The principal piece of finery in the dress of these women is the girdle, in which they are particularly studious of elegance and richness. It fastens both before and behind, and from the middle hangs a broad band of the same material and similarly ornamented, which passes in a semicircle sometimes to the right, at others to the left. The wedding apparel of the young female peasants of this part of Bohemia is remarkable. Everywhere else a wedding is an occasion of rejoicing and gaiety not only to the new-married couple, but also to such of their relations and friends as are invited. Not so at Egra. There the bride would be deemed guilty of an act of unpardonable indecorum, if she were to appear in a white dress, or to give additional splendour to her apparel by pearls, jewels, or laces. Marriage, being considered in this country as the most important and solemn act of life, is celebrated with the utmost gravity. Every thing, therefore, that bears the resemblance of ostentation is avoided: the bride is attired in her usual black dress, to which is added a cloak of the same colour, reaching to the knees and not unlike that used in the rest of Europe at funerals. She holds in one hand a rosary, and in the other a veil which is to cover her during the ceremony; and in the most modest and devout attitude she proceeds to the church. In summer the inhabitants of these parts go very lightly clothed. The men have but one open waistcoat, which leaves the bosom exposed; the women wear a corset without sleeves, a petticoat, a blue apron and a handkerchief of the same colour about the neck. The head is covered with a white handkerchief, which is tied behind. CHAPTER VIII. MORAVIA. COSTUMES OF THE INHABITANTS--ACCOUNT OF THE HAUNACKS--PEASANTS OF THE FRONTIERS. The costume of the inhabitants of Moravia resembles more or less that of the people of the contiguous countries. In the centre of the province the men generally wear jacket, waistcoat, and pantaloons of one colour, hussar boots, and a hat, the broad brim of which is cocked behind and slouched before. The women dress nearly in the style of the Austrian peasants, but in winter they wear over the laced corset and gown a sort of hussar jacket of cloth bordered with fur, while gaiters or boots defend their feet and legs from cold and damp. Near Olmütz there is a small tract of country, extending about five square German miles, and inhabited by a tribe of people called Haunacks, or Haunachians, who are supposed by the native statistical writers to be the pure descendants of the aboriginal inhabitants of Moravia. They derive their name from the small river Hauna. Their history is rather obscure, but they are undoubtedly a Slavonic tribe.