Page:Maria Felicia.pdf/188

 “They did not hope in vain; the dawn of that day will soon come,” exclaimed the harper, hopefully. “Joseph II. will be just to the Bohemians; he is the warmest and the most vigilant friend of his people, and desires their progress.”

Andrew sadly shook his head.

“You look so bright, and yet you think, compare and judge so obtusely,” he said, with reproach. “You come from Prague, and yet you do not seem to know that Vienna, day by day, is gaining ground; that Vienna will soon have the entire control of our country. Joseph’s Bohemia is no longer an independent kingdom as it was when the Bohemians called to their throne his predecessors, who swore to preserve her rights and privileges; she is now only a part of the Austrian Empire. After the coronation of Maria Theresa the crown of Bohemia was taken to the treasury of Vienna, and Joseph II. has declared that it will remain there forever as a relic. It will not glitter on his head as the emblem of our national existence, for Joseph