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 them had it not been for the opposition of the nobles; that the nobles reproached him for not being like his predecessors, who defended their rights and tried to enrich them, some even going so far as to accuse Joseph of the intention of making beggars of the nobles in the interests of the peasants, that they might idle their time away on their ovens. The peasants, acting on the privilege granted them by the new law, decided to go to Prague, to speak humbly to their masters in behalf of their interests. They desired to prove to the nobility that they did not wish to be idle, to explain what they had to endure during years of poor crops, and how miserably whole families were dying of hunger; and then to beg the nobles to take pity and spare them at least some crumbs from their bountiful supplies.

In every village the number of the pilgrims was increasing; the peasants made known their purpose, and those who thought as they did and were burdened as they were, joined them. At the head of the band marched two