e people of Prague, I still advise you
to come here and judge for yourself. Remember, its name is "Vltava," out
of which the Germans had made "Moldau," by which you have probably known
it till now; but the map of Europe has been readjusted lately, names
have changed back to their original version, and so the river at Prague
has resumed definitely its Slavonic designation, which, though not given
on any map, yet lived in the memory of the people.

* * * * *

An atmosphere of serenity seems to me to cling to the memory of
Charles's reign, a sort of "world went very well then" feeling.
Certainly Charles was doing his best, and his serenity and singleness of
purpose were reflected in the soul of his people, as were the works of
his hands reflected in the waters of the Vltava. Some historians credit
Charles with deep and sinister designs, such as raising a vast Slav
Empire to counter the growing ascendancy of Germany. This seems rather
nonsensical. Charles was a good King of Bohemia, albeit German by race
and French by upbringing, and was doing his best for his country. He saw
distinctly, as very few people only have seen before or since, that
Bohemia and its capital, Prague, was admirably suited to form the centre
of a large Empire; he therefore developed the resources of his country
in order to fit it for the part it should play. Charles is also accused
of Pan-Slavism, a wide and generally misinterpreted term; indeed, he
spoke Czech well, unlike his father John, and encouraged literary effort
in that language--it was his duty to do this, and not to force French or
German on his people as he might have tried to do. Again, the fact of
his having founded the Benedictine monastery at Emaus for the purpose of
reviving the traditions of the former monastery of St. Prokop! To this
end came monks from Dalmatia, Croatia, Bosnia, all Slavs who brought
back to Bohemia the Cyrillac alphabet and the Slavonic liturgy. The Pope
had granted express permission at the request of Charles, who had
pointed out that it was of little use preaching to his people in Latin.
The Pope had, indeed, stipulated that Emaus should be the only
congregation to use Slavonic rites within the frontiers of Bohemia.

[Illustration: TOWER OF NEW TOWN HALL.]

Charles was probably the sort of man who would walk about on foot among
his people, and I like to think of him crossing the bridge he built when
going about his business, and