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CHAPTER XII.
The Banat of Matchva.--Losnitza.--Feuds on the Frontier.--Enter the
Back-woods.--Convent of Tronosha.--Greek Festival.--Congregation of
Peasantry.--Rustic Finery.
Through the richest land, forming part of the ancient banat of
Matchva, which was in the earlier periods of Servian and Hungarian
history so often a source of conflict and contention, we approached
distant grey hills, which gradually rose from the horizon, and, losing
their indistinctness, revealed a chain so charmingly accidented, that
I quickened my pace, as if about to enter a fairy region. Thick turf
covered the pasture lands; the old oak and the tender sapling
diversified the plain. Some clouds hung on the horizon, whose
delicate lilac and fawn tints, forming a harmonizing contrast with the
deep deep blue of the heavens, showed the transparency of the
atmosphere, and brought healthful elevation of spirits. Even the
brutes bespoke the harmony of creation; for, singular to say, we saw
several crows perched on the backs of swine!
Towards evening, we entered a region of cottages among gardens
inclosed by bushes, trees, and verdant fences, with the rural quiet
and cleanliness of an English village in the last century, lighted up
by an Italian sunset.
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