at
least that there is no law against their accepting it, while
there are instances of their having done so. In southern
Bohemia, a short time ago, a countess was chosen member of a
provincial assembly (_okresni zastupitestvo_) with the approval
of the body, on the condition that she should not participate
personally in its deliberations, but should be represented by a
man having full power to act for her. At Agram in Croatia, a
woman was elected, a few years ago, member of the municipal
council, and no objection was made. Of course such cases are very
rare, but they have their significance.

Carolina Svetla, the distinguished poet and author, has done,
perhaps, the most to awaken thought on the woman question in
Bohemia. She stands at the head of a talented group of literary
women, which plays a brilliant part in the fatherland of Huss. The
means for woman's instruction, however, are most lamentable in
Bohemia. The universities are shut against women, and though two
women have been graduated in Switzerland, their degrees are not
recognized in their native land. Beyond primary instruction the
State does almost nothing for its women, though they outnumber the
other sex by two hundred thousand. In several of the large cities
of Bohemia something has been accomplished for girls' high-school
and normal-school instruction; but, in general, we may say that the
intellectual development of Bohemian girls is left to private
instruction. Associations of women have done much to fill this
void, one of which, founded by Carolina Svetla, is devoted to the
industrial and commercial instruction of girls. Two thousand women
belong to this association, and five hundred girls attend its
school annually, while many young women frequent its school for the
training of nurses. This vigorous organization has disarmed
prejudices by the success of its schools and by the arguments of
its monthly organ, the _Zenske Listy_, ably edited by Elise
Krasnohorska, one of the best known Bohemian poets, and a leader in
the work of improving the condition of her countrywomen. Vojta
Naprstek, a man who has justly been named "the woman's advocate,"
has founded at Prague the Women's American Club, whose object is
charity and the intellectual elevation of women, and has presented
the club a valuable collection of books and objects of art. A lady,
writing me from Prague, says:

The club has always been i