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 but as neither of these two races are represented in agriculture in the South to any appreciable extent they do not command the same interest as is now manifested in the Bohemians and the Slovaks. Because, too, of the subordinate position of the Crown lands of Croatia and Slavonia within the Hungarian Kingdom, there is not the same interest centering around the Croatians, or the Slovaks for that matter, as around a people possessing a more pronounced national integrity.

It is therefore possibly the Bohemians, with the possible exception of the Slovaks, more than any of the other Slavish races, about whose national, racial, and literary history so little is known and who at the same time command such an interest among the people of the South. This interest in the Bohemians on the part of the southern people is intensified by their coming among us in such large numbers as agricultural settlers.

As a people, none possess a more fascinating history than the Bohemians, for the story of the ups and the downs of the Bohemian nation has the grip and thrill of a fairy legend. One can not read, for instance, the legendary tale of the founding of the now beautiful city of Prague by the mythical Princess Libusa without catching the charm of Bohemia. The history of Prague is largely the history of Bohemia. Visit Bohemia and one can feel that the indomitable spirit of Prince Rupert of the Rhine, that dashing cavalry leader of ancient days, still lingers here and there among the Bohemians. There, too, one finds—a most hopeful sign, thanks to Palacky, the great Bohemian historian—that the pride of nation has again been firmly planted in the hearts of his people. Nor did that martyred Bohemian patriot and reformer John Hus fight and die in vain. John Hus’s death at the stake in Constance 500 years ago made him the “Immortal Bohemian.” He it was who implanted the spirit of emulation in the Bohemians of to-day. The labors of the astute Rieger, champion of the old Bohemian constitution, and the teachings of the brilliant Bráf also add their force to the story of the Bohemians—a truly great story of a really great people.

Only a great people could build and maintain a city like the modern Prague—that splendid modern-ancient municipality of more than 600,000 inhabitants. There we find, in spite of the germanizing policies of the overlords of the Bohemians, a genuine Bohemian city. Possibly no more than 7 per cent of its population now are Germans. Prague is truly a “golden city of a hundred towers,” where the mystery and charm of its illustrious past have not been sacrificed in the building of the industrial and commercial city of to-day. William Ritter once said of Prague that “if Ruskin had not been so much occupied with Florence, Venice, and Amiens, he might have written three volumes with the title ‘The Stones of Prague,’ and there would not have been on the surface of the earth a more beautiful work of history and architecture.”

Writing of the Bohemians as a people, Prof. Niederle says:

The Bohemians and Slovaks are derived from the western body of Slavs. The Slovaks can in general be regarded as a part of the same ethenicethnic [sic] group, although considerably separated by various conditions. Both arose from a common center near that