Childhood Memories
excerpt At sundown we'd trail back to the boarding house, have a quick bite, and then entreat Gaffer Bodranga to pipe unto us. Theology students would converge in droves upon our place, for it had come to be their haunt; and we'd dance the whole night through,
The Hound In The Bag And The Snipe To The Four Winds
Yet, why should we prize futilities to such an expanse? To what avail should we step purblindly into the haughty palaces, where we, perchance, would encounter but troubles and mortification? Are we not indeed the grandchildren of the poet who, above all, labored the point
From Pest To Bucharest
excerpt Baneasa used to be the favourite meeting place for those living in Bucharest. It was there that they came to listen to the cuckoo singing for the first time, pretending that in this monotonous song they discovered the secrets of their lives. Back then Bucharest
Barbu Lautaru (The Fiddler)
Barbu Lautaru rustled up his physical and artistic resources, desirous to make an impression on Franz Liszt whom he met during the great Hungarian virtuoso's visit to Moldavia. Their encounter became famous thanks to an article carried by the French weekly La Vie Parisienne,
Old And New Squires
excerpts Chapter XV. Scenes of Social Life The beautiful autumn days of the year 1817 had already flitted along with the joys they bring to pass for the inhabitants of Romania. Winter had made quite an early appearance and the western wind had by now started to blow in
Depraved Youths
excerpts To you I am descending, oh you, deluded souls!To set your gall a-seething-you, minds like fumaroles- I'm carrying a curse;My curse is misanthropic, with purple, claw-like hand-With this I stamp your foreheads, instead of cattlebrand: A stigma, if not worse.
The Cart
In Bucharest there are two types of public bathhouses: Turkish and Wallachian. I was to understand the fame of the latter, as that was exactly the place we were accompanied to. This bathhouse is situated in Lipscani St. , one of the ugliest parts of the town. The building
Illustrated Journey To The Five Corners Of The World
excerpt Romanians love entertainment but they equally like to laze around. When they don't have a rest, they spend their time having walks, going to the theatre, parties, visiting acquaintances and playing cards. French, German and Romanian performances lure people
The Town Of Iaşi And Its Inhabitants In 1840
excerpt Nothing, says Mr. N. , in an witty critique of Iaşi society, nothing is more boring than Iaşi for a foreign traveler whose name does not include the rewarding of particle, and whose only concern is to do business and not entertain the little civilized inhabitants
Descriptio Moldaviae
VIII. On the customs of the court And on the days when there are no banquets, the table for the Prince's lunch is more often than not laid in the small hall, but often enough also in the big hall or in the women's quarters (gynaeceo). Two of the high rank boyars
Pleasure
One might think that all men desire pleasure because they all aim at life (…). Pleasure completes (…) life, which they desire (…). But whether we choose life for the sake of pleasure or pleasure for the sake of life is a question we may dismiss for the present. For
Everyone's Cuisine - The Watchdog Of Gastronomy
For well over one year, since I and the retiring actor Stelian Nistor marketed our tee-vees to see the magazine Everybody's Cuisine through the press, our peers, notably those at The Catzavencu Academy, never fail to cheek me: You meatball-journalist, recipe commentator,