ted away like snow on the sunny
southern slopes of those mountains that shut off the smiling plains of
Venetia against the barbarous north. Here John's eldest son Charles
comes upon the scene, and this is perhaps the only real good that ever
came out of the first Luxemburg ruler of Bohemia, namely, an heir who
should live to set up a Golden Prague as fitting capital to a happy and
prosperous country.

Charles had had an unhappy childhood between his grandmother, the
unfortunate widow Elizabeth, a somewhat uneven-tempered mother, and an
erratic and unreasonable father. The unhappy lad had even been
imprisoned by his father on suspicion of being concerned in a conspiracy
with his mother to dethrone John. Charles must have been about five
years at the time, for he was only seven when, a few years after his
release, King John took him to the French Court for his education. Here
Charles acquired his love of learning, his refined sense of beauty and
steadfastness of purpose, all of which he devoted without stint to his
country, and to him is chiefly due the glorious composition of the
towers and steeples which rise up out of mysterious old Prague. Charles,
and through him Prague, benefited by John's Italian venture, in that the
gracious spirit of the Renaissance came to Bohemia out of his father's
chivalrous exploits. Moreover, Charles, though only seventeen years of
age, was thus given an opportunity of proving his metal in the field; he
won several victories which, however, were fruitless, and above all
learnt the art of governing. So when John and he left Italy, under
pressure from the natives, Charles was competent to represent his father
at home, while the latter went off on his knight-errantry.

As may be easily imagined, the people of Bohemia, and notably the
burghers of Prague, had become discontented under the exactions imposed
upon them by their extravagant King and were not inclined to look kindly
upon a Luxemburg successor. Prague, like other continental cities, had
become aware of its importance, and was quite prepared to resort to arms
in order to emphasize its opinion. The city had already taken to arms in
support of their native Queen Elizabeth against her stranger husband
John, so Charles had no easy time at first. However, he had the
qualities his father lacked, complete self-possession and steadfastness
of purpose; moreover, unlike his father, he was in thorough sympathy
with his people, which John never w