JAN NERUDA
(Born July 10, 1834, in Malá Strana, Prague. Died Aug. 22, 1891, in Prague.)
The childhood of Jan Neruda was spent in the vicinity of Ujezd barracks and later in humble quarters below the Royal Castle of Hradčany. He was exposed to all the privations of extreme poverty. He attended the school of St. Vít and the Malá Strana (Small Side) German school, and then entered the gymnasium, where he remained till he was sixteen. But inspired by a desire to study the Czech language and literature he entered the academic gymnasium, later taking up law and philosophy at the University. When but a youth of twenty his poem, “Oběšenec” (The Hanged Man), was accepted and published. This started him on a newspaper and literary career, and three years later his first book, “Hřbitovní Kvítí” (Churchyard Blossoms), appeared. Neruda for a while after his graduation was an instructor in private schools, but he soon returned to journalism and became editor successively of several noteworthy publications patronized by the younger writers of Bohemia. Some of his best feuilletons were written for the “Národní Listy” and were fortunately preserved as
