taken the place of Latin as the recognised language of the state, declined after the battle of the White Mountain. During the reign of Maria Theresa, and to a far greater extent during that of the Emperor Joseph II., the Austrian authorities used even more energy in their endeavours to substitute German in Bohemia for the native language than had been done immediately after the great defeat. Among other measures tending to this purpose, it was decreed that German should exclusively be used in the Bohemian schools. The stern determination—enemies, no doubt, would call it obstinacy—of the Bohemian nation defeated these attempts, though the native language was for a time almost relegated to the villages and outlying districts of Bohemia. The renascence of the national language in Bohemia, in the early years of the nineteenth century, is almost unique. It was, however, based on a great historic past, and thus differs greatly from the recent attempts to revive the Irish and Welsh languages, though the comparison has often been made. It is not my purpose to analyse here the tangled and involved causes which resulted in the great fact that a buried nationality burst its grave-clothes and reappeared radiant in the world. It may, however, be briefly noted that the Bohemian national movement was undoubtedly an offspring of the Romantic movement, the influence of which was felt all over Europe at the beginning of the last century. The revival of the Bohemian language is due to a small group of learned men, of whom Jungmann, Kolar, Safarik and Palacky were the most prominent. These men, few in number, showed that enthusiasm touching, though it may appear absurd to some, which champions of apparently hopeless causes often display. Many anecdotes to this purpose are still circulated in Prague. Thus it was said that a few of the ‘patriots,’ as the adherents of
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