CHAPTER VII.
BOHEMIA.
COSTUMES OF THE BOHEMIANS.
The name of Bohemia is derived from that of the Boji, a Celtic nation which inhabited this country at the period to which the earliest historical records of it relate. Notwithstanding the numerous resources possessed by the inhabitants in the fertility of the soil, in the mines, the forests and the different manufactures established in the course of the last century, the country is not very flourishing. The peasantry being reduced to the state of serfs, the apathy and indolence consequent on servitude, cause Bohemia to swarm with mendicants and vagabonds.
Among these are a great number of gipsies, who in some parts of Europe are erroneously denominated Bohemians.
The costumes of Bohemia differ considerably from those of Austria, properly so called. The annexed engraving represents a young peasant of the environs of Egra. These are a handsome race of men, with fine open countenances.
Their dress combines simplicity and elegance. Wide trowsers in the Turkish fashion, reaching to the middle of the leg, contrast by their dark colour as well as by their amplitude, with the short, tight waistcoats. The under-waistcoat, or rather a sort of stomacher, which is left uncovered by the two open upper waistcoats, is the article of their dress in regard to which they are most particular.
In winter these villagers wear over all a long brown cloth surtout. The hat has a broad brim and a low crown, round which is tied a coloured ribbon. From their earliest childhood they are habituated to smoking, and they are seldom seen without pipes in their mouths, especially in winter.
PEASANT of EGRA IN WINTER DRESS.
The wives and daughters of peasants in general employ dark-coloured stuffs only for their apparel. In cold weather they wear a cap of fur, or of woollen, round which a muslin handkerchief is tied behind. Their stockings are of a dark colour; the shoes are black with red heels: the quarters are bordered with a piece of the latter colour, which turns down over the instep.