Carmen Sylva.

The kingdom of Roumania, composed of the principalities of Moldavia and Wallachia, united in 1859, has few literary monuments. The language is Wallachian, in which the Latin predominates, with a mixture of Slavic, Turkish, and Tartar, and has only of late been classed with the Romance languages, by the side of Italian, Spanish, and Portuguese. There are some historical fragments of the fifteenth century remaining; the literature that followed was mostly theological. In recent times a great number of learned and poetical works have been produced, and political movements have led to many political writings and to the establishment of many newspapers.

The most distinguished name in Roumanian literature is that of "Carmen Sylva," the nom de plume of the beautiful and gifted queen of that country, whose writings in prose and verse are remarkable for passionate feeling, grace, and finished execution.