CHAPTER XXV.

Personal Appearance of the Servians.—­Their Moral Character.—­Peculiarities of Manners.—­Christmas Festivities.—­Easter.—­The Dodola.

The Servians are a remarkably tall and robust race of men; in form and feature they bespeak strength of body and energy of mind:  but one seldom sees that thorough-bred look, which, so frequently found in the poorest peasants of Italy and Greece, shows that the descendants of the most polite of the ancients, although disinherited of dominion, have not lost the corporeal attributes of nobility.  But the women of Servia I think very pretty.  In body they are not so well shaped as the Greek women; but their complexions are fine, the hair generally black and glossy, and their head-dress particularly graceful.  Not being addicted to the bath, like other eastern women, they prolong their beauty beyond the average climacteric; and their houses, with rooms opening on a court-yard and small garden, are favourable to health and beauty.  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.

The old customs of Servia are rapidly disappearing under the pressure of laws and European institutions.  Many of these could not have existed except in a society in which might made right.  One of these was the vow of eternal brotherhood and friendship between two individuals; a treaty offensive and defensive, to assist each other in the difficult passages of life.  This bond is considered sacred and indissoluble.  Frequently remarkable instances of it are found in the wars of Kara Georg.  But now that regular guarantees for the security of life and property exist, the custom appears to have fallen into desuetude.  These confederacies in the dual state, as in Servia, or multiple, as in the clan system of Scotland and Albania, are always strongest in turbulent times and regions.[20]