James Macdonald

“ But with all its attractions, and I have not told a fraction of them, I would not care to live in Prague. The greater part of the city is unhealthy in the extreme, the death-rate being among the highest in Europe; while house rents are enormously dear. And then the parental attentions of the Government are painfully intrusive. With us births, deaths, and marriages are the only events in our social life which we must report to the authorities, unless, indeed, under recent legislation, we must report also cases of epidemic illness. ”

“ The centre of Bohemia, rich agricultural land, presents comparatively little which, apart from historical associations, would tempt the mere tourist, but Moravia, in the south-east, affords endless pleasing combinations of river, wood, and hill, and is not destitute of either gory battlefield or picturesque castle. ”

“ Every one who confessed himself to be an adherent of his ancestor’s faith was, at first, reasoned with, then threatened, and not seldom forced to renounce his heretical ideas; or, as it was called, he was examined by Roman Catholic priests, who had to ascertain whether he was fit for Protestantism or not! It can easily be imagined that by such measures many a one was entirely alienated from our Church.
“If the want of ministers could have been supplied by Bohemians, our Reformed Church should have, most probably, become the predominant Church of Bohemia. ”

“ Then, for the information of the police, we had to fill up schedules with full particulars of who and what we were, and when I had leisure to look out at a window, there again were soldiers, hundreds of them, exercising in a large barrack-yard right opposite the hotel. With a population considerably less than Edinburgh, Prague has a garrison of 10,000 men, so that one sees soldiers—soldiers everywhere. The burden of the colossal army Austria keeps up is enormous. ”

“ Presently the carriages stopped, and an elder of the Klobouk congregation, advancing from a crowd of the people, who had come to the confines of the parish to meet the Superintendent and delegates, delivered an address in Czech. The feelings of the moment were too intense to allow one to think of such a trivial circumstance as the picturesqueness of the incident; but now one cannot but recall the surroundings. The winding road is visible only for a few hundred yards above us. ”

“ Our hopes are founded on the old struggles of its martyrs and confessors, as well as on recent assertions of nationality, and they are not confined to the comparatively small territory of Bohemia. With the Bohemians again in the ranks of Evangelical Protestantism a new missionary era would commence, for revived Boheniia would naturally find an outlet for missionary zeal among the kindred Slavonic races who occupy Russia and South-Eastern Europe, whose number is estimated at 90,000,000. “The harvest truly is: plenteous, but the labourers are few.” ”

“ The large number of young men present was remarkable. All listened most attentively to the sermon, which was first preached in Czech, and then re-preached in English for the benefit of the strangers, the congregation patiently waiting through the delivery of the English, although so many of them were standing. Pastor Cisar, in his welcome to the delegates, spoke of them as the first of those who did not, like the priest and the Levite, pass by, but like the Samaritan, helped the poor maltreated and oppressed Protestants of Bohemia. ”

“ It is not too much to say that there is no nation in Europe which so heartily deserves the sympathy of all liberal-minded Englishmen as this little Slavonic island, which threatens so often to be absorbed by the sea of Germanism around it. May the Cechs only be true to the glorious traditions of their ancestors, and they will pass triumphantly through the ordeal. Much may be hoped from a people that has made such a vigorous stand for its nationality. ”

“ Passing by, in the meantime, the attractions of the antique carvings on this port, and the many interesting statues which ornament the bridge itself, the eye is fully occupied by the Hradschin, with its massive palaces and cathedral. This celebrated height may be said, both physically and historically, to fill a place in Prague analogous to that filled in Edinburgh by the Castle Rock, Parliament House, St. Giles’, and Holyrood combined. It is not so isolated from the town as our Castle, and it is much larger; but, like our Castle, it forms an object which never fails to please the eye. ”

“ Men who, like Huss and Knox, preach the responsibility of the individual, necessarily spread a desire for instruction among the people they address, and whether they so willed or not would have been forced to be educationalists in a wider sense than that in which every preacher is or should be an educator. But Huss and his friends were fully as alive to the necessity of education for all as were our Reformers, and enjoyed an important advantage over Knox ”

“ NE cannot travel to Bohemia from Britain without passing many places of great interest, and one can hardly be there without feeling the attractions of places that lie beyond, and thus it too often happens that travellers neglect Bohemia altogether, or perhaps only spend a day in Prague on the way from Dresden to Vienna. ”

“ Bounded as Bohemia is on the north by Saxony, on the west by Bavaria, and on the south by the Duchy of Austria, all German countries, and governed by the House of Hapsburg for more than three centuries and a-half, it is not surprising to find a large German element in the population. In the north-west and in the south German is generally spoken, but in many districts you will have difficulty in finding anyone who can understand that language. ”

“ It cannot be wondered at, that with these restrictions the Reformed Church made little progress under this species of “toleration.” If the concessions of Joseph had been allowed their full effect on the national life, Protestantism would have gained ground more rapidly, but progress was much retarded by the wars of Napoleon, in the course of which Bohemia suffered terribly. Undoubtedly the gallant struggle of the Poles, and later, the brave attempt of the Hungarians to preserve their nationality, had an inspiriting effect upon the Bohemians. ”

“ Huss himself, we are told, did almost as much for his native tongue as Luther for German. He corrected the translation of the Bible partially made in the tenth century, re-arranged the Bohemian alphabet, and fixed the orthography. Bohemians, by the way, claim that their orthography is the best in Europe. With thirty-six letters in their alphabet, and several forms of modification, they say their written language reflects their speech with absolute scientific accuracy. ”

“ In Austria the Government keep the growth, manufacture, and sale of tobacco a monopoly in their own hands. The leaf is allowed to be grown only in Hungary, a restriction which gives the Bohemians one of their many grudges against the Hungarians, but there are manufactories in various parts of the empire. ”

“ It thus happens that the Reformed pastors have a recognised position over a large tract of country, an advantage of great importance in a country where the right of public meeting is not yet fully attained. The number of people who professed Protestantism at this time is very striking, but one has some idea how it came about when one remembers that during the whole dark night of persecution from 1620 to 1781, many secretly continued to read the Bible, and assembled at night in woods, or in stables and cellars for conference and prayer. ”

“ Bohemians and Moravians are alike Czech, and use that Slavonic tongue. The House of Hapsburg finds it convenient to govern Bohemia and Moravia as separate provinces, and decrees that the Reformed Church in each province shall meet in a separate Synod, but in no true sense do these Synods represent separate Churches. [1] Indeed we found that most of the pastors in Moravia were born Bohemians, while some of those in Bohemia were born Moravians. ”

“ But in Austria the number of things one is expected to report to the police is perplexingly large. Thus you are bound to inform the police of all the inmates of your house. You cannot engage a servant-girl without registering the fact at the police-office; and when you part with her, you must again attend at the police office, and record the why and the wherefore. This ground of complaint diminishing, however, for a few years ago people were imprisoned for wearing their hair longer than the police regulation allowed, and a beard made you a “suspect.” ”

“ If the institution sends but two such workers to every parish in Bohemia and Moravia, who can estimate the good which may result?
Mr. Karafiat certainly is a. man who “seeks souls for his hire,” and with whom one cannot be in contact without feeling something of the reality and power of practical godliness.
In the afternoon of the Sabbath we spent at Lhota, we walked to Stritez, where, after sermon by Pastor Jelinek, Mr. Crerar gave an address in English, translated by Mr. Karafiat, as had been done at Lhota in the morning. ”

“ Frederick, although not without good qualities, was extremely irresolute, and but for Elizabeth, who urged him on, would probably have declined the offered crown. The new king and queen were received in Prague with great enthusiasm, and were crowned early in November, 1619.
Among the Bohemian nobility there were some turbulent feudal barons. With such men surrounding him, and with the anxious negotiations with his Protestant allies and Catholic opponents, Frederick must have been burdened to no ordinary extent during the whole period of his short reign in Prague. ”

“ Kaspar. Dealing with the last first, the Bohemians are a reading people, and at present there is an unusual number of able writers—historical, poetical, and fictional—supplying them with literary food, and the tone of all the more distinguished authors is truly national. The history of Bohemia, if told at all, is a history of Protestantism. ”

“ During this period of sixty years Protestantism was in the ascendancy, and was professed by the great majority of the Bohemian people. But peace did not last long.
In the sixteenth century, Austrian sovereigns and politicians had their most urgent difficulties in Hungary in the wars with the Turks; but early in the seventeenth century the centre of interest was again transferred to Bohemia. The emperor, Rudolf II., generally resided in Prague. ”

“ A few years ago an effort made by Pastor Cisar to collect money for a new church at Neustadtl, to replace the old wooden building now falling into decay, was prohibited on the ground that the subscriptions would endanger the taxes, and several other Protestant movements have been crushed in the same way. But if by extraneous aid a start can once be effected there is no doubt that flourishing, self-supporting congregations would soon be established in many Bohemian towns. ”

“ Near Kuttenberg there is a large cigar factory, employing 3000 women. I once saw them come out from work, and it was an extraordinary sight, so many women, and not a man visible, except the porter, a gigantic old soldier, who looked all the bigger that the girls streaming past him were mostly small and slim. Cigar-making is not a healthy employment, and the appearance of these poor girls is said to have cured some men, if not of smoking, at least of smoking cigars.
Close to the cigar factory is a church, in the crypt of which is a huge collection of human bones. ”

“ To make matters worse, Frederick, with great want of tact, gave the chief commands in his army to German Generals, who were viewed with jealousy by the Bohemian nobles, many of whom had gained military distinction in the wars with the Turks. Rapidly events rolled on, Frederick’s prospects gradually darkening until the 8th of November, 1620, when the Bohemian army was defeated on the White Hill within sight of Prague by the Bavarians and Austrians. ”

“ Below the Hradschin, between it and the Laurenz Berg, a wooded height laid out partly as public gardens, lies the Kleinseite, a quarter of the city the aspect of which impresses one as semi-oriental, owing to the copper-covered domes, minaret-like pinnacles, and other Eastern types of church architecture to be seen. The Moldau flows through Prague with a semi-circular sweep. The view of the river from the bridge, towards the north, i.e., down stream, terminates with the lofty bank, above which lies the military exercise ground. Up stream the view is more varied and interesting. ”

“ Most British travellers will probably approach Bohemia from the north. The journey from Dresden to Prague is accomplished by rail in about six hours, the first two being occupied in the passage of the exquisite scenery of the Saxon Switzerland. If, however, one has time, and wishes thoroughly to enjoy this charming district, he would do well to take the steamer from Dresden to Leitmeritz, or, at least to Aussig. Going up stream the journey takes a long day, involving an extra early start ”

“ He, however, shall be answerable, if any Protestant person wishing to see a Catholic priest, should be hindered in his desire. The meeting-houses are allowed to be built of any material; it is prohibited, however, that they should resemble churches,—they, therefore, shall not have bells or spires, and their entrance shall not be direct from the street.
III. The Protestants are permitted to erect, at their own expense, their own denominational school. The schoolmaster is, like the pastor, to be supported by the congregation; the Magistrates have the right of ing over the method of teaching. ”

“ In these papers the wants of the Church are fully detailed, and thus the question for the consideration of the stronger Churches of the Presbyterian Alliance is not what are the wants of Bohemia, but, which of the schemes brought under our notice by the pastors are most pressing, and could be most suitably aided from without. Our Churches must take care that our efforts really strengthen our weaker sisters, and do not impair their self-reliance. ”

“ In the space between, two tall, erect figures stand by themselves-one the stalwart elder, a powerful, active man, past his prime; the other the venerable-looking Superintendent, a man of noble presence. ”