Such are the Wallacks--I beg their
pardon, Roumanians!
When we got to Terregova, we were glad to find quite a decent inn, the
Wilder Mann, kept by civil people. After supper we had a chat with our
hostess, who being a regular gossip, was very pleased to tell us a lot
of stories about the wild character of the country-people. She was very
sorry that the frontier was no longer under the Austrian military rule,
for, she said, having been accustomed to the strict military system so
long, the Wallacks, now they have more liberty, have become utterly
lawless, and exceedingly troublesome to their German neighbours. She
added that the _gendarmes_, who were supposed to keep order in the
district, were far too few to be of any real use. She complained
bitterly against the Wallacks for firing the forests, and they had
become much worse since '48. "In fact the time will come," she said,
"when wood will be scarce, and then everybody will suffer; but they
don't think, and they don't care, and just lay their hands on anything."
The Government certainly ought to look to the preservation of the
forests, and above all they ought to make the law respected amongst a
population which is so little advanced in civilisation as to be
indifferent to the first principles of order. The Wallacks want
education, and above all they want a decent priesthood, before they can
make any sound progress. With all their ignorance and lawlessness, it is
curious that they pride themselves on being descendants of the ancient
Romans, ignoring their "Dacian sires.
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