eated and driven out of Moravia,
still held several towns in that country. This seems to have served
Matthias Corvinus as a pretext for disputing the claim of Vladislav to
the throne of Bohemia. There was also another claimant with a certain
following, namely, Duke Albert of Saxony, but in the end the crown
remained with Vladislav of Poland, who then made his way to Bohemia, and
entered Prague on August 19, 1471.

I like to conjure up a picture of the reception given to Vladislav by
the good people of Prague. Vladislav, coming from Poland, would probably
enter by the gateway where now stands that beautiful "Powder Tower,"
built under his aegis; I have already pointed it out to you. There he
would be received by all manner of "grave and reverend seigniors," among
them, of course, the doctors of the University, who, I gather, presented
Vladislav with a "neatly bound and printed copy of the Bible, so that he
might read it and direct himself and his subjects according to the Will
of God": thus writes the chronicler. The good citizens of Prague were
evidently pleased to welcome Vladislav, so we can imagine him, three
days after his entry into Prague, moving, amidst popular rejoicings, to
the Hrad[vs]any for coronation. A glittering pageant, no doubt, as it
moved along under the shadow of the Church of Our Lady of Tyn, past the
Old Town Hall, where the man to whom he owed the throne, George
Podiebrad, had been called to rule Bohemia. Then along the Karlova
Ulice, under the tower built by Wenceslaus, and over the Charles Bridge
up the steep slope of Castle Hill.

I cannot imagine that the aspect of the Mala Strana which Vladislav got
while proceeding to his coronation was very different from that of
to-day. The Bridge Street on the left bank was possibly narrower and
ill-paved, but I am certain that the general aspect of arcaded houses
was much the same as it is to-day. I cannot imagine the Mala Strana
changing very much, nor will you when once you have seen it. Though many
houses, palaces and churches have been rebuilt or added, I should say
that the Mala Strana has always preserved a certain independence, a
conservative aloofness, from other quarters of the capital. From little
glimpses, from snatches of conversation and chance remarks, I am
inclined to the idea that the aborigines of the Mala Strana, while
admitting the existence of other parts of Prague, such as the Old Town,
yet do not consider them quite fit to associat