Page:Maria Felicia.pdf/223

 not notice how coldly the Emperor had dropped her hand.

“When we meet again, allow me, first of all, to tell you about the principles of the Bohemian Brethren and their internal management. Then you will surely admit that everything which ennobles man is embodied in them; that if human society should build on such principles it would rise to moral heights yet unheard of. My first supplication to you is to give the nation from which sprang these humane principles an opportunity to demonstrate its true worth; and if you do this, you will see in a short time great and unexpected results. You will see that no people in your empire can comprehend you as the Bohemians can when spoken to in their own language and when invested with their old rights. That the nation does not speak to you for herself, that I am doing so without her knowledge, is because she lies chained at the feet of the nobles, who deal with her in such a way that she rightfully thinks they aim at her total destruction. Oh, deliver Bohemia from these