with them; but he presently heard them whisper to each other, 'this
is a fine fat fellow,' from which he suspected that they were
meditating a design upon his body: whereupon, feeling himself
sleepy, he made as if he were seeking a spot where to lie, and
suddenly darted headlong down the mountain-side, and escaped from
their hands without breaking his neck.

These anecdotes scarcely deserve comment; first we have the
statement of Fajardo, the fool or knave who tortures wretches, and
then puts them to death for the crimes with which they have taxed
themselves whilst undergoing the agony of the rack, probably with
the hope of obtaining a moment's respite; last comes the tale of
the shepherd, who is invited by Gypsies on a mountain at night to
partake of a supper of human flesh, and who runs away from them on
hearing them talk of the fatness of his own body, as if cannibal
robbers detected in their orgies by a single interloper would have
afforded him a chance of escaping. Such tales cannot be true. (19)

Cases of cannibalism are said to have occurred in Hungary amongst
the Gypsies; indeed, the whole race, in that country, has been
accused of cannibalism, to which we have alluded whilst speaking of
the Chingany: it is very probable, however, that they were quite
innocent of this odious practice, and that the accusation had its
origin in popular prejudice, or in the fact of their foul feeding,
and their seldom rejecting carrion or offal of any description.

The Gazette of Frankfort for the year 1782, Nos. 157 and 207,
states that one hundred and fifty Gypsies were imprisoned charged
with this practice; and that the Empress Teresa sent commissioners
to inquire into the facts of the accusation, who discovered that