ON PLAIN AND PEAK 



with song. Occasionally, one may hear the whistle 

 of the golden oriole, the harsh scream of the jay, or 

 the cry of the woodpecker ; but, for the most part, 

 the gentle whispering of the fir-needles is the only 

 sound that breaks the solemn silence. It is as if 

 one wandered through an enchanted forest, where 

 all things slept. 



Bohemian history is a sealed book as far as most 

 Englishmen are concerned. The Czech agitation 

 of a few years back, and the Omladina trials that 

 followed it, brought the Bohemians and their aspi- 

 rations to the notice of newspaper readers for but 

 a short time. 



And yet between the history of the two countries 

 Great Britain and Bohemia there exist many 

 links of sympathy and similarity. It was in Bohe- 

 mia and Moravia that the Reformation first took 

 firm root under the guiding hand of John Huss and 

 Jerome of Prague, the disciples of our first great 

 reformer, John Wycliffe. Oliver Cromwell found 

 his counterpart in the person of the national leader, 

 George of Podiebrad. Again, the problem that 

 faces Austrian politicians to-day is the question of 

 Home Rule not for Ireland, but for Bohemia. 



Since the time when mere tradition gives place 

 to history the Bohemians have been continuously 

 struggling and fighting for three great ends their 

 religion, their language, and nationality. The reli- 



8 



