276 FROM BUKOREST, 
CHAP, more; round which villa ore the country was bet- 
III. . ° IT-, 
V. -y- .^^ ter cultivated : and as it was tne Easter week, 
the amusements which are common during the 
same season in Russia were here in full force- 
We saw villagers in their best clothes, diverting 
themselves with swings and turning-machines. 
The JFalachians have a curious way of managing 
their horses upon a journey : whenever they 
halt, they begin to rub the eyes of these 
animals, and to pull their ears. We could 
discover neither the cause nor the use of this 
practice ; but the horses being accustomed to 
it, w^ould perhaps be uneasy if it were omitted ; 
and it was evident, from the care and constancy 
with which it was done, that it was considered 
as refreshing and salutary. At the distance of 
piteiti. four hours from Kirchinhof, we came to Pitesti, 
having travelled the whole day over plains. 
Just before our arrival at Pitesti, we crossed 
the river Dumbovitza, by means of a barge. 
The Hospodar had granted us an order for forty- 
three horses, and had also, unknown to us, 
directed that the chiefs of all the villages should 
be responsible for our being well supplied with 
lodgings and provisions. It was therefore 
owing to this circumstance, that, on our arrival 
at Pitesti, five or six of the principal inhabitants 
came to visit us. We were surprised at the 
