wned by
wind and their tresses blown back from their brows in most bewitching
manner by the libertine breeze, were jolting homeward, singing as
they went. The young men in their loose linen garments, with their
primitive hoes and spades on their shoulders, were as goodly specimens
of manly strength and beauty as one could wish to look upon. It hurt
me to see them stand humbly ranged in rows as I passed. But it was
pleasant to note the fervor with which they knelt around the cross
rearing its sainted form amid the waving grasses. They knew nothing
of the outer world, save that from time to time the emperor claimed
certain of their number for his service, and that perhaps their lot
might lead them to the great city of Buda-Pesth. Everywhere as far as
the eye could reach the land was cultivated with greatest care,
and plenty seemed the lot of all. The peasant lived in an ugly and
windowless house because his father and grandfather had done so before
him, not because it was necessary. It was odd to see girls tall as
Dian, and as fair, bending their pretty bodies to come out of the
contemptible little apertures in the peasant-houses called "doors."

Drenkova is a long street of low cottages, with here and there a
two-story mansion to denote that the proprietors of the land reside
there. As I approached the entrance to this street I saw a most
remarkable train coming to meet me. One glance told me that it was a
large company of gypsies who had come up from Roumania, and were going
northward in search of work or plunder. My driver drew rein, and
we allowed the swart Bohemians to pass on--a courtesy which was
gracefully acknowledged with a singularly sweet smile from the driver
of the first cart. There were about two hundred men and women in
this wagon-train, and I verily believe that there were twice as many
children. Each cart, drawn by a small Roumanian pony, contained two or
three families huddled together, and seemingly lost in contemplation
of the beautiful sunset, for your real gypsy is a keen admirer of
Nature and her charms. Some of the women were intensely hideous: age
had made them as unattractive as in youth they had been pretty; others
were graceful and well-formed. Many wore but a single garment. The men
were wilder than any that I had ever before seen: their matted hair,
their thick lips and their dark eyes gave them almost the appearance
of negroes. One or two of them had been foraging, and bore sheeps'
heads a