e also gave advice freely, and was
eventually burnt at the stake; in fact, there can have been no doubt,
from the very beginning of her career, but that she was the stuff that
saints are made of. Another saint whose recognition was very tardy is
St. John Nepomuk. He is probably quite unknown to England even to this
day, notwithstanding the fact that he stood in close if somewhat
uncomfortable relations to one who figures in an English carol, namely,
this Good King Wenceslaus.

Now there is relativity in goodness, and this feature was strongly
marked in the King of Bohemia of whom we sing at Christmas time. One
absolute departure from goodness is reported of him, namely, that he
caused his wife's father-confessor to be thrown into the river at
Prague; and this man was John Nepomuk.

The trouble arose out of curiosity, and perhaps jealousy. Wine had also
a good deal to do with the business; the wine of M[ve]lnik, both white
and red, was probably as pleasant to the taste then as it is to-day, and
Wenceslaus thought so too. His Queen Sophie was a very good wife
indeed, so Wenceslaus, wondering what such a very dear and gentle lady
could have to confess, inquired of John Nepomuk about this. I fear John
was one of those exasperating persons who give the soft answer that
makes one very wild. It had that effect on Wenceslaus; he went off into
an ungovernable rage and had John dragged down to the river and thrown
in. I believe John's tongue was torn out first. Anyway, this is the sort
of picturesque addition that you expect. There is a statue to John
Nepomuk on the Charles Bridge, there is a tablet to mark the spot where
he was thrown in, and there is his shrine in the cathedral which Luetzow,
by the way, describes as of "barbaric splendour."

Now shortly after John Nepomuk's demise came yet another John, surnamed
Hus, and as he likewise met with a violent death, and that under yet
more picturesque conditions highly coloured by national sentiment, his
memory survived, whereas John Nepomuk's was lost in oblivion. After all,
John Nepomuk's trouble was more a personal one, a quarrel about a
domestic affair, whereas John Hus went all the way to Constance to bear
testimony to the faith held by his people, and was burnt there with all
the pomp and ceremony which Church and State of those days could put up.
As sequel to the martyrdom of John Hus came the wars waged by his
Bohemian followers against all the might of the Church of Rome