g to the
Prussian frontier.) Fifty years later matters seem to have retrograded
in Roumania, for Kunisch, an amusing German writer, describes his
journey from Giurgevo to Bucarest, now effected in two or three hours by
rail, which it then took him twenty-four hours to accomplish, at first
with sixteen horses and four postilions, and during the later stages
with eighteen and twenty-two horses. (_Reisebilder_, pp. 73-81. Berlin:
Effert and Lindtner.)]

III.

But we must dwell no longer in this realm of fruitfulness, and must pass
on to the alpine regions beyond. In so doing we change our altitude much
more rapidly than heretofore, and as we travel through the ascending
valleys into the pine-clad rocks and mountains it is difficult to know
with what European highlands to draw a comparison. 'Is it Wales?' the
English reader will naturally enquire. 'No, for the mountains are too
sharp and rocky, and yet not nearly so barren as those of our
principality.' 'Are we in the Pyrenees?' Certainly not; the vegetation
is not so rich, few waterfalls are visible, and there is a slovenly
appearance about the clayey or sandy surface, reddened here and there by
ferruginous streamlets, and covered with weedy-looking brushwood which
is quite at variance with the sloping gardens of the sunny south of
France. Is the scenery Dolomitic? In a sense it is. The summits of the
mountains are often very jagged, Rosszaehne or horses' teeth, as they are
called, but they are dark grey and not white or yellow as the Dolomites.
The trees are the same as in other alpine lands, firs, pines, larch, and
birch growing thickly to a height of about 5,000 or 6,000 feet above the
sea-level; then come grass and alpine flowers, and finally the rough
jagged summit. Whatever region it may resemble, and perhaps its nearest
analogues are the wilder portions of the Bavarian Alps or the less
rugged parts of the Tyrol, it is lovely and romantic, and needs only to
be visited by a few Western tourists to become an extension of the
playground of Europe; for, in combination with beautiful scenery, there
are charming costumes, primitive manners, and some interesting phases
of Oriental life. And should his way lead him to Sinaia, the summer
residence of the Court, and the sanatorium to which the people of
Bucarest resort, not as yet in too great numbers, the visitor will
readily admit that there are few spots in Europe better calculated to
afford rest and refreshment to the