They are not exposed to the elements as the men; nor are they
cooped up within four walls, like many eastern women, without a
sufficient circulation of air.
Through all the interior of Servia, the female is reckoned an inferior
being, and fit only to be the plaything of youth and the nurse of old
age. This peculiarity of manners has not sprung from the four
centuries of Turkish occupation, but appears to have been inherent in
old Slaavic manners, and such as we read of in Russia, a very few
generations ago; but as the European standard is now rapidly adopted
at Belgrade, there can be little doubt that it will thence, in the
course of time, spread over all Servia.
The character of the Servian closely resembles that of the Scottish
Highlander. He is brave in battle, highly hospitable; delights in
simple and plaintive music and poetry, his favourite instruments
being the bagpipe and fiddle: but unlike the Greek be shows little
aptitude for trade; and unlike the Bulgarian, he is very lazy in
agricultural operations. All this corresponds with the Scottish Celtic
character; and without absolute dishonesty, a certain low cunning in
the prosecution of his material interests completes the parallel.
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