{"collection":"myth-cosmogony","full_text_available":true,"graph_url":"https://unchartedknowledge.5gfusion.net/v2/api/page/gutenberg_22776/graph","html_url":"https://unchartedknowledge.5gfusion.net/v2/page/gutenberg_22776","id":"gutenberg_22776","license":"Public Domain (US)","rights_basis":"gutenberg_metadata_copyright_false","source":"gutenberg","source_url":"https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/22776","summary":null,"tags":["Bohemia (Czech Republic) -- History","Category: History - European","Category: Mythology, Legends & Folklore","Category: Travel Writing","Czech","Prague (Czech Republic) -- Description and travel"],"text":"Produced by Juliet Sutherland, Janet Blenkinship and the\nOnline Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n[Illustration]\n\n\n\n\nFROM A TERRACE\nIN PRAGUE\n\nBY\n\nLIEUT.-COL. B. GRANVILLE BAKER,\n\nD.S.O., F.R.G.S.\n\nWITH 36 ILLUSTRATIONS AND ONE MAP\n\nNEW YORK\n\nBRENTANO'S\n\nPUBLISHERS\n\n(_All rights reserved_)\n\n_Printed in Great Britain by_\n\nUNWIN BROTHERS, LIMITED, THE GRESHAM PRESS, LONDON AND WOKING\n\n\n\n\nTHIS BOOK\nIS DEDICATED TO\nA WISE AND GENTLE LADY WHO\nLOOKS OUT UPON LIFE\nFROM A TERRACE\n\n\n\n\nPREFACE\n\n\nThere are many excuses for the writing of books, and sometimes there may\neven be sufficient reason. I offer no excuses, but will give what\nreasons I have for committing to paper these my reflections or\nmeditations inspired by the sight of a fine old capital city as seen\nfrom a Terrace in Prague.\n\nThe first reason I wish to give may be altruistic, namely, that finding\nso many of my race quite ignorant of Prague and all that city stands for\nright down the ages, I feel compelled to add my mite to what has already\nbeen written about the subject.\n\nMy second reason, a strong one with me, arises out of my inability to\nenjoy things of beauty and interest without letting my friends know\nabout them. This may be a weak and selfish reason, but there it is.\n\nThe third reason rests on my intense desire that you should come out\nhere, to Prague, even to the terrace of my choice, and look at the scene\nthrough my eyes while I would endeavour to see it through yours. This, I\nadmit, is undiluted selfishness on my part.\n\nWhile awaiting you, I am preparing, by means of this work, to introduce\nyou to a goodly throng of those who know or knew this city and loved it\nwell. Perhaps they may admit me to their round table as the last to\narrive, and the least. In any case, I owe them a debt of gratitude for\ntheir help in becoming acquainted with Prague and the deeper meaning of\nthis glorious city. There are many such kindly helpers: there was Cosmas\nPragensis the chronicler, Palacky the historian, there was Count Luetzow,\nwhose works on Prague, as on his native country, are inspired by intense\nlove of them, and illumined by transparent honesty. There are others\nstill among us and doing useful work. A walk with Dr. Je[vr]abek in the\ngardens of Waldstein's palace, a talk with Professor [vS]kola, and many\nother good friends of mine in Prague, have made a pleasure of this work\nI have undertaken. Out of sheer joy in the things I have seen and heard,\nand the kindly spirit that informed those who helped me, have I written\nand illustrated this book _From a Terrace in Prague_.\n\n\n\n\n+-------------------------------------------------+\n|Transcriber's note: |\n| |\n|In this text the caron has been represented with |\n| |\n|[vx] [vX] etc. |\n+-------------------------------------------------+\n\n\n\n\nCONTENTS\n\n\n PAGE\n\nPREFACE 7\n\n\nCHAPTER I\n\nINTRODUCES PRAGUE 14\n\n\nCHAPTER II\n\nABOUT GUIDES AND GUIDE BOOKS AND THE WEATHER OF PRAGUE 32\n\n\nCHAPTER III\n\nVY[vS]EHRAD, LIBU[vS]A AND P[vR]EMYSL, AND OTHER EARLY NOTABLES OF\nPRAGUE, AMONG THEM ST. WENCESLAUS 50\n\n\nCHAPTER IV\n\nMORE ABOUT ST. WENCESLAUS AND HIS IMMEDIATE SUCCESSORS 70\n\n\nCHAPTER V\n\nGOOD AND BAD RULERS OF BOHEMIA UP TO A CONTEMPORARY OF FREDERICK\nBARBAROSSA. STRAHOV MONASTERY 88\n\n\nCHAPTER VI\n\nFIVE KINGS OF THE HOUSE OF P[vR]EMYSL, INTRODUCES THE FIRST HABSBURG\nTO VISIT BOHEMIA 106\n\n\nCHAPTER VII\n\nBLIND KING JOHN OF BOHEMIA 130\n\n\nCHAPTER VIII\n\nCHARLES IV KING OF BOHEMIA, OF THE GERMANS, AND ROMAN EMPEROR.\n[vZ]I[vS]KA AND HIS HUSSITES. ABOUT SOME CHURCHES IN PRAGUE 148\n\n\nCHAPTER IX\n\nCHARLES AND HIS BRIDGE. HIS SON WENCESLAUS. JOHN NEPOMUK\nAND JOHN HUS 166\n\n\nCHAPTER X\n\nA HOUSING PROBLEM. ANCIENT AND MODERN PRAGUE 192\n\n\nCHAPTER XI\n\nSIGISMUND AND OTHER HABSBURGS. GEORGE PODIEBRAD, ALSO THE\n\"WINTER KING\" 216\n\n\nCHAPTER XII\n\nJESUITS AND THEIR WORK. SOME HISTORIC FIGURES AND SOME BRITONS\nWHO CAME TO PRAGUE. EPILOGUE 234\n\n\nINDEX 257\n\n\n\n\nLIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS\n\n\nFULL-PAGE COLOURED\n\nTHE CITY OF PRAGUE _Frontispiece_\n\n PAGE\n\nTHE \"CHARLES BRIDGE\" AND \"HRAD[vS]ANY\" 60\n\nTHE CATHEDRAL OF ST. VITUS 154\n\nTHE \"POWDER TOWER\" 220\n\n\nLINE DRAWINGS\n\nINITIAL LETTER (ARMS OF CZECHO-SLOVAKIA) 15\n\nMAP 17\n\nINITIAL LETTER (A TOWER OF KARLOV TYN) 33\n\nINITIAL LETTER (A SENTRY) 51\n\nTHE HRAD[vS]ANY FROM THE FUeRSTENBURG GARDEN 61\n\nINITIAL LETTER (VY[vS]EHRAD) 71\n\nOLD BOLESLAV 81\n\nINITIAL LETTER (QUEEN JUDITH'S BRIDGE-HEAD) 89\n\nST. MARTIN'S, VY[vS]EHRAD 95\n\nSTRAHOV MONASTERY 102\n\nINITIAL LETTER 107\n\nA RELIC OF THE GHETTO 115\n\nA TOWER OF THE HRAD[vS]ANY 123\n\nINITIAL LETTER 131\n\nINITIAL LETTER (KARLOV) 149\n\nST. STEPHEN'S 160\n\nINITIAL LETTER 167\n\nVENICE IN PRAGUE 169\n\nTOWER OF NEW TOWN HALL 174\n\nRIVER SCENE 188\n\n\"BE THOU LIKE A PROMONTORY\" 189\n\nRIVER SCENE 190\n\nINITIAL LETTER 193\n\nON THE WHITE MOUNTAIN 200\n\nTHE CHAPEL OF THE TOWN HALL 201\n\nTHE TOWERS OF OUR LADY OF TYN 205\n\nA CORNER OF THE OLD TOWN 207\n\nINITIAL LETTER 217\n\nTHE HRAD[vS]ANY FROM THE NEBOZIZEK GARDEN 225\n\nINITIAL LETTER 235\n\nA CORNER OF K[vR]IVOKLAT CASTLE 250\n\nTABOR, BY THE WATERS OF JORDAN 252\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER I\n\nRefers in a general way to several great and historic cities of this\nearth. Indicates the routes by which Prague may be reached by the\ntraveller from the West, tells a wayside story or two and mentions\nseveral very great people, also others of a less degree. Digresses\nseriously from the purpose of the whole book by raking up the author's\npersonal recollections of people that lived and events that happened\nright away back in the last century, and far away in the East.\n\nThe author then formally introduces a friend, the ancient and venerable\nCity of Prague.\n\n\nThe Psalmist once declared in a burst of enthusiasm, no doubt justified,\nthat \"Jerusalem is a city that is at unity in itself.\" This remark\napplies with equal right to other great historic cities, as who can deny\nit that has stood in the \"Place de l'Opera\" and felt that Paris is\nindeed at unity in itself?... Or who that has looked upon Constantinople\nrising out of the pearly depths of the Sea of Marmora will fail to\nrealize that the city of Constantine, despite its many vicissitudes, was\nindeed a united whole fulfilling its sometime tragic destiny in the\nhistory of mankind?\n\nLisbon, mirrored in the broad waters of the Tagus, is another such city,\nand so, in yet more marked degree, is Prague. The Psalmist, in poetic\nexuberance, may appear to have overstated the case, allowance must be\nmade for him, but in the main he was right. The city of Zion had grown\nup at the feet of the temple of David, and its massive strength\nimpressed the poet who overlooked the bickerings, the quarrels, of the\n\"dwellers therein\"; he knew his city was the centre of his race, for\n\"thither the tribes go up,\" and he took in only the big enduring things;\nhe held the key to the soul of the city.\n\nLet us, then, approach the city of Prague in the right manner, prepared\nto enter into the spirit of the place, to realize what it stands for,\nwhat it has always stood for since those dim days when legend and\nhistory entwined.\n\nIt is said that \"all roads lead to Rome\"; as many lead to Prague, as a\nglance at the map will show. There are first of all those oldest of\nroads--the waterways--along which moved wandering tribes in quest of\nbetterment and adventure. Two of these waterways meet just above Prague,\nthe Vltava and Berounka; they open out from the wooded heights of the\nBohemian Forest, the former river leading up towards a pass in those\nheights over which you descend to the Danube near Linz, the latter\nshowing the way into the heart of Bohemia from the west from Bavaria. It\nwas by the latter route probably that the Boievari, a Celtic tribe, made\ntheir way after a short stay in Bohemia, to settle in the land that is\ncalled after them, Bavaria.\n\nBavarians, who had become thoroughly Germanized, and many other Teutons,\nfrequently found their way into Bohemia by this route, notably in the\nfifteenth century, when a vast unwieldy army called up by Rome and led\nby an English Cardinal, tried conclusions with a nation in arms inspired\nby religious fervour and led by [vZ]i[vs]ka the Hussite, and was beaten\nignominiously.\n\nAll along this route are landmarks of a history which tells of the\nattraction that Prague exercised on the rulers and people of\nneighbouring countries.\n\n[Illustration: MAP]\n\nSo Eger and Pilsen tell of the horrors of the War of Thirty Years, for\nwhich a Bohemian nobleman was largely responsible. Of him and his doings\nmore hereafter. Eger, by the way is now called Cheb, a guttural _Ch_\nwhich is a difficult sound to begin a word with, but you have got to\ndo it if you wish to be considered up to date. The Czech language is\ndifficult to pronounce, a fact of which the Czechs seem rather proud.\nPilsen, which is known to us chiefly (and rightly) for its good beer, is\nnow spelt Plzen; this, however, makes little difference to the\npronunciation, and happily none at all to the quality of the beer. The\nCzechs are just a bit sparing of vowels; they prefer a good fat cluster\nof consonants, as, for instance, in Vltava, Brno, and other such pretty\nnames, but then you simply insert an indefinite sound here and there\nbetween the spiky consonants, and all is well; anyone who knows\nHindustani or Arabic will find it quite easy. After all, if the Czechs\nprefer their language that way it is their concern, as long as they do\nnot expect the world outside Bohemia to learn it.\n\nAnother fine broad road leading to Prague is the Elbe, into which flows\nthe Vltava, some thirty miles north of the capital. No doubt the Elbe\nwas the road by which the Slavonic tribes poured into present-day\nGermany what time all Central Europe was swarming with migrant peoples\nmoving westward under pressure from the East.\n\nThat a great part of Germany as we know it now was formerly inhabited by\nSlavs seems beyond doubt; such names as Berlin, Stettin, Strelitz,\nRostock, have a distinct Slavonic ring.\n\nRemains of primitive Slavonic culture have been dug up on the islands in\nthe Baltic Sea and even as far west as Hanover; remains of an identical\nculture have been found as far east as the Volga, so the Slavs have been\nwidely spread out over Europe in earliest days. The expansion of Slavs\nso far to westward may have been due to the fact that Wittekind, King of\nthe Saxons, called Slavonic tribes to his aid against the Franks.\n\nCharlemagne and his Franks must have been rather a nuisance to their\nneighbours. Charles had a mission in life, and people thus afflicted are\napt to be tiresome. We are taught to number him among the truly great\nand good men, but he lived and laboured long ago; moreover, we are not\na cheery lot of heathen living happy and unwashed in the depths of\nprimeval forests, so our judgment is warped. As to Charles's goodness, I\nheard some story about his offering to marry an Empress of the East\nwhile his first wife was still alive, not, it appears, from any ardent\ndevotion to the lady--I do not believe he ever met her--but simply from\nthe sordid motive of adding another empire to his business. However, I\nam no scandal-monger, and all the parties concerned have been dead some\ntime.\n\nCharles must have been rather a prig. He was evidently, immensely\npleased with his own little bit of book-learning; he even insisted on\ntalking and writing Latin--pure \"swank\"--whereas his family would surely\nhave preferred their native Frankish. Worse still, Charles had an\nobsession, that of a Holy Roman Empire, with himself as head and the\nPope as an \"also ran,\" and this obsession led to endless\ntrouble--trouble which is not over yet. Charles also had no sense of\nhumour, or he would have made friends with the Slavs instead of fighting\nthem. Men with a \"mission in life\" rarely have the \"saving gift,\" and so\nthey cause endless trouble; Charles did.\n\nHe hammered the Saxons into Christianity: they were Teutons and could\nstand it. He tried the same on the Slavs, but force was not the right\nmethod in their case. Charles could not see this, and went on killing\nSlavs, handing over their property to Teuton knights. This method, and\nespecially its results, appealed strongly to Charles's successor, who\ncontinued to hack the way of Christianity through Slavonic tribes until\neventually the latter were completely subjugated in all the\nGerman-speaking countries of to-day. It took a long time to do this, for\nthere is a deal of resilience in the Slav, and his soul remains his own\neven under much persecution. The Slavs were heavily handicapped too;\nthey were broken up into numerous little tribes and clans, and seldom\nbecame united under the leadership of a strong man of their own race.\nThey had no spiritual head who would take responsibility for any crime\nas long as it was atoned for by a corresponding number of heathen\nconverted or killed. The pagan Slav would not just push his bit of piety\non to the priest before dashing into the fray; he had to propitiate\nvarious jealous deities in person, not by proxy. This must have been\nanxious work and a waste of time to boot. Then again, both sides were\ncapable and frequently guilty of abominable treachery, with the\ndifference that the Christian Teuton betrayed his enemy only, which was\ncounted unto him for righteousness, whereas the Slav was inclined to\nsell his own cause, only to be \"let down\" by the Teuton in the end. The\nSlavs were also prone to fight among themselves in their spare time;\nthere has been no marked improvement on either side for the last ten\ncenturies or so; however, the history of other nations and races tends\nto prove that neither Slav nor Teuton are unique in this respect.\n\nAnyway, the \"Holy Roman Empire,\" describing itself as of German\nnationality, spread out over Central Europe, absorbing one Slavonic\ntribe after another until there remained as the most western of them\nonly the Czechs of Bohemia as a coherent body, their national life\ncentred on Prague.\n\n * * * * *\n\nHowever, we are still on the way to Prague up the valley of the Elbe, an\ninteresting route, as it takes you by Dresden, rich in art treasures and\nstill renowned for its music.\n\nThe best time of year to travel by this route is the season when the\nfruit trees are in blossom. Then the valley of the Elbe is a mass of\nwhite and pale green set against a background of yellow sandstone rocks\nand the sombre greens and purples of pine forests. It is not so very\nlong ago since this district of Saxony formed part of the Kingdom of\nBohemia, and many names familiar to travellers in these parts recall\nmemories of Slavonic inhabitants--Blasewitz, Loschwitz, Pilnitz, whither\nthe royal family of Wettin, another Slavonic name, was wont to retire\nfor the summer months. The Wettins have now retired from business as\nmonarchs, and their former subjects are following the prevailing fashion\nof submission to democratic rule tempered by an occasional diversion in\nthe form of an attempted local counter-revolution. These movements are\ngenerally innocuous; they sometimes add to the gaiety of nations by the\nsheer imbecility of their inception and attempted execution, and they\nappear to be welcome rather than otherwise, as a means of distracting\npublic attention from the universal muddle and general misguidance of\nEuropean affairs, to those who consider themselves called upon and\nqualified to set those affairs right.\n\n * * * * *\n\nYou may also approach Prague via Vienna; in former days you were\nencouraged by Austrian propaganda to do so, and this in order to\nemphasize the fact that you were expected to regard Prague as a quaint\nlittle provincial town lying on the road to nowhere in particular. The\nhand of the Habsburg lay heavy on Prague, and all the glory of great\npossessions had to be concentrated on Vienna.\n\nWe are still on the road to Prague, which has come into its own at last,\nwhereas the glory of Vienna has departed. You wind up to the Bohemian\nForest through lovely scenery, where the grey ramparts of Eggenburg look\nout over the blue distances, across the uplands of Bohemia, passing\nTabor dreaming yet of stirring days of religious strife, its towers\nmirrored in the waters of Jordan, and onward till a wide curve brings\nthe first sight of the towers and spires of \"Zlata Praha,\" Golden\nPrague.\n\nThe usual travelling Westerner prefers the shortest and most convenient\nroute to Prague, namely, via Paris. You may get right through from\nLondon to Prague in thirty-six hours if you just skirt round Paris by\nthe _ceinture_, but a right-minded wayfarer, who should never hurry,\nwill not miss an opportunity of taking the tonic of a few days in the\n\"Ville Lumiere.\" If he be a true wayfarer--that means not only an\nenterprising traveller but also given to contemplation--he will bestow\nsome thought on the geographical position respectively of Paris and his\ndestination, Prague, which should help him to enter into the spirit of\nthose two cities; but of this more hereafter.\n\nWhen the wayfarer does tear himself away from Paris he should travel by\nthe _train de luxe_, which lands him, without the trouble of changing,\nin Prague at a reasonably early hour of the evening. This route is\ninteresting in itself, as it leads through many notable places, Chateau\nThierry, with its grim reminders of the Great War, Nancy, and Strasbourg\nrestored to France. Then on to Stuttgart, the capital of a small but\nhealthy German Republic, formerly the Kingdom of Wuertemberg; there has\nbeen no exaggerated display of republican fervour here in this clean and\nproper capital, and a crown still tops the coat of arms of a line of\nrulers, on the former royal palace. You cross the fertile country of\nFranconia, a wide curve gives you a fine view of Nuremberg, and then you\nascend towards the pass that divides the Ore Mountains from the Bohemian\nForest. There are quaint old towns growing out of crumbling battlements\nperched on rocks, towns of soft-sounding South German names breathing\nhistory of long ago. There is, for instance, Waiblingen, a very\nordinary-looking wayside station, yet what memories does that name\nrecall! Memories of Hohenstaufen Emperors, Fredericks and Conrads, down\nto the last and luckless Conradin, memories of faction fights between\nthe city republics of Italy, within the walls of those cities, between\nGuelph and Ghibelline, Welf and Waiblingen. This country Bavaria was\nalso at one time the home of the Welfs; they were a strong, determined\nrace, and spent much time and energy in vigorous opposition to Holy\nRoman Emperors, possibly as men of common sense they considered the\nwhole prevailing idea of empire rather nonsensical; they were eventually\nbanished to the country about Hanover and Brunswick, where they\nflourished by virtue of their forceful character--and we Britons have\nreason to be grateful that it was so.\n\nWe move along to Eger or Cheb, where we find a last reminder of the\nHohenstaufen in the ruins of a castle and a round two-storied chapel\nbuilt by Frederick Barbarossa.\n\nDuring the summer season a through coach from Paris is detached at Eger,\nwhence it is taken to Carlsbad, whither go those who have occasion to\nrepent them of the evil they have wrought in themselves by\nself-indulgence; there they fast and prepare for the next season of\novereating, among peculiarly beautiful surroundings.\n\nFrom Eger onwards we pass out of the zone of German predominance and\ninto the ancient land of Bohemia, over wooded heights and broad fertile\nfields, past Marienbad, beloved of our King Edward, and where are also\nmany who love his memory, past Pilsen, and winding along a clear river,\nthe Berounka, its banks crowned here and there by castles and chapels,\neach with a story all its own yet part of the life of the people of\nBohemia, until a sharp curve brings you to the meeting of the waters of\nBerounka and Vltava within hail of Prague.\n\nYou should travel to Prague when the days are long, so you will be\nrewarded by a very fair view as the train crosses the placid River\nVltava. Out of a shadowy mass of grey houses with tiled roofs, divided\nby the glittering, winding river, rises the Castle of Prague, a massive\nbuilding crowned by a church of which the soaring spires, pinnacles, and\nflying buttresses _s'accusent_ against the western sky. The train then\nplunges you into a tunnel, a long tunnel taken slowly, where you may\nreflect on the vision you have seen, the vision of another city \"that is\nat unity in itself.\"\n\nYou have had your first glimpse of Prague, and it was beautiful, so you\nset about endeavouring to enter into the spirit of the place, to absorb\nits atmosphere and to study its character. For every ancient city that\nhas stood up against adversity and overcome it has a very definite\ncharacter of its own. And it is a mysterious, wonderful thing this\ncharacter, this _cachet_ of a great city; the charm of Paris or the\ngrandeur of London, the glittering stillness of Venice or the insistent\nglory of eternal Rome.\n\nThe character of a city, as is that of man, is formed by experience,\nchiefly adverse, and is made evident by the work the city has done for\nhumanity, its creator and its care. From the study of a city's character\nmay you look into its future and presage whether it be likely to achieve\nsuccess or doomed to failure. For there have been failures among cities\nas among men, some pathetic owing to inherent weakness, others as a\nconsequence of their own misdeeds.\n\nContrast Constantinople with Eternal Rome. Constantinople, with its\npathetic remains of greatness, failed to remain \"at unity in itself\";\nancient Byzantium the \"Guardian of the Gate\" against the invading\nOriental, lived to see its churches turned into mosques, below which\nlie, broken and untended, the porphyry monuments of Paleologue and\nCantacuzene.\n\nWhat of things beautiful was spared wandered to Rome, whence from the\ncrumbling remnants of an old civilization came the light of the\nRenaissance that spread over Western Europe.\n\nMost pathetic of all cities that have failed is Amarapura, not so long\nago the capital of Burma, and a flourishing city on the banks of the\nIrrawaddy, placed indeed in the most appropriate position for its former\npurpose.\n\nBut a new King came who was not content with the capital of his fathers,\nso he ordered its removal. A sycophantic priesthood was loud in\nprophecies of the great future of the new capital to be built some few\nmiles away, but Mandalay is this day the provincial centre of the\ngovernment of a race alien to those who founded the city; the race of\nKings, the last scion of which abandoned the city of his fathers, is all\nbut extinct, and Amarapura has returned to the jungle from which it\nrose.\n\nNow this, I admit, appears to have nothing to do with the city of\nPrague; it is indeed a far stretch of vision from \"a Terrace in Prague\"\nto the banks of the Irrawaddy.\n\nNevertheless, memories of far-off days in Burma came surging up one day\nas I sat on my terrace reading a newspaper printed and published in the\ncity that lay shrouded in historic mist below. The paper brought news of\nan old acquaintance, not exactly a close, not even a bowing\nacquaintance, for we were generally kept apart by force of circumstances\n(which he might have controlled) at a distance of about a rifle-shot.\nThis acquaintance was one Wun Thu, a son of Thebaw, last of the Burman\nKings.\n\nWun Thu objected strongly to British rule, and emphasized his objection\nby making trouble with his bands of patriots, whom we called dacoits,\nrobbers.\n\nEven my peaceable occupation of surveying the land met with obstruction\non the part of Wun Thu, and led to a frequent exchange of perfectly\nharmless rifle-shots. And here in Prague, looking down over my newspaper\nfrom the terrace of my choice, I seemed to see the spires of the city\nmass closer together and take on the form of giant jungle trees, the\nbroad Vltava to shrink to the narrow silver thread of a mountain stream\nat the crossing of which Wun Thu's sporting warriors had levelled their\nblunderbusses lashed to trees and warranted harmless to all but the men\nbehind them; the paper told of another rising led by Wun Thu. Wun Thu\nhad lain \"doggo\" for many years--at least he had done nothing to attract\nthe attention of Central Europe--yet here he was, a man of my age and on\nthe downward slope, following the post-war instinct of making\ntrouble--for himself chiefly, as his attempt failed. I feel sorry for my\nold acquaintance; like so many of us of a former generation, he no\nlonger fits into the picture; he is probably too honest to succeed under\npresent-day conditions. However, Wun Thu has been banished to Ceylon,\nand I am still writing about Prague. Even in this I am last and, I\nwillingly admit, least of a goodly company.\n\nFirst in time of this goodly company is Cosmas of Prague, who wrote his\nchronicles early in the twelfth century. There are yet earlier German\nchronicles which make mention of the Bohemians, but the city of Prague\nwas not in the days in which they were written. Those German chronicles\nsuggest that the Bohemians who came into their land some time in the\nsixth century were at one time tributary to the Avari, an Asiatic tribe\nwhich had taken possession of the greater part of present-day Hungary,\nand were rather a nuisance to Western Europe.\n\nIt will be remembered that Charlemagne had forceful argument with these\nAvari; it had something to do with that worthy's trip to visit the\nEmpress of the East; there was a squabble about fares, river dues and\nsuch matters. However, this is _vieux jeu_, and has nothing to do with\nPrague. The Avari were devoted to the time-honoured practice of robbing\nand ravishing their neighbours, among them the Bohemians. These latter\nseem to have borrowed one Samo the Frank, a strong man, from one of the\nnorthern Slavonic tribes, and as he proved a success, invited him to be\nKing over them.\n\nSamo accepted the invitation, and is said to have founded the first\ngreat Slavonic State with Bohemia as nucleus and a strong castle at\nVy[vs]ehrad, of which we shall have more to tell hereafter. The\nneighbouring Franks became uneasy at Samo's increasing importance, and\nunder Dagobert, their King, invaded Bohemia, to be badly beaten at\nWogastisburg, which, according to Count Luetzow, was near the present\ntown of Cheb. Samo extended his territory after this victory, and\nappears to have lived till about the middle of the seventh century.\n\nThere ensues a complete lapse in the chronicling of the history of\nBohemia until Cosmas took up the tale.\n\nHaving no historical records of events since the days of Samo, he drew\nupon a rich store of legend which, coloured by his lively imagination,\nforms a glowing and vivid background to the story of this interesting\nand attractive branch of the great Slavonic race, I am not competing\nwith Cosmas. Bohemia has produced many chroniclers and historians since\nhis day, men whose soul was filled with pride and love of race, whose\nmind was bent on giving to the world truthfully recorded history, men\nwhose imagination nurtured on lovely legends, on great traditions amid\nthe beauties of one of Europe's fairest countries, found expression in\nworks of lasting worth: I need only mention such names as Palacky,\nTomek, and Luetzow among many.\n\nOf strangers who have been charmed to pertinent utterance by the glory\nand beauty of Prague there is an imposing array. In the fifteenth\ncentury AEneas Silvius, afterwards Pope Pius II, came this way, and\ndescribed Prague as the \"Queen of Towns.\" Then Goethe, whose glowing pen\ncould add colour to the vibrant beauty of Italian landscape, writes of\nPrague as \"der Mauerkrone der Erde kostbarste Stein.\" We will interpret\nthis, as it is no longer the fashion to understand German, especially in\nPrague: \"the most precious jewel in the mural crown of this earth.\"\nAnother German, Alexander von Humboldt, gives to Prague fourth place\namong the world's \"cities beautiful.\"\n\nRodin considered Prague as the \"Rome of the North,\" a comparison that\nseems rather trite at first, but those who feel the meaning of this city\nwill understand and appreciate the French sculptor's judgment. Prague\nhas, at least superficially, one quality in common with Rome; in your\nwanderings in either city you may come suddenly upon something of beauty\nso stupendous as to take your breath away.\n\nOther French visitors of importance show a tendency to dwell upon the\ncharacter of the Bohemians in general rather than on the beauty of their\ncapital. With keen perception they draw the deeper meaning from out the\nstones of Prague; thus in the fifties of the last century writes\nViollet-le-Duc, \"Prague est une capitale dans laquelle on sent la\npuissance d'un grand peuple,\" and Massieu de Clerval is yet more\nemphatic: \"si un pays peut se vanter d'une nationalite indestructible\nc'est a coup sur la Boheme.--Une nation qui a passe par de pareilles\nepreuves ne perira, elle a vaincu la mort.\"\n\nWe must not overlook yet another visitor to Prague whose outlook was\npractical rather than romantic, Ibrahim Ibn Jacub. This Jewish trader\nfrom Arabia travelled in Bohemia some time in the tenth century, and was\nmuch struck with Prague, \"a great commercial town of stone-built\nhouses.\"\n\nSo we who would add a belated word of tribute to the glory of Prague the\nGolden find ourselves indeed in goodly company. Moreover, we live in the\npresent, and have, as far as this book is concerned, only just arrived\nin Prague.\n\nThe morning sun that tips the pinnacles of the Castle of Prague with\ngold, that dispels the purple shadows in which the city lies shrouded,\nand calls forth sparkling facets on the broad river, dissipates our\ndreams of cities that have failed and perished. It summons us to study\nthis ancient city, old yet ever young. Beautiful, too, in all the\nvarying glints of light upon the spires and turrets of its hundred\ntowers, when the morning breeze comes down-stream and rustles in the\ntrees that deck the islands, to the golden glory of the sunset behind\nthe purple masses of the castle. Then a short star-lit night while\nPrague rests in dreams of former greatness to gain strength to face its\nhigh duties of the morrow.\n\nIndeed, Prague is an ancient city, yet young and active and wonderfully\nbeautiful in all its aspects.\n\nIt is not my intention to conduct you round Prague, to introduce to you\none by one the many features of the city, and tell you all there is to\nknow about them. This for two excellent reasons: one, that I am far from\nhaving got to the end of such knowledge myself, the other that you may\nbe induced to come here and find out for yourself how much of interest\nand of beauty lies open before you.\n\nAs in introducing a friend, I mean to state only a few salient points,\nto give you a hint of the city's story here and there as told by ancient\nbuildings, as shown in public haunts or quiet nooks, hoping that in your\nturn you may make a friend of this venerable, this beautiful Prague.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER II\n\nDiscusses the question of guides and guide-books, and tries to explain\nthe author's method, or lack of it, when making himself acquainted with\nplaces of interest. Contains also remarks on terraces, which are\nexpected to edify. There is a good deal about the weather of Prague,\nabout the gardens at different seasons, also an account of merrymaking\nin bygone days, and some reflections, in the same spirit, on present-day\nrejoicings.\n\n\nThere are various ways of becoming acquainted with an interesting city.\nSome people invest in a guide-book before starting out on the journey,\nothers do not rest until they have bought one or more on arriving at\ntheir destination. You may notice these people studying the book on the\nboat perhaps, certainly in the train; they even let the book interfere\nwith the proper attention that is due to meals; and allow me to remark\nhere that the wagon-lit people are very sound on the question of food.\n\nThese people are slaves to the guide-book; they leave it not, day or\nnight, and the more methodical they are in conforming to the cramped\nspirit of the book, the less do they discover things by themselves. No\nguide-book ever can initiate you into the atmosphere of a city like\nPrague.\n\nThe sight of the guide-book slave \"doing\" an ancient and glorious city\nalways fills me with sorrow, sometimes, indeed, with annoyance. These\nslaves frequently hunt in couples, male and female, sometimes with\nprogeny at heel, and it is generally the male who discovers things--in\nthe guide-book--and then drags the rest of his outfit in search of his\ndiscovery. As this is usually done at a reckless pace, the performance\nis apt to upset the repose of the inhabitants whose perambulations of\ntheir native place are in marked contrast to the silent, ruthless hurry\nin the streets of our large towns. The good burghers of foreign towns\nseem to have plenty of their own and other people's time to spare; they\nalso possess the gift of unlimited conversational powers. I have known\nmany a pleasant chat rudely interrupted by a group of British or\nAmerican travellers who, with nose well inside a book, blue or red but\nobviously \"guide,\" push their way, ruthless as Juggernaut, through\nbunches of inoffensive natives. There is one consolation: those slaves\nof the guide-book frequently miss the prettiest bits, just because they\nare looking into the book instead of around them.\n\nAsk such as they about the atmosphere of some old-world haunt, and you\nwill probably hear complaints about the food or the service.\n\nSome tourists aggravate their position by hiring a guide. Every city of\nany historic importance breeds a class of mortals that are born guides;\nthey have come to belong to the \"staffage\" of picturesque surroundings;\nand in this respect Prague is happily yet unspoilt. The born guide, when\nyoung, is generally to be found running after you barefooted, clamouring\nfor coppers or cigarettes. His picturesqueness is due to the fact that\nhe does not disclose the incipient traits of villainy in his face by\nwashing it. The adult of the species does wash his face sometimes, but\nhe has no other virtues. The species \"guide\" is found in its perfection\nin Southern Europe. Some day I must write a book on \"Guides I have\nSpurned\"; there were many, and I have had to acquire a cursory\nacquaintance with several foreign languages in order to deal adequately\nwith the spurning action which is chiefly vocal and invective. For the\npresent I can only remember one of the many spurned ones. He had been\nfollowing me about all over the ruins of a Moorish castle, and finally,\nbreathless, came up with me by a little pile of stones leaning, with\nsome faint attempt at symmetry, against a wall. In gusts a\ngarlic-charged voice explained, \"Zat modern. Zat rabbit-'ouse!\" In his\ncase the spurning could be done quite conveniently in English.\n\nWe cannot all afford to be original. I lay no claim to that quality for\nmyself; my method of making the acquaintance of such an interesting old\ncity as Prague may be that of thousands of other wayfarers. However this\nmay be, I propose to explain my method, not necessarily in order to\ninduce others to adopt it, but rather because it explains the title of\nthis work. I look upon cities, landscapes, in fact upon life in general,\nfrom a terrace--not over or through the leaves of a guide-book.\n\nThere is a deal more interest in a terrace, and you can always find one\nif you really want to do so, than the casual passer-by is inclined to\nrealize. It is easy to reconstruct the scene of building up the first\nterrace. Some fairly primitive man had emancipated himself from the\nold-fashioned ancestral habit of just letting the rain wash away the\nhillside, and with it the family's prospects of green food for the\nseason. Squatting outside his cave he had done some hard thinking which,\ntransmitted into action, had led him to build up a wall here and there\non the hillside, a wall of clumsy stones kept in place by stakes\nhammered into the ground, yet a wall, indeed a terrace, and an advance\nupon the methods of his neighbours whose struggles he could watch from\nthe surer footing he himself had gained--a terrace and a point of view.\n\nIt is not suggested that the wayfarer on arriving in a strange city\nshould make a bee-line for the nearest terrace.\n\nThere are terraces and terraces, each one with its own definable point\nof view, and it is this quality which should influence the traveller's\nchoice. Prague offers considerable variety in terraces suitable to every\nconceivable outlook on life. You may choose a terrace that looks out\nover the factory quarter of Prague, over grimy Smichov for instance, and\nmake notes on the growing industrial prosperity of the city. You will\nprobably be smoked out of your position, for a cheap and nasty variety\nof brown coal is used by local industries. If you belong to the eclectic\nyou may be privileged to look down on Prague from a terrace with a\nbackground of diplomacy, and find the outlook somewhat limited.\n\nAgain, there are terraces where you can get beer and other refreshment.\nSuch terraces are generally so contrived as to give you an outlook too\nvaried to allow of concentration on the essentials of the city; the\nbackground to these terraces is generally some little building where the\nwaiter lurks for orders. But there are other, real terraces to be found\nby those who search diligently and know how to discriminate, terraces\nwith a background that has grown up with the city, that strikes no\nforeign note in that harmony of form and colour, of clustering red-tiled\nroofs surmounted by domes, towers and spires, which is Prague. Such a\nterrace is that from which I write. It is a real terrace, serving its\noriginal purpose in supporting a garden on a hillside. A garden\ncarefully, fondly tended by generations of those who lived useful lives\nand looked out over the city from this point of view.\n\nIt is old, very old, this terrace, and it has witnessed many terrible\nscenes, fire and slaughter and religious strife, but it has also seen\nmore that is ennobling and inspiring. In its strength this terrace has\nsupported those who passed their days upon it, imbuing them, and those\nwho live there yet, with the serenity that comes of a faith built on a\nsure foundation. This terrace is a bridge to the \"Abiding City.\" It is\nnot my intention to disclose the locality of this terrace; let every man\nfind one to suit his own particular outlook.\n\nHaving found your terrace, settle down to a serious contemplation of\nyour surroundings and of the outlook before you; absorb as much as you\ncan of the atmosphere of the place, let it sink into you. For this\npurpose a guide-book is not only useless, it is a let and a hindrance.\nAfter all, what does a guide-book tell you? Either it recites dry facts\nin an utterly soulless voice, or else, if it make any pretence at\n_belles-lettres_, as some of them painfully do, it goes off into\nsentiment and rapture before you have decided whether these be suited to\nthe occasion. Anyway, a guide-book is the expression of some one else's\nopinion or experience, and as such is harmful to the soul as likely to\nexert undue influence.\n\nFrom your terrace you take in a more or less comprehensive view of the\ncity and its surroundings, and also form some conception of its inner\nmeaning. Then descend from your terrace and wander at random about the\nstreets, choosing as the more appropriate time the long twilight of a\nsummer morning which brings the cruder modern aspect of the place into\nharmony with the fundamental values. Then, before she awakens to the\nstir and activity of everyday life, old Prague will speak to you of\nherself and take you into her confidence; she will tell you some\nstartling stories, for she has a lurid past, has the city of Prague.\n\nI do not know what was Rodin's method of appreciating Prague, but can\neasily imagine him looking out over the city from the terrace of his\nchoice, looking out over Prague and recalling memories of Rome as seen\nfrom the Pincio. There are certain obvious points of resemblance. First\nthere are several hills on which Prague is built; they are said to be\nseven in number, as in the case of the Eternal City. Personally I can\nonly make out five hills, and I have counted them carefully. It seems to\nbe the right thing in cities of venerable antiquity to claim seven\nhills; to me this seems a mixture of superstition and snobbery. Prague\ncan well afford to be original and rest content with standing on five\nhills. This, by the way, does not include all the suburbs which have\nlately been added in order to make up Greater Prague; the innovation is\nmuch too recent, and no \"Terrace in Prague\" can embrace a view of all\nthe latest additions to the urban district.\n\nFurther superficial points of resemblance to Rome are the towers and\ncupolas that rise above a sea of houses, and the winding river; to find\nyet more would be a serious strain on the imagination. But there is a\ndeeper resemblance, and this perchance is what Rodin meant when he\ndescribed Prague as \"the Rome of the North.\" I say \"perchance,\" because\nRodin never gave any closer reason for the comparison he drew, so I can\nonly give my own personal impression of what he may have meant. There\nare, to my thinking, two distinct Romes as there are two distinct\nPragues. The old original Rome seems to me fundamentally, gloriously,\nand, indeed, unblushingly pagan. All the top-hamper even of such beauty\nas Michel Angelo conceived does not alter this my impression. Churches\narisen out of an Emperor's bath, or resting on some pagan shrine, are\nsuperimposed on Rome. Rome and all that Rome stands for down the ages is\nthat glorious mass of ruins which cluster about the Capitoline Hill or\ncome upon you in unexpected places. And so it is with Prague;\nPrague--the real Prague--is to be found in the graceful and enduring\nmonuments erected by Kings of Bohemia in the Middle Ages; Prague of the\nLuxemburg monarchs, with echoes, faint yet insistent, of remoter\nlegendary times. Over this ancient Prague rise structures of an alien\nnature, _baroque_ creations of the Jesuits, in spirit foreign to all\nthat the capital of Bohemia stands for. Indeed, most of these buildings\nare imposing; some are beautiful, but despite the mellowing influence of\ntime it seems as if they had not been completely merged into the soul of\nthe city; they do not express its inner meaning unreservedly. And modern\nPrague is built up among and about the gracious relics of past ages; at\nfirst it appears detached, as it were hesitant between the serenity of a\nformer golden age, the forcefulness of the Jesuit era and the vigour of\nmodernity, but at heart it is one with the Prague of many centuries, is\n\"at unity in itself\" by virtue of reverence for noble tradition and hope\nfor a glorious future.\n\n\"Thither the tribes go up\"; indeed, they have been swarming in since\nPrague came into her own some few years ago and became the capital of a\nfree and independent republic. In former years, when Prague was still\naccounted a small provincial town of somnolent habits, there were only\ntwo or three hotels that counted at all as accommodation for foreigners;\nnow there are many yet inadequate to the number of visitors. As to those\nthat are drawn to Prague, their numbers may be accounted for by the fact\nthat most of them are native Bohemians who have business in the capital\nas the seat of government and also as a commercial, industrial and\nintellectual centre; these latter qualities attract an ever swelling\nstream of foreigners. To account for this I will draw a comparison all\nmy own between Prague and Paris.\n\nThe true Parisian will probably shrug his shoulders at any idea of\ncomparing his city with Prague; but as he is above all a logically\nminded, reasoning sort of person and, moreover, courteous, he will\nlisten to my argument, and even should he not agree, is generous enough\nto join me in the happy auguries for Prague which my comparison\nsuggests.\n\nTake a map showing the physical features of France and you will find\nthat the capital of the country could be nowhere else but exactly on the\nspot where Paris stands in a fertile plain where meet a number of\nwaterways--Seine and Marne just above the city, Oise some little way\ndown. By these waterways and by high roads that came after, a constant\nstream of peoples has been swirling into France and mingling in the\nbasin of Paris. Among these were Latins from the south coming up the\nvalley of the Rhone and Saone, over the heights and down the Yonne to\nthe valley of the Seine. Then came Franks through the gap of Belfort and\nover the hills by Nancy, down to the Marne and the Aube; Celts and\nFlemings from the north, and Norsemen from the west, all met and mingled\nwith the native Gauls and eventually became Parisians. Environment acted\nits part, and so did the forces of Nature. The soil of the basin of\nParis is fruitful, the climate equable, but neither encourage idlers;\nboth demand a toll of strenuous labour, yet not so trying to man's\nstrength as to leave him exhausted at the end of the day's work; he may\nrecreate himself and bring his mind to bear on the result of his\nhandiwork.\n\nThis made him critical, and the constant flow of foreigners brought him\nnew ideas to test by the light of his own experience, and so Paris\nbecame, as it were, a crucible in which theories of life were tested and\nrendered by science into practical form.\n\nOnly the best is good enough for Paris, and this will remain the case\nuntil the disintegration of our planet; no invading hosts, be they never\nso numerous, nor the most fiendish inventions in modern chemistry, can\nalter this fact, they may beat down the superficial Paris, they cannot\ndestroy its spirit.\n\nTo a lesser degree this is also true of Prague. As we have already seen,\nits geographical position marks it out as a centre where meet roads\ncoming from all directions. This fact was not discovered at such an\nearly period as that in which Paris arose out of the river swamps.\nPossibly this was due to the westward tendency of migratory races during\nthe first centuries of our era when Teutonic tribes and Celts passed\nover Bohemia under pressure from the east. It is strange that the Romans\ndid not discover the geographical advantages of the site on which Prague\nwas founded. Roman influence began to make itself felt early in the\nfirst century of the Christian era in these parts, but the trade route\nwhich connected the Danube with the Baltic shore passed eastward of\nPrague, it seems via the valley of the Morava and the \"Gate of Bohemia\"\nat Nachod, through Breslau and Stettin, both, by the way, former\nSlavonic settlements. There are not many traces of Roman culture, and\nwhat there are seem to have been imposed on the inhabitants themselves\nrather than left behind by the Romans. Even Marcus Aurelius, who wrote\nabout most things under the sun, has little to say of the country north\nof his stronghold at the confluence of the Danube and Morava. It was not\ntill several centuries after the Roman Empire's glory had departed that\nPrague became a place of importance, and this was largely due to the\nLuxemburg Kings, whose introduction of French culture made of the city a\ncentre of attraction on the eastern marches of Europe. How and why\nPrague lost in importance may be gathered from its history; whether it\nwill again gain and hold the prominent position to which it is entitled\nby its situation must depend entirely on the people of old Bohemia and\nthe other countries which compose the new Czecho-Slovak Republic in\ngeneral and the citizens of Prague in particular; the fortunes of their\ncountry and capital are in their own hands to make or mar. They have\nmany points in their favour: first, a central position in a country\nendowed with great riches; then a sturdy, hardworking and law-abiding\npopulation; and finally a climate that neither encourages idleness nor\nputs too severe a strain upon man's power of endurance.\n\nThe people of Prague have their theories about the climate of their\ncountry; they maintain that it is governed by certain rules that are\nmade to apply to Central Europe generally. Thus they will tell you that\nthe winter is severe, that ice and snow keep the country bound for\nseveral months at a time, that spring comes swiftly but gently with the\nmelting of the snow and the gradual breaking up of the ice-floes on the\nriver, that then a fine summer follows, a summer hot indeed but tempered\nby cool breezes from the north and showers from south and west; then\nthrough a glorious autumn all russet and gold on a background of hazy\nblue mountains, back to a winter as in the Christmas carol about Good\nKing Wenceslaus. All this is theory; in reality the weather here, as\nelsewhere, is not to be trusted, though, indeed, it is not as fickle as\nthat of our own dear country. Still, the people cling to their theory\nabout the climate of the country, and if perchance the theory does not\nfit, there is always an \"oldest inhabitant\" handy to declare the weather\nquite exceptional. Why is it that the oldest inhabitant is invariably\nthe greatest local liar? Is it simply a matter of long life and ripe\nexperience?\n\nWhatever the climate may be, whatever vagaries the weather may indulge\nin, the view from my terrace is always lovely, its subtle beauty ever\nnew. If I were called upon to say which season shows ancient Prague at\nher best, I would say the spring time. Then the orchards on the slopes\nare arrayed in virgin white of pear and cherry blossom, with here and\nthere a blush from apple-trees and a faint glimmer of delicate green\nagainst cool grey of stone walls showing among the purples of trunks and\nbranches warming into new life under the fitful rays of April sunshine.\nThe sunshine draws out colour from soaring spires or copper domes of\nchurches and from the quaint towers and pinnacles of old Prague's former\ndefences against enemies that came like storm clouds from out of the\nwest or over the giant mountains to northward. A passing cloud throws\ninto the shade the middle ground of grouped and red-tiled roofs\novertopped by some stately church, and the terraced gardens that descend\ninto the harmonies of deep reds and greyish purples which is the\ndominant note in the colour scheme of the \"Mala Strana,\" the small side\nof Prague on the left bank of the river. Far beyond are the encircling\nheights--some wooded, others under cultivation; cloud shadows pass over\nthem like ghosts of the tragic events that made up the history of\nBohemia and its capital. But the sunshine wins over the clouds and draws\nout the strength and glory of Golden Prague.\n\nSummer and autumn bring fulfilment of spring's promise of plenty, with\nfruit in abundance. Autumn lingers in red and yellow motley, stoutly\nresisting winter's attack until boisterous winds from east and north\nsend the last leaves shivering to the ground and spread out the city's\nwinter garb. Then Prague assumes a severer aspect; reds and warm greys\nhave vanished, castle, churches, palaces stand out in marked relief,\ntheir features accentuated by piled-up snow on roof and gallery and\nflying buttress. And seen from my terrace, Prague under snow is very\nbeautiful.\n\nThe winter had been erratic; spells of intense cold when ice-floes piled\nup about the piers of the bridges, and even gave rise to anxiety\nconcerning the safety of those structures; then mild winds from the\nsouth driving the smoke of the Smichov factories across Castle Hill.\nThis, too, has its beauties when reluctant rays of the setting sun try\nto dispel it and cloak the Hrad[vc]any in a shroud of purple mist.\n\nWinter lingered on into the beginning of the week of Resurrection. On\nTuesday in Holy Week wild gusts from the north drove powdered snow in\nscurries across the uplands through the broad streets and into narrow\nalleys, where it lingered during two breathless days until with Good\nFriday came glorious sunshine, dispelling the last traces of winter\nstorms.\n\nAs if to attune themselves to the change from winter's bondage to\ngenerous life, from the season of Lent to the Day of Resurrection, the\npeople of Prague, as is their wont, called music to their aid. On Palm\nSunday, as the last light of a grey day faded away, the church dedicated\nto Saint Henry, standing austerely apart from the traffic of the\nstreets, was filled with the sweet sadness of Pergolesi's \"Stabat\nMater.\" From the organ-loft came the soul-searching harmony of two\nvoices, a pure white soprano and a rich vibrant contralto, which spread\nabout the lofty building, penetrated to the secluded corners where the\nscent of incense lingers, and then seemed to lose itself in the shadowy\narches of the roof, merging, as it were, into the memories of centuries\nof prayer and praise.\n\nThere was that feeling of impending relief from pain, then as of a\nhealing touch when glorious sunshine ushered in Easter Sunday. Larks\npoured out their soul into a cloudless sky over the battlefield of the\nWhite Mountain, the pale green of larches showed up bravely among the\nriot of live purple and crimson and the flashing trunks of birches, over\nthe wall that confines the park of the Star. The Star itself, that\nsingular monument, a former hunting-box of Bohemian Kings and built in\nthe shape of a six-pointed star, is undergoing renaissance: it is being\narranged as a museum for the Czecho-Slovak legionaries. The little brook\nthat makes such a long detour on its way to join the Vltava, passing\nthrough the rocky gorge and the winding valley of the Sharka, was very\nemphatic on the subject of spring's arrival, and its voice must have\npenetrated to secluded nooks and crannies, rousing sluggard forms of\nlife from winter sleep. Spring was asserting itself with all the\nglorious certainty of youth, and was calling aloud to all and sundry to\ncome out and witness a brave display in the many gardens of Prague.\n\nI doubt whether any other town in Europe is so well equipped with\ngardens as is Prague for its size. Chiefest among these is the\nStromovka, on the northern slope of the Letna Hill. Your best approach\nis from the direction of the castle by a broad and shady avenue which\nleads you first down, then up again to a little plateau where stands a\nbuilding called Zamek. This building is said to be an old hunting-box of\nBohemian royalty: it certainly tries its best to look ancient, but fails\nto convince you. Then by shady winding ways down the slope to a broad\nvalley deep in verdure. A little stream, which broadens into a lake,\nkeeps up the necessary moisture, and the grass and the weeping willows\nin their loveliness offer it their silent thanks. The trees on the\nnorthern slope grow high: they had to do so to meet the sunshine.\n\nThere are broad, shady drives and rides, and many seats, also two\nrestaurants, with at least one band playing heartily of an afternoon.\nBut the beauty spot in all this loveliness is right in the centre--a\nrose-garden. It is no use trying to describe this rose-garden; only a\npoet could do that, so all I say is, Come and see for yourself.\n\nOther public gardens I would mention, at least the larger ones--Kinsky,\nNebozizek, Riegrovy--but there are a number of others, smaller ones,\nwith shady nooks and plenty of seats. These gardens are dispersed about\nthe town in its workaday quarters; at midday--in fact, at any time of\nday--you may see the workers enjoying a rest and also whatever kindly\nfruits of the earth happen to be in season--in July your path is paved\nwith cherry-stones.\n\nThere are rows of trees along many of the streets; there are many\nprivate gardens of palace, hospital, monastery or convent, adding the\nfreshness of their verdure to the beauty of Prague.\n\nNo wonder, then, that with so much loveliness about them the people of\nPrague should be gay and intent on enjoying life amid such surroundings.\nOn a Sunday or feast-day you have music all round you. Look over the\nholiday city from your terrace, you will see happy well-dressed crowds\nmoving to one or other place whence rise the strains of music. From one\nside you hear the solemn notes of the fanfarade from Libu[vs]a; a little\nfarther away a very cheery brass band is stirring its audience with a\nrattling march--impossible to keep your feet still; then while the brass\nband pauses for breath and beer the insistent cadence of a dreamy valse\nfloats up to meet you.\n\nFinest of all was Stromovka. Here weeping willows trailed their weeds of\ndaintiest green; here vigorous chestnut buds threw out their strong\nscent; here osier-beds were a living tangle of gold and crimson\nreflected brokenly in the lake where frogs made merry, the frogs being\nabout the only wild animals left in the Stromovka. Things were very\ndifferent in this park when it was known as the Thiergarten, Hortus\nFerarum, as long ago as the days of King John, the knight-errant ruler\nof Bohemia. It appears that bison, \"aurochs,\" were kept here, and it is\nrecorded that the sole surviving specimen died in 1566, which fact\nArchduke Ferdinand, the Kaiser's lieutenant, reported to Emperor\nMaximilian; he was thereupon ordered to ask the Duke of Prussia to\noblige with a new couple of bison.\n\nThe Stromovka was at one time described as \"where the ox preaches on a\nsack of straw,\" which description was probably meant to be humorous. The\nconnection comes about by the fact that the tailors of the town held\ntheir revels in the Thiergarten every Tuesday in Easter week, and it\nseems that a sack of straw was necessary to their happiness. This sack,\nof the finest white linen, was sewn up with great neatness and adorned\nwith bows of ribbon, red, blue, yellow, green and white, by the\napprentices. The sack was further decorated with a design representing a\nlass and a lad.\n\nThere seems to have been no particular object for the sack, as it was\nonly fastened to a pole round which danced young men and maidens. As the\ngay Czechs of the present day are ready to dance without any such\nfortuitous aid, it may be presumed that there was some meaning in the\nidea of carrying a sack about and then dancing round it; but the\nchronicler does not mention this point--he probably missed it.\n\nNot to be outdone by the tailors, the cobblers of Prague had their day\non the Wednesday after Easter, and went for their diversion in an\nopposite direction, namely, to Nusle, which lies tucked away behind\nVy[vs]ehrad. The cobblers' feast-day was called \"Fidlovatchka,\" which\nhas a cheery ring, and tradition gives the following origin: The\ncobblers' guild had built a pair of boots, a most excellent pair of\nboots, for Emperor Joseph, who himself had learnt their craft. Every\ncobbler's apprentice in Prague had contributed of his labour to this\npair of boots. In token of gratitude the Emperor had given to the guild\na little tree, silver-plated, on which were displayed specimens, also in\nsilver, of all the implements used in the cobbler's handicraft. This\nimperial present was displayed at the cobblers' guildhall and held in\nhigh honour.\n\nNow as it happened the cobblers' apprentices seem to have been afflicted\nmore than those of other guilds by the complaint called by the Germans\n\"Blue Monday,\" which being interpreted meaneth \"the morning after the\nnight before.\" It was of necessity observed as a holiday. Masters\ninsisted on abolishing this holiday, apprentices insisted on its\nretention. The latter removed the silver-plated tree from its sanctuary\nand carried it, to the strains of music and with much vociferation, to a\nmill, now no longer, at Nusle, at which place the adventure had been\nplanned.\n\nNot a single apprentice was to be found in Prague: needless to say, they\nhad the enthusiastic support and inspiring company of all the cobblers'\nerrand-boys.\n\nThe apprentices kept up the feast for several days until their funds\nwere exhausted; they then stripped the imperial tree of its ornaments\nand sold them. When they had arrived at the stage known as _au sec_ they\npassed the time in fighting. Eventually a deputation of masters came\nout, a conference was held, the \"Blue Monday\" feast was reinstituted,\nand the apprentices returned to Prague, carrying, in place of the\nimperial tree, a maypole--premature, no doubt, but it probably best\nexpressed their feelings.\n\nThe very learned will tell us that the maypole custom of the Prague\ncobblers dates back to much remoter times than those of Emperor Joseph,\nand may draw attention to the habit prevalent in Saxony and other\nneighbouring countries with an originally strongly Slav population of\ndisplaying a birch-tree at the beginning of May. The learned will then\ndive down into Slavonic mythology, which process to the dilettante in\nsuch matters, is like \"going in off the deep end\"--you never know when\nor where you may come up again.\n\nAt any rate, it appears that the cobblers' apprentices chose to call\ntheir maypole \"Fidlovatchka,\" and that they carried it about on their\nfeast-day, the Wednesday after Easter. Tradition has it that they all\nsmoked in turn, from a giant pipe capable of holding two pounds of\ntobacco. Here a fastidious chronicler draws the curtain.\n\nThe habit of the Prague apprentices in the matter of keeping the feast\nremains much the same to-day; moreover, it is not their exclusive right\nor privilege. I know few other places in the world where people are more\nready to make merry on the least provocation. I do not know why this\nis, nor have I analysed the Czech disposition towards festivities; I do\nknow that it is contagious. Perhaps it is due to the fact that the\nChurch of Rome encouraged the converted Hussites to keep things merry\nand bright on every available saint's day so as to deaden all\nrecollection of Hus's martyrdom, but this is a deeper matter which we\nwill discuss later. The fact is that the Czech is by nature gay and\ncheerful and an expert merrymaker, as who would not be in a country like\nBohemia, with its grand natural beauties, its wealth of music and\npoetry--and its beer?\n\nThe Government has recently abolished all holidays but a few of the very\nobvious ones, such as New Year's Day, Good Friday, and May Day. I do not\nthink that this paternal decree will make the least difference to the\ncheery Czech; in fact, only a day or so after the decree was passed into\nlaw the event was celebrated by a very hearty tribute, lasting two days,\nto a national saint, followed by a day's strike organized by those who\nprotest against all such obsolete notions as saints' days. Everyone was\nsatisfied; everyone's opinion had been freely expressed, and everyone\nhad enjoyed three holidays in one week, thus, by the way, exceeding the\nallowance for the whole year. Oh yes! the Czechs know what they are\nabout when it comes to merrymaking.\n\nSuch a day of merriment is March 7th, very much of a feast-day\nindeed--the birthday of President Masaryk. Were I a Czech or Slovak, I\nshould celebrate right heartily at least once a week the birthday of the\npresent President, for he is one of the few great men among the swarm\nthat arrived at the top as a result of the World War.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER III\n\nDeals in order of seniority with two of the hills on which Prague\nstands. First in order, Vy[vs]ehrad, with its memories of Libu[vs]a and\nher supernatural gift. Refers also to one P[vr]emysl, Libu[vs]a's chosen\nconsort, and the long line of rulers his descendants. Tells of how the\nfoundations of the Hrad[vs]any were laid according to Libu[vs]'s\ninstructions. Tries to describe the Hrad[vs]any as seen to-day,\ninadequately be it admitted, but illustrations are added in order to\nhelp the reader's comprehension of this crowning glory of Prague. Tells\na story or two about sentries, one of which at least is intended to\nthrill. There is also mention of one Czech, of his discovery of the hill\n[vR]ip. This chapter shows also how by degrees the descendants of\nP[vr]emysl emerged from the mist of legend with the dawn of Christianity\nover these Slavonic tribes.\n\nDuke Mnata and his wife Strzezislava flit across the stage. Then we\nlinger on Bo[vr]ivoj and note that German influence begins to make\nitself felt. St. Methodius is also mentioned, as is one Svatopluk,\nPrince of Moravia. Finally we arrive at properly authenticated Princes\nof Bohemia, each labelled and dated correctly, St. Wenceslaus and his\nbrother Boleslav. Mentions also a saintly lady Ludmilla and her\ndaughter-in-law Dragomira in vivid contrast. Family dissensions among\nthe P[vr]emysls which lead to such unpleasant happenings as the murder\nof St. Ludmilla and the consequent banishment of Dragomira by her son\nWenceslaus, of whom there is so much to relate that he is worthy to open\na fresh chapter.\n\n\nLet us lift up our eyes unto the hills, the hills on which stands\nPrague, and if help do not come at once we may at least hope for\ninspiration; the beauty of the scene alone assures us. Look out from\nyour terrace of a morning, a cloudless morning of early summer, and\ngainsay it if you can. The town is extending considerably, growing up\nthe distant slopes on the far side of the river and trickling down into\nthe little valleys, but the general outline of Prague is much the same\nas it has been for centuries; the eternal hills may be scarred and\npatched by us who have here no \"abiding city,\" but they remain.\n\nI have already mentioned the hills on which Prague was built, and had\ndecided that they are five in number, not seven as is popularly alleged.\nI have counted those hills several times over, and make their number\nfive, and quite sufficient too; another two hills would mar the\ncomposition. At the risk of repeating myself, I maintain that Prague can\nwell afford to be original and forgo any imitation of other cities by\ninsisting on standing on seven hills; a truly great city should not\ndescend to servile flattery. Paris, for example, undoubtedly a great\ncity, is quite content to stand on two hills, Montmartre and\nMontparnasse, the latter quite worn flat by the levelling tendencies of\nmodern times.\n\nIt is now time that we delved down into the history of Bohemia, and in\nthis we gain inspiration from the hills of Prague, the works of man that\ncrown them and the traditions, legends, shreds of history that cling to\nthem. Of these hills that of Vy[vs]ehrad is entitled to hold seniority\nin the history of Prague. It takes a place somewhat akin to that held by\nthe Capitoline Hill of Rome. It was from here that the city started,\nthough this hill has little left of former grandeur and shows nothing to\ncompare with Rome's monuments to a glorious past. A crumbling block of\nmasonry, the story of which is quite unknown, a round chapel dating from\nthe days when Christianity was young among the Slavs and still found\nready martyrs in its cause even among princes, and an _enceinte_ of\nbrick fortifications, stone-faced and in Vauban's best style, battered\nby Frederick the Great's guns, are all that Vy[vs]ehrad has to show by\nway of relics of a stormy past.\n\nVy[vs]ehrad is about the first striking view you obtain of Prague as the\n_train de luxe_ brings you round a bend before crossing the railway\nbridge over the Vltava. Travellers seeing Prague for the first time are\napt to mistake this hill of Vy[vs]ehrad for the castle. I did so myself;\nmy delight, therefore, at the first sight of Prague's crowning glory,\nthe Hrad[vs]any, was all the greater.\n\nSeen against the evening sky, Vy[vs]ehrad looks very imposing; it is at\nits best by winter twilight, when the heavy mass is dully reflected on\nthe surface of the frozen river. Then you may gain some idea of what\nthis rugged promontory stands for in the life-history of a race that has\npassed through great tribulation. Two Gothic spires point to the skies,\nrising from a church which, despite its newness, seems more in accord\nwith the spirit of Prague than do the copper domes of Jesuit\nstructures; but then this church is built on foundations so ancient as\nto defy investigation by the most assiduous chroniclers. No doubt those\nspires are right enough in their way, but they are almost painfully\nmodern and unromantic compared to a square bit of crumbling masonry that\nclings limpet-like to the crags of Vy[vs]ehrad overhanging the river at\nthe feet of the twin church towers. For here, according to legend, is\nthe cradle of the city of Prague. In popular parlance this bit of\nmasonry is called Libu[vs]a's bath, and hereby hangs a tale to introduce\nwhich we must hark back some fourteen centuries.\n\n * * * * *\n\nSome time in the sixth century--nobody seems to know exactly or to care\nmuch when it was--one Czech or Czechus was wandering about this land of\nBohemia with a party of friends and relatives, probably a whole tribe of\nthem. Czech seems to have had the country to himself; if he had met any\nstrangers there would have been a fight, and we should have heard about\nit. It may therefore be assumed that the former occupants, probably\nlodgers only, had moved on. There was much movement going on in those\nearly centuries of the Christian era, the main tendency being from\nnorth-east to south-west, from cold, damp and short-commons to warmth\nand plenty. Now we have sufficient reason to believe that Thuringians\nand Rugians abode for a while in Bohemia and parts of Bavaria, and\nLombards in Moravia, and that these gentry, hearing of loot to be had in\nplenty farther south, left their temporary homes, crossed the Danube and\nmade themselves unpopular elsewhere, leaving the lands of Bohemia and\nMoravia to anyone who cared to take them. This happened some time about\nthe middle of the sixth century, which gives us something more definite\nto go upon as to Czech's place in time. Anyway, there were Czech, his\nfriends and relations wandering at their own sweet pleasure over the\nrolling wood-clad landscape of Bohemia. On this excursion Czech espied\nfrom afar a peculiar shaped hill (not one of the hills of Prague) to\nwhich he promptly gave the appropriate name of [vR]ip. Now this\ninnocent-looking word is, by virtue of the sign placed over the R,\npronounced in a peculiar manner; between the initial consonant and the\n\"i\" you should insert a sound somewhat like that of the French \"j\" as in\n\"jamais,\" for instance. Heaven and the Czechs only know what meaning you\nwould convey did you neglect this euphonious concatenation of consonants\nand simply say \"rip\"--probably something to cover the young person with\nconfusion; but rightly pronounced, and with due regard to the soft but\ninsistent sibilant, this mixture of sounds means--toadstool. It is all\nso simple when once you know: [vR]ip = toadstool,--and there you are.\nThe description tallies too: the hill of [vR]ip does look like a\ntoadstool; I have seen it myself, and am prepared to support Czech's\nstatement on oath. Anyway, [vR]ip stands there still, much the same as\nwhen Czech discovered it, but for a chapel dedicated to St. George on\nits summit, the result of some one else's piety.\n\nYou can see [vR]ip for miles round, as it has chosen a fairly level\nplain out of which to arise much like a mushroom on the lawn after a\nrainy night. No wonder, then, that Czech made straight for [vR]ip,\nclimbed to the top, looked around him, approved of what he saw, and\ndecided to stay. He did, so did his friends and relatives and those that\ncame after them, and no power on earth was able to shift them. The\ndescendants of Czech are there still. One of these told me that the best\nand sturdiest type of Czech is bred round about [vR]ip; he was born\nthereabouts himself, and should know. I am prepared to believe it\nanyway, as my friend is certainly of the best and sturdiest type of\nCzech.\n\nThat much for Czech and his descendants; we must now skip a century or\ntwo which even Cosmas of Prague was unable to fill out with legend, and\nreturn to the lady whose bath I have already referred to. Not that I\nbelieve the ruined bits of wall to have contained a lady's bathroom; I\nhave tried to imagine Libu[vs]a using the place for the morning tub,\nand have failed to conjure up any picture that would carry conviction.\nHowever, I do not wish to prejudice the case; come out to Prague and\njudge for yourself.\n\nLibu[vs]a was one of three sisters, daughters of Krok, Prince of\nBohemia, or at least some part of it, for frontiers in those very early\ndays were even more elastic than those drawn by International\nCommissions. Anyway, there was Krok lording it over as much of Bohemia\nas he could control, from his fastness of Vy[vs]ehrad. Of Libu[vs]a's\nsisters, Kazi and Teta, nothing but their names is known even in legend;\nthey passed into oblivion on Krok's demise, for he ordained that\nLibu[vs]a, his youngest daughter, should succeed him. Libu[vs]a,\naccording to legend, was a model of all the virtues, and as in those\ndays there was no ever-ready Press lurking to pounce on historical\ninaccuracies, we may accept the statement of kindly Saga.\n\nLibu[vs]a had a rare gift, one which proved uncomfortable to other\nladies of legend similarly endowed, uncomfortable both to themselves and\ntheir belongings, the gift of prophecy. She foretold the future\ngreatness of Prague, and undoubtedly spotted a winner. This was not the\nonly occasion either, for she did herself a good turn too by means of\nher supernatural power. As it happened, despite her possession of all\nthe virtues, she had trouble with her subjects, who declared themselves\nweary of petticoat government and urged her to look round for a husband.\nShe did, calling to aid her uncanny gift. The discussion with her\nsubjects probably took place in the open, high up on Vy[vs]ehrad.\nLibu[vs]a, with that far-away gaze proper to all soothsaying, pointed\nout over the distant hills, saying, \"Behind those hills is a small river\ncalled Belna, and on its bank a farm named Stadic. Near that farm is a\nfield, and in that field your future ruler is ploughing with two spotted\noxen. His name is P[vr]emysl, and his descendants will rule over you for\never. Take my horse and follow it; you will be led to the place.\"\n\nThe lady was not quite correct about P[vr]emysl and his\ndescendants--they have ceased to rule over the Czechs, and are now\nreplaced by a sovereign people; but she certainly was right in her\ndescription of her future husband and his surroundings. The search\nparty, following Libu[vs]a's horse, found P[vr]emysl busy at his plough,\nroped him in and brought him to their Princess. Legend again asserts\nthat P[vr]emysl made a first-class husband and ruler (he probably did\nexactly as his wife told him) and his descendants reigned with varying\nfortunes, until the first years of the fourteenth century--a very good\ninnings for the lineage of P[vr]emysl, the sturdy farmer, and that\nfar-seeing lady Libu[vs]a, his wife. During those centuries the Czechs\nhad consolidated into an important kingdom; from a misty chaos of\nheathen Slavonic tribes had grown a people brave and generous, with a\nculture all its own, and above all with a surpassing gift of expressing\nitself in music.\n\nIt must not be supposed that Libu[vs]a rested content with being wife to\nP[vr]emysl, just keeping house, mending clothes and minding the babies.\nShe continued her activities as directress of her people's fortunes, and\nis made responsible, among other matters, for choosing the site of the\nHrad[vs]any, the Castle of Prague, and this is what the chronicler has\nto say about it.\n\nOne day as Libu[vs]a looked out from her fastness over the river towards\nthe wooded heights to northward, she was moved by the gift of prophecy\nto which she was addicted when deeply stirred.\n\nHer own abode, built by her father, hung upon that rocky crag called\nVy[vs]ehrad, and was probably by no means roomy; Krok, her father, had\nno doubt found it a convenient spot, being somewhat difficult of access\nin those days to armed visitors, who were likely to prove a disturbing\nelement. The ancient Slav preferred to build in secluded spots, on\nheights amid forests for choice, there was so much to guard against in\nthose dark ages, so the wooded heights that Libu[vs]a looked out upon\nmust have appealed to her strongly. Anyway, she decided to act,\nprefacing action by some quite useful sooth-saying. According to the\nchronicler Cosmas of Prague, who lived three or four centuries after\nLibu[vs]a had passed away, the following impressive scene was enacted:\nLibu[vs]a, standing on a high rock on the Vy[vs]ehrad in presence of her\nhusband P[vr]emysl and the elders of the people, incited by the spirit\nof prophecy, uttered this prediction: \"I see a town, the glory of which\nwill reach the stars. There is a spot in the forest, thirty stades from\nthis village which the River Vltava encircles, and which to the north\nthe stream Brusnice secures by its deep valley; and to the south a hill,\nwhich from its rocks takes the name Pet[vr]in, towers above it. When you\nhave reached this spot you will find a man in the midst of the forest,\nwho is working at a door-sill for a house; even mighty lords bend before\na low door. From this you shall call the town which you will build there\n'Praha.'\" The elders did as they were bid, and so Prague arose. The\nCzech name is Praha, the derivation possibly from _prah_= door.\n\nThe Hrad[vs]any Hill was thus by Princess Libu[vs]a indicated as the\npinnacle on which should rest for ever the glory of Prague and of\nBohemia. Glory is a doubtful gift and costly, and the history of Prague\nshows clearly that this is true. No doubt work was started at once on a\ncastle to crown the hill. Libu[vs]a probably saw to it that there was no\ntime wasted. This would be some time about the middle of the eighth\ncentury, but history, as handed down from those days, is wrapped about\nwith mystery and legend from the obscurity of which events gradually\ndetached themselves. It was not till Christianity had got a firm hold of\nthe Czech people that any half-way reliable records were kept.\n\nWe will take it for granted that it was Libu[vs]a who, with the seer's\neye penetrating the future, laid the foundations of that right royal\npile, Prague's crown of glory, the Hrad[vs]any. We have the authority of\nCosmas for this; also Smetana composed an opera all about Libu[vs]a, so\nall our doubts are dispelled. We have noticed the site, and that it is\nadmirably adapted to defence, a rocky eminence rising like a promontory\nabove the broad Vltava, its steep sides falling down to the river on the\neastern side, and to deep-cut valleys to north and south. The position\noffers a wide view over the rolling plains to westward. It was from this\nside chiefly that the attackers came--Germans in the cause of the Holy\nRoman Empire, mercenaries of many nations that swelled the imperial\nhosts arrayed against Protestant Bohemia, marauding armies of Swedes,\nall these surged up against the walls and towers of Prague's Royal\nCastle. They broke and passed away like the fleeting cloud shadows you\nmay watch floating across the fields and wooded slopes of Jilove,\n[vC]erny Kostelec and Zbraslav to the blue hills of Hrade[vs]in beyond.\nBut the castle still stands a sentinel over ancient Prague.\n\nIt must have been a pleasant post, that of sentry upon a look-out tower\nof the Castle of Prague. What with the ever-changing beauty of the\nlandscape and the chance of noticing a hostile force approaching with\ncolours flying and spear-heads a-glitter in the sun, with, moreover, a\nprospect of a fight, a sentry's life should have been a happy one. It\nwould be expected of the sentry that he should not be so held by the\nfascination of the scene as to omit to report any unusual occurrence. I\nhave known such a thing happen even to an otherwise well-regulated\nsentry. It was in Mandalay where from a wooden tower in the middle of\nFort Dufferin a sentry held watch and ward over the town. One bright\nafternoon the town caught fire. The sentry was so much impressed by the\ngrandeur of the scene that he quite forgot to report the matter, and a\nlarge part of the town was utterly destroyed. That man might have been\nqualified as an artist, an author or a poet; as a sentry he was\ndisappointing.\n\nThere are no records of sentry yarns dating back to the really exciting\ntimes in the history of the Hrad[vs]any; I have discovered only one, and\nthat of a comparatively recent date. The event narrated happened in the\nautumn of 1753 at 11 p.m. The sentry was a grenadier; please note the\naccuracy of detail which should dispel any doubt as to the truth of the\nstory--the grenadier touch is especially convincing. This grenadier, it\nwould seem, was posted in the inner court of the castle, probably at the\nentrance to what is now the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Propaganda\n(places of that kind want a deal of watching). The grenadier was\nprobably as bored as any sentry can be up till midnight sharp, when\nthings began to happen. First of all, the dark mass of the cathedral was\nsuddenly brilliantly illuminated from within. Then from that little side\nentrance to the cathedral emerged a tall figure all in white. The sentry\nchallenged, as a sentry should. No use. The tall figure strode up to the\nsentry, halted before him, cast a handful of corn at his feet and\nstalked back the way it came. Lights out!... The next night at the same\nhour the programme was repeated before a new sentry, also a grenadier:\nthe former one had probably reported himself sick. On the second night\nthe apparition cast down a handful of silver coin. The grenadier left\nthem all lying on the ground--this is the only part of the story that\nstrikes me as weak. On the third night, the military being represented\nas before, the tall figure reappeared with commendable punctuality. On\nthis occasion the management had arranged a display of moonlight in\norder to show up the pallid features, blood-stained clouts and other\naccessories suitable to a first-class apparition. Moreover, this being\npositively its last appearance in public, the tall figure spake: \"1754\nrich harvest, 1755 gold in plenty, 1756 blood in streams.\" And so it\nhappened. In the year 1754 there was a record harvest in Bohemia, the\nyear 1755 brought considerable wealth into the country (the handful of\nsilver was probably something on account), and in 1756 the Seven Years'\nWar broke out. So the story must be true, all except that little bit\nabout the grenadier leaving all the silver lying on the ground.\n\n * * * * *\n\nWe were really still watching the Hrad[vs]any grow out of Libu[vs]a's\nprophecy. The chronicler left it to others to find out where the\nbuilding stood for which the man in the forest was carpentering the\ndoor-sill as described by Libu[vs]a. That great lady simply said that\nthe work was going on in the forest which surely extended down to the\nriver-bank in those days. This may have encouraged the belief that the\nfirst house, built by Libu[vs]a herself, of course, stood somewhere\nbelow the Castle Hill--it is said on the site of the old posting house,\nbut some one obliterated all trace of it by erecting a church, dedicated\nto St. Procopius, above it, no doubt as part of the business of stamping\nout paganism. The Church of St. Procopius is no longer in evidence, and\nas there have been further additions and improvements to the quarter of\nPrague in question since the eighth century, it is now quite impossible,\neven to the liveliest imagination, to fix upon the spot where stood that\nfirst house. It does not matter very much either. The Hrad[vs]any itself\nis easily the most imposing and interesting sight which Prague has to\noffer.\n\nThe massive strength of the castle, the Hrad[vs]any, holds your gaze\nfrom whatever quarter of Prague you may happen to look out. The castle,\nas we know, has a hill to itself, up the sides of which rise clustering\npalaces, churches, convents and monasteries, buildings of grey stone and\nred-tiled roofs, standing amidst terraced gardens. In spring this\nancient quarter decks itself with glorious apparel of white of cherry,\npear and plum, with here and there the delicate pink of almond blossom;\nin winter, when the snow lies \"smooth and crisp and even,\" the scene is\nchanged into a fairy network as of delicate lace on a foundation of grey\nand purple; in all seasons it is beautiful.\n\n[Illustration]\n\n[Illustration: THE HRAD[vc]ANY FROM THE FUERSTENBERG GARDEN.]\n\nThe first sight of the Hrad[vs]any conveys an impression of sheer\nstrength, much as does Gibraltar; it also suggests a lion couchant but\nwatchful and strong to protect the city at its feet; this effect is\nparticularly noticeable from the Fuerstenberg garden. The beauty of this\nmassive pile grows upon you gradually as you see it under the\never-varying atmospheric conditions of Prague. By all the canons of\nart the long straight lines of the Hrad[vs]any should be unlovely. The\ntowers which broke those lines no longer stand out boldly as shown in\nold prints and engravings, at least on the townward side of the castle.\nThey have been gradually merged into the general mass of the building as\ntime and progress brought greater demands for living room and lessened\nthe need of defensive measures. The straight outlines are still broken\nhere and there by some trace of the ancient building showing through, a\nmullioned window, an old stack of chimneys, but on the whole, the mass\nby itself is heavy and uniform. Nevertheless, the general effect is\nsplendid, whether you see this stately pile standing out strong and\nmassive above the mist from the river or rising in tiers out of dimmed\nsilvery greys against an evening sky all gold and emerald, or flushed\nwith sunset scarlet. The crown of all this terraced glory is the great\ncathedral. A square massive tower stands up out of the body of the\nchurch. A purist may find fault with the mixture of styles this tower\nincorporates. The bulk of its structure is Gothic; at the base of the\nsuperstructure appears a nondescript medley of styles (nondescript at\nleast in the eyes of a dilettante) out of which arises a concern of\ndomes and cupolas one above the other, supported at each corner by\nlittle pinnacles crowned with onion-shaped tops. The copper coating of\nthese domes and cupolas gives a distinctive touch of colour to the whole\nedifice of warm grey stone; this note of green you will find repeated\nelsewhere on the churches and other buildings of Prague, a piquant note\nbut alien to the spirit of Prague both ancient and modern. There has\nbeen talk of removing the superstructure from the main tower of the\ncathedral and replacing it by a Gothic spire such as adorn the towers\nthat flank the west front of the building, spires that gleam like\nlacework when standing out sunlit against dark banks of cloud. It were\nbest to leave the superstructure of the main tower as it is; it marks an\nepoch and serves as reminder of a tyranny now overpast. The highest\npoint of the main tower is not adorned with a usual emblem of our faith,\na cross or a cock, but flaunts instead the \"Lion of Bohemia\" in all his\nrampant pride of a double tail. I shall have more to say about this\nwonderful heraldic animal on some future occasion; it is significant\nthat this crest swings over the sacred fane where rest the remains of\nSt. Wenceslaus, over the cradle of Bohemia's religious life.\n\nYou will remember Libu[vs]a's vision of an endless succession of little\nP[vr]emysls. She overrated P[vr]emysl a bit as a good wife should, for\nthe P[vr]emysl dynasty ended abruptly with the murder of Wenceslaus III\nin 1306 at the hand of some unknown assassins at Olomouc, by the Germans\ncalled Olmuetz. Nevertheless, the family had had a good long spell of\nlife and plenty to keep them busy during those six or seven centuries;\nit produced some very fine rulers; all honour to old farmer P[vr]emysl.\nThe first eleven scions of that line are very faint figures; they are\nnot even dated; only a few of them show more than a shadowy outline in\nthe mist of legend and dawning history. Of these early rulers there is\necho of one Mnata, who is said to have built the first stone house on\nthe Hrad[vs]any for his wife Strzezislava. I wonder what he called her\nfor short? Strz sounds a bit abrupt, Slava is too general among Slavonic\npeople: perhaps he called her Cissie. Strzezislava is certainly too rich\nfor ordinary household use. Cosmas passes by this point in silence,\nwhich is a pity; it is just those intimate little touches that foster\npleasant social relations and justify the chronicler's attitude of\nomniscience; our illustrated Press has reached perfection in that line.\nMnata and Strzezislava flit across the stage and pass into oblivion\nwithout the benefit of gramophone and cinema. Then emerges one\nBo[vr]ivoj, first of that name, who stands out more distinctly against\nthe background of misty legend, probably by reason of his having\nembraced Christianity; he also embraced a lady, Ludmilla, who became his\nwife and one of Bohemia's moat popular saints and patrons. It happened\nthat Bo[vr]ivoj had occasion to ask his neighbour Svatopluk, Prince of\nMoravia, for protection, and then he became acquainted with that\nenergetic missionary, St. Methodius. Unhappily we have no precise\ninformation concerning date and place of this picturesque event. The\nchronicler has done his best by giving the following story to fill up\nthe blank. He narrates that Bo[vr]ivoj was not allowed to sit at table\nwith Svatopluk, but was given a low stool apart, as being unfit to\nassociate with Christian company. This is what the Christian chronicler\nsays, and he made it his business to bear testimony on all occasions. It\nis, however, quite conceivable that Bo[vr]ivoj's manners were not up to\nrefined Moravian form. Anyway, Bo[vr]ivoj allowed himself to be\nconverted, and as there is no mention of his table manners we may assume\nthat he reached the required standard.\n\nAfter all, manners are a matter of relativity, and not so long ago,\nsomewhere about 1700, the Austrian Court found it necessary to issue a\nhandbook thereon, in which guests bidden to the imperial banquets were\nrequested not to throw their chicken bones under the table, it made so\nmuch extra work for the servants. There is quite a modern touch about\nthis.\n\nWith all the fervour of a convert, Bo[vr]ivoj set about the salvation of\nhis people from heathen darkness. I have sought diligently for some\nrecords of the beliefs held by this branch of the Slavonic race. There\nis no evidence of any deities of strong if unpleasant personality, such\nas that obstinate, one-eyed Wotan, or that destructive bully Thor, whose\nbrutality coloured German mentality down to most recent days, and seems\nto do so still. Neither seem those Slavs to have been subject to\nvisitations in their homes by such doubtful characters as Hermes, nor\nwas their sense of propriety outraged by the \"carryings on\" of Zeus. No\ndoubt they had some benign deity, and also a malignant, jealous one, no\nwestern creed is complete without the latter at least, if only for the\nbenefit of the priests, but they have left no trace on a people that has\nsuffered so much from the wickedness and stupidity of their human\noppressors. The western Slavs in general and the sons of Czech in\nparticular, had their flights of fairies, sprites, pixies and other\nlovable immortals. They are here still; even I, a stranger, claim to\nhave heard them in \"den heiteren Regionen, wo die reinen Formen wohnen,\"\non the sun-kissed snow of the mountains, in the whispering voices of the\nforest and the song of the burn in the glen. A sight of these benign\nbeings has been denied me--for this I make the heavy cuisine of Bohemia\nresponsible; but their spirit lives on and informs the sons of Czech in\nthe realm of the spirit, in art and poetry, above all in music.\n\nBo[vr]ivoj plunged into Christianity with enthusiasm; he is known to\nhave built a church at Levy Hradec, and is said to have laid the\nfoundations of another on the Castle Hill. It appears, however, that\nthe pace he set was rather too hot for his people; they raised a deal of\ntrouble, and Bo[vr]ivoj had to call in the German King Arnulf to help in\nrestoring order. This step did not bring unmixed blessings; it gave the\nGermans an excuse for interfering in Bohemian affairs. Now Arnulf was a\nCarolingian, of bastard blood indeed, but nevertheless under the \"Holy\nRoman Empire\" obsession, and therefore convinced of the German right to\nround up all Christian countries into that Empire. In this action of\nBo[vr]ivoj we see the first instalment of the endless trouble caused by\nthe obsession which originated with Charlemagne as mentioned in the\nfirst chapter. Moreover, this German intervention gave to the\ninhabitants of Bohemia their first experience of religious dissension.\nTheir first contact with Christianity brought them the choice of rival\nliturgies, the Latin as favoured by the Germans with their \"Holy Roman\"\nidea, and the Slavonic which St. Methodius had introduced. So\nChristianity in Bohemia began with an exhibition of divergent religious\nviews, which may account for a good deal of the suffering brought upon\nthis country for its own salvation and its neighbours' benefit.\n\nBo[vr]ivoj's successors, Spytihnev I and Vratislav I, were kept so busy\nguarding their country against Magyar inroads that it seems they had no\ntime to worry about religious differences. Neighbour Svatopluk's\nextensive empire had fallen to pieces owing to the quarrels of his sons\nand under Magyar aggression; this gave Spytihnev the opportunity of\nfreeing himself from the supremacy of Moravia which Bo[vr]ivoj had\naccepted in return for assistance rendered him by Svatopluk and the\nSlavonic liturgy thrown into the bargain. This, again, brought the\nGermans nearer to Bohemia, as neither Spytihnev nor Vratislav were\nstrong enough to stand alone. As politics and Church worked hand in hand\nin those days, the Germans imposed the Bishop of Ratisbon, and with him\nthe Latin liturgy, on Bohemia, whereas such Slavs as had taken to\nChristianity at all were rather inclined to the other version. This must\nhave caused a good deal of trouble, so it is not to be wondered at if\nthe rulers of Bohemia recalled happier, simpler days. There came a\ncertain reaction in the affairs of the P[vr]emysl family. We have noted\nthe saintly lady Ludmilla, wife of Bo[vr]ivoj, the first Christian\nPrince of Bohemia. Ludmilla was very pious indeed; you will find\nfrescoes illustrating her good deeds, adorning the walls of Karlov Tyn\n(Karlstein), a fine old castle of which I will tell you more by and by.\nIt is quite impossible to be so picturesquely good and pious as was\nLudmilla, in these days of mail-orders, wholesale departments, banking\naccounts and cheque-books. There was another lady of the P[vr]emysl\nfamily, and she, according to all accounts, was neither good nor pious.\nShe was a reactionary, a thorough-paced pagan, and it was this lady who\ncaused trouble in the household. The lady's name was Dragomira; she had\nmarried Bo[vr]ivoj's second son, and had been left a widow with three\nsons. This did not have the usual soothing effect upon the lady.\nDragomira, as regent during the minority of her sons, had revived\npaganism, and this brought her into conflict with the German King, Henry\nthe Fowler. Pious Ludmilla, Dragomira's mother-in-law, was much upset\nabout this conflict, for with all her good works she found time to take\nan active interest in foreign politics. Here were all the elements of a\nhearty family row; in addition, Dragomira's sons took different sides:\nWenceslaus with his grandmother Ludmilla, Boleslav the younger with his\npagan mother. The chronicler sides entirely with Ludmilla and Wenceslaus\nin his narrative of the domestic dissensions of the P[vr]emysl family.\nHe shows no sympathy for the other side, does not realize that Dragomira\nmust have got very weary of her mother-in-law's piety and annoyed at\nthat lady's interference in the education of her sons. There is a great\ndeal to be said for Dragomira's point of view, and it is a pity that her\nremarks on the rival Christian liturgies, Latin and Slavonic, have not\nbeen handed down to us. Dragomira certainly carried matters too far when\nshe strangled Ludmilla with her own veil one evening in chapel; she made\nthe mistake of furnishing the other side with a first-class saint and\nroyal martyr.\n\nWenceslaus, the pious elder son, was extremely annoyed at this open\ndemonstration of family discord. Dragomira was sent into exile; her name\nwas never mentioned again. The treatment meted out to his mother made of\nyoung Boleslav a more determined pagan than he was before; he sat up at\nnight hatching heathen plots against brother Wenceslaus. Boleslav's\nreincarnation is probably to be found among international financiers of\nthe present day. The result of his machinations must be told in a fresh\nchapter.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER IV\n\nBegins with the accession of Wenceslaus I, tells you how to pronounce\nhis name correctly in Czech, and informs you of his piety and general\nsaintliness. There is also mention of other saints as suitable company\nfor Wenceslaus, and a short account of how that prince qualified for a\nhalo himself. We note also the contrition of Brother Boleslav, who made\na martyr of Wenceslaus, how Boleslav did a good deal of fighting, most\nsuccessfully, and extended his dominions thereby. Also how Boleslav\nlearnt to be neighbourly and wise in his choice of a wife for his\nneighbour who was promptly converted to Christianity. Of the son of\nBoleslav I and Dubravka, wife of Duke Mieceslav I of Poland. How\nBoleslav II, called \"the Pious,\" earned that epithet and started Prague\nwith a bishop all to herself. Of churches and convents, and Milada, the\npious sister of Boleslav II. Of the growing importance of Prague and how\nit was recognized and appreciated by Ibrahim Ibn Jacub and many of his\nrace.\n\n\nWith the accession of Wenceslaus, first P[vr]emysl prince of that name,\nBohemia passes out of legend into ordered history; its rulers are\nhenceforth properly labelled and dated. This is chiefly due to the\nspread of Christianity; priests and monks take up the tale of kindly\nSaga, and keep careful record of events. These chroniclers were not as a\nrule unbiassed; I cannot see how they could have been otherwise, for not\nonly did they undertake the task of compiling history, they were\nconstantly making propaganda for their own ideals against the paganism\nwhich still had a considerable hold on the sons of Czech. I doubt\nwhether any historian can be absolutely unbiassed; a warm-blooded\nman--and you must be that if you would record the doings of your\nfellow-men--is bound to feel sympathy with or dislike for one or other\nactors in the far-off pageant of history. I frankly admit myself biassed\nin favour of Brother Boleslav the hearty heathen, and somewhat bored by\nthat saintly lady Ludmilla. A night out with Boleslav would have been\nmore amusing, if less edifying, than a country walk with pious\nWenceslaus, who would be sure to waste a good deal of time at wayside\nshrines; a picnic arranged by Dragomira and in that lady's company,\nwould have been at least a material improvement on any little outing\nwith Ludmilla, who would surely have discovered some reason for fasting\non that particular day. But then I can afford a bias; am only making\nobservations from \"a Terrace in Prague.\"\n\nMonkish chroniclers sang the praises of Prince Wenceslaus. My spelling\nof this name is incorrect, but it is more familiar to English eyes than\nany other, as our Christmas carol \"puts it with a 'we.'\" I do not\nsuggest that this St. Wenceslaus is identical with the \"Good King\nWenceslaus\" we sing about--in fact, I have discovered another ruler of\nthat name who fits the part much better; but of this more anon. The\ncorrect version of this saintly prince's name is Vaclav, pronounced\nVatslav. It is as well to get a proper grip of this word, as the show\nstreet in the town is named Vaclavske Nam[ve]sti, which being\ninterpreted meaneth Wenceslaus Place; the Germans call it Wenzel's\nPlatz, but this designation is not popular at the moment. It is\nadvisable to acquire the Czech version of the name, as the Vaclavske\nNam[ve]sti is in the business and amusement quarter of the town. As to\nthe pronunciation of Vaclavske Nam[ve]sti, it presents no particular\ndifficulties, despite the profusion of accents (the Czechs are very\nliberal in this respect), they seem to make no noticeable difference\nwith exception of the inverted circumflex, which makes \"ye\" out of plain\n\"e.\" This is nothing to what the Czech language can do in the way of\ntongue-twisters.\n\nThe Vaclavske Nam[ve]sti rises gently towards another hill of Prague,\nVinohrady. At the top of the rise, looking right down the broad avenue\nover the old town and beyond it to the Hrad[vs]any, is an equestrian\nstatue of St. Wenceslaus. There are other likenesses of the Saint; a\nnumber of them adorn his chapel in the Cathedral of St. Vitus, and\nanother statue stands near the castle entrance on the Hrad[vs]any, in\nthe latter Wenceslaus is shown looking out over the city, his hand\nupraised in blessing, which is right and proper and quite what the city\nexpects of him. The equestrian statue is the most recent portrait of the\npious prince, and is really quite convincing. We know, or at least I am\nabout to tell you, that Wenceslaus was a man of peace, he is therefore\nrepresented carrying a lance; the modern sense of propriety requires of\na non-combatant that he should sit for his portrait armed. He need not\nintroduce a bunch of bombs or a pot of poison gas into the composition,\na sword will do. Wenceslaus brought his lance much as the up-to-date\nwar-winner girds on a sword when he goes to be photographed. Swords may\nalso be worn at weddings, at funerals, also at christenings I believe;\nanyway, on all filmable occasions.\n\nAs far as I can discover, St. Wenceslaus only had one fight in his life,\nand then he got killed.\n\nNow that we have arrived at the first of authentically dated rulers over\nBohemia, Wenceslaus I, 928-935, we may as well take a look round the\nEurope of that time. We find first of all that the peoples were capable\nof getting into just as bad a mess as they are in to-day, and that\nwithout the aid of any new diplomacy, League of Nations and\nInternational Conferences. England was, so to speak, nowhere in those\ndays; Englishmen did not wander about the Continent making observations\nfrom terraces, did not even launch missions and commissions on harmless\nand unsuspecting countries, in order to impress the inhabitants thereof\nwith our wealth and our good taste in getting rid of it. England was\nvery busy with the Scots, Welsh and Danes, who were also causing a deal\nof trouble to the broken-up remnants of Charlemagne's Empire. The ideal\nof the Holy Roman Empire still lived and inspired a host of adventurous\nCounts of the Marches and other bearers of German culture to inroads\ninto territory inhabited by Slavonic races. The idea seemed to be that\nas each Slavonic tribe, principality or kingdom adopted Christianity it\nshould come under German domination and be held in trust for Mother\nChurch by German princes as long as the Papacy conformed to their\nconception of right and wrong. The Papacy itself seems to have had no\ndefinite ideas of right and wrong at the time, or at least did not put\nthem into practice; had, in fact, become thoroughly corrupt and\nineffective for good. Christendom was in a parlous state, disunited and\nassailed by hosts of barbarians, Danes, Saracens, Hungarians. The latter\nhad become especially dangerous to the Slavonic peoples. Before Arpad\narrived at Pressburg (now called Bratislava, please) in 829, the\nterritory inhabited by Slavonic tribes, mostly in principalities of\nvarying size and importance, had extended with fluctuating frontiers,\nfrom Holstein south-eastward through Central Europe to the Adriatic and\nthe Balkan range. Arpad drove a wedge into this Slavonic mass and broke\nit into two parts; Arpad's descendants still separate northern and\nsouthern Slavs. We have seen how the Empire of Moravia went down before\nthe Magyars, and that the Bohemians, no longer able to count on support\nfrom that side, were forced to turn to Germany. The intrusion of the\nMagyars into Central Europe, by dividing the mass of Slavonic races,\nalso weakened the influence of the Eastern Church among the Bohemians\nand forced those that were inclined towards Christianity into closer\ncommunion with Rome via Germanism. German priests were beginning to gain\nthe ascendancy over those of the Eastern persuasion, they objected to\nservices in the Vulgate, and as they knew no language but their own and\nonly sufficient Latin for their clerical duties, their influence began\nto threaten the Slavonic genius of the Bohemians with extinction. This\nwas undoubtedly their purpose, and it accounts for much of Bohemia's\nsufferings during the thousand years following the imposition of a\nGerman bishop on this country by the German King Arnulf to whom the\nimmediate predecessors of St. Wenceslaus, Spytihnev and Vratislav had\nappealed for assistance.\n\nAnother social institution which was beginning to make its influence\nfelt at the time under discussion was the feudal system. Hitherto,\ncivilized Europe had depended for offensive and defensive operations on\nlarge slow-moving armies of foot-folk; these were ineffective against\nmarauding barbarians, Vikings in their sharp-prowed ships, or the light\ncavalry of Hungarian or Saracen. Moreover, the governmental system\norganized by Charlemagne had fallen to pieces, and there was no central\npower to order the movements of a large army. Luckily for the cause of\nChristendom and western civilization such as it was, the subordinates of\nCharles's successors hit upon the right tactics to employ against the\ninvaders. The nominal subordinates, Counts of the Marches, burgraves,\nbarons, took a very free hand in those days of decentralized authority\nand bad lines of communication. Based on impregnable strongholds, they\nmet the swiftly moving hosts of marauders with equally mobile troops of\nmailed horsemen, raised, trained and paid by themselves, and bound to\ntheir feudal lords by the ties of discipline out of which grew the\ntradition of military servitude. It was these feudal lords and their\nmailed horsemen who saved Western Europe; they took their own reward out\nof the lands they saved and out of the neighbours whom they insisted on\nsaving, till they eventually became an unmitigated nuisance from which\nBohemia suffered as much as any other country. But for the moment we are\nconcerned with the times of St. Wenceslaus and the first half of the\ntenth century.\n\nIt is a pity that no one had thought of holding an International\nConference in the early days of the tenth century; there were a great\nmany things to discuss, and a Conference would have added to the gaiety\nof nations. There was the question of those Northern Slavonic tribes who\nhad steadfastly refused the blessings of Christianity as purveyed by the\nTeuton; of course, no one could foresee that the Western Church's\nactivities in those northern regions would eventually produce the modern\nPrussian. Then the Conference would have to decide whether or no\nVikings, Hungarians and Saracens should be admitted to the comity of\nnations, and if not, how to start doing business with those people all\nthe same. Then the place of the Conference would have to be decided;\nthere was quite a fair choice of suitable localities. Paris was becoming\npopular, had already been discovered by people from over the seas--by\nthe Vikings, who, in quest of souvenirs, on one occasion sacked the\ncity, on another burnt it down. Aix-la-Chapelle had been popular for\nsome centuries before the Vikings discovered the attractions of Paris;\nit had the waters to recommend it, and also memories of pious\nCharlemagne, on which members of the Conference might reflect when not\nengaged in feasting and providing the Press with fiction. Constantinople\nwould also have been well suited to an International Conference in the\ntenth century. The Emperor Constantine Porphyrogenitus was rather a dull\ndog, but he kept a glittering court, and none but the most refined\nsociety is good enough for secretaries, bottlewashers and other numerous\nhangers-on of conferences. Kings and rulers would probably have attended\nthe Conference in person, not being willing to afford the luxury of\nallowing a Prime Minister to neglect home affairs. It would have been a\npretty gathering, Constantine Porphyrogenitus the bookworm probably as\npresident, AEthelstan of England, Charles the Simple of France or as much\nas his neighbours allowed him, that doughty poacher Henry the Fowler,\nGerman King, and Pope Leo not on speaking terms with him, St. Wenceslaus\nof Bohemia trying to make peace with Henry, and a make-weight of German\ncounts and churchmen, possibly representatives of Vikings, Hungarians\nand Saracens. The proceedings would have been marked by a \"certain\nliveliness,\" as we used to say at the front when the fur began to fly.\nThe Conference would have differed from those of the present day, by\nleading to a definite result if only in the form of a handsome row of\ncorpses; Counts of the Marches, Vikings and others would have attended\nto that. It would have been interesting to note how monkish reporters\nwould clothe, or rather veil, their account of proceedings in suitable\nlanguage.\n\nOn the accession of Wenceslaus I the relations between his house and\nthe German King were strained. This, we have seen, was due to\nDragomira's anti-German foreign policy. Wenceslaus, however, as we know,\nhad occasion to send his mother into exile; she cannot have gone very\nfar, as according to popular belief the earth swallowed her up before\nshe had had time to get clear of the Castle Hill. Later generations put\nup a chapel over the spot where Dragomira vanished; I consider this\nconduct lacking in tact.\n\nAnyway, Wenceslaus had to face a guileful, determined and quite\nunscrupulous adversary, who had even called at Prague with an army; so,\nbeing a man of peace, he came to terms with King Henry for a slight\nconsideration, namely, an annual tribute of six hundred silver marks and\none hundred and twenty head of cattle. This warded off trouble from the\nwest, but there remained the danger of barbarian invasion from the east\nand there was every reason for erecting strongholds in Bohemia as in\nother countries of Europe. I have found no trace of any such work by\nWenceslaus. He surely must have done something towards strengthening the\nHrad[vs]any, Hrad S. Vaclav or something like that, as it seems to have\nbeen called at the time. Wenceslaus had built a chapel here in which to\nhouse the relic of St. Vitus; I cannot imagine him leaving such a\ntreasure quite unprotected. This precious relic, namely, the arm of St.\nVitus, had been presented to Wenceslaus by King Henry which was handsome\nof him, as he only got a trifling annual contribution of money and\ncattle out of Bohemia, whereas that country was started off with\nsomething of sufficient value to account for that noble fane the\nCathedral of St. Vitus. Bohemia did very well in the way of saints and\nsacred relics; some of her kings were enthusiastic collectors, and we\nremember that Christianity among the Czechs started with a royal martyr,\nthe saintly Ludmilla, who was shortly to be joined by another, as you\nwill be told later on in this chapter.\n\nWe are still trying to find out what Wenceslaus did for his capital and\ncountry besides collecting odds and ends of saints and building a\nchapel here and there, and regretfully state that little record of\nanything but his piety is handed down to us. Piety, it seems, was no\nmore compatible with statecraft in the early days of Christendom than it\nis to-day, and as Wenceslaus took the pious line, he gave way too much\nto the German menace, thus laying up a store of trouble for his\nsuccessors and the sons of Czech which lasted well up to the present and\ndoes not appear to be exhausted yet. In the meantime Wenceslaus,\nevidently well pleased with himself, continued to set his people a godly\nensample. I should like to know whether they appreciated him to the same\nextent as did some members of his family, Boleslav for instance, who\nhelped Wenceslaus to a crown of celestial glory by the simple process of\nhitting him over the head. I am rather inclined to think that the piety\nof Wenceslaus interfered with some of the innocent amusements of his\npeople, among whom paganism was not quite dead yet, as subsequent events\nshow. There was an interesting burial ground lying on the route which\nWenceslaus would follow when going from the Hrad[vs]any to Vy[vs]ehrad,\nwhich remained the seat of government for several generations of\nP[vr]emysls after the pious prince's demise.... This burial ground, a\nvery extensive one, is now covered by the Church of Emaus and its\nmonastic buildings; you can see those twin towers, dark ochre in colour\nand topped by characteristic steeple and pinnacles, rising from among\nfruit-trees and red-tiled roofs. Na Morani was the name of this burial\nground, after Morana, the goddess of death. It was the correct thing in\npagan society to make pilgrimages to this place in spring: a pleasant\nafternoon in a cemetery was a pastime as popular then as it appears to\nbe to-day. The _cachet_ of Na Morani had been rather spoilt by the\nerection of a little church some time in the ninth century, perhaps by\nWenceslaus himself. Anyway, the pious prince found this church a\nconvenient half-way house between Vy[vs]ehrad and Hrad[vs]any, and he\nwas wont to put up a prayer or two here before going on to drop a tear\non the Hrad[vs]any relics. The little church was dedicated to Cosmas\n(not the chronicler) and Damian, saints of the third and fourth\ncenturies. It is not known why these gentlemen clubbed together to have\na day to themselves, but this need not act as deterrent to anyone who\nwishes to observe their day. Wherever pilgrims visit, there you will\nfind settlements growing up, beginning with booths and shanties of those\nwho sell appropriate commodities, candles, wreaths and such-like. The\ntraffic in these articles continues; it was only last Palm Sunday that I\nwas offered a variety of wreaths to choose from, small wreaths of\nsnowdrops and fir twigs, to be worn on the wrist, to be blessed by the\npriest and then to be left lying about the sitting-room until fit for\nthe dustbin. I resisted all temptation to deck myself with snowdrops and\nfir twigs; their subdued tones do not match my aura.\n\nIt seems to me that Wenceslaus did nothing in particular for his people;\nhe concentrated on his part as royal saint and martyr, and was already\nposing for the statues of himself and the frescoes depicting his good\ndeeds, which later ages produced. There was little to show for all this\nprince's good intentions. Pious, indeed, was Wenceslaus; he spent a\ngreat part of the night in prayer when he should have been recuperating\nfor strenuous work on the following day: there was plenty to do for a\ncountry threatened on the one hand by marauding Magyars, on the other by\ninsidious German influence. \"He was in the habit of himself cutting off\nthe wheat and grapes that the priests required to prepare the holy\nwafers and the wine for the sacrament\"--I quote Count Luetzow, but his\nconception of political economy allowed him to pay a large tribute in\nexchange for German interference and the remains of a saint. He lavished\nmoney on the Church, whereas strongholds were required in defence of\nChristendom, and finally he adopted the tonsure. This struck home to the\nfamily and made Boleslav's cup of bitterness o'erflow; he plotted more\npersistently than ever against Wenceslaus. Another habit of the pious\nPrince was that of attending Church dedication festivals and their\nanniversaries, in every part of his dominion. The Church feast of\nCosmas and Damian, much patronized by Wenceslaus at a little town\ncalled Boleslav, was due on September 28th. Wenceslaus was invited to\nattend this function by Brother Boleslav, who resided there. Boleslav,\nby this time very weary of his pious brother, sat up with a few friends\nof his own way of thinking, waylaid Wenceslaus, and killed him. This\nhappened in 935, and the 28th of September is still kept sacred to the\nmemory of St. Wenceslaus by those who feel inclined that way.\n\nMy sympathy with Boleslav does not blind me to the fact that he did\nwrong in killing his brother. I am glad to report that Boleslav showed\nsigns of contrition. The town of Boleslav henceforth became distasteful\nto him, so he quitted it and raised another of the same name. Stara\n(Old) Boleslav, where Wenceslaus gained his degree of martyrdom, is a\nsedate little town near the banks of the Labe (known as Elbe in Germany)\ndozing among orchards and lush meadows and o'ershadowed by tall\nelm-trees. It is by no means a suitable setting for a sensational\nfratricide; I have been to see the place for myself and consider that\nthe Wenceslaus-Boleslav, drama requires a different scenario. The newer\ntown, Young Boleslav (Jung Bunzlau in German) is much better suited to\nthe film; it stands up high on a rock and looks a likely habitation for\nan expert in assassination such as was Boleslav, brother of Wenceslaus.\n\nDespite all Boleslav's efforts, popular opinion has it that Wenceslaus\nis not dead, but fast asleep inside a mountain, making up for nights\nspent in prayer no doubt. I do not believe this report.\n\n * * * * *\n\n[Illustration: OLD BOLESLAV.]\n\nBoleslav succeeded Wenceslaus as first Bohemian Prince of that name. His\nwas a long and eventful reign, from 936 to 967, long at least for those\ndays when rulers were apt to be removed abruptly. None knew this better\nthan Boleslav himself. Monkish chroniclers have little good to say of\nBoleslav I--allegedly on account of that little affair at Stara\nBoleslav and of Boleslav's persistent paganism; actually, I imagine, on\naccount of the anti-German attitude he adopted at the outset of his\nreign. Boleslav ruled with a firm hand; he subdued a number of Bohemian\nnobles who had allied themselves with the national enemy the German,\nbefore he resumed the conflict with Henry the Fowler which his mother\nhad started. Henry, no doubt, was quite ready to quarrel, using the\nmurder of his ally as a pretext, but he died before he had had time to\nsettle down in the saddle, and left his son Otto to carry on. Now Otto,\nfirst German Emperor of that name, was a strong man, and is called Great\non account of his success in reviving the Holy Roman Empire. Boleslav\nwas a strong man too: Palacky, the famous Bohemian historian, describes\nhim as \"one of the most powerful monarchs that ever occupied the\nBohemian throne.\" He succeeded in defending his country from the armies\nthat Otto launched against it, and even the invasion of 950, led by the\nEmperor himself, brought no decisive victory for the Germans. Boleslav\nseems to have considered it futile to continue quarrelling with his\nwestern neighbour, especially as the usual trouble continued in the\neast, in which direction the Prince proposed to extend his dominions. By\n955 we find Germans and Bohemians allied against the Magyars, who had\nacquired a habit of ravaging Western Europe once a year. They met their\nmatch on the Lechfeld, near Augsburg, and were utterly defeated in one\nof the most sanguinary and decisive battles fought during the Middle\nAges. According to Count Luetzow it appears that a Bohemian contingent of\na thousand men formed part of the victorious army. Boleslav himself,\nwith the greater part of his troops, remained to guard the frontiers of\nhis country. The defeated Magyars suffered another defeat at the hands\nof Boleslav on their retreat through Bohemia, and their leader, Lehel,\nwas taken prisoner. With peace and friendliness on his western front and\nhis eastern enemy thoroughly beaten, Boleslav was in a position to carry\nout his ambitious plans. He freed Moravia from the Magyars and united it\nto Bohemia, and he is said to have conquered a considerable part of the\ncountry between the Carpathian Mountains and the Danube; probably\nSlovakia of to-day. By his conquests Boleslav became a near neighbour of\nPoland and managed to come to a good understanding with Duke Mieceslav\nI, ruler of that country, by giving that prince his daughter Dubravka in\nmarriage, which would no doubt be considered a friendly act. Dubravka\nsucceeded in converting her husband and his yet heathen people to\nChristianity. Mieceslav must have taken to it very strongly, for between\nthem he and Dubravka produced a pious son and heir who was to become\nknown as Boleslav the Brave.\n\nBoleslav II of Bohemia, called \"the Pious,\" enjoyed an even longer reign\nthan his father did, from 967 to 999, which is one of those easy dates\nto remember. Monkish chroniclers seem to have ascribed a good deal of\nthe work done by Boleslav I to his son, probably on account of the\nformer's lack of piety in his early days and the latter's exuberance in\nthat line. Certain it is that Boleslav II was ruler over larger\ndominions than had ever been held by any Prince or King of Bohemia.\nBesides Bohemia itself the power of Boleslav II extended over Moravia,\npresent-day Slovakia, a great part of Silesia, including Breslau,\ndistricts of Poland nearly up to the town of Lemberg, with a frontier\ntouching that of the Russian rulers of Kiev. The Bohemian nobles who had\ntroubled his father were entirely suppressed by Boleslav II, who\nappointed burgraves called \"z[vu]pans,\" over the various districts into\nwhich his territories were divided, and the central authority became\nabsolute.\n\nIt is not certain whether Vy[vs]ehrad was still the actual seat of\ngovernment or whether the Hrad[vs]any had taken its place. Certain it is\nthat the Hrad[vs]any had grown in importance chiefly in the religious\nlife of the nation. The foundations laid by St. Wenceslaus were\nextended. It appears that the Church of St. George on the Hrad[vs]any\ndates back to this early period; you can see its two rather stunted\nwhite steeples standing out over the complex of buildings near the\neastern point of the Castle Hill before it dips down towards the Vltava.\nThe earliest church on this point is attributed to Vratislav, uncle of\nSt. Wenceslaus, but this sounds rather doubtful. Boleslav II, however,\nis known to have founded a convent here, probably the oldest in Bohemia,\nand he installed his sister Milada as first abbess. St. Ludmilla was\nalso buried here, so the Hrad[vs]any was increasing in sanctity.\nBoleslav II is also responsible for providing Prague with her first\nbishop. We have seen that Henry the Fowler had incorporated Bohemia into\nthe bishopric of Ratisbon; this was before that country could be\nconsidered as Christian, with right, as we have noticed the lapse after\nthe demise of St. Wenceslaus. Boleslav II, however, was in a position to\npoint to a much improved state of affairs, and so Otto I consented to\nthe formation of a separate bishopric of Prague. The Pope consented\nlikewise, under the express condition that the connection with the old\nMoravian archbishopric should be broken, and that the Latin liturgy only\nshould be used. The German connection was further strengthened by\nplacing Bohemia under the supremacy of the Archbishop of Maintz;\nThietmar, a German, became the first Bishop of Prague. This worthy was\nsucceeded after a few years by a native of Bohemia, Adalbert, who\nfinally established Christianity in the country. He had a hard task, as\nmany heathen customs, such as polygamy, were difficult to extirpate;\nthere are even in this day very few churches dedicated to St. Anthony, a\nsaint who does not seem to interest or convince the Bohemians. Adalbert\ncarried his ideals farther afield, to the country of the heathen\nPrussians, who killed him for trespassing on ground dedicated to one of\ntheir deities. Adalbert became the third saint and martyr of Bohemian\norigin, and was adopted by the Poles as patron saint.\n\nThough there are no buildings other than those on the Hrad[vs]any\nmentioned by the chroniclers, we may assume that a township was growing\nup by the river at the feet of the Castle Hill. We have the testimony of\nIbrahim Ibn Jacub, who speaks of Prague as \"a great commercial town of\nstone-built houses.\" Ibrahim's visit must have taken place in the reign\nof Boleslav II. I conclude that he was talking of a town on the left\nbank of the Vltava, because others of his race who came here in that\nPrince's day are said to have been allowed to found a school in the Mala\nStrana quarter. Some fifty years later yet more Jews came to Prague\nbringing presents for the ruler, Prince Vratislav, and Bishop Gebhard.\nThey were allowed to build twelve little houses on the outskirts of the\ntown, which would be somewhere about the Harrachove. These Jews promised\nto be of good behaviour and to pay double taxes, but in three months\ntheir numbers had increased to seven hundred, so half of them were\nordered to go out over the river to where the old town now stands;\nanother Jewish settlement was established there. The advent of these\nvisitors is proof positive that Prague was becoming not only habitable\nbut also a place of importance.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER V\n\nIn which good and bad rulers of Bohemia make or mar the fortunes of the\ncountry, the points being chiefly in favour of the good rulers, despite\nthe constant intrigues, quarrels and general misconduct of the\nP[vr]emysls.\n\nOf the harm done by Boleslav III, of the sons of Dubravka the Bohemian\nPrincess, Boleslav the Brave and Vladivoj. Of a somewhat tiresome trio\nof brothers and how the line of P[vr]emysl nearly died out. The romantic\nstory of Ulrich and Bo[vz]ena the village maiden, and of their\nstout-hearted son B[vr]etislav, who reigned from 1037 to 1055 and\ngreatly restored the prestige of his country during those years. How St.\nAdalbert was recovered from Poland, and a few appropriate remarks on the\nsubject. Of the buildings and other matters of interest which date from\nthe tenth and eleventh centuries and are to be seen in Prague. Of the\nbridge built by Judith, Queen of Vladislav II, in 1167. Of some churches\nin Prague and the round chapels. Of Vratislav, first King of Bohemia,\nand his fights for the Empire. Of B[vr]etislav II, and how he greatly\nexerted himself to extirpate paganism, forbidding pilgrimages to the\nshrines of heathen deities at Arkona on the Island of Ruegen, Of\nSob[ve]slav, who became hereditary cup-bearer of the Empire. Of\nVladislav II, contemporary and ally of Frederick Barbarossa. Vladislav's\ncrusade and campaigns in Italy. Vladislav founder of the monastery\ncalled Mount Zion at Strahov. About Strahov and the beauty and interest\nthereof.\n\n\nBoleslav II had left dominions more extensive than any Slavonic State\nbefore or since could boast of; moreover, he left the name of P[vr]emysl\nin high repute for piety and ability. Boleslav III, his son, undid all\nthe good his predecessors had brought to their dominions and their\nreputation; in fact, within a few years of his accession he found\nhimself stripped of all his belongings save Bohemia, and his hold on\neven that country was under dispute at times. It appears that Boleslav\nIII was constitutionally unable to agree with anyone; contemporary\nchroniclers describe this Prince as cruel, avaricious and distrustful.\nThe sons of Czech have always had a strong objection to paying for what\nthey do not want, and that is what Boleslav was always expecting of\nthem. He became so unpopular among his own people, who were called upon\nto finance him in his troubles with his brothers, that they invited\ntheir Duke's cousin, Prince Vladivoj, brother of Boleslav the Brave of\nPoland, to intervene. Vladivoj died young, so his brother took charge\nof all that had been the Bohemian realm, and incorporated it with his\nown; Boleslav of Poland, it is said, even contemplated making Prague the\ncapital of his Empire. There is no trace of anything he did for the\ncity, so we must assume that he did not carry out his intention: he was\nprobably prevented by the inevitable friction with the Germans, who\nalways found some excuse for putting down any attempt at founding a\nstrong Slavonic Empire. In this instance King Henry II intervened on\nbehalf of Boleslav III, who had stooped to becoming a vassal of the\nGerman King, with the title of Duke. After the usual fighting, Boleslav\nIII was restored to his country for a short period in which he\ndistinguished himself by wholesale assassination of his opponents. He\neventually died in Poland as prisoner of Boleslav the Brave. Meanwhile,\nwhat with his cantankerous brothers, with Polish ambitions and German\nill-will, Bohemia was having a sorry time.\n\nIn all this unseemly wrangling among the members of the P[vr]emysl\nfamily I find only one bright spot of human interest, and that is the\nlittle affair of Ulrich and Bo[vz]ena. All three brothers, Boleslav III,\nJaromir and Ulrich, the last surviving P[vr]emysls, were childless, and,\nfailing heirs, their inheritance would pass to Poland, to the children\nof Dubravka. A P[vr]emysl successor was wanted; Ulrich and Bo[vz]ena\nprovided one. It is undoubtedly true that Ulrich was already married\nwhen he encountered Bo[vz]ena, the beautiful village maiden, while she\nwas washing the family linen at the village pump. It was a picturesque\nevent, this meeting of the young prince and the village maiden, and has\nbeen satisfactorily illustrated by a patriotic Bohemian painter. You\nwill find highly coloured reproductions of that artist's work in a shop\nwindow on the Narodni T[vr]ida, all illustrating events in the history\nof the P[vr]emysl family, and when you see what Bo[vz]ena looked like\nyou will not blame Ulrich. Anyway, Ulrich married Bo[vz]ena. How he\nmanaged this without causing complications is not our affair; the\nancient chroniclers were satisfied; they insist on the legality of this\nunion, and as we know them to have been very particular in such\nmatters, it is not for us to discuss the point. You must also remember\nthat Christianity was yet young among the Czechs and that they had been\nstrongly addicted to the amiable habit of polygamy. You may also gather\nwhat was the attitude of Bohemian chroniclers from the remark which\nDalimil, the contemporary of Ulrich, puts into the latter's mouth:\n\"Rather would I entrust myself to a Bohemian peasant girl than that I\nshould take a German queen for my wife. Every heart clings to its own\nnation; therefore would a German woman less favour my language. A German\nwoman will have German servants; German will she teach my children.\"\nFrom this remark you will understand that the Bohemians thoroughly\nappreciated their neighbours.\n\nUlrich reverted to type, and once again the stout peasant stock of Czech\ncame to the rescue of a fading dynasty; the son of Ulrich and Bo[vz]ena,\nB[vr]etislav I, was destined to restore the house of P[vr]emysl to a\nposition more in keeping with its great traditions. Before succeeding\nhis father, B[vr]etislav was given an opportunity of proving what good\nstock he came from. Boleslav of Poland had died, his sons quarrelled\nover their heritage, and their dissensions gave the neighbours an excuse\nfor interfering. One of these neighbours was King Stephen of Hungary,\nafterwards called \"the Saint.\" He had only recently been converted from\npaganism, but he took part in this Polish dispute just as if he had been\na ripe old Christian monarch of some standing. Stephen had the happy\nthought of taking Moravia for himself, no doubt in pious memory of his\nancestor who first stole it. The same idea occurred to Ulrich of\nBohemia, who sent young B[vr]etislav into Moravia, where the latter\ndefeated the Magyars rather badly; Moravia thereupon was added to\nBohemia, whereas Slovakia remained with Hungary.\n\nB[vr]etislav failed to realize his ideal of forming a strong national\nSlavonic State, independent of German rule--he had too strong an Emperor\nagainst him, Henry III; but he certainly restored Bohemia and the\nP[vr]emysl dynasty to a position of some importance in Europe. He was,\nhowever, unable to shake off the German grasp of his country; German\narmies had arrived before Prague and threatened that city with\ndestruction, so B[vr]etislav submitted to the inevitable, paid tribute\nto the Emperor and spent the last and peaceful years of his reign in\nrestoring order and prosperity to his country. The city of Prague\nbenefited by the bravery of B[vr]etislav, for as a result of that\nPrince's successful campaign against the Poles the body of St. Adalbert,\nwhom you have met before as Bishop of Prague, was captured by the\nBohemians and restored to their capital. There was, I believe, some\ntrouble about this operation of B[vr]etislav. The ruler and people of\nPoland had appointed Adalbert as their patron saint; he had been killed\nin their country, had been buried there some time, and had even a\ncathedral to himself at Gnesen. The Pope launched a bull or two at\nB[vr]etislav over this business. I do not know whether any of them took\neffect. The Bohemians were ordered to return Adalbert to the Poles, but\nI do not know that they did so, neither have I seen him lying about in\nPrague, probably because I have not looked for him. Adalbert is the\npatron saint of Emaus in Prague among many other churches in Bohemia,\nbut no doubt he can find time to patronize Poland as well. Anyway, I do\nnot anticipate any strained relations between the Republics of\nCzecho-Slovakia and Poland on this account; both countries are more\ninterested in a yet older fossilized form of creation--coal to wit.\n\nWith the best will in the world it is difficult to rise to any\nenthusiasm over the majority of Bohemia's rulers in the eleventh and\ntwelfth centuries. There seems to have been nothing of beauty or\ninterest in individual P[vr]emysls to break the monotony of endless\nquarrels between brother claimants to the throne and appeals of\nunsuccessful rivals to their German neighbour, whose decision would be\nentirely guided by the desire for a further weakening of Bohemia. Prague\nhas little to show in the way of architectural interest dating from the\neleventh and twelfth centuries, but what there is is good. I doubt\nwhether any other city in Europe has much to show of that period of\ntransition from Romanesque to Gothic: whatever there was has generally\nbeen pulled down or built over when the great flood of Gothic poured\nover Europe some century or so later. But if there is little to see in\nPrague which can be clearly traced to the two centuries under\ndiscussion, it is of interest in showing the expansion of the town since\nLibu[vs]a's prophecy concerning it. The Hrad[vs]any came in for some\nattention. Another church, dedicated to All Saints and built up very\nnear the Basilica of St. George, dates back to the eleventh century.\nThere are, or were till recently, distinct traces of work dating from\nthat century to be found in the Karmelitska Ulice, that thoroughfare\nwhich leads from the Malo Stranske Nam[ve]sti towards Smichov. We have\nalready noted that the Jews had settled in this part of Prague towards\nthe end of the tenth century and that some of them had been ordered\nacross the river to another settlement of their kind, so there must have\nbeen good steady business to be done in Prague. I have often wondered\nhow and where people crossed the Vltava previous to 1167 when Judith,\nQueen of Vladislav II, built a bridge very near the site of the present\nCharles Bridge. Judith's bridge was eventually carried away by floods,\nbut the Mala Strana bridgehead tower remains; you see it with its squat\ntower and broad chisel-shaped steeple, rising up beside the more\ngraceful and ornate tower of the present bridge, which was new in the\nearly years of the fourteenth century. The stout tower built by Judith\nis a very interesting study of architecture; it has had a long life of\nusefulness, having been used for many years as a lock-up for the froward\nyouth of the neighbourhood, and it is still inhabited. This sturdy\nremnant of Judith's bridge, which you can see from my terrace, is the\nonly trace I have found of means of communication between the two banks\nof the river. There must have been considerable traffic, as we know, for\ninstance, how St. Wenceslaus was in the habit of going to and fro\nbetween Hrad[vs]any and Vy[vs]ehrad. The river was probably fordable in\nseveral places, but it is rather a treacherous stream with a swift\ncurrent and an uncertain bottom; some Hungarian troops attempted to\ncross it by a ford on a certain memorable occasion, and were swept away\nto perdition. Yet even before Judith's time there must have been need of\na bridge. The town and various settlements around it were growing up, as\nis proved by the number of churches which were considered necessary or\nappropriate. The Hrad[vs]any was very well off in that respect. Then\nthere was the Church of St. Cosmas and Damian, where you now see the\ntowers of Emaus, and in the twelfth century, if not at the end of the\neleventh, the foundations of the Tyn Church were laid. This period also\nhas left three quaint little Romanesque chapels in various parts of\nPrague. They are very well preserved, these little round chapels, and\nthe fact that they are pretty far apart suggests the extent to which\nPrague had expanded by the end of the twelfth century. There is one of\nthese chapels dedicated to St. Martin, on Vy[vs]ehrad, another to St.\nLonginus, rather difficult to find, some half-mile north-east of Emaus;\nand a third, the oldest of all, the Chapel of the Holy Cross, stands\nnear the old Town Tower of the Charles Bridge. There is also a\nseventeenth-century _baroque_ imitation of these Romanesque chapels\nunder the riverside slope of the Letna Hill, which is not worth\ntroubling about.\n\nWhile Christianity was striking its roots yet deeper into the soil of\nBohemia, the rulers of that country were being drawn into the quarrel\nbetween the spiritual and the would-be temporal head of the Church; the\n\"Investiture Strife\" gave Vratislav, son of B[vr]etislav I, an\nopportunity of strengthening his independence and increasing the\nimportance of his country. He took sides with Emperor Henry IV against\none of the strongest of the Popes, Gregory VII. The Emperor's Bohemian\nallies took part in many of that monarch's battles, chiefly against the\nSaxons, who appear to have been hereditary enemies of the sons of Czech,\nand the victory at Hohenburg on the Unstrutt in 1075 is attributed to\nthe bravery of the Bohemian troops. Six years later Bohemian troops\nhelped Henry IV in his attack on Rome, and their leader, Wiprecht of\nGroitch, was one of the first to scale the walls of the Eternal City.\nThe Czechs have always been good hearty fighters, and of the three\nhundred who set out to help the Emperor against Rome only nine returned\nhome to Bohemia. The Germans, even in those early days, were thorough\nutilitarians.\n\n[Illustration: ST. MARTIN'S, VY[vS]EHRAD. B.G.B. 1912.]\n\nAs reward for his many and great services Henry IV promoted Vratislav to\nthe rank of King. It appears to have been, as it were, brevet-rank only;\nit was not hereditary. Nevertheless it was a great day for Prague when\nthe ruler of Bohemia was crowned with the golden diadem, presented by\nthe Emperor himself. There was no doubt that King Vratislav had earned\nthe distinction--he had done well by himself, by his country and by his\nally the Emperor--so no doubt the Basilica Church of St. George on the\nHrad[vs]any and its congregation did all honour to the crowning of\nBohemia's first King. It is also interesting to note that Vratislav had\n\"contributed to the party funds\"; he had lent money to the Emperor. This\nshould strike a homely, familiar note among us.\n\nThe frescoes in St. George's Church probably date from the time of King\nVratislav; there was a distinct revival of love for things beautiful in\nthose days when the peoples were beginning to see the light that was\nrising, gently but persistently, over the subsiding chaos that had\nclaimed Europe for the past three centuries and more. True, the world\nwas still a confused and worrying sort of place to live in; apart from\nthe soul-sickening public quarrels between Rome and the Empire, there\nwas a good deal of private enterprise in that line between all manner of\npetty potentates. Nevertheless there was some improvement to be noted,\nfirst in the tendency of fostering national feeling in place of a\nconfused cosmopolitanism, secondly by the effects of the Cluny movement\nin its endeavour to reform the Church. The tendency of the time\nexpressed itself in beautiful illuminated manuscripts, and Prague is\nlucky in the possession of many such. It is probable that Duke\nB[vr]etislav II, grandson of the first prince of that name, encouraged\nthe expression of his people's religious and national sentiments, in\nthose illuminated manuscripts of the Bible, of Missals, and the\n\"Cantionales,\" those works so beautiful in design, so loyal and sincere\nof execution, their colours as fresh as when the artist's hand withdrew\nreluctantly from the finishing touch.\n\nB[vr]etislav II had had a misfortune in his youth; he had caused a\ncourtier of the name of Zderad to be murdered. Zderad had insulted the\nyoung Prince; what with that and the courtier's unpronounceable name it\nis no wonder that B[vr]etislav was roused to act indiscreetly. He found\nit advisable to spend some years abroad after this little affair, and\nonly returned home when his father's neck was broken out hunting.\nB[vr]etislav took up the anti-pagan line very strongly. It seems\nstrange, but there was still a certain amount of paganism lurking in\nsecret places in Bohemia. It was not safe to indulge in heathen rites at\nhome, but there were places abroad where it was still possible. One of\nthese places is still a fashionable holiday resort, the Island of Ruegen\nin the Baltic Sea. Here there was a temple at Arkona, to Svantovit, the\ngod of air and light, besides a local and household deity president over\nall Ruegen, called Rugevit. I can quite imagine a couple of Czech\nhouseholders, law-abiding and good church-goers, conspiring to get away\nfrom the family for a bit and take a trip to Ruegen, just for a flutter\nwith the old gods. What with the secrecy required, as both Ruler and\nChurch forbade the practice of worshipping Slavonic deities, the\npractice must have been quite as exciting as _petits chevaux_.\n\nWhether it was this interference with the Ruegen pilgrims or his action\nin stamping out the custom of holding religious services in the language\nof the country, B[vr]etislav II was not popular; he was eventually\nmurdered by some of his nobles. The successors of B[vr]etislav seem to\nhave been cantankerous and inefficient; it is wearisome to read of those\nhopeless people throwing away the fruits of good work done by such stout\nfellows as B[vr]etislav I or even the hearty heathen Boleslav. In all\nthis distressing muddle of brothers, cousins, etc., fighting, getting\nbeaten and running off to the German Emperor to howl to him about it,\nthere are occasional bright spots. So for instance, one Sob[ve]slav, who\ncame to the throne in 1125, and found things in the usual mess, with\nhalf the country against him; nevertheless he managed to beat Emperor\nLothair most heartily. Lothair had crossed the Giant Mountains in order\nto support the claims of some other P[vr]emysl, had met Sob[ve]slav's\nhastily gathered army at Kulm, near Teplitz, and had been handsomely\nbeaten. Not only that, but Lothair and the remnants of his army were\nsurrounded, and it was up to the Bohemian Prince to impose terms this\ntime. Sob[ve]slav was thus able to improve the status of Bohemia\nconsiderably, and he added to his country's dignity by receiving the\nhigh office of hereditary cup-bearer of the Empire, from Conrad III,\nLothair's successor. Cupbearer in perpetuam to an Empire sounds very\nimportant and suggests great possibilities of influencing people. As a\nmatter of fact the office gave Bohemia certain rights within the Empire\nwhich went some way to balance the obligations; nevertheless German ties\nwere fastened yet more securely on the sons of Czech.\n\nSob[ve]slav was succeeded by his nephew Vladislav, another P[vr]emysl to\nrise to royal rank. This Prince passed through the usual troubles before\nsecuring the throne to himself, and was perforce driven to invoke the\nGerman Emperor Conrad in order to establish his sovereign rights over\nthe whole of Bohemia and Moravia. The reign of Vladislav I (as King) is\nrelieved by a certain picturesqueness, by a touch of romance, from the\nusual sordid course of events in the life of the P[vr]emysl dynasty with\nits rivalries, treachery, conspiracies and other social amenities of the\ntime. There is even something picturesque in the fact that the Pope had\nfelt obliged to send Cardinal Guido with a special mission to establish\norder among the Bohemian clergy. These amiable gentlemen would persist\nin entering the bonds of matrimony; if Bohemian ladies were as\nattractive then as they are to-day, I feel the sincerest sympathy with\nthose gallant priests. It is easy to imagine what trouble arose when\nCardinal Guido insisted that all married priests should either separate\nfrom their wives or renounce their dignities, and there were some\nclerics of the highest rank, among them a couple of deans, who were\ncalled upon to this act of renunciation. The immediate result of the\nPope's interference was that the Bohemians chased his legate from Prague\nto Eger, where the latter succumbed to his injuries. This was certainly\na picturesque incident, but it was not appreciated by the Papacy, which\nwas hotly in favour of Cluniac principles. There were other picturesque\nevents pending which forced a compromise even on Rome; the second\ncrusade, much encouraged by Cluny, was in course of preparation, and as\nall Christian countries of Europe were expected to take part, the time\nwas not propitious for bringing pressure to bear on Bohemia's ruler. He\nhad not arrived at royal dignity when the Guido episode took place; it\nwas within the first year of his reign. The royal crown was bestowed on\nVladislav a few years later by another romantic personage, Frederick\nBarbarossa, in consideration of Bohemian assistance against the\nEmperor's enemies in Northern Italy. Vladislav marched an army of ten\nthousand men from Bohemia, took part in the siege of Milan, and himself\nkilled Dacio, one of the leaders of the Milanese.\n\nI doubt whether Vladislav is entitled to an effigy with feet crossed, as\nhis part in the second crusade was not remarkable. He took his troops to\nAsia, left them there under the charge of King Louis VII of France, and\nreturned to his own country via Constantinople, where he indulged in a\nlittle intriguing with the Greek Emperor Emanuel. This seems to have\ngiven the flamboyant Greeks the impression that Bohemia's King had\nbecome a vassal of their Emperor; they were disillusioned some years\nlater when Vladislav assisted Stephen III on to the throne of Hungary\nagainst the Emperor Emanuel's choice.\n\nIt is all very fine and thrilling to read about picturesque princes,\nromantic rulers, and we shall hear of several in the history of Prague,\nbut they are not necessarily an asset to a country that wishes to\ndevelop in peace and consolidate within its own boundaries. It is\ndifficult to see what good Vladislav did by his trip to Asia with the\ncrusaders; he left his troops in charge of a foreigner and created a\ndistinctly wrong impression on another people while on his way home.\nAgain, he was romantically brave in Italy at the head of a Bohemian army\nwhich was much in excess of the numbers required of him by his agreement\nwith Barbarossa. Of this large army very few returned to their native\ncountry. There is, however, one deed by which Vladislav becomes entitled\nto undying merit: he founded the Monastery of Strahov.\n\nWhere the strip of land which connects the Hrad[vs]any Hill with that of\nPet[vr]in, mentioned in Libu[vs]a's forecast, dips a bit before rising\nagain, there Vladislav laid the foundations of Strahov. This happened in\n1140, what time Vladislav was beset by enemies of his own house, who\ndisputed his right to the throne; he was even assailed in his capital,\nPrague, by another P[vr]emysl, Conrad of Znoymo. Nevertheless the walls\nof Strahov Monastery rose over the terraced valley that dips down into\nPrague between Pet[vr]in and Castle Hill. The good monks of Strahov,\nillumined by the light that spread from Cluny, soon made of their house\na home of learning and piety, a haunt of peace where weary souls found\nrest from strife and turmoil; Mount Zion, the people called this sacred\nspot, and the name still clings to it despite the many vicissitudes\nthrough which it has passed. It must have been a-building when the\nenemies of Vladislav attacked the city, it was destroyed when the\nHussite wars broke out over Bohemia, and it suffered at the hands of the\nSwedes during the War of Thirty Years. But the good work that Vladislav\nthe King had started on Mount Zion of Strahov was not allowed to perish;\nthe monastery re-arose from its ashes after each visitation, with\nrenewed strength, arose to look out over Prague from its terraced\nheight. While looking out over the city with the eye of a friend full of\nloving understanding, the congregation on Mount Zion pursued the even\ntenor of its way, collecting treasures for the benefit of future\ngenerations. The library, a wonderful sight and soothing after the\nturmoil in the streets of Prague, contains many of those collected\ntreasures, instruments used by the astronomer Tycho de Brahe, the works\nof Racusani the philosopher, a gift of Sir Thomas Saville to Hajek the\nsixteenth-century biologist, astronomer, professor of Prague University,\nwho had studied in Milan and Bologna and had visited England in 1589.\nThen there are the poetical works of Elizabeth Weston of a noble\nEnglish family, who had made her home in Prague and died here in 1612. A\nvery learned lady this, but, it would seem, unhappy. You may see her\ntomb in St. Thomas's Church in Mala Strana, just beyond that imposing\nJesuit Church of St. Nicholas, on it the following inscription:--\n\nD. O. M. S. B. M.\n\nElisabethae Joannae Westonae\n\nNobilitate patriae Britanniae,\nSeculi nostri Sulpitiae,\nCui nomen dant litterae illibati\n\n Minervae floris\n Suadae decoris\n Musarum delicii\n Foeminarum exempli.\n\nStrahov Monastery has, I hope, passed through its vicissitudes and has\nentered at last into an existence of undisturbed usefulness. Of its\nearliest appearance there are neither record nor any traces left; the\nstorms that passed over Bohemia have obliterated any outward sign of the\nMount Zion which Vladislav founded and whither generations of the pious\nsons of Czech went up to find peace. One of the first of these was\nVladislav himself; weary of war and worn out by internal dissensions, he\nabdicated and retired to Strahov to end his days.\n\nStrahov was entirely rebuilt in the seventeenth century, and has\nwithstood the enemies of Bohemia from without and within, taking no\nirreparable harm from the open attack of Frederick of Prussia in the\neighteenth century or the covert attack of those hostile to the faith it\nhas stood for down the ages. The quaintly shaped spires of St. Mary's\nChurch with its three aisles, its glorious organ the largest in all\nBohemia, stand out in bold relief amidst the terraced garden and\norchards tended with fond care. The belfry is silent, its bells were\nsacrificed to the cause of the Habsburgs in the Great War; you may see\nplaster casts of them in the library. Here you may feast your eye on\ngloriously illuminated manuscripts and wonder at the ingenious\ninventions of one or other good brother who sojourned here a while on\nhis way to the \"Abiding City.\" There is, for instance, a model of the\nfirst lightning-conductor. Country folk, when they first saw it, crossed\nthemselves, thinking this the work of the devil. The visitors' book in\nthe library shows signatures of men famous in history, among them our\nNelson, who, in company of Sir William and Lady Hamilton, visited\nStrahov on September 29, 1800. The strict rules of the congregation of\nPremonstratensians allow ladies to visit only the library, which is\napproached from the outer courtyard; the picture gallery is\nunfortunately closed to them, a small collection but of value, its gem\nis Duerer's \"Rosary Feast.\"\n\n[Illustration: STRAHOV MONASTERY.]\n\nSo stands Strahov, Mount Zion, between the Castle Hill and Pet[vr]in\nlooking out over Prague from its terraced gardens and its bower of\nfruit-trees. It is always beautiful, this haunt of old-world peace,\nwhether the garden and the orchard be all a mass of blossom creamy white\nin the sunshine, pale purples in the shadows, in the shade of midsummer\nfoliage when Golden Prague below glitters in the midday heat, or in\nautumn when the valley is all a blaze of gold and russet, and the\ndistant hills stand out in strong blue masses. Winter also brings\nfascination. Strahov, its many windows severely closed and reflecting a\nsullen sky, seems to stand out more austerely from among the gaunt\ntree-trunks, their grey and sombre outlines broken by a fantasia of\ngnarled and twisted branches glittering under snow. But within those\nwalls, in the high altar's mysterious depth, in the long bare corridors\nand tiny cells where useful work continues as it has done for centuries,\nthere is the \"peace that passeth understanding.\"\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER VI\n\nDeals in succession with five Kings of the House of P[vr]emysl, Ottokar\nI, Wenceslaus I, Ottokar II, Wenceslaus II and III, with whom the male\nline of this famous dynasty became extinct. This chapter also touches on\nthe story of the Jews of Prague and tells about one Dalibor who provided\na hero for Smetana's opera of that name. Mentions buildings and\nimprovements undertaken by the Kings above named; tells of their\ntroubles and trials, and how for a time they overcame them. Introduces\nthe first Habsburg to Bohemia and makes mention of other visitors to\nPrague.\n\n\nOn the death of Vladislav II, in fact on his retirement to the\ncloistered peace of Strahov, it became evident that there were too many\nP[vr]emysls about in Bohemia to make for that country's peace and\ncontentment. These worthies were constantly falling over each other in\nthe scramble for the throne, and their disunited efforts resulted in ten\nchanges in the person of the sovereign over a period of twenty-four\nyears. This filled Bohemia's German neighbours with unholy joy and\nbrought the distracted country more and more under Teuton domination, so\nmuch so that Frederick Barbarossa thought fit to summon one or other\npretender and a bunch of obstreperous Bohemian nobles to appear before\nhim at the Imperial Court at Ratisbon, in order that he might exercise\nthe right he had assumed of settling the affairs of the P[vr]emysl\ndynasty. By way of a picturesque touch to the proceedings, Barbarossa is\nsaid to have arranged for a suitable display of executioners' axes at\nthe meeting. Nevertheless this pretty imperial conceit settled no\naffairs one way or another, and it was not until P[vr]emysl Ottokar\nbecame undisputed ruler of Bohemia, and eventually of Moravia as well,\nthat order of a sort was restored. Death had also been busy among\nmembers of the P[vr]emysl family and had brought considerable relief to\nthe distracted country.\n\nBy the time Ottokar I had settled himself firmly on the throne he found\nthat the confused, almost anarchic, state which Germany had drifted into\ncould mean many advantages to Bohemia, if the situation were properly\nhandled. The House of Hohenstaufen began to go downhill after the death\nof Henry VI, and we find a lusty Welf, Otto, clamouring for the imperial\ndiadem, assisted by a number of German Electors. This gave the ruler of\nBohemia his opportunity, and Ottokar took it. His son Wenceslaus I and\ngrandson Ottokar II followed the same line of policy, a purely dynastic\none. They took sides with one or other of the rivals for the crown of\nthe Holy Roman Empire, changing as considerations of domestic interests\nrequired, and making skilful use of the perennial quarrel between Empire\nand Papacy over the Investitures. While the Hohenstaufens were trickling\nout until the luckless Conradin lost his head at Naples, while fierce\nWelfs like Otto of Brunswick wrecked themselves on the rock of papal\ninsistence, Bohemia's rulers were profiting. Ottokar I seems to have\nbeen particularly astute in this line of business. He supported two\nrival Emperors in turn and got something useful out of both, he upheld\nthe cause of Pope Innocent III against one or other imperial rival and\ninduced that pontiff to recognize the P[vr]emysl's title to royalty.\nOttokar even found himself sufficiently strong to try a throw with the\nPope himself on the vexed subject of Investiture, simply by way of a\nlittle private sport on his own account and not as part of the general\nEuropean brawl. It happened that Andrew, Bishop of Prague, was one of\nthose didactic prelates who insisted on all the little things the Papacy\nwas out for--immunity for his clerics from the temporal law-courts, from\ntaxes, and so on. Above all, Andrew was strong on the right of\nconferring ecclesiatical office, albeit he had himself accepted\ninvestiture at the hands of Ottokar. This led to quite a hearty quarrel\nin which Andrew got the worst of it; he had to seek refuge in Rome,\nwhence he let off all the customary fulminations, declaring Bohemia to\nbe under interdict and so on. Nobody in Bohemia took the least notice of\nAndrew's little efforts; Church and people went solidly with their King\non this occasion, and carried on their devotional exercises as before.\n\nWe have to thank Ottokar for several picturesque flashes which brighten\nup the gloomy picture of this period. So for instance, he took a trip to\nMaintz, where he was solemnly crowned as King. No doubt Prague would\nhave been a more suitable setting for this function, but Ottokar had so\ntimed his arrangements as to come in for a double event, for Philip of\nSuabia with assistance from Bohemia's ruler, secured the German crown at\nthe same time. Then again this thoughtful P[vr]emysl Ottokar provided\nBohemia with yet another patron saint of the blood royal, and not by the\nold-fashioned family method of killing a relative. Ottokar had married\nConstance of Hungary, and it was their daughter Agnes who next joined\nthe distinguished and hallowed company of Ludmilla and Wenceslaus.\nAgnes, educated by St. Hedwig, early distinguished herself by refusing\nto marry Emperor Frederick II. She decided to become a bride of heaven\ninstead, founded the Order of Clarissa, entered it herself and\neventually died as abbess in the odour of sanctity. Frederick consoled\nhimself with one wife after another (a wife seems to have lasted no time\nin those days), his third and last being Isabella, daughter of King John\nof England, whose son, Richard of Cornwall, also comes into the story a\nlittle farther on in this chapter. St. Agnes was held in great reverence\nby the citizens of Bruex, is still so held, I hope, for she did them a\ngood turn in 1424. The Pragers had been indulging in a feud with the\nBruexers, and had taken a bad beating on one occasion. The former\nprepared a surprise attack and marched on Bruex hoping to take it by a\nmidnight assault. St. Agnes happened to be watching while the fat\nburghers slept; she roused them from slumber, drove them to the walls\nand aided them in beating off the attacking Pragers, Then the Bruexers\nwent to sleep again. It is also pleasant to reflect that Agnes's refusal\nto marry Frederick did not mar the excellent relations that sprang up\nbetween that monarch and Ottokar whenever the latter happened to want\nsomething out of the former. It is true that Ottokar had changed about a\ngood deal between one rival emperor and another, but he remained loyal\nto Frederick in the end, and the latter outlived him by some thirty\nyears. The relations between the two must have been quite pleasant and\ncomfortable, as you may judge from the concessions made by the Emperor\nof the Holy Roman Empire to Bohemia's King. A pretty and tactful\ncompliment it was on the part of Frederick to allow Ottokar's heralds,\nwhen preceding their royal master to the Imperial Diet, to carry lighted\ntorches on poles before him, and this to signify that the Bohemian\nexcursionists were at liberty to burn down anything they had a mind to.\nIt is these little considerations that have ever played such an\nimportant though unrecognized part in the diplomatic relations between\nnations. The Bohemians are still quite nice about accepting little acts\nof kindness and consideration from anybody.\n\nP[vr]emysl Ottokar I had reigned for twenty-eight years when his son\nWenceslaus, first King of that name, succeeded him, and, strange to say,\npractically without opposition. By this time Bohemia had risen to a\nposition of importance in the councils of Europe not only by the\nskilful, not to say artful, policy of its rulers, but also owing to the\ngrowing prosperity of the country which was reflected in the life of\nPrague its capital.\n\nPrague consisted of three distinct settlements each apparently under\nseparate administration. There was the old original settlement on\nVy[vs]ehrad which seems to have been under the sway of the abbot\npresiding over the monastic institutions on that hill. Then there was\nLibu[vs]a's foundation on the Hrad[vs]any and extending down to the\nriver, probably under the rule of the King's lieutenant or burgrave,\nand finally the Old Town on the right bank with its own municipal\ninstitutions. These three parts of Prague were separately walled in, but\nlittle remains of any architectural work earlier in date than the Kings\nof Bohemia of whom this Wenceslaus is generally counted as the first\nthough his father's royal rank had been recognized by the Pope and at\nleast two emperors.\n\nBy the time Wenceslaus I came to the throne, the changes were in full\nswing which were to lead up to the golden age of Prague a century or so\nlater. We have already noticed a tendency of German immigrants towards\nPrague and other cities of Bohemia. The Germans, mostly tradesmen and\nartisans, came with the civic instinct well developed, whereas the sons\nof Czech were, and still are, more of the fields and forests and the\nfree life without walls. The Germans, bringing with them the\nappreciation of walled security, were responsible in great measure for\nthe fortified cities of Bohemia and Moravia. It cannot be said of the\nlater P[vr]emysl rulers preceding the Kings of Bohemia that they were\ninspired by the founder's ardour. Then again the Bohemian nobility had\nrisen to a strong sense of its own importance encouraged by the\nlamentable dissensions in the reigning house, and not uninfluenced by an\ninfusion of German blood; they also had taken to walling themselves in\non convenient hill-tops. As these nobles were become increasingly\ntroublesome, it is not surprising that P[vr]emysl rulers induced more\nand more Germans to settle in the cities of Bohemia and Moravia, thus\nstarting a steady-going middle class which might be expected to pay for\npeace and protection and which when walled in was conveniently in hand\nfor the tax-collector's operations. That this scheme was beginning to\nsucceed even in the early days of the twelfth century is proved by the\nfact that Jews were flocking to Prague in ever increasing numbers, so\nthere must have been business doing in the capital and other cities of\nthe land, under conditions of reasonable security. It may be taken for\ngranted that improvements and additions to the defences of Prague, the\ndecoration of the town by stately churches and other monuments, however\nmuch directed by the sovereign, were paid for by the burghers.\n\nThe story of the Jews in Prague makes very interesting reading; it is,\nhowever, beyond the scope of this work to give more than an indication\nof the part that the Children of Israel took in the development of the\ncity. You will remember that a travelling commercial gentleman of\nSemitic origin, one Ibrahim Ibn Jacub, had visited Prague in the tenth\ncentury and had noted the place with approval. As far as I can make out\nhe makes no reference to a colony of his co-religionists already in\nexistence here, so the story that Jews settled here before the\ndestruction of Jerusalem seems little likely. It was, indeed, averred by\nthe Jews of Prague that they had their settlement here long before\nLibu[vs]a launched her prophecies, before the birth of Christ in fact,\nso that they at least might be considered guiltless of the Divine\nTragedy on Golgotha. Their legend calls the place Buiarnum, which\nsuggests some acquaintance with the Celtic tribe that rested for a while\nin Bohemia, gave its name to the country and then wandered to Bavaria,\nwhere it repeated the performance. I find this legend of the Jews\ndifficult to believe despite my earnest endeavour to find something of\ntruth in Saga's ebullitions. How, for instance, is it possible that the\ngifted lady Libu[vs]a did not discover the advantages of a Jewish colony\nand that she omitted to prophesy a contribution out of the sons of\nIsrael towards her new foundation? No, if there had been any Jews within\nsigning distance of this city when it arose, Praha would have started\nwith a mortgage on her, and the entertainment tax would probably be\ndouble what it is this day.\n\nYou may take it as a general principle that every country has the Jews\nit deserves. If you oppress them, trample them in the mud as was\ncustomary in pre-war Russia, they will turn and rend you when their turn\ncomes round; this is happening in Russia at present. If you despoil a\nJew by violence, he will do the same to you by guile, and you may or may\nnot be left with your full complement of cuticle. If you treat the Jew\nas one entitled to equal rights with equal responsibilities, you will\nfind him an excellent citizen.\n\nAs elsewhere in the Europe of the Middle Ages, the Children of Israel in\nPrague were confined to certain quarters of the town. We have heard how\na number of them were ordered to leave the Hrads[vs]any side of the\nriver and settle in the Old Town. The quarter allotted to the Jews was\nin that part of the Old Town known as Josefov, and the Old Ghetto stood\napproximately in that complex of narrow streets between the river at the\nRudolfinum Bridge and the broad thoroughfare Mikula[vs]ska T[vr]ida. I\ncould point out the place from my terrace if I were minded to give its\nlocality away and to depart from my principle of making every man choose\nhis own point of view.\n\nThe life of the Ghetto centred round the old Jewish Town Hall, with its\nquaint, indeed rather unsightly, tower on which is a clock that you are\nexpected to treat as one of the sights of the place. On the face of this\nclock the numbers are marked by Hebrew letters and the hands of this\nclock move from right to left. The fact that the Jews had a Town Hall to\nthemselves in ancient Prague is significant; it stood for the\nsemi-autonomous constitution of the Jewish community which was subject\nto the sovereign as a corporate body with its own municipal institutions\nand responsibilities. This peculiar segregation of the Jewish community\nas an _imperium in imperio_, apart in matters of local administration as\nin matters of religion, from their fellow-citizens, must have done a\ngreat deal towards forming the character of its members, and the result\nhas been of advantage to the city of Prague in times of stress.\n\nClose by the Jewish Town Hall stands another yet more ancient landmark\nof cultural history, the \"Staronova [vS]kola\", or Old New School. Close\nby the side of that broad thoroughfare the Mikulas[vs]ka T[vr]ida, with\nthe electric trams clanging along it, stands this strange temple. Dr.\nJe[vr]abek, in his excellent booklet on _Beautiful Old Prague_ likens\nthis ancient building to a gigantic hand of Aaron held up in blessing\nover the Ghetto; I think you will agree with me that this is a very\nhappy simile. Built in the severe style of transition from Romanesque to\nGothic, of massive stone walls heavily buttressed, with steep red-tiled\nsloping roof, blackened with age and the grime of the walled-in Ghetto,\nthis temple served not only as a place of worship for the sons of\nIsrael, but also as a casket for the remains of a yet older one said to\ndate back to the sixth century and probably the oldest temple on the\nContinent of Europe. The present fane itself is of venerable age and\naspect; its building fell into the reign of King Wenceslaus I and\nOttokar II, and took ten years, from 1250 to 1260. Men only are allowed\nto worship in the inner temple, dingy and dark; whatever light\npenetrates through the narrow windows calls forth reluctant glints from\nthe many brass candelabra, work of long centuries ago. Women may look on\nfrom an outer court through glazed openings that look like\ngun-embrasures.\n\nThe Jews required strong defences in the dark days of the Middle Ages;\ntheir Ghetto was shut off from the rest of the city by heavy iron gates,\nbut even these proved of no avail when once the mob got loose and\nundertook a raid. On several occasions organized massacres took toll of\nthe \"Children of the Ghetto,\" who on other occasions were banished, bag\nand baggage, from Prague and driven out into the country. Though now and\nagain they suffered intolerably, yet were they on the whole better\ntreated than in many other parts of Europe, were allowed to develop\nalong their own lines, and produced many men of mark and learning, and\nwomen of distinction, among the latter one who was raised to the\nnobility by a Habsburg Emperor and King of Bohemia, Bas-Schevi called\n\"of Treunberg.\" Among the prominent men whose light shone out beyond the\nGhetto of Prague, I may mention the poet-Rabbi Abigdor Caro, the\nbibliophile Rabbi Oppenheim whose library is now in Oxford, then the\nchronicler and mathematician David Gans, a friend of Keppler and Tycho\nde Brahe, and Solomon de Medigo de Candia the pupil of Galileo Galilei.\n\n[Illustration: \"A RELIC OF THE GHETTO.\"]\n\nTall modern houses look down upon the smoke-blackened temple; the Ghetto\ngates have fallen long ago, and nothing remains of its former crowded\ndwelling-places but a quaint ramshackle old house of Oriental aspect,\nand the old cemetery, Beth-Chaim, \"the House of Life,\" as the Jews call\nit. This is no doubt the oldest existing and still preserved Jewish\ncemetery in Europe. Here tombstones stand closely crowded together, or\nlean one against the other under the thickets of ancient elder-bushes;\nglints of sunlight flicker through the dense foliage over graven sign of\nstag, of vine or flower, or the hand upraised in benediction of some son\nof Aaron, light up Hebrew script in its severely decorative characters,\ninscriptions half effaced but not forgotten, for careful record has been\nkept. This old burial ground seems far removed from Central Europe, yet\nit is intimately connected with the story of Prague. Though old\nlandmarks are vanishing, yet a mist of legend hangs close over this\nstrange, alien part of the city, legends of cabalists, reputed sorcerers\nlike Aaron Spira or the more famous Rabbi Jehuda ben Bezalel Loew. The\nlatter is supposed to have been in league with the Powers of Darkness\nwhich bestowed on him superhuman gifts. This Rabbi is said to have\ncreated an Homunculus which became so troublesome that it had to be\nincarcerated. The spot chosen as prison for this evil being was high up\nin the wall of the temple. A row of iron clamps leads up to a small door\non the outside wall facing the Mikula[vs]ska T[vr]ida, leads up to where\nHomunculus is still believed to be in durance.\n\nPrague got better Jews than it deserved, for they showed great loyalty\nto the city of their adoption, and, despite persecution, even took an\nactive part in the defence of the town. This happened towards the end of\nthe Thirty Years' War, when the Swedes were making this part of Europe\nunsafe. The Swedes broke into Prague by the Strahov Gate and attempted\nto seize the Old Town. They had almost succeeded, for the usual\nprecautions against surprise had been neglected, but luckily the\nstudents, butchers and Jews of Prague managed to rally to the defence.\nAfter fierce fighting on the Charles Bridge, the Swedes had to abandon\ntheir attempt on the Old Town and retired altogether. On this occasion\nthe Jews showed not only public spirit but commendable bravery, and were\nrewarded by the Emperor with a banner, a mighty imposing affair with ten\npoles, as it takes ten men to carry it; you may see this interesting\ntrophy in the old temple still.\n\nThe Jews of Prague have continued to do good work not only for and in\nthe city of their adoption, but well beyond its confines, both in public\nutility work and in science. It is especially in the science of healing\nthat the Jews of Prague have risen to eminence, not only by reason of\ntheir depth of learning and their unremitting labour, but also by the\ngenerosity and impartiality which actuates them in their dealings with\nsufferers. I myself have personal knowledge of such instances, and I\nspeak of people as I find them.\n\nNo doubt some of the Jews joined in the picturesque cry which did so\nmuch to cheer up our Christian enemies of the Central Powers, \"Gott\nstrafe England!\" but I cannot quite imagine any responsible son of\nIsrael doing so with Christian fervour; the \"jealous God\" of the\nHebrews, having reserved to Himself the right of vengeance, would be\nsure to resent any instructions from \"the sheep of His pasture\" as to\nhow a case of the kind should be dealt with. Moreover, the punishment of\nEngland may safely be left in the hands of her politicians, who are also\nin one sense or another \"Chosen People.\"\n\nWhen rewarding those who distinguished themselves in the defence of\nPrague against the Swedes, the Emperor also remembered the butchers of\nthe town. These stout fellows brought to their guild, as tokens of\nimperial gratitude and goodwill, the permission to bear as cognizance\nthe White Lion of Bohemia clutching an axe; a very rampant lion\nreinforced by a double tail--in fact \"some lion,\" more power to him!\n\n * * * * *\n\nOf Wenceslaus II there is not much to relate in regard to lasting\nmonuments of his reign in the capital of his kingdom. He was kept\nthoroughly busy with the quarrels between Pope and Emperor, taking sides\nas best suited his country's interests, making for safety as a rule. He\nalso found time for a private quarrel with Leopold, Duke of Austria, but\nhe also took that ruler's part against the Emperor Frederick II as\noccasion served. While Central Europe and the Holy Roman Empire was thus\ndisporting itself, a diversion was caused by a particularly noxious\nswarm of Tartars which had broken loose from somewhere in Asia, probably\nfrom the region of Lake Baikal. They swept over Russia, swamping the\ndomains of the disunited princes of that country, defeated Poles and\nSilesians at Liegnitz, and generally set up a healthy scare in\ndisordered Europe. Wenceslaus rose to the occasion like a good stout\nP[vr]emysl. He fortified the passes leading into Bohemia from Silesia,\nand there his sturdy soldiery defeated the Tartars, who turned off\ntowards Moravia, Hungary and Austria, and vanished again from Europe as\nquickly as they had come. Thereupon Pope and Emperor, Bohemian King and\nAustrian Duke, and all the smaller fry, resumed their fighting of each\nother, launching bulls and banns and such-like amenities into space on\nthe chance of some one or other being affected thereby. The Bohemian\nnobility thought fit to add to the gaiety of nations by starting an\ninsurrection against Wenceslaus, a movement led, according to\ntime-honoured custom, by the King's son Ottokar, who had been entrusted\nwith the government of Moravia. This Ottokar eventually ascended the\nthrone of Bohemia as second King of that name, and became one of the\nmost notable rulers of his time and race.\n\nThe early days of Ottokar II are noteworthy on account of the close\nconnection established between Bohemia and Austria which led to endless\ncomplications and eventual disaster for the former country. Ottokar\nthought fit to marry Adela, sister of Duke Frederick of Austria,\nFrederick the Warlike, the last of the long line of Babenberg. The lady\nwas forty-six, Ottokar twenty-five, but that does not matter when there\nis a chance of inheriting something. Ottokar was elected Duke by the\nEstates of Austria, and endeavoured to incorporate Styria into his\ndominions. In this he met with opposition from Bela, King of Hungary,\nwith whom he came to an agreement after the usual fighting. Thereupon\nOttokar turned his attention to the heathen Prussians, who were supposed\nto be getting ripe for conversion to Christianity. He defeated them in\nseveral battles, which made his task much easier, and founded a strong\ncity, named Koenigsberg after him, to keep the Prussians from\nback-sliding.\n\nIt is interesting to note that Ottokar's policy brought him into a\ncertain degree of contact with England. The Holy Roman Empire was making\nvery heavy weather at the time, the German Electors being thoroughly at\nvariance amongst themselves, and so it came about that after a period of\nintense anarchy euphemistically called the \"Interregnum,\" two rivals\nwere put up of whom neither could be said to have occupied the throne.\nThese rivals were both foreigners to Germany, one being a Spaniard, the\nother Richard of Cornwall, second son of King John of England. Ottokar\nthought fit to support Richard, who in return did little things to\noblige Ottokar, such as investing him with other people's lands and\nfiefs, and all went well for a while. Ottokar had extended his dominions\nconsiderably, had brought a number of smaller States, some of them\nGerman, under his sway and virtually controlled all Central Europe from\nthe Baltic to the Adriatic Seas. He had beaten the Hungarian King Bela\nand his friends, Daniel Romanovic the King of Russia and Prince of Kiev,\na Prince of Cracow and odd assortments of Serbs, Bulgars, and\nWallachians, most handsomely at Kressenbrunn on the plains of the River\nMarch.\n\nOttokar's political conception of the part which Bohemia should play in\nCentral Europe is particularly interesting. By conquest, alliances and\nunderstandings with his neighbours he had acquired a preponderating\ninfluence in the councils of Europe. The power he had concentrated round\nthe Slavonic nucleus of his native country lay almost entirely in\nGerman-speaking districts, so that a situation arose in which Count\nLuetzov finds some analogy between the policy of this P[vr]emysl Ottokar\nand that pursued by the Austrian Government from 1815, when the\nHabsburgs finally abandoned the notion of a Holy Roman Empire, to 1864\nand 1866, when Prussia took the first decisive step towards reviving the\nsame idea under the title _Deutsches Reich_. There is a good deal in\nCount Luetzov's contention, and this subject might well be taken up by\nsome leisured student of history. It seems to me that the history of\nCentral Europe shows several instances of attempted breaks from\ntradition and striving after a more lasting political re-grouping such\nas Ottokar seemed to have aimed at; I hope to return to this subject\nlater, though I may only touch the fringe of it.\n\nOttokar's plans were completely upset, first by the death of his\nobliging friend Richard of Cornwall, next by events attending and\narising out of the choice of a new Emperor by the German Electors.\nOttokar being a Slav, and a very powerful one at that, was heartily\nhated by all German Princes, so they, being in a majority, disallowed\nOttokar's right to vote at all, and elected as Emperor one Rudolph\nCount of Habsburg. History of this time was recorded by Germans chiefly,\nand they have spared no trouble to blacken Ottokar's character, by which\nprocess Rudolph of Habsburg is made to stand out as a light shining in\nthe darkness. In Germanic eyes Ottokar's fault was that of being a Slav,\nsuccessful and of great ability. I cannot agree with the German\nchronicler's estimate of Rudolph. We are expected to accept him as a\nmodest sort of backwoods peer, the kind that wears flannel next its skin\nand keeps its small estates unencumbered. We have also a pretty picture\nin verse of this Rudolph. He is described as meeting a priest carrying\nthe Host, on the bank of a foaming mountain torrent somewhere among the\nAlps where the ruins of the Habsburg still show against the sky like an\nabandoned hawk's nest; the name probably derives from Habichts Burg,\nHawk's Castle. Rudolph dismounted, placed the priest on his horse and\nhumbly, cap in hand, led it across the stream. Years after this\npicturesque event the priest, carefully disguised, attended the Council\nof Electors and at the psychological moment, produced his harp, burst\ninto song on the subject of Rudolph, and so swayed the Electors that\nthey offered the German crown to that modest and retiring Habsburg. I\ncannot believe this story of the priest among the Electors, and my\ndisbelief is based on experience of elective bodies. Can you imagine the\nParish Council, in the throes of electing a suitable person to keep the\nvillage pump in order, being confronted by a mysterious stranger who\nsuddenly interrupts the proceedings by singing the praises of \"good old\nJarge\" to the accompaniment of an accordion? No, there is something\nwrong about that election story; I believe Rudolph was a schemer, and\nthe whole affair cut and dried before he stood for election at all.\nCertain it is that Rudolph, supported by all Germany, attacked Ottokar;\nthis was the first rencontre between Bohemia and the House of Habsburg,\nand it ended in disaster for the former. Ottokar was deprived of all the\nlands he had acquired, betrayed by his own nobles, and finally killed\nin battle near the scene of his victory over the Hungarians.\n\nDespite the troublous times of the two Ottokars and of Wenceslaus I, the\ncity of Prague, or rather the communities composing it, had expanded\ninto a place of considerable extent and importance, and was already\nspoken of as the City of many Towers. The three above-mentioned\nsovereigns, as also Wenceslaus II, son and successor of Ottokar II, had\nfound time and means to do a considerable amount of building of which\nsome traces are still evident. We have already noted that Wenceslaus I\ngirt the Old Town around with walls, likewise the hill of Vy[vs]ehrad,\nand he took the strengthening of the Hrad[vs]any in hand. This latter\njob was completed for the time being by Ottokar II, who caused those\nimposing-looking towers on the north front of the castle to be built.\nThese towers are named respectively Black Tower, White Tower, and\nDaliborka, by which latter hangs a tale which I will relate to you by\nand by. Some of the authorities I have consulted differ as to the actual\ndate of these towers, and are inclined to place the building of\nDaliborka in the fourteenth century, probably into the period when\nCharles IV found the royal castle to be badly in need of repair and set\nabout the work forthwith. It is certain, however, that both the\nWenceslaus and Ottokars interested themselves in strengthening the\nfortifications of Prague, and are not likely to have neglected the\nHrad[vs]any, which stronghold was furnished with a permanent garrison of\nten knights and three hundred men-at-arms. The north side of the castle\nhas preserved the mediaeval appearance which has been improved away on\nthe other sides, chiefly by fatuous Habsburger in the seventeenth and\neighteenth centuries; the north side overhanging the deep-cut Stags'\nMoat shows you the formidable nature of this fortress with its stout\ntowers rising up over the tops of tall trees that struggle up out of the\nvalley mentioned by Libu[vs]a, for a glimpse of the sun.\n\nThe towers of the Hrad[vs]any were suitably fitted out as dungeons, with\nthe latest thing in trap-doors warranted to give the visitor a sudden\nand complete change of air. One of these towers soon found a lodger, one\nDalibor after whom the tower was named for ever after. There is an opera\nall about Dalibor composed by Smetana; the music is very beautiful, but\nas the singing is all in Czech, I have not quite got the hang of the\nstory, so will give as nearly as I can and by the aid of my own\nimagination, what happened to Dalibor.\n\nDalibor, it appears, was a Bohemian knight with views in advance of his\ntime: he was a socialist. One day he assembled his friends, relatives\nand retainers in the castle yard and appeared among them armed and on\nhorseback. He dismounted and commenced proceedings by scraping off his\nshield the heraldic emblems with which it was charged. Lions and bears,\nrampant, couchant, gardant, and other fauna in becoming attitudes,\nbends, bars, engrailed, dancetty, raguly, gules, azure, argent or\notherwise--all these things of beauty vanished from Dalibor's scutcheon\nwhile the assembled multitude wondered \"What next?\" Thereupon Dalibor\nheld forth, in impressive manner and impassioned tones, on the iniquity\nof the system, the inequality of condition, under which they were all\nforced to exist. Having made his assembled fellow-men his equals by\nremoving the aforesaid heraldic devices, he would further show his sense\nof equality by leading them in person and on foot to real freedom; so\nsaid Dalibor. Thereupon the multitude, at Dalibor's heels, set off down\nthe hill and started spreading equality all around them. Their method\nwas quite simple, indeed it lacked originality: they just helped\nthemselves to the goods of those who happened to live by the way. Those\nwho failed to rise to this lofty conception of Dalibor and his comrades\nwere knocked on the head--also quite a simple and homely method of\nappeal; and so this happy band of pilgrims left behind them a dead-level\nof equality. These their efforts at social regeneration, their\nillustration of economic principles, were not appreciated. Dalibor was\ncaptured and invited to take up his residence beneath the trap-door of\nthe tower that was henceforth to be known by his name.\n\nAs soon as he was safely housed, Rumour, the mother of Legend, got busy\nabout him. Folk began to whisper to each other the news that wonderful\nmusic was heard proceeding from out of the stern walls of Dalibor's\nprison; the sound of a violin was heard by the many who were attracted\nto the spot by Rumour. No doubt Dalibor learnt to play the violin: the\nCzech is so intensely musical that he will master any instrument before\nhe has got the hang of the grammar of his own language, the fiddle is so\nmuch easier. The strange thing is that the musical performance continued\nlong after Dalibor's death--here Legend steps in with the assertion that\nan angel, a fairy, or at least some sort of supernatural being, is\ncontinuing Dalibor's programme.\n\n[Illustration: A TOWER OF THE HRAD[vC]ANY.]\n\nThere were many other visitors to Daliborka, and in course of time the\nlower stratum of the tower filled up with human relics. As the defunct\nvisitors were mostly Czechs, and therefore full of music, I should think\nthat they could form at least a string quartette--it only requires a\nlittle enterprise and a good strong medium. I make a present of this\nsuggestion to the Prague Society for Psychical Research, if there be\none.\n\nPrague must have been a fair city in those days when Ottokar II rode out\nof the gate to meet Rudolph of Habsburg. Although the ban of the Empire\nand the interdict of the Church were upon their King, the people of\nPrague, clergy and laymen, accompanied him to the city gate with prayers\nand tears. When news of his death came to Prague the bells of one\nhundred churches tolled out on that 26th of August, the Feast of St.\nRufus, a day destined to be of ill-omen to Bohemia's Kings.\n\n * * * * *\n\nThe shadow of the hand of Habsburg hung darkly over the southern\nfrontiers of Bohemia. Rudolph, the first Habsburg Emperor, began the\nfamous tactics of his house, gaining power by matrimonial alliances. His\nson Rudolph was to marry Agnes, daughter of Ottokar II, whose son\nWenceslaus II was to marry Gutta, the Emperor's daughter.\n\nWenceslaus II was a minor when he succeeded his father, and suffered\nconsiderably under his guardian and cousin Otto of Brandenburg, who, in\npursuit of an all-German policy, even imprisoned the young King. Anarchy\nreigned in Bohemia when young Wenceslaus, at the age of twelve,\nnominally assumed the reins of government. The actual ruler of the\ncountry, however, was Zavis of Falckenstein, an able man but of doubtful\nmorality; there was some unsavoury story concerning him and Ottokar's\nwidow Kunhuta, whom Zavis eventually married. Then again the young King\nhad Zavis done to death in treacherous manner, while the condition of\nBohemia as an ordered State went from bad to worse. Strange to relate,\nthe country flourished economically--became, indeed, very\nprosperous--the increase of wealth being largely due to the fact that\nworkings on the silver mines at Kutna Hora had been resumed. Towards the\nend of the reign of this Wenceslaus, whose rule was mild, matters\nimproved somewhat. Bohemia became a sort of city of refuge, and\nneighbouring States, Hungary and Poland, being in a worse state of\nanarchy than any others, invited King Wenceslaus to reign over them.\nBohemia and Poland thus became united for a while under one ruler,\nWenceslaus, who had himself crowned King of the latter country at\nGnesen. Hungary was given in charge of the King's son Wenceslaus, who\nwas crowned as King of that country and resided some time at Ofen.\nWenceslaus had taken a Polish Princess to wife after the death of Gutta,\nand had thus reinforced his connection with a Slavonic neighbour, but\nGermanism was in the ascendant in Bohemia and the hand of Habsburg was\nstretched out over it. It was yet some centuries before the power of the\nHabsburg should become absolute in the lands of the P[vr]emysl dynasty,\nbut that family's light was nearing extinction. Whether good or bad, the\nrulers who sprang from the soil, from the peasant stock of Libu[vs]a's\nchoosing, had been of the people and had on the whole served their\npeople's interests. With Wenceslaus III murdered by an unknown assassin\nwhile on his way to Poland, the male line of the P[vr]emysl dynasty died\nout. It continued in the indirect line by the marriage of Elizabeth,\ndaughter of Wenceslaus II, with Rudolph, a grandson of the Habsburg who\ndealt the death-blow to Bohemia's native rulers.\n\nWhether for good or evil, alien influence was working strongly in\nBohemia, and notably in Prague. Ottokar II had encouraged it as part of\nhis policy towards keeping in check his turbulent nobles and towards\nraising up a reliable middle class. His nobles aided towards his\ndownfall by their treachery, and the middle class of Prague, though\nloyal to the Crown, was alive chiefly to its own interests. Perhaps that\nforeign influence was weaving its spell over the burghers of Prague, a\nspell to which the Slav is somewhat susceptible.\n\nDuring the reign of the last P[vr]emysl sovereigns Prague offered the\nspectacle of a rich and prosperous city, but its brightness was rather\nthat of lights round the bier of some illustrious dead. Many foreigners\nfound themselves attracted to the capital of Bohemia during this\nperiod, among them some ardent souls who were to be found doing good,\naccording to their lights, in other cities of Europe, namely, Irish\nmonks. It is of interest to us to note that these monks were frequently\ncalled Scots: you will find traces of them under that designation in the\nSchotten Kirche at Ratisbon and the Schotten Ring in Vienna. In Prague\nthey were recognized as Irish, and their name lives on in the Hybernska\nUlice in the Old Town. A church, with an altar dedicated to St. Patrick,\narose at the corner of that street by the cross-roads, under the hands\nof Irish monks; a church now used for secular purposes, and built over\nthe original edifice, stands there still. Amidst all the turmoil of this\nbusy centre of the city you may still in those small hours of the\nmorning when the traffic dies down for a while pick up an echo or two of\nthe voices of those zealous Irishmen, but you must listen with all your\nsoul, for those sounds are very elusive. Again, looking out over the\ncity from my terrace I notice a copper dome just across the Charles\nBridge, a dome flanked by high towers, and all bearing the unmistakable\nmark of Jesuit architecture. Yet that building, now used as part of the\nUniversity, recalls memories of pious souls who came to Prague at the\ninvitation of P[vr]emysl Ottokar II. These were the Knights Crucifer, or\nthe Cruciferous Knights as the guide-book prefers to call them. Their\nOrder, the members of which always carried a cross in the left hand, was\nfounded by St. Cletus; their work was to tend the sick and offer\nhospitality to pilgrims. The Order went down on the death of the founder\nand sought refuge in Palestine, where St. Cyriak discovered it, reformed\nit, and eventually brought it to Rome. This is said to have happened in\nthe latter half of the fourth century, but I should think the date\nextremely uncertain; nor does it matter much. The Order received new\nrules in the twelfth century from Pope Alexander III, who, being on good\nterms with Ottakar II at the time, allowed the Order to be transplanted\nto Prague. I do not in the least know what the good knights did all\nthose years between their installation at Prague in 1256 and the\ndissolution of their Order in 1783. Anyone who wants to know may no\ndoubt find records of their doings, which were probably concerned with\nadding up quarterings and deciding questions of etiquette. Still their\nname, Knights Crucifex, lingers round one of the most picturesque\ncorners of Prague, under the shadow of a stately Gothic tower which\nsilently but insistently claims reverence above the _baroque_ structures\nof a later non-Bohemian age. It is just at this spot, with its lingering\nmemories of Queen Judith, of P[vr]emysl Ottokar and a yet greater King\nof Bohemia of whom I shall tell you shortly, that you realize how Prague\nis that Golden City of the days of glorious Gothic and the Renaissance,\nand not of the _baroque_ superimposed by the Jesuits after Bohemia's\nglory had departed on the gentle slopes of the White Mountain.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER VII\n\nIntroduces a picturesque character, King John of Bohemia, Count of\nLuxemburg, whose final exploit and end should be familiarly known by\nevery Englishman. This chapter tells of the many chivalrous adventures\nundertaken by this monarch, of how little good and how much harm he did\nto his country. There is also mention of an English King, of the Black\nPrince, and of many other more or less famous persons, who have gone to\nswell the gorgeous pageant of those who all down the ages have worked\nweal or woe to Bohemia and its capital, Prague. Of John Henry of\nCarinthia and his interesting spouse, Margaret Maultasche, of the usual\nGerman machinations against any peace or contentment in Bohemia, of\nPopes and anti-Popes, you will hear in this chapter; and finally you\nwill make the acquaintance of one of Bohemia's greatest rulers, Charles,\nfirst Bohemian King and fourth Roman Emperor of that name. You may gain\nsome idea of the difficulties Charles had to overcome, and will begin to\nrealize what he, the great founder, did for his country and its\ncapital.\n\n\nPrague was in holiday vein, happy and optimistic, its prevailing mood,\non that day in 1311 when John, Count of Luxemburg, and Elizabeth,\ndaughter of Wenceslaus II, were crowned. No doubt the ceremony took\nplace on the Hrad[vs]any, and the steep approaches to the Castle Hill\nwould be thronged with cheerful merrymakers; I wonder whether the\nBohemians of those days said \"_Na zdar_!\" as frequently as they do\nto-day!\n\nThe Pragers had every reason to be happy and hopeful, for no change\ncould bring about a worse state of affairs than that which had\ncharacterized the five years between the death of the last male\nP[vr]emysl and the elevation of the first Luxemburg to the throne of\nBohemia. That period was a sort of interregnum which was filled up with\ncivil war, with murders among relatives, and was bringing Bohemia to the\nverge of anarchy.\n\nThe troubles of the time were largely caused by the newly arrived House\nof Habsburg, and the state of the Empire at that period reflects German\nmentality. The seven German Electors had been careful to go outside\ntheir own charmed circle for a King, and one who would carry out their\nwishes. They therefore picked out what we may call a second-class\nmagnate as likely to be amenable. They met with disappointment. Rudolph\nwas out for himself. His victory over P[vr]emysl Ottokar II was welcomed\nby the Germans, who could never see a neighbour, especially a Slav,\ngrowing in importance, without showing signs of consuming jealousy. To\nbreak down the power of Ottokar the Bohemian was a meritorious act. To\nacquire for private and family use some of that King's finest\npossessions, Upper and Lower Austria, was not appreciated by the\nElectors. Therefore when Rudolph died the Electors turned down his son\nAlbrecht, who put up for the imperial crown, and elected Adolph of\nNassau instead. Adolph also tried to make something out of the post of\nEmperor, so the Electors threw him over, and he was shortly afterwards\nkilled in battle. Albrecht of Habsburg then came to the throne, and\ntaking up the family policy of profitable matrimonial alliances, married\nhis son Rudolph to the widow of the P[vr]emysl Wenceslaus II, Elizabeth,\nwhom we have already met. I am rather sorry for this Elizabeth. Whether\nshe liked her second husband or not, it must have been uncomfortable to\nfind him becoming more and more unpopular among the people, who in any\ncase had not expressed undue enthusiasm over his accession to their\nthrone. He was chiefly unpopular on account of his meanness; the\nBohemians, though thrifty almost to the verge of parsimony among\nthemselves, do not like that trait in a foreigner, especially one who\ncomes to cut some sort of figure as King or what-not amongst them.\nHowever, Rudolph died before a year of sovereignty was out, leaving that\npoor lady Elizabeth a widow for the second time, and under even more\ntrying conditions. Despite all Habsburg precautions towards settling the\ncrown of Bohemia on their own house, the nobles of the country proceeded\nto assemble a Diet at Prague in order to elect a new King. Elizabeth had\nto attend that function, and must have had a lurid time of it; the\nnobles raised no end of a storm, according to the Bohemian historian\nPalacky. There was one Tobias of Bechyn leading the case for the\nintroduction of another foreigner as ruler, the opposition calling on\nhim not to favour the claims of foreigners, possibly enemies, to rule\nover Bohemia, whereupon Tobias shouted: \"If you wish at any price to\nobtain a native Prince, go to Stadic, among the peasants; there you will\nperhaps find a relation of the extinct royal family; bring him here and\nseat him on the throne of your country.\" Thereupon ensued pandemonium.\nOne Ulrich of Lichtenburg slew Tobias forthwith, and several other\nnobles were killed in the fray before the Diet settled down to the\nconclusion that Henry, Duke of Carinthia, should be called in to rule\nover Bohemia. Henry was supposed to be popular chiefly because he had\nmarried a P[vr]emysl, as we have already reported--Ann, daughter of\nWenceslaus II; anyway, Prague received the couple with acclamations.\nAlbrecht of Habsburg objected, as he had fixed on his son Frederick as\nheir to the Bohemian lands. There were the usual troubles: Albrecht's\ntroops invaded Bohemia and Moravia, and some of them continued to hold a\nfew frontier towns even after Albrecht had been killed by his nephew\nJohn and the Electors had gone elsewhere in search of an Emperor.\n\nWith characteristic distrust of each other or of any German of\nfirst-rate importance, the Electors went to the second-class magnates\nagain, and this time their choice fell on Henry, Count of Luxemburg.\nCarlyle derives this name of Luxemburg via Luzzenburg from Luetzelburg,\nwhich he translates into Littleborough. Carlyle is very pleased with\nthis derivation, and uses it to \"point a moral and adorn a tale.\" In all\nhumility I differ from Carlyle in this derivation, my only excuse being\nthat I happen to know the dialect as spoken round about Luxemburg and\namong the Eiffel people, sufficiently well, and that in their vernacular\nthere is no such word as could be distorted from Luetzel-via Luzzen-into\nLuxem-and then mean \"little.\" It is really refreshing to be able to\ndiffer thoroughly, heartily, unreservedly, with a philosopher of\nold-established authority.\n\nCarlyle likes to point out that this insignificant little dynasty of\nLuxemburg produced some great men as Emperors. He is quite right there\ntoo; but so also did Habsburg. As to the Luxemburgers, it must be borne\nin mind that though of German origin they were French by sentiment and\nupbringing--I quote Dr. Seton Watson from memory.\n\nGerman origin, a phrase that has been very freely used of late years, is\na somewhat elastic term, and frequently implies a mental rather than a\nracial qualification. Of the old original Teutons, the Germans of yore,\nthere are few representatives left over--you may find some in Frisia and\nabout the Porta Westphalica, on the east coast of Yorkshire, too,\nperhaps; the all-Germans, the _Allemanni_, as I believe they called\nthemselves at one time, have seldom, if ever, formed a clearly defined\npolitical entity. The Franks in the early days of the Merovingians, by\nno means an estimable people, were probably purely Teuton; they\nseparated more and more from their less civilized race-kindred, and by\nthe time the Frankish Empire had reached its zenith its people had\nabsorbed a good deal of other blood, which mixture crystallized into the\nFrench nation and soon broke away from any racial relations with the\nTeutons. Then the arch-enemies of the Franks, the Saxons, mixed freely\nwith Slavonic races which extended well into the Hanover country and all\nover Mecklenburg at one time, so that those who are now called Saxons\nare, next to the Prussians, more thoroughly mixed with Slavs than any\nother Germans. The Bavarians, again, must have in them a good deal of\nthe persistent Celtic element which they inherited from the Boievari who\nat one time left Bohemia for Bavaria. The amusing thing is that those\nwho most loudly declaim on the subject of _Deutschland ueber Alles_ are\nthe most thoroughly mixed of the lot. It is idle to speculate on what\nwould have become of German imperial conceits if the German race and its\nadmixtures, like that of our islands, had been isolated from its\nneighbours by water instead of being constantly exposed to inroads from\nall sides, and consequently moved to follow up any success at arms into\na neighbour's country. It seems as if a permanent Germanic\nEmpire--material, not only sentimental--were never destined to a long\nand prosperous existence. These speculations, however, are best left to\nthe historian, and we will return to the city of Prague.\n\nWe have seen John of Luxemburg and his wife Elizabeth happily crowned on\nthe Hrad[vs]any at Prague and the city relieved by this event from the\nprospect of prolonged internal disorder. Henry of Carinthia, who\nsucceeded Rudolph, had not proved satisfactory. He also had taken the\nprecaution of marrying a P[vr]emysl, was in fact John's brother-in-law,\nbut he failed to maintain the popularity which he enjoyed when called to\nthe throne, and was eventually chased out of Bohemia to make room for\nJohn. Now John was heavily handicapped and did little to remove his\ndisabilities, in fact he rather aggravated them. He was only fourteen\nwhen he found himself a King and a married man. His father, a shrewd and\nenterprising monarch, died before John had really become acquainted with\nhis capital, and so there was no unbiassed adviser to whom the young\nruler could turn. John did not live on the best of terms with his\nmother-in-law, who from the dower-house at Kralove Hradec, called by the\nGermans Koeniggratz, interfered a good deal in the affairs of state; the\ntrouble is said to have arisen originally between the two Elizabeths,\nmother and daughter, and even led to some fighting in which the city of\nPrague took an active part. By temperament John was not equal to his\ntask; he was, it appears, thoroughly unpractical and entirely embued\nwith all sorts of romantic notions. Those who watched John's doings from\nafar, and were not immediately affected by their results, could afford\nto approve of him and call him _corona militiae_ as did King Edward III\nof England. John was what may be called the \"soul of chivalry,\" in his\nopinion Paris was the most chivalrous city in the world, and that is\nprobably why he felt called upon to roam Europe as a knight-errant\ninstead of looking after his wife and her relatives, and incidentally\nhis Kingdom of Bohemia. According to Count Luetzow, John intended to\nre-establish the Round Table of King Arthur, and to this end he invited\nall the most celebrated knights of Europe to a tournament at Prague;\n\"nobody responded to the call.\" So John went abroad for his amusement\nand found it in plenty. To begin with, there was always something doing\nin his line between rival German Kings and Emperors, so we find him\nhelping Louis, Duke of Bavaria, at Wittelsbach, to victory over the\nHabsburger Frederick at Muehldorf. Expeditions to Hungary, Italy, France\nand against the heathen Lithuanians all helped to pass away John's time\npleasurably and unprofitably; as Palacky says: \"It would be necessary to\nwrite the history of all Europe if we attempted to describe all the\nfeuds into which King John entered with chivalrous bravery, but also\nwith frivolity. It then became a proverb, that 'nothing can be done\nwithout the help of God and of the King of Bohemia.'\"\n\nJohn proved an expensive luxury to Bohemia, and he reigned for\nthirty-six years, so his country, although rich, yet peopled by a canny\nand thrifty population, must have been thankful when at last he was\nknocked on the head at Crecy. The story is well known to us all, so we\nneed not linger on it. John bequeathed his motto to the Black Prince,\nwho could well afford to pay a graceful compliment by accepting it;\nafter all, not he, but Bohemia, had to pay for John's fun. John kept the\nmint of his country busy striking ducats, a coin of his own conception,\na very good and full-weight coin too, but he probably took most of the\nducats abroad for his various diversions; there are, however, a few left\nin the museum of Prague, I believe. John had quaint ways of raising\nmoney; one of them must have led to a great deal of inconvenience to the\ncitizens of Prague, who on Sundays and holidays were wont to make\nexcursions into the country. No one was allowed a drink within a certain\nradius of the capital; this was all very fine for the publicans of\nPrague, who no doubt had come to a suitable arrangement with the King,\nbut it fills me with sorrow to reflect on the streams of excursionists\nand travellers doing the last lap home on a hot summer's day.\n\nThere is nothing of beauty in the panorama of Prague as seen from my\nterrace, which I can ascribe to Bohemia's chivalrous and eccentric King.\nHe was too busy spending his country's wealth in trying to settle other\npeople's quarrels, and raising others of his own, to think of\nbeautifying his capital. Nevertheless I could point out to you traces of\nbeautiful work for which John may indirectly derive some credit. This\nenterprising monarch had, as I have already mentioned, found occasion to\ngo fighting about in Italy. He was induced thereto by the usual\npicturesque lack of sufficient reason just at the moment when he was\nattempting something useful. John's predecessor on the throne, Henry of\nCarinthia, with whom he had become reconciled, had no male heirs, so\nBohemia's King called on Henry at Innsbruck in order to arrange a\nmarriage between the former's second son John Henry and the latter's\ndaughter Margaret, known in German history as Maultasche, of whom\nCarlyle speaks so unkindly. While at Innsbruck, John was invited by the\nLombard town of Brescia to assist it against the Lord of Verona, Mastino\ndella Scala. King John at once dropped the useful business, dashed in\namongst the squabbling Italians and won a number of victories which gave\nhim possession of a fair slice of Italy. He proved quite incapable of\nholding it, and his gains rapidly melted away like snow on the sunny\nsouthern slopes of those mountains that shut off the smiling plains of\nVenetia against the barbarous north. Here John's eldest son Charles\ncomes upon the scene, and this is perhaps the only real good that ever\ncame out of the first Luxemburg ruler of Bohemia, namely, an heir who\nshould live to set up a Golden Prague as fitting capital to a happy and\nprosperous country.\n\nCharles had had an unhappy childhood between his grandmother, the\nunfortunate widow Elizabeth, a somewhat uneven-tempered mother, and an\nerratic and unreasonable father. The unhappy lad had even been\nimprisoned by his father on suspicion of being concerned in a conspiracy\nwith his mother to dethrone John. Charles must have been about five\nyears at the time, for he was only seven when, a few years after his\nrelease, King John took him to the French Court for his education. Here\nCharles acquired his love of learning, his refined sense of beauty and\nsteadfastness of purpose, all of which he devoted without stint to his\ncountry, and to him is chiefly due the glorious composition of the\ntowers and steeples which rise up out of mysterious old Prague. Charles,\nand through him Prague, benefited by John's Italian venture, in that the\ngracious spirit of the Renaissance came to Bohemia out of his father's\nchivalrous exploits. Moreover, Charles, though only seventeen years of\nage, was thus given an opportunity of proving his metal in the field; he\nwon several victories which, however, were fruitless, and above all\nlearnt the art of governing. So when John and he left Italy, under\npressure from the natives, Charles was competent to represent his father\nat home, while the latter went off on his knight-errantry.\n\nAs may be easily imagined, the people of Bohemia, and notably the\nburghers of Prague, had become discontented under the exactions imposed\nupon them by their extravagant King and were not inclined to look kindly\nupon a Luxemburg successor. Prague, like other continental cities, had\nbecome aware of its importance, and was quite prepared to resort to arms\nin order to emphasize its opinion. The city had already taken to arms in\nsupport of their native Queen Elizabeth against her stranger husband\nJohn, so Charles had no easy time at first. However, he had the\nqualities his father lacked, complete self-possession and steadfastness\nof purpose; moreover, unlike his father, he was in thorough sympathy\nwith his people, which John never was, and spoke their language well,\nwhich feat, it appears, John never attempted. Father and son seldom\nagreed on any subject; probably John considered Charles no sportsman,\nand told him so frequently. I cannot imagine John's conversation as\nanything but _ad hominem_, and his jokes as weighty as a kick from a\ntroop-horse, and as pleasant. With a little thinking you can find\nanother, quite recent monarch, who takes after John of Luxemburg in some\nrespects, though he failed to achieve such a picturesque ending. And the\noccasion of John's chivalrous exit arose out of his second marriage. It\nreally makes a pretty picture if you try to figure to yourself John and\nhis son Charles setting out together for Paris both with the intention\nof marrying a French Princess, for John, undeniably brave, was braced up\nfor this second venture. John married Beatrice of Bourbon, Charles\nBlanche of Valois; if I know anything of John, he probably stayed in\nParis, whereas Charles would hurry back to Prague to continue his\nprogramme of improvements. Amongst these improvements is one directly\ninspired by Blanche, his \"snow-white\" bride, which you may see to this\nday. I could just point it out to you, the Church of \"St. Mary of the\nSnow,\" but it is difficult to pick out among the sea of roofs. Although\nit is the tallest church in Prague, it no longer has steeple or spire\npointing to the sky; whatever of the kind there was disappeared during\nsome street-fighting or other which frequently took place around this\nchurch. If you follow the Narodni T[vr]ida straight along from the river\ntowards the Vaclavske Nam[ve]sti you will see \"St. Mary's of the Snow\"\non the right, tucked away behind some quaint old buildings formerly the\nCarmelite Monastery founded by Charles.\n\nIt would seem that Charles, when in doubt, either built a new church or\nrestored an old one. There was a good deal to do in Prague in the latter\nline of business especially, and Charles, with the real founder's zeal,\nset about putting his capital in order. He was rather handicapped by an\nexpensive father, who, however, had no particular objection to repairing\nreligious institutions, his trouble being that he generally had no money\nleft for constructive work after he had been round dealing out\ndestruction, impelled thereto by his chivalrous conceit. I can quite\nimagine John as a man subconsciously religious and intermittently\npious, so, for instance, he would probably invoke all the saints he\ncould think of, to aid him in some warlike enterprise, then dash into\nthe fray forgetting all about the saints; one does. He might perchance\nremember one or other of those he had invoked, after the fun was over,\nand stand them a candle or so, if he could borrow the money for this\ngift from his loyal subjects. I know of one case at least where John\nbestowed largess upon a deserving institution. This happened in 1342,\nsix years before Bohemia's adventurous King had died in the King of\nEngland's tent on the battlefield of Crecy. The object of the monarch's\ngenerosity was the monastery of Emaus. John, though always jealous of\nhis son's popularity, had handed a considerable share of the government\nof Bohemia and Moravia to the latter and probably let Charles carry on\nas long as he, John, was not bothered with domestic details, and always\ncould touch a bit for any tempting military expedition that offered.\nEmaus seems to have been a favourite enterprise of Charles. You remember\nthat I have pointed out the place to you; I can just see it from the\nterrace with its twin towers of raw sienna tone. I also told you about\nthe heathen burial ground, Na Morani, about the Church of St. Cosmas and\nDamian, and how St. Wenceslaus worshipped at their shrine. King Charles\nseems to have acquired the same general regard for those two saints, and\nthis may have decided him to found a monastery on the rocky eminence\nwhereon Emaus has withstood many vicissitudes during the stormy course\nof several centuries of Bohemia's history. Charles must have conceived\nthe plan of founding this monastery some time before the middle of the\nfourteenth century, for we find the following entry in its chronicles\nwhich speaks of John and Charles, and in a Latin quaintly picturesque\nand careless: \"Nos Johannes dei gracia Boemie rex ac Lucemburgensis\ncomes et Karolus eius primogenitus marchio Morawie.\" It would not be\neasy to get any more mistakes of grammar and spelling into this\nsentence. So John had made a donation to the new foundation--out of\nsome one else's pocket; the butchers of Prague were privileged to pay\nfor the King's generosity.\n\nCharles was of a careful, saving disposition; he also raised funds out\nof other people's purses for his good works. So we find again among the\nrecords of Emaus that he called upon the butchers to find the necessary\nmoney; the meatstalls of the Mala Strana were privileged to find a\nrevenue of sixteen Bohemian silver groschen, a coin dating from the days\nof Wenceslaus II, towards the new foundation. The different taxes and\nexcise duties were also made to contribute, a tithe of the wine tax,\nsome appropriate sums from bridge and water tolls; besides these sources\nof revenue Charles endowed Emaus with landed property, farms and fields\nand vineyards. Begun in the reign of John, the building and institution\nof this new monastery was not completed until 1372, when Charles had for\nmany years been in a position to describe himself as \"Carolus Dei\ngratiae Rom. rex, semper augustus et Boemiae rex.\" Monday after Easter\n1372 was the great day on which the Church and monastery were solemnly\nconsecrated and dedicated to Saints Hieronymus, Adalbert, Procop, Cyril\nand Methodius, but as the consecration gospel told the moving story of\nthe Risen Saviour walking with two disciples, who knew Him not, towards\nEmaus, the name of that place clung to church and monastery ever after.\nThough Emaus started out under such very august patronage, it had to put\nup with many vicissitudes, among the minor ones being acts of\ntrangression on its grounds by neighbours; so, for instance, we hear of\none good man Odelenus, who would dig under the monastery wall to the\nendangering of the same, and as the stout burgher would not desist nor\nfill up the excavations he had made, he was excommunicated with all due\nsolemnity.\n\nIt is said that Charles intended Emaus solely for the benefit of those\nwho still held to the Slavonic liturgy, from the very outset. But I find\nthat Charles did not approach the Pope on this subject and get his\nsanction for the Archbishop of Prague to grant the Benedictine monks of\nEmaus licence to perform the Slavonic ritual, until the papacy of\nClement VI. I gather that he had waited until he could find an amenable\npontiff; what is more, Clement VI as anti-Pope, probably did not cut\nmuch ice even had he been addicted to that practice. It was undoubtedly\ndue to the fact that the Slavonic liturgy was still in force that Emaus\nescaped destruction at the hands of the Hussites, as the monks were\nUtraquists and remained of that persuasion until the last Slavonic\nabbot, Adam Benedict Bawarowsky, with two surviving monks, was turned\nout to make room for Spanish Benedictines from Montserrat under their\nabbot, Benedict di Pennabosa y Mondragon. These Spaniards were inducted\nby Emperor Ferdinand III, King of Bohemia, himself.\n\nOf those early, ardent days in the annals of Emaus there is but little\nleft to recall Charles and his works. The library of the Benedictines\nwas destroyed by fire; only two works were saved, the \"Emaus-Reimser\nEvangelium\" and the \"Registrum Literarum monasterii Slavorum.\" The\nfrescoes which adorn the cloisters seem as fresh to-day as when the\nItalian masters, brought to Prague by Charles, stood aside to let the\nmonarch see the finished work, and that was several years before the\nconsecration festival. The interior of the church is beautiful, its\nslender Gothic columns vanishing into the hallowed shadows of the roof.\nThe \"plain song\" of the remaining monks still rings with the fervour of\nsimple, steadfast faith. The main building of the monastery is now an\nacademy of music where the rising generation is being taught to\nappreciate the latest eccentricities of modern music.\n\nCharles IV, first Bohemian King of that name, ruled from 1346 to 1378,\nso the building of Emaus covered pretty nearly all the years of his\nreign and in fact went back to the unhappy times before he ascended the\nthrone. His father was evidently a difficult person to live with; not\nonly his extravagance and erratic habits, but also a thoroughly\nunjustified suspicion of his elder son, must have caused the latter a\ngreat deal of misery. Instead of following the precedent of the\nP[vr]emysls in dynastic disputes, Charles wisely abstained from open\nopposition to John, although the people's affection had been transferred\nfrom father to son. Added to this there were the usual troubles caused\nby the German Princes. John had never even been \"placed\" in the running\nfor the imperial crown; goodness knows what would have happened if the\nweal of the Holy Roman Empire had depended on him. Louis of Wittelsbach,\nwho contested the imperial throne with Frederick the Fair of Austria,\nand had beaten the latter handsomely at Muehldorf, was nevertheless none\ntoo safely seated, and became involved in the unending squabbles with\nthe Papacy, aggravated in his case by the removal of the Pope to\nAvignon. John, of course, sided against Louis and with the Pope, so\nLouis joined with the German Princes in trying to deprive John Henry of\nthe Tyrol and Carinthia, which the latter considered his property on\nmarrying Margaret Maultasche; he was lucky enough to retain possession\nof the Tyrol while the Austrian Dukes kept Carinthia. That little matter\nsettled, John went off and fought the Lithuanians again--he called it a\ncrusade--and came home from that campaign without the sight of one eye,\nwhich he had lost through illness, a loss which soon led to complete\nblindness but not to any disinclination to go out anywhere and fight\nanyone. Father John must have been a considerable nuisance in the\nfamily. In the meantime Margaret added her mite to the general gaiety of\nnations by falling in love with Louis of Brandenburg, the handsome son\nof Emperor Louis; she counterbalanced this by a violent hatred of her\nhusband, the unlucky John Henry. So Charles had his hands full, and he\nseems to have been the only level-headed member of the family. With all\nthese troubles about him he nevertheless continued to manage the affairs\nof Bohemia and Moravia, to straighten out the finances of the Kingdom\nwhile finding sufficient pocket-money for his father's hobby of serving\nany other cause but his own, and also to soothe the ruffled feelings of\nJohn Henry and keep some of that Prince's property for the House of\nLuxemburg. It was during this hectic time that Charles managed to get\nthe Pope to raise the Bishop of Prague to the rank of Archbishop, an\nimportant step, as it set the new Archbishopric free from that of Maintz\nand thus gave it an opportunity of developing on its own rather than on\nGerman lines. Count Luetzow points out the absurdity of the situation\ncaused by keeping the Bishopric of Prague under the Archbishop of Maintz\nas follows: \"It is curious to read that Charles was obliged to declare\non his oath that the language of Bohemia was a Slavonic one, entirely\ndifferent from the German language; that the distance from Prague to\nMaintz was of about twelve day-journeys; and that the road lay through\nother dioceses.\"\n\nThis concession on the part of the Pope was probably the result of the\nvisit John and Charles paid to the pontiff at Avignon; it had as\ncorollary that in future the Kings of Bohemia should be crowned by the\nArchbishop of Prague. The first Archbishop of the new See was a Czech\nand a strong man--Ernest of Pardubic. Another result of the trip which\nfather and son took to Avignon together seems to have been a more\ncomplete reconciliation between the two.\n\nWe may linger for a while longer on that pathetic figure, the blind King\nof Bohemia, before his exciting but futile career closes on the field of\nCrecy. First we see him taking part in the solemn ceremony of installing\nthe new Archbishop; this would have taken place at the Cathedral Church\nof St. Vitus on the Hrad[vs]any, amid surroundings bearing strong\nevidence of the harm John's reign had brought on Bohemia, and on Prague\nin particular, for we read that Charles found the castle, and probably\nthe church as well, in a state nearly approaching ruin from neglect.\nHere again he had work to hand, and did it nobly; of this more later on.\nAfter Ernest of Pardubic had been safely installed, King John started\noff on another crusade against the heathen Lithuanians, probably as\npayment for the concessions on the part of the Pope. No sooner was John\nthoroughly engaged with his northern enemies than the German Louis\nstirred up Hungary and Poland, and several others, against him. John\nhurriedly returned home, beating Casimir of Poland and a Hungarian army\non the way, made some sort of an alliance with other enemies of his, and\neventually, with the aid of the Pope and five German Electors, got Louis\nchased from the throne and his son Charles elected as German King\ninstead. All this happened in the early months of 1346. Meanwhile, by\nJuly of that year, on the day following Charles's election, King Edward\nIII of England and the Black Prince had landed on the coast of France,\nand were setting out through Normandy for Paris. On August 26th, St.\nRufus Day again, the anniversary of the death of P[vr]emysl Ottokar II,\nJohn, King of Bohemia, brave, chivalrous and utterly misguided, died in\nthe tent of a knightly enemy, leaving him as device the appropriate\nmotto \"_Ich dien!_\"\n\nIndeed, John had served every interest but his own; and Charles his son,\nelected Emperor as fourth of that name, and first as King of Bohemia,\ntook into his own firm hands the tangled coils of Central European\naffairs, making as centre of his activities his own city of Prague.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER VIII\n\nDeals with Charles IV, Roman Emperor, King of the Germans, first\nBohemian King of that name, and Father of his country. Charles as a\nwarrior and the part he took at Crecy. Some remarks about Crecy.\nFriendly relations between Charles and Edward III of England, who at\nCharles's suggestion declines the imperial crown. Charles concerns\nhimself with the welfare of his people. He builds and restores churches.\nA short story about St. Wenceslaus, and a description of the chapel\ndedicated to him. Of \"St. Mary under the Chain\" and the house of the\nKnights of Malta. Of George Podiebrad, of Frederick the Winter King and\nhis wife Elizabeth. A word or two about the Hussites and the host of\ncrusaders that came out of the West and were defeated by [vZ]i[vs]ka. A\npageant of those whose life and work was connected with the Cathedral of\nSt. Vitus. Charles and Church Reform, and of a Pope who was himself in\nneed of reform. St. Henry and Kunigunde his wife, and the church\ndedicated to them. Frederick II of Prussia and the church which Charles\nhad built and consecrated to the Virgin and St. Charles. St. Stephen's\nChurch. Some remarks on the saints who are patrons of Bohemia or in one\nway or another interested in that country. A passing reference to\nLondon's patron saint Erkenwald and some remarks about a students'\nfeast-day.\n\n\nDespite his undoubted gallantry in battle, Charles, as a warrior, was\novershadowed by his picturesque sire; moreover, he shone more brightly\nas a man of peace, as scholar, as founder and builder, even as author;\nin the latter capacity he has left behind a remarkable work, his\nautobiography, written in Latin: \"Commentarius de Vita Caroli Bohemiae\nRegis ab ipso Carolo conscriptus.\" Yet, had he done nothing else, his\nmilitary achievements would probably have brought him lasting renown. As\nwe have seen, he acquitted himself well, when quite a young man, in his\nfather's campaigns in Italy. He took part with conspicuous gallantry in\nthe Battle of Crecy. I gather that it was his advice not to attack with\ntired troops, but he was overruled; not but what the result might have\nbeen the same had the French agreed to wait another day. It was the\nBohemian cavalry that had already distinguished itself by preventing the\npassage by the English Army of the bridge of St. Remy, and it was not\ntheir fault that the ford of Blanche-Taque was insufficiently guarded\nand thus left open a crossing over the Somme. Many of us know that\ncountry about Abbeville well, the lush meadows and clumps of trees not\nso unlike our own river scenery. Some of us may even have recalled\nmemories out of school of that battle fought out in so small a space\ncompared to the \"shows\" to which we had become used. While out of the\nline in that neighbourhood I myself met the direct descendant of French\nwarriors who fought at Crecy, the mayor of a small village. I happened\nto refer lightly to that page of long-ago history, but the mayor\ncorrected me--it had indeed been a most serious affair; he had lost\nthirteen ancestors on that occasion, and the family had not recovered to\nthis day. As a social function the Battle of Crecy was certainly an\nimportant affair; many of the best people in Europe were represented\nthere, four kings among others, and a brave show of nobles many of whom\nindeed, did not recover.\n\nJohn and Charles had undertaken this trip to France together no doubt\ndrawn by their relationship to the French royal family, and Charles had\nfought valiantly by his father's side until forced to withdraw by his\nnobles, who, according to Bene[vs] de Weitmil, were \"fearful of losing\nboth their Kings.\"\n\nOne would think that this the first introduction to the English of\nBohemia's King would not make for cordial relations; as a matter of\nfact, it led to an alliance between Charles and Edward III arising out\nof circumstances which prove both these monarchs to have been wise men.\nEngland had risen considerably in the estimation of continental Europe\nin consequence of this victory, and an attempt was made, perhaps the\nfirst in history--for you cannot take Richard of Cornwall seriously--to\ndraw our country into the sea of troubles that raged as usual in the\nHoly Roman Empire. There was, of course, a section of German nobles who\nopposed Charles and who on the death of King Louis offered the imperial\ncrown to the victor of Crecy. Edward III was wise enough to decline,\ninfluenced, it is said, by a mission which Charles had sent to England;\nwhat is more, a treaty of alliance was arranged between these two\ncountries, and this, to my thinking, had far-reaching effects on their\nfuture relations, intermittent but extending over several centuries.\n\nCharles had to rest awhile in France before returning to his country in\norder to recover from his wounds received at Crecy. I wonder whether he\ntried the waters of Carlsbad on his return home. Charles had been led to\ndiscover the healing qualities of Carlsbad water when out hunting one\nday among the lovely wood-clad heights just inside the frontier of\nBohemia. The legend is that Charles heard one of his hounds yelping in\npain, and discovered that the poor beast had plunged into a spring of\nhot water. Charles had the water analysed (which sounds very up to\ndate), and being informed of its healing qualities, built himself a\ncastle on the spot round which grew up that charming health resort\nCarlsbad.\n\nThe history of Charles IV as German King and Roman Emperor is\nconsequently also that of the Holy Roman Empire, but would lead us much\ntoo afar afield from Prague, where this excellent monarch resided by\npreference. He had grand schemes for improving the state of the country\nand its capital, which he carried out systematically. He must have\nbegrudged the time he was obliged to spend in travelling abroad in\nvarious imperial interests, when there was so much to claim his\nattention at home. He certainly never went abroad for pleasure, for his\ntrips to Italy and Burgundy, undertaken at different times, were matters\nof duty. It was the correct thing for an Emperor to be crowned at Rome,\nand Charles was always strictly correct. On the way to Rome it was\nobviously the right thing to call at Milan for the iron crown of the\nLombard Kings, which was also an imperial perquisite. Then on another\noccasion Charles called at Arles to receive the crown of the Kingdom of\nBurgundy, which country formed part of the Empire. Charles had some\nbusiness to transact with the Pope at Avignon near by, business\nconnected with Church Reform, which movement was gaining in strength in\nBohemia and which caused that country much suffering for conscience'\nsake. These journeys were episodes in the life of the Emperor; the work\nof the King of Bohemia lay in and about his capital, ancient Prague.\nFrom my terrace I will point out to you some of the glorious monuments\nraised by that Founder King.\n\nCharles's first concern seems to have been for his people's spiritual\nwelfare: from all accounts some attention to this side of the national\nlife of Bohemia was sorely needed. The first and most obvious duty was\nto set about the restoration of the Royal Castle, the Hrad[vs]any, with\nits venerable cathedral. Both castle and cathedral were inadequate to\nthe high mission of Prague as a royal and imperial residence. The castle\nhad been repaired fitfully by one king or another as we have seen, and\nhad been provided with strong towers chiefly used as dungeons, and had\nbeen allowed to fall into disrepair by the impecunious and extravagant\nJohn. The cathedral was probably in not much better case. We have seen\nglimpses of that sacred fane with its memories of royal saints and\nmartyrs, how St. Wenceslaus built the first church on the site of the\npresent one, as a casket to hold that precious relic the arm of St.\nVitus, given him by Henry the Fowler. The words of the chronicler will\ngive you some idea of this first church: \"Ecclesiam Sancti Viti quam\nSanctus Wenceslaus construxerat ad similitudinem Romanae ecclesiae\nrotundam.\" This building was yet unfinished when Wenceslaus was\nmartyred. The body of the saint was conveyed from Stara Boleslav to St.\nVitus for burial, and this was not allowed to pass without a miraculous\nmanifestation. The old wooden bridge, connecting the right bank of the\nVltava with the Mala Strana, had been partly destroyed by floods;\nnevertheless the bearers passed over the half-ruined bridge as if they\nhad no burden to carry at all. This was very wonderful, and redounded\ngreatly to the saint's growing reputation, which was enhanced a little\nfarther along the route to be traversed. As the procession passed the\ntown-hall prison its inmates, clutching the bars, cried out for mercy;\nthe bearers were forced to halt, and found themselves quite unable to\nproceed until all the captives had been released. Now this was very\nbeautiful, and it happened long ago.\n\nPrince Spytihnev II, also a pious soul, considered the church built by\nWenceslaus too small for his religious requirements; he had it\ndemolished, and another one, also in the Romanesque style, erected in\nits place. The church that Spytihnev built was also destroyed to make\nway for the present edifice, which in its inception is due to Charles.\nIt must have been about the time when Charles joined his father at\nLuxemburg, in 1344, that the former interviewed the master-builder\nMatthew of Arras, to discuss plans for the reconstruction of Prague's\nCathedral Church. John and Charles, as we have seen, then went on\ntogether to visit the Pope at Avignon. It seems to have been on this\noccasion that Prague was raised to the dignity of an archbishopric, and\nCharles wished to build a temple worthy of the high dignity to which in\nmatters spiritual, as temporal, his country had arisen; and so under the\nhand of skilled craftsmen, from out the ruins of earlier shrines, rose\nthat crowning glory of Golden Prague, the Cathedral of St. Vitus. This\ngreat temple was many years a-building, and is not completed yet. Great\nmen devoted their labours to this glorious fane: Peter Parler and his\nson John, Bene[vs] of Loun and others were among the master-builders,\nwhile many artists, goldsmiths and other craftsmen famous in their day\ncontributed to the decoration of \"the Father's House.\" Great men lie\nburied under its shadowy arches, and their memory lives on in sculpture,\nin paintings and wonders of wrought iron. In a chapel dedicated to St.\nWenceslaus rests that princely martyr; you may see his epitaph and the\nshirt of mail he wore. In the bronze gates of this chapel you are shown\na ring to which the saint is said to have clung when his murderers\nhacked him down. The walls of the chapels are inlaid with the precious\nstones of Bohemia--jasper and achates, chalcedon, amethyst and\ncarneol--and are adorned with frescoes illustrating incidents in the\nlife of the saint, most of them dating from the reign of Charles; the\nscene of his martyrdom is from the brush of Lucas Cranach. The\ncandelabra and statue of St. Wenceslaus are attributed to Peter Fischer.\nKing Charles, the founder, father of his country, lies buried here with\nhis four wives, so do other Kings of Bohemia, Ladislas Posthumus, George\nPodiebrad, Ferdinand I and Maximilian.\n\nLooking out over my terrace to where the Cathedral of St. Vitus points\nits tapering spires towards high heaven, a misty pageant seems to pass\nbeneath it. Following rapidly on the golden peace of Charles come the\ntroublous days of religious strife, for with his son began the Hussite\nwars which left Bohemia desolate and a prey to the eagles of Habsburg.\nAngry flames rising up out the township below the Hrad[vs]any cast\nclouds of smoke over the cathedral what time the Hussites failed to\ncapture the Royal Castle and in their zeal for reform set fire to\nvarious quarters of the Mala Strana. The Bishop's Palace, which stood\nnear the left bank bridgehead, was utterly destroyed, the glorious\nChurch of \"St. Mary under the Chain,\" and with it the home of the\nKnights of Malta, suffered the same fate. Of St. Mary's Church there\nremain the chancel and two stout towers; I can see them from my\nembowered terrace, the blunt red roofs rising above a glorious riot of\nfruit blossom. The pageant moves on, giving a flash here and there of\nsome one who stood up above his fellows like George Podiebrad, or the\nstrong men who precipitated the Thirty Years' War. Then follows a\nfleeting vision of a stranger King, a German Protestant with his wife\nElizabeth, daughter of \"douce Jamie.\" A short reign this of Frederick\nCount Palatine, the \"Winter King.\" We see him enter by the Strahov Gate\nto be crowned at St. Vitus on November 4, 1619. We may imagine the\nindignation of his people at Frederick's Calvinist divines who wished to\nremove the altar and paintings from the cathedral. We see Frederick a\nyear later, again entering the city by the Strahov Gate, fleeing in hot\nhaste from the stricken field of the White Mountain where Bohemia's\nfreedom went under before the foreign mercenaries of the Emperor. Not\nfor the first time either that the troops of Western Europe had marched\non Prague to conquer it in the name of religion. Shortly after the\nburning of \"St. Mary under the Chain\" the Pope called upon Western\nEurope to undertake a crusade against the Hussites. A contemporary\nchronicler, Lawrence of Bre[vz]ova, gives us a list of the nationalities\nrepresented in this host of crusaders raised by Sigismund, King of\nBohemia, Emperor of the Holy Roman Empire, and led by an English\nCardinal. According to Lawrence there were Bavarians, Saxons, Austrians,\nFrenchmen, men of Brabant and Dutchmen, Switzers, Lusatians and\nSpaniards, a compact body of English, and soldiers of many other\nnationalities; their number is estimated at between one hundred thousand\nand one hundred and fifty thousand. Sigismund entered the Castle of\nPrague and his motley forces encamped around the town, but \"the Empire's\nmismanaged feudal levy was no match for an infuriated people which stood\nshoulder to shoulder in the service of the same inspiring idea.\" I quote\nfrom _Europe in the Middle Age_, by Thatcher and Schwill. Moreover, the\nHussites were led and inspired by one of the greatest military leaders\nof all ages, John [vZ]i[vs]ka. This is not the place to tell of the\ndoings of those Hussite armies and their exploits, and how they kept all\nEurope at bay so that every Bohemian might feel secure in the faith that\nwas in him. Right away in the hazy background of hills against which\nstand up the towers and spires of Prague you may see an incline sloping\ndown towards the river and to northward. This incline is now all built\nover, and this quarter of the town is called [vZ]i[vs]kov in memory of\nthe great Hussite who held this hill against repeated attacks until he\nwas in a position to go over to the offensive. Dissensions had broken\nout among the crusaders, the imperial armies melted away and left\nSigismund to face his people alone. He came to some agreement with the\nleaders of the opposition and was even solemnly crowned at St. Vitus;\nbut the battle on [vZ]i[vs]ka's hill marked the beginning of the Hussite\nwars.\n\n[Illustration: ST. VITUS.]\n\nWith the defeat of the Bohemian army on the White Mountain ends the\nstory of St. Vitus as the cathedral of a free country. The building was\nresumed after the Thirty Years' War came to an end, and other kings were\ncrowned in the church that had known the glory of Charles IV and George\nPodiebrad; but those who came after were aliens to Bohemia, neither came\nthey to that country intent only on its interests; a succession of\nHabsburgs passes by in pageant, to receive the crown of Bohemia as one\namong many distinctions to which their house was heir. Ferdinand III and\nLeopold I pass by, and Leopold's second son Charles VI second as King of\nBohemia, last male representative of the House of Habsburg, who was\nsucceeded by his daughter Maria Theresia. Troubles began again as in the\ndays when the P[vr]emysl dynasty died out, and the German Electors\ndecided to choose a new Emperor. The choice fell on Charles of Bavaria,\nso old St. Vitus saw again a coronation pageant and one which much\nresembled that of Frederick the Winter King. Charles of Bavaria was\ncrowned at Prague with all the usual pomp and ceremony; he then left\nBohemia never to return. Officially this Charles' coronation seems to\ncount for nothing in the history of Austria into which that of Bohemia\nwas merged. Bohemia became for years a pawn in the stern game between\nMaria Theresia and Frederick of Prussia, and St. Vitus suffered damage\nfrom the latter's guns; the glory of Golden Prague had departed and the\nstately cathedral looked down for nearly three centuries on a city that\nhad been put aside, out of the way of the world's commerce and its great\naffairs, to dream of the days when Charles IV was King and Bohemia the\nland of a free and prosperous people.\n\n * * * * *\n\nWe were really still in the days of Charles IV when it occurred to me to\nsketch out a special pageant for the Cathedral Church of St. Vitus.\nCharles, as I have said before, was particularly interested in churches,\nwas altogether a good, pious soul, and never missed an opportunity of\nbearing testimony to his faith by deeds as well as words. This does not\nmean that he submitted his judgment, even in things spiritual, entirely\nto the ruling of the Church; on the contrary, he found that there was\nmore need of reform among the clergy of his land than of churches. He\ndid not hesitate, either, to point out to the Pope what reforms were\nneeded, and, moreover, took his part in improving matters, with his\nusual energy and thoroughness. Indeed, according to all accounts, the\nBohemian clergy were sorely in need of the curb: they allowed their\nsporting proclivities to run to excess in such pastimes as warfare,\ntournaments, hunting and gambling, and the law of celibacy had fallen\ninto complete disuse. I have already noted that the St. Anthony of one\nparticular kind of temptation (I forget whether he was of Padua or\nelsewhere) was not as popular in Bohemia as were many other saints.\nAfter all, the clergy of Bohemia were probably no worse than that of\nother countries, and Rome was not of much use as a \"godly ensample\";\nthere is, for instance, that little story told by Richenthal in his\nchronicle about one of the Popes travelling across the Alps to some\ncouncil or other. This pontiff, it appears, \"clothed himself with curses\nas with a garment\" and his horrible imprecations filled with terror the\nsouls of the pious peasants who flocked to see him. So when by some\naccident the carriage of His Holiness was upset and himself pitched into\nthe road he exclaimed: \"Here I lie in the name of the devil.\" This\nsounds a bit feeble, and I could probably do better myself under similar\nprovocation; but such language at all is very shocking in a clergyman.\nIt is chiefly German historians who complain of Charles as being\npriest-ridden, and also of neglecting the affairs of the Empire while\nconcentrating too much on Bohemia. This is a matter for historians to\nwrangle about; personally I consider that by his Golden Bull, which very\nmuch restricted the power of the Popes to interfere with the election of\nKings of the Germans, and in the protection he extended to priests\naccused of heresy for their ardour on reform, Charles proved himself a\nstrong man, free from undue outside influence, and no bigot. But we are\nconcerned with what Charles did for Prague, and will take a look round\nthe churches which meant so much to him, many of which he built or\nrestored himself. One of these appeals to me particularly; I cannot say\nwhy exactly, perhaps because I heard some glorious music there, one grey\nevening in Lent. St. Henry's has long been famous for its Musical\nSociety. I have mentioned this church before; it is dedicated to St.\nHenry and his wife Kunigunde. It is interesting and unusual to find a\nmarried saint; in fact, as in this case, a couple of them. The portraits\nof these two may be seen in the chancel of St. Henry's Church, but it\nwas too dark for me to distinguish anything on the occasion of my visits\nthere; moreover, I was sufficiently impressed with the shapely Gothic\npillars, the work of Charles IV's craftsmen, which rose over the\ndilapidations of a much earlier building. Charles lost no time about the\nrestoration of St. Henry's, as he seems to have begun it in 1348 and it\nwas finished two years later. This church stands back from the rushing\ntraffic of the Henry Street--Jind[vr]i[vs]ska Ulice, to give it its\nCzech name; the campanile of St. Henry's, a graceful tower with\ncharacteristic turrets and saddle-roof, is set apart and looks down the\nbroad thoroughfare. This campanile is of more recent times than the\nchurch: it dates from the early days of Vladislav II, about the end of\nthe fifteenth century. A sixteenth-century bell hangs in the campanile\nof St. Henry's Church; its inscription recalls the famous lines of\nSchiller's _Die Glocke_: \"En ego campana, nunquam pronuntio vana, Ignam,\nvel festum, bellum, vel funus honestum.\" About the time of the\nrestoration of St. Henry's, since much rebuilt outside, Charles set\nabout building another church on the rising ground north-east of\nVy[vs]ehrad; it is quaint rather than beautiful. You may note this\nchurch by its squat appearance, a broad cupola flanked by a couple of\nmore slender ones, and the whole group is generally concealed by\nscaffolding. This church has had as hard a time as any of those in\nPrague. King Charles built it in 1350 and intended it to remind him of\nthe cathedral at Aachen where Charlemagne is buried. There certainly is\na good deal of resemblance still within this church dedicated\nappropriately to the Virgin and St. Charles, for the original outlines\nremain, as also the crypt below. But this church has suffered heavily\nboth at the hands of wilful destroyers and of the restorer. Matthew of\nArras was the architect. I wonder whether he would recognize his work\nto-day, so much has happened to it since he completed it. Consecrated in\n1377 and given over to the monks of the Augustine Order, church and\nmonastery were thoroughly destroyed by the Hussites less than a century\nlater. The church was rebuilt in 1498, seriously damaged in 1611, and\nleft in a state of disrepair for forty years. It had not long been\nrestored for the second time, when Frederick II of Prussia made a target\nof it in his siege of Prague. Some eight hundred hot shot are said to\nhave struck this church and set it on fire more than fifty times: quite\ngood shooting but bad manners. No wonder, then, that this Church of the\nVirgin and St. Charles has lost its pristine beauty; yet it has an\nattraction of its own to those who sympathize with its misfortunes, and\nthere are still some quaint old corners of the Hermitage attached to the\nedifice, built by Dienzenhofer, for those who like _baroque_.\n\nWe have noted Charles's interest in his cathedral on the Hrad[vs]any; he\nalso paid a delicate compliment to the Lady Abbess of the convent\nattached to St. George's Church within the castle precincts. You will\nremember how Boleslav II, of pious memory, founded this convent and that\nhis sister Milada was the first abbess. Charles raised that lady's\nsuccessors to princely rank and gave them the right to place the crown\non the head of the King at his coronation.\n\n[Illustration: ST. STEPHEN'S.]\n\nThere are several other churches which have survived the chances and\nchanges of centuries, among these one which appeals to me on account of\nits modesty. This church is tucked away among a congerie of respectable\nelderly buildings that cluster to eastward of the Stepanska Ulice, one\nof the thoroughfares that link up the higher lying part of the Nove\nM[ve]sto, the New Town, with the Vaclavske Nam[ve]sti. This church has\nindeed a somewhat neglected look: its quaint pointed steeple rises\nalmost apologetically above some scrubby trees, and hardly ventures to\no'ertop the grimy houses, that close it round. Nevertheless this ancient\nchurch should have reason to hold high its head, for Bohemia's great\nKing and Father built it and dedicated it to a carefully selected saint,\nto wit St. Stephen. St. Stephen's Church shows pleasant traces of the\ngracious spirit which informed the master mind in those golden days of\nCharles IV. Moreover, St. Stephen's Church has kept the best of\nexclusive company during the six centuries of its existence, for close\nby, separated only by a narrow lane, stands one of Prague's oldest\ntemples, the romanesque chapel of St. Longinus which from its memories\nharking back to the first P[vr]eysl King, Vladislav, probably looks upon\nits neighbour as a mere child.\n\nYou will have noticed how many and varied are the names of saints\nmentioned in these my reflections from \"a Terrace in Prague.\" I do not\nprofess deep knowledge of saints, and do not as a rule venture on the\nhallowed ground where saints disport themselves. Nevertheless, while\ndealing with the city of Prague in particular or the Bohemian people in\ngeneral, and endeavouring to become acquainted with them, you are faced\nwith the fact that there is in this country a strong and no doubt\ncommendable attraction towards saints of all possible varieties, and,\nlet us hope, a favourable reaction on the part of the latter. I do not\nsuggest that a saints' day merely means a holiday.\n\nTo begin with, the Bohemians, on taking to Christianity at all, started\nwith some very fine vintage saints of their own growing. You have heard\nall about them: Ludmilla, Wenceslaus, Milada, Adalbert. These estimable\npeople were, after all, following the precepts of those who had brought\nthe \"Glad Tidings\" to Bohemia, and therefore were entitled to high\nconsideration and respect. We have met some of these most worthy people.\nThere were the brothers Constantine (better known as Cyril) and\nMethodius, who did much missionary work in Central Europe, especially\namong those of their own, the Slavonic race, for these two were citizens\nof Solun (Salonika), where pure Slavonic was spoken in the ninth\ncentury. As Slavs these two missionaries were disliked by the Germans,\nbut both Popes Adrian I and John VIII approved of them; we have heard\nhow Methodius converted that stubborn pagan Prince Bo[vr]ivoj. Another\ncouple of saints whom I have mentioned before, Cosmas and Damian, have\nalways been most popular in Bohemia. They came from the West, or at\nleast their reputation did, for they had been martyred in the third or\nfourth century, before Czech and his merry men had arrived at [vR]ip,\nbefore the Slavs had appeared in Europe in fact. Pope Felix III held\nthese two gentlemen in high esteem, had dedicated a church to them in\nRome, and his successors had no doubt recommended this worthy couple to\nthe Bohemians when the latter began to ask for spiritual patronage.\nCosmas and Damian, the oldest patron saints of Bohemian Christendom,\nbecame very popular, and many churches were dedicated to them; in fact,\nas we have seen, it was zeal in their cause that brought about the\nmartyrdom of St. Wenceslaus. I believe these two, Cosmas and Damian,\nwere precursors of that excellent body of medical missionaries who\nwisely get at a man's soul by healing his body. There must be something\nin my theory about Cosmas and Damian, as the medical faculty of Prague\nUniversity put up a sculptured group supposed to represent these two\nsaints, on the Charles Bridge, early in the eighteenth century. As\nportraiture this group is not convincing.\n\nThe leading patron saint of Prague seems to be St. Vitus; at least in\nthe great cathedral dedicated to him he dominates not only the city but\nalso his co-patron saints of this most famous of all the city's many\nchurches. You will remember that in course of a friendly exchange of\nconcessions between St. Wenceslaus and King Henry the Fowler the latter\npresented Bohemia's ruler with an arm of St. Vitus. I do not quite\nunderstand how St. Vitus came to hold such high importance in Bohemia.\nHe was born in Sicily of pagan parents, poor perhaps, possibly honest,\nabout the beginning of the fourth century. Two Christians, Modestus and\nCrescentia, taught young Vitus and converted him without his father's\nknowledge. There was nothing unusual in this. Vitus was martyred in\nRome, an experience which might happen to any Christian in those days,\nand we hear no more about him until he appears as patron saint of a\nchurch founded about the middle of the ninth century on the Island of\nRuegen, by the monks of Corvey in Saxony. These monks had by some means\nor other got hold of the relics of St. Vitus; perhaps they parted with a\nbit to King Henry the Fowler, who then handed it on to Wenceslaus. The\nSlavonic islanders of Ruegen relapsed into paganism but kept green the\nmemory of St. Vitus, whom they worshipped as a god.\n\nWhereas St. Wenceslaus secured only an arm of St. Vitus, King Charles\nacquired the rest of his body. St. Wenceslaus was, I fear, caught\nnapping on several occasions. He is not dead, according to popular\ntradition, but sleeps inside a mountain, and sleeps soundly too, for he\nseems to have missed the resurrection of his people. By way of useful\ninformation I may tell you that the shrine of St. Wenceslaus is\nsanctuary for murderers, but I cannot say whether this custom still\nobtains under the constitution of the new Czecho-Slovak Republic.\n\nKing Charles arranged a great festival when the remains of St. Vitus\nreached the cathedral dedicated to him. With his own hands Charles\nplaced a crown of gold upon the saintly head, or, as one old chronicler\nputs it with unexpected humour, upon the head of one or other St. Vitus.\nCharles was peculiarly expert in the matter of relics and a zealous\ncollector, which shows his constant concern for his people's welfare,\nnot only spiritual but physical as well. So, for instance, did that\npious monarch cause the remains of St. Sigismund to be conveyed to\nPrague. St. Sigismund was a good sound sixth-century saint of France who\nin the days of Gregory of Tours had frequently been invoked to ward off\nfever; his remains would therefore be a useful asset as complement to\nthe limited knowledge of the art of healing in those days. Not that I\nattach much importance to the opinion of Gregory of Tours. You may\nremember that he admired one Chlodovech, King of all the Franks, who\noutdid any other Teuton founder of kingdoms by his record of crime, of\nmurder and treachery, and generally speaking he had a tough lot to\ncompete against. Londoners have probably forgotten that they also have a\nfamous febrifuge in their city's patron saint, St. Erkenwald, to whose\nshrine came many pilgrims for relief from pain. Modern pilgrims to\nLondon come in their thousands to watch football matches--there is\nlittle of healing in this. Other relics collected by Charles were the\nspear, a bit of the cross and a nail, and the tablecloth used at the\nLast Supper. All these precious relics, together with the crown jewels,\nwere kept in a strong castle built by Charles for the purpose. You may\ncatch a glimpse of this castle, Karlov Tyn, Karlstein, as you pass down\nthe valley of the winding Berounka of a summer's evening, coming to\nPrague from Paris via Cheb. A day was set apart for the Feast of Relics,\nthe _Allatio Reliquiarum_. On this day the relics were conveyed to the\ncathedral and exhibited to the people, and Charles had arranged that all\nwho attended this solemn function should be granted indulgence. I take\nit there was no work done that day in Prague; as it happens this feast\ncoincided with that set apart for several saints, Macarius and Abel,\nbesides being the octave of St. Stephen, a further reason for\nholiday-making.\n\nTalking of holidays in Prague, I came across one such fixed for August\n9th, and seriously described by a sound old writer on the manners and\ncustoms of Bohemia. This feast was observed, I cannot say religiously,\nbut with great enthusiasm, by the students of the University. It was\ncalled quite simply _Beano_. This will sound familiar to you, and you\nwill probably pronounce it as if derived from the bean, the common or\ngarden bean and the feast thereof. Not so. This _Beano_ should be\npronounced with due stress on each particular vowel, as if it were an\nItalian word; indeed, it is derived from the Latin. Attempts have been\nmade to trace this word to early French influence at Prague University,\nand to derive it from _bec-jaune_, pronounced with a certain abandon.\nThis, again, is wrong. _Beano_ is, or was, the great day on which the\nnew students, the \"freshers,\" were initiated into the mysteries of\nscholastic life with all manner of weird ceremony and horrible\nobservances. There was used much, indeed undue, emphasis, said some, in\norder to impress upon the youngsters that a serious change of life was\nupon them, for, quoth the elders: \"Beanus est animal nesciens vitam\nstudiosorum.\"\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER IX\n\nShowing how Prague grew and added beautiful buildings to its glory under\nthe rule of Charles, the Father of his Country. Tells also of Charles's\ntroubles, and introduces his son Wenceslaus. Shows why this son should\nbe considered as the \"Good King Wenceslaus\" of our Christmas carol.\nMakes mention also of Sister Anne and her husband, Richard II of\nEngland. Tells about Susanna and the King. Introduces well-known names\nof those who pass in filmy pageant across the old historic Charles\nBridge--John Nepomuk, John Hus, and others. Gives a fleeting vision of\nanother native King, a great man, and of other rulers who had their day\nand passed on. Talks at some length of the river of Prague, the Vltava,\nand gives some of its reflections. Leads up from earliest aquatic habits\nof the Slavonic inhabitants to those of the present day, and is, though\na long chapter, by no means a dull one.\n\n\nPrague, as you may imagine, had grown, despite the troubles it had\npassed through, both in importance and in extent. When Charles IV came\nto the throne, the city still consisted of three parts as before; during\nhis reign a new town was added, and this was made necessary by the rise\nof the University which Charles had founded. Charles must have been\nconsidering the idea of creating a seat of learning in Prague before he\naccompanied his father to Crecy, for we find him writing to the Pope on\nthe subject while he was yet recovering from his wounds and before he\nreturned to Bohemia. It was at a Diet held at Prague in 1348 that\nCharles announced his intention of founding a University, and he set\nabout it with his customary energy. The King himself took in hand the\norganization of this his new foundation, ably assisted by the\nArchbishop, Ernest of Pardubic, as Chancellor. Students of many\ncountries, many nations, flocked to Prague, evidence of the fact of the\ncity's central position in Europe, and soon the new University ranked\nwith those older institutions--the only ones of the kind in\nEurope--Bologna, Paris and Oxford. The number of students increased\nrapidly: by the end of Charles's reign there were some six or seven\nthousand of them. The trouble was to accommodate them all. The\nprofessors held lectures in their own apartments, in monasteries if they\nhappened to belong to one or other of the many congregations in Prague,\nand theology courses were held in the Cathedral. This was well enough at\nfirst, but even then there was no provision for the students' lodgings.\nThey could not live in colleges, as there were none; in fact, the only\nuniversity buildings in existence, which probably served various\nceremonial occasions, was a congeries of buildings called the Carolinum,\nafter its founder. These buildings stood in the Old Town, and there were\nprobably others used for university purposes dotted about the town, as\nis the case to-day. Still, the students remain unhoused. There must have\nbeen a good many houses without the walls of the Old Town and\nVy[vs]ehrad, the ancient borough, and I take it that Charles collected\nall these houses under one administration of its own, walled the place\nin securely and called it Nove M[ve]sto, New Town, quite simply. Charles\nlaid the foundation-stone of the New Town in the same year as that in\nwhich he started the University, fitted the former out with various\nnecessaries, a town-hall, a church or two, perhaps St. Stephen's, and so\nprovided more housing room for the good people of Prague and their\nguests the students.\n\n[Illustration: VENICE IN PRAGUE.]\n\nAll went very well, no doubt, for several years, when a calamity befell\nthe city of Prague: the old bridge, built at her own expense by Queen\nJudith, the only link between Prague on the right bank and the Mala\nStrana, was damaged beyond repair by winter's floods. Charles, as usual,\nrose to the occasion: he built a new one, again laying a foundation with\nhis own royal hand, and this happened in 1358--on July 9th, to be\nstrictly accurate. I do not propose to describe the Charles Bridge to\nyou, as I am supplying an illustration showing it, but I wish to remark\nhere that Charles is not guilty of the groups of statuary which\ndistinguish this bridge from others in the world. The only bit of\nstatuary anywhere near the Charles Bridge which dates from his period\nstands near the Mala Strana end of it on the upstream side. This is the\nsculptured figure of a knight in armour, bearing the coat of arms of the\nOld Town and holding aloft his drawn sword. Dr. Je[vr]abek calls this\nfigure \"Bruncvik,\" others call it \"Roland\"; it was probably put up to\ninform passers-by that they had better pay their toll quietly or there\nwould be trouble.\n\nThe piles of the Charles Bridge nearest to the left bank of the river\nstand on a little island called Kampa. You cannot see much of this\nisland from the bridge: I recommend you to go down the steps, under the\nbridge, and then look under the second arch, and you will see the view\nwhich I have sketched for you. It is not the view which you will find on\nthe postcards illustrating this particular spot and calling it \"Venice\non the Vltava.\" In this the Pragers fall into the snobbish habit of\ngoing outside their own country for the sake of finding some inept\ncomparison. I grant that they are not the only sinners in this respect;\nwe may even have a \"Venice in London,\" according to those who label the\nviews on postcards, for all I know. I have, on postcards, met \"Venice in\nWhatsisname\" and elsewhere, wherever there was sufficient sluggish water\nreflecting tall houses that have seen better days and conceal their\ndilapidations behind motley garments drying in a lazy breeze. But Prague\nneed not descend to this; here is no \"Venice in Prague,\" but simply a\ncharming bit of an old town, a fascinating backwater where quaint old\nhouses exchange reminiscences with their broken reflections in the\nwater. This ought to be good enough for Prague, anyway.\n\nSo Charles threw this bridge across the water, a lasting, glorious\nmonument to a father ever careful of his children's welfare, and its\nstout pillars and graceful arches bid fair to call up reflections for\nyet further centuries on the face of Bohemia's own river, the Vltava.\n\nThe River Vltava rises away down in the south among the mountains of the\nBohemian Forest. It has its happy infancy in \"green days in forest,\"\nleaping over rocks, playing with pebbles, and generally disporting\nitself until it comes out into the world and moves among men. Not empty\nhanded either, for it carries the sound of the forest and the rhythm of\nrunning water to those that have their being on its banks; if you doubt\nit, come and hear Smetana's work at the National Theatre reflected in\nthe waters of Prague. The Vltava arrives at Prague reinforced by its\ntributary, the Berounka, and flows almost due north until it meets the\nCastle Hill. Then it makes a bold sweep due east, turns north and west\nagain, and so makes a peninsula of Castle Hill; then it resumes, with\nmany windings, its northward course. Nothing could have been better\narranged than this bold sweep encircling the Hrad[vs]any and the wooded\nslopes of Letna; it is this feature that adds so much interest to the\nattractive composition of Prague. This must also have impressed that\nfar-seeing lady, Libu[vs]a--it inspired her as it has inspired many\npeople since.\n\n * * * * *\n\nThe psychology of rivers has not been sufficiently studied. Most people\njust call a river blue, or golden or muddy, and pass on to other\nsubjects. In reality every river of importance has a definite character\nall its own; so, for that matter, has every stream of running water,\nhowever insignificant it may seem. Our ancestors recognized the fact,\nbut preferred to endow brooks and streams with a definite personality in\nthe form of nymphs, pixies, or whatever they were called. The Cross has\ndriven these harmless and pathetic little beings out of the world they\nlived in; only a few were allowed to linger, such as Isa, who till quite\nrecently came ashore from the Danube between Passau and Vienna because\nshe felt so lonely, poor dear! Then there is Undine, but she only\nappears on the operatic stage, and that but rarely. Under our present\nstrenuous existence, where all is bent towards material success, there\nis no place for the sprites whose voices the ancients heard in the\ntwilight silence. How could any properly constituted nymph play\nhide-and-seek with the moonbeams, or cast an eye upon a handsome\nboatman, from under the well-regulated bank of a river of to-day? As far\nas present-day mortals are concerned, any stream means water-power, any\nriver means a waterway for commerce, and those thus engaged after the\nday's work turn away from river and stream without waiting to hear what\nthey have to say when the din of industry dies down and the voice of the\nrunning water can be heard again.\n\nThere must be a certain and strong connection between a river and the\npeople that live on its banks; one surely reacts upon the other, and in\nthe process the character of both develops. Not only the sky, but the\nworks of man, are reflected in rivers, have been so reflected since man\nbegan to work at all; so the character of a people must be influenced by\nrivers: witness the lazy reflections of the \"Ponte Vecchio\" in the\ngolden Arno, the comfortable parks and lawns and country houses mirrored\nby the Thames until it gradually becomes busy, and very dirty, on its\nway to join the sea, with a sigh of relief after such a very strenuous\n\"last lap.\"\n\nThe river at Prague is worthy of careful study, but whatever I may\nsuggest as to its influence on the people of Prague, I still advise you\nto come here and judge for yourself. Remember, its name is \"Vltava,\" out\nof which the Germans had made \"Moldau,\" by which you have probably known\nit till now; but the map of Europe has been readjusted lately, names\nhave changed back to their original version, and so the river at Prague\nhas resumed definitely its Slavonic designation, which, though not given\non any map, yet lived in the memory of the people.\n\n * * * * *\n\nAn atmosphere of serenity seems to me to cling to the memory of\nCharles's reign, a sort of \"world went very well then\" feeling.\nCertainly Charles was doing his best, and his serenity and singleness of\npurpose were reflected in the soul of his people, as were the works of\nhis hands reflected in the waters of the Vltava. Some historians credit\nCharles with deep and sinister designs, such as raising a vast Slav\nEmpire to counter the growing ascendancy of Germany. This seems rather\nnonsensical. Charles was a good King of Bohemia, albeit German by race\nand French by upbringing, and was doing his best for his country. He saw\ndistinctly, as very few people only have seen before or since, that\nBohemia and its capital, Prague, was admirably suited to form the centre\nof a large Empire; he therefore developed the resources of his country\nin order to fit it for the part it should play. Charles is also accused\nof Pan-Slavism, a wide and generally misinterpreted term; indeed, he\nspoke Czech well, unlike his father John, and encouraged literary effort\nin that language--it was his duty to do this, and not to force French or\nGerman on his people as he might have tried to do. Again, the fact of\nhis having founded the Benedictine monastery at Emaus for the purpose of\nreviving the traditions of the former monastery of St. Prokop! To this\nend came monks from Dalmatia, Croatia, Bosnia, all Slavs who brought\nback to Bohemia the Cyrillac alphabet and the Slavonic liturgy. The Pope\nhad granted express permission at the request of Charles, who had\npointed out that it was of little use preaching to his people in Latin.\nThe Pope had, indeed, stipulated that Emaus should be the only\ncongregation to use Slavonic rites within the frontiers of Bohemia.\n\n[Illustration: TOWER OF NEW TOWN HALL.]\n\nCharles was probably the sort of man who would walk about on foot among\nhis people, and I like to think of him crossing the bridge he built when\ngoing about his business, and there was plenty of that. First of all,\nthe Royal Castle, where he seems to have resided, was badly in need of\nrepair; at the same time there were several churches building on the\nright bank, and Charles would surely go to see how they were getting on.\nThen again, the New Town was growing up and being walled in, and the\nNew Town Hall was in course of construction. This latter building is\nanother pleasant monument to \"the Father of his Country,\" as it rears\nits graceful saddle-roofed tower, with the characteristic pointed\nturrets, over the trees and flowering shrubs that make of the Charles\nSquare such a delectable resting-place. Vy[vs]ehrad was also having its\nancient defences repaired and strengthened, and the sides of the hill\nrising up out of the Old Town, Vinohrad, were being turned into\nvineyards and gardens by order of the King. Charles was also in the\nhabit of attending learned discourses at the University, or of dropping\nin at lectures. Then there were many grave affairs of the State to keep\nhim anxiously busy. I can almost see him, a stoutish, sturdy man of\nround and kindly countenance, passing across the bridge, reflecting\ndeeply on many difficult questions. There were, for instance, the\nzealous preachers Conrad Waldhauser and Mili[vc] of Krom[ve][vr]i[vz]e,\nwho were causing such a stir. These two worthies were holding forth in\nthe churches against the luxury and immorality of the time, with such\neffect that well-known, great and gaudy sinners were moved to acts of\npublic repentance and women to cast off their jewellery and to dress\nthemselves in sober fashion. All this was very beautiful and edifying,\nbut it was not likely to last, and what with the ill-will of the Pope\nand the opposition of the monastic orders it took Charles all his tact\nand ability to steer a course among the rocks and rapids of imperial and\nBohemian affairs. For all Charles's efforts the outlook was losing its\nair of serenity--was, in fact, becoming ominously cloudy towards the end\nof his reign. The papal conflict had brought about the Great Schism in\nthe Western Church; this led to an aggravation of the Church Reform\nmovement in Bohemia. In fact, the storm was rising which was to sweep\nover Bohemia, thence over all Central Europe, leaving it eventually\nbroken and desolate, under the hand of Habsburg. At this moment, when a\nstrong and steady hand was wanted more than ever, Charles died. He was\nonly sixty-two, and might have been good for a few more years. However,\nhe had prepared to meet events that might follow on his death, and had\nsecured the succession to his son Wenceslaus, fourth and last Bohemian\nKing of that name. Wenceslaus was the son of Anne of Schweidnitz, third\nwife of Charles; he had been crowned King of Bohemia at the age of two,\nhis succession to the throne of Germany had been secured, so Wenceslaus,\nthough only seventeen years old, started with the odds in his favour.\nThere were plenty of troubles about which must have puzzled the young\nKing considerably: rival Popes were hurling bans, bulls,\nexcommunications, anathemas and such-like Church property at each other,\nand all the little dogs were barking at the heels of those precious\npontiffs. Luckily young Wenceslaus could count upon a number of his\nfather's old friends and councillors, and he started out trying to carry\non his father's policy. He also took a line, a private one of his own,\nwhich was harmless enough at the outset, but became inconvenient as time\nwent on. Wenceslaus was all out for popularity among his people,\nespecially among his Pragers. He would go about the city looking into\nminor matters of his people's welfare, so he would measure the mercer's\ncloth-yard and if it were not up to standard would crack the saucy\nknave's head therewith. He went among his people performing acts of\ncharity; in fact, he generally disported himself right royally, if with\nan occasional lapse from discretion. Now this Wenceslaus drew the\nrelations between England and Bohemia closer together. Wenceslaus had a\nsister Anne, who married our Richard II. Anne was surely a very dear\nlady--an expensive one, in fact--for Richard had to pay eighty thousand\ngolden guldens to Wenceslaus within a fortnight of Anne's landing in\nEngland, and had also lent the genial Bohemian King a further sum of\ntwenty thousand golden guldens, which went away to the _Ewigkeit_--at\nleast England never saw them again.\n\nCostly as was the bride of Richard II of England, I like to linger on\nher memory, feeling convinced that we all have benefited by the outlay.\nIt is my firm opinion that we owe our grand old Christmas carol about\n\"Good King Wenceslaus\" to Anne of Bohemia directly. I have consulted\nvarious living Bohemian authorities on this subject. They had not even\nheard of our carol: I hummed the tune to them--it told them nothing.\nThey tried to palm me off with St. Wenceslaus, but I declined him; he is\nnot quite suitable as \"theme\" of a rollicking carol; besides, he gets\nplenty of attention in his own country. I grant that St. Wenceslaus was\nfull of good works, all of the kind that looks well in frescoes, and in\nwhich everybody moves with feet in the first position, it was _de\nrigueur_. King Wenceslaus IV, also performed acts of kindness among his\npeople, so the reference in the carol to \"flesh and wine\" suits this\nmerry monarch thoroughly: he would certainly have called for both these\nforms of sustenance. St. Wenceslaus might have forgotten the wine; King\nWenceslaus would have thought of that at once; in fact, he was a firm\nbeliever in the French adage, \"_l'alcool conserve_.\" Then we learn from\nthe carol that the page found warmth in the footsteps of the King, and\nWenceslaus was certainly \"hot stuff,\" as you will agree when I have told\nyou more about him. Moreover, what is more likely than that Anne should\nhave told her new English friends all about that jolly, popular brother\nof hers? The tune and its quaint harmonization is surely from some time\nin the joyous fifteenth century; if it had to deal with St. Wenceslaus\nit would have to grunt about in Gregorian phrasing. No doubt Anne's\nladies who accompanied her from Bohemia would invoke the patron saint\nfrom time to time, and English people, hearing a strange and difficult\nname, and thinking it impossible that several well-known men had borne\nit, would be likely enough to get saintly prince and jovial monarch\nthoroughly mixed up. Anyway, I am firmly convinced that the \"Good King\nWenceslaus\" we sing about at Christmas is no other than the brother of\nAnne, German King, King of Bohemia, fourth of that name, and Emperor of\nthe Holy Roman Empire.\n\nMeanwhile the River Vltava continued to reflect indifferently the doings\nof small and great, and among others those of Wenceslaus.\n\nThe laudable habit of bathing met with every encouragement from \"Good\nKing Wenceslaus,\" who was generally to be found ready to take part in\nany popular diversion. It was he who raised those humble but useful\ncitizens, the keepers of bathing establishments, to prominent rank among\ntheir fellows. And hereby hangs a tale.\n\nKing Wenceslaus did not always see eye to eye with the leaders among the\npeople; there were misunderstandings and bickerings, and despite his\npopularity among the more jovial elements, he had enemies even in his\nown capital. On the occasion of one such unpleasantness his enemies had\ndetained him at the Old Town Hall. The King, finding this very irksome,\ndeliberated on some method of escaping, and had the happy thought of\ninsisting on a bath. It was in the autumn of the year 1394; the weather\nwas warm and the river close by. A few turns down the narrow winding\nstreet named after his father would bring Wenceslaus to the river,\nwhere, somewhat above the old town mill, was a bathing establishment.\nThe name of the owner of these baths seems to have been lost to history.\nNot so that of his daughter Susanna. Now the name Susanna has appeared\nbefore in recorded history also in connection with bathing--a most\nirreproachable Susanna. We draw no parallel; we make no comparisons,\nespecially as no elders enter immediately into this story; we merely\nstate historic facts. Moreover, it was not Susanna who was taking the\nbath this time, it was the King, and Susanna seems merely to have been\nhovering about in a punt. Here was the monarch's opportunity. He\npersuaded Susanna to take him across the river. Thus he escaped from his\nenemies. Now there is no hint of an assignation, no suggestion that\nSusanna was an accessory before the fact, merely the chronicler's\nstatement that the lady happened to be there and that she helped the\nKing to escape.\n\nAs was only right, King Wenceslaus proved his gratitude right royally.\nHe began by breaking up the lady's bathing establishment as a\npreliminary to building a new and much more sumptuous one. Susanna's\nfather seems to have been left out of the deal altogether by this time.\nThe King then sent for Susanna, who appears to have been close at hand,\nnamely, in the Royal Castle of [vZ]ebrac, where the solemn rite now to\nbe related took place. After all, if you must break up a lady's home,\nthe least you can do is to offer her suitable accommodation elsewhere.\nSusanna therefore appeared before the King, who solemnly invested her\nwith a charter by virtue of which all those who followed the pursuit of\nkeeping a bathing establishment should by their occupation be placed on\na social level with the masters of other arts and crafts. They might,\nindeed, hold high their head among their fellows. It was expressly\nstated that no Jews, infidels, heretics, or lewd persons should be\nallowed to patronize bathing establishments; nor might they even enter\ninto the dwelling-places of those who came under the new charter. Severe\npenalties were to be imposed on those who ventured to speak ill of the\nkeeper of a bathing establishment; he might even lose his head for such\ntemerity; anyway, his property would go to the senior member of the new\nguild.\n\n * * * * *\n\nThus spake the King. Furthermore, he ordained that this worshipful guild\nwhich did so much towards encouraging cleanly habits should hold as its\ncrest or cognizance within a garland argent and azure, a kingfisher\nproper. Some chroniclers suggest that the bird was a parrot, but this\nseems unlikely--parrots can be so indiscreet. Moreover, you may see for\nyourself on the Old Town side of the tower of the Charles Bridge the\nbird within the garland, and will recognize it at once for a kingfisher.\n\nLet us watch the pageant that crosses the bridge that Charles built.\nThey pass in the serene atmosphere which, to my thinking, enveloped the\ncity in the Golden Age of Charles \"the Father of his Country.\" They\nhurry to and fro under the lurid light of civil war waged in the name of\nreligion; they linger on the bridge looking to the sky and its\nreflections in the water, under the false light which precedes disaster,\nor move mournfully cast down by the lowering clouds of oppression, to\nrevive when Prague came into her own again one crisp October morning in\n1918.\n\nCharles, it seems, lived in the Royal Castle a good deal. We may see him\ncrossing the bridge he built, to look to the progress of the work he was\nengaged upon. Perchance he was deep in thought on high matters of State,\non his Golden Bull which reaffirmed all the privileges granted to\nBohemia. This Bull caused a coolness between him and the Pope, whose\nindefinite claims to interfere in German elections were certainly\nrestricted by that engine. Around him the populace would be talking of\nthe great preachers, Conrad Waldhauser and Mili[vc] of\nKrom[ve][vr]i[vz]e, whom the King protected in their fiery onslaught on\nthe abuses in the Church and immorality of the children of their time.\nCharles may have thought all this very beautiful but unlikely to last.\nHe saw clouds arising, and they closed over Bohemia when he died.\n\nOf the works that Charles constructed for the beautifying of his\ncapital, several are reflected in the waters of Vltava. There is, for\ninstance, the bridgehead tower on the Mala Strana side, a graceful\nmonument to Charles's gracious days. You may notice on passing under the\ngateway from the bridge the figure of a witch carved in stone, complete\nwith broom and general air of nocturnal enterprise. I often wonder as I\npass by here whether this figure inspired Marion Crawford when he was\ncasting about for a title to his novel which you may have read, _The\nWitch of Prague_. There lingers a strong, a powerfully attractive\n_allure_ of old Prague, just about this quarter, at the left bank end of\nthe Charles Bridge. There is a quaint old tower that dates from Queen\nJudith's time. I have already pointed it out to you, and told you that\nit was until fairly recently used as a lock-up. The battlement across\nthe gateway used to bear indications of rough justice as executed in\nthose days; it was frequently adorned with the heads of rebels, traitors\nor others who had become unpopular, as, for instance, one Bohemicky. It\nappears that Bohemicky was quite unable to get along with his\nfellow-citizens, so they had his head off and added to the collection\nover the gateway. This happened in 1517, when the nations had emerged\nout of the darkness of the Middle Age and were struggling along by the\nyet uncertain light of civil progress and religious reform.\n\nThe tower on the right bank end of the Charles Bridge bears every\nindication of dating from King Wenceslaus IV, as his device, the\nkingfisher, is found to figure in its decorative scheme. Between these\ntwo bridgeheads passes a good deal of the historic pageant of Old\nPrague. Wenceslaus IV played about here a good deal, it would appear.\nFirst of all we have that little affair with Susanna of the\nbathing-place. Then there was a story about one John Nepomuk which\nseems to have made less stir at the time of the event narrated than its\necho did some centuries later. John Nepomuk was a pious soul, as a\npriest should be, modest and seemly in his ways. He just comes in, as it\nwere, in the background, of the squabbles that Wenceslaus and his\nArchbishop, John of Jenstein, constantly indulged in. Wenceslaus was all\nfor reforming the Church before reforming himself. As to John Nepomuk, I\nam rather puzzled about him. The people of Bohemia, on the whole, seem\nto reverence him as a saint, one of the patrons of their country.\n\nSome saints are a long time in coming to their own. The powers that\ndecide such matters are very deliberate; they are \"left at the post\"\neven by such august institutions as Royal Commissions, Parish Councils\nand Leagues of Nations. We all know how long it took before Joan of Arc\nwas duly canonized, yet her case was perfectly clear; she had her\nvisions, she acted upon them, she also gave advice freely, and was\neventually burnt at the stake; in fact, there can have been no doubt,\nfrom the very beginning of her career, but that she was the stuff that\nsaints are made of. Another saint whose recognition was very tardy is\nSt. John Nepomuk. He is probably quite unknown to England even to this\nday, notwithstanding the fact that he stood in close if somewhat\nuncomfortable relations to one who figures in an English carol, namely,\nthis Good King Wenceslaus.\n\nNow there is relativity in goodness, and this feature was strongly\nmarked in the King of Bohemia of whom we sing at Christmas time. One\nabsolute departure from goodness is reported of him, namely, that he\ncaused his wife's father-confessor to be thrown into the river at\nPrague; and this man was John Nepomuk.\n\nThe trouble arose out of curiosity, and perhaps jealousy. Wine had also\na good deal to do with the business; the wine of M[ve]lnik, both white\nand red, was probably as pleasant to the taste then as it is to-day, and\nWenceslaus thought so too. His Queen Sophie was a very good wife\nindeed, so Wenceslaus, wondering what such a very dear and gentle lady\ncould have to confess, inquired of John Nepomuk about this. I fear John\nwas one of those exasperating persons who give the soft answer that\nmakes one very wild. It had that effect on Wenceslaus; he went off into\nan ungovernable rage and had John dragged down to the river and thrown\nin. I believe John's tongue was torn out first. Anyway, this is the sort\nof picturesque addition that you expect. There is a statue to John\nNepomuk on the Charles Bridge, there is a tablet to mark the spot where\nhe was thrown in, and there is his shrine in the cathedral which Luetzow,\nby the way, describes as of \"barbaric splendour.\"\n\nNow shortly after John Nepomuk's demise came yet another John, surnamed\nHus, and as he likewise met with a violent death, and that under yet\nmore picturesque conditions highly coloured by national sentiment, his\nmemory survived, whereas John Nepomuk's was lost in oblivion. After all,\nJohn Nepomuk's trouble was more a personal one, a quarrel about a\ndomestic affair, whereas John Hus went all the way to Constance to bear\ntestimony to the faith held by his people, and was burnt there with all\nthe pomp and ceremony which Church and State of those days could put up.\nAs sequel to the martyrdom of John Hus came the wars waged by his\nBohemian followers against all the might of the Church of Rome and the\nHoly Roman Empire. It is, therefore, no wonder that his memory held\npopular sentiment for centuries, holds it still, though there are signs\nthat John Nepomuk is creeping up again; and in this lie endless\npossibilities.\n\nIn the first place it is maintained by ardent nationalists, and\ntherefore followers of John Hus, that John Nepomuk never existed at all,\nthat he was simply invented by the Jesuits in their successful efforts\nto bring back to Rome the Protestant people of Bohemia whose army had\nbeen defeated in the battle of the White Mountain in 1620. John Nepomuk\nwas raised, they maintain, in opposition to the real national hero and\nmartyr John Hus; therefore the whole story of the former John's death is\nall invention, and the tablet on the bridge over which he went to\nmartyrdom is a brazen misstatement of fact. The tablet is of bronze,\nanyway, and shows the saint floating serenely on the surface, his head\nsurrounded by a halo of stars which flew upwards as his body struck the\nwater. Although this serious event is said to have happened in 1383, it\nwas not till nearly three centuries later that it was recalled to the\nmemory of the Bohemian people, who were then encouraged to celebrate the\n16th of May as the day set apart for St. John Nepomuk. So they\ncelebrated--it takes little inducement to make a Bohemian celebrate\nanything. The festival included several attractive features, such as a\nreligious service on the bridge itself, and also a display of fireworks\nin memory of the afore-mentioned bunch of stars. Such observances must\nhave given great satisfaction to the saint, less so the habit of\ninvoking his aid in times of drought. This surely is rather a delicate\nmatter. Remember, John Nepomuk had been drowned; therefore to ask him to\nsee to a further supply of water seems hardly tactful--it is enough to\nsend any ordinary saint off into a fit of hydrophobia. Anyway, John\nNepomuk was duly canonized some three hundred and fifty years after his\nsupposed immersion in the waters of Prague. Since then many churches\nhave been dedicated to his saintly memory; many statues, depicting him\nwith all the truthfulness inherent in the narrative of \"the oldest\ninhabitant,\" adorn shrines by the wayside: he was apparently popular all\nover the country--in any case he brought the people at least one\nholiday. But the war affected the pleasant relations between a kindly\nsaint and the people to whom he had been appointed for special duties by\nthe far distant authorities of Holy Church. The spirit of nationalism\ntarnished the starry halo of one John, and sought illumination in the\nfierce glow that destroyed the other. John Nepomuk was relegated to the\nbackground where live the quiet souls whose beliefs are not affected by\nnationalism. John Hus was brought forward by national sentiment which\nhad fiercely resented the suppression of this martyr's memorial\ncelebrations, and for a time it seemed that John Hus would hold the\nfield, that the spirit of the nation would return to his tenets and away\nfrom an alien spiritual authority.\n\nEven a year ago John Nepomuk's day was observed only by those who\nperform their devotions in secret; this year we had vigil and feast kept\nat top form, pilgrimages from all parts of the country, processions\nthrough the streets headed by high dignitaries of the Church, and\noutward and visible signs of a sincere regard for a patron saint. There\nwas some stimulating opposition too: a band of followers of the other\nJohn also demonstrated in favour of their man, whose day was not due for\nabout a month or so. The police were out in force, but the opposition\namounted to little more than noise; there were plenty of bands and beer,\nand no one particularly wanted a row.\n\nThere is some significance in this revival of reverence for St. John\nNepomuk. Owing to centuries of oppression the mind of the people of\nBohemia has developed a strong \"spirit of negation,\" \"_der Geist der\nstets verneint_,\" as Goethe would say, to the detriment of constructive\nability, so it may be that this spirit having failed to reconstruct a\nchurch of some sort, at least on national lines, is going under before\nthe mightiest organization the world has ever known, the Church of Rome.\n\nThe Government's attitude was interesting, if not amusing, in the matter\nof keeping the feast. Officially there was no feast (except the daily\nsocialistic feast of reason), unofficially anyone who wanted to drop a\ntear for John Nepomuk over the bridge was at liberty to leave his office\nfor that purpose.\n\nSwarms of country folk flocked into the city of Prague to give John\nNepomuk his due--but there was also an agricultural exhibition going on\nat the time. The Government was keenly interested in this exhibition;\nthe crowds who came in out of reverence for John Nepomuk went to the\nexhibition out of curiosity.\n\nTo the Government the late patron saint of Bohemia was of some economic\nvalue; what his spiritual value is time will tell. Holy Church can\nalways afford to wait.\n\nJohn Hus has just been mentioned. He passes before us in the pageant of\nthe Charles Bridge. Wenceslaus IV knew this fervent soul who came up to\nPrague from his humble home in Southern Bohemia, and arrived at his M.A.\ndegree in 1396, eventually to become Rector of the University. It is\npossibly indirectly through Wenceslaus that Hus became acquainted with\nthe writings and teachings of Wycliffe. Wenceslaus frequently\ncorresponded on the subject of Church Reform, on the recognition of\nUrban VI as Pope, and other cognate matters, with his brother-in-law,\nRichard II of England, and no doubt sister Anne added a line to her\nhusband's letters. Now Anne, we know, had already been deeply impressed\nby Wycliffe's teaching; his writings had been known and treasured in\nPrague for some time. John Hus had certainly studied them, and he was an\nardent advocate of Church Reform. We also find that he had a friend in\nthat long-suffering Queen Sophie, wife of Wenceslaus; he was even for a\ntime her father-confessor. We see John Hus pass on his way through the\nstorms of controversy to the pyre at which he perished by the\nfaithlessness of an Emperor, Sigismund, younger brother of Wenceslaus,\nand also some time King of Bohemia. Then again we see the fire that\ndestroyed John Hus's body at Constance reflected time and again,\nangrily, in the waters of the Vltava; the Hussites were out and, as we\nhave seen, were destroying by fire. So we see the Bishop's palace in\nflames, the Church of \"St. Mary under the Chain,\" and many of the old\nhouses on the Mala Strana. The same fate, but not by the same agents,\nbefell the old Gothic tower you see standing up above that quaint\ncongerie of buildings below you as you look upstream at the Old Town end\nof the bridge. Here is the old water tower dating back through many\nvicissitudes to 1489, and below it are the buildings of the Old Town\nmill, which are also of venerable age.\n\nReligious dissensions, strife and turmoil, marked the days when\nSigismund reigned over Bohemia and also the Holy Roman Empire; there\nwere at one time three rival Emperors, also three Popes, a state of\naffairs not conducive to the world's welfare; and Prague suffered\naccordingly. Strange scenes must have been reflected in the Vltava in\nthose stormy times, as the pageant of the history of Prague crossed the\nCharles Bridge. One day, to the beating of drums, a bevy of priests came\nfrom afar; they made for the market-place and there sold indulgences.\nThe Pragers, distracted by the dissensions that rent the country, took\nto arms repeatedly. Now and then a rift in the clouds would hold out\npromise of a serener atmosphere; after two Habsburgs, Albert and his\nposthumous son, Ladislaus, came a King of their own choosing, of their\nown race and faith, George Podiebrad. But much as the Pragers venerated\nthis native King of theirs, he was able to bring them little lasting\ngood, with all his grand efforts and laudable intentions. George\nPodiebrad, it appears, was fond of the river, like a good Bohemian, and\nwould come down to bathe occasionally. To make a clean job of it, he\nused to get shaved at the same time, possibly hair-cut. One day as the\nbarber held the King's chin and flourished his razor, the knight of the\ntongs asked his sovereign: \"Who is now the most mighty man in this\nKingdom of Bohemia?\" \"Surely thou art,\" quoth the King. When the shave\nwas over the King demanded: \"Who is now the mightiest man in this\nKingdom of Bohemia?\" \"Surely thou art,\" quoth the barber, who was\nthereupon given striking evidence of his monarch's might, a couple of\nblows on the jaw, a kick or two in the ribs, and other marks of royal\nfavour. No doubt a few halidoms, gramercies and other bits of furniture\nwere set flying about at the time. The barber was so overcome by these\nmarks of royal favour that he died a few days after taking them. This\nwas George Podiebrad in lighter mood; he had a serious side to him as\nwell, as I may try to show you by and by.\n\nThere followed Vladislav, a Pole, and various Habsburgs as Kings of\nBohemia, but I see little that the river cares to reflect, of their work\nor doings. Instead of reflections in the waters, I see them troubled,\nand anxiety on the face of Prague. There seems to have been a\nbrightening up after the Bohemians had cleared the atmosphere by letting\nloose the War of Thirty Years. They had invited a foreign Protestant to\nbe their King, and they hoped much from his wife. We have met these two\nbefore, Frederick of the Palatinate and Elizabeth, whom the Bohemians\nstill insist on calling an Englishwoman, whereas everyone should know\nthat anyone who has even a remote Scottish relative expects to be\nconsidered a Scot \"for a' that.\" The river gives me just a glint of a\nreflection concerning Frederick and Elizabeth.\n\nThe good people of Prague live by the river, on the river, and in warm\nweather in the river. This has been the pleasant custom of the Pragers\nfrom time immemorial; it has not been appreciated by some of the\nvisitors to Prague. So, for instance, this so-called English lady,\nElizabeth, wife of him whom history nicknames the \"Winter King,\" was\nshocked at the very liberal display of pink flesh one day when crossing\nthe Charles Bridge. It was probably a sunny day, and many people of\nPrague were disporting themselves in the Vltava, as they do to-day. You\nmay see them swimming about or in boatloads pulled by some enthusiastic\nif perspiring male member of the family; indeed, the results of\nBohemia's excellent cuisine are much in evidence. It must be admitted\nthat the same cuisine tends to develop a certain redundancy among those\nno longer in their first youth. Perhaps the sight of exuberant ladies,\nscantily clad and bulging over the gunwale of a frail craft, provoked\nthe English Princess to a shocked utterance, the account of which,\npurposely garbled by the Jesuits, spread abroad like wildfire, and\ncaused much unfavourable comment. The lady herself was subject to remark\nby the Pragers on account of her very _decollete_ dresses after the\nfashion set by the Court of her father, King James I of England, of whom\nit is said, by the way, that he was not over addicted to washing--the\ntips of his fingers were about the extent of his ablutions; so\nstone-throwing was out of place in this instance, as in all others.\nHowever, as we know, Elizabeth did not make a prolonged stay in Prague;\nher husband Frederick, by no means endowed with the physical courage of\nhis son Rupert, the Prince Palatine, did a memorable \"sprint\" when he\nheard how the people of his adoption had been defeated. The people of\nPrague then had much more serious matters to concern themselves with\nthan an English Princess's dresses. The troops of the Empire marched\ninto Prague, adventurers of many nations swarmed into the city and\nsettled there while Jesuits set about bringing back the citizens into\nthe fold of the Roman Church by lighting bonfires with the works of the\nearnest divines who followed in the footsteps of John Hus and the\nreformers. They endeavoured by these means to stamp out any tendency to\nfreedom of thought, religious and political, in the people of Bohemia.\nIn this they failed.\n\n[Illustration]\n\nWhile talking of the aquatic habits of the people of Prague, of Bohemia\ngenerally, I am reminded of accounts by Byzantine chroniclers, reporters\nand travellers who described Slavs they had met or heard of. This would\nbe some time ago, say sixth or seventh century. These Slavs had a\nwonderful idea of lying in ambush--I cannot call it a military\nstratagem, it is so amphibious. They lay down in shallow pools, showing\nonly the end of a blow-pipe to breathe through, and so waylaid the\nenemy. The Byzantines must have been up against the Czechs, who seem to\nme distinctly amphibious in summer-time. True, the stratagem described\nis no longer in use; it is too simple for modern times and methods;\nbesides, I do not know many Bohemians of whom I could say that they are\nbuilt for that man[oe]uvre, that they would ever be able effectively to\nconceal their manly proportions in shallow pools. No, I do not think it\ncould be done to-day. One _buirdly_ body, whose proportions were not\neasy to conceal, caught my eye one day as I was paddling about among a\nswarm of merry swimmers. He stood out among the crowd, a majestic\nfigure. It was not his costume--simplicity itself--which attracted my\nattention, not his fiercely upturned moustache nor the red and white\njockey cap that crowned his square-cut head. It was his massive\nstateliness as a whole. Surely he had taken guidance from Marcus\nAurelius: \"Be thou like a promontory\"!\n\n[Illustration: BE THOU LIKE A PROMONTORY.]\n\nOn sunny summer days all Prague seems to be on or in the river, and a\nvery sensible and healthy way it is to spend the hot hours of the\nday--and it can be appreciably hot in Prague. As a rule you may reckon\non long spells of fine weather throughout Bohemia, as the country is\nsheltered on the weather side by the high mountains which hold up the\nrain. So all Prague turns out to enjoy the river and the sunshine.\nDuring the summer months the inhabitants of Prague, a very white-skinned\nrace, turn ripe brown in the parts exposed to the sun; and, as I\nsuggested before, a considerable aggregate surface is thus exposed. In\ncontrast to low-cut white frocks, brown necks recall sights familiar to\nEastern travellers. I do not suggest that this detracts from the charm\nof the ladies of Prague, to which I pay ready tribute. And in winter\nthe normal fairness of skin of the Aryan reasserts itself, while the\ncharm remains--in fact, intensifies. It is singularly pleasant to watch\nthe younger generation at play on or in the river. They are all good,\nstrong swimmers, but their chief delight seems to lie in each one\n\"paddling his, or her, own canoe.\" The river canoe is not quite the same\nas those which we derived from the Red Indians, though that kind of\ncraft is also seen about. The popular canoe is a very small\nflat-bottomed concern with pointed stem and stern, is generally gaily\npainted and named appropriately \"Water Bubble,\" \"Fairy,\" or something\nequally ingenious. It looks easy when you see a lass gracefully paddling\nherself along with a double oar; it is anything but as easy as it looks.\nThis class of canoe is a very unstable craft. I have tried to navigate\none, and spent the whole time in the water--simply could not keep inside\nthe tub. This I much regretted, for it must be thoroughly enjoyable to\nlaze about under the trees that overhang the river from one or other of\nthe islands and listen to the band. You do not get half the enjoyment\nyou should out of music when swimming around all the time, and it would\nnot be appreciated if you appeared like Venus or Undine, from out of the\nfoam as it were, among the customers of the \"Restauration\" on one or\nother of the islands--besides, you would not have your pocket-book,\nstuffed with notes, on your person just then.\n\n[Illustration]\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER X\n\nCharles and the Housing Problem. The \"carryings on\" in the New Town, and\nmore about \"St. Mary of the Snow\"; also about Rudolph II and some\ntroublesome guests of his inviting, called the \"Passauer.\" How Count\nThurn chased the \"Passauer\" out of town. A word about the Salvation\nArmy. How the centre of fashion shifted to the Old Town in the days of\nWenceslaus IV, and we move with it down the Karlova Ulice, look at\nvarious matters of interest and listen to a story about a confectioner\nand his nocturnal visitors. The 21st of June in Prague and the Hus\ncelebrations on the 6th of July. The Old Town Hall and the Church of Our\nLady of Tyn. The \"Powder Tower,\" night life in Prague, and a word on\nmissionaries of long ago and of to-day. A good deal about concerts,\ntheatres, opera and other recreations. A mention of Jungmann and Kalina,\nand the Slav Congress of 1848. A memory of barricades and street\nfighting. Something about Sokols.\n\n\nCharles, we have seen, had added a fourth quarter, the New Town, to his\ncity of Prague, moved thereto by the acuteness of the \"Housing Problem,\"\nwhich, by the way, is equally urgent to-day. Prague is again the capital\nof a free and flourishing State, and is again hard put to it to find\nroom for all those who feel attracted to her. The New Town soon entered\ninto the spirit of mediaeval Prague, put on no airs, but just joined in\nany fray that happened to be going on. So New Town and Old were wont to\nmeet in battle over some vexed question, generally of theology strongly\nmixed with politics, and a favourite cockpit was the ground in front of\n\"St. Mary of the Snow.\" It was on one of those occasions that the\nsteeple was brought down, together with a couple of monks who were\nhiding in it, and also the big bell Carolus; a gun was brought into\naction, and no doubt gave tone to the proceedings. This was in 1434;\nnearly two centuries later some visitors generally alluded to as the\n\"Passauer,\" plundered this church and monastery.\n\nThis visit of the \"Passauer\" was again due to that noxious mixture,\nreligion plus politics. The Union of Protestant German Princes had been\nbroken, and Ravaillac's dagger had killed Henri Quatre, spoiling his\nplans towards helping Protestantism, in which plans the French King had\nalso included Bohemia. Just about this time the Habsburger King of\nBohemia, Rudolph II, who must have been rather mad, was looking out for\na successor. He loathed all his relatives with complete impartiality,\nsave one, and that one was a cousin, Archduke Leopold, Bishop of\nStrassbourg and Passau. Leopold was one of those fighting prelates who\nsend others to do the dirty work; in this case an army of his, some\nthirty thousand bandits led by a foreign _condottiere_, invaded Bohemia,\nburning and pillaging until they came to Prague. Rudolph had probably\ninvited them, as the imperial garrison of the Hrad[vs]any admitted these\n\"Passauer\" to the Mala Strana. In Old Prague these marauders met with\nresistance, though here too preparations had been made towards their\nvisit, as gunpowder and other warlike stores had been found in\nmonasteries and houses of the Jesuits. The Estates of Bohemia hastily\nequipped Count Thurn, who soon got the better of Leopold's mercenaries,\nand chased them and the Jesuits out of the country. Fighting about this\nquarter of Prague--in fact, anywhere in the city--is now discouraged by\nan efficient police force, and the only warlike sounds I have ever heard\nproceeding from out the shadows of \"St Mary of the Snow\" came from the\nband of the Salvation Army. A very good band it is too, though the tunes\nit plays are not up to the native standard of music. Nevertheless the\nSalvation Army is not only tolerated, but enjoys a certain amount of\npopularity; deservedly too, for that organization does a great deal of\ngood rescue work. Jungmann's statue looks down thoughtfully upon this\nsomewhat corybantic form of religious expression when on a Sunday\nafternoon the Salvation Army band is in full blast. Jungmann, who\nbrought out the value of the Czech language, its poetic possibilities,\nby translating into it Milton's _Paradise Lost_, may wonder at this\nstrange striving after \"the Beauty of Holiness,\" which also comes from\nEngland. But probably he understands.\n\nThe New Town seems to have developed along a line of local politics all\nits own and at variance with that of its very close neighbours, Old\nTown, Vy[vs]ehrad and Mala Strana. Their local politicians did not lack\ninitiative; no one can accuse them of that failing. I can recall one\ninstance as example. During the days when the Protestants of Prague, in\ntheir religious ardour, had split up into at least two distinct and\nhostile parties, a procession of Utraquists, priests leading with the\nHost, passed by the New Town Hall. Some one threw a brick and hit a\npriest, thereupon the populace stormed the Town Hall and hurled Mayor\nand Corporation out of the window; those of the victims who still showed\nsigns of life were dispatched with clubs--in fact, a clean-up of\nmunicipal authorities took place. Public spirited certainly,\nunconventional, you may say; but if the Bohemian is to have no power of\nimagination, who may?\n\nIn the days of Wenceslaus IV the fashionable centre of Prague seems to\nhave been shifted from the impressive Hrad[vs]any side to the Old Town.\nThe King himself preferred to live in close touch with his people; he\nwanted to see life--he certainly made it, for Wenceslaus when young was\nquite \"one of the lads of the village.\" Let us look up that good King's\nhaunts. On crossing the Charles Bridge from the Mala Strana to the Old\nTown we keep straight along the Karlova Ulice--that is, as straight as\nyou can along this narrow old street by which Charles must have made his\nway to the Carolinum. I have already pointed out to you the dome which\nsurmounts the home of the Red Cross Knights, the Knights Crucifer, and\ntold you that this building and the church that stands somewhat apart on\nyour left, behind the statue of Charles IV, is the work of the Jesuits.\nWe may go in by the wide gateway into this mass of buildings, the\nClementinum, also part of the University, but this is guide-book\nbusiness, and I prefer to take you my own way. So we go along the\ncrooked street past a bunch of churches, one of which is the longest in\nPrague; you may see their bulbous towers from my terrace, or your own if\nyou get the right point of view. These churches do not interest me\nparticularly except for a lovely bit of wrought-iron railing belonging\nto the Italian Chapel, just where the street takes a slight twist. Here\nyou have quaint old houses, with red-tiled roofs and dormer windows. One\nof them seems inclined to impede the progress of the traffic, and the\nstreet bends slightly away to the right to oblige this building. There\nare quaint ornamentations on the narrow side of this house facing us,\nhuman figures and wreaths, and in the centre of the design a star. This\nold house has a little story to tell. Long ago, possibly in the\nsixteenth century, it was an inn, or a lodging-house, was said to be\nhaunted, so the great-grandson of the last innkeeper there gave up\ntaking lodgers and became a confectioner. One winter's evening, probably\nin preparation for Christmas, this confectioner was surveying the day's\nhandiwork. He was particularly pleased with two little sugar figures he\nhad fashioned; they represented a lady and her gallant in Spanish dress,\neach draped in the heavy folds of a cloak. He was interrupted by a knock\nat the door, and in came two figures, in Spanish dress, cloak and all, a\nlady and her cavalier. The only thing strange about them were their\nfaces: they were like masks, beautiful indeed, but lifeless. However,\nthe couple were quite amiable; they took the proffered seats, and the\ngallant spoke. \"Have you, good master [gramercies, gadzooks, etc.,\naccording to taste], a couple of sugar figures in Spanish dress, each\ndraped in a cloak?\" \"Zounds!\" or something equally effective (in Czech,\nplease) from the confectioner, \"here is the very article!\" The little\nfigures gave satisfaction; the gallant purchased them with much fine\ngold, then proffered a request for a favour in return. \"Granted,\" or\nwords to that effect, from the confectioner. \"As it happens,\" continued\nthe gallant, \"we have lost our heads, and would be much obliged if you\nwould recover them for us. You see, we called here about a hundred\nyears ago and were murdered in our beds, here in this house. It was your\ngreat-grandfather's doing; he was a bit peevish that evening. We had\narrived with all our trunks, had searched the whole town for lodgings;\nevery place was crowded. Some one advised us to call here. The old\ngentleman, after a deal of grumbling, showed us into a room, the first\nfloor front. I feel sure he really never liked us; in fact, we were no\nsooner asleep than he came in and cut our heads off. He put our bodies\nin one of our trunks, the contents of which he kept as souvenirs; you\nknow he was a great collector. He mislaid our heads, and we have\nsuffered much inconvenience in consequence. The ones we are wearing now\nare not real ones--wax, you know; quite good of their kind, but not what\nwe have been used to. If you would be good enough to look around for\nthose heads, put them in a coffin with our bodies and have our whole\noutfit decently buried, we should feel much relieved. By the way, our\nold trunks are somewhere about the premises still, down in the cellar;\nyour great-grandfather was always keen on cold-storage--a collector\nshould be.\" The confectioner promised to see to this little matter, the\nvisitors tried to get up a smile of gratitude, and faded away. Right\nenough, after searching diligently amongst his ancestor's collection,\nthe confectioner found the missing articles, carried out the\ninstructions given him by his visitors, and never saw them again. They\nhave left Prague for good and all, I gather.\n\nIt is well worth while to dive into the little narrow streets and alleys\nto right and left; here you come upon many reminders of ancient Prague.\nLook out especially for the quaint house-signs, some of which have not\nyet been swept away--signs of exquisite design and workmanship, a lily,\na fish, keys or bunches of grapes. The Karlova Ulice eventually lands us\nin the little Old Town Square, where you will find a beautiful\nwrought-iron cage over a well, of sixteenth-century workmanship, and\npassing on we arrive at one of the most historic spots of Prague, the\nStarom[ve]stke Nam[ve]sti, the Old Town Square, or Ring. In shape it is\nneither of these two, but that does not detract from the throbbing\ninterest that clings to it.\n\n * * * * *\n\nThere was something unusual in the atmosphere of Prague when on the 21st\nof June the sun dispelled the river mist, penetrated the purple shadows\nof the quaint old streets, lit up the windows along the modern quays,\nand gave promise of a glorious day to those who hurried to their daily\nwork. The unusual thing was an occasional streak of black in the general\nradiance. Above that quarter of the castle where the President's\nstandard flies, a black flag floated on the morning breeze. The same\nblack note was repeated at the Czech National Theatre, and elsewhere\nblack banners waved out over the streets. This 21st of June was a day of\nmourning for the children of Prague; on that day they remembered the\nevents of three centuries ago, events which robbed them of their rights\nas a sovereign people, and fixed them firmly, ruthlessly, under the yoke\nof Habsburg. It was the commemoration day for those who had made the\nsupreme sacrifice for the faith that was in them. The battle of the\nWhite Mountain had been lost, and with it went the last remnant of those\nable to resist the encroaching Austrians and the band of adventurers\nwho, under the cloak of religion, waged savage war in this fair country.\n\nThe cause of the trouble is far to seek. It arose from a characteristic\nof these Slavonic people which should endear them to us, namely, a very\nstrong feeling of race and its responsibilities and a great tenacity\nwhen defending their political and religious liberty. It is particularly\nin the latter direction that the people of Bohemia and Moravia have been\nin close touch with English thought. They were among the first, perhaps\nthe only people of the Continent, to embrace the tenets of Wycliffe, and\nthey fought for their convictions during the weary vicissitudes of the\nHussite wars. There were many Germans among those who took to the new\nreligious thought; Germans who had made their home in Bohemia and\nMoravia, and were among the most earnest workers for the country's\nwelfare. But the _Drang nach Osten_ of the Germans of the Holy Roman\nEmpire under its semi-independent Princes and Electors, all intent on\ntheir own advancement, was a constant menace to the peaceful development\nof the Bohemian and Moravian people. They were not protected from\ninvasion by the silver sea. Bohemia never had a sea-coast, despite the\ndescriptive scenery in _Measure for Measure_. And here, I fear, is\nanother shattered illusion. When Shakespeare spoke of Bohemia he meant\nApulia, which at one time was named Bohemundia, after its King Bohemund.\nBohemia has always been exposed to enemies from the west, who could pour\nin over the passes from Saxony or Bavaria. So the stout resistance of\nthe Hussites was eventually broken, and the House of Habsburg, for some\ntime elected Kings of Bohemia, encroached more and more on the chartered\nfreedom of the country. A first definite act of imperial bad faith\nfollowing on years of a policy inspired by malevolence and tempered by\nstupidity, brought matters to a climax. A heated scene in the Council\nChamber of the Castle of Prague ended in what is described as the \"Act\nof Defenestration.\" In plain English, the Emperor's lieutenants, who, by\nthe way, happened to be a couple of Czech gentlemen bringing evidence of\nthe sovereign's treachery, were thrown out of the window. A midden in\nthe moat broke their fall; the officials fell soft, and got safely away.\nBut this very distinct lack of appreciation of the Emperor's demands on\nthe part of the Bohemian Estates let loose all the horrors of the Thirty\nYears' War, a conflict which, waged under the cloak of religion and with\nthe blessings of Rome, set back civilization in Central Europe for many\ngenerations. For the Czech inhabitants of Bohemia and Moravia, as for\nthose of Teuton origin who sympathized with the liberal movement of the\ntime, the battle of the White Mountain and its tragic sequel on that\n21st of June was the death-knell of their hopes.\n\nThat there were Germans among the victims shows that it was not merely\nracial rivalry as between Slav and Teuton, and that there was one Roman\nCatholic among the number demonstrates that their protest was not\ndirected solely against the power and presumption of an intolerant\ncreed.\n\n[Illustration: ON THE WHITE MOUNTAIN.]\n\nThe beauty of the architectural composition grouped about the Town Hall\nwas spoilt by the same black note that marked the 21st of June of this\nyear of grace. A large tribune, draped in black, projected well out into\nthe square from under the slender turret of the Town Hall Chapel.\nEscorted by alien mercenaries, the twenty-seven martyrs were led to\nexecution; the dull, continuous rolling of drums accompanied the scene\nuntil the last victim had been disposed of. Strange to relate, the sword\nwhich was used by the one executioner was discovered some forty-four\nyears ago in an Edinburgh curiosity shop. On its basket hilt are graven\nthe names of the Bohemian gentlemen who fell by it (three of the\ntwenty-seven were hanged), and under those names the remark in the Czech\nlanguage: \"The last unhappy task, on 21st June 1621. G. M.\" The sword\nhas returned to the country where the effects of its fell work are felt\nto this day.\n\nThis day, the anniversary, the sunlit square saw numbers of pious folk\ncarrying wreaths to place them where white stones serve as constant\nreminder of those men who died in the courage of their convictions, both\nreligious and political. It seems to be a peculiarly Slavonic trait,\nthis recalling of sad events in their history. The Serbs still celebrate\nVidovdan, the day of their disastrous defeat at Kossovo, where their\nchivalry, the finest in Eastern Europe, went under in a sea of blood.\n\n[Illustration: THE CHAPEL OF THE TOWNHALL.]\n\nAs a boy I was very strong on observing national and other holidays, but\ncannot recall any celebration of the Saxon defeat at Hastings; it never\noccurred to me: lack of imagination probably--and another festive\noccasion missed.\n\nThere is, however, something fine in this Slavonic conception of events\nworth commemorating; they may celebrate victories, but they also observe\nthe anniversaries of great national disasters, \"lest they forget.\"\n\nIn the broad space between the Town Hall and the Tyn Church stands an\nimposing group of statuary. Its centre figure of a simple and\nconvincing dignity represents Master John Hus, the great precursor of\nthose sons of Bohemia who died for their faith. The figure stands facing\ntowards the Town Hall.\n\nThis group of statuary has only recently found its appropriate site here\nin the ancient centre of the city's life--formerly a column surmounted\nby the \"Virgin\" threw its slender shadow across the square.\n\nLooking out over the city on the 6th of July the first sight that caught\nmy eye was a display of bunting; flags flew everywhere, most of them the\ncolours of the Czecho-Slovak Republic, red and white with a blue\ntriangular insertion close up to the flagstaff. There is a correct\nheraldic method of describing this, but to most people, as to myself, it\nis barely intelligible, and hardly fits in with an everyday account of\nthings seen from a terrace in the capital of a very modern republic, the\nconstitution of which allows of no titles of nobility, and therefore has\nlittle use for heraldry.\n\nTitles of nobility have been abolished, and he who under the old regime\nof Austria would style himself Count von Potts and Kettlehausen is now\ncalled plain Mr. Potts. Other titles, those that have been won by\nindividual achievement and cannot be inherited, still remain in use to\nbrighten our drab existence. Most common amongst these is \"Doctor\"; you\nmay be a doctor of any or many more or less exact sciences; Professor\nseems to come next in quantity; again you may profess anything you like.\nThis title is run rather close by Rad, or so it sounds at least, which\nseems to be the old German _Rath_ slightly modified; of these also there\nis a great and glorious variety. You have Pan (Mister) President for the\naugust being who presides over boards of financial, commercial or\nindustrial enterprise; Pan Inspectors are also plentiful and in highly\nvariegated form. In fact, there is quite an imposing array of titled\ndignitaries who as true republicans have risen by their own merits. As\nyet the \"leprosy of decorations,\" as Dr. Seton Watson describes the\noutbreak of coloured ribbons on manly chests, its spread in inverse\nratio to danger incurred, has not assumed undue proportions--but who\nknows? I must, however, get back to the 6th of July and tell you how the\nmemory of John Hus is kept green.\n\nA glance at the streets on that day shows you groups of wayfarers\ncarrying wreaths, and they converge on the square outside the Old Town\nHall where stands the monument to John Hus. The shop windows display\nportraits of the Czech national hero, which is also reproduced inset in\nwreaths, and this recalls to my mind the same day in 1918, when I first\nbecame aware of what Master John Hus stands for to this people of\ntenacious memory.\n\nIt was a day of pure Italian colour, that 6th of July, 1918, when I set\nout from among those lovely Colline Euganie towards the front among the\nAlps. First along broad, well-kept roads, through the plains of Veneto,\nwhere trellised vine hung heavy laden, past homesteads, villas of warm\nochre hues or red, or pink, and all embowered in rich green foliage.\nThrough the narrow winding streets of graceful Vicenza, across the\narcaded market-place of old Verona, past the stately ruins of\nMontecchio, till the road reached the foothills of the Alps. Then up by\nhairpin turns, gaining an ever wider view of the vast plain lying in a\nmorning haze beyond which you knew was Venice and the blue Adriatic,\nthen down by winding ways into a valley. An outpost in Italian\nfield-grey uniform, not men of the Italian type, but stocky, fair-haired\nand square-jawed, their collars decorated with red and white tabs. Every\ngroup displayed a wreath, within it an effigy of John Hus, for these\nsoldiers were of the Czecho-Slovak Legion, and they were for the first\ntime in their lives allowed to commemorate without let or hindrance the\nanniversary of their national hero's death. On this day five centuries\nago John Hus had met death at the stake for holding to his religious\nconvictions. Trusting in the word of an Emperor who had promised him a\nsafe conduct back to his own country, John Hus had gone to Constance to\ndefend his faith. Rome proved all-powerful, prevailed against the\npromise of an Emperor of the Holy Roman Empire, and John Hus perished,\non his lips, they say, the words, \"O Sancta Simplicitas!\" But his memory\nlives, and most surely amongst those of simple faith.\n\nWe do not observe the memory of those who suffered martyrdom for\nEngland's spiritual freedom; by the way, there is in Bohemia a church\ndedicated to St. Thomas a Becket.\n\nI am describing the space between Town Hall and Cathedral as a square,\nwhich is as about as accurate as the German name \"Altstaedter Ring.\" The\nCzech name for it is easier to pronounce than most of their words. Czech\nis an immensely difficult language, and I still marvel at the clever\ninhabitants of the country who pronounce it with ease--even with great\nfluency. They can make jokes in it too, for the pleasant sound of\nlaughter is often heard in this \"City Beautiful.\" I have never tackled a\nCzech joke, but am quite prepared to give it credit for all the wit and\nhumour required of a joke, and as long as somebody is happy over it all\nis well, and I smile with him.\n\n[Illustration: THE TOWER OF OUR LADY OF TYN.]\n\nReally there is something about this city which is smile-producing. It\nis difficult to analyse, and may be attributed to the sheer beauty of\nthe place. And your smile may well go with a catch in your throat, for\nthere is always pathos in great beauty, and nowhere more so than here in\nPrague. There is the delicate beauty of the Town Hall Chapel, and facing\nit the tall steeples of the Tyn Church, with clusters of quaint little\npointed turrets, overtop a row of houses that seem to have set\nthemselves down with the deliberate intention of blocking the west\nentrance. Now these houses are arcaded, and so are those on the south\nside of the square. You puzzle for a while and then recall Padua, Verona\nand other towns of Northern Italy; so now you know whence came the\ninspiration that set up arcades in a northern capital. You ask how and\nwhen this influence came to Prague, so I remind you of the relations\nthat existed between Bohemia and Italy, and of which I have told you\nwhen discussing King John and his great son Charles. Under the guidance\nof the latter, the Renaissance was not long in making its influence felt\nin Prague--in fact, in all Bohemia--and Italian architects who\nintroduced the arcaded house added fresh beauties to the city. To the\nearlier period of Italian influence must be attributed a quaint arched\nhouse, the one at the corner of the Tynska Ulice. It seems to block the\nwest entrance to the Church of Our Lady of Tyn. The old house dates back\nto the early days of the fourteenth century, at which period the Tyn\nChurch, though founded in the eleventh century, was still a-building. I\ncannot blame the old houses for having squatted down in front of this\nchurch; they were probably under the impression that it would never be\nfinished. They have at least left a vaulted alley-way leading to the\nsomewhat insignificant west entrance. The Tyn Church, though not\ncompleted till fairly recently, has actually served as the principal\nchurch of the Old Town since 1310. Here the reformers, preachers that I\nhave already mentioned, Conrad Waldhauser and Mili[vc] of\nKrom[ve][vr]i[vz]e, drew large congregations by their fiery\ndenunciations and their call to repentance. Our Lady of Tyn is to Prague\nwhat St. Paul's is to London in a certain degree; many celebrities are\nburied here, among them that strange character Tycho de Brahe,\nastronomer, logician, drunkard and duellist, the friend of Keppler and\nhis own worst enemy.\n\nThe show-entrance to the Tyn Church is a Gothic porch of rarest beauty;\nit is tucked away in the little alley on the north side, and generally\nclosed. You are expected to enter by the south door.\n\nA word of warning here: never try to be enterprising between midday and\n2 p.m. in Prague, or for that matter anywhere else in the country,\nunless it be in search of food. At midday everything closes\ndown--churches, museums, shops; they do not open again till the good\npeople in charge of them have had sufficient time for an ample meal--two\nhours are considered sufficient. You will therefore find the cathedral\nclosed to you until the vergers have dined. But in the meantime you will\nfind the quaint conglomeration of buildings at the east end of the\ncathedral very attractive. These buildings originally served many\npurposes--cathedral close, market and custom house, and even at times as\nbear-garden or zoo. To my thinking, the outside of the cathedral is far\nmore attractive than the inside, which suffers from over-decoration in\nthe incongruous style peculiar to Continental churches. I shall not\nconduct you personally round the Church of Our Lady of Tyn.\n\nGood King Wenceslaus, of whom we sing at Christmas-time, seems to have\ncaused the chapel and tower of the Town Hall to be built, at least\naccording to archaeologists; the sign of a kingfisher within a wreath\nwhich appears here is taken to denote work done in his time. The master\narchitect of those last decades of the fourteenth century was Peter\nParler, who also did a good deal of work on the Tyn Church.\n\n[Illustration: A CORNER OF THE OLD TOWN.]\n\nThe tower was added to the house of Welflin od Kamene, which was\nacquired in 1538, and some fifty years later the beautiful chapel, the\nGothic projection of which looks out on to the scene of martyrdom of\n1621. You will find two very interesting and lovely Sessions Rooms in\nthis Town Hall. In one of these George Podiebrad, a native of Bohemia\nand of the country's faith, was elected and proclaimed King in 1458. To\nmy thinking, the best time of day on which to come upon this old Town\nHall is of an evening, say in late autumn; approach it by that quaint\nlittle alley, the Melantrichova, called so in honour of Melantrich, who\nwas famous as printer and publisher in the latter half of the sixteenth\ncentury. While wandering about the narrow alleys, these quaint passages\nunder the houses, a peculiar feature of Prague, you will pick up\nsomething of the old spirit of the city and repeople it with the shades\nof former inhabitants or visitors to suit your taste or knowledge of\nits history. There is, for instance, one visitor whom I can quite see\nroaming about in nocturnal Prague--Dr. Faust. Local legend prefers to\ncall him Wilhelm instead of Heinrich, but that does not matter--he fits\ninto the picture.\n\nSooth to say, I find about this old quarter of the city a certain\natmosphere spiced with wickedness, not thoroughly bad, just enough to\nkeep you amused. Look round for yourself o' nights, and you will\nprobably find reason to agree with me. There is again, in this spicy\natmosphere, a local--or shall we say native?--foundation with a markedly\nexotic top-dressing. For the foundation of this peculiar atmosphere I\nmake Good King Wenceslaus responsible. I have already suggested that he\nwas \"hot stuff,\" and certainly, when he moved into the palace that stood\nnear the \"Powder Tower,\" he made things merry and bright in the Old\nTown. A night out with Wenceslaus was a liberal education. Fundamentally\nhis form of amusement was probably the same as you may enjoy to-day if\nyou are inclined that way. An exotic touch is given to nocturnal\ndiversions nowadays by American bars and \"Palais de Danse\" varying in\ndegree of respectability; here the English language seems to\npredominate, in our version and that of our distant relatives across the\nAtlantic. The natives of the city do not frequent these haunts in any\ngreat numbers; they have their own amusements, but they look in\noccasionally, possibly as a mark of respect to the great allied nations,\nand their representatives, the bearers of western culture. The Bohemian\nwhen thinking of America recognizes only the United States of that\ncontinent. Many of them emigrate to that country; some return with their\nown rendering of the English language and a professed admiration for the\ncountry of their sometime sojourn, of its institutions and leading\ncitizens. The Pragers have expressed this admiration by naming their\nfinest railway station after President Wilson of the Lost Points,\nwhereas their own President has to be content with a rather grubby old\nterminus.\n\nIt would be quite possible for me to enlarge upon the subject of night\nlife in Prague, but discretion advises me not to do so; this is a side\nof Prague which you must find out for yourself. When after a good dinner\nyou proceed to draw those furtive covers in the region between the Town\nHall and the \"Powder Tower,\" you may pick up the scent which, I\nmaintain, hangs about there--that of rather spicy wickedness. I do not\nmean anything offensive in this; in fact, everything is conducted\ndecently and in good order, also with a certain geniality; the\nsuggestion is rather that you might be mildly wicked if you wanted to\nbe. However, though we have to live in this world we need not be of it.\n\nFor those who do not feel drawn towards the furtive corners of the town,\nthere are many other opportunities of recreation. One of these was built\nby the city itself, and is called the Obecni Dum, which means Town\nHouse, I believe; anyway, when asking your way to it linger on the last\nword and pronounce it as if written \"doom.\" This was built about the\nsite of the palace where Wenceslaus IV held his revels, but it is\ninformed of a more sober spirit. You come upon this building as you pass\nalong the broad street, formerly the moat of the Old Town defences,\nuntil you arrive at the street-junction I have already mentioned. Here\nstands one of the most beautiful monuments to Prague's former glory, the\n\"Powder Tower.\" When first you come upon this, rising serenely in all\nits ornate loveliness out of the roar and rattle of the traffic, the\nsight of it catches your breath. King Vladislav II caused it to be\nerected--one of the gates of the old city. An unhappy King this latter,\nI should say; at least his lot was cast in unhappy times. One of the\nlast Slavs to occupy the throne of Bohemia--he was a Prince of\nPoland--Vladislav succeeded one of the most popular of Bohemian\nmonarchs, George Podiebrad. The times in which Vladislav reigned were\nevil; the internal religious struggles of Bohemia had reached a\ndesperate stage; all attempts to reunite the Utraquists with Rome had\nfailed, and Alexander Borgia was Pope. The reign of this King, for all\nthe glory of the monuments that commemorate it, seems as it were\nillumined by the false light that presages disaster. His son Louis was\ndrowned while leaving the battlefield of Moha[vc], which reduced the\ngreater part of Hungary to a Turkish province, and anarchy held the\nlands of the Bohemian Crown until in 1526 Ferdinand of Habsburg bribed\nhis way to the throne; one noble Bohemian is said to have accepted fifty\nthousand gulden for his kind offices.\n\nThe \"Powder Tower\" looks out directly at a somewhat shabby building\nopposite to it. I have mentioned it before as standing on the site of an\nearly monastic institution founded by those Irish monks who did so much\ntowards bringing Central Europe into the fold of the Church. They were,\nin fact, the only missionaries, these pilgrims from the Isle of Saints,\nwho took up the task in the fifth and sixth centuries, wandering far\nafield, through the German forests, along the great rivers Danube and\nMain, to Italy and Switzerland, where St. Fridian at Lucca and St. Gall\nin the hills above the Bodensee are still held in pious memory. The\nSaxon monk Winfrith, better known as St. Boniface, also deserved well of\nthe people of Central Europe, for it was his zeal and energy which\nassisted Charles the Great in his colonizing achievements. In our own\ntimes other missionaries of Anglo-Saxon race, or at least\nEnglish-speaking, penetrated to the darkest recesses of the Continent,\neven to Bohemia. They started as soon as the war was over and Europe\nagain a safe place to travel in. They took their toilsome way, by _train\nde luxe_ and at Government expense, to such distant places as Prague and\nVienna, even Buda-Pesth. They were of those who were indispensable while\nmen were fighting, whose services could be spared when danger no longer\nthreatened. They came deeply imbued with the importance of their\nmission, their commission, diplomatic, economic, hygienic, whatever it\nwas. They came in scores, accompanied by willing and well-paid workers,\nto bring relief to those who had suffered in the war. They bought up\nthe scanty supplies of the countries to which they brought the blessing\narising out of their own high rate of exchange. They came in their\nhundreds to spread the light of learning in matters hygienic to Prague,\nthe old university town famous for its school of medicine. They taught\nthe young the blessing of western guilds or associations, the young of a\ncountry which forged its weapon of social defence, the Sokol, some\nseventy years ago. They expect a deal of gratitude for all this; they\nare also entirely devoid of any sense of humour, or they would all go\nhome and keep quiet.\n\nOf real use to the good relations which have existed, intermittently\nperhaps, but never clouded by misunderstanding, was the mission of the\nEnglish Singers who came to Prague. They sang to us in the large hall of\nthe Obecni Dum, the building dedicated to the townsfolk's recreation.\nThey sang us old-time motettes, madrigals, ballads, and we were taken\nback to our own country by the soothing harmonies of Weelkes. We saw\nWinchester Cathedral, its long nave and squat tower, standing in lush\nmeadows in the shade of ancient elms, the College Gate, its pillars so\nartfully, invitingly rounded by William of Wykeham, drew us in again. We\nwere stirred by William Byrd's \"Praise our Lord, all ye Gentiles,\" and\ntaken to Oxford by Gibbons's \"What is our life? A play of passion. Our\nmirth? The music of division.\" Purcell recalled our gracious English\nlandscape, and English life, \"When Myra sings we seek the enchanting\nsound\"; and Thomas Morley with \"Now is the month of maying.\" Then there\nwas rollicking Tom Bateson, of Dublin, with his alluring \"Come follow\nme, fair nymphs!\" And the Bohemian audience were loud in generous\napplause.\n\nYou may well believe that a land which has given to the world Smetana,\nDvo[vr]ak, [vS]ev[vc]ek, and so many other famous musicians, will\nconcentrate all that is good in music in Prague, its capital. There are\ntwo opera-houses to start with; one of them, the National Theatre,\nthrows its reflections on the surface of the river at the end of the\nNarodni T[vr]ida; the German Theatre stands on the rising ground between\nthe Museum at the top of the Vaclavske Nam[ve]sti and the Wilson\nStation. There are numerous concert-halls, and every restaurant of any\nrepute has a good little orchestra of its own. Then there is a quaint\nold theatre down in the centre of the Old Town; you will find it\nstanding comfortably among old red-roofed houses, between two open\nspaces, market-places bright with fruit and flowers in their season. It\nwas in this theatre that Mozart's _Don Giovanni_ was performed for the\nfirst time.\n\nIt is one of the most interesting parts of Prague, just around this old\ntheatre, and among the crooked lanes and dark corners; it lets you in to\nthe intimacy of the city if you set about your investigations in the\nright spirit. Alongside of this old theatre, the Mozarteum, divided only\nby a narrow alley, runs the front--I suppose it is the front--of the\nCarolinum, the collegiate buildings of Charles's foundation. There is\nlittle left outwardly of this building's former aspect, just one\nglorious Gothic projection which almost touches the balcony of the\ntheatre. Within the Carolinum are spacious halls devoted to all manner\nof academic functions. In one of these halls I witnessed a scene which\nstruck me with a sense of incongruity that I have not been able to\nexplain to myself. The Indian poet and philosopher, Rabindranath\nThagore, was received here by the University of Prague. Learned\nprofessors read lengthy addresses of welcome in Czech, and to their own\nentire satisfaction; the Indian poet spoke in English and recited poetry\nin his own language, let us hope also to his own satisfaction. Thereupon\nRabindranath Thagore, his hands folded meekly inside his wide sleeves,\nhis head drooping and eyes half closed as becomes a poet of the tender\nkind, passed out from among us--to travel to Paris in an aeroplane. I do\nnot know whether it was this latter event, or the expression of a\nphilosophy so entirely at variance with my own, or perhaps the sound of\nthe high-pitched plaintive voice, that gave me the sense of\nincongruity, but there it was undoubtedly.\n\nIn your wanderings about the Old Town you will come upon all manner of\nquaint corners, old houses with courtyard and balconies, churches of all\nsizes and dedicated to many saints, and among these one which to my\nthinking deserves particular interest. It is the Church of St.\nMartin-in-the-Wall, very old--how old I cannot tell you--much mutilated\nand disfigured by restorers whose heads should have gone into the\ndecorative scheme over the gateway of the Mala Strana bridge-tower; but\nhere in this church the Sacrament was first given in both forms, _sub\nutraque_.\n\nThere are many little backwaters in the Old Town; you may people them\nwith the shades of all those who for centuries have toiled to restore\nBohemia to her rightful place among the States of Europe. You may see\nflitting figures in the twilight, cloaked and obvious conspirators to\nyour discerning eye. These men were probably among those marked down by\nthe secret police as \"patriots.\" Men who were working for freedom of\nthought what time Jungmann and Kalina, another national poet, died, and\ntwelve thousand of the people joined in the funeral procession as it\npassed the Town Hall where Arnold, Kalina's friend, was imprisoned. This\nwas in 1847. Then the Slav Congress in 1848, and its stirring scenes,\nthe meeting for Divine Service under the statue of St. Wenceslaus, the\nscuffle with a sentry caused by an _agent provocateur_, the charge of\ntroops on an unarmed mob. Followed the erection of barricades, over a\nhundred in half an hour, and street fighting in various quarters of the\ncity. Ruthless slaughter of citizens as at the Polytechnic School, where\nan attack by ten thousand troops with artillery was repulsed by seven\nhundred students of the Clementinum. Then the despair of the vanquished.\nBut the spirit fostered by Bohemia's great men lived on; the people had\ntheir museum, containing books and records of their National Society,\nthey had their associations, Sokols, and above all, their music. And so\nthey waited, and not in idleness, for the better days which came to\nthem out of the Great War.\n\nThe Sokol movement should interest you; it has taken a firm hold among\nSlavonic nations, and has in it something of the spirit of Freemasonry.\nSokol means \"falcon\"--no doubt the original badge favoured by Slavonic\nsocieties. You will find the falcon, sometimes eagle, cropping up in\nvarious places. There is a distinguished Order, that of the White Eagle\nof Serbia, for instance; then the Poles also have started an Order with\nan eagle or a falcon in it--I am not acquainted with this Order. Members\nof Sokol societies wear an eagle's feather, or perhaps a falcon's, in\nthe saucy little head-dress, somewhat like our old cavalry forage-cap,\nwhen in their becoming full dress. But Sokol means a great deal more\nthan this.\n\nA year or so ago I witnessed a Sokol display on that flat-topped height\ncalled Letna; it is, as it were, an eastward prolongation of the Castle\nHill. Here is a large recreation ground for the use of such bodies as\nSokol societies. In the arena, before a large and appreciative but\ncritical public, the Socialist Sokols gave their display of gymnastic\nexercises on the occasion I have in mind. It was a stirring sight: ten\nto twenty thousand young men and maidens went through their graceful\nmovements in perfect unison to the strains of their national music. It\nmust be borne in mind that those exercises have not only physical value\nbut are useful memnonic training. There is much discipline bred of these\nexercises; the captain goes through the movements by himself, the team\nrepeats them after him. Then again, the Sokol is, and has been from the\nbeginning, a political union. Surely Socialists who submit themselves to\nthis training, to such discipline, are a powerful asset to a young State\nthat has got to make its mark in the world.\n\nBy the way, what is a Socialist? I take it that any man who has a\nflowerpot in his window, whereas his neighbour has none, is no\nSocialist. But this is, no doubt, a matter of taste or political\nconviction, I am not quite clear which.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XI\n\nTells of Emperor Sigismund, King of Bohemia, his rare and troubled\nvisits to this country. Of an emigration from Prague University, and the\nfounding of another at Leipzig. Of the two Habsburgs who followed\nSigismund, and more about another great Bohemian already mentioned in\nthis book, George Podiebrad. King George's Peace League. Of Vladislav of\nPoland as King of Bohemia; how he resided at the Hrad[vs]any and\nbeautified it. We go with Vladislav along the route he follows to his\ncoronation; we note many features by the way which Vladislav may or may\nnot have seen, and discuss these features as we go along. Of the end of\nthe Jagoilla dynasty on the throne of Bohemia when Vladislav's son Louis\nwas drowned after the battle of Moha[vc]. Of how Ferdinand of Austria\nmarried Anna, daughter of Vladislav, and became King of Bohemia. Of\ngreat doings in the Hall built by Vladislav on the Hrad[vs]any. Of the\nbeautiful Belvedere which Ferdinand caused to be built for Anna, his\nQueen. Of other Habsburgs on the throne of Bohemia, particularly that\nlonely bachelor Rudolph II; of his hobbies and the guests and visitors\nhe welcomed to the castle. Of King Matthias and the \"Winter King,\" and\nhow Bohemia's independence was lost on the battlefield of the White\nMountain.\n\n\nLet us return to our terrace, I to mine, you to yours if it gives you\nthe right point of view, for we will now take the foreground into\nconsideration, the Mala Strana and its \"Crown of Glory,\" the Royal\nCastle, the Hrad[vs]any. We have watched Charles IV in his labours to\nbeautify the capital of the land he loved, and among those labours was\nthe restoration of the Hrad[vs]any. His son, however, found attraction\nelsewhere, and neglected the Royal Castle. Sigismund resided by\npreference at Kutna Hora whenever his imperial duties gave him time to\nvisit Bohemia. This, his choice of residence, was probably dictated by\nthe troubled times through which Bohemia was passing. Prague was full of\ntumult and of fierce religious controversy. The Hussites, as we have\nseen, were out and bent to warfare in the cause they held sacred, and\nthe King had no liking for their views or regard for their opinions. We\nhave also noted the value of that Emperor's given word. In Kutna Hora\nSigismund found himself surrounded by a strongly German population,\nzealous in the cause of Rome and the Empire, hostile to the freedom of\nthought for which Bohemia was fighting. Racial animosity between Slav\nand Teuton was running high; its immediate result had been the\nemigration of several thousand professors and students of German\nnationality to Leipzig, where a new university arose which was inclined\nto consider its Alma Mater, Prague, a stepmother.\n\nThen followed the Habsburgs, Albert and his posthumous son Ladislas.\nAlbert succeeded as Sigismund's son-in-law, and reigned for two troubled\nyears of civil war in Bohemia, leaving a disrupted State to Ladislas,\nhis unborn son. During the infancy of this child arose a strong man from\nout of Bohemia, who served Ladislas so faithfully that the young King on\nhis deathbed sent for him to bid him farewell in touching terms. Then\nwas this strong man, George Podiebrad, unanimously chosen King by the\nEstates.\n\nGeorge Podiebrad was a native of the country which called him to the\nthrone by reason of his integrity and intelligence. He was also of the\nfaith held by the majority of his subjects, the followers of Master John\nHus. His lot was cast in troubled times. Bohemia had been ruled by a\nsuccession of monarchs of alien race, at first sympathetic but later\nunable to see eye to eye with their subjects on religious and other\nquestions. In the time of trial, when the soul of the people called out\nfor guidance and support in the struggle for faith and freedom, those\nrulers were too much bound by the ties that held them to Western Europe\nas to champion Bohemia's cause whole-heartedly. They failed to\nunderstand that Central Europe was ripe for a new orientation, though\nthere were sufficient indications to point out the way. Above all, a\ngreat danger threatened; the Turks were extending their conquests in\nEastern Europe, the Byzantine Empire was going under before them, and\nthe fall of Constantinople was imminent.\n\nIt was shortly before this latter event that George Podiebrad was called\nto the throne. He found his country distracted by internal dissensions,\nexhausted by the Hussite wars and threatened by powerful neighbours. His\nfirst task was to set his house in order; in this he achieved complete\nsuccess, and soon found himself reigning over a strong, happy and united\ncountry. He next attended to his country's foreign relations, and\nsucceeded in securing peace without his frontiers by means of a network\nof treaties. The King of Poland was won over by George Podiebrad's tact\nand ability, and Matthias Corvinus, King of a Hungary with fluctuating\nboundaries but including a deal of present-day Roumania, was also a\nready ally of Bohemia's King. Within his immediate neighbourhood in\nCentral Europe, George Podiebrad's wisdom and uprightness had brought\nhim many requests to act as arbitrator or intermediary in disputes. His\nfame spread farther afield, his vision extended as he witnessed the\ngrowing importance of his country, and from these circumstances arose an\nideal of a great Christian Peace League.\n\nThe state of Europe in the fifteenth century was not unlike that of the\npresent day. There was strife, turmoil and dissension everywhere, a\nmighty power--that of Rome--opposing all free expression of opinion, an\nobsolete shibboleth called the Holy Roman Empire, and a ruthless enemy\nactive in the East. In the midst of all this trouble George Podiebrad\nworked diligently at his League; he gained the adhesion of King Louis of\nFrance; Burgundy and Bavaria also joined, and Venice, remembering what\ngood business could be made out of crusades, was also inclined to agree.\nEngland, it appears, was not particularly interested, at least is not\nmentioned in connection with this League. George Podiebrad endeavoured\nto win over the Holy Father, but in vain. Rome had turned a deaf ear\neven to the despairing cry of the Eastern Church.\n\nThe League was to hold its first council at Bale, and subsequent ones in\ndifferent countries. Its statutes are worth noting; they are drawn up\non much the same lines as those of the present-day League of Nations.\n\nWhen the plans of the League were sufficiently advanced to be put into\neffect it was found that the forces against it were too powerful. Rome\nwould have none of it, and France, though friendly to the scheme,\nchiefly out of antagonism to Rome, held back in the end, leaving the\nKing of Bohemia with none but his neighbour, Poland, to support him.\nThat the League should have failed of its purpose is regrettable. It was\na genial idea. That it originated in Central Europe and that it gained\nthe adherence of nations farther removed from Western influence is of\nlasting importance, for it seems to have given a definite direction to a\ngroup of Central and Eastern European Powers. Perhaps this direction was\nsubconscious in King George's mind; he may have been actuated only by\nhis desire for peaceful reconstruction behind a united front towards an\neastern enemy. However this may be, the idea did not die with George\nPodiebrad, but has had two revivals, of which I hope to tell you\nsomething in time.\n\nGeorge Podiebrad died in 1471, after having ensured the succession to\nthe throne of Bohemia of Vladislav, son of Casimir, King of Poland. King\nGeorge's reason for going outside his country for a successor instead of\nfinding one among his own sons was his concern for the safety of\nBohemia, which, he seems to have considered, would have been endangered\nby a scion of his own family or nation under the conditions under which\nhe was to leave his country. He was moved towards Poland by reason of\nthe great plan he had formed far in advance of his age, namely, that of\nthe League of Peace.\n\n[Illustration: THE POWDER TOWER.]\n\nGeorge Podiebrad, according to Luetzow, has always remained, next to\nCharles IV, the sovereign whose memory the Bohemians treasure most.\nBohemia's great historian, Palacky, gives to this King a place of honour\namong the rulers of his country which is only equalled by that assigned\nto the great Luxemburger. His last years were clouded by the\nincreasing distressful state of Europe, by a painful illness, and by the\nfaithlessness of his one-time friend and ally, Matthias of Hungary. This\nlatter had broken with King George, and had carried war into the lands\nof the Bohemian Crown, and though defeated and driven out of Moravia,\nstill held several towns in that country. This seems to have served\nMatthias Corvinus as a pretext for disputing the claim of Vladislav to\nthe throne of Bohemia. There was also another claimant with a certain\nfollowing, namely, Duke Albert of Saxony, but in the end the crown\nremained with Vladislav of Poland, who then made his way to Bohemia, and\nentered Prague on August 19, 1471.\n\nI like to conjure up a picture of the reception given to Vladislav by\nthe good people of Prague. Vladislav, coming from Poland, would probably\nenter by the gateway where now stands that beautiful \"Powder Tower,\"\nbuilt under his aegis; I have already pointed it out to you. There he\nwould be received by all manner of \"grave and reverend seigniors,\" among\nthem, of course, the doctors of the University, who, I gather, presented\nVladislav with a \"neatly bound and printed copy of the Bible, so that he\nmight read it and direct himself and his subjects according to the Will\nof God\": thus writes the chronicler. The good citizens of Prague were\nevidently pleased to welcome Vladislav, so we can imagine him, three\ndays after his entry into Prague, moving, amidst popular rejoicings, to\nthe Hrad[vs]any for coronation. A glittering pageant, no doubt, as it\nmoved along under the shadow of the Church of Our Lady of Tyn, past the\nOld Town Hall, where the man to whom he owed the throne, George\nPodiebrad, had been called to rule Bohemia. Then along the Karlova\nUlice, under the tower built by Wenceslaus, and over the Charles Bridge\nup the steep slope of Castle Hill.\n\nI cannot imagine that the aspect of the Mala Strana which Vladislav got\nwhile proceeding to his coronation was very different from that of\nto-day. The Bridge Street on the left bank was possibly narrower and\nill-paved, but I am certain that the general aspect of arcaded houses\nwas much the same as it is to-day. I cannot imagine the Mala Strana\nchanging very much, nor will you when once you have seen it. Though many\nhouses, palaces and churches have been rebuilt or added, I should say\nthat the Mala Strana has always preserved a certain independence, a\nconservative aloofness, from other quarters of the capital. From little\nglimpses, from snatches of conversation and chance remarks, I am\ninclined to the idea that the aborigines of the Mala Strana, while\nadmitting the existence of other parts of Prague, such as the Old Town,\nyet do not consider them quite fit to associate with. There must be in\nthe quaint little backwaters of Mala Strana a certain indigenous type\nwhich considers it bold and venturesome to cross the Charles Bridge, a\nproceeding smacking of foreign travel.\n\nThe block of buildings including the tall Church of St. Nicholas, which\nfills up the middle of that irregular place, the Mala Stranske\nNam[ve]sti, or Place of the Small Side, would be new to Vladislav were\nhe to repeat his progress to-day. There was a church--a very old one--on\nthis spot, dating back to the thirteenth century; it is said that the\nmartyrs of 1621 communicated here _in utraque_ on the morning of their\nexecution. The tall, imposing Church of St. Nicholas replaced the older\nedifice--a typical monument this of Jesuit pride of conquest over the\nfallen National Church of Bohemia. Seen from my terrace, the copper dome\nof St. Nicholas, its tall and slender campanile, stand up dominant over\nsleepy red-tiled roofs where linger memories of much earlier days. It is\nindeed a splendid building, this master-work of Ignatius and Kilian\nDienzenhoffer. I must admit this, little as I admire _baroque_ and for\nall my loathing of the spirit of triumphant intolerance and bigotry\nwhich informed the builders of this great monument to the enslavement of\na nation's soul.\n\nIn former years, before the war, there stood here in the narrowest part\nof this place, a monument to another triumph over Bohemia's freedom, a\nmonument to Field-Marshal Radecky, whose figure was supported by types\nof Austrian soldiery of his time. This monument has been\nremoved--destroyed, I believe, by the Pragers when they regained their\nfreedom in October 1918. The removal of this monument leaves a blank,\nnot a sentimental one, merely an artistic one, and has led to an\nunexpected and probably undesired effect. It has given undue prominence\nto a little building that stands some way up the place, a building of\nstrict utility with no pretensions to architectural consideration, a\nbuilding which now stands out exposed as it were, trying to hide its\nconfusion under a mask of gaudy advertisement posters.\n\nThe singularly characteristic houses on the north side of this square,\nwith their deep arcades, were probably rebuilt or renovated in the\nseventeenth century; they must be of considerable antiquity, for one of\nthem, a corner house called \"Montagu,\" has its place in history. The\nname, by the way, is not derived from the Italian, but from the simple\nGerman _Montag_, Monday; and it has by way of embellishment a Slavonic\nsuffix. It was in this Montagu House that the discontented members of\nthe Bohemian Estates were wont to meet in 1618, and here they hit upon\nthe bright idea of throwing the two lieutenants, go-betweens or whatever\nthey were, of their Habsburg ruler, out of a window. So here on this\nMala Stranske Nam[ve]sti you may see the very spot from which the War of\nThirty Years started.\n\nThis Mala Stranske Nam[ve]sti is divided into an upper and a lower part\nby the block of buildings I have already mentioned. The palaces all\nround here are probably different of aspect from the burgher houses\nwhich stood here before the _baroque_ irruption of the seventeenth\ncentury, so Vladislav on his way to coronation would have been greeted\nby a homelier sight; neither could he have seen the plague memorial. The\nplague commemorated visited Prague in 1715; the man who committed this\npyramid, dedicated to Holy Trinity, was one Giovanni Battista\nAlliprandi, an Italian architect, but not of the Renaissance spirit.\nThis peculiar group of sculpture fails to impress me; the figures, of\nsaints, I believe, are not convincing; they are seen holding emblems of\npiety, but only for decorative purposes, not as if they in the least\nknew what to do with them; one or other would have appeared much happier\nwith a knife and fork.\n\n[Illustration: THE HRAD[vC]ANY FROM THE NEBOZIZEK GARDEN.]\n\nVladislav's farther way would take him up that steep road that leads\npast Strahov out into the country. It was formerly called the Street of\nSpurs, I believe; it has since been named Nerudova T[vr]ida, after John\nNeruda, the father of Bohemian literature, who spent his early days\nhere. This street has rather a reputation for mild-mannered men of\nletters and lights of learning, patrons of art and science. There was,\nfor instance, Baron Brettfeld, who entertained young Mozart, da Ponte\nand Casanova. But all this happened well after the days of Vladislav of\nPoland, King of Bohemia, who wound up by the narrow streets of Prague's\nMala Strana to his coronation on the Hrad[vs]any. The Royal Castle had\nnot been regularly inhabited by royalty for nearly a century, and as\nVladislav chose to make it his residence, he found much to do in putting\nthe place in order. The part that still shows strong traces of\nVladislav's work is beyond the view from my terrace. You may recognize\nit some way off by a number of heavily mullioned windows in contrast to\nthe very plain setting of the endless rows of other windows all along\nthe front of the castle buildings. This palatial part of the castle--it\nis that nearest to the cathedral--was begun by Vladislav as soon as he\nhad settled down to his kingship, and was finished in 1502. The chief\nfeature of this building was a vast hall, which you may see still. It\nhas suffered, of course, has been damaged by fire and also by restorers;\njust at present some archaeologist is at work upon it, and he is, I\nbelieve, discovering all sorts of beauties in the decorative Gothic\nstyle peculiar to this King of Polish descent and exquisite taste. It\nseems to me that Gothic in Prague is of finer spiritual quality than the\nGerman variant, is of that noble sincerity of which you find many\ninstances in France, in several examples in Portugal, and when it\nbecame decorated, never went into the excesses of the Manuelesque style\nsuch as you may see it in old Lusitania. Successive Habsburgs who\nfollowed on these Polish rulers of Bohemia, Vladislav and his son Louis,\nbenefited by the magnificent work which these two scions of the Royal\nHouse of Jagoilla left to posterity. Louis, we know, was drowned just\nafter the battle of Moha[vc], and the short-lived Polish dynasty made\nway definitely for Kings of the House of Habsburg. Ferdinand, Archduke\nof Austria, having married Anna, daughter of Vladislav II, laid claim to\nthe throne of Bohemia. He was not alone in this ambition; in fact, there\nwas a greater number of aspirants to the vacant seat than there had ever\nbeen before--thirteen in all, among them Francis I of France. However,\nFerdinand secured the throne, and reigned as King of Bohemia right\nroyally it would seem. His coronation took place in the great hall built\nby Vladislav, and the solemn ceremony was followed by a tournament, also\nheld in the same hall--a tournament on horseback, mind you, and ending\nup with a melee in which thirteen knights a-side took part. There was a\nbanquet too, and the waiting was done by squires on horseback. A great\nball brought the festivities to an end. The great fire in Prague in\n1541, which destroyed all the State documents, may have been the one\nwhich also did much damage to Vladislav's great hall, and Ferdinand's\nrestoration of the same probably did something towards impairing its\noriginal beauty. We have reason, however, to be grateful to this\nFerdinand, first of the name, for another building which graces the\nneighbourhood of the Hrad[vs]any. This is the Belvedere which stands at\nthe far end of a lovely garden called the Chotkovy Sady. Ferdinand built\nthis Belvedere for Anna, his Queen, with its airy loggias, its wrought\narchitraves and long domed roof. It is one of the most beautiful works\nof early Renaissance spirit that I have ever seen. All honour to its\narchitect, Giovanni di Spazzio.\n\nFerdinand I proved to be no such moody bigot as his brother Charles V,\nyet he was bent on stemming the tide of Protestantism, the floods of\nwhich flowed over from the Germany of Luther's way of thinking to mingle\nwith the growing religious sects in Bohemia. This was not done without\ntorture and bloodshed, so the Hrad[vs]any witnessed the sufferings,\nunder the rack, of Augusta, the Bishop of the Unity of Bohemian\nBrethren, and the execution of several prominent citizens of Prague for\ndefying royal authority in matters of conscience. Ferdinand, on the\nabdication of his father, succeeded him as Emperor, and left his son\nMaximilian to rule his turbulent Bohemian subjects. Maximilian stands\nout in history as a picturesque figure, but I cannot see that he did\nBohemia any useful service. The fact that he had inherited the old\ndominions of the House of Habsburg, Upper and Lower Austria, and was\nalso King of Hungary, kept him away from Bohemia a good deal. He called\noccasionally upon the Diet of this his richest possession for support\nagainst the Turks. The Diet thereupon called for religious freedom, and\nno interference with their spiritual affairs. The discussions that\nensued seem to have led to no results. So we find one Habsburg after\nanother on the throne of Bohemia, trying to coerce its people, and each\none reducing the country to a state of greater discontent and disorder,\nuntil the crash came in 1618, when King Matthias had roused the Bohemian\nEstates to such a pitch of desperation that they proceeded to the act\nwhich precipitated the Thirty Years' War.\n\nThe Hrad[vs]any did not see much of Matthias, whereas his predecessor on\nthe throne of Bohemia, Rudolph II, lived in the Royal Castle as a matter\nof habit. True he was dethroned occasionally by his younger brother\nMatthias, and no doubt Rudolph as King was hopelessly ineffective. He\nwas probably rather mad. Nevertheless, a certain amount of interest can\nbe drawn out of this Habsburg's connection with Prague, and the\nHrad[vs]any can show you some traces of his peculiarities. So, for\ninstance, you will find a quaint little alley of tiny houses scooped out\nof the stout north wall of the castle to eastward of St. George's\nChurch.\n\nRudolph was unmarried; perhaps it was this fact that enabled him to\nwaste money on all sorts of hobbies instead of going to his office with\nhis little black bag and behaving generally as a \"weel tappit\" husband\nand king would do. Rudolph's hobbies were alchemy and astronomy. The\nchief object of the former extremely inexact science seems to have been\nto make gold by the synthetic process. Any charlatan who came along with\na declared conviction that he could produce gold was welcomed by the\nKing. It was for these his guests that Rudolph prepared those tiny\ndwellings in the narrow alley called \"The Alchemists\" or the \"Gold\nMakers.\" They are snug, those tiny dwellings, so small that you should\nbe able to open your front door without getting out of bed; you look\ndown out of the deep embrasure of your window on to the tree-tops in the\n\"Stag's Moat.\" The height of the wall from your window to the ditch does\nnot invite you to try a leap by way of escape, so Rudolph's alchemist\nguests had to produce something or suffer from the King's displeasure.\nThis, for instance, happened to two gentlemen from the British Isles,\nDr. John Dee and Mr. Kelly. Both these visitors were going to supply\nRudolph with wonders of alchemy, gold in profusion. They failed to give\nsatisfaction, and were imprisoned--another injustice to Ireland! Did the\nfairy chorus that thrilled the listeners at the foot of Dalibor's strong\ndungeon chant that plaintive cry, \"Has anyone here seen Kelly\"?\n\nAnother of Rudolph's hobbies was astronomy, and he certainly assembled\nsome eminent scientists in that line about him. Prominent among these\nlights of learning was one whom I have already mentioned, Tycho de\nBrahe. It appears that this turbulent scientist had made his own\ncountry, Denmark, too hot to hold him; he and his family were\npractically exiled from home, and in his wanderings Tycho turned to the\nCourt of Prague, was kindly, generously entreated by King Rudolph, and\nno doubt did good work in return. You may see Tycho's effigy over his\ntomb in the Tyn Church; you may remark that his effigy shows little\ntrace of a nose to his face. Tycho went without one for many years, as\nhe lost his when young, in a duel. Keppler was also one of Rudolph's\nguests, a man of very different calibre, and certainly one of the most\neminent astronomers of all times. There were, no doubt, any number of\nlesser lights in that line during those quaint old days when men turned\nto the starry heavens to learn the fate in store for them. Astronomy and\nalchemy were often mixed up together in those days, or rather astronomy\nseemed to get mixed up with one's daily life to such an extent that no\nprincely household was complete without its pet astronomer. If things\nhad gone a bit wrong of a morning, perhaps that \"tired feeling\" mixed\nwith a touch of gout, and the evening had brought a domestic worry or\ntwo, you just walked round to your astronomer's for some indication\nconcerning the future. After bumping about in dim religious gloom among\nstuffed crocodiles and such-like accessories to science of those days,\nyou discovered your astronomer deeply engaged in describing cabalistic\nfigures on parchment; he would raise his eyes with a far-away look, as\nif no henchman had hurried round a few minutes earlier to say that \"the\nold man was carrying on something awful,\" your astronomer would descend\nto earth for a space and then at his master's command reascend to get\nthoroughly mixed up with the stars.\n\nTo those days of the later sixteenth century we may trace all manner of\nquaint customs, beliefs and observances. People were getting thoroughly\ninto the way of thinking for themselves instead of believing what they\nwere told, and they started many ingenious conceits whereon to pin their\nfaith or perhaps strengthen it. I do not know that those quaint conceits\nwere particularly helpful; personally I could not derive comfort from a\nbelief popular in Bohemia, that King David sits in the moon playing on\nthe harp. My sympathy would go out too strongly for my own comfort,\ntowards David evoking melody in such a lonely spot, far from all his\nlady friends; I might even imagine him sighing for Saul's hurtling\njavelin to break the monotony. To these days belongs also the\ninstitution of the rosary by Pope Gregory XII, in memory of the victory\nof Christendom at Lepanto in 1571. The rosary was indeed known as early\nas the eleventh century, but not in universal use.\n\nWhile Rudolph was busy with his alchemy, astronomy, and, I am happy to\nsay, with literature as well, he resided in the Hrad[vs]any most of his\ntime, and so the Mala Strana enjoyed all the amenities of a Court, the\n\"certain liveliness\" that pertains thereto having shifted from the Old\nTown to the left bank of the river. I have sought vainly for something\ninteresting in the way of local colour, but can find nothing that even\nsuggests the ingerence of a \"fardingale\" into the local history of\nRudolph's reign. Instead of the gentler influence, I find only\ndescriptions of swashbucklers, lackeys and bottlewashers, \"ruffling\" it\nin imitation of their masters. Here again we have indication of Italy's\nrefining influence, a new invention which came rapidly into vogue, and\nunlike most of them, came to stay--the facciolette. What though the\nroystering pseudo-gallant had no shirt to which he might attach a fine\ncollar, he must have his \"facilet,\" as the chronicler spells it--in\nshort, a handkerchief. Then again the tooth-pick came in for serious\nobservation; it was considered an outward and visible sign of internal\ncreature comfort, and was worn behind the ear when not in action.\nTooth-pick practice is still going strong in Prague.\n\nBy way of attributing something good to Rudolph, I will make him\nresponsible for a garden, said to have been very beautiful, which\noccupied some ground at the higher westward end of the \"Stag's Moat.\"\nHere was a pleasance, where gallants and fair ladies disported\nthemselves and watched the antics of wild animals. It was in this garden\nthat Schiller placed the little drama he describes in _Der Handschuh_.\nSchiller gives the Spanish version of the story, where the gallant\nsmacks the lady's face with the glove he had retrieved for her from\namong the lions, and then struts away for evermore. Romantic, but\nill-tempered, whereas the local version here is that the gallant married\nthe lady--perhaps she became insistent; anyway, a useful if commonplace\nending.\n\nI gave you an instance of Rudolph's statecraft in that little matter of\nthe \"Passauer,\" and am not inclined to give you any more. His doings and\nthose of his Habsburg successors brought so much suffering to Bohemia\nand Prague that I would rather be excused from giving any account of\nthem. We have heard of Rudolph's brother Matthias, and how under him the\nstrain put upon the people of Bohemia grew too severe, and how the\nEstates cut the Gordian Knot by throwing the King's lieutenants out of a\nwindow on the Hrad[vs]any. They happened to fall soft, on a midden, and\ngot away unhurt. As a diplomatic action, this measure taken by the\nEstates lacked finesse, but it had one advantage over the usual\ndiplomatic transactions in their devious course, that it was direct and\nfinal in its effect, namely, to precipitate a great devastating war, and\nto leave Bohemia hopelessly enchained for close on three centuries.\n\nWe have seen the \"Winter King\"[1] pass this way with his English wife,\npause here to be crowned, and then after a short year's reign, fly from\nthe country that trusted him when his army and the cause he was called\nupon to stand for went under in a sea of blood on the White Mountain. It\nis only about an hour on foot to the battlefield where the army of\nProtestant Bohemia, after retiring before the Imperialist host, made its\nfinal, fatal stand. After all, Frederick's short reign was only an\ninterlude: the hand of the Habsburg had closed over Bohemia when\nFerdinand I ascended its throne in 1526 by virtue of his marriage with\nAnna, and also, as I have said, by the free use of Austrian gold; and\nthe victory won by Charles V at Muehlberg in 1547 had almost crushed the\ncause of Protestantism out of existence.\n\n[Footnote 1: Frederick, Count of the Palatinate, was called the \"Winter\nKing,\" probably because he came to Prague one winter and left the next\none.]\n\nThe battlefield where the independence of Bohemia was lost in November\n1620 lies on a plateau, as background to which stands a peculiar\nbuilding. Surrounded by a park and overlooking undulating country stands\nthe \"Star.\" It is a former royal hunting-box, built several centuries\nbefore the battle and planned as a six-pointed star. It has no\narchitectural beauty; it is in appearance a somewhat ungainly landmark\nand must have been pretty uncomfortable to live in, even for the less\nexacting royalties of the Middle Ages, but it stands on what, for the\nBohemian, should be holy ground. The forces of the Holy Roman Empire,\naided by Bavarians and Spaniards, were arrayed against the army of\nFrederick, the \"Winter King,\" which stood for religious freedom. Perhaps\nthe Protestant forces were not united, they were composed of Czechs,\nMoravians, Germans and Hungarians, perhaps that their King had left\nthem somewhat hurriedly, at any rate the spirit of the old covenanters,\nHus and [vZ]i[vs]ka, no longer informed the Bohemian Army. The first to\nbreak were the Hungarians, and the conduct of the others was not up to\ntradition; only a small force of Moravians under Count [vS]lik refused\nto yield. They took their stand against the wall of the Star Park, along\nwhich the dead at some places lay ten or twelve high, according to\ncontemporary writers.\n\nThen the Jesuit-ridden Habsburg entered Prague and laid his heavy hand\non all Bohemia, almost to the undoing of its people. But it is a\nwonderful thing, that power of a strong race to survive treachery and\noppression until the time comes when it can reassert itself.\n\nThere are many accounts of this battle, most of them obviously biassed,\nso, for instance, the Imperialists declare that victory was won in the\nspace of an hour, whereas Bohemian historians say that the fighting\ncontinued without a break from morning till late afternoon. The\nImperialists ascribed their victory to the intervention of Our Lady.\nSome fifty years after their defeat the Bohemians erected a church and\nmonastery to St. Mary on the White Mountain. You may see this church,\nlooking somewhat dilapidated--I should say ashamed of itself--as it\nstands there a monument to the Bohemian nation's self-abasement.\n\nWe have witnessed the sequel to the defeat of Bohemia on the White\nMountain, the execution of Bohemian nobles and other leaders on the open\nspace between the Old Town Hall and the Church of Our Lady of Tyn. In\nthe words of Gindely the historian: \"These melancholy executions mark\nthe end of the old and independent development of Bohemia. Members of\nthe most prominent families of the Bohemian nobility, eminent citizens\nand learned men, in fact all the representatives of the culture of the\nland, ended here, and with them their cause. The destiny of the country\nwas henceforth in the hands of foreigners, who had neither comprehension\nof nor sympathy with its former institutions.\"\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XII\n\nIs another long one, but the last of _A Terrace in Prague_. It tells\nlittle about Kings of Bohemia, and more about Jesuits and the work they\nleft behind to mark the influence they wielded. There are churches and\nstatues of their erection, but you are left to decide for yourself\nwhether you like those works or not. Several historic figures appear on\nthe scene: Tilly, Waldstein, Koenigsmark the Swedish General, and his\nchaplain, Dr. Klee. Mention is also made of some Britons, among them one\nwith the homely name of Brown, an honest soldier who lies buried here in\nPrague. A tale of a supernatural event. A further talk of the river and\nabout excursions. Finally, an attempt at an epilogue.\n\n\nYou will, I hope, agree with me that a man who sits upon a terrace and\nwrites about the things he sees and what he thinks about them is\nentitled to bring his observations to a close whenever he considers it\nfit to do so. That point is now within reach. From the first I warned\nyou that this is not a guide-book, and therefore not under the\nobligation of giving you a full and detailed catalogue of all the sights\nof Prague and how to see them. There is little more that I propose to\ntell you, it being my object to entice you out here to see for yourself.\nI will wait for you on my terrace, if you like, and while waiting will\ncast a final glance round the scene that has, I confess, acquired a\nstrong hold of me.\n\nThe Hrad[vs]any, seen on a dull, chill day, always recalls to me what I\nhave read about those days since the Bohemians lost their all on the\nWhite Mountain, until they broke free again only a few years ago. On\ndull days the long, plain, featureless walls of the Hrad[vs]any seem the\nvery expression of life under the later Habsburg Kings of Bohemia. They\nwere, on the whole, worthy, well-meaning sovereigns, their chief trouble\nbeing, it would seem, a hereditary incapacity for seeing any point of\nview but that to which their forbears, Jesuit-trained, and of limited\noutlook, had educated them. They were quite impervious to new ideas,\nvery tenacious of old ones, and fully convinced of their own divine\nright. The Habsburg line of policy towards Bohemia was laid down by\nFerdinand II--or shall I say for that monarch?--at the Te Deum sung in\nSt. Stephen's Cathedral, at Vienna, to celebrate the victory of Rome\nover Bohemia's religious freedom. It would seem as if the King had\nmoulded his policy on the text of the sermon preached by Brother\nSabrinus, the Capuchin friar, on that occasion: \"Thou shalt break them\nwith a rod of iron; Thou shalt dash them in pieces like a potter's\nvessel.\" In carrying out this policy the King of Bohemia was ably\nassisted by the Jesuits. This congregation had been introduced into\nBohemia by a former Ferdinand whose acquaintance we have made; the\nJesuits had therefore stores of useful local knowledge at their command\nwhen they set about complementing the material victory won on the White\nMountain by a spiritual conquest. The first thing was to re-establish\nRoman ritual, and the church chosen for this act was St.\nMartin's-in-the-Wall, where, as I have told you, the Sacrament was first\ngiven in both kinds by Jacobelius in 1414. Then it was thought fit to\nremove the statue of King George Podiebrad from the west front of the\nTyn Church. The effigy showed this national hero pointing with his drawn\nsword towards the chalice above his head, of which he had been such a\nvaliant defender.\n\nThen followed persecution, exile, imprisonment and corporal punishment,\nin addition to the turmoil and sufferings of the Thirty Years' War.\nFerdinand's father-confessor was a Jesuit, Lamormain, and under the\nlatter's guidance Bohemia was being brought back to the fold, while\nelsewhere in Europe men like Tilly and Waldstein, whom Schiller\npreferred to call Wallenstein, were taking their part in the Catholic\nReformation, with striking results, the sack of cities and the\ndevastation of whole countries.\n\nAfter the Catholic Reformers had seen to it that the leaders of the\nmovement towards religious liberty had been put away, they set about\nbringing the Bohemians back to Rome in their own ingenious way. We have\nseen that among other remedies against heresy they introduced, or\nperhaps re-introduced, a national saint, John Nepomuk, had him canonized\nand an effigy of him set up on the Charles Bridge; this effigy was\nfollowed by many others, among them that of Loyola. Each pillar of the\nbridge that Charles built is crowned by the effigy of a saint or groups\nof saints, with most of whom, I regret to say, I am not acquainted.\nThere are, however, some old friends--Saints Ludmilla, Wenceslaus,\nCosmas and Damain, and Adalbert--who are intimately connected with the\nstory of Prague. There is no denying the fact that these groups of\nstatuary give a unique touch to the massive beauty of the Charles\nBridge, but they do not appeal to me as works of art; this is probably\ndue to my own shortcomings. To my thinking, the statue of St. George,\nwhich stands close by the south entrance to the cathedral on the\nHrad[vs]any, is worth the whole collection on the Charles Bridge. This\nstatue, the work of the brothers George and Martin of Aussenburk, was\nordered expressly by Charles IV; it is an absolutely faithful\nrepresentation of a knight's armour as worn in the fourteenth century.\nFor the rest, the statuary on the bridge was not run up in the space of\na few years; the work extended over about two centuries.\n\nThe first step taken towards an outward display of regained power was\nthe destruction by the Jesuits of that old church which stood on the\nMala Stranske Nam[ve]sti, in which, as I told you, the martyrs of 1621\npartook of the Sacraments on their road to execution. The Church of St.\nNicholas then reared its stately pile out of the medley of quaint old\nroofs and dormer windows immediately below my terrace. There were\nchanges going on among those sleepy houses too, for the victory of the\nWhite Mountain and the Imperialist successes in the Thirty Years' War\nhad brought to Bohemia a swarm of foreign adventurers, officers in the\nEmperor's armies, who acquired the property of exiled Bohemian nobility\nand set about building palaces for themselves. They are interesting too,\nthese palaces in Prague, and some of them have beautiful gardens, as\nthose of Fuerstenberg, Lobkovitz, Schoenborn and Waldstein. The latter\npalace has, indeed, more than ordinary interest on account of the\nstrange man who built it.\n\nAlbrecht of Waldstein was a Bohemian noble of no very high degree, and\nbelonged to a Protestant family. He seems to have had no great learning,\nbut turned when he arrived at man's estate to the dark sciences, more\nespecially astronomy, and from the study of this science he hoped to\nlook behind the veil of the future and read his fortunes in the stars.\nHe rose, no doubt on account of his ability, to high command, to a\nposition of more real power than that of his imperial master. He amassed\na vast fortune, and built himself a huge palace in Prague--from my\nterrace I could point to you its long line of roofs. To build his palace\na number of smaller houses had to be pulled down, some twenty-three in\nall. Then Giovanni Marini, with his Italian and Dutch architects and\nlandscape gardeners, set to work and built up this regal abode of\ngigantic proportions, a place as vast as Waldstein's ambition and dreams\nof power and conquest. For all he was of Protestant faith originally,\nWaldstein had as patron saint St. Wenceslaus, to whom he built a\nbeautiful chapel in his palace. There are gardens and fountains, a Sala\nterrena, said to be the largest in Europe; there are magnolia-trees as\nold as the palace; there is a bower of black old yew-trees screening the\nspace where this warrior-statesman received the ambassadors of kings who\nsought alliance with him. There is an uncanny air of desolation over\nall this vast demesne, an air of unsatisfied ambition, of vain striving\nand infinite sadness of remorse. I can picture to myself Waldstein\npacing along that alley of clipped trees, now overgrown, scheming and\nplanning. I am sure he was one of those whose vision showed to them the\nendless possibilities of power wielded from Prague as capital of a great\nCentral European State, that he was of one mind with George Podiebrad,\nCharles IV, P[vr]emysl Ottokar II, Libu[vs]a, and I will even include\nthat Frankish adventurer, Samo. But Waldstein had to reckon with a\nHabsburg Emperor, King of Bohemia. The negotiations that his\ngeneralissimo had undoubtedly been carrying on with the French and the\nSwedes had roused the suspicions of Emperor Ferdinand, so Albrecht of\nWaldstein, Duke of Friedland, was rendered harmless; he was murdered by\nhis own officers one night at Cheb (Eger,) a place you passed through on\nyour way from Paris to Prague.\n\nThere is a quaint old-world atmosphere that clings about the Mala\nStrana, in its narrow streets and under its red roofs and dormer\nwindows, an atmosphere that suggests all sorts of good deeds done in a\nquiet sort of way, of simple piety and a general steady level of\nintellectual effort. In this, I am glad to report, some English people,\nor rather Britons, took part. I have already mentioned Elizabeth Weston\nand her epitaph in the church dedicated to St. Thomas. This church has\nalso been restored by the Jesuits; it was probably high time, for it had\nbeen dedicated in 1316, and was occasionally the scene of a \"certain\nliveliness\" which is likely to make repairs necessary. Apart from Swedes\nwho used to come round pillaging, this church seems to have had its\nprivate, as it were parochial, troubles, a serious one in 1510, for\ninstance, when a fracas arose one day during service between some\nBohemians and some Hungarians. A fracas was always conducted with\nrapiers and daggers in those days, and must have been a picturesque, if\ninconvenient, event. It was all about a lady too, which sounds quite\nlikely: it was said that she was not worth all the pother: this is the\nsort of thing some people would say. As a consequence of this fracas\nseveral Bohemians were executed for robbery with violence, which sheds a\ndifferent light on the incident, but I do not think it matters much at\nthis distance of time.\n\nThere was a monastery attached to St. Thomas's Church, or perhaps the\nother way about, and the monks had a fine library. When the Swedes,\nquite uninvited, called at Prague and occupied the Mala Strana in 1648,\ntheir commander, Koenigsmark, sent his chaplain, Master John Klee, to\npick up the library of St. Thomas's: the Swedes were great collectors of\nbooks. Klee remained unmoved by all the entreaties of the good monks\nuntil one of them showed him some silver spoons. Klee began to waver;\nsome one brought out a gilt cup; Klee fell, and left the good monks with\ntheir books, just carrying off the trifling tokens they had given him as\nsouvenirs. A little kindness goes a long way.\n\nIn St. Thomas's there is also a painting ascribed to Rubens over the\naltar. It looks doubtful to me, but the light was bad, and I could form\nno opinion as to the picture's merit. Another painting in this church\ngave me a thrill, a Virgin and Child, both black! I hoped that at last I\nhad discovered a picture I had heard so much of, \"The Black Madonna\"--a\nfamous picture with a stirring history. There are said to have been\nseveral \"Black Madonnas\" in Bohemia at one time, and that of Stara\nBoleslav was the most precious of them. St. Ludmilla herself had given\nthis picture to her pious grandson Wenceslaus, who, as we know, was\nmurdered at Stara Boleslav. Podiwin, the most trusty henchman of\nWenceslaus, buried this treasure when his master was murdered. You could\nnot well let it fall into the hands of Brother Boleslav, the hefty\nheathen; he would have been incapable of appreciating the beautiful\nlegend of how the young mother, filled with anxiety on the flight into\nEgypt, prayed that she and her Child might be turned black while their\nexile lasted. The picture was found again in 1160 by a ploughman; the\nSaxons, on their raid into Bohemia in 1635, stole it, and Ferdinand II\nredeemed it and brought it back to Prague. It should be somewhere in\nthis city. I will leave the search for it to you, when you pay your\nvisit to Prague, which is surely inevitable now that you have read so\nfar in this book.\n\nA tall, very thin spire, that peers up near the mass of the Nicholas\nChurch, reminds me of others of British race, who had their day in\nPrague and, I feel sure, contributed to its reputation for religion and\npiety. These were the _Englische Fraeulein_, as the German chronicler\ncalls them; this means English virgins or maidens--you cannot very well\ncall them English misses--whose Order, founded by Clara Ward in the\nseventeenth century, was introduced into Prague in the eighteenth by a\nPrincess Auersberg. I am not sure how these ladies passed their time,\nnor what their object was in life, but no doubt they maintained that\nstate to which they considered themselves called, and this alone should\nbe accounted unto them for righteousness in a gay town like Prague.\n\nThere is yet one other Briton of whom I must tell you in connection with\nthe story of old Prague. His name is Brown, and I met him, or rather his\neffigy, in Vienna many years ago. To give him all his style and title,\nor as much as I can recollect--Field-Marshal Count Brown, but for all\nthat a good stout Briton. He happened to serve the Empress Maria\nTheresia, and served her well. When her arch-enemy, Frederick of\nPrussia, came this way, Brown was one of those who came out to meet him;\nwas wounded and died of his wounds in Prague. Frederick of Prussia was\nobliged to raise the siege of Prague, according to popular opinion\nforced thereto by supernatural powers. It is said that one night, just\nafter the battle of Prague, fought some five miles out, at a place\ncalled St[ve]rboholy, and while the siege of Prague was still in\nprogress, the guard at one of the gates was surprised by a visitor. He\nappeared suddenly coming from the city on a black horse, dressed in\nancient costume and wearing, mark you, a prince's cap. He demanded right\nof egress, the gate was opened, and the night-rider vanished into the\ndarkness. The next day came news of the Austrian victory at Kolin, and\neveryone knew that one of Bohemia's ancient champions had decided the\nissue of that day. The pious generally ascribe the victory to St.\nWenceslaus; if supernatural agency was at work, I am more inclined to\nattribute this ingerence to Brother Boleslav, the hearty heathen: it was\nmore in his line.\n\nThose dark days passed, and a century elapsed before the Prussians came\npouring in again to disturb the _Pax Austriaca_ which held Bohemia\nenveloped. They came as before, over the passes and through the Gate of\nBohemia at that dear little town among the pine forests, Nachod. But all\nthis is ancient history, is past and over, and the serene atmosphere of\nGood King Charles's gracious days is glowing over Prague again. Old\nPrague, the somnolent city of centuries after Bohemia's freedom went, is\nregaining her place and rising to her high mission as capital of a free\nand independent State, the most promising of those that arose out of the\nruins of the Habsburg dynasty's dominions. Old customs, no doubt, are\nvanishing: I have looked in vain for the bootmakers' Fidlova[vc]ka and\nthe tailors' revels in Stromovka, the butchers' special form of annual\nrejoicing seems also to have fallen into desuetude. Like pious souls, as\nthey undoubtedly are, the butchers of Prague choose an ancient and\nrespectable church for their peculiar celebration, which, to my\nthinking, has a somewhat pagan savour; indeed, the profoundly learned\ntrace the practice back to the days when Thor was worshipped in the\ngloomy forests of Central Europe. The church chosen by the butchers for\ntheir special ritualistic function was that dedicated to St. James, son\nof Zebedee. This church was originally one of the oldest in Prague; it\nstands in that close-packed quarter of the Old Town, near Our Lady of\nTyn. The present edifice shows no traces of its earliest aspect when\nfounded by the Order of Minorities in 1232; it has been damaged and\nrestored until its present appearance was evolved, but it seems to have\nbeen loyally patronized by the Old Town butchers, whose bravery, we\nknow, did much towards safeguarding the city both during the Hussite\ntroubles and against the Swedes. Stout fellows, those old butchers of\nPrague; their holiday diversion, observed each 25th of July, was to\ndress up a goat, to carry it to the top of St. James's church-tower and\nthrow it over into the street with \"music and song,\" in which the goat\nprobably joined until he arrived on the pavement below. Strenuous\nenjoyment on a hot summer's day, I should say, having been in personal\ncontact with a goat myself on occasion, but I really cannot see where\nthe fun comes in. By the aid of a map you may discern the church-tower\nof St. James's, but you will no longer see the goat hurtling through\nspace. One by one these dear old customs are dying out. Nevertheless,\nour Pragers still enjoy life, more than ever I should say, contrasting\nthe city of to-day with that of some ten years ago. I have touched on\nsome of the forms of amusement and recreation you may indulge in; you\nwill also find a pleasant social life developing among the cheery and\nhospitable Pragers. And there is always the river, which among its many\nreflections, by the way, also includes those of a very modern and rather\nGerman-looking building which stands somewhat by itself among\ndisconnected groups of old and new buildings, near that quaint old house\nby the Jewish Cemetery. The building I refer to is called the\nRudolfinum, after one of the unhappiest of all the Habsburgs, and served\noriginally as an academy of music. It still fills up with sound from\ntime to time, though not necessarily with harmony; it is the Parliament\nof the Republic of Czecho-Slovakia.\n\nThe present tendency in Prague is to erect handsome modern buildings all\nalong the right bank of the river: Government offices, Ministries\nchiefly, will occupy them. At present the different Ministries are\nhoused in ancient palaces dotted about the city. Foreign Affairs are\ncontrolled (and very ably too) from the Hrad[vs]any, as is only right,\nand here are also the offices of the Presidency and the President's\nofficial residence. The Ministry of Commerce inhabits Waldstein's\nPalace, that of Finance the Palace of Clam-Galas, which is well worth\nseeing on account of its portico. But I fancy it will be some time\nbefore all the grand plans for reconstruction and bringing Prague up to\nthe requirements of a capital city have been carried out, and the silver\nriver will be quite content to reflect the glorious monuments of the\npast for some little time longer. The river, no doubt, could tell us a\ndeal about the chances and changes of the mortals that lived on its\nbanks; we have seen it reflect so many events, joyous, tragic, even\ncomic. On the whole it wears a thoroughly contented look on its shining\ncountenance--the look of one who knows he is thoroughly appreciated. And\nknowing this, the river has put up with all manner of trammels which men\ncall \"regulation\"; there are weirs and locks and all manner of\nimprovements which not even Charles IV had thought of constructing for\nthe good of his people. But then there are the islands left, and the\nVltava's friends, the Pragers, come down to those islands of an evening\nand make music, which must reconcile the river to changed conditions.\nOne island, that of Kampa, has already been pointed out to you; there\nare others. Of these, two count for our purpose, namely, of getting the\nbest we can out of glorious old Prague. Of these two islands, one is\nnamed [vZ]ofin, which is derived from Sophie, possibly the wife of Good\nKing Wenceslaus. Mind you, I am not at all certain about this; there is\na large bathing establishment on this island, which not only recalls the\ncheery memory of Wenceslaus, but also that of Susanna; therefore to\nbring in the name of long-suffering Queen Sophie does not seem to me\nquite nice: what do you think? The next island is a larger one, almost\nin midstream, whereas [vZ]ofin keeps the right bank and has just enough\nspace for a very pretty flower-garden, and a well-kept restaurant where\nyou may enjoy good food and good music under the shade of the spreading\nchestnut-trees. The larger island is called St[vr]elesky Ostrov, which\nmeans that it has something to do with shooting. Indeed, in years of\nlong ago, in the days of bows and arrows, and crossbow and bolt, when\narchery was compulsory, this island was the rendezvous of marksmen.\nBeing a serious concern, archery, and subsequently all manner of\nshooting, was put under the spiritual charge of St. Sebastian. It is\nvery sporting of this saint to have accepted this honorary office. Here\nagain, on this island, you may dine and drink and listen to good music.\nYou may also shoot at glass balls with an air-gun. _Ichabod_!\n\n * * * * *\n\nWherever there is a good navigable river, there you have many occasions\nfor excursions. Steamers of all sizes, painted in the national colours\nof Bohemia, white and red, ply up and down the Vltava. In fact, from\nPrague, now that all the locks are completed, you may travel down the\nVltava to the Elbe and right away to New York by water if you\nwill--change at Hamburg.\n\nThere are walks and excursions within easy reach of the centre of the\ncity. You take a tram--it is quite worth it, and is comparatively easy\non a Sunday afternoon to anyone who has played \"forward\" in a \"rugger\"\nteam. When buying a tram-ticket always make a sound like \"pshesses\" at\nthe conductor. He will not mind it in the least; in fact, he will take\nspecial pains about punching your ticket, which, by virtue of the\nstrange noise you made, enables you to change into another tram. The\ntram takes you to the outskirts, where you may start walking or just\nsink into a beer-garden, according to your degree of physical fitness\nafter the journey. You will be pleased to hear that the edict of King\nJohn anent no drinks within two miles of the city has been withdrawn, so\nyou may settle down in the Stromovka or the Kinsky Garden for the\nafternoon. This latter garden, by the way, is one of the most attractive\nfeatures of Prague. One of the Kinskys sold it to the town, which makes\nthe best use of it and keeps it in good order for the benefit of the\npublic. You will also do well to visit that little chateau place which\nyou will see on entering the garden. In it you will find a delectable\ncollection of old Bohemian and Moravian costumes, furniture and\nhousehold goods which will help you to realize how and why these people\ncling so tenaciously to all that pertains to their race.\n\nTouching the Kinsky Garden is another one, also beautiful, called\nNebozizek. These gardens are separated by a wall that descends from the\ntop of the height down to the street below, the \"Famine Wall\" it is\ncalled, for a thoughtful King of Bohemia, Charles IV again, caused it to\nbe built in order to provide work during a lean year some centuries ago.\nA gap in the Famine Wall, which you reach by shady winding ways, gives\nyou a glorious and unexpected view of the Hrad[vs]any; the winding ways\nlead you up to the summit of the Pet[vr]in, as this height is called,\nwhere you may find an outlook tower, a church, a diorama showing a scene\nfrom the Thirty Years' War, and a beer-garden--so entertainment is\nprovided for all tastes. There is a way down from the top of Pet[vr]in\nshaded by chestnut-trees, its stages marked by fourteen chapels, the\nStations of the Cross, until it narrows in between garden walls over\nwhich you see Strahov and the Hrad[vs]any rising in graceful dignity out\nof a maze of red-tiled roofs and foliage.\n\nThen you may wander on past Strahov and over open rolling country to the\nbattlefield of the White Mountain and to the Star, those places of\ntragic memory in the history of Bohemia. It is usual to speak\nslightingly of the immediate environment of Prague as being\nuninteresting and indeed unlovely; I protest strongly against this, and\nthat because I have traversed the fields and lanes on foot, not dashing\nthrough the landscape in a motor-car, and therefore claim to have seen\nthe scenery round about the capital. The citizens of Prague seem to be\nof my way of thinking, to judge by the numbers that set out on Sundays\nto the heights that encompass the town on its western side. The good\npeople of Prague enjoy their Sunday beer in the Star Park Restaurant,\nand take their walks abroad among the pleasant valleys that run down to\nthe river on its left bank. From the plateau of the White Mountain you\nmay find your way into one of these pleasant valleys, that of the\n[vS]arka. You enter it by a narrow rocky gorge, and as it has a\ndistinctly romantic look, legend has fastened on to it and echoes a tale\nof Bohemian Amazons led by a lady of the name of [vS]arka, who was\ndiscontented with the dominance of mere man. The legend is somewhat\nobscure, but as the Bohemians, like other people, prefer a happy ending\nto their stories (they have till recently known but few in their own\nhistory), we may take it that the Amazonian ladies arrived at the\nnatural issue out of their troubles. Amongst these rocks is an open-air\ntheatre where concerts are given; here one glorious Sunday afternoon in\nautumn I was once again privileged to hear Kubelik play.\n\nThe [vS]arka brook trips along gaily towards the Vltava under\noverhanging rocks, by wooded slopes and fresh meadows. It tries to be\nuseful in driving the \"Devil's Mill\"; that sinister personage seems to\nhave started quite a number of such concerns in Bohemia. It is a\npleasant little place, tucked away among rocks and trees, and its chief\nbusiness appears to be the supplying of refreshments. Of the occasional\nrocks that jut out above the trees, one claims to be the jumping-off\nplace of a Prague damsel who was tired of life; such places are pretty\nfrequent in all scenery with any pretence to romance. Given a rocky\neminence, you will always find that somebody or other has leapt\ntherefrom and thus given it a name, the \"Maiden's Leap\" or the \"Knight's\nLeap.\" It is obvious, for instance, that the Vy[vs]ehrad, the rocky\neminence on which stood the first castle of Bohemia's rulers before ever\nPrague was built, should have a jumping-off story. A knight was\nimprisoned in the Vy[vs]ehrad Castle; he asked leave to ride round the\ncastle, for change of air no doubt, when suddenly he wheeled about, put\nhis horse at the river and leapt--of course he got safely away. Let us\nhope that the damsel of Prague who leapt into the [vS]arka Valley also\nfell soft and got away.\n\nThese little valleys that lead down to the river are all the more\ndelightful as you seem to come upon them by surprise. The general aspect\nof the high ground above the river is that of a highly cultivated\nundulating country with prim and rather uninteresting-looking clusters\nof white-washed cottages gathered round the church-tower with its quaint\nbulbous top-hamper which, to my thinking, recalls the Dresden china\n_Zwiebel Muster_ of one's youth, but is really supposed to be due to\neastern influence. Again, from the river you see wooded slopes, cherry\norchards and factory chimneys. But turning down towards the river you\nsuddenly come upon a jolly little tinkling brook, falling over rocks\nthat peep out of gorse bushes, winding about among lush meadows where\ngeese chatter contentedly, and seem so far remote from broad acres under\nwaving corn that you get the \"wind on the heath\" all to yourself, and\nfeel yet farther removed from smoking factories. And even these latter\nblend with the landscape in a manner which English factories can never\nacquire. They are tucked away in cosy little valleys, and even in large\ngroups do not disturb the harmony of the landscape. They also seem an\nexpression of the national character, steady and hardworking, yet\ncapable of fitting in completely with the joyous beauty kindly Nature\nspreads all about.\n\n * * * * *\n\nWithin easy reach of Prague, with its hundred towers, are many historic\nplaces, landmarks in the story of Bohemia. Foremost among these is the\nCastle of Karlov Tyn. It stands on a rocky spur in a wooded valley,\nbetween four hills. You catch a sudden and fleeting glimpse of it as you\napproach Prague from Paris by the line that runs along the winding River\nBerounka. If you are blessed with the healthy curiosity of the traveller\nin foreign parts, you will insist on a closer inspection of this lordly\ncastle. It looks new; this is the result of well-meant restoration\nundertaken some years ago; it is really of great and historic\nantiquity.\n\nCharles IV, Emperor of the Holy Roman Empire and first Bohemian King of\nthat name, began the building of this castle in 1348 as a fitting casket\nfor the Crown jewels and the charter of the land he loved. During the\nreign of subsequent Kings of Bohemia, this castle, though it passed\nthrough many of the vicissitudes peculiar to mediaeval history, kept up\nits traditional importance in the land. It was besieged by the Hussites\nin 1422, and parts of it were burnt down and allowed to go to ruin. Over\na century later it was restored, but suffered eclipse after the Thirty\nYears' War, was even in pawn for several years, and did not quite\nretrieve its fallen fortunes until after the _coup d'etat_ of 1918. The\ndeeds by which the two leading patron saints of Bohemia gained sanctity\nare set forth in quite well-preserved frescoes.\n\n[Illustration: A CORNER OF K[vR]IVOKLAT CASTLE.]\n\nWhile on the subject of castles--and you must forgive me for\nrambling,--I should like to tell you about another one that stands some\nlittle way farther up the valley of the Berounka, tucked away out of\nsight of the railway. The history of this Castle of K[vr]ivoklat dates\nyet farther back than that of Karlov Tyn, for we read of its restoration\nin the twelfth century by Prince Vladislaus I, a scion of the House of\nP[vr]emysl. Charles IV loved to live here, and restored the place for\nthe first of his four wives, Blanche of Valois. Other guests more or\nless distinguished visited here, some of them involuntarily; these\nlatter were generally lodged in the Huderka Tower suitably fitted with\noubliettes. Among these guests were two already mentioned, a leading\nreligious light, John Augusta, Bishop of the Bohemian Brethren, and\nanother less certain light, Kelly, the Irish alchemist. \"Irish\nalchemist\" has rather a racy flavour; the idea of an Irishman engaged in\nsuch pursuit suggests endless ingenuous possibilities. With Kelly was\nalso the Englishman, Dr. John Dee, who was in like condemnation. No\ndoubt the two were a precious pair of rogues, but King Rudolph II had\nasked for trouble by encouraging alchemists from all over Europe to\nvisit him in Prague. The present-day compeers of Dee and Kelly are no\ndoubt the self-constituted experts on politics, finance, commerce and\nother questions which puzzle international commissions, conferences and\nsuch-like amenities of our times. Anyway, Dr. Dee and Mr. Kelly failed\nto give satisfaction, and so were incarcerated at K[vr]ivoklat. A\ncharming place it must have been when the forests were denser and shy\ndeer tripped down to the water's edge of an evening. Charming it is\nstill with its haunting memories that seem to linger more fondly than at\nKarlov Tyn, perhaps because the modern renovator has not been so busy\nhere. The quaint old corners still have an old-world, homely look which\nthe renovator invariably destroys. Despite the trees that add deep\nshadows to the sombre masonry, you may yet call up visions of knights\ntilting in the uneven overgrown courtyard while fair ladies looked on\nfrom a balcony specially added for the purpose, and in such manner as to\nproduce a very quaint effect of perspective. You may yet imagine\nyourself as one of a reverent crowd listening awestruck to bold\nutterance of religious truths from a Bohemian preacher in that beautiful\npulpit of carved stone which still adorns the gateway that leads to the\ninner court. And if you have the gift of placing yourself back among\nthose earnest seekers after truth who lived in and suffered for their\nfaith, you will draw nearer to the real spirit of the sons of Bohemia.\n\nAnd this reflection leads to yet another historic spot within easy reach\nof Prague, Tabor. This is a pleasant little town some two hours by rail\nfrom the capital. Seen from the railway as it stands on a gentle rise,\nits tall church-tower and red roofs reflected in the waters of a winding\nlake, it looks what it is now, a very peaceful spot. But if you go about\nits narrow streets you come upon many relics of the town's eventful\npast. It comes as a surprise to find that the side towards the south,\ntowards Austria, descends precipitously to the River Losnice, a striking\ncontrast to the placid lake which first greeted you. This lake was\ncalled Jordan, the city Tabor, by those who, following the teaching of\nHus, ordered their lives and thoughts by Holy Writ. The Hussites under\ntheir leader [vZ]i[vz]ka, one of the ablest generals of all time, had\ndecided to build them a city and fixed upon this site for the sake of\nits undoubted strategic value and its capacity for defence.\n\nTabor, however, takes me rather too far afield; I mentioned it for the\nbenefit of those who study archaeology; these will find interesting\ninstances of Bohemia's fifteenth-century architecture in this the\nstronghold of [vZ]i[vz]ka and the followers of Hus.\n\n * * * * *\n\n[Illustration: TABOR BY THE WATERS OF JORDAN.]\n\nIn these my reflections on things seen and noted from \"a Terrace in\nPrague\" I have endeavoured to arouse your interest in this grand old\ncity. I have pointed out to you from the terrace of my choice monuments\nto a glorious past, to a glowing vital history of this the capital of an\nancient realm. I leave it now to you to fill in the gaps I have left,\neither purposely--for I want you to come here and see for yourself--or\ninadvertently; and I have already admitted my limited knowledge of a\ngreat subject. So come out here and choose your point of view, and carry\non the reflections I have started; there is endless scope. As Luetzow\nsays: \"When throwing a stone through a window in Prague you throw with\nit a morsel of history.\" This is not meant to encourage stone-throwing,\na practice that meets with little appreciation here. What is meant is\nthat there is a vast field lying before you, as you look out over the\ncity, a field which will render you good returns for any attempt you\nmake to cultivate it. If your outlook be academic, at your feet lies one\nof Europe's oldest universities; if your interests turn to architecture,\nthis little work alone should give you some idea of the wealth of\nmaterial lying here to your hand. If you are one of those rare mortals\nwho study history for the sake of applying its moral to the conduct of\nthe world's affairs, then you have here a deep well from which to draw\ninspiration. Look at those figures that rise above the heads of their\nfellows in the shadowy pageant of Bohemia's capital, at those whose\nvision carried well beyond the narrow frontiers of their country and the\nlimitations of their age. Ottokar II and Charles IV, George Podiebrad\nand Waldstein, all these saw the inner meaning of Libu[vs]a's prophecy:\n\"I see a grand city, the fame of which reaches to the skies.\"\n\nLibu[vs]a's prophecy has been fulfilled, her forecast of Prague's place\nin the world has come true. In the days of Ottokar II, Prague held high\nplace as a capital of a great State. Charles IV rescued this city that\nhe loved, and made of it the rallying point of Central European culture.\nKing George Podiebrad felt the high importance of this his native\ncountry's capital, and from it he wove his web of treaties and\nagreements for the betterment of Central Europe by means of his League\nof Peace. Dark Waldstein had formed great and ambitious plans, possibly\nnot so altruistic as those of his spiritual kinsmen, the great men\nmentioned above. You have seen how one after another these giants of\nBohemia saw their plans brought to nought. Ottokar II succumbed to the\nfirst Habsburger that threw his shadow over Bohemia. The successors of\nCharles and George Podiebrad could not stand up against the forces of\nreaction that beat down Bohemia's efforts towards finding herself and\ntaking her rightful place in the comity of nations. Of Waldstein's plans\nand ambitions there are only dark traces, obscure indications; he, a man\nof penetrating vision, must have realized the possibilities of his\ncountry, and must have been bent on securing for it the place it is\nentitled to. But he in his turn perished at the instigation of a\nHabsburger. And so we see the searching light of greatness light up the\ncity from time to time, and in almost regular intervals of a century at\na time; then came heavy banks of cloud to obscure the fair prospect. The\nclouds have rolled away again; again bright sunshine draws out the\nmemories of Golden Prague and raises hopes of a glorious future. This\ntime the fate of Prague and the land and people she stands for does not\ndepend upon dynastic considerations nor the will or vision of one ruler\nor another. The destinies of Prague are in the hands of a sovereign\npeople; it is theirs to make or mar them.\n\nHere is matter for deep study, such as will in time justify prediction.\nMark also well the signs of the times as you look out over Prague, and\nnote whether the spirit of the great departed has not returned to inform\nthe people of Bohemia and of the lands that make up the Succession State\nof the old Austrian Empire, the Republic of Czecho-Slovakia.\n\nIf I have succeeded in arousing your interest, my task is completed; it\nis then for you to take up the tale--\"From a Terrace in Prague.\"\n\n\n\n\nINDEX\n\n\nAaron, 113\n\nAbbeville, 150\n\nAdalbert, Bishop, 84, 92, 141, 161, 237\n\nAdela of Austria, 118\n\nAdolph of Nassau, 132\n\nAdrian I, Pope, 161\n\nAdriatic, 119\n\nAEneas Silvius (_see_ Pope Pius II), 27\n\nAEthelstan, King of England, 76\n\nAix-la-Chapelle, 76, 159\n\nAlbrecht of Habsburg, 132, 133\n\nAlexander Borgia, Pope, 209\n\nAlexander III, Pope, 126\n\nAll Saints' Church, 93\n\nAmarapura, 24\n\nAndrew, Bishop, 108, 109\n\nAnne of Bohemia, 176, 177, 185\n\nArabia, 28\n\nArkona, 97\n\nArles, 151\n\nArnold, 213\n\nArnulf, German King, 65, 74\n\nArpad, 74\n\nArras, Matthew of, 153, 159\n\nArthur, King of Britain, 136\n\nAube, 39\n\nAugsburg, 82\n\nAustria, 21, 117, 118, 132, 143, 251\n\nAvari, 26\n\nAvignon, 143, 144, 151, 153\n\n\nBabenberg, 118\n\nBaikal, Lake, 117\n\nBale, 219\n\nBaltic, 119\n\nBas Schevi von Treunberg, 114\n\nBavaria, 16, 22, 53, 134, 156, 199\n\nBeatrice of Bourbon, 139\n\nBechyn, Tobias of, 133\n\nBela, King of Hungary, 118, 119\n\nBelfort, 39\n\nBelna, 55\n\nBenedictines, 142\n\nBene[vs] of Loun, 153\n\nBene[vs] of Weitmil, 150\n\nBerlin, 18\n\nBerounka, 16, 23, 164, 171, 248, 249\n\nBlanche Taque, 149\n\nBlanche of Valois, 139, 249\n\nBoievari, 16, 134\n\nBoleslav I, 66, 67, 71, 78, 79, 80, 82, 83, 97, 240, 242\n\nBoleslav II, 83, 84, 85, 89, 159\n\nBoleslav III, 90\n\nBoleslav the Brave, 83, 89, 90, 91\n\nBoleslav, Towns Old and Young, 80, 152, 240\n\nBologna, 100, 168\n\nBo[vr]ivoj, 63-66, 161\n\nBo[vz]ena, 90, 91\n\nBrahe, Tycho de, 100, 114, 206, 228\n\nBreslau, 40, 83\n\nB[vr]etislav I, 91, 92, 94, 97\n\nB[vr]etislav II, 96, 97\n\nBrezova, Lawrence of, 155\n\nBritons, 23, 241\n\nBrno, 18\n\nBrown, Field-Marshal, Count, 241\n\nBrusnice, 57\n\nBrunswick, 22\n\nBruex, 109\n\nBuiarnum, 112\n\nBulgars, 119\n\nBurgundy, 151\n\nBurma, 24, 25\n\nByzantium, 24\n\n\nCantacuzene, 24\n\nCarinthia, John Henry of, 143\n\nCarlsbad, 23, 151\n\nCarlyle, 133, 134, 137\n\nCaro, Abigdor, Rabbi, 114\n\nCarolingian, 65\n\nCasimir of Poland, 145\n\nCelts, 16, 39, 40, 134\n\nCeylon, 25\n\nCharlemagne, 18, 19, 26, 65, 73, 75, 76, 159, 210\n\nCharles IV, Emperor, 121, 137-145, 149-160, 163, 164, 167, 168, 170, 172-175, 179, 180, 193, 195, 205, 217-220, 237, 239, 240, 244, 246, 249, 253\n\nCharles V, Emperor, 226, 231\n\nCharles the Simple, of France, 76\n\nChateau Thierry, 22\n\nCheb, 16, 23, 26, 98, 164, 239\n\nChlodovech, King of the Franks, 163\n\nClarissa, Order of, 109\n\nClement VI, Pope, 142\n\nClerval, Massieu de, 27\n\nCluny, 96, 99, 100\n\nConrad III, Emperor, 98\n\nConradin, 22, 108\n\nConstance, 182, 185, 203\n\nConstance of Hungary, 109\n\nConstantine the Great, 15\n\nConstantine Porphyrogenitus, 76\n\nConstantinople, 15, 24, 76, 99, 218\n\nCornwall, Richard of, 109, 118, 119, 150\n\nCosmas of Prague, 25-27, 54, 57, 63\n\nCranach, Lucas, 154\n\nCrawford, Marion, 180\n\nCrecy, 136, 140, 144, 149, 150\n\nCzechus, 53, 64\n\n\nDacio, 99\n\nDagobert, 26\n\nDalibor, Daliborka, 121, 122, 123\n\nDalimil, 91\n\nDanes, 73, 74\n\nDanube, 16, 40, 53, 210\n\nDavid, 15\n\nDee, Dr. John, 228, 249\n\nDienzenhofer, 159, 222\n\nDragomira, 66, 72, 77\n\nDresden, 20\n\nDubravka, 83, 90\n\nDuerer, 102\n\nDvo[vr]ak, 211\n\n\nEdinburgh, 200\n\nEdward, Black Prince, 136, 145\n\nEdward III of England, 135, 145, 150\n\nEdward VII of England, 23\n\nEger, _see_ Cheb\n\nEggenburg, 21\n\nElbe, 18, 20, 80, 245\n\nEmanuel, Emperor, 99\n\nEmaus, 78, 92, 94, 140, 141, 142, 173\n\nEngland, 73, 100, 109, 117, 118, 140, 150, 181, 195, 204, 218\n\nErnest of Pardubic, Bishop, 144, 167\n\n\nFalckenstein, Zavis of, 124\n\nFaust, Dr., 208\n\nFelix III, Pope, 161\n\nFerdinand, Archduke, 45, 225, 226\n\nFerdinand I, Emperor, 154\n\nFerdinand II, Emperor, 240\n\nFerdinand III, Emperor, 142, 156, 237, 239\n\nFidlovatchka, 46, 47, 242\n\nFischer, Peter, 154\n\nFlemings, 39\n\nFrance, 39, 136, 150, 151, 220\n\nFrancis I of France, 225\n\nFranconia, 22\n\nFranks, 18, 26, 134\n\nFrederick Barbarossa, 23, 99, 107, 110, 117\n\nFrederick, Count Palatine, 154, 156, 187, 188, 230, 231\n\nFrederick, Duke of Austria, 118\n\nFrederick the Fair, of Austria, 143\n\nFrederick the Great of Prussia, 52, 101, 156, 159, 241\n\nFuerstenberg, 60\n\n\nGalileo, Galilei, 114\n\nGans, David, 114\n\nGauls, 39\n\nGebhard, Bishop, 185\n\nGeorge Podiebrad, 154-157, 186, 207, 209, 218, 221, 236, 239, 253\n\nGermans, 58, 65, 95, 111, 198, 199, 200\n\nGhibelline, Waiblingen, 22\n\nGibraltar, 60\n\nGindeley, 232\n\nGnesen, 92, 125\n\nGolden Bull, 157, 179\n\nGothic, 62, 93, 114, 127, 142, 158, 185, 207, 224\n\nGregory VII, Pope, 94\n\nGregory XII, Pope, 229\n\nGregory of Tours, 163\n\nGuido, Cardinal, 98, 99\n\nGuelf, Welf, 22\n\n\nHabsburg, 21, 101, 114, 119-121, 124, 125, 131, 132, 134, 136, 154, 156, 175, 186, 187, 194, 199-210, 218, 221, 223, 225\n\nHajek, 100\n\nHamilton, Sir William and Lady, 102\n\nHanover, 134\n\nHarrachove, 85\n\nHenri IV of France, 194\n\nHenry and Kunigunde, Saints, 158\n\nHenry of Carinthia, 133, 135, 137\n\nHenry of Luxemburg, 133\n\nHenry the Fowler, 66, 76, 77, 84, 162\n\nHenry II, German King, 90\n\nHenry III, Emperor, 91\n\nHenry IV, Emperor, 94\n\nHenry VI, Emperor, 108\n\nHohenburg on Unstrutt, 94\n\nHohenstaufen, 108\n\nHolstein, 74\n\nHoly Cross, Chapel, 94\n\nHrade[vs]in, 58\n\nHrad[vs]any, 52, 56, 57, 59, 60, 61, 63, 72, 78, 84, 93, 94, 96, 110, 121, 131, 135, 144, 152, 154, 159, 171, 194, 195, 217, 224, 226, 227, 229, 235, 246\n\nHumbolt, Alexander von, 27\n\nHungarians, 74-76, 94, 121, 146\n\nHungary, 26, 109, 117, 125, 136, 144, 210, 218\n\nHus, John, 48, 182-185, 188, 202-204, 218, 232, 251\n\nHussites, 142, 154, 155, 159, 185, 198, 199, 218, 243, 249, 251\n\n\nIbrahim Ibn Jacub, 28, 84, 85, 112\n\nInnocent III, Pope, 108\n\nInnsbruck, 137\n\nIrish Monks, 126, 210\n\nIrrawaddy, 25\n\nIsabella of England, 109\n\nItaly, 136-138, 149, 151, 204, 230\n\n\nJacobelius, 236\n\nJagoilla, dynasty, 225\n\nJames I of England, 154, 188\n\nJaromir, 90\n\nJe[vr]abek, Dr., 113\n\nJerusalem, 15\n\nJesuits, 38, 53, 182, 187, 188, 194, 195, 222, 236, 239\n\nJilove, 58\n\nJoan of Arc, 181\n\nJohn, King of Bohemia, 45, 131, 135-145, 150-153, 173, 205, 245\n\nJohn, King of England, 109, 118\n\nJohn, of Jenstein, 181\n\nJohn VIII, Pope, 161\n\nJordan, 21, 251\n\nJosefor, 113\n\nJoseph, Emperor, 47\n\nJudith, Queen, 93, 94, 127, 168, 180\n\nJuggernaut, 34\n\nJungmann, 194, 213\n\n\nKalina, 213\n\nKarlov Tyn, Karlstein, 66, 164, 248-250\n\nKazi, 55\n\nKeppler, 114, 206, 228\n\nKiev, 83, 119\n\nKinsky, 44, 245, 246\n\nKlee, Dr. John, 240\n\nKolin, 242\n\nKoenigsberg, 118\n\nKoenigsmark, 240\n\nKossovo, 201\n\nKostelec, 58\n\nKralove Hradec, Koeniggraetz, 135\n\nKressenbrunn, 119\n\nK[vr]ivoklat, 249, 250\n\nKrok, 55, 56\n\nKrom[ve][vr]i[vz]e, Mili[vc] of, 174, 179, 206\n\nKubelik, 247\n\nKulm, 97\n\nKutna Hora, 124, 217, 218\n\n\nLabe, _see_ Elbe\n\nLadislas Posthumus, 154, 218, 225\n\nLatins, 39\n\nLechfeld, 82\n\nLehel, 82\n\nLeipzig, 218\n\nLemberg, 83\n\nLeo, Pope, 76\n\nLeopold, Archduke of Austria, 194\n\nLeopold, Duke of Austria, 117\n\nLepanto, 229\n\nLetna, 44, 94, 171, 214\n\nLevy Hradec, 64\n\nLibu[vs]a, 53-57, 59-61, 93, 100, 110, 112, 121, 125, 239, 253\n\nLichtenberg, Ulrich of, 133\n\nLiegnitz, 117\n\nLion of Bohemia, 62, 117\n\nLisbon, 15\n\nLithuanians, 136, 143, 144\n\nLoew, Jehuda ben Bezalel, Rabbi, 115\n\nLombards, 53, 151\n\nLondon, 24, 206\n\nLothair, Emperor, 97-98\n\nLouis of Brandenburg, 143\n\nLouis, Duke of Bavaria, 136\n\nLouis, German King, 144, 145, 150\n\nLouis VII, King of France, 99\n\nLouis IX, King of France, 219\n\nLudmilla, 63, 66, 71, 77, 84, 109, 161, 237, 240\n\nLuther, 226\n\nLuetzow, Count, 26, 27, 79, 82, 119, 136, 144, 182, 220, 252\n\nLuxemburg, 38, 41, 131-134, 137, 138, 140-143, 153\n\n\nMaintz, Archbishop of, 84, 109, 144\n\nMandalay, 24, 58\n\nMarcus Aurelius, 40, 189\n\nMargaret Maultasche, 137, 143\n\nMaria Theresia, 156, 241\n\nMarienbad, 23\n\nMarne, 39\n\nMastino della Scala, 137\n\nMatthias, Emperor, 227, 230\n\nMaximilian I, Emperor, 45, 154\n\nMaximilian II, Emperor, 226\n\nMecklenburg, 134\n\nMedigo de Candia, Solomon, 114\n\nMelantrich, 207\n\nMichael Angelo, 38\n\nMieceslav, 83\n\nMilada, 84, 159, 161\n\nMilan, 99, 100, 151\n\nMilton, 194\n\nMnata, 63, 198, 199, 221\n\nMontmartre, 52\n\nMontparnasse, 52\n\nMorava, 40\n\nMoravia, 53, 63, 65, 74, 82, 83, 91, 98, 108, 117, 118, 133, 140, 143, 198, 199, 221\n\nMozart, 212, 224\n\nMuehldorf, 136, 143\n\n\nNachod, 22, 242\n\nNancy, 22\n\nNaples, 108\n\nNarodni T[vr]ida, 90, 139\n\nNebozizek, 44, 246\n\nNelson, 102\n\nNepomuk, John, 181-184, 237\n\nNeruda, John, 224\n\nNorsemen, 39\n\nNuremberg, 22\n\nNusle, 46, 47\n\n\nOfen, Buda, 125\n\nOise, 39\n\nOlomouc, Olmuetz, 62\n\nOppenheim, Rabbi, 114\n\nOtto of Brandenburg, 124\n\nOtto of Brunswick, 108\n\nOttokar I, P[vr]emysl, 107, 108, 110\n\nOttokar II, P[vr]emysl, 108, 109, 114, 118-121, 124-127, 132, 145, 239\n\nOxford, 168\n\n\nPalacky, 27, 82, 133, 136, 220\n\nPaleologue, 24\n\nPalestrina, 126\n\nParis, 15, 21, 22, 24, 39, 40, 52, 76, 134, 139, 145, 164, 168, 248\n\nParler, John and Peter, 153, 207\n\nPergolesi, 43\n\nPet[vr]in, 57, 100, 103, 246\n\nPhilip of Suabia, 109\n\nPilsen, 16, 18\n\nPincio, 37\n\nPius II, Pope, 27\n\nPoland, 83, 90-92, 125, 144-209, 219, 220, 224\n\nPoles, 117\n\nP[vr]emysl, 55-57, 62, 63, 66, 98, 107, 108, 111, 125, 133\n\nPrussia, Duke of, 45\n\nPrussians, 75, 84, 118, 134, 242\n\n\nRabindranath Thagore, 212\n\nRacusani, 100\n\nRadecky, 223\n\nRatisbon, 65, 107, 126\n\nRhone, 39\n\nRichard II, King of England, 176, 185\n\nRichtenthal, 157\n\nRiegrovy, 44\n\n[vR]ip, 54, 161\n\nRodin, 27, 37, 38\n\nRomans, 40\n\nRome, 16, 24, 37, 38, 52, 74, 95, 109, 151, 157, 182, 199, 203, 209, 218, 219, 220, 236\n\nRostock, 18\n\nRoumania, 219\n\nRudolph I, 120, 132\n\nRudolph II, 194, 227-230\n\nRuegen, 97, 162\n\nRugevit, 97\n\nRugians, 53\n\nRussia, Russians, 112, 117, 119\n\n\nSt. Agnes, 109, 110\n\nSt. Anthony, 84, 157\n\nSt. Boniface, 210\n\nSt. Cletus, 126\n\nSaints Cosmas and Damian, 79, 94, 140, 161\n\nSt. Cyriak, 126\n\nSt. George, 54, 83, 93, 96, 159, 227, 237\n\nSt. Hedwig, 109\n\nSt. Henry, 43\n\nSt. Hieronymus, 141\n\nSt. Longinus, 94, 160\n\nSt. Martin, 94, 213, 236\n\nSt. Methodius, 63, 65, 141, 161\n\nSt. Nicholas, 101, 223\n\nSt. Patrick, 126\n\nSt. Procopius, 60, 141\n\nSt. Remy, 149\n\nSt. Rufus, 124, 145\n\nSt. Sigismund, 163\n\nSt. Thomas, 101, 239, 240\n\nSt. Thomas a Becket, 204\n\nSt. Vitus, 72, 77, 144, 152, 156, 162, 163\n\nSalonika, 161\n\nSamo the Frank, 26, 239\n\nSaone, 39\n\nSaracens, 74-76\n\n[vS]arka, 44, 247\n\nSaville, Sir Thomas, 100\n\nSaxons, 18, 19, 94, 134, 155, 240\n\nSaxony, 47, 162, 199\n\nSchiller, 230\n\nScots, 73, 126, 187\n\nSeine, 39\n\nSerbs, 119, 201\n\nShakespeare, 199\n\nSigismund, Emperor, 155, 185, 186, 217, 218\n\nSilesia, 83, 117\n\n[vS]lik, Count, 232\n\nSlovakia, 83\n\nSmetana, 57, 122, 171, 211\n\nSmichov, 35, 93\n\nSob[ve]slav, 97\n\nSomme, 150\n\nSpira, Aaron, 115\n\nSpytihnev, 65, 74, 153\n\nStadic, 55, 133\n\nStar, the, 43\n\nStaronova, [vS]kola, 113\n\nStephen I, King of Hungary, 91\n\nStephen III, King of Hungary, 99\n\nSt[ve]rboholy, 241\n\nStettin, 18, 40\n\nStrahov, 100-103, 154, 246\n\nStrasbourg, 22\n\nStrelitz, 18\n\nStromovka, 44, 45, 242\n\nStrzezislava, 63\n\nStuttgart, 22\n\nStyria, 118\n\nSusanna, 178\n\nSvantovit, 97\n\nSvatopluk of Moravia, 63, 65\n\nSwedes, 100, 116, 117, 239, 240\n\n\nTabor, 21, 251\n\nTagus, 15\n\nTartars, 117\n\nTeplitz, 97\n\nTeta, 55\n\nTeutons, 19, 20, 75, 200\n\nThebaw, 25\n\nThietmar, Bishop, 84\n\nThuringians, 53\n\nThurn, Count, 194\n\nTilly, 237\n\nTomek, 27\n\nTurks, 218\n\nTyn Church, 94, 201, 205-207, 232, 236, 242\n\nTyrol, 143\n\n\nUlrich, P[vr]emysl, 90, 91\n\nUrban VI, Pope, 185\n\nUtraquists, 142, 195, 209\n\n\nVaclav, _see_ Wenceslaus\n\nVaclavske Nam[ve]sti, 72, 139, 160\n\nVenetia, 157\n\nVenice, 219\n\nVerona, 137, 203\n\nVienna, 21, 126, 171, 236, 241\n\nVikings, 75, 76\n\nViollet-le-Duc, 27\n\nVladislav I, 249\n\nVladislav II, 99-101, 107, 158, 209, 220, 221-226\n\nVladivoj, 89\n\nVltava, 16, 18, 25, 44, 52, 57, 58, 84, 85, 93, 170, 171, 173, 180, 185-187, 244-246\n\nVratislav I, 65, 74, 84, 85\n\nVratislav II, 94-96\n\nVy[vs]ehrad, 26, 46, 52-57, 83, 93, 110, 121, 158, 168, 174\n\n\nWaldhauser, Conrad, 174, 179, 206\n\nWaldstein, Wallenstein, 237-239, 244, 253\n\nWallachians, 119\n\nWatson, Dr. R. Seton, 134, 202\n\nWenceslaus I, King of Bohemia, 110, 111, 114, 121\n\nWenceslaus II, King of Bohemia, 117, 118, 121, 124, 125, 131-133, 141\n\nWenceslaus III, King of Bohemia, 62\n\nWenceslaus IV, King of Bohemia, 41, 72, 175-185, 195, 206, 208, 209, 244\n\nWenceslaus, Saint and Prince of Bohemia, 62, 66, 67, 71-80, 83, 84, 93, 109, 140, 152-154, 161-163, 213, 237, 238, 242\n\nWeston, Elizabeth, 101, 239\n\nWettin, 20, 21\n\nWhite Mountain, 127, 154, 156, 182, 198, 199, 230, 232, 235, 238, 246\n\nWilson, President U.S.A., 208\n\nWiprecht of Groitch, 95\n\nWittekind, 18\n\nWittelsbach, 136, 143\n\nWogastisburg, 26\n\nWun Thu, 25\n\nWuertemberg, 22\n\nWycliffe, 185, 198\n\n\nYonne, 39\n\n\nZamek, 44\n\nZbraslav, 58\n\nZderad, 96\n\nZion, 15\n\n[vZ]i[vs]ka, 16, 155, 232, 251\n\nZnoymo, Conrad of, 100","title":"From a Terrace in Prague","tradition":"myth-cosmogony","translated_text":null,"word_count":73582}