views, which may account for a good deal of the suffering brought upon
this country for its own salvation and its neighbours' benefit.

Bo[vr]ivoj's successors, Spytihnev I and Vratislav I, were kept so busy
guarding their country against Magyar inroads that it seems they had no
time to worry about religious differences. Neighbour Svatopluk's
extensive empire had fallen to pieces owing to the quarrels of his sons
and under Magyar aggression; this gave Spytihnev the opportunity of
freeing himself from the supremacy of Moravia which Bo[vr]ivoj had
accepted in return for assistance rendered him by Svatopluk and the
Slavonic liturgy thrown into the bargain. This, again, brought the
Germans nearer to Bohemia, as neither Spytihnev nor Vratislav were
strong enough to stand alone. As politics and Church worked hand in hand
in those days, the Germans imposed the Bishop of Ratisbon, and with him
the Latin liturgy, on Bohemia, whereas such Slavs as had taken to
Christianity at all were rather inclined to the other version. This must
have caused a good deal of trouble, so it is not to be wondered at if
the rulers of Bohemia recalled happier, simpler days. There came a
certain reaction in the affairs of the P[vr]emysl family. We have noted
the saintly lady Ludmilla, wife of Bo[vr]ivoj, the first Christian
Prince of Bohemia. Ludmilla was very pious indeed; you will find
frescoes illustrating her good deeds, adorning the walls of Karlov Tyn
(Karlstein), a fine old castle of which I will tell you more by and by.
It is quite impossible to be so picturesquely good and pious as was
Ludmilla, in these days of mail-orders, wholesale departments, banking
accounts and cheque-books. There was another lady of the P[vr]emysl
family, and she, according to all accounts, was neither good nor pious.
She was a reactionary, a thorough-paced pagan, and it was this lady who
caused trouble in the household. The lady's name was Dragomira; she had
married Bo[vr]ivoj's second son, and had been left a widow with three
sons. This did not have the usual soothing effect upon the lady.
Dragomira, as regent during the minority of her sons, had revived
paganism, and this brought her into conflict with the German King, Henry
the Fowler. Pious Ludmilla, Dragomira's mother-in-law, was much upset
about this conflict, for with all her good works she found time to take
an active interest in foreign politics. Here were all the elements of a
hearty family row; in addition,