ents
were drafted from Vienna to assist in quelling them. Twelve thousand in
all have been massed in the city of Prague. It is evident that the
Government considers the situation grave, as the men have been sent out
armed as for war, and furnished with the various necessaries as for a
regular campaign.

When martial law is proclaimed in a district, it means that all persons
within a certain limit are to be subject to the rules and regulations in
use in times of war.

These rules are very strict. Persons who resist are arrested, tried, and
severely punished. Sometimes if they cannot give a good account of
themselves they are hanged as spies.

The law that has been proclaimed in Prague is known as the Standrecht,
and is not exactly martial law. Instead of the military officers sitting
in judgment on suspected persons, the civil judges of the law courts are
given military powers. They try and sentence people with military haste,
and their sentences are put into effect within a few hours after they
have been passed.

There is no appeal from the judgments of the Standrecht; and so quickly
are they carried out, that if a person is ordered to be hanged, and the
regular executioner is busy, the judge can call on the soldiers to carry
out the sentence.

No sooner were these severe measures enforced in Prague, than the wrath
of the people began to calm down.

Four men were handed over to the mercy of the judges; each received a
sentence of twenty years' imprisonment, and was immediately taken away
without time for farewells.

The hand of the law is very heavy in Prague at this moment, and for this
reason her citizens are gradually returning to their senses.

Throughout the length and breadth of this great city the people are
forced to live by military rules. Among other orders, the commanding
officer insists that the house doors must be closed at seven every
evening. Shops have to be closed at five, cafes must have their lights
out and doors closed at nine, and every person in the city has to give
an account of himself whenever it is required.

Under these laws the people of Prague will continue to live until peace
is restored. The condition of the city is very pitiable. The schools are
closed, the hotels are empty, and the tradespeople declare that
bankruptcy lies before them.

Amazing stories are told of the dreadful things done by the rioters in
their hatred of everything German. It is said that the Children's
Ho