could think of, to aid him in some warlike enterprise, then dash into
the fray forgetting all about the saints; one does. He might perchance
remember one or other of those he had invoked, after the fun was over,
and stand them a candle or so, if he could borrow the money for this
gift from his loyal subjects. I know of one case at least where John
bestowed largess upon a deserving institution. This happened in 1342,
six years before Bohemia's adventurous King had died in the King of
England's tent on the battlefield of Crecy. The object of the monarch's
generosity was the monastery of Emaus. John, though always jealous of
his son's popularity, had handed a considerable share of the government
of Bohemia and Moravia to the latter and probably let Charles carry on
as long as he, John, was not bothered with domestic details, and always
could touch a bit for any tempting military expedition that offered.
Emaus seems to have been a favourite enterprise of Charles. You remember
that I have pointed out the place to you; I can just see it from the
terrace with its twin towers of raw sienna tone. I also told you about
the heathen burial ground, Na Morani, about the Church of St. Cosmas and
Damian, and how St. Wenceslaus worshipped at their shrine. King Charles
seems to have acquired the same general regard for those two saints, and
this may have decided him to found a monastery on the rocky eminence
whereon Emaus has withstood many vicissitudes during the stormy course
of several centuries of Bohemia's history. Charles must have conceived
the plan of founding this monastery some time before the middle of the
fourteenth century, for we find the following entry in its chronicles
which speaks of John and Charles, and in a Latin quaintly picturesque
and careless: "Nos Johannes dei gracia Boemie rex ac Lucemburgensis
comes et Karolus eius primogenitus marchio Morawie." It would not be
easy to get any more mistakes of grammar and spelling into this
sentence. So John had made a donation to the new foundation--out of
some one else's pocket; the butchers of Prague were privileged to pay
for the King's generosity.

Charles was of a careful, saving disposition; he also raised funds out
of other people's purses for his good works. So we find again among the
records of Emaus that he called upon the butchers to find the necessary
money; the meatstalls of the Mala Strana were privileged to find a
revenue of sixteen Bohemian silver groschen, a