while you serve him, and when you would quit us, say so, and receive your leave to depart; but if you attempt to desert us without permission, then we shall suspect that you are our enem

new source of interest. She was a little fairy figure, with a skin as white as the driven snow-light auburn hair, and large blue eyes; her dress was scan

zy Num (this was Philotas, the fool), for m

ce was paid to her. In the meantime Jumbo had blown up a brisk fire; we were employed by Fleta in shredding vegetables, which she threw into the boiling kettle. Num appea

that name, Fle

it me," r

ho are

Melchior, h

e not their

t-that is, I

aid too much, cast her eyes down on the ground, and folded

, "She must have been s

ce," s

; her mournful pensive look, was perhaps inherent to her nature. It was not until long after our first acquaintance that I ever saw a smile upon her features. Shortly after this little conversation Nattée returned, walking with all the grace and dignity of a queen. Her husband, or Melchior, as I shall in future call him, soon joined us, and we sat down to our repast, which was excellent. It was composed of almost every thing; sometimes I found myself busy with the wing of a fowl, a

out of love for Nattée, or from some other causes not to be revealed, he led me to surmise. He had been many years in company with the tribe, and although, as one received into it, he

l of their wealth. Melchior, it appeared, gained money in three different characters; as a quack doctor, the character in whi

degradation; but she was then very young, and must have been most beautiful. The talents of Melchior, and her own spirit, however, soon enabled her to regain, and ev

sidered pure. The subdivision of the tribe which followed Nattée, consisted of about forty, men, women, and children. These were ruled by her during the absence of her husband, who alterna

bed, and died a few hours afterwards; that, at the time, she was on her way to join her husband, and had been taken ill on the road-had be

it were a dream. She recollected two white ponies-and a lady who was her mamma-and a mulberry-tree, where she stained her frock; sometimes other things came to her memory, and then she forgot them again. From this it was evident that she had been stolen, and was probably of good parentage; certainly, if elegance and symmetry of person and form, could prove blood, it never was more marked than in this interesting child. Her abode with the gipsi

es and taverns where we stopped, every one imagined that all his folly was pretence, and looked upon him as a very clever fellow. There never was, perhaps, such a lachrymose countenance as this poor lad's, and this added still more to the mirth of others, being also considered as put on for the occasion. Stephen Kemble played Falstaff without stuffing-Num played the fool without any effort

o in assisting him in persuading the public of his great skill. As a fortune-teller, I should also be of great service, as he would explain to me hereafter. In short, he wanted a person of good personal appearance and education, in whom he might confide in every way. As to Tim, he might be made useful if he chose, in various ways; amongst others, he wished him to learn tumbling and playing the fool, when, at times, the fool was required