In winter, the afternoon rides are confined to the streets of the town, where the number and splendour of sledges is equal to that of the calèches in the fine season. Last year a company of German actors came to Bukorest, and after some performances, were encouraged to establish a regular theatre. They gave German operas, and comedies translated into Wallachian, and the first two or three months they attracted crowds from all the classes, who, without exception, seemed to have taken a true liking to the new sort of amusement; but latterly the charm of novelty had begun to wear off, and the Boyars of the first order, with some of the principal foreign residents, seemed to be the only persons disposed to support the continuance of the establishment, more with the view of making it a place of general union of the society, than from the attractions of the stage. The days of Christmas, new-year, the prince’s anniversary, Easter, and some others, are chiefly devoted to etiquette visits at court. From nine o’clock in the morning to one in the afternoon, the prince and princess, seated at the corner of a very long sopha, and covered with jewels and the most costly apparel, receive the homage of all those who are entitled to the honour of kissing their hands, an honour which the foreign consuls, their wives, and officers attached to their suite, alone, think proper to dispense with. No other persons residing in the country can be received at court on gala days without going through that formality. The wives of Boyars are allowed to sit in the presence of the prince and princess; they take seat according to the rank or office of their husbands, who without exception are obliged to stand at a respectful distance. On similar occasions, the crowd at court is immense; the whole of the outer apartments are filled with persons of every description, and the audience-chamber is not less so by the number of visitors. On new-year’s-day it is customary to make presents of money to the servants attending the court; they have no other pecuniary allowance for their services; and the bustle and confusion occasioned by the avidity of this crowd of harpies is as difficult to be described as it is inconsistent with the dignity of a court who expects and ordains universal homage to its chiefs.