The difference of costume between the peasantry of Servia and those of the adjoining country, was remarkably striking. The men had added a wide sash of rich scarlet to the dress of the Bulgarians, and wore their woollen greaves, and the sleeves of their shirts worked with dark-coloured worsteds; while the women were attired in the most singular manner that can well be imagined. They universally retained the wrapping-dress of white linen that we had remarked all along this shore of the Danube; but above it they had placed a couple of aprons of thick woollen stuff, striped or checked with dark blue; one of which they wore before, and the other behind, leaving the linen garment uncovered on either side to the waist; but their head-gear was yet more extraordinary, and, at the same time, singularly picturesque.
The younger among them wore their hair confined by a simple band across the forehead; to which were attached branches of bright-coloured flowers, such as marigolds, hollyhocks, and the blossoms of the scarlet bean; intermixed with strings of small silver coin, in greater or less quantities. I remarked that even the youngest of the girls, children of five and six years of age, were thus decorated; some of them not possessing, however, more than half a dozen little para pieces; and as each of these girls was twirling her distaff with all the gravity of a matron, I imagine that, precisely as the Asiatics accumulate strings of pearl by the slow produce of their industry, so, in like manner, the female peasantry of Servia increase their ornaments through the medium of their own individual exertions; and I was the more confirmed in this opinion, by observing that in every instance save one, the number of coins worn upon the head appeared to preserve an equal proportion with the years of the wearer.
The exception to which I allude was on the person of a young girl of about seventeen, from whose braided tresses coins of considerable size fell in every direction nearly to her waist; while her throat was encircled by a succession of the same ungraceful ornaments, descending like scale-armour low upon her bosom. There was an elastic spring in her movements, as her small naked feet pressed the sandy path; and an expression bordering upon haughtiness in her large dark eyes, which betrayed the daughter of the village chief. I would peril the value of every coin she wore that I read her fortune aright!
The elder women wore linen cloths bound about their heads with a grace which would have suited the draping of a statue; the long ends of the scarf being secured behind the ear, and forming deep folds that looked, at a short distance, as though they were hewn in marble; and above this drapery, rows of coins were disposed, helmet-wise, in such profusion that, as the sunlight glanced upon them, they were perfectly dazzling. Nor did the matrons dispense with the gaudy knots of flowers so general among their younger countrywomen; and the gay effect of a group of Servian females may consequently be imagined. Some among them were tolerably pretty; nearly all had fine bright black eyes, and they were universally erect and finely made; with a step and carriage at once firm and graceful.
Ranged along the road stood the line of bullock-waggons, intended for the transport of our luggage; and beside them a nondescript carriage of wicker-work drawn by two gray horses, for the accommodation of such of the party as preferred driving to walking. We were, however, some time before we were fairly en route; and still longer before any one felt inclined to forego the pleasure of wandering through the long grass that bordered the edge of the plain, through which wound the road leading to Orsova.
For a brief interval we lost sight of the river, and continued to advance along the rude path, scaring the wild birds from their resting-places among the stunted branches of the dwarf oaks and beeches that clothed it; or thredding along the boundaries of the wide patches of Indian corn which had been redeemed from the waste. But as the day advanced, the heat became so great as to render any further progress on foot too fatiguing to be pleasurable; and four of our party accordingly taking possession of the carriage, we started at a brisk pace along the smooth and easy road; and after a precipitous descent, down which the horses galloped at a pace infinitely more speedy than safe, we found ourselves once more on the shore of the Danube, where it is separated in the centre by a long bar of sand, terminating in a small island of rock, now cumbered with the remnants of a ruined fortress.
Twenty minutes more brought us to the Porte de Fer; which does not, however, extend all across the river, as there is a sufficient width of sand left free of all rock, on the Servian side, to render the formation of a canal sufficiently extensive to ensure the safe passage of moderately sized vessels extremely easy. Nothing in nature can be more lovely than the landscape at this point of the river; it is shut in on all sides by majestic rocks overgrown with forest trees; and tenanted by the wild boar, the wolf, and the bear. Eagles soar above their pinnacles; and singing birds make the air vocal at their base; while beneath them rushes the chafed and angry river, foaming and roaring over the line of rock that impedes the accustomed onward flow of its waters.
Another turn in the road, and the Danube is hidden from view by a wooded strip of land, which has forced a portion of the river from its natural channel, as if to accompany the traveller upon his way, as he follows the chain of rock along a road so narrow, that there is not half a foot of earth between the wheels of the carriage and the edge of the bank that is washed by the little stream; while delicious glimpses of the Danube are occasionally visible between the trunks of the tall trees that fringe the intervening islet.
About a quarter of a mile onward stands a Crucifix; the first symbol that we had yet remarked of Christianity; and which we hailed as the parched desert-wanderer welcomes the spring whereat he slakes his long-endured and withering thirst. It was erected beneath the shadow of a fine old beech tree; and immediately beside a crazy bridge flung across the channel of a mountain torrent. The scene increased in beauty as we proceeded. The great variety of tint among the forest foliage heightened the effect of the landscape; and I have rarely, if ever, seen a more gorgeous locality than that through which we travelled to Orsova. Nature had poured forth her treasures with an unsparing liberality; and every mountain-glen was a spot that a painter would have loved to look upon.
We passed through one straggling village, built like that at which we had landed, of timber and mud, where we stopped for a few moments to procure a glass of water; and I was agreeably impressed by the eager courtesy with which the request was met. A portion of the road proving too steep to enable the horses to drag us to the summit of the rise along which we had to pass, we descended from the carriage, and pursued our way on foot; when we were much struck by the appearance of the soil, impregnated as it was so strongly with metallic particles, that it had the appearance of diamond dust. I collected several specimens of ore that were truly beautiful; and I have no doubt, even from my own very slight geological knowledge, that a scientific person might find ample employment within a couple of miles of Orsova for at least as many months.