Page:Gregor The story of Bohemia.pdf/309

 woman of much strength of character and energy of will, neither the Hungarians nor the Bohemians seemed disposed to be satisfied with her government; for in those stormy times it seemed that nothing but the strong hand of a man could be intrusted to guide the helm of the ship of state. The Hungarians elected Vladislav, the King of Poland, to be their ruler, on condition that he marry Queen Elizabeth. Elizabeth was thirty years of age, and the young prince but sixteen; consequently the proposed marriage was most repugnant to both parties. When it was first proposed to Vladislav, he would not listen to it for a moment; but after the envoys and counselors showed him the danger threatening Christendom from the Turks, he finally consented, but with bitter tears and the feeling that he was offering himself as a sacrifice. He was, however, saved from this unhappy fate by the birth of a son to Queen Elizabeth. The moment Elizabeth saw that the child was a boy, hence heir to the throne, she broke off the negotiations, and would hear nothing more of the Polish marriage. The Hungarians, however, insisted upon having Vladislav as their king, and the result was a war between them and Queen Elizabeth.

The birth of the prince gave an heir to the Bohemian throne; but in the unsettled state of the country a ruler was needed at once, it being impossible to wait till the child should reach maturity.

At this time there were two parties in Prague, the National, or popular, headed by Ptaček, who, it will be remembered, had opposed the election of Albert without some guarantee for the keeping of the Compactata; and the side of the aristocracy, headed by Menhart of Hradetz and Ulric of Rosenberg, two of the most pop-