therefore Bohemia also—were to be represented. Before this parliament met it was settled that fifty prominent men, belonging to all parts of Germany should meet to deliberate on the organization of the new parliamentary assembly. It was agreed that six of these men should be chosen among the subjects of the house of Habsburg, and the historian Palacký was invited to take part in the deliberations as one of their number. Palacký, on April 11, replied to this proposal in a letter that remained, and indeed still is, famous in Bohemia. He wrote: "I am not a German but a Bohemian, belonging to the Slav race. Whatever talent I may possess is at the service of my own country. My nation is certainly a small one, but it has always maintained its historical individuality. The rulers of Bohemia have often been on terms of intimacy with the German princes, but the Bohemian people have never considered themselves as Germans." These eloquent words of Palacký, who now became, and continued to the end of his life, the leader of the Bohemian people, found a general echo in the country. Only a few representatives of Germanized districts of Bohemia took part in the deliberations of the German parliament at Frankfurt.
The meeting of this assembly was, however, one of the causes of an event that had a large and disastrous influence on the future of Bohemia. I refer to the Slavic congress at Prague. The fact that Germans from all parts of their country had, though they were subjects of various rulers, met in one large assembly naturally suggested to the Slavs of Austria, and particularly of Bohemia, the idea of meeting in one great assembly. The men who undertook to organize this assembly were by no means enemies of the Habsburg dynasty. The fact that numerous members of the Bohemian nobility, which since the time of Maria Theresa has been traditionally loyal, took part in the proceedings bears sufficient witness to this. On April 30, a considerable number of Slavic politicians—here also following the example of Germany—met at a preliminary conference to discuss the conditions under which a Slavic congress could be held. It was decided to invite representatives of all the Slavs who were under the rule of the house of Habsburg, but to admit as guests all who belonged to the Slavic race. The plan of the Slavic leaders placed the government of Vienna in a very difficult position. The Hungarian
