The apparel of men of elevated rank is extremely costly and very Oriental.

The Moldovian and the Greek shaves his head and wears the red Turkish fez pushed forward. His undergarment is of costly silk, and the wide gown with open sleeves reaching only to the elbow is of the finest English cloth or costly Persian wool or silk.

His undergarment is belted with a genuine shawl, of which he has dozens to choose from, worth 100 to 200 ducats each.

His head is covered by a light, padded cap of gray lamb’s wool representing a Turkish turban, or frequently by a shawl wrapped very much like a turban, so that at least from a distance, one could take him for a Turk. Scarlet red Turkish pants and yellow slippers of morocco with soles of the same leather complete his attire. The love of fancy clothes appears to be widespread, and an aristocratic boyar may well show himself in the course of a day in two or three different outer and undergarments, one more elaborate than the next. The rich wear costly furs, usually sable, but only in the winter; by contrast, a man of the next lowest class will wear a very wide, short-sleeved Oriental outer garment, usually of silk lined with ermine, all year long.

The fairer sex has a lively, fiery temperament, very susceptible to feelings of love, and clinging to the beloved with burning passion, no sacrifice too dear to preserve his affection. However, one would be making a great mistake to think that this high emotional energy was a source of sensual error or excess. On the contrary, these tender and passionate creatures possess an extraordinary degree of restraint. No matter how powerfully their spirit is convulsed, their exterior always maintains a calm and dignified appearance and anxious modesty accompanies all their actions. But alone with their lover, they surrender themselves all the more completely to the storm of their long-suppressed passion.

In the highest echelons, one finds individuals of the most refined customs. Both men and women are fluent in the French language; many even speak German, and some boyars possess not inconsiderable libraries.

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BESSARABIA, WINTER 1939

Uncle Ferdinand speaks of last things: