THE I NT E R P R E T E R S ’ S E R I E S C Z E C H ééL O VA K S T O R I E S

TRA NS LAT E D FR OM TH E OR I G I NA L AN D E DI TE D W I TH A N I NTR ODU C TI ON B Y

S A R K A B . B R E K OVA

P r ofessor of S lcw c Lan es at thc Umverszity of Nebraska (1908-1919) 2 b Co pyrigh t . 19 0. y DUFFIELD AND COMPANY

P1 wte d m th e United S tates o f Americ a To T HE LI TT LE M OT HE R

’ Who n Americ a , lovi g her children s , kept ever b lo o min in m g, her new ho e, a. garden of the fl e C and S k sweet ow rs of zech lova literature .

CONTE NTS

PAGE Introduction Svatopluk Cech ’ Fo ltjrn s Drum Jan Neruda The Vampire Benes At the Sign o f the Three Lilies He Was a Rascal Frantisek Xavier Svoboda Every Fifth Man Joseph Svatopluk Machar Theories o f Heroism

Bo i ena Viko v a- K unétic ka Spiritless

B o i ena Némc o v a “ Bewitched Bara Alois Jirase k The Philosophers Ignat Herrman What Is Omitted from the Coo k book o f Madame Magdalena Do b ro mila R ettigo v a Jan Klec anda For the Land of His Fathers iv CONTENTS

PA G E Car oline Svetla Barbara Appendix A Appendix B Appendix C

CZE CHOSLOVAK STORIES

INTRODUCTION

THE CZECHOSLOVAKS AND THEIR LI TER ATUR E

THE literature of the nation o f Czechoslovaks is as

h s a ancient as its istory . For a period of over a thou nd

i en years , the l terature of no nation is more closely twined with its history than is that o f the people com i i pos ng the new Czechoslovak Republ c . When the first despatches began to appear in English and American newspapers relative to the exploits o f the

in Czechoslovak troops Russia and Siberia, the average “ reader asked : Who are these new people ? What new nation is this that has sprung into prominence as ” a friend to the Allies ? It was nec essary to enlighten many even o f more than usual intelligence and to inform the general public

was that it no new , strange rac e of whose brave dee ds they were reading but only the old and oft - tested nation o f the Czech inhabitants o f Bohemia in northwestern

o f o f Austria and the Slovaks northern Hungary , the name “ Czechoslovak ” being formed by combining the 1 2 CZECHOSLOVAK STORIES two words Czech and Slovak by means o f the “ ”

o . c conjunctive The Cze hoslovaks are , therefore ,

s o f Co the direct descendant John Huss , Komensky (

i s l Palac k an d n men n ) , Ko lar , y, Havlicek a thousa d

he other staunch upholders of t truth and right , torch

o bearers f Europe . The C z echs had chafed under Austrian misrule since

’ in o f the fateful day when , a period Bohemia s weak

o f l u ness , the Hapsburgs gained control the ittle co ntry

i i o f u wh ch , geograph cally , forms the very heart E rope and in many another way has been the organ which sent the blood pulsating freely and vigorously thr ough the body o f the Old World . The Slovaks have suffered even greate r persecutions with no chance of redress from the Magyar (Hungarian) population which forms the southeas tern portion o f what was once the Dual

Empire .

was s It no wonder, therefore , that the Czech and

a o f Slovaks , enduring for ges the persecutions German

hi a ar r k i and gy , and in past pe iods now ng too well that they were but tools fo r Hapsburg ambi tion which for go t the promised reward o f independence when its o wn i selfish objects were attained , l ned themselves to a man o n the side of justice and democracy when the clarion

a n was s c ll went rou d the world . There no written um

s mon , not even an uttered determination but when the

r - l man power of Aust ia Hungary was mobi i z ed , the z h i C ec s and Slovaks , forced into the Hapsburg arm es , looked significantly at each other . That look meant D INTRODUCTION C

We shall meet in Serbia, Russia , Italy , France according to the front against which they were sent .

o f f The story the Czechs and Slovaks , subjects o

Francis Joseph , fighting on the side of Serbia and Italy to whose armies they had made their way in some inexplicable manner , drifted through now and then to the American public . But , most marvelous was

f o f the feat o those thousands Slav soldiers , who, at — r i their fi st opportun ty , deserted to Russia there to reorganize themselves into strong fighting units o n the hi side where lay their sympat es . Then came the downfall o f the Russian Revolution

o f and the collapse the whole national morale . The

Treaty o f Brest - Litovsk freed hundreds of thousands of

- German and Magyar war prisoners in Russia . The Red

o n Army was formed , thr eatening the vast supplies the

- Trans Siberian railway .

o f i Separated , by thousands m les , from their homes ,

o f the Czechoslovaks , a mere handful in the midst the millions of German and Magyar freed war- prisoners o f

o f k Siberia who led the vast armies the Bolshevi i , pre di sent a picture of unexampled daun tlessness , of splen d courage with only the hope o f the attainment o f their

’ country s freedom to spur them o n amidst their bleak ’ n and bloody five years isolation . It is , i deed , a theme

for an epic . It remains to be seen whether that epic shall be wr itten in the Anglo- Saxon tongue o r in the language of those whose noble efforts achieved the i recogn tion and the independence o f Czechoslovakia . 4 CZECHOSLOVAK STORI ES

A nation producing the quality o f men who never forgot what they were striving for even though the struggle was centuries o ld arouses the interest o f the

o f thinking public . Whence came the strength purpose of these representatives o f so small a country ? The

Czec hoslovak Republic comprises , with the combined

n o f areas of the former ki gdom Bohemia , margraviate

o f l o f Moravia , duchy Si esia and province of Slovakia but square miles of territory and some

is its ? no t of people . Where then power Surely in the extent o f its realm o r the number of its inh ab i n ta ts . “ i No t by m ght , but by the spirit shall ye conquer is the motto that has been sung by every Czechoslovak i poet and writer . Its ph losophers have added Only of free and enlightened individuals , can we make a free ” and enlightened nation . It can truly be said that the writers among the Czechs and Slovaks have been the teachers and saviours i of the r nation . In no land has literature as such played a greater part in educating and developing national instinct and

u m ideals . In co ntries untra melled by the rigors of a f sti f Austrian censorship of every spoken word , it is possible to train patriots in schools , auditoriums ,

r o f chu ches . The confiscation Czech newspapers for even a remote criticism of the Hapsburg government was a regular thing long before the exigencies o f war

ad m e such a proceeding somewhat excusable . INTRODUCTION 5

It was then thr ough be lles - lettres that the training for freedom had to come . And the writers of the nation were ready for they had been prepared for the task by the spiritual inheritance from their ins pired pre dec es

e sors . And so it came about that in th ir effort to express the soul o f the nation they told in every form of lit erature o f the struggles to maintain lofty aspirations and spiritual ideals . The literature of the Czechs and Slovaks groups itself naturally into three main periods— just as does the history of their land .

of 1 . The Early period beginning with the inception writing in the Czech language to the time of John l Huss (14 15) with its c imax in the fourteenth century . 2 i . The M ddle period reaching its height in the six te enth century and closing with the downfall o f the mid nation after the Battle of White Mountain , in the dle of the seventeenth century . (Only a few desultory ff e orts mark the early part of the eighteenth century . ) 3 . The Modern period opening with the renaissance o f the Czech literary language at the end o f the eigh tee nth century and including the marvelous develop

o f ment the present century . Only a few names of each period c an be included i in th s brief survey .

EARLY PERI OD

The oldest writings in the old Slavonic which was i brought to Bohemia by the m ssionaries , Cyril and 6 CZECHOSLOVAK STORIES

e i Methodius , dat back to the n nth century , when the

Czechs and Moravians accepted Christianity . The Chronicles o f Kristian telling of the martyrdom o f Sain t Ludmila and Vaclav belong to the tenth cen

i r o f tury , the h storical w itings Kosmas , dean of the Prague chapter (104 5 - 1 195 ) following soon after as did “ l ” also The Chronicles o f D alimi . The authenticity of the beautiful poems composing

’ the famous Kralo dv o rsky R uko pis (Queen s Court Manuscript) has been questioned by the Czechs them l on selves and cannot , therefore , be included in a ist

which no doubts can be cast . The oldest authentic single piece o f literature is the “ ” o n P milu n stately chur ch song Ho sp di e o j y (Lord ,

Have Mercy) belonging to the eleventh century . Some “ ” years later came the epic Alexandrine telling o f the Macedonian hero and a whole series o fthe legends of the l m saints . Magister avis , composed any liturgies as

well as worldly poems . He was later in life a professor in the University o f Prague which was established in 1348 fi , being the rst institution of higher education in

ni Central Europe , antedating the first German u

The ° z h he versity by half a century . C ec language for t purposes of literature developed several centuries in advance of German which did not become a fixed lit crary language un til the sixteenth century when Luther

o completed his translation f the Bible . mi Flaska f S l , a nephew o f Archbishop Arnost o — Pardubice , composed in 1394 5 poe try both didactic

8 CZECHOSLOVAK STORIES jot would he recede from a position once taken for the cause o f that one white changeless ‘ essential

as Truth . Every sermon he preached minister of l the Beth ehem Church , every address he uttered as rector o f the University o f Prague had the

o f i essence the sh ni ng spiritual , moral and intel lectual progress for which he lived and for which he w 6 h l 4 15 as burned at the stake on the t of Ju y , 1 , at

hi Hus Cons tance . W le numberless volumes by were destroyed in the course of a systematic search un der

u o i taken with the p rpose exterminating them , his won “ de rful e his i l L tters , written from Constance, Post l a ” “ ” Ne délni n Dc rk (Su day Postilla) , e a, (The B augh “ to Zrc adlo ter) showing the right path salvation , ” “ ” Clo v éka o f Sv a o ku e c v i (Mirror Man) , t p t (Simony)

As have been preserved as a heritage to the world . the leader o f the Bohemian Reformation which took place over a hun dr ed years before the far easier one o f Ln

’ ther s d time , as a patriot and writer uphol ing his

’ d r mi nation s rights and ideals , he stan s p ee nent . The simplification o f the Czech written language is also to the credit of this ceaselessly active man who devised the present system o f accents for vowels and cons onants to take the place o f endless and confus ing n hi combinatio s of letters . The nation owes m a fur ther debt for the introduction into the chur ch service o f many beautiful hymns o f his o wn composition and i others wh ch he translated . A successor of Jan Hus in the fight for a pure and INTRODUCTION 9

helc 1c k ks unsullied faith was Petr C y whose wor , the

“ ’ ” o f Postilla or Sunday readings , Sit Viry (The Net

‘’ Faith) and O selmé (Of the Beast o f Prey) largely in fluenc e d Count Leo Tolstoi in forming his non- resistance

o f theory . The Net Faith especially expounded a simple religion free o f the hypocrisy and evil o f the nobility and

o f o f the cities , living on the labor the producing 1390—1460 class . He advocates at that early date ( ) the k n o f . R o c separation church from state Jan y a a, arch i hi bishop o Prague , on s return from exile after George o f Podebrad gained control of the capital , though not a prolific writer , was an ins piring speaker and left as a monument the church of the Bohemian and Moravian Brethr en which carried out in its tenets the essentials which he advocated fo r true Christians in his writings and speeches . Strangely enough , in later years, he turned against the Brethren W hose first fi rme st sup

his porters were o wn pupils . The contention o f all these writers and leaders of thought in Bohemia in the Middle Ages was to the effect that the only true source of the pure law of God was the Bible . It is not to be wondered at that the

s tran lation of the Bible , completed near the close of the fourteenth century, was distributed in inn umerable

- hand written copies, some of which were most beau tifull h r zd nsk y ornamented as , for instance, t e D a a a 4 — 14 1 Bible (Dresden) made in 1 00 0, and the Olomouc copy in two parts The first printed Bible in the Czech language was from a new and improved transla 10 CZECHOSLOVAK STORIES

tion and appeared in Prague in 1488 though the New 7 Testament h ad already bee n printed in 14 5 . The Bohemian and Moravian Brethren maintained printing hous es in Mlady Boleslav and Litomysl from

m - s which were issued catechis s , bibles , song books , er mons and other religious works urging the simple Chr is tian faith and spirit o f brotherly love as a sure means

o of securing the Kin gdom of G d on this earth . Through o ut there was close observation o f the humanistic teach ings of Chelcic ky whose popularity served to make every o ne eager to read with the result that the literary language became more stabilized and lite rary activi ty l was enthusiastical y encouraged . Fo r a century and a half writers of varying degrees o f po wer produced a great quantity of books largely re li io us di m i o g , dactic , pole ical , philosoph c, historical , p li ic al i t , and scient fic but there was relatively little of

o f hi poetry or purely creative literature in t s period .

One name stands pre - eminent in conn ection with

o the disastrous crisis f the Battle o f White Mountain . — — John Amos Komensky (Comenius) 15 92 1670 1ast bishop o f the Bohemian and Moravian Brethr en and — first apostle o f scientific education the father o f mo d ern educational methods— belongs among the shining lights o f all nations and no t alone to the land that gave

him o birth . Being the last bishop f the Bohemian and

i r to o f Morav an Breth en , he fell a victim the orgies hatred practised by the conquerors o f the Bohemian e 8 620 R volt when on November , 1 , the adherents of I NTRODUCTION 11 c omplete independence from Hapsburg jurisdiction

- fi eld were overwhelmingly vanquished . On the battle hi o f Bila Hora (W te Mountain), Bohemia lost its inde pendenc e and the devastation wrought by passing and repassing armies in the dread Thirty Years War left the country prostrate fo r two full centuries . There were

o f no means, in those days , summoning a sympathetic and Open - handed world as was done in 1914 to the 1 620 aid of a suffering Belgium . Bohemia in was , like

o f i o f i Belgium, the victim wars in the form ng wh ch its chief was its geographical location .

o f But in the seventee nth century, means communi

s cation , o i tran portation for bounteous supplies to succour the needy were not developed as they were three centuries later when organized relief for a wronged nation was the united response of all but

s the offenders again t international law . It was in the early d ays of that period that John

Amos Komensky, encouraging his nation to the last ,

o f ni o f preached a doctrine u versal peace , settlement of international differences by arbitration instead o f by

nl r wars , of a peace and joy securable o y th ough the

hr practice of true and genuine C istianity . He urged education for all classes and training o f the heart as well

o f as o f the mind as a means overcoming future ills , misunderstandings and national catastrophes . But he

his was not mere ly a preacher , he was an enactor of own doctrines whose efficacy has been proved by three cen

uri e s of t practice . 12 CZECHOSLOVAK STORIES

’ Ko menskys most noteworthy contributions to the literature and culture o f his people and of all nations include an elaborate Czech - Latin and Latin - Czech dictionary ; a v ersifi ed version o f the Psalms in the “ ” Czech language ; Lab yrint Sveta a Raj Srdc e (The Labyrinth of the World and the Paradise o f the

1631 o f Bun Heart) , published in , the predecessor yan ’ s “ Pilgrim ’ s Progress giving in exquisite form the struggles o f man to attain perfect happiness and

f u i harmony o so l , the work being more d stinctly pure literature in a technical sense than any o f his other

was s i n writings . It tran lated into Engl sh by Cou t “ ” 9 Didac tic a Francis Lutzow in 1 05 . The Magna o r Great Didactic was written originally in the

Czech language and Englished by M . W . Keating . In this he lays o ut a system o f education forming

- the bas is o f all modern progressive plans to day . “ ” The Janua Linguarum R eserata o r Gate o f Tongues Unlocked simplified the process of learning Latin and other tongues . It was written in exile in Poland after Komensky like thousands of other non - Catholics had been expelled from his native land by the edict o f 1697 directed against the Brethren and was translate d into twelve European languages and also certain eastern

r i tongues as the Persian , A abian , Turk sh , etc . The

Orbis S ensu alium Pic tus o r the World in Pictures , the

first illustrated school text - book fo r chil dren ever pub lishe d fo r , prepared the way the magnificent pictorial

e f atures in educational texts of the present day . INTRODUCTION 13

” The I nfo rmatorium Sko ly Matérské gave invaluable aid in the rearing o f young children in the so-called “ ” Mother School . Komensky might have been numbered among the educational reformers o f our own country for Cotton Mather writes o f his visit to the famous educator whom he invited to become president o f the then newly organ iz ed Harvard College in the American Colonies . For some reason Komensky did not accept though his wan derin s hi s g , after exile from Bohemia were many and

’ varied . His life s pilgrimage ended in 1670 at Am ste rdam where he had lived during the last fourteen years o f so busy and useful a life o f service to education

has l that he been entitled , without cha lenge , the “ ” teacher of nations . Af ter Komensky, there were no great writers in the Czech language until the close o f the eighteenth cen tury . It must be remembered that every effort was made to suppress not only the language of the Czechs but to prevent the publication of any work in that

. 1760 tongue The Jesuit , Antonin Konias (cl. ) boasted that he alone had destroyed some Czech books . “ ” He published a Key to Heretical Errors o f Doctrine which comprised the names of objectionable religious

o n books to be consigned to the flames sight . Those who owned Czech Bibles or other books in the

o f o language their fathers , were punished f r having

them in their possession . Hence they took the great est precautions in secreting such volumes as , despite 14 CZECHOS LOVAK STORI ES

were r a u the terror , they able to t e s re and hand down from father to son .

MODERN PE RIOD

R ENA I S S ANCE

The modern period o f Czech and Slovak literature divides itself automatically with the history of the nation into two natural groupings :

l o f 1 . The iterature the national renaissance, from the

848 . in is close o f the eighteenth century to 1 This turn , subdivided into the period o f enlightenment (1780 1815) and the period of romanticism (1815

i r o f rev iv ifi e d 1848 2 . The l teratu e the nation , from to the present day . in The retrogression , a national sense, brought about in by Maria Theresa and Joseph II . in the wholesale tro duc tio n of the German language in place of the ver

s ul macular was counteracted , in a sen e , by the tr y t i i i grea social , econom c and rel gious reforms wh ch were brought about by the enactments : in 1774 o f a law o r ganiz ing public scho ols ; in 1775 of the annulment o f serfdom and o f feudalism ; in 1781 by the passing o f the i Toleration Patent permitting rel gious freedom . Almost immediately scientific and literary organiza tions and writers sprang up in Bohemia and among the

. o f i Slovaks The efforts Joseph II . at central zation in the Hapsburg Empire by means o f the exclus ive use o f the German without rec ognition of the language o f the

16 CZECHOSLOVAK STORI E S for his valuable discussions the West - Slovak dialect v u v acla Tham , author o f many pop lar dramas and other plays instrumental in awakening the national spirit . The romantic period o f the renaissanc e affected not l l i on y Czech and Slovak iterature , but it left ts imprint

— o n i on all the arts ph losophy , religion , the sciences ,

i l if o f and pol tical , socia and moral l e . The protest rich

o imagination , f unfettered freedom in feeling and ex pression against the cold reas oning and polished c onv en tio nality of the eighteenth century foun d its outlet among the Czechs and Slovaks in an enthus iastic ex — altation o f their nation and language two concepts never separated in the mind of the true patriot o f that l and . Gradually the idea of nationality broadened to include all that was Slavic The poetic and prose enthusias ts wove beautiful and inspiring tapestries

o f P nslav ism with the background a but few, ih deed , among them carried the idea throug h , even in

o f r thought , to a practical platform mutuality in cultu e ,

s . science , indu tries and politics The romantic period exemplified and enr iched the resources o f the native tongue for lyrical purposes while supplying grammarians and philologists with material for scientific national

s expan ion . Political progress was prepared for by the advancement made in the popularization o f historical

works . Invaluable publicatio ns like the Journal o f the “ s m Mu eu o f the Kingdom of Bohemia, the Ma tice I NTRODUCTION 17

” “ a c hia Véela Cesk (Mother of Ce ) , Ceska (Czech ” “ ” v Bee) , Krok, K éty Ceske (Czech Blossoms) and “ ” Cz ec ho slav gathered and presented to the public the really worthy writings of that and preceding periods . Among the chief writers in this significant era certain men are representative .

N l o f Pelc l 1n Prof . Jan ejed y was the successor the chair o f the Czech language and literature at the Uni ’ Ne edl s versity of Prague . j y chief service does not rest so much in his worthy trans lations into Czech of the ’ “ I liad and of modern writings such as Young s Night ” i Thoughts , but rather in his assembl ng in his quarterly publication “ The Czech Herald ” all the older authors and of practically all the younger exponents o f re manticism .

n Joseph Ju gmann , was the composer of the first

o f Czech sonnets in which he sang love , patriotism ,

o f o f public events , the chivalrous deeds the early

i o f Czechs , of the ideals of Slav un ty . A whole school poets clustered about Jungmann and followed his l leadership . He translated into rich y flowing Czech many works of Oliver Goldsmith , Alexander Pope , i i Mil Gray, Goethe , Sch ller, Herder, Chateaubr and and ’ “ ” “ o f ton s Paradise Lost . A monumental Dictionary the Czech Language and its Relations hips to the other ’ Slavic Tongues is the master work o f Jungmann s life .

It was the labor of fully thirty- fi v e years and ordina rily would have occupied the time o f ent ire faculties i 834 . . b of un versities It was published in Octo er, 1 18 CZECHOSLOVAK STORIES

Jan Evangel Purkyné although best known in science as a pioneer physiologist especially for his studies o f

o f the human eye, and as the founder the laboratory method which he formulated as professor o f physiology at Vratislav and later established in the University o f Prague in whose medical faculty he served as the most

r l prominent Eu opean authority for fu ly twenty years , was nevertheless active in a literary way , producing

s many essays , some poems and valuable tran lations of “ ’ i ’ Tasso s Jerusalem and Sch ller s lyrics .

l r Jan Ko lar, the idol of Slovak literatu e, after a thorough education completed by careful theological studies devoted himself to the cause of his people in the Protestant church in Budapest which he was called to serve and where he remained for thirty years despite frequent attacks from both Germans and Magyars . His chief bequest to the Czechoslovak people is hi s col ” lection o fpo ems entitled Slav y Dc era (Th e Daughter “ ” o f f Slava) . The word Slava admits o two interpreta — “ ” ” i re re tions Glory and Slav a, the allegorical p ” sentatio n o f the entire Slavic group just as Columbia a st nds for America . In the poems , Kollar addressed his ins pired sonnets to Slavia in whom are at once blended the conceptions o f the daughter o f the mythical

s o f o f his i godde s the Slavs and sweetheart , M na . In l l this co lection , printed a hundred years ago , Ko lar, in numerous songs argues for the union of all the Slav groups and predicts that vast progressive changes and wondrous achievements will be realized by each of INTRODUCTION 19

the Slavic pee ples a century hence . He foretells the recognition and use of the Czech and other Slavic tongues at mighty courts and in palaces where the Slav speech shal l no longer be a Cinderella as in d times past . The istinguished feats of his country men o u many battlefields in the Great World War and the attainment of the independence o f the Cz ec ho a slovaks as a result , would seem to show Kollar was true prophet as well as a great poet . Frantisek Palac ky stands foremost among the his

ri n o f hi s Dé in to a s Bohemia , work j y Narodu Ceskeho (History o f the Czech Nation) being accepted as ab so lutely authoritative and quoted as such by scholars o f

’ Palac k s his all nations . y previous writings show wide

un i range of culture and knowledge . He fo ded and ed ted mi the Journal of the Museum of the Kingdom of Bohe a, as well as several other publications significant o f the spirit of the awakening in Bohemia . His scholarly work “ The Beginnings o f Czech Poetry Especially of Pros ” o d hi i y mark s early Slavon c inclination . Many philosophic and critical essays deal mainly with aesthetic hi . s development His political writings , particularly discus sions o f Centralization and National Equality in ” ” Austria and The Idea of the Austrian S tate , have

Palac k 1848 been widely quoted . It was y who in as “ serte d with the o f a seer We existed before ! vision ” Austria and we shall exist after there will be no Austria . af i‘ik nl The Slovak writer , Pavel Josef S a , is second o y

in n to Kollar the affection of his countrymen . He bega 20 CZECHOSLOVAK STORIES his literary career (as a poet at nin eteen when his col lection “ The Carpathian Muse with a Slavonic Lyre

’ li h o fPalac k w ub s e . as p d Later , through the assistance y, he removed from Slovakia to Prague devoting himself — “ indefatigably to a work o f rare quality Slo v anské ” Staro zitno sti (Slavonic Antiquities) in which he

i o f showed the ancient orig n the Slavs , and proved by an enormous number of authoritative documents and other evidence their early civilization and cultur e and hi hi their linguistic, topographic and storical relations p to

f - r o f the members o the Indo Eu opean group languages .

Ce lako v sk Frantisek Ladislav y, intended for the priesthood like so many Czech literary men , early gave up the plan o f his parents and devoted himself to

Slavistic and poetic studies . He had gathered great numbers of folk songs , poems and sayings which last were eventually included in a collection entitled Mu ” dro slo v i Narodu Slo v anského v Pfislo v ic h (The Phi lo so phy of the Slavic Nation in its Proverbs) . His first “ original work was his collection o f epics Ob las y Pisni ” R uskyc h (Echoe s o f Rus sian Songs) which he later “ ” augmented by his lyrical Oblasy Pisni Ceskyc h

Palac k (Echoes of Czech Songs) . yregarded this work as ’ ” o f K ollar s Slav D c era equal worth with y . Kare l Jaromir Erben collected a vast quantity o f folk songs and tales which he wove into delicate and “ ” beautiful poems . His first collection Kytic e (The Bouquet) by its beauty and harmonious arrangement

o f i gave earnest the treasures to come . Th s collee INTRODUCTION 21 tion was translated into practically every European “ o f language . His Folk and National Songs the ” “ l Pre sto narodnic h Po Czechs , were fo lowed by Sto ” b adek a Po v ésti (One Hundred Folk Tales and Le g “ ends) and by the Vyb rané Baje a Po v ésti Naro dni ” Jinyc h Vétv i Slo v anskyc h (Selected National Myths f and Le gends o Other Slavic Branches) .

Karel Hynek Macha , the gifted Czech successor

u to the pec liar spirit and genius of Byron , is a hi pioneer in the romantic movement in s country .

i - Though he d ed in his twenty sixth year , he had given incontrovertible evidence of his leadership in this field in his lyrics , ballads , and hymns and in his longer pro duction “ Maj (May) which aroused at once a chorus o fapproval from the Byronic rhapsodists and of stinging

n censure from the critics , who because they did o t admire his philosophy refused to evaluate properly the

’ beauty and perfection o f Macha s poetic art which did

n i not win appreciation u t l long after his death . Of “ his short stories , the best is Marinka , a daring and realistic genre of the proletariat . i To th s period also belong the early dramatists , Vaclav Kliment Klic pe ra (1792— 185 9) author of a series of historical plays and comedies some of which are still performed and Josef Kajetan Tyl who early left his university studies to organize a traveling theatrical nl company producing o y Czech plays . Tyl wrote and produced over thirty exceedingly popular plays many of which like ce rtain ones of his novels were summarily 22 CZECHOSLOVAK STORIES criticized by Havlicek for an extreme sentimentalism in their patriotic teachings .

his i T ls serted In one of comed es , y izn a poem entitled ” Where is My Home ? which from the initial presenta tion wo n instant favor and was adopted as the national hymn of the Czechoslovaks .

W HER E I S MY HOME ? (xnn no mo v Mi n?)

Where is my home ? Where is my home ? ’ m r m its s Waters u ur o er fair lea ,

H u n fi r - s ills are green with r stli g tree , ’ ’ Flo w rets b w S n right ith pri g s perfumes , A P r b m aradise on ea th it loo s , ’ That s the land of loveliest b eauty ec hia m m an ! é , y otherl d ec hia m m ! , y otherland

Where is my home? Where is my home ? ’ In God s b e loved land are found T ul in b d o un rue gentle so s o ies s d , A c c m n happy pea e which lear i ds sow, n in A stre gth defying warr g foe . ’ Suc h are ec hia s nqb le c hildren ’ M n ec hs m m a ! o gst the C , y otherl nd ’ 1\I o n st Cec hs m m ! g the , y otherland

’ “ ” T l s r k nic k present day , y St a o y Dudak

o f r ko ni l Bagpipe Player St a ts) a beautifu fairy drama ,

” ’ his Palieo v a Dc e ra (The Incendiary s Daughter) and ” Ceske Amaz o nky (The Czech Amaz ons) are still

favorites .

‘' Cho c holo ek r Prokop us , journalist and cor espondent , led an adventurous life whose rich and varied experi

24 CZECHOSLOVAK STORIES nation produced so many literary works of unquestioned

. o f are merit The revival letters is complete . Standards established but cons tantly advanced by the demand not only of critics but of the authors themselves and i the r very readers . Critics demand sincerity and depth

o f instead mawkish sentimentalism , forcefulness and “ energy instead o f the o ld time beautiful resigna tion o O l m v r b o o esq ue inertia . Karel Havlicek B o ro v skyundeniably stands foremost as intolerant o f the patriotism of the lips which never

o f in hi reaches the reality deeds . Just as bitter is he s

o f n l judgment authors drifti g aim essly in their work . He was in his early youth an intense Rus sophile thinking to attain Slav unity by the submergence o f the other Slavic dialects . But after a year spent in Russia

r o f he returned full y cu ed the idea . He brought back,

a . however , a keen admir tion for N Gogol whose stories he translated and a study o f whose style made Havlicek i mi Hi “ the best e p gra st o f his times . s Pictures ” from Russia show hi s keenness of observation and

o f clear concep tion true democracy . Undertaking the editorship o f the Prazské Noviny (Prague News) and “ ” c la Ceska Ve (Czech Bee) , he made them the lead l ing iterary and critical publications , the latter jour “ nal being universally known as the conscience o f the ” l Cz ech Nation . He was active political y being a rep r sen — 4 9 e tativ e to the Vienna parliament in 1848 18 . In his Narodni Noviny (National News) which he

e 5 848 o f b gan to publish April , 1 , he was the voice the INTRODUCTION 25 nation which responded as only a politically awakened

n and intelligent national constituency can respond . U daun ted he attacked the great hulking body o f the i Austrian government , reeking w th sores and ugly with its age - old unfulfi lled promises to the nations which l composed it . He demanded a constitution with fu l political freedom but he was as firm in his denunciation o f a radical revolution . He urged separation of chur ch

o n and state , insisted full educational Opportunities — c lasess in u for all r ral districts as well as in cities . He rejected Russian paternalism and sympathized with the Poles and Southern Slavs .

His style is simple , clear , direct , forceful . He never missed making his poin t. By the clarity and precision o f his short incisive sentences , he made it possible for the people to follow him in teachings o f the most pro gre ssiv e and advanced sort . But the Austrian govern

o f ment coul d not , course , brook the untrammelled

’ presence o f a man o f Hav iiéek s imposing and in spiring personality . His paper was confiscated again and again . Journals which he founded elsewhere did

e rsec u not long elude the censor . Prosecution and p

o f 185 1 i tion followed ultimately . At the end Havl cek was deported to Brixen in the Tyrol where he con

hi n tracted tubercul osis . It was here he wrote s u “ equalled satires Tyrolské Elegie (Tyrol Elegies) “ ” and Kral Lavra (King Lavra) . Practically a dying man he was permitted to return to his native land where he found that in the meantime his wife 26 CZECHOSLOVAK STORIES

o wn ea o l had died . His d th so n fol owed on the twenty

o f 1 85 6 . ninth August ,

f Ne k In the first years o this period Vaclav B . b es y wrote poe try o f a strain whose innate be auty alone l makes it valuab e , to be sure , but whose chief interest rests in the fact that it be came a sort of stan dard o f modern tendencies fo r al l the younger poets as Jan

r Neruda himself acknowledges . He encou aged a whole host o fyoung writers as for instan ce Némc o v ato earnes t literary effort . Karel Sabina wrote short stories and novels in which “ soc iological questions are brought up as in his Synove Svetla (Sons o f Light) which was later published “ ” un der the title Na Po usti (On the Desert) and also “ ” in his story of po litical pris oners Oziv e né Hroby

r t i (Enlivened Graves) . He w o e clever l brettos for a ’ num ber of popular Operas among them Smetana s “ ” Prod ana Ne v ésta (The Bartered Bride) in which

c n m Destinno v the Cze h prima don a , Em a a, has sun g

n the leadin g part in America performances . Jan Neruda is us ually classed with Vitéz slav Halek be cause they were thezleaders o fthe enthusiastic lite rary — o f in s o f o men the period the main , youth twenty r thereabout who devoted every oun ce of energy to their

s mu e and their nation . They made the new literature

o wn al f reflect their ide s o social equality, religious lib e rt y , better advantages and fairer treatment o f the

l s m laboring c a ses , e ancipation of women , free self expression . INTR ODUCTION

” and V Priro dé (With Nature) having be en mo dels for man y “T iters and as muc h quote d as Io ngfello w . An alle gorica l repre sentati o n of the s trug gles of th e nation in th e seventee n th c entury i s his long po em “ Dédic o v é ilé irs o fWh i e n An B Hory (He t Mou tain) .

“ ' ” idyll of th e Slovak mountains is his Dév ée z Tate r

' s s (The Girl fro m th e Carpathians ) . H sh ort sto rie pre sen t some inte ns el v intere s ting charac ter studie s as well as t s ndi o n nc n fo in plo depe ng i ide t r th e ir terest .

al Adolf Heyduk stand s nearest o f kin to th e H ek

ha! and i i Ptaéi th- Baa V ol n) Mo y ( Moti ves) . He

wholeso me and c heerful wi tho ut ever overstepping into

Realis tic writers aro se who would not follo w th e o ld individual ho me an d natio nal pro ble ms with a devo tion whic h was bound to wean th e public away from the c onventional novel of pure sen timent and unreal 28 CZECHOSLOVAK STORIES whose neare st rival in the field o f the realistic novel is — l another woman Karo ina Svetla . ’ Gustav Pfi eger Mo rav sky s best work is his novel of “ ” the laboring classes Z Malého Sveta (From a Small World) which is significant as the fir st psychological study in literature of the struggle o f labor with capital

and the attempt to create a new social order . I “ f V . l o Vaclav Tomek , ca led the Historian Prague , is the successor as an authority in the source metho d as well as of literary style o f his distinguished pred

l ni n Pa ac . Gi l e c esso r . k , Frant y Anto n de y organ iz ed the Czech archives and drew on them as well

o n r as the documentary sou ces in France , Germany ,

his Belgium , Holland and Spain for the material for histories o f the period o f John Amos Komens ky and l the Bohemian and Moravian Brethren . Joseph Em er “ published hitherto unknown Original Sources o f

” ’ Sedlacek s h c o ntrib u Czech History . August c ief “ tion is a monumental work on The Castles , Palaces ” o f i and Citadels of the Kingdom Bohem a , written in interesting literary manner as was also his Historic

e o f i L gends and Traditions the Czech People in Bohem a , ”

i . . Moravia and S lesia . Dr . Arne Novak , Dr J V .

o v ak Vléeh t N and J . have written ex ensive and valu

able histories of Czech and Slovak literature .

MODE R N DRAMATIC LITERATURE Joseph Jiti Kolar (1812—1896) is called the Father ” o f s Modern Dramatic Literature among the Czech . INTRODUCTION 29

’ He was the first Czech to translate Shakespeare s plays

o f and to stage them . Numerous translators the Eng lish bard have appeared at frequent intervals in B0 ’ o f bemia but Kolar s poetical adaptations Hamlet ,

o f Macbeth , The Taming the Shrew and The Merchant o f Venice were the accepted stage versions for many decades though his translations o f the other Shake s earean o f p dramas failed as favorable a reception .

’ v o n i Goethe s Faust , Goetz Berlich ngen and Egmont

’ and Schiller s trilogy o n the life o f Wallenstein and his “ ” Robbers also were translated by Kolar . It was later that the playwright who was likewise a successful actor

o f and director wrote , using the plan the Shakespearean

o f i — dramas , a series orig nal plays namely tragedies and u historical dramas which have s rvived the test of time . “ ” The best are Kralovna Barbora (Queen Barbara), “ ” “ ” i Prazsk Zid Mon ka (Monica) , y (The Jew o f ” Zizko v a Smrt o f Zizk Prague) , (The Death a), ” NI istr Jero n m y (Magister Jerome) .

. n Frantisek A Subert , the real orga izer of the Czech dr has Klic era ama , paid glowing tributes to p . He has written many thoroughly excellent dramas with his

o ric al o r m - hi t se i storical backgrounds , among them “ ” “ Pro b uz enc i (The Awakened Ones) , Petr Vo k z ” “ Ro mberk , Jan Vyrava a five act dr ama of the

o f pe riod the closing days of feudalism , translated into

’ Hr k b o v . o English by Sarka B . a Problems f live social

and economical interest which are unsolved to - day ” are considered in his Prakt ikus (The Practical 30 CZECHOSLOVAK STORIES

“ ” Zuc f Man) ; (The Harvest) , and Drama Cty Chudyc h Sten (A Drama o f Four Poor Walls) trans M k lated into English by Beatrice é o ta . Ladislav Stro upeznic ky has written many freq uently “ ” “ i M si k produced real stic comedies as Pan é ce , Pani ” ’ “ Minc mistro v a lVI intmaster s (The Wife) , Nan Furi ” anti (Our Braggarts) .

Simacek M . A . sketches some interesting factory types in his studies o f the sugar -beet indus try which he

his also uses in plays . Gabriella Preisso v a brought the Slovenes of Carinthia into Czech and Slovak literature and is the author of the “ ” delightful Ob raz ky z e Slo v ac ka (Pictures from Slo vakia) as well as o f very successful Slovak plays “ ” “ ” Gaz dina Roba and Jeji Pasto rkyiia (Her Step daughter) . Joseph Stolba has written ten plays chiefly comedies i wh ch continue to win audiences as well as readers . il Jaroslav K v ap is at once a lyric poet uniting gentle ,

deep emotion with form that is distinctly pleasing . Hi s “ best collections are Padajic i Hv éz dy (Falling Stars) “ z' K i‘ ” and Ru ovy e (The Rose Bush) . He has written “ ” successful dramas as : Ob laka (The Clouds) trans l lated into Russian and German , and into Eng ish by

“ ” ’ Charles Recht ; Bludicka (The Will 0 the Wisp)

S Hrb ko v English translated by arka B . a; the fairy plays Princ ez na Pampeliska (Princess Dandelion) and ” Sirotek (The Orphan) suggest somewhat the in

fluenc e o f Maeterlinck . He has translated into Czech

32 CZECHOSLOVAK STORIES had jus t finished his philosophical and scientific studies

ai i he e in Prague , he came to the United States , rem n ng r

r o f for two imp essionable years , the spirit which is clearly discernible in many o f his best poems partic u larly his lyrics and sonnets o f which several volumes

' Slade k s were published . stay in America had another

’ “ result and that was the translation of Lo ngfellow s The Song o f Hiawatha as well as of many single poems by individual American poets He also translated Bre t

’ “ ’ “ Har te s California Stories and Aldrich s Tragedy o f Stillwater both o fwhich proved very popular among

o f Frithiof Czech readers . Sladek made translations “ by the Swedish poet Tegner, the romance Pepita ”

o f . Ximenes from the Spanish J Valera , Conrad

ll nro o f . VVa e d from the Polish A Mickiewicz , the “ ” o Hebrew Melodies of Byron , ballads of R bert

Burns and poems of Samuel Taylor Coleridge . Julius Zeyer (184 1— 1901) though excelling as a lyric and epic poet has to his credit many volumes o f suc c e ssful novels , short stories , and dramas the subjects o f o f l most which are cu led from other than home fields . hi i In s travels wh ch included frequent trips to Russia ,

Vienna , Germany , Paris , Switzerland , Sweden , Italy ,

Greece , Constantinople , Spain , the Tyrol , Styria, Car niola, Croatia , the Crimea , he gathered impressions and motives which were later woven into his poems and “ ” “ his his stories . Thus in lyric Igor and novels Da ” rija and Ondi ej Ce rnyse v (Andrew Ce rnysev ) there is a clear echo of months spe nt in Russia ; in his I NTRODUCTI ON 33

Blanka (Blanche) an intimation o f troubadour days ” in the Provence ; in the love o f Olgerd Gejstor i for the Czech Queen Anne , there is the d stinctive Lithuanian background ; the romance Gabriel de ” “ ” Espinos and the tragedy o f Dona Sancha evince “ ” the Spanish influence ; in Ghismo nda and more “ clearly in his semi - autobiographical novel Jan Marya Plojhar appears the Italian influence ; the “ ” novel Dum u T o no uc i Hv éz dy (The House o f the Waning Star) is the consequence of his sojourn in ” France ; in the Chronicles o f Saint Brandon and ” The Return of Ossian his Irish studies are evident . Just as faithful is he in giving the Czech and Slovak “ R aduz Mahulena atmosphere as for instance in a , “ ” o f Neklan a fairy tale the Slovak region , and “ ” “ sehr o b Vy ad f the pagan Czech period , Du ovy f mi Ptak (The Rainbow Bird) a novel o modern Bohe a . Jaro slav Vrc hlic ky (Emil Frida) the most prolific and

o f versatile writer the nation , deserves to be named like wise its greatest cosmopolite . Thoroughly travelled and with deep knowledge o f all ancient and modern civiliza i tions to wh ch he gives expression in his works , he fully fi ll i deserves the title . His original poems alone s xty

hi s four generous volumes , prose tales , novels and dramas are represented in some twenty o r more v o l

o umes , not to speak f his valuable critical and literary i essays of wh ch there are at least a dozen volumes . To these must be added an immense number o f unparal leled translations from the literatures o f practically all 34 CZECHOSLOVAK STORIE S

l t an d cu tured na ions , ancient modern , and then only can a fair conception be had o f the marvellous labors and th e unequalled significance to Czech literature o f this

i i l h as indefat gable ind vidua , who created more real literature than is contributed ordinarily by an entire

o f generation writers .

’ The immensity o f the task o f a review of this author s

l o f o f activity is apparent . On y the mention a few his “ ” Hi l mk o e achievements is possible . s Z o y E p pej (Fragments o f an Epopee) represents the attempt o f the

s author to trace through ballad , romances , legends and myths the development o f man from the beginning to

i o wn the present t me , the whole permeated with his peculiar philosophy of history which insists on the tri umph o f man over matter and o f self - sac rifi c ing lo v e over “ ” Ko c hb a all other human manifestations . The Bar is a magnificent epic o f the desperate and heart

i His breaking struggle o the Jews against Rome . k ” S v . Pro o a o f Legenda p (Legend St . Procopius) employs Czech historical material exclusively . Of

five volumes of sonnets , the most popular has been

o f hI an o f the collection Sonnets a Recluse . y his twenty- four books o f lyrics have gone into several “ ” m R o k editions . A ong them are na Jihu (A Year “ ” in the South) ; Motyli Vse eh B are v (Butterflies o f “ ” D o mac i u all Tints) Na P de (On Home Soil) , “ “ ” Pav uéiny (Cobwebs) and Kytky Aster (Bou f hi q ue ts o Asters) . Of the volumes devoted to the p lo

hic o f o f se p contemplation the basic facts life , love and INTRODUCTION 35

Pisné Po utnika death, the best are his (Songs o f a “ ” “ ” “ Bo la Pilgrim), Vittoria Colonna Pantheon , d ci “ z Parnassu (Thistles from Parnassus) and Ja Ne c hal ” Svet Jit Kolem (I Let the World Pass By) .

’ Vrc hlic kys best dramas depict characters and events o f ancient times with Czech , Greek , Roman , Spanish ,

Italian , English or pure mythological backgrounds . — The list includes twenty - eight plays c hie fly dramas o r tragedies practically every o ne of which has been pro

u o f o duc e d . A n mber these have been translated int i Engl sh . Of four collections o f short stories the most suc “ ‘ ” cessini has been the Bare v né Stiepy (Colored Frag “ ” ments) . Studies of Czech Poets is a most valuable and elaborate work as are also his critical essays on Modern French poets dealing mainly with the school o f

Victor Hugo of whom he was a great admirer . hi i Through s truly amazing d ligence in translation , Vrc hlic ky opened to the Czech reading public new

o f worlds literature , his aim being to interest espe c ially the youn ger generation in the rich treasures o f all nations . His superior genius made it possible to give the precious lore of other times and other lands a thoroughly artistic rendering in his mother tongue in which he has been acknowledged master by all the f critics o his day . One stands aghast at the mere linguistic kn owledge necessary to comprehend the delicate intricacies of the

o f poetic lore the French , Italian , Spanish , Portuguese , 36 CZECHOSLOVAK STORIES

d English , German , Polish , Magyar , Scan inavian and even Chinese without even speaking o f his rare ability in presenting in beautiful Czech equivalent the spirit and content of the authors translated . He showed most conclusively the rich possibilities o f his native tongue as a vehicle for the noblest o f thoughts and technically for the transference o f the most diffi cult rhymes and

meters in modern European literature . l Victor Hugo , Leconte de Lisle , Corneil e , Moliere ,

l i hI u ss n Be aude a re , Dumas , France , a pa a t, Balzac ,

NIic hel Rostand , Petrarch , Dante , Ariosto , Tasso ,

i G r o sa angelo, Parini , Le opard , Carducci , ac , Anno

iv n i s h Verda ue r V a t , Cannizzaro, Camoen , Ec egaray, g ,

i Peto fi Shi M ckiewicz , Arany, , Hafiz , King, Byron , in Swinburne, Brown g , Shelley , Tennyson , Whitman ,

i Hamerlin Poe, Sch ller , Goethe , g , Ibsen , Andersen the masterpieces o f all these were worthily made known to his countrymen through the untiring energy

f r hlic k o V c y. While Vrc hlic ky is now more fully appreciated in his o wn hi land , he has not escaped criticism w ch at times ”7 ’ has been bitterly harsh , especially in the o s when it was thought he should choose subjects oftener from

i o f . to o the h story the Czech nation Then , , as the orig

inato r o f such vast stores of literature , it is not a matter of wonder that the critics charged him with technical

r and fo mal errors , with banalities and improvisations .

Vrc hlic k s Yet withal ystands as a ma ter among masters ,

who was slave to no school , who felt the deepest , most INTRODUCTION 37 fundamental manifestations o f life and expressed them l clearly , forcefully , beautifu ly without the dimming mask o f rhetorical flourish . The Vrc hlic ky schools of writers imitate him in his technical verse construction and echo his thoughts

- fo r o f deep seated world sorrow , wide sympathy his

- fellow men , longing for the moral and social regenera

f o f tion o mankind , the hope ultimate freedom from the existent destructive religious scepticism . Among later poetic translators from the English is Antonin Klastersky who first acquainted hi s country

o f men with the poems John Hay , Bryant , Lowell , Lee i i Ham lton , Elizabeth Barrett Brown ng , Oscar Wilde , ll lVI i e r n . Joaquin , Sid ey Lanier , Stedman Eliska Krasnohorska whose real name is Eliska

o f Pechova became a leader her sex from the time , in

1870 - , when she entered literature in her twenty third 1875 year . In she founded and has continued to serve

“ ’ as editor o f the Ze nské Listy (Woman s Journal) . “ She organized the Minerva society which in 1890 founded an advanced school for women students . As

’ the guiding spirit o f the Women s Industrial Society

B o zena organized by Caroline Svetla she has , as has

K unétic ka m in a degree , rendered un easured service to the practical cause of women . These activities have

s lent their spirit to her literary production , especially i f her poems wh ch are full o the urge to practical , sub stantial s patriotism , of appeal to aid the cau e of the Balkan Slavs or other isolated Slavic groups or to recog 38 CZECHOSLOVAK STORIES

nize the just aspirations o f her o wn sex. She never w ff i rhapsodizes ithout e ect and her feelings , sound ng deep and ringing true , are ever purposeful . The best “ ” Z un collections are Na ive S tr é (On a Living String) , “ ” “ Vln P ro udu in u Slo y v (Waves the C rrent) , K ” “ ” v anskému Jihu (To the Slavonic South) Le to ro sty “ k ” (Sprigs) and Po v id y (Stories) .

’ She wrote unusually clever librettos for Sme tana s “ ” “ ” operas Hubicka (The Kiss) and Tajemstv i (The ’ “ ” fo r Fib ic h s Bl nik Blanik Secret) , Zdenek a (Mount ) ’ “ ” “ n and for B e dl s Lejla and Karel Skréta. Her translations were chiefly from Alex . Puskin (Boris

Hame rlin o f Godunov) and Selected Poems , g (King

’ o i Zion) L rd Byron (Ch lde Harold s Pilgrimage) ,

Adam Mickiewicz (Pan Tadeusz) . She has produced great numbers of stories for childr en

’ and sketches and novels appearing in women s maga i

zines though by no means limited to that sex for readers .

BOOKS OF SCI ENCE

Valuable books o f travel and discovery have been written by numerous Czech explorers and “ globe

’ trotters Among them are : Joseph K o fenslq r who ” Jiii “ wrote A Trip Around the World ; Guth , A ” Causerie o f Travel digesting in many volumes the

h l o f . p i osophy the nations visited ; Dr Emil Holub , who explored South Africa and wrote several volumes o n his numerous trips ; Pavel D urdik who with won “ ” de rful interest discussed his Five Years in Sumatra .

40 CZECHOSLOVAK STORIES

i Sti e c hami (Under Thatched Roofs) V Zalf Kalicha (In the Glow o f the Chalice) and Z Rfi z nyc h Dob

(From Various Epochs ) . His engaging and attractive

his style , the genuineness of sympathy with his subjects

his e unite in making works popular for r aders of all ages . Zikm und Winter as professor o f history had ample opportunity to collect interesting an d valuable material but hi s decision to us e it in literature came in later years when he vividly reconstructed early Prague life

his i l from the documents and archives at d sposa , weaving vigorous characters into the ancient atmos

n phe re . His more noteworthy collectio s are Rakov ” nic ké Ob raz ky (Pictures from Rakovnik) Prazské ” “ O raz k MLinia ur hI ini b y (Prague Pictures) , t y ( a “ tures) and Bl ister K ampanus (Magister K ampanus) a pretentious story o f student life o f the period suc c e e ding the Battle o f White Moun tain which he re gards from a partisan viewpoint .

SHORT STORIES A group of writers arose after Neruda who carried to extremes his declaration that brief genre pictures rep resenting small segments o f contemporary life with de v o tio n to every-day detail and with a lively sens e for character outline could form an eventual channel for realistic story telling . The result was an almost slavish adherence to insignificant trivialities and a parceling o ut o f , among the story writers , specialized fields o f “ pro fi c ie nc e forgetting form and real substance fo r INTRODUCTION 4 1

. to o fidelity to detail Then , , a class of writers arose who consistently surrendered themselves to “ temperament ”

o f t o r refusing to recognize any law u ilitarianism , tech

- i- - nic al form . The middle o the road writers followed the

’ spirit of Neruda s teaching and renounced the policy o f

the pure aestheticians . In the new period were the following writers : Franti “ e rite s his b sek H , character delineator in Z me o Her ‘ ” “ bai e (From My Herbarium) and Tajemstv i Stryc e ” ’ Josefa (Uncle Joseph s Secret) . Jakub Arbes wr ote stories of mysterious or misan

hro ic s t p , fanta tic characters , but endowed them with

his o wn world views . His best stories are Dabel na ” “ ” kii c i i o n E thio ska S p (The Dev l the Rack) , p Lilie “ ” ’ Ne o nfi v (The Ethiopian Lily) , wt Mozek (Newton s “ Brain ) Svaty Xavier (Saint Xavier) .

Po dli ska o f Sofie p , a sister the famous Karolina l Svetla , was likewise active though her work was main y

in juvenile and feministic literature .

Smilo v sk h Alois Vojtech y, another realist , as painted

l o ld hi some small town , mora ist , and world types w ch he has blended into rather attractive romantic settings . “ His Nebesa (Heavens) has been translated . Other very good short stories are in the extensive collections

published between 1871 and 1896 . Jan Herben often in humorous vein yet with a world f o . sympathy delineates Slovak peasant life . Karel V

Rais , poet and popular short story writer , depicts the conditions o f life among th e mountainee rs and 4 2 CZECHOSLOVAK STORIES

villagers in simple but appealing tales . Joseph Holecek an advocate o f unity with South Slavonic cultur e and

e an opponent o f all contact with G rmanism , is author “ ” “ ” o f H r v ini n e c ego a Songs, Serbian National Epics , “ ” Montenegro . Tereza Novakova represents the cause o f her sex in many public movements and in her books details the sorrowful fate o f women who seek moral self- determination in the midst o f a social system l that simply does not understand . Karel K ostermann

l o f - is the nove ist and story teller the glass blowers,

o f r woodmen , poachers, and lumbermen the border e h l a . B o umil Hav asa t gions presents fant s ic adventures ,

Hav lasa o f Kle n a exotic experiences . Jan , son Jan c a d , after several years spent in the United States wrote some “ ” l m r Jo s . . S e har u inte esting California Stories . K j “ ” covers in the so - called best families a world o f petty

ni i tyran es , cruelties and bestial ties practised by those

o iii s wearing the cloak f respectability . J Kara ek

z n writes of decadence and occultism . Rfi e a Sv o b o do v a exposes in her masterful and well- nigh scientific manner the frailties and gnawing sores of each social stratum and turns the light on the pitiable condition of so

o f o wn many women who , ignorant their purpose in

r s life , live in hopeless d eam until , spiritually famished ,

wn i they perish in their o illusions , am d the joyless

f k in o f . K u uc drab li e Martin , the leading Slovak l hi rea ist , in addition to portraying s o wn people as he knew them has presented intimate views o f the

Croatian and Serbian peasantry . Svetozar Hurban INTRODUCTION 43

n k a o f Vaja s y is a Slov k writer, ten volumes whose poems , short stories and novels have been published

S v . in . Martin Among poets o f high order who expressed the most ad vanced spiritual interests in the present day stands

’’ a trio headed by Joseph S . Machar with Otakar Brezina the chief symbolist and lyric visionary and Antonin Sova ever seeking psychological bases and portraying

o f l . . some crisis the sou P Selver, an English poet, and

Ko to c O . u , an American have translated many typical i i lyr cs by th s trio . Viktor Dyk has written numerous poems in a sc epti

in cal , satirical vein and is also the author of some

Bez rué c isiv e short stories and dramas . Petr whose “ ” i i har B sk real name is Vlad m r Vasek first d of e yd , is unq ualifi edly the true singer of Silesia whose bitter fate of denationalization at the hands o f the Germans and Poles he lamented in lyrical lines inspiring his brother Czechs over the border to render what aid they could before submergence was complete . No review o f Czech and Slovak literature could be

if . coun ted complete it omitted Thomas G Masaryk . The man who to - day is president o f the newly created Czechoslovak Re public has been a leader of thought in 7 his native land for nearly two decades . Born March ,

1860 i o f , in Hodon n , Moravia , a Slovak father and “ ” n Moravian Ha ak mother , he had all the experiences

i o f f incident to laboring fam lies insu ficient means , before he finished the gymnasium in Brno and his 44 CZECHOSLOVAK STORIES

philosophical studies at Vienna . He traveled in Ger many and Rus sia and upon his return was named a member of the faculty o f the University o f Prague in

889 n l i 1896 . 1 , attaining the ra k of a fu l professorsh p in In 1902 and again in 1907 he visited the United States of

his lVI i America from which country he chose bride , ss

c r Alice Garrigue o f Boston . He took an a tive pa t in politics as early as 1891 from which time he was a

o f his representative, at intervals , country at the

l - n Vienna par iament . When Austria Hu gary declared

his 1914 . d war in July , Prof Masaryk raise voice against the ultimatum delivered to Serbia . Be cause l it was everywhere kn own that Prof . Masaryk had a ready exposed forgeries o n the part o f Aus trian govern ment agents in previous attempts to foment trouble l with the Ba kan Slav states , and because Masaryk was

k o f his was the ac nowledged leader people , he imme diately a man marked for imprisonment and even execution by the Hapsburg government . However, the

’ Mas k story of Prof . ary s escape to Switzerland and then his journey to the courts and leading ministries o f Eng i land, France , Russia,and the Un ted States to present the case for independence of the Czechoslovaks and the record of how the tens of thousands o f his soldier coun trymen conducted a campaign of separatism from Aus tria- Hungary though far distant from their home w as as o f . land , their leader also , is now a matter history It suflic es that all maps o f Europe will no w bear the name of the free and independent government o f INTRODUCTION 45

— Czechoslovakia and that the united action o f a thoroughly capable leader and a trained and intelli gent nation achieved the consummation o f the national aspirations o f centuries .

’ Masar k s l Prof . y contributions to the iterature of his “ country began in 1876 with an article o n Theory and “ his i Practice , first philosoph cal essay being Plato Jako Vlastenec (Plato as a Patriot) published the fol lowing year . A di v ision took place in the university faculty rela tive to the methods of philosophy— whether it should be critical or encyclopedic . The first party contended that the work o f the Czech scientists should be severely judged according to the strictest foreign standards . The others urged the systematization of all knowledge and its popularization . Thomas Masaryk solved the question for himself and followers by establishing a sc ientifi c

u a 1883 i critical jo rnal , the Athen eum ( ) and by plann ng the collecting o f all known knowledge to be em “ ” braced in the monumental Ottfi v Naucny Slo v nik

(Otto Encyclopedia) . This encyclopedia up to 1910 had published over titles o n pages and had

- employed 1 100 literary c o workers . Three branches o f practical philosophy interested

i : h i Masaryk ch efly sociology , the p ilosophy of h story

l f o f and the phi osophy o religion . To the pe riod study o f these subjects belong his briefer psychological discus “ ” “ ” sions : Hypnotism Blaise Pascal “ A Theory of History According to the Principles o f 46 CZECHOSLOVAK STORIES

i T . H . Buckle Slavonic Stud es The ” Fundamentals of Concrete Lo gic When the struggle to revive and renew Czech cultural if al l e became the most critic , Masaryk presented a series

’ o f analytic studies o f Bohemia s literary and political l revival . These are widely pub ished and read in America “ ” “ also and included his Karel Havlicek Jan — Hus Nase Ob ro z e ni a Nase Refo rmac e (Jan Hus Our Renaissance and Our Reformation) Ceska

” “ ' Otaz ka (The Czech Question) Nase Nynéjsi ” “ Krise (Our Present Crisis) His Otaz ka ” So c ialni (The Socialist Problem) analyzes and ap “ praises Marx and his principles . V Boji o Nabo ” “ ze ns tv i o f Mno ho z n (The Struggle Religion), e s tv i a. ” “ Jedn o zens tv i (Polygamy and Monogamy) V Boji Proti Alko holismu (The Fight Against Alco “ holism) Ceska Filo so fi e (Czech Philosophy) all contain the ripe judgment o f a man who

s i had thoroughly digested the problem d scussed . ’ In each article and book Masaryk s remarkable per sonalit i y stands forth in his determ nation , first, to wholly emancipate the Czechs from the German i i ph losophy , accomplish ng this by supplanting Kant i with Hume , Herbart w th English psychology , not merely by interpretation but by a critical reo rganization into which hi s o wn ethical and religious convictions

i i a. entered ; second , by bring ng ph losophy down from plane of mere theory to become the first aid in all

i - sciences , arts , rel gion and every day life so that the

SVATOPLUK CECH

21 184 6 Ostie dek s . (Born February , , in near Bene ov 23 Died February ,

E s n o f o flic ial SVATOP LUK CE C was the o a government , and thus spent his youth in various parts of his native

land , attending schools in Postupice , Liten , Vrany ,

Lit e‘i his in o m i c e and Prague, secur ing degree the

Piaris i t c Gymn asium in 1865 . Later, he studied law , though as a Gymnasium student he had already entered

the field of literary effort, using the pseudonym “ l S . Rak . Eventual y he became editor successively o f several of the leading Czech literary journals . His ” in t best works appeared the K v é y (Blossoms) , a i magazine wh ch he and his brother, Vladimir, estab

lished in 1878 . t i Cech traveled ex ensively in Morav a , Poland , the

Ukraine, aroun d the Black Sea, Constantinople , in the a Cauc sus , Asia Minor, Denmark , France and England .

Each of these journeys bore literary fruit . While Cech is unquestionably the greatest epic poet of the Czechoslovaks and by some critics is ranked as

o o f the leading modern epic poet of E urope , s me his shorter prose writings are also notable as examples o f enduring literature . 52 CZECHOSLOVAK STORIES

’ Ce c h s title to superlative distinction in the field of poetry is earned through the following works which i discuss broad human tarian , religious and political questions with democratic solutions in each case . ” Adamité (The Adamites) is an epic o f the Re fo r mation describing the rise and fall o f this peculiar ” religious sect . (Tempests) and Sny “ ” (Dreams) are in the Byronic manner . Cerkes is a picture o f the life o f a Czech immigrant in the ” E v ro a Caucasus . p (Europe) studies the forces “ ” V t disintegrating ancient Europe . e S inu Lipu (In the Shade of the Linden Tree) depicts with rich touches of delicate humor such types as the simple

- peas ant , the upstart tailor politician , the portly miller ,

n - i the o e legged sold er and others , each relating ex “ ri n s f a pe e c e o his youth , a verit ble Czech Canterbury ” “ ” M halo v i Tales . In Vaclav z o c he presents a sorrowful epic o f the gray days after the Battle o f “ White Mountain . Slavic is a truly Utopian “ ” picture o f Panslav ism. Dagmar unites the threads “ ins binding Czech with Danish history . Le set ky ” i' o f setin Kova (The Blacksmith Le ) , a distinct ively

nationalistic poem, dramatically portrays the struggles o f the Czechs against the insidious methods of

n z i 1883 Germa i ation . Th s poem was suppressed in

no l 18 9 and t released un ti 9 , being again prohibited

1 14 . after August , 9 , by the Austrian government Portions o f this vividly genuine picture have be en

translated into English by Jeffrey D . Hrbek . SVATOPLUK CECH 53

Pe trklice and Hanuman are collections of lovely ’ fairy tales and plays in Ce c h s most delightful verse . “ Mo dlitb y k Nez n amému (Prayers to the Unknown) is a series o f meditations in pantheistic vein on the “ ” Z é nik mysteries o f the universe . p v Jana Buriana (The Song Book o f Jan Burian) solves monarchistic tendency with the o ne true answer democracy . “ Pisn tro k o é O a (Songs f a Slave) , of which some l fifty editions have been published , not on y in Bohemia , but in the United States as well , represent , through

o f the symbolism oriental slavery , the modern bond in men who are in mental, moral , political and i l dustr a subjection .

Of his larger prose works, the novels Kandidat ” Ne smr telno sti (A Candidate for Immortality) and “ ” to Ikaros are best known , but humor and satire ,

- li gether with genuine story tel ng ability , hold the reader far more tensely in his delicious Vylet Pane

” ’ Br kfi o uc v do Mesice (Mr . Broucek s Trip to the Moon) and in his ten or twelve collections of short stories, arabesques and travel sketches . The story

“ ’ ” ’ “ Fo ltyn s Drum is selected from Cec h s Fourth ” o f Book Stories and Arabesques .

56 CZECHOSLOVAK STORIES of the former masters and thereby the boast and proud memory o f his numerous kinsmen .

l o ld Fo lt n i his Wel then , y stepped forth w th drum l before the cast e , to all appearances as if he wished to drum forth the mayor and the councilmen to some

f r exceedingly important o ficial duty , but in t uth , alas , to noisefully assemble an army o f old women to their work o n the noble domain . He slightly inclined his head and swung the sticks ? over the ancient drum . But what was that After several promising beginnings he suddenly concluded

e his performance by a faint tap . I am convinc d that

n many an o ld woman , heari g that single indistinct

r sound , d opped her spoon in amazement and pricked up her ears . When that mysterious sound was followed by no other she doubtless threw a shawl over her gray braids and running to the cottage across the way , met its occupant and read o n her lips the same question “ her o wn were forming : What happened to o ld Fo ltyn that he fi nished his afternoon artistic per ” fo rmanc e with such an unheard of turn ? ’ It happened thus : If you had stood in Fo ltyn s place at the stated moment and if you had had his falcon eyes you would have descried beyond the wood at the turn o f the wagon - road some sort of dark object which with magic swiftness approached the village . Later yo u would have distinguished a pair o f h orses and a carriage of a type never before seen in those regions . FOLTYN ’S DRUM 57

When the gate - keeper had arrived at this result o f his observation , he recovered suddenly from the ah solute petrifaction into which he had been bewitched by the appearance o f the object and raced as fast as his legs would allow back to the castle .

’ B ka erus , the stewar d s assistant , was just bidding a painful farewell to a be autiful cut o f the roast over which the fork o f his chief was ominously hovering when Fo ltyn with his drum burst into the room with o ut even rapping . He presented a remarkable appear ance . He was as white as chalk, his eyes were staring n f i bla kly , o n his forehead were beads o sweat , wh le he moved his lips dumbly and waved his drumstick in the air . With astonishment all turned from the table toward him and were terrified in advance at the news whose dreadful import was clearly manifested

o f in the features the old man . — ” The nob nobility ! he stuttered after a while . h— ? ” W what burst forth the steward, dropping his fork o n the plate . “ The nobility— beyond the wood answered

l n Fo ty with terrible earnestness .

The steward leaped from his place at. the table, seized his Sunday coat and began , in his confusion ,

- to draw it o n over his striped dressing gown . His wife , for some unaccountable reason , began to collect the

i she silver from the table . Miss Melanie sw shed as B k fled across the room . erus a alone stood unmoved , loo king with quiet satisfaction at his chief, whom 58 CZECHOSLOVAK STORIE S

Nemesis had suddenly overtaken at his customary

ll o f o f cu ing the choicest pieces the roast . In order to interpret these events I must explain

fo r that our castle , possibly its distance and lack o f

conveniences , was very little in favor with its pro

i o pr eto rs . From the period f the now deceased o ld

master , who sojourned here a short time before his

n o death , it had not beheld a si gle member f the noble

h l n family wit in its weatherbeaten wa ls . The rooms o

the first floor, reserved for the nobility, were filled with

superfluous luxury . The spiders , their only occupants , let themselves down o n fine thr eads from the glitter ingly colored ceilings to the soft carpets and wove their delicate webs around the ornamentally carved arms o f f i l . cha rs , upho stered in velvet The o ficials and ser vants in the castle knew their masters only by hear

say . They painted them as they could , with ideal

colors , to be sure . From letters , from various rumors

n carried from o e manor to the next , from imagination ,

o f all a they put together pictur es these person ges who , l k from a distance , i e gods , with invisible hands reached

o ut and controlled their destinies . In clear outlines

m o f there appeared the i ages barons , baronesses , the

young baronets and sisters , the maids , nurses , the

wrinkled , be wigged proctor, the English governess

with a sharp nose , the fat footman , and the peculiar ities o f each were known to them to the min utest

o f detail . But to behold these constant objects their

o f a dreams and discussions , these ideals theirs , f ce FOLTYN’S DRUM 59

b to face, was for them a prospect at once linding and terrifying .

In the castle, feverish excitement reigned . From

o f - the upper rooms echoed the creaking folding doors , the noise of furniture being pushed hither and thither ,

’ the whisking o f brooms and brushes . The steward s wife ran about the courtyard from the chicken house to the stables without a definite purpose . The steward hunted up various keys and day - books and charged

B r ka the blame for all the disorder o n the head o f e us , in who , suspecting nothing , was just then the office ,

o n Fo lt n rubbing perfumed oil his blond hair . Old y stood erect in the driveway with his drum swun g from his m i i shoulder, every uscle in his face tw tch ng vio lently as he extended his hand with the drumstick in the direction o f the approaching carriage as if, like

o f o ld r Joshua , he execrated it , commanding it to tar y

r in the village until all was in readiness . Th ough his o ld brain there flashed visions o f splendidly orna me nte d o f portals , maids honor, schoolboys , an address o f welcome , flowers on the pathway . But the i carriage d d not pause . With the speed o f the wind

o n it approached the castle . One could already see the road from the village the handsome bays with flowing , bright manes and the liveried coachman glittering o n - the box . A blue gray cloud o f dust arose above the carriage and enveloped a group o f gaping children a Fo lt n long the wayside . Hardly had y stepped aside

' l do hi s a ittle and fled shaggy cap , hardly had the 60 CZECHOSLOVAK STORIES soft white silhouette o f Melanie disappeared in the

- flo o r i i ground window , when the em nent v sitors rattled into the driveway .

In the carriage sat a gentleman and a lady . He was o f e r middle age , w e elegant black clothes and had a i smooth , oval , wh te face with deep shadows around the eyes . He appeared fatigued and sleepy , and

- i yawned at times . The lady was young , a fresh look ng brunette with a fiery , active glance . She was dressed f in light co lors and with a sort o humorous , coquettish mi s le she gazed all around .

When they entered the driveway, where practically all the occupants o f the castle welcomed them with

ul his respectf curtsies , the dark gentleman fixed

n l Fo lt in weary, drowsy eyes o o d yn who stood the foreground with loosely hanging moustaches , with w endless devotion in his honest blue eyes , and ith an

o f in his his expression contrite grief wrinkled face, patriarchal drum at his hip . The baron looked intently for a while at this interest

o f ing relic the inh eritance from his ancestors , then the muscles o f the lan guid face twi tched and his lordship relieved his mood by loud , candid laughter . The bystanders looked for a momen t with surprise

- n from the baron to the gate keeper and back agai . Then they regarded it as wise to express their loyalty by blind imitation o f his un mistakable example and they all laughed the best they knew how . The steward and his wife laughed somewhat constrainedly , FOLTYN’S DRUM 6 1 the light - minded Beruska and the coachman with the lackey , most heartily . Even the baroness smiled in i slightly the most bewitch ng manner . Old Fo ltyn at that moment presented a picture which it is not easy to describe . He looked aroun d several times , paled and reddened by turns , patted down his cape and gray beard in embarrassment and his gaze finally slid to the fatal drum . It seemed to him that he comprehended it all . He was crushed . After a few condescending words to the others the t nobility betook hemselves to their quarters , leaving for the time being o n the occupants of the lower floors the impression that they were the most handsome and the happiest couple in all the world . After a while we behold both in the general recep

- tion room . The master rocks carelessly in the easy chair and sketches a likeness of o ld Fo ltyn on the

. n covers of some book The baroness, holdi g in her l hand a naked antique statuette, ooks about the room searchingly . “ Advise me, Henry . Where shall I place it? ” Y o u should have left it where it was .

! e Not at all We are inseparable . I would hav ” been lonesome for these tender , oval , marble features . “ But if you haul her around this way over the world ’ she won t last whole very long .

“ ’ Never fear ! I ll guard her like the apple o f my

Y o o n eye . u saw that I held the box containing her ” my lap throughout the journey . 62 CZECHOSLOVAK STORIES

” -do Y o u might better get a pug g , my dear !

The baroness flashed an angry glance at her husban d . Her lips opened to make response to hi s o fl e nsiv e

v o f . le ity , but she thought better it She held the sta tuette carefully and swished disdain fully past the

r o f n l baron in the di ection a rou ded niche in the wal . She was jus t about to deposit her charmin g burden

nl if when sudde y, as stung by a serpent , she recoiled and extended a finger towards her husban d . The dust of many years accumulated in th e niche had left

its gray trac e . “ ” Lo ok ! she cried . ” o ! n n L ok he repeated , poi ti g towards the ceilin g . From the bouquet o f fantastic flowers there hung a

i o n hi long , float ng cobweb w ch an ugly spider was i distinctly swin g ng . “ ’ i Y o u l n n . wou d t l sten to my war ings Well , here yo u have an introduction to that heavenly rural idyll ” o f which you raved . The baroness drew down her lips in disgust at the

’ a spider and in disple sure at her husband s remark . ll Violently she rang the he on the table . The fat foot i man in his purple l very appeared . “ Tell them down below to send some girl here to ” wipe down the dust and cobwebs , the lovely mistress w said to him with frownin g brow . She sat do n oppo i site her husband , who was sm ling rather maliciously,

and gazed with vexation at her beloved statuette .

A considerable time passed , but no maid appeared .

64 CZECHOSLOVAK STORIES

The girl bowed awkwardly , and for an instant under her light lashes there was a flash of dark blue as she

no stepped timidly forward . The brush did t reach

the cobweb . She had to step up on her tiptoes .

Her entire face flushed with a beautiful red glow,

- i her dark blue eye l fted itself towards the ceiling, i her delicate white throat was in full outl ne , and below it there appeared among the fringes of the yellow shawl a string o f imitation corals o n the

snowwhite folds o f her blouse . Add to this the dainty foot of a princess and ac kno wledgh it was

an alluring picture .

When all that was objectionable had bee n removed , the baroness tapped Marianka graciously o n the

shoulder and asked , What is your name? “ ” l n Fo t o v a i . Marie y , whispered the g rl Fo ltyn ? Fo ltyn ? What is your father? ” - ! The gate keeper , your Grace

Doubtless the man with the drum , suggested the

baron , and a light smile passed over his face . “ ” Go into the next room and wait for me , said the

n baroness to the girl . t e she had departed , the “ baroness turned to her husband with these words : A ” o f ? c harming maiden . What do you think her “ l ’ f ” Wel , it s a matter o taste . — I say c harming ! Unusually beautiful figure , a ” most W insome face and withal— such modesty ! “ ” The statuette is threatened with a rival .

to i Jokes aside , what do yo u say my train ng her FOLTYN ’S DRUM 65

’ to be a lady s maid? To taking her into service? What do you say to it ?

That your whims are , in truth , quite varied , he answered , yawning .

The baroness indulged her whim with great energy . She immediately asked the girl if she would like to go

n t to the city with her and , o even waiting for her answer , engaged her at once in her service , rechristened her Marietta , described in brilliant colors the position

’ o f a lady s maid , and , at the end , made her a present o f i i a pa r of sl ghtly worn slippers and a. c o quettish

house cap . Old Fo ltyn was fairly numbed with joyous surprise

when Marianka , with the great news , returned to him . Even in his dreams he would not have thought that his daughter would be chosen by fate to become the glittering pendant to that footman of whose relation

h Fo lt n s ip the entire y family boasted . Instantly he

forgot the incident of the drum , his gait became

’ sturdier and his eyes glowed like a youth s .

i em Several days passed . The baroness cont nued thusiastic about the delights o f country life and de voted herself with great eagerness to the education of

’ Marietta as a lady s maid . Marietta often stood in front o f the mirror wearing the coquettish cap and

holding in her soft hand the large tuft o f many - colored feathers which the mistress had purchased for her for

o o n brushing ff the dust . Often , too , she sat the low t m s ool , her eyes gazing drea ily somewhere into the dis 66 CZECHOSLOVAK STORIES

a in t nce where imagination she saw tall buildings, i beaut ft dressed people , and splendid equipages . Frequently she would bury her head in her hands an in d lose herself deep thought . The baron would

in - n sit idly the easy chair, smoki g and yawning . The steward and his wife rid themselves o f all fears o f their

n Ber ska emi ent guests . u made friends with the purple “ ” footman playing Twenty - six with him in the office i l i beh nd closed doors when they ighted the r pipes . i Onc e towards even ng the baroness , with her beau “ ” tifull t o t flo wer y bound Burns , s epped u into the covered arbor in the park from which place there was a distant and varied view and where she hoped to await the nightingal e concert which for several evenings had in echoed the neighborhood o f the castle . The baron rebuked the footman for his fatness and ordered him

to begin reducin g by taking a walk o ut into the fields . The steward and his wife were putting up fruit behind

closed doors . Melanie had a too thache . li l In this idyl c, peaceful moment it occurred to o d Pe ltyn that Marianka was lingering an unusually long

o i time in the apartments f the nobil ty . He disposed f o a . the thought, but it returned soon gain The thought b ecame every moment more and more o h

trusiv e . “ What is she doing there so long? he growled into “ ”

a mi . his moust ches . The stress is not in the house

, Involuntarily he went into the gallery and walked

about a while , listening intently to sounds from above . FOLTYN’S DRUM 67

Then he ventured on the steps , urged by an irresistible

o f force . On tiptoes he reached the corridor the first

’ floor . He stole to the footman s door and pressed the

o f knob . It was closed . He crept to the door the

- reception room . Suddenly he paused . Within co uld — f be heard a voice the voice o the baron . Distinctly

“ ’ he heard these words : Don t be childish ! Foolish whims ! The world is different from what the priests

- and your simple minded parents have painted it fo r you .

o l I will make you happy . Whatever you wish , y u wil — — get beautiful clothes, jewels , money all . I will make your father a butler, steward , maybe even something higher . You will be in the city yourself . ’ No s w, my little dove, don t be a hamed , lift up your lovely eyes . God knows I never saw more beautiful ones ! ”

Fo lt n All y stood as if thunderstruck . the blood receded from his face . Horror and fright were de i c ted . p in it He stooped down to the keyhole . Within hi he beheld the baron wholly changed . In s pale , handsome coun tenance there was not a single trace o f sleepiness, and his dark eyes flashed with passion

hi . l underneath the t n , proud brows Up ifting by the ’ i Marianka s ch n beautiful face , flushed deep scarlet l i with shame, he gazed lustful y upon her heav ng

b . o n osom Her eyes were cast down , in e hand she

o f held the statuette , in the other the tousled tuft a variegated fe thers .

Fo lt n y put his hands up to his gray head . Anguish 68 CZECHOSLOVAK STORIES

contracted his throat . Through his head rushed a whirl o f terrible thoughts . Already he had reached fo r the

- l ! door knob , then quick y jerked his hand away . No ’ To have the baron learn that Marianka s father had

a r listened to his words, to stand , shamed , and pp e hended in an abominable deed before his own servant

’ - ! o f Folt n s no, that must not be All y inborn loy alty rose in opposition . But what was he to do ?

In the o fli c e was the footman . He would send him upstairs on some pretext . No sooner thought o f than he hastened down . But the office was closed w i B sk and perfect silence reigned ith n . eru a and the footman who had but recently been playing cards

. in inside were not at home One was the c ourtyard , the other out for a health promenade .

Fo lt n In desperation y ran down the corridor . Sud

l - o den y he paused in front of the jail r om . He stood but a moment and then burst open the door, seized the immense drum hanging there, hung it over his

o t i l shoulder and ran u nto the driveway . Wild y he

r wun g the d umsticks , bowed his head , and then a deafening rattle resounded . He beat the drum until beads of sweat stood out on his brow . n The steward , heari g the clatter , turned as pale as

“ ’ ” Fo lt n death . In God s name , y has gone mad , he burst out . He flew to the driveway . There he beheld

n o f Beruska, holdi g a card hand spades in one hand and the collar o f the unsummoned drummer in the other . FOLTYN ’S DRUM 69

” Are yo u drunk? shouted the clerk . F lt n o y co ntinued obstinately to beat the drum. From all sides figures came running in the dus k

’

B r ka s . The steward came to e us assistance Stop,

” “ ’ Fo lt n o you maniac ! he thun dered at y . Don t y u

’ kn ow the baron is already sleeping? I ll drive you o ut of service immediately.

Oh , just let him stay in service , sounded the voice “ o f the baron behin d them . He is a capital drum mer . Then he passed through the bowing crowd ,

i - i whistling and switch ng his riding boots w th his whip . k He was going for a wal .

m st ri When the baroness , attracted hither by the y e

s o f ni h in o u sound the drum , had returned from the g t

’ gales concert and entered the reception - ro om she mi f beheld in the ddle of it her beauti ul , beloved i statuette broken into many bits . From the weep ng eyes of Marietta whom she summoned before her she I n at once learned the perpetrator . great wrath she dismissed her from service o n the spot . Short was i the dream of tall build ngs, beautiful people and splendid equipages ! At noon o f the next day Fo ltyn stood in front o f the castle and drummed the peasants to their labors . At the same time he gazed towards the forest road down which the noble carriage with marvelous speed was

s receding into the distance . When the carriage di i i appeared n the forest Fo ltyn breathed a sigh of rel ef, dropped the drumsticks and shook his head . And then 70 CZECHOSLOVAK STORIES

i his the thought came nto head that , like the drum ,

o f he no longer belonged to the present era the world . As to the caus e o f the disturbance o f the day before he preserved an obstinate silenc e unto the day of his death .

72 CZECHOSLOVAK STORIES

e examples of his k en wit , kindly humor , and purposeful and valuable literary and dramatic criticis m . In fact he stan ds as the founder o f the feuilleton in his o wn

i r his . country , establish ng th ough wide culture a standard for that clas s o f writing far above any of hi s contemporaries in France and Germany .

The sorrow he experienced through the death o f a. beautiful woman whom he loved , he tried to forget in numero us trips to foreign lands, memories o f which he

in n has left his superb sketches from Vien a , Istria ,

k s Dalmatia and other Bal an states , Italy , Con tanti l no . p e , Egypt , Palestine , France, Germany Later he wrote short stories , sketches and criticisms until the illness which had been creeping on him fo r years made further literary work impossible .

o f o f Ever since the publication his first book poems , Neruda has had a field of his o wn in his frank c o nfes sions , tinged with irony and temperate , cold scepticism

no t . o f typical of youth His second work , A Book ” Verses , was received with far more favor by a public which was now keener in its appreciation Some o f the

s his poem in this collection , such as Lines to My ”

l . Mother , have become national lyrics and bal ads “ ” His Ko smic ké Pisné (Cosmic Songs) are at times simple lyrics , again reverent national hymn s with here and there the genuinely earnest longings of a great soul to humanize the mysteries o f the universe and make its workings more intimate by an analogy

f o f between the fate o little nations and great powers , JAN NERUDA 73

o f as in the case Bohemia and its military neighbors, and in comparing the tragedies and joys o f o ur earthly

r o f life as individuals with the cou se the planets .

’ “ Neruda s B allady a Romanc e (Ballads and Romances) is almost wholly devoted to his o wn nation “ ” Pro s i and people . The poems in his té Mo t v y (Simple Motives) are arranged according to the four seasons o f the year which inspired the thoughts on nature and are the most exquisite contribution to literary impressionism in the Czech language . His “ ” Z év Patecni last poetic collection , p y (Friday Songs) , voices a deep consciousness o f allegiance to a nation a great in its ide ls , yet greater in its sanctified suf i fer ngs and sacrifices .

Neruda produced one tragedy, Francesca di i hi Rim ni , and several light comedies , w ch latter have been popular . In fact , certain of these comedies were reprinted from memory and produced in trenches or in camps by the Czechoslovak soldiers who fo r over five years have be en in Russia and Siberia . There is a freedom and independence in his realism

- i which makes his figures as clear cut as medall ons . They are usually characters in his o wn intimately

known Prague , some of them drawn exclusively from “ Po v idk types known in his boyhood home , as in y ” Malo stranské (Small Side Tales) and others from the wider Prague in Prazské Ob raz ky (Prague Pict “ ” R ni ures) and fi z Lide (Various Sorts o f People) . Social problems are laid Open to the very quick in 74 CZECHOSLOVAK STORIES

s in Trhani (The Mob) , wherea some o f his briefer stories there is the charm o f contrast between elegiac sorrows and dainty touches of humor . The big human heart o f Neruda never permits him to despise his

r types o individuals , be they ever so unworthy as far

o f as virtue o r strength character is concerned . He tells the story o f each with just a touch o f mother sadness for the pathos of it all . “ ” in The story He Was a Rascal is, considerable

i . o f degree , autobiograph cal His close knowledge stage life through many years devoted to dramatic criticism “ ” is shown in the little sketch entitled Benes , in which the grief o f that character is for the real Son tago v a who died o f Mexican fever while o n a tour o f “ f the western continent . His At the Sign o the ” Thr ee Lilies is rather a daring piece o f realistic ” writing . In The Vampire he wastes no more

words than would 0 . Henry but his ar tistry is the

more exquisitely apparent . THE VAMPIRE

B Y JAN NERU DA

THE excursion steamer brought us from Constantinople to the shore o f the island o f Prinkipo and we dise m

f . barked . The number o passengers was not large

o n There was e Polish family , a father , a mother , a daughter and her bridegroom , and then we two .

r o n Oh yes , I must not forget that when we were al eady the wooden bridge which crosses the Golden Horn to

Constantinople a Greek , a rather youthful man , joined us . He was probably an artist , judging by the portfolio he carried under his arm . Long black locks

floated to his shoulders , his face was pale, and his

r black eyes were deeply set in their sockets . In the fi st

fo r moment he interested me, especially his obliging ness and fo r his knowledge o f local conditions . But he talked too much , and I then turned away from him .

All the more agreeable was the Polish family . The

- o father and mother were good natured , fine pe ple, the an fi lover a handsome young fellow, of direct d re ned manners . They had come to Prinkipo to spend the

fo f summer months r the sake o the daughter , who was slightly ailing . The beautiful pale girl was either just recovering from a severe illness or else a serious 75 76 CZECHOSLOVAK STORIES

n disea se was just faste ing its hold upon her . She leaned upon her lover when she walked and very often sa n i in t dow to rest , wh le a frequent dry little cough

t rr ted . e up her whispers Whenever she coughed , her escort would considerately pause in their walk . He always cast upon her a glance o f sympathetic suffering and she would look back at him as if she would say : “ ” It is nothing . I am happy ! They believed in health and happiness .

o f t On the recommendation the Gree k , who depar ed from us immediately at the pier , the family secured

l - quarters in the hotel o n the hil . The hotel keeper was a Frenchman and his entire building was equipped mf co ortably and artistically , according to the French style . We breakfasted together and when the noon heat had abated somewhat we all betook ourselves to the

f - heights , where in the grove o Siberian stone pines we could refresh ourselves with the view . Hardly had we found a suitable spot and settled ourselves when the

Greek appeared again . He greeted us lightly , looked about and seated himself only a few steps from us .

He opened his portfolio and began to sketch . “ I think he purposely sits with his back to the rocks

’ so that we can t look at his sketch , I said . ’ i We don t have to , sa d the young Pole . We have enough before us to look at . Afte r a while he

“ ’ added , It seems to me he s sketching us in as a sort — ! ” o f background . Well let him THE VAMPIRE 77

We truly did have enough to gaze at . There is not a more beautiful or more happy corner in the world than ! a that very Prinkipo The politic l martyr , Irene,

the . Great contemporary of Charles , lived there for a month as an exile . If I could live a month of my life there I would be happy for the memory o f it for the rest o f my days ! I shall never forget even that o ne i day spent at Prink po .

The air was as clear as a diamond , so soft , so caress

’ ing , that one s whole soul swung out upon it into the distance . At the right beyond the sea projected the bro wn Asiatic summits ; to the left in the distance

r pu pled the steep coasts of Europe . The neighboring

’ k o ne o f Chal i , the nine islands of the Prince s Archi ” pelago , rose with its cypress forests into the peaceful heights like a sorrowful dream , crowned by a great

— n structure a asylum for those whose minds are sick . The Sea o f Marmora was but slightly ruffled and

is played in all colors like a sparkling opal . In the d tance the sea was as white as milk , then rosy , between the two islands a glowing orange and below us it was beautifully greenish blue , like a transparent sapphire .

It was resplendent in its own beauty . Nowhere were — there any large ships o nly two small craft flying the

English flag sped along the shore . One was a steam

’ o o b at as big as a watchman s b oth , the second had about twelve oarsmen and when their oars rose simul tane o sl r u y molten silver dripped from them . T ustful dolphins darted in and out among them and dove with 78 CZECHOSLOVAK STORIES

i i o f long , arch ng fl ghts above the surface the water . Through the blue heavens now and then calm eagles w n n i ged their way , measuri g the space between two contin ents . The entire slope below us was covered with blossom in s n g roses who e fragra ce filled the air. From the co ffee - house near the sea music was carried up to us

air through the clear , hushed somewhat by the distance .

The effect was enchanting . We all sat silent and

tee e d o ur t in o f p souls comple ely the picture paradise . The young Polish girl lay o n the grass with her head

n l supported o the bo som of her lover . The pa e oval i o f her delicate face was slightly t nged with soft color , and from her blue eyes tears suddenly gushed forth . i The lover understood , bent down and k s sed tear

a . after te r Her mother also was moved to tears , and — — wi I e ven I felt a stran ge t nge . “ i his Here m nd and body both must get well , w “ ” an pered the girl . How happy a l d this is ! “ ’ if God kn ows I haven t any enemies , but I had I ” would forgive them here ! said the father in a trembling

voic e .

in An d again we became silent . We were all such a — wonderful mood so un speakably sweet it all w as ! Each felt fo r himself a whole world o f happiness and eac h o ne would have shared his happin es s with the

— n dis whole world . All felt the same and so no o e

t e urb ed another . We had scarcely even notic d that

o his the Greek , after an hour r so , had arisen , folded

80 CZECHOSLOVAK STORIES

! The old Polish woman shrieked affrightedly . In her arms lay her daughter pale as chalk . She had fainted .

In one bound the lover had leaped down the steps . With one hand he seized the Gree k and with the other reached for the portfolio .

We ran down after him . Both men were rolling in the sand . The contents o f the portfolio were scattered

ne all abo ut . On o sheet , sketched with a crayon , was

o f the head the young Polish girl , her eyes closed and a wreath of myrtle on her brow . BENES

BY JA N NERUBA

IN a c ertain little wine - shop near the Carinthian theatre in Vienna it was usually lively , day in and day o t u , but today , laughter and shouts filled the entire

- - o f side street . This was the meeting place the singers and chorus girls of the court Opera and of the members o f the orchestra , all of them people free from every care , for if they had admitted the first care they would then have had to admit altogether too many . The less o f sweetness life offered them the more feverishly they rushed into it . l Even o d gray Benes , usually morose and short

spoken , was as if transformed today . He drank ,

talked , drank and talked again . His expressive face was already flushed and was covered with a perpetual m al smile . His classic cape , in winter and in sum er

ways the same , hung behind him on a hook , but the o ld man felt the fire of the wine and had already re

moved his vest also . It struck no one as freakish that underneath the first vest o f heavy material there ap hl ao pe ared a second thick vest . They were thoroug y

q uainted with Benes and knew all o f his peculiarities . Benes had been an accompanist and rehearser of 8 1 82 CZECHOSLOVAK STORIES

operas for some forty years . The wider musical circles knew him as an excellent reader o f parts , the inner circles knew him as a happy composer o f delightful

- little lyrics , and all recognized in him an all around good

e fellow , a little p evish, to be sure , but always willing to make concessions . Therefore , only to the lighter minded ones o f the company did his vivaciousness seem unsuspicious . The others surmised that it was

o f probably more a cloak , that Benes talked con stantly in order to silence something and that he i drank much to drown much . These said noth ng but they , too , were gay . “ — ’ ” Aha o ur Leon ! I was sure you d come in today !

- o f called Benes to a new comer . He was a young man quick actions , merry face and shrewd glance . Will l ing y they prepared a place for him .

. “ ” fi

o ne the rear . Leon is a lion , said some in Daddy ? ” Benes , did you hear Leo today in church “ ” Y o u fellows would teach me to know him ! Benes

puffed up and the second vest was flung off . Under it

Y o appeared a third vest . u dare to tell me what any one ’ s worth is ! Better keep still ! Leo will be a second Ronconi— Ronconi was also as small and with a

Y o voice like a thunderous flute . upeople have heard a lot in life ! If I say that someone will really amount l ! ’ to something , they wil I ve foretold to this little minx here that she will be as happy and as famous as

as Sontag . This name slipped from his lips as if by

accident . BENE S 83

’ ’’ ? ” What s that Daddy Benes is saying a pretty ,

- merry faced young girl , sitting near him , asked in

German . “ Oh , nothing, minx , said he , patting her hair . ’ ” Zlo nits ? What s new in , Leon i ! Nothing for a long time , noth ng at all But , thunder ! —Daddy has a new cravat today Benes consciously drew his chin up high and stretched o ut his “ legs . And look at his finely polished boots, too . Daddy is celebrating something today ! ” ’ Benes frowned slightly . Don t crowd up so close to ”

. r me , Pauline And he tu ned again to the young girl . “ ” Lukova is taking a shine to Daddy ! was the cry i from around the c rcle . “ ’ o t ? Daddy , haven t you g some new songs for me asked the young chorus girl , destined later to become a renowned prima donna .

Y o Benes paused to look at her . u are pretty

’ ’ all but you haven t such eyes as hers , after ! Well , it s

’ o ne — all , you ll amount to something you and Leon

’ ” here— but the rest won t get very far ! “ Oho— who can know that ?” wrathfully exclaimed a “ Y to o young violinist opposite . o u, , had talent , — Daddy , well and He did no t finish . “ ? b e Well , and what What could an accompanist come other than an accompanist ? I was o ne in

Prague and I am the same in Vienna . “ But what if you had finished your studies in Prague ? 84 CZECHOSLOVAK STORIES

— ’ Yes if! If I hadn t run o ff to Vienn a afte r ” Henr ietta Sontag ! “ ’ sh ? She must have been beautiful , wasn t e

’ I don t even know that , absolutely , burst forth l Be nes with a lightness that was plain y feigned . “ ’ She was and she wasn t . When I met her by acci dent in a Prague company I accompanied her o n the piano fo r the first time and when she looked at me , all

o f ! was over . Dear God , those blue eyes hers I ” would have followed those eyes further than Vienna !

ne him No o questioned further , but Benes , never

l ss . the e , did not remain silent It seemed as if some thin g goaded him on to speaking jocularly and lightly o f that subject . “ ’ It didn t even worry me that others also had come — here on her accoun t a young lancer , for instance . I

as . knew she w as pure as an angel Dear God , those eyes

’ ! so so soft , so heavenly Why shouldn t I say ? no w What does it matter ? I was insanely in love

with her and I acted like a madman . I kept silent . l — i She herself cured me . Sudden y she disappeared t

o f was said , on account attacks from certain court — circles on her v irtue and fo r me she left this written ‘ i message, I thank you fervently for your se rv ces and please accept enclosed three hundred as a reward for

’ f So your diffi cult work o accompaniment . then at last I saw what I was to her— an accompanist ! But fo r the first time in my life I had three hundred and

He intended to say something humorous , but sud BENES 85

de nly became silent . His whole body trembled as if he were shaking with the ague, his face suddenly b e

o n came rigid , his eye was fixed the floor, his lips remained open . His folded hands quivered c on

iv el v uls y. “ And when did she die o f that Mexican cholera- it ’ ? can t be so many years ago asked a close neighbor , speaking perhaps only to keep the conversation going . “ On the eleventh of June , answered Benes in a lifeless tone . “ The eleventh— why today it is just exactly ’ Ben s es head sank down on his clasped hands .

o ne Within the room a sudden stillness followed , no speaking a word . It was a painful silence , broken ’ o l only by the d man s audible , unspeakably heart breaking sobbing .

’ F r i o a long wh le the old man s weeping co ntinued , no one uttering even a whisper .

o ld Suddenly the sobbing ceased . The man raised himself and covered his eyes with his palm . “ ” Good night ! he said almost in a whisper and stag gered towards the door. AT THE SIGN OF THE THREE LI LIES

BY J AN NERUDA

IN I TH K I must have been insane that time . Every

fibre of my being was alive , my blood was at a white heat .

It was a warm , but dark , summer night . The

o f sulphurous , dead air the last few days had finally rolled itself up into black clouds . The stormy wind had whipped them before it earlier in the evening , then m the mighty te pest burst its fury , a heavy shower came crashing down and the storm and rain lasted late into the night . I was sitting under the wooden arcade of the hotel “ ” called At the Sign o f the Thr ee Lilies near the

Strahov Gate . It was a small inn , which in those times always had more numerous visitors o n Sundays in when , the main room the cadets and corporals used to enjoy themselves dancin g to the strain s o f a piano .

Today it was Sunday . I sat under the arcades at a w ll table close to the indow, a alone . The mighty peals o f thunder roared almost in consta nt succession , the

n u dow pour be at pon the tile roof above me , the water 86

88 CZECHOSLOVAK STORIES

o n she n fasten her eyes me , and as danced o further into the hall I saw and felt that at every turn she bent

n her eye o n me . I did o t notice her talking to anyone f d uring the course o the evening .

Again I stood there . Our eyes met immediately ,

although the girl stood in the very last row . The

its quadrille was nearing close , the fifth round was just

e n b ing fi ished , when another girl entered the hall , all

o f out breath and dr ipping wet . She forced her way

to the girl with the beautiful eyes . The musicians

ki i r were just stri ng up the sixth se t. Wh le the fi st

i - cha n was being formed , the new comer whispered something to the girl with the lovely eyes and the

s t latter nodded her head silently . The sixth e lasted

somewhat longer , a brisk young cadet calling the

changes . When it came to an end , the beautiful girl glanced once more towards the door leading into the

garden , then went to the front door of the hall . I

l see as she o t n cou d her slipped u , coveri g her head

s with her outer garments and then he vanished .

sat w I went and do n again at my place . The storm began anew as if it had not even begun to show

u . its f ry The wind howled with renewed strength , l i the ightnings flashed . I listened sh veringly , but

o f f o f . thought only the girl , o those wondrous eyes hers

wa f To go home now s not , o course , to be even seriously f thought o .

” After a quarter o f an hour I again glanced towards

- the door of the dancing hall . There again stood the AT THE SIGN OF THE THREE LILIES 89

i girl with the enchant ng eyes . She was arranging her wet garments , drying her damp hair , while some older girl companion helped her . “ ” Why did you go home in such foul weather ? she asked . “ My sister came for me . I heard her voice for the

first time . It was silkily soft and musical . “ Did something happen at home? ” ” My mother just died .

My whole body quivered . The lovely eyed girl turned and stepped outside into

i . n the sol tude She stood near me , her eyes rested o mine . I felt her fin gers close to my trembling hand . — it I seized her hand was so soft and tender . Silently I drew the girl farther and farther into the f l arcade and she ollowed free y .

The storm had now reached its height . The wind r ushed like a surging flood , heaven and earth roared , above our heads the thunders rolled , and all around us it was as if the dead were shrieking from their graves .

She pressed close to me . I felt her damp clothing

t . clinging o my breast I felt her soft body , her warm glowing breath— I felt that I must drink o ut that depraved soul from the very depths of her be ing ! HE WAS A RASCAL

BY JAN NERUDA

A E his HOR E K was dead . Nobody regretted death , for 1 they knew him throughout all o f Small Side . In

Small Side people know their neighbors well , perhaps

e a n Ho racek b c use they know no o e else , and when

i fo r died they told each other it was a good th ng , by his death his good mother would be relieved , and then , “ ” - fi fth He was a rascal . He died in the twenty year

l . of his age , sudden y , as was stated in the obituary lists

fo r In that list his character was not entered , the

r l reason , as the chief clerk in the d ugstore very witti y

l . remarked , that a rascal real y has no character But how diflerent it would have been if the chief clerk had died ' Nobody knew a thing against o r about him ! ’ Ho rac ek s corpse was hauled o ut with other corpses “ i from the public chapel . As was his l fe , so was his ” in end , said the chief clerk in the drugstore . Beh d inl the carriage walked a small group , composed ma y

o f persons in somewhat holiday attire, and therefore

all the more noticeably beggars .

l “ Small S Ma a S rana is a ar o f the c o f Pra u , ide, l t , p t ity g e d o f c o nn ec ted with the Old To wn b y means o f the sto ne b ri ge K n Char i g les erec ted in 135 7 .

92 CZECHOSLOVAK STORIES

Mrs . Ho ra debts were punctually paid . Besides , éek ’ o ffi ials had patrons among the c wives , and they praised f fi n . her e butter They took a good deal o it , fo r they fi f did not pay till the rst o the month .

Their boy , Frantisek , was already nearly three years l ’ o d and still wore girl s dresses . The neighbor women

’ said he was an ugly child . The neighbors children were older and seldom did Frantisek become e mb o ld ened enough to play with them . Once the children were calling names after a passing Jew . Frantisek

o ut . was among them , but he was not crying The Jew

‘’ a r st rted at a run after the child en and caught Frantisek , who did not even attempt to run away . With curses

his the Jew led him to parents . The neighbor women were shocked that the homely little Frantisek was already a rascal . His mother was frightened and took counsel with her husband . “ him I shall not beat , but here at home he would

’ grow wild among the children , for we can t look after ” him . Let us put him in a nursery ! Frantisek was put into trousers and went with

sat lamentation to the nursery school . He there for two a r ye rs . The fi st year he received as a reward for his quietness at the annual examination a breakfast roll . The second year he would have gotten a little

’ picture if things hadn t been Spoiled for him . The day before the examination he was going home at noon .

He had to go past the house of a rich landholder . In HE WAS A RASCAL 93 front o f the house poultry used to run through the quiet street, and Frantisek often enjoyed himself heartily with them . That day there were on promenade a number o f turkey hens which Frantisek had never i seen before in h s life . He stood still and gazed at

‘’

. w s them in rapture Ere long , Frantisek a squatting down among them and was carrying o n important dis courses with them . He forgot about his dinner and about school , and when the children at the afternoon

‘’ session told that Frantisek was playing with the tur key hens instead o f going to school the schoolmaster sent

- the school maid servant to bring him . At the examina

‘’ tion Frantisek received nothing , and the schoolmaster told his mother to attend to him more severely , that he was already a regular rascal .

' And in reality Frantisek was a thorough rascal . In the parish school he sat beside the son of the inspector and used to go home with him , hand in hand . They

’ used to play together at the inspector s house . Fran

‘’ n tisek was permitted to rock the you gest child , and for that he would get a little white pot o f c o fl ee for

’ lun ch . The inspector s so n always had beautiful clothes and a white , stiffly starched collar . Frantisek wore clean clothes , to be sure , but they were abundantly

F r hi patched . o that matter , it never occurred to m that he was dressed any differently than the inspector ’ s son . One day after school the teacher paused beside

’ the two boys , patted the inspector s son on the cheek “ and said : See , Conrad , what a fine boy you are , 94 CZECHOSLOVAK STORIES for you can keep your collar from getting soiled ! Give my cordial greetings to your respected father ! ” “ ” Y s ranti k e , sir, answered F se . “ ’ k ” I m not tal ing to you , you piece of patchwork ! Frantisek could not see at once why his patches made impossible a message of gr eeting from the teacher to

w s his father , but he began suspecting that there a ,

ll o f after a , some sort difference between himself and

’ the inspector s son , so he gave the latter a good thrashing . He was driven out as an irredeemable rascal .

His parents sent him to the German schools . Franti sek scarcely understood a single word of German , and

consequently progressed very miserably in his studies .

His teachers regarded him as a careless fellow , although

he surely toiled enough . They considered his morals spoiled , because he always defended himself when n him the boys shoved i to , and he was unable to give

o f s s any explanation in German the reason for his c uffle .

The boys in reality had plenty to tease him about . Every little while he made some laughable mistake in German and in other ways furnished causes for derisive

o c diversion . Their chief amusement , however , was c asio ned one day when he arrived at school wearing a quilted green cap with a horizontal shade as thick as

’

n o t . one s fi ger, standing u from it His father had purposely made a trip to the Old Town to select some i thing special for h m .

“ ’ This won t break and neither will the sun burn yo u,

96 CZECHOSLOVAK STORIES only enough to permit him to advance year after year f without much di ficulty to the next higher division . But fo r that Ho racek studied all the more fervently

n t those subjects which do o strictly belong in school .

a i his He read diligently whatever c me nto hands , and very soon had a thorough knowledge o f literature in foreign tongues . His German style was soon very

was polished . It the only subject in which he received a grade of excellent ” throughout his career at the gymnasium . His exercises were always replete with beautiful thoughts and phrases . His teacher once as serte d that he had a style so flowery that it resembled ’ i Herder s style . They had regard for th s , and when he did not know much in other branches they would

sa . y that he had great talent , but that he was a rascal

his They did not , however , trust themselves to spoil talent and Ho raéek slipped through even the final decisive examination .

o He became a law student , as was the custom and als because his father wished him to become an official .

ra b Ho cek now had even more time for reading , and e cause , at this time , he fell happily in love he himself at began to write . The papers published his first

all o f l r tempts , and Sma l Side was immeasu ably ex asperated that he had beco me a literary man and that

o f he wr ote for the papers and , what was worst all , for

the Czech papers . They prophesied that he

would now rapidly go to the dogs , and when , after a k short time , his father died they new with certainty HE WAS A RASCAL 97 that he had grieved himself to death over his rascally son .

His mother gave up the huckster business . After a short time things went hard with them and Ho racek had to see to it that he earned something . He could not give private instruction , and then , too , no one wanted him as a private teacher . He would have liked fi to look around for some small of cial position , but he had not yet decided . A taste for further study would not have hindered , law was a distasteful enough fare , and he attended college only when time hung o n his f hands . At the beginning o his law studies he made a resolution that for every hour he attended lectures he would write an epigram . He began with antique

fi r r distichs , but when he read his st w itten epigram

he saw that his hexameter had seven feet . He had much joy of his new meter and he determined to write only in heptameters . When , however , he thought of h publis ing them , he counted his heptameters and dis

covered they had expanded to eight .

hi s f His chief obstacle was love af air . The young v i girl , beautiful and truly lo able, was filled w th a pure ,

strong love for him , and her parents did not force her

n n to consider a y o e else , although there were suitors in

plenty for her hand . The girl wished to wait for Ho raéek until after he had finished his studies and a had secured a good place . The offici l position which was offered to Ho racek had the advantage of an im mediate salary but there were no prospects of advance 98 CZE CH(E DOVAK STORIE S

r! ment in the futur e . Ho d ee k knew well that the gir l he loved would ha ve no fut ure with hi m He c ould

ri s not sacrific e her to a life of p ati on . He thought he was much less i n love with her than he really w as and he resolved to give her up . He had no t the hear t to

wis renounce her in a direc t manner . He hed to b e

w y i n a . was an ns i re pul sed , dr ve a It un c o e ous d esire

in r in f a m is hin to revel un dese ved pa . A means o ce s p g

to wr an an e n o his end so o n oc c urred him . He ote ym us

l n o t of the girl he loved . The girl wou d be lie ve the

w as w rl ? wi h er r o } s . ma informer , but fathe m re o d e de

“h en Ho rac e k m to ak c al few (is ?v s lat ca e m e a l a er ,

li i v o v r i be po tely dr ven out o f th e house . The z g r l

i no t af an d th e u o r s re a came a br de long ter, r m p d thro ughout Small Side that Horac ek had b e en bas is :ed li from the house fo r his rasc a ty .

’ No w i Horacek s ea t a th e b e akin , ndeed , h r ched to r g

ly r s on w h o tr s ly o d po int . He had lost the on pe l ve

y a wa s t o his o wn him, and he could not den th t it hr ugh

w i n e . his n u t e r e fault He lost co urage . e oc c m p v d

distasteful to him an d he b e gzm to l an guis h s s h fail

Hi t s e d i i . s no t in h ea s r is v s bly neighbor s were e l t u pr , l fo r a was th e at amse uen ee of rec k ess , s id they , it n ural q

100 CZECHOSLOVAK STORIES

entered the drugstore at his regular hour , somewhat absorbed in thought . “ ?” So , then , that rascal is dead asked the clerk suddenly . “ ” Ho ra k ? - ce Well , yes ! An d what did he die o f? l — ’ l Wel , now perhaps we l say in the records that ” he was stricken with apoplexy . “ l ’ So ! We l , after all , it s a good thing that he ’ l i ! ” didn t run up a lot of bi ls for medic nes , the rascal FRANTISEK ! AVIER SVOBODA

2 1860 (Born October 5 , , in Moni§ek . )

THE o f o ut- o f— his love doors , due to country birth and i ’ br nging up , breathes through each of Svoboda s stories even when they concern themselves with the life o f the effete and those whose interests are far from

’ those o f nature . Svoboda s techn ical education in the substantial realities o f every - day life prepared him fo r a position as official in the city bank in Prague , where he

i 191 1 o t o f rema ned until , but it did not crush u him appreciation and love for all that nature gives so generously .

Mr . Svoboda has been almost equally active along

i o f x r ssi n z— three l nes literary e p e o as a poet , as a

- w dramatist and as a novelist and short story riter . His early activities were in the line o f poetical pro “ ” his s duction , the first fruits being Basne (Poem ) o f 1883—8 his 5 . More keen and far deeper are later ” collections Nalady z Minulyc h Let (Moods of “ ” 1890 K v ét M c h Former Years) , , and y Z y Lucin

l\ 1891 . (Blossoms from l y Meadows) , Other books of lyrics and epics have followed sinc e that time . w As a dramatist , few modern riters excel him in

l . rea ism , verisimilitude and character delineation 101 102 CZECHOSLOVAK STORIES

r The dr amas , Ma inka Valkova and Olga both named for their leading female ” “ characters ; R o z klad (Disintegration) ; Smery Zi ” “ ” vota (Aims of Life) ; Utok Zisku (The Assault o f “ Acquisition) ; Po dv rac eny Dub (The Overthrown “ ” “ Oak) ; Odpo utané Zlo (The Unbound Evil) ; Pi es “ ” Tii Vrchy (Over Three Moun ts) and Démon

(The Demon) reveal him as a profoun d psychologist .

in His best plays lighter , but no less genuine , vein are “ ” ” i l Dé e k déde k his F a ka (The Violet) ; d é u, c u “ ” (Grandfather) ; Ro z v eselena Rodina (The Merry ” Family) ; Lapeny Samso nek (Samson Made Cap ” “ ” tive) ; h/I lsaniéko (The Dainty Bit) ; and Poupe

(The Bud) .

- eflec tiv el It is Svoboda , the short story writer, who y gives a cross - section o f life as he knows it in various

l i o f fields . The rea ism evident in his nitial collection k ” Po v id y (Stories) , published almost as early as his

first book of poems , holds his readers as strongly as his “ ” z in sketch Pro b u eni (The Awaken g) , which probes i the soul o f a student to ts depths . The author is not always concerned with the social , national or philosoph

f is o f ical significance o a deed , but often the teller a

’ o story for the story s wn sake . His scenes and characters are selected from all sorts and conditions o f life and are usually objectively

presented with much illuminatin g and lively dialogue . Among his very readable collections o f stories are ” f “ Nalado v é Po v idky (Stories o Moods) , Drohne

EVERY FIFTH MAN

B Y ! F RANTISEK . SVOBODA

HALF of o ur company stood o n a heigh t near a heavy f battery o cannon . I was with the other half which

its - fi l took position among the furrows o f a potato e d ,

o a considerable distance from ur main army , which for two hours had kept up a fusillade with the t enemy infantry , thinly spread o u beyond a swampy

- fi l meadow, on a low green hill . In the potato e d among the yellowish , frosted stalks where we lay ,

fo r chiefly as guard observing the left flank , the smoke whitened every little while and a ball sped idly some where into the broad pasture land on the elevated i l l ground , where the enemy sold ers looked ike sma l , bluish , sparsely planted flowers in a green field . A shot whistled past my ear and lost itself in the

soft and , as yet , transparently clear air .

o f I was lying in a deep unraked ridge pebbly loam ,

holding in my hand a loaded gun aimed straight ahead .

I was not shooting . It seemed useless to me . The

potato- vine was near my eyes and exhaled an odor o f

decaying leaves . I looked about over the country and everything that appeared before me in the broad

n picture pleased me . The view was u obstructed and 105 106 CZECHOSLOVAK STORIES the infrequent shootin g o f this section of the army suggested merely a maneuver , more than a real battle . One felt a certain pleasure and freedom in being in this low country , and it was not disagreeable to lie in the furrows . My eyes were delighted with the harmony o f the lovely autumn colors which in all their shades and tints had touched everything in the level

field as well as in the small distant forests .

o f fa In front me lay the in ntryman , Vanek , a tall ,

i - l bony fellow with an rregular , pale colored ful beard ,

- but with a good natured manner and a simple , open

o t o f o f face . He usually remained aloof u some sort

n afl airs . rural shyness , and meditated quietly o his o wn

He was an older man , married and the father of three

il in him . ch dren , as I learned conversation with The tips of his big boots with their broad soles were dug into the furrow and his trousers were soiled from the soft earth . ’ ’ We re well off here , aren t we, Vanek? I said to

o e Well ff is right , Mr . S rgeant, he answered “ readily . Very comfortable . “ If it would only be like this every day we ’ d be ’ ? ” happy , wouldn t we ! ! !” Well , I should say so Ha Ha ” fo r o r i Oh , as u rustic, sounded the th n , disagree

f E em i able voic e o f another in antryman , j , ly ng not “ ” a far o ff, he is right at home here ! (They lways called Vanek “ the

108 CZECHOSLOVAK STORIES lie as he had been taught in drill and as our servi c e orders prescribed . “ - E e m On his raven black steed he rides , continued j in a singing and unnatural voice as he set his gun close “ ” to his face We must act as if we were shooting , he added , continuing to adjust himself . The approaching Major Holay c aused considerable stir among us , for his extreme severity was not at all in favor among the youn ger men of the army who were unused to the rigorous military service in which Holay , in former years , had grown up . “ ” Why is he coming here ? I thought to myself in a fear , changing to a sort of feverishness . Is it bec use we are lying here so comfortably and no t fi ring much ? He ’s certain to order us to lie some different way and do more shooting .

“ 3 , No w ! uff then , fire Fire away in m led tones com mande d Lieutenant Schuster who until now had said

“ ’ in s hi — ! noth g . In regular fa on and give em plenty ” Hufsk fi re ! E em ! y, j , shoot ! Polak , give heed

The shooting from o ur div ision in the potato - fi eld echoed in frequent succession now , and into the air h were carried innumerable puffs o f w ite , smelling smoke . The observation and firing were now more alert as if we were Heaven knows how enthusiastic about this senseless fusillade . Major Holay had such an influence over us that we feared him and the major

o f hi - i ity the soldiers hated m. His full , double ch nned lk t mi y whi e, shaved face , with its moustache and small EVERY FIFTH MAN 109

- its r side whiskers , large , sha p nose , closely compressed

- - lips and half closed eyes in their gray , half concealing

too lashes was altogether cold , cruel and disagreeable to win affection from anyone . He never smiled and

o ff always gazed somewhere , shouting out at intervals

r ffl his brusque orders in g u y overbearing manner . a ix He was bout s steps distant from us . We were now o n shooting copiously , keeping an eye the Major meanwhile . Suddenly a shot whizzed in a different direction than the rest . Immediately after we saw Major Holay

to leaning backward and about fall from his horse . “ ” ! He is shot flashed through my brain , and a strange foreboding overpowered me . “ ” That was one o f yo u ! fur iously shrieked Schuster and leaped into the furrows where we were lying .

His legs encased in knickerbockers were dark above me .

A disagreeable chill went through my body . ’ No o ne answered . The Lieutenant s violent cry was carried through the clear autumn sunshine . “ ” Some o ne o f you fellows here ! Who was it ? he “ ” o ? cried in a hoarse voice . Wh was it he shouted again with a kind o f fierce agitation . We looked silently at the Major as he sank from his horse . His huge body bent backwards . His cap fell o ff and o ne foot was for an instant caught in the

' i aflri ht st rrup . The horse reared up and in wild g

wh wi . started running across the plain , itened th stubble

’ y The Major s body remained l ing beside the road . 1 10 CZECHOSLOVAK STORI ES

o ne No of us had yet uttered a word . The Lieu tenant in the greatest excitement still shouted and

n scrutinized o e gun after another . Every o ne was

o f aimed in the direction the enemy . We had ceased n shooti g and lay motionless . Deep emotion held back

’ o r . i u breath Schuster s black, fiery eyes gl stened in his red face and fairly snapped flames at all o f the prostrate soldiers . “ ?” Who was it he screamed again , turning his face

i o r in the d rection where lay u army .

I arose and placed myself directly in front of him.

He was frightened . “ ” We cannot leave the Major lying there ! I said in a very earnest voice , looking into his glittering eyes . “ ” He may be only woun ded ! We must go to his aid !

I spoke rapidly , looking about in alarm and forgetting all military precepts .

He was somewhat startled , amazed that I spoke suddenly o f something altogether diflerent from what in he had , in the first instant , expected , and the fire his eyes died down . A visible embarrassment took pos session o f him and he only babbled something indistinct f into the air . Someone laughed , and this little burst o merriment incensed him anew . “ ” ni We must carry him away ! I said with defi teness . ” “ Yes, yes , he replied , absently We will carry f — ’ l ” him away , o course we l carry him away ! And he gazed around .

Immediately , at his command , his corporal with four

1 12 CZECHOSLOVAK STORIES

’ l ’ tion . If you don t tel who did it , I ll order you all shot down ! ”

Lieutenant Schuster , standing beside the Captain , i affected at these words a very stern mien , twist ng his black moustaches . “ n i In five mi utes , shouted the Capta n , you will

o u again form ranks . I invite y to deliver up the scoundrel who killed the Major . If not , you will all ” ' o n be shot And , urging his horse , he rode quickly away .

A great anxiety forced itself into my bosom . The

’ Captain s words sounded forth sharply and icily . “ ” To my mind there came recollections of articles “ o f in times war where it always stated , He will ” be shot .

no w The soldiers began to talk noisily . “ ” Not a word will they get out o f us ! they vowed mutually .

“ ’ ” They won t do so very much to us ! said someone , and several others repeated the same opinion with

o f emphasis . A sort activity and excitement was now

l hi o f . plain y noticeable in t s division . All them laughed l x On y I felt an ious and depressed . t i Af er a wh le the Captain rode up perspiring . He him brought with the orders of the Colonel . Seeing him , we became silent and looked at each other in sudden fear .

c His fa e was angrily clouded , his full beard seemed to be grayer than usual and his actions were more de EVERY FIFTH MAN 1 13 t rmin s His e ed and peedier . stout horse kept rearing all the time and refused to quiet down . Among us , all laughter had quickly vanished . A grave mood fell o n all when the Captain rode out before us and cried ” o ut l o ? , Wi l y u deliver up the criminal

as His voice was icy , no longer brawling as before , but more effective . I felt a chill from my feet clear to my head , and I looked around at the other men as if I

o ne o f expected that them would speak o ut . A deep , oppressive silence reigned . The Captain then rode directly up to us and said something to Lieutenant Schuster , who , for reasons unknown to me , was flushing deeply . Then he lifted his head as high as possible and gave orders for us

o r to stand in a single row , without regard to size rank . “ ” Quickly ! Quickly ! he shouted , seeing that the

a so rt mis men stepped up to their neighbors with . of trust , slowness and fear .

As I passed Schuster he whispered to me , Every ” fifth man— take care !

indefi nab l i Something immoderately , y appall ng fell o n my chest . My heart began to beat wildly , the blood rushed to my head , and into my eyes a great heat poured . I could not at once comprehend the words of the Lieutenant and I pressed forward into the long row extending out in either direction . I found myself in

w o f the right ing , practically near the end that long

was c at . I line , winding through the white stubble 1 14 CZECHOSLOVAK STORIES

f n without reflection , without any sort o clear c o c ep in n tion , and I heard only as a dream the shouti g o f the

o n Captain , whose wide trousers his massive legs were constantly before my eyes . “ ” H urry quickly ! Quickly ! he cried . Into line ! ” Into line ! l i Of a sudden , a c ear beam penetrated my bra n . ” Every fifth man , sounded in my ears , and I com prehended the confidential message of Lieutenant

Schuster . f m Every fi th man will be shot, I whispered to y self . Oppressed with agony , I quickly counted from the right end . I was the tenth man . A tremendous i fire and fright affl cted my soul and at that moment , with a strength that was not my own , I seized the man standing at my right , pushed him to the left and n quickly leaped i to his place . No one observed me and

I . the fever within was relieved . was saved

Now, at last, I looked at the man standing to the

o f i left whom , by my one act , I had deprived l fe .

It was Vanek .

l - h o re l He stood calm y, good um d y , suspecting noth

in - g, and holding in his work calloused , bruised hands a

n k gu . He was loo ing straight ahead with the same

frank gaze which I had always known him to have, and with the trustfulness o f an honest coun tryman i he awaited a just decision . Even a sl ght , though very

o n re touching , smile played his lips and in his eyes

posed a cheerful friendliness for all things o n earth .

116 CZECHOSLOVAK STORIES

i l o f pening . But deep and genu ne compassion , fu l i i . grief and pa n , st fled me

’ - Schuster s high pitched voice co ntinued to sound ,

moving farther towards the left . In front of us

no t n stood several soldiers . They did k ow what nf position to assume , co usedly looking about at the officers who stood dispersed over the field . Increasing anguish held my heart and throat in a

All o f . vise . us were pale and terror stricken Vanek i l k i i was look ng about and , i e a l ttle ch ld , he turned and

smiled at us . Whenever he felt that he was observed

o f f n by one the o ficers he straightened up and , accordi g mi n to litary rule , gazed i tently ahead into vacancy . I recalled many moments spent with him and to my min d came the rending consciousness that Vanek had

r th ee children at home . “ ” i n Th s is terrible , I whispered , quiveri g in every

nerve . But I did not have the power to undertake a

his i f f deed that would save l fe . A sort o weakness o i wh ch I had not been conscious before, and which was i due d rectly to the impotence of human nature ,

held me back . In my eyes a slight wave o f heat , then tears and powerless rage followed each other

i . in qu ck succession I was crushed , but I could look at all that was happenin g about me somewhat

more resolutely .

ni Schuster had fi shed coun ting .

- Twenty one men stood in the foreground . The company which had just arrived with rapid step EVERY FIFTH MAN 117 and in unusual order sent out eight men who too k from the selected men their weapons . Vanek became pale and his tall body from sheer

o n weakness took a crooked appearance . “ ” Go d ! hi Dear he moaned softly , and s bony, bruised hands were clasped . He looked around at me and I hung my head . A portion o f some sort of prayer

I remembered from childhood came to my tongue . I “ ” wanted to whisper Forgive to him , but even this

o n o word remained my lips , for the order was given t

. w fall in Immediately Schuster , ith unusual de c isio n and haste , constantly admonishing someone in in his high voice , which sounded strangely my ears, led us away to the front ranks behind the retreating enemy infantry .

o n We pressed like animals, obediently, rapidly and in utter speechlessness . We had all succumbed to the

o terrible result o f the unjust punishment, and all f us i i were doubtless thinking of those who rema ned beh nd .

My whole body trembled . Through my thoughts flashed all the incidents and all the figures of the mi ’ soldiers , and longest to remain in my nd s eye was

- i i always Vanek with his good hearted , ch ldl ke smile .

A great tenseness began gradually to overpower me, a hot wave rolled into my cheeks, and my ears in strained attention searc hed the varying hum for the f sound o firing . At that instant the collective discharge o f many gun s

i i . howled beh nd us . I cried out fa ntly For a mo 1 18 CZECHOSLOVAK STORIES

ment all became black before my eyes . In breast something ached as if my heart had bee n torn o ut by

i r force . My whole be ng was c ushed under a weight o f grief .

’ An d I began to pray the Lo rd s Prayer fervently and sincerely as I had not been able to do since my earli est childhood .

120 CZECHOSLOVAK STORIES

Pr mere Viennese o r a aguer, respectively , could not

i n in his atta n . This i sight he displays fearless attacks o n subterfuge and hypocrisy o n the o ne hand and flag

i - i wav ng and drum beat ng patriotism o n the other .

It is chiefly as a poet that Machar is known . He uses

i his the medium of verse to fl ng challenge to wordy , t but deedless , idealism among his compatriots , o pro l claim rebellion against empty re igion , the fruitless

mi o f so - pro ses of politicians , the inanity a called social system forever degrad in g the Magdalens and letting wee ds Spring up where roses should bloom . He always places himself o n the side of the Oppressed o r down

r trodden , even though he many times invited and e c eiv ed a storm o f violent abuse by refusing to idealize the sordid and in sistin g that squalor and meanness were i foul , though just as true as the beautiful . Em nently l f a rea ist o the Neruda type , he has had to fight for i m f the recogn tion o f his principles , as well as o f hi sel , as their promulgator . ’ ‘ Mac har s best - known poetical works are V Zafi ” Hellenského o f Slunce (In the Glow a Hellenic Sun) , advocating a retur n to the robust faith of the Gree ks ; “ ” “ o nfi te o r o f C , full scepticism and heartaches ; Bez

’ az a o n i N v u (Without a Name) , an aggressive att ck l fe s “ ” hard conditions ; Zde by Mely K v ésti Ruée (Here

o f Roses Should Bloom) , depicting the depth sorrows of ” womankind ; Magdalen , a romance in blank verse ,

o f translated into eight languages , detailing the story a woman who has once fallen and whom relentless fate , JOSEPH SVATOPLUK M ACHAR 121

- f in the form of the self appointed censors o society , pursues to the end of a career that might have been “ Tristi f beautiful ; um Vindobona , a mirror o Czech national psychology ; Golgotha , a discussion of the m “ ” Ro an Empire ; Jed z Judey (Poison from Judea) , thoughts suggested by monuments of ancient culture .

’ Ma har s c prose , like his poetry , represents the

o f all changing attitude mind towards big , vital ques

His tions . reflections on life are presented in the many “ ” “ sketches in Stara Prosa (Old Prose Tales) ; Hrst ” B elletrie (A Handful o f Tales) ; Stories in Prose (1901— 1903) and two later collections with the same “ ” a in N to ii titles ; Kr j y, Lide a e py (Lands , People

“ ’’ and Bats) ; Versem i Prosou (In Verse and Prose)

’ ” “ K niha Fe uilleto nii (A Book of Feuilletons) ; Rim

(Rome) , a discussion of ancient , papal and modern ” Rome ; Konfesse Literata (The Confessions of a

Literary Man) , a diary of a man striving to express his

o f life in terms literary service . The story used here is from his Stara Prosa and is done in his characteristic manner .

124 CZECHOSLOVAK STORIES

— a youth or an old man met you each one fairly

s pierced yo u with hi eyes . “ o Y o The women there were very dd . u hear often o f H r e o v ini n i the beauty of e c g a women , you see the r — pictures I ought not to spoil your illusions . I looked at every woman that I met , and I arrived at an oppo site conclusion on the beauty question . All of them w if were ugly , positively hideous and ithered , as they had never been young . If there happened to be one here and there that was really young she was ugly just li ke the rest . “ The Turkish women were just the same . We saw — them often . They were veiled up to their eyes but

those eyes sufficed for the observer . They were eyes ,

i n altogether so stupid , so ent rely without shi e or beauty that they gave birth among us to the permanent joke that their faces were veiled o ut o f consideration

o ur o f . for refined sense beauty And , strangely

enough , too , this joke was taken up and soon spread

over all Hercegovina . “ i And the life there ! Drill , sent nel inspection , drill and sentinel inspection ! It was a dog ’ s life —worse than the marches and battles which we had to go

o r through before . Our only joy , in reality , u only

consolation was wine . And a man sat in the casino

(it was a filthy hut , one large room with a low, smoked

up ceiling) and drank and forgot . Yes , a man forgot and drank— and frequently drank down his whole

future . THEORIES OF HEROISM 125

l The entertainment there was not startling y varied .

We played cards , talked , sang . We liked to strike up the melancholy Herc ego v inian songs . Our con v rs i ns e at o were about every possible thing on earth . Often we waded into subjects which none o f us under stood . “ One evening I returned with my division from a sentry inspection . We were tired to death . For ten whole hours we had climbed cliffs , crawled through

o ravines and waded through snow up to ur knees . The wind blew first from o ne direction and then from the other and dashed frosty pieces o f snow into our faces . The men did not even eat or undress , but crawled into their beds and slept . “ I entered the barracks and sank into a chair .

Wine and cigarettes revived me to some extent . “ In the casino it was lively . My comrades sat or stood around a table near the

in stove . They were all absorbed apparently in an

r tin te e s g conversation . At first I did not understand

fo r o f l . a word , several them were ta king at once The discussion evidently had become intensely interest ing , now only o ne question with its respective answer n at a time was to be heard , the rest listening i tently . “ I shoved my chair a little closer . “ ‘ ’ o And I insist on my wn view, said Lieutenant i w ‘ Mart ni , ith animation , and I repeat once more

his that a man who values life at nothing , who has ’ nothing to lose in life , is the bravest soldier . 126 CZECHOS LOVAK STORIE S

i l Martini was an Ital an . He was tal with sun bur nt cheeks , raven hair and moustache , eyes dark as

a s i coals and a quick te mper . When he t lked he ge t c u lated with his hands and shouted as if he stoo d before a division o f his soldiers .

“ ‘ ’ An d i h t s i I d spute t at , af er a pause , poke L eu

‘

mi . te nant Setina, a C z ech from Bohe a A soldier to whom life is nothing cannot value it and will risk it

o f i o n for every piece fool shness , every trivial c oca

’ — i is sion that s poor pr nciple . Such a man not a hero in my eyes . A hero must know the value o f his

his a life . He protec ts it as de rest posses sion as long,

f his o f e his o c our se , as defense it squar s with military

s n honor an d con cience . He mus t k ow that with his life there disappears a sword from the ranks o f the army o fhis country and therefore he ought to appreciate f l ’ the worth o his ife . “ ‘ ’ in u e a Kristo v i Set a is right , interr pt d Capt in c , a

i o n a native o f Croat a , rocking his ch ir .

“ ‘ ’ l V i ns o wn . I sti l i ist on my iew , burst out Martin ‘ — One sword more o r less his Majesty always has a

0 o ne il o r l substitute . N but a ph istine a coward wou d

' i o fli r act as Setina says . An Austr an c e sees no heroism

’ in it . “ i ’ Se t na s cheeks flamed . He struck the table with ‘ s fi s o t n u hi clenched t and cried u , And I agai see in yo r ideal of heroism only an example o f folly ! It is wholly un reaso nable ! Jus t call back to min d the history o f

8 866 ia c o n the wars o f 1 59 and 1 . The Austr n officers

128 CZECHOSLOVAK STORIES

A smothered assent was heard around the room . i We felt that Set na was acting with dignity . “ This approbation fired Martini even more .

“ ‘ Lieutenant , I remind you once more that behind ’ o t S that idea I stand , burst u etina , likewise angered .

“ ‘ ’ Take that back , roared Martini .

“ ‘ ’ ’ m o f I not afraid you , answered Setina, and loo ked icily into his eyes . “ S o f We all arose . etina was the favorite all the officers o f the battalion . His complexion was as fair

’ as a girl s . He had blue eyes and a blond moustache . m In the service he was without a flaw . As a co panion he was always pleasant and ever a perfect friend . Here in Prague he had an aged mother and a sweet

o f heart . He was only waiting for the end the cam

ai n p g , when he was to be made a first lieutenant , and then he intended to marry . He always wrote to his mother once a week and to his sweetheart every other i day . Th s letter he always wrote regularly , even if it

were only a few lines in length . Sometimes there was

something impressively funny about it . I had often

- sit seen him writing on the very battle fi eld . He would

o n in the snow warming his rigid right hand a cigarette ,

and would write o n a piece of paper held o n his kn ee .

“ ’ Martini wasn t much liked among us . He was a

i fo r x cyn c, feared his de terity at fencing and for his

sure aim with the revolver . He liked to mock , with

special malevolence , at every sacred feeling known to

man . He himself had not an atom of sentiment . Of THEORIES OF HEROISM 129

o r his parents home he never spoke a word . His soldiers he treated roughly and without a touch of

. S a feeling He had never liked etina , probably bec use o f t the popularity the lat er enjoyed , due to the charm o f his personality . “ Setina could not retract his words- that was cer ai t n ; he could not lower his dignity to that extent .

We tried to appease Martini , we explained to him in

— in the mildest manner vain .

“ ‘ — ’ Take back take back everything , he raged .

Setina stood there pale and spoke no word . It was as if a horrible foreboding had taken possession of his soul . At intervals his fingers dug into his palms spasmodically , and his lips quivered . “ We pleaded with Martini . He only sneered mali

i sl c o u y . “ Here and there a few threats were heard .

Martini tossed his head , looked around the casino

‘ : has and said , bitingly Gentlemen , any one else any thing against me ? Just be kind enough to come for

’ ’ ward . We ll settle it all at once . “ A duel was unavoidable . t I went o u with Setina into the dark night . To the hut where he lived it was only a few hundred feet . “ The sky was overclouded . The snow cast into this darkness a sort o f grayish obscurity . “ Setina did not speak . He was whistling indis i l t nc t y some sort of march in quick tempo . We

hi d . reached s house . He extende his hand to me 130 CZECHOSLOVAK STORIES

“ ‘ ’ — I d inv ite you in for a glass of cognac but forgive

’ — o n me this time I must write to my dear e , he said ‘ — with a sort of forced quietness . Apropos tomorrow ’ l ? ’ you l assist me , will you not And pressing my hand he disappeared . “ Early in the morning o f th e next day we quickly went through the formalities o f a duel . After long i i talking , explain ng , pleading and threaten ng , the — ’ Lieutenant - Colonel gave his permission that s true l but on the whole it was , after all , on y an underhand

o f . sort affair , this forced duel There was not enough powerful argument to satisfy a higher court , and yet the affair could not be settled otherwise than by the f o . use the revolver You see , Setina could not easily manage a sword . His right hand was somewhat crip pled from a ball which had struck him during o ur

H r ini e e o v an . march over the c g rocks By the way , I recall how he often bit his lips until they bled when ’ ever there was changeable weather . That s how much the wound burned and stung . “ i The cas no was chosen as the scene of action . It ’ — couldn t take place elsewhere the circumstance , the

o f . un settled condition things , and all that I was

’ in s Se t a second . “ o Tw army revolvers were brought .

With a tremblin g hand I loaded them . I had an evil foreboding . “ The tables and chairs were shoved into o ne corner .

The casino throughout its length was cleared . From

132 CZECHOSLOVAK STORIES

Heaven only knows how he aimed . I suspect that he purposely aimed high . “ That is the end o f the story . I think o f it very

use o f no w ? often . But what is the it all , Oftentimes those two theories of heroism float through my head , and it seems to me that that combat was a duel o f

’ in t s . theories . Se a theory fell Setina himself gave

’ the greatest argument in proof o f Martini s theory .

f r o o f l . He died a piece folly , but he died ike a hero

I constantly see him before me . Oh that life was

o f indeed worthy a more beautiful end . “ ” An ? d . Martini I asked the Captain , much affected ? ” Martini he repeated as he spat disgustedly .

Martini is today the owner of a large estate . He married a rich girl whom he did not love and withdrew from the army . “ And you poets , he said , bitterly , after a pause , find everywhere and depict always ‘ poetic justice ’ ! Look for it in real life ! Find it— if you can ! To be

fo r sure , poetry is only a pastime wealthy people and such must not have their nerves shaken by some

harsh truth . You have everything smoothed out everything lovely— it all fairly sparkles— scoundrels are pun ished and virtuous lovers secure each other but in reality — ’ But lest I forget Setina s mother was stricken with

’ o n o f paralysis hearing her son s death . What became

’ f his o sweetheart I don t know . She has probably ’ ” become someone s wife . BOZENA VI KOVA- K UNETI CKA

6 (Born 18 3 in Pardubice . )

B OZE N A o a f . e v , the wife o J Vik , an official in one of

o f the large sugar factories Czechoslovakia , adopted “ ” - K unétic ka as a pen name , after the place where she spent her childhood . The discrimination practised against womankind in the social and economic world forms the basic idea o f many of her stories and novels . Her introduction to

u o f a literat re was , however , in sketches the less vit l

’ o f but fully as painful , sordid , little tragedies a woman s “ ” life of which Spiritless , which follows , is an example .

Viko v a- K unétic ka Mrs . has eight collections of short — “ stories to her credit and six longer romances Vdo v a

” ’ “ ” o Chirur o v i Min ulo s t p g (The Surgeon s Widow) , “ ” “ (The Past) ; and Justyna Ho ldano v a and Med ” “ ” i ic ka Vz o ura , named for their chief characters ; p R ( evolt) and Pan (The Master) . She stands as the champion of women for the preser vation of their individuality against total submersion in the being o f their husbands and she is often accused

fo r of extreme feminism . She never relinquishes a moment her demand for equal personal purity in the parties to a marriage contract . 133 134 CZECHOSLOVAK STORIES

Sb ératelka Staro zi As a playwright her comedies , t ” “ ” no sti o f (The Collector Curiosities) , Cop (The “ e z namaPe v nina n Braid) , N (Unk own Territory) and “ ” Pfitéz wo n (Ballast) , favor and are frequently pro “ i m ” d uc e d . r Ja u I n Her d amas , V ( the Yoke) , ” ” Ho léicka (The Little Girl) and V Bludi§ti (In a i Maze) , are less successful as dramas than as fem nist propaganda .

Viko v a- K unétic ka Mrs . was honored by her country men by election to the Bohemian Parliament some ten years ago . The Austrian government with its cus to mar i ff all o ne y ndi erence to progressive ideas , under pretext or another refused her permission to take her seat in the assembly . Her election at that time was the fir st example in central Europe o f similar recog nitio fo r n a woman . In the present congress of the Czechoslovak Republic there are twelve women representatives .

CZECHOSLOVAK STORIES

to hi herself the rays of the sun , sig ng in the very excess f o her bliss . Today the chill breath o f the win d rudely touched her hand and brow fo r the first time and caused her to

e o f experience a disagr eable sensation disappointment ,

o r aye , f so row . The young wife turned away from the window with a sense of weariness which she herself scarcely compre

i was hended . She cast her eyes over the room wh ch still w f in disorder and filled ith the breath o sleep . The air was heavy and the silence o f the apartment productive of melancholy and gloom . She stepped to the mirror to begin her to ilet and discovered that her eyes were tired i l look ng , without their usual luster , her ips were dry and compressed , the pink was gone from her cheeks and her hands were colorless , cold and strangely weak and limp .

a n o f to She medit ted , thinking what ki d a ribbon

she o n put into her hair . Long pondered what gown to wear and her thoughts finally reverted to the sub

e t j c o f what to cook for dinner . She had reflected thus each day fo r the past four

in o f t l months , at first a sort enchan ed spel , later with something akin to impatience and no w as if from habit o r a sense o f duty . On the table still stood the cups o ut o f which she and her husband had been drinking

ff e fo r f . no t co e , before he departed his o fice They had conversed much either today o r yesterday and had breakfas ted with some degree o f constraint , for they SPIRITLESS 137

o n nec essit o f were intent the y eating , which fact had

e — not been before apparent to them becaus well , — because they had been in love . But now for a number o f days both had sipped their coffee to the last drop and afterwards carefully wiped

o f their lips as if feeling the need some occupation .

The husband had arisen , taken his hat , cane and some documents (the young wife noticed that he always took

o n some sort of papers) and , kissing her the lips , he

f she m departed for his o fice , while had called after hi “ with a bright voice : Bring me something in your ! ’ ! ’ pocket , Otto Don t forget Perhaps you ll see some — o f my favorite apples some somewhere

’ ” and you ll bring them .

He had answered briefly from the hallway , because

“ ’ ” he was in a hurry , Why can t you send Veronica ?

(Veronica was the maid . ) “ But I want the apples from you , dear Otto , the young wife had cried after him sadly . “ a i I have many c res on my m nd today , he had replied . What are they ? ’ Oh , you don t understand such things . But yo u will bring my apple ? Do you hear ? Don ’ t forget ! ” Her last words reached her husband as his hand touched the kn ob o f the house door and he did not reply to them because he did not wish to cause an um

e in nec ssary noise the house . 138 CZECHOSLOVAK STORIES

i At noon he indeed brought his w fe two , three o r “ ” Mise nska four of her favorite apples and , laying

o n them the table , he asked at once for his dinner that he might again depart as soon as possible .

o n They both felt ennui stealing them . Heaven

r kn ows why they were ti ed . They slept soun dly with o ut dreams . Often when alone together they were silent and each was at a loss for a topic for conversa

in tion . The youn g wife with the instinct born every woman divined that the touch o f her hands no longer aroused a thrill in her husband ’ s senses and that he

o f kissed her without any tremors pleasure , but rather in a hasty , careless , perfunctory manner . And she n herself felt exhausted , languishi g , discontented and saw no fixed purpose anywhere . What was the matter ? She discovered as she gazed into the mirror that blue was unbecoming to her and , looking down at her hands, she saw that she had not trimmed her nails fo r some days . That was the only thing to which she could devote her attention , as everything in her household

— in was bright , shining and new e very article was its appointed place . The perfect order and exactness o f

n it all was enough to drive o e mad . It entered her mind that it might be a good plan to cook lentils today for dinner . She wanted a new — fragrance in her kitchen an odor to which it hereto

o sh fore was unaccust med , as e had not yet c ooked lentils during her married life .

140 CZECHOSLOVAK STORIES

a atmosphere ! Does it not appe r to you , sir , that the ” atmosphere is heavy ? Or else at picnics or outin gs while the sound of music filled the air and all around f were cheer ul and gay , she conventionally uttered her admiration thus : How beautiful all this is ! I love music , and especially do I love to listen to the notes o f ” a flute ! And all the time she was studying the words

in she would be called upon to utter next , order that they should be both proper and agreeable . She would

o f in si bow, extend the fingers her hand greeting , t very severely upright in her chair and thank in a very cold manner all gentlemen who were o f an un i certa n or unprofessional occupation , as her code did

to not admit those without means her favored circle .

in o n Ah , well ! The golden band sh es her finger now ,

o and with it all the past is banished , the present s lved n and the future ordai ed . “ l ls Well , then , lentils it sha l be today . Lenti are i certainly not rare , but they w ll cause a change in the

o f entire atmosphere her clean , shiny household . As soon as he reaches the steps her husband will be met with the fragrance from the kitchen and will know that

n his she is cooki g lentils for dinner . At the thought o f her husband she felt a tiny wave o f trouble in her soul . It seemed to her that she ought to have something new to say to him , something kind

n she n a d affable , but explai ed this desire as a co use q ue nc e o f the habit she had been trained in o f always i mak ng an effort to be pleasant to him . SPIRITLESS 14 1

She interpreted it all in her o w n charming little head as singular that she should allow herself any critical or censuring reflections which marriage itself abolishes

and excludes . Was not everything in her matrimonial existence just as proper as her whole life and its well -ordered details had always been ? Her first kiss given and accepted after a formal e n

a e ment ac g g , her tears at the altar which were in

n c o rda c e with strict etiquette , her toilettes , her edu cation which she had received in a convent and which s he had concluded with the reading of a few books of which it was perfectly proper to speak in polite society — all these had certainly been eminently proper .

What more could she wish , what more could her hus band demand ?

she o f Some day would become a mother , and then ll l co ur se a would be changed . She wou d have enough — to relate to her husband then the child would laugh and cry and make its first little attempts , and later it would learn to walk , to pray , then would attend

o f s he school and , in the vista the future , even beheld

its marriage . All these things would occur in the same succession as they had occurred to her ancestors ; it had not been

- different with her great grandmother , her grandmother

nor even with her mother . Her mother , to be sure , had never felt any uneasiness regarding her husband

and how to interest him . Her father was an honest 142 CZECHOSLOVAK STORIES merchant in linen goo ds and her mother helped him i make sales in the shop . No time rema ned for her to have similar reflections , and her conversations with her husband always appeared important and in tensely interest ing to both . Their business brought them a tidy income and assured their daughters a handsome dowry . Ah ! Ho w well she remembered the little shop under the arcade into which the daughters were never allowed to enter lest there might appear to be a conn ection between the shop and their sweet little faces which

l The were only partia ly hidden by the rich veils . y t were no meant to be salesgirls , for they were destined to be youn g ladies o f the most cultured and most select circles o f society .

The young wife laid aside the blue ribbon and

n fastened on a pink o e instead . She discovered that

as it really was much more becoming to her , and a result she felt a corresponding degree o f satisfaction .

o f She walked ut o the bedroom , gave her hand to the angular maid to be kissed and passed on through the remaining rooms in which the best of order prevailed . There really was nothing to think o f She remembered again that her husband would soon arrive a nd once more experienced a disquieting um ? easiness . What would they talk about today at dinner Perhaps he does not like lentils and will be vexed when

Veronica brings the dish on the table . Perhaps , how

144 CZECHOSLOVAK STORIES proper for her husband to do what he had just pro e posed . She reflected that the husband o f o ne o f her “ friends and other men she knew o f often went among ” friends to talk over things o f which their wives had never heard in the convents in which they had bee n brought up . i Her mind was considerably pacified by th s reflec tion , and so she answered with a smile , Why , no , Otto , n ! hin dear ; I have nothi g against it Why , just t k , what c ould we find to talk about together all those long evenings to come ? An d that day when the fir st yellow leaf fell from the

— r tree , crowned with so much greenness for the fi st

- n i time , but not the last the you g w fe sat at home alone . BOZENA NEMCOVA

5 1820 r 20 (Born February , , in Vienna ; died Janua y ,

1862 . , in Prague )

THE first of the realistic writers of Bohemia was

Bo i e na Nemc o v a un ualifi e dl , who stands q y foremost

Némc o v a among the women authors of her nation . spent her childhood in the foothill region of Ratiborice o n the Silesian border , where is laid the scene of her

- n - best k own and most loved novel of country life , ” Babicka (The Grandmother) , which has gone into dozens of editions and has been translated into many f “ dif erent languages Frances Gregor , author of The

Story of Bohemia , made the English translation of

Némc o v a was this beautiful story , which admitted a picture of her own life and that of her brothers and sisters under the sheltering love of one of the dearest and most typical characters in Czech literature— “ the grandmother Not a trace of bitterness appears in

émc o v a the entire novel , though it was written when N was experiencing nothing but hardship and sorrow in a

re most unhappy married life , and after death had — e so n n . mov d her chief joy her eldest , Hy ek A bride

s Némc o v a was at eventeen , , whose maiden name 14 5 146 CZECHOSLOVAK STORIES

Panklo v a Barbora , cultivated her genius , which had

n l n already show itse f, u der the guidance o f literary

she men with whom came in contact in Prague , where

o flic ial her husband , an in the Austrian government

was f r service, stationed o a while . Through her hus

’ band s necessarily frequent removals she became well acquainted with various parts o f Bohemia and also made five extended sojourns in Slovensko (Slovakia) , where she studied the people and collected the c us

in toms , traditions , tales and folk lore general which she later used untouched in her collections o f fairy tales and legends , or wove into short stories and novels w whose characters and plots were her o n creation .

to o Then , , her intimate knowledge o f the people among whom she lived and sought her friends aided materially in giving her a true insight into their souls as well as a thorough knowledge of the dialects pre dominating in each section which she later took as the background for her stories .

’ Némc o v as initial literary efforts (1844 — 184 8) were made in the field of lyric poetry which expressed a deeply patriotic feeling . She felt that women should participate in the nationalistic struggles o f the Czechs who were emerging from two centuries o f the tomb after their crushing defeat at the Battle of

White Mountain in 1 620. All her later writings like i wise breathe her Slavonic sympath es . Very soon after her poems began to appear she

n o was urged by Karel Jaromir Erben , o e f the fore

148 CZECHOSLOVAK STORI ES

the eternal conflict of wealth and poverty , high estate and low , and is a direct indictment of society . ’ The invigorating wholesomeness o f Némc o v as sto ries agreeably penetrates the consciousness o f the reader , who is refreshed and inspired by their simple “ nobility without fee ling that he has been preached

” ’ ém v as at . N c o method is marked by a simplicity ,

o f untrammeled directness , and a conviction truth ,

’ n which enlist one s i terest immediately . The tradi “ ” tio nal happy ending which the American craves and insists on in most o f his novels and plays has the

’ nearest Slav counterpart in Némc o v as thorough o p

ism o r . tim , her absolute refusal to be cynical bitter

Somehow , despite the inevitable sorrows which the truth of life forces her to depict , she leads her characters “ ” “ from the slough o f despond to a logical c o nsumma tion devoutly to be wi shed . This trait is the more remarkable in view o f the fact that all the romance and i joy was crushed o ut of her own life , wh ch became a daily sordid struggle fo r bread fo r her family and her

o f self , especially after the death her son and the loss

by her husband , who was never sympathetic with her

f . ideals , o his position under the government Nem cova has created many faith q y drawn Czech and n a Slovak characters , her women especially bei g typic l

of their nation . She writes with a vigor , picturesque

ness and purity , combined with the characteristic quiet i i Slav humor and poe tic idealism , wh ch never fa l to

appeal . BOZENA NEMCOVA 149

o f While Bewitched Bara is one her earlier stories , it nevertheless represents her manner and her choice of mate rial . Superstition is now by no means generally

r o f s cha acteristic the Czechs and Slovak , but at the

Némc o v a -fi v e time wrote her story , about sixty years i ago , rationalistic teach ngs were not as widely dis ff seminated as now . This story had the e ect o f weaning the people from much ignorant credulity and beliefs

o f s - in omens , signs and the power o called supernatural beings .

Ném o v a c has evolved a character at once strong , beautiful and independent in the person o f the daunt less Bara who through her o wn investigations- she was — practically self- trained had freed herself from all the superstitious fears which enchained the souls o f nearly

l Némc o v a all the others in the vi lage . Then , too , clearly shows here the value in education of nature and natural methods , a subject she introduces , to gether with other social reform tendencies , in her “ ” P h rska i o o Vesn ce (The Mountain Village) , which she regarded as her best work , placing it above her “ ”

a . Babick , which has been far more widely loved

i o f l ka The friendsh p the two girls , Bara and E s , whose social advantages were so widely different , is a whole

fo r some , happy picture . For the sake of her devotion E lska a t , Bara c rries o u the traditional custom of young girls in Bohemia who seek to kn ow whence their

w o f lover ill come , by casting wreaths flowers into a stream before sunrise o f the Day o f St . John the 150 CZECHOSLOVAK STORI ES

i Baptist . She herself does not bel eve in the c ustom ,

' s Blska but weaves and throws her wreath to plea e ,

’ who in the secur e refuge o f Bara s affection confides

li to o ne n her deepest fee ng the u derstanding soul .

152 CZECHOSLOVAK STORIES times he thought to himself : Even though she is a

he wn s o . i girl , is my I shall die l ke a man and I have , ” - as a father , a stepping stone to heaven . w as . n Jacob born in the village Being an orpha , he had to go into service from childhood . He served as

- dr - goose herder , over , cowherd , neat herder , as hostler and ploughman until he reached the highest degree o f the rank , becoming the community herdsman . That f i of ered a good l ving and he could now marry .

was in hi He given a cottage to live to s death . The

hi his peasants brought m wood to very courtyard . He

u . v e e co ld keep a cow Bread , butter , eggs , milk , g

all . tables , of these he received supplies each week

h ir an Each year , linen enough for t ree sh ts d for two

i o f in pa rs drawers was supplied to him , and , addition ,

o f r - two pair shoes , cordu oys , a jacket , a broad brimmed hat , and every other year a fur coat and a heavy blan ket . Besides that on each holy day and church feast day he received pastry and his wages , so that even at

' no t fare the parsonage they did better .

c In short it was a good position and Ja ob , though i he was lacking in good looks , uncommun cative and morose , could nevertheless have gotten a wife , but he was in no hurry . In the summer he made the excuse that he had no time to look around among the girls because it was pastur ing season . In the winter he was

o ut busy carving wooden shoes , and in the evenings when the lads sought out the society o f their girl friends he preferred to sit a while at the inn . When BEWITCHED BARA 153 it happened that a wife would come to the inn fo r her husband , Jacob always congratulated himself that there was no one to come looking for him . It never t ’ bothered him hat they poked fun at him , saying he d

o ld be an old bachelor and that bachelors must , after death , stay in purgatory and tie sand into bundles .

Thus passed his fortieth year . Then someone told him that should he die childless he could not get to heaven , that children are steps up to heaven . Some how that worked itself into Jacob ’ s brain and when the thought had thoroughly matured he went to the town mayor and married his maid , Bara .

Bara was a pretty girl in her youthful years . The boys liked to dance with her , and several of them used

- to go a wooing her , but they were none of them the marrying sort . When Jacob asked her to become his

she r wife she figured that had th ee decades behind her , and though she was not particularly in love with

Jacob she gave her promise to him , thinking to herself, ’ ’ ” Better one s own sheaf than someone else s stack . So they were married and the mayor prepared a fine i wedd ng for them . A year later a girl child was born to them whom they named Bara after her mother . Jacob scratched his head a little when they told him it was a girl and l not a boy , but the midwife consoled him by tel ing him she resembled him as closely as o ne egg resembles another . Some days after the birth of the girl a mishap o c 154 CZECHOSLOVAK STORIES

’ curred in Jacob s home . A neighbor woman stopped in to see the convalesce nt and found her lying near the

fireplace half dead . She gave the alarm , and the i women came running hither , ncluding the midwife , who resuscitated Bara . They learned from her that

’ she was cooking her husband s dinner and , forgetting

fi n that a woman , after con ement , must never emerge n from her room precisely at noon or after the A gelus , remained standing in the kitchen under the chimney

. n and went on cooking And then , she said , somethi g i rustled past her ears like an ev l wind , spots floated i before her eyes , someth ng seemed to pull her by the hair and felled her to the floor . “ ” o - ! That was the n on witch they all cried . Le t us see if she has not exchanged a strange child ” o ne o f for your Bara , them suggested and ran to the cradle . At once they all crowded around and took

r the baby from the cradle , unw apped and examined it . “ o f : ! One them said It is a changeling , it is , surely ! ” “ It has such big eyes Another cried , She has a ” large head ! A third passed judgment o n the child as having short legs , and each had something different to say . The mother was frightened , but the midwife after conscientiously examining the babe decided that ’ i it was Bara s very own ch ld . Nevertheless , more than one o f the o ld gossips continued to insist that the child was a changeling left there by the witch who appears at midday .

’ After that mishap Jacob s wife somehow never re

156 CZECHOSLOVAK STORIES

were strong and always glisteningly white . Her most beautiful feature was her eyes , and precisely on accoun t o f them she had to suffer much mockery from people .

’ ” They nicknamed her , saying she had a bull s eye .

e She did inde d have large eyes , unusually so and as

o rnfl wer blue as the c o , with long black lashes . Above her eyes arched thick black eyebrows . When Bara frowned her face resembled the sky

o f covered with black clouds , from which only a bit blue shone forth . But she seldom wore a frown , except when the youngsters called her names , saying she had

’ bull s eyes . Then her eyes flashed with anger and often

she would burst into tears . But Jacob would always “ : Y o u i o u mi ? say fool sh girl , why do y nd them I ‘ ’ too, have big eyes . And even if they are bull s eyes ,

’ Wh ni that s nothing bad . y, the dumb a mals can look at a man far more kindly than those human beings ” there ! At this he woul d always point with his stick l towards the vi lage . In later years , however , when

was he n r she stronger , none of t you gsters dared to hu t

i f r fl ro nt . her, for she gave qu ck payment o every a

Strong boys were unable to conquer her in a fight , for when mere strength failed her she used all sorts o f

o o r s I n man euvers helped herself by her nimblenes .

wo n that way she peace for herself . Bara had so many unusual characteristics that it was not to be wondered at that the neighbors talked about

her . Unable to interpret such a nature , the women “ began again to assert that she was , after all , a change BEWITCHED BAR A 157

- nu ling , and if not , that the noon witch had most doubtedly taken her under her power . By this utter ance all the actions of the girl were explained and excused , but as a consequence the villagers either avoided or feared her and only a few souls truly loved

sa her . Whoever thought to anger her had only to y Bewitched Bara '” But he who thought that this particular nickname offended her worse than any w other as mistaken .

sh - To be sure e had heard tales of noon witches , eve

o f - fi re - ning specters , the water man , the glow man who ’ - o - - lives in the forest , and about the will the wisps , the

o f o f devil and ghosts . She had heard all these among the children , but she feared none of them . While she was still small her father used to take her out with him to the pasture and there she played the whole live long day with her dog , Lisaj , who , next to her father, was her dearest playmate . Her father wasted few

n words o her , but sat and carved wooden shoes , raising

no t his eyes at times to look at the herd , and if it were

c o w all together , he would send Lisaj to return the or i heifer , wh ch the dog would always do , according to i orders . When necessary , he h mself would get up and make several circuits of the herd . When Bara was n u larger she accompanied Lisaj o his ro nds , and

nifl r if a cow tried to s at her , Lisaj would at once d ive it away . As she grew older , in case of need she would often drive the herd o ut for her father . The cows ’ knew her voice as well as Jacob s horn . Even the 158 CZECHOSLOVAK STORIES

o f wicked bull , whom stalwart boys were afraid , obeyed when Bara shook her fist at him . When Jacob wished to take the herd out to wade o r to drive them across the river he would place Bara on “ ” o f o f the back one the cows and say , Hold on ! l He himself wou d swim across after the herd . Once Bara was no t holding tight and slipped o ff into the

o ut i water . Lisaj pulled her by the sk rt and her i father gave her a good sc old ng . She asked her father then what a person must do in order to swim . Her father showed her how to move arms and legs , and Bara remembered it and tried to hold herself above the water until she learned how to swim . She enjoyed swimming so much that in the summertime both morn ing and evening she would go in bathing and was able n nl o t o y to keep her head above water , but to swim n with her head u der water . However, no one beside

o f h her father knew her ability in t is respect . From dawn until ten o ’clock at night there was not a time i when Bara had not gone in swimm ng, yet she had never “ ” - r seen the water man , and the efore she had no faith in his existence nor did she fear the water . In broad midday and also at full midnight Bara had been o ut under the clear skies and had seen neither noon nor night specters . In the summer she liked to sleep in the stall beside the open dormer window, and yet nothing unusual had ever appeared before her

r to f ighten her . Once when she was out herding and was lying under

160 CZECHOSLOVAK STORIES

neck and from that time believed no more in tales o f demons .

Near the woo d , several hundred steps beyond the

. did river , was a cemetery After prayers the people not like to go in that direction . There were many f weird tales o dead men who roved about at midnight . But Bara passed that way many a time at night and never yet had she met with any fearful experience .

She did not , therefore , believe that the dead arise and dance o n their own graves or go about scaring people . When the young people went out into the forest to gather strawberries or juniper berries and came upon a snake there was always a great scurrying . If the snake lifted its head and showed its fangs they all ran to the

i if c water , believ ng they could rea h it first the snake would be deprived of all power .

o f Bara never ran away . She was not afraid a wicked bull , and therefore much less of a snake or a

r scorpion . If it lay in her path , she d ove it away .

l . If it refused to move and defended itself , she kil ed it

d . If it di not obstruct her path , she left it alone

d o r . In short , Bara di not know fear dread Even when the thunder rolled and the storm poured forth its wrath over the valley Bara never trembled . On i the contrary , when the v llagers closed their windows

s l and doors , lighted the con ecrated Candlemas cand es and prayed in fear and trembling lest the Lord be angry w l ith them , Bara de ighted in standing out on the BEWITCHED BARA 16 1

boundary ridge the bette r to view the horizon spread

out before her eyes .

’ Jacob often said to her, I don t understand , girl , what joy yo u can have to look into the heavens when ” God is angry . “ Just the same sort of joy I have as when he smiles , “ — . see fi re she answered Just , father , that how beau tiful it is amid the black clouds ! ”

“ ’ ” ’ Don t point ! shrieked Jacob warningly God s messenger will break o ff your finger ! He who does not

’ fear the tempest has no fear of the Lord , don t yo u know that ?” “ Blska o f the parsonage once read me o ut of a book that we mus t no t fear a storm as if it were the wrath

G o d h u of , but t at we sho ld admire in it His divine n power . The priest always preaches that God is o ly l good and is love wholly . How cou d it be that He is

’ so often angry at us ? I love God and so I m not f a raid of His messenger . Jacob disliked long speeches and so he left Bara

n . to her own thi king The neighbors , however , seeing the girl ’s fearlessness and that nothing evil occurred to

was her , were all the more convinced that she a child

protected by some supernatural power .

l k Jo sifek o f Besides her father, B s a and , who were

o wn l . her age , were the on y ones who loved her

o s ife k E lska was i J was the son of the sexton , the n ece k i . w of the parish priest Jo sife as a lad of slender bu ld ,

- - pale , golden haired , good hearted , but very timid . 162 CZECHOSLOVAK STORIES

Bara was a head taller than he , and when there was a

sifek i fight , Jo always hid beh nd her skirts , for Bara always courageously took his part against the boys for

o sifek whom he alone was no match . For that J loved her very dearly , brought her dried apples and every

- Saturday a white wafer cake . One Sunday when Bara was still quite small he brought her home with him , intending to show her a little altar he had there and how well he could act the part o f a priest . They went along hand in hand with Lisaj lagging o n i beh nd . The doors o f all the peasant homes closed with a latch and at night were bolted . At the parsonage the — iron cased o ak doors were always locked and whoever ’ wished to enter had to ring . At the sexton s there was also a bell , just as at the parsonage, and often the h village yout s , when passing , would open the door a little in order to hear the bell ring and the sexton ’ s had Wife scold . When she had her fill of railing at “ ” ! them they yelled , Vixen , vixen at her . When Bara with Jo sife k entered the door and the

’ o u bell sounded , the sexton s wife ran t into the passage

o f way . The end her long nose was pinched up in a

sn n pair of spectacles and she cried out in a uflli g voice, ’ ” Who is this you re bringing with yo u ? Jo sifek stood

his . as if scalded , dropped eyes and was silent Bara also looked down and said nothing . But behind the ’ - sexton s wife came running the tom cat and , catching

sight of Lisaj , began to bristle up its back , sputter and

161 CZECHOSLOVAK STORIES

mur mur , and the neighbors , when they wanted some f thing o the priest , always stopped first for advice at

’ the sexton s . “ n The sexton must i deed be a worthy person , the girl had always thought , but from the time that he so rudely showed her the door and struck Lisaj so

i hO ed o n smartly that , wh mpering , he pp three legs all “ she the way home , always thought to herself, Y o u ” all are no t good at , whenever she met him . How different it all was when E lska took Bara home

r with her to the parsonage every Thu sday and Sunday . The moment the doorbell rang the maid would open

mi s the door and ad t the two girls and al o Lisaj , fo r their o wn dog got along well with him . Softly the two ’ i girls would go to the servants hall , cl mb up over the E lska l oven where had her toys and dol s . The priest ,

o ld o n who was an man , used to sit a bench at the table , and with his snuff- box and blue pocket handkerchief lying before him always dozed with his head leaning against the wall . Only once had he been awake ; and when Bara ran to him to kiss his hand he patted her “ ’ : i i head , saying You re a good l ttle g rl . R un away ” and play together now , my little maids !

’ Pe inka Also Miss p , the priest s sister , was kind . al She had no extensive conversation with Bara , though she liked to talk a good deal to the neighbor

o f women , but she always gave her a big piece bread

fo r with honey o r a large muffin lunch , larger than to

Pe ink E lska. Miss p a was a short, little person who BEWITCHED BARA 165

was taking on fat with the years . She was rosy , had a mole on her chin and rather weepy eyes , but in her youthful years , as she said herself, she used to be t pretty , to which s atement the sexton always nodded d assent . She wore a long ress after the fashion of city w omen , with a short waist , an immense apron with large pockets , and at her side always dangled a bunch of keys . Her gray hair was always smooth , and on week days she wore a brown headkerchief with a yellow

a border , whereas on Sundays the he dkerchief was

Pe inka yellow with a brown border . Miss p usually was busy with something around the house o r in the

field , spinning or , with her glasses on her nose , patching

he o . u a s to things S nday afternoons fter dinner , ,

sh would doze a little , and after vespers e would play w cards ith her brother and the sexton . She rarely “ ” addressed him as brother but usually Reverend ” Sir . Miss Pe pinka was the head of the house and what she wanted was carried o ut . What she said counted as

an she unmistakable truth in the house , d when favored anyone , all favored him . E lska was the pet o f both Miss Pe pinka and the

Blska to o was reverend father , and what wished , that ,

ink E lska desired by Miss Pep a. Whom loved was in

’ P e inka s p good graces . Therefore Bara never received k an un ind glance at the parsonage and Lisaj , too , was

a . t toler ted The sex on , who could not endure dogs ,

‘' often tried to pat Lisaj , in order to curry favor , 166 CZECHOSLOVAK STORIES

i no t but L saj , who could bear the sexton , invariably snarled at him . Bara was wholly happy when sh e could be at the l parsonage . In the ro oms everything fairly g istened . There were beds piled with fine bedding to the very

i f r l n . ceil ng , many beauti ul pictu es , and in aid cabi ets

In the garden were many flowers , vegetables and fine

i l all fru t . In the yard was pou try of kinds ; in the

as s r . stable , cattle which it w a plea u e to look at The herdsman Jac ob had the greatest delight in the cattle ’ h b all belonging to the paris h . And in t e servants , ! Blska over the oven , what a quantity of toys never mixed up mud cakes no r played with brick dust and in i lime . She always had real cook g th ngs and what was prepared was also eaten .

’ Why shouldn t Bara have been happy in such a o ? E l k h me But to her , s a herself was far dearer than anything else . Oftentimes it seemed to her that she loved Blska more than she did her o wn father .

Blska flax- If had lived even in the house, Bara would , Blska nevertheless, have loved to be with her . never once laughed at Bara and when she had anything she ul always shared it with her . Often she wo d throw “ ’ ik her arms around Bara s neck and say, Bara, I l e you so very much . “ i so e She likes me so much, and yet she s b autiful

All r and belongs at the parsonage . the people add ess

‘ ’ ‘ ’ n t her as you and o thou , even the schoolmaster and sexton . All others mock at me , Bara repeated to

1 68 CZECHOSLOVAK STORIES

’ hand on the hard lower surface o f Bara s feet with m sy pathetic touch . “ Until the skin became like sole - leather my feet used

’ to hurt , but now I don t even feel fire beneath them ,

E lska . Bara answered with pride , and wondered greatly

o sifek Thus the two girls enjoyed each other . Often J joined them , and when they were preparing feasts he had to bring what was needed and did the slicing and

in the grat g . When they played wolf, he had to be the lamb , and when the game was barter , he had to haul the pots and kettles . But he never objected , and liked i best to play with the g rls . The twelfth year passed over the heads of the chil dren and there was an end to their childish joys . The

o sifek as sexton put J in a school in the city , he wanted

Pe inka E lska to make a priest of him . Miss p took to - ' i Blska Prague to a rich , ch ldless aunt , in order that should learn city manners and that the aunt should no t a forget her country relatives . B ra remained alone with her father and Lisaj .

I I

Life in the rural districts flows along softly without

o r . r noise rustle , like a meadow brook Th ee years had Blska passed since had gone away to Prague . At first neither Miss Pepinka nor the priest could become accustomed to her absence and were very lonely for her . When , however , the sexton reminded them why

l k P ink they had sent B s a from home , Miss ep a always “ BEWITCHED BARA ” 169

r : t said , ve y sententiously My dear Vlcek , man mus

We not live for today , we must think for the future . — G o e t d granting will g through life somehow , but lsk E a is young and that we must keep in mind . To — save money how in the name of the dear G o d can we — it ! - do when we have none Some feather beds , her — dmw y that is all she will have as an inheritance from — us and is that very little . The world takes note of these (and at this Pe pinka opened her palm and with her other hand went through the pantomime of count ing eoins)— and he r Prague aunt has countless numbers l k . is of them Maybe B s a will win her favor . It only ” w for her o n good that we are leaving her there .

The sexton acquiesced in every particular .

The Prague aunt had been ill for years . From the

’ time of her husband s death sh e always wrote to her b ro tli e r- in - law and sister - in - law that she had been kept alive only by medicines and if her physician did not thoroughly understand her constitution she would long ago be lying in the holy field . Suddenly , however,

‘’ Blska wrote that her aunt had a new physician who had a advised that she take a d ily bath in cold water , walk

she l a great deal , eat and drink heartily , and that wou d w soon be cured . Her aunt had obeyed and as now as healthy as a lynx .

“ ’ - Hm , such new fangled treatments . If that s the ” E lska c an Bl Pe inka case , come home at once . All iss p ordered was faithfully carried out . That very day the hostler had to pull out the carriage from the shed and 170 CZECHOSLOVAK STORIES

Pe inka n take it to the wheelwright . Miss p , havi g de

E lska o cided to herself escort , brought ut her hat from the small chamber for inspection to see if it had suf

Pe inka fered any damage . Yes , Miss p also had a hat which she had received ten years ago when she was in l f u . o Prague , from that same a nt In the vil age in Vestec no o ne had ever beheld her it , but when she went o n a pilgrimage with her brother to the deanery

she n was in a nearby town put it o , and now when she

sh going to Prague e took it along in order , she said , not t o disgrace the aunt by wearing a kerchief on her head . The next day the carriage was repaired and the third day Pepinka ordered that it be well greased and the

she horses shod . On the fourth day ceased household duties and sent for Bara to look after things during her in n absence . On the fifth day early the morni g they piled into the carriage fodder for the horses , food for

P in the coachman and also for Miss ep ka herself, a

o f il basket eggs , a jar of butter and sim ar gifts for the

o f aunt , the box with the hat , a bundle clothes , and

P e ink a after holy mass Miss p a herself , fter long f parting injunctions , stowed hersel away inside . The coachman whipped up the horses and , putting them

’

in . o n i . selves God s hands , they started the r journey Whoever saw the antiquated carriage which resembled a winged caldron hanging amid four wheels dof‘fed his

Pe inka w hat from afar , although Miss p herself, rapped in numerous shawls , in the depths of the vehicle

1 72 CZECHOSLOVAK STORIES

no whether or not people liked her . She did t push herself forward among the young people either in

r playing o dancing , but attended to her o wn affairs l o d . and to her father The parsonage was her Prague . There were some voices in the village which said One must give the girl all honor as having skill and strength which no girl and very few men can equal . What girl can carry two buckets full o f water and yet walk as if she were toying with them ? And who can

as she ? o r look after a herd can A horse bull , a cow o r

she o f . sheep, all obey her , controls all them Such a ” girl is a real blessing in a household . But if a youth

“ ’ here or there announ ced , I d like to make her my ” i No b o w fe , the mothers at once shrieked , , no , my y !

’ Don t bring that girl into o ur family . No man can sa y how things will turn o ut with her . She is the wild sort— bewitched ! ” An d so none o f the boys were permitted to court her

o ne o f seriously , and to attempt it in sport no them dared . Bara would not let herself be ruled nor would

’ she be blinded by flattering words . The sexton s wife

o f hated her most all , although Bara never laid so

. c o n much as a straw across her path Indeed , on the tr r Jo sifek re a y, she did good by protecting from the

o n venge of the boys . Whenever any boy got a box the ear in church from the sexton he always tried to

’ r if k was retu n it to Jo s e . But the sexton s wife angry at Jo sifek for being a dunee and permitting a girl to defend him and for liking that girl . She was angry BEWITCHED BARA 173 because Bara went often to the parsonage and because t they liked her there . She would have forced her o u of the parsonage if Miss Pepinka had been anyone but

Pe inka Miss p , but the latter did not permit others to

’ blow o n her mush and least o f all the sexton s wife .

o n w Once a time this worthy , together ith the wife of the schoolmaster , had made up some gossip about Miss

Pe ink p a and from that time their friendship ceased , although formerly they had been together constantly .

Pe inka l Miss p often taunted Mr . V cek with it , saying , “ ” A sharp nose likes to pry , which referred to the

’ sexton s wife . Vlcek was a lamb at the parsonage and only at home was he a real wolf .

u Pe inka t Two , three , fo r days passed since p had lef and Bara could hardly wait .

sir ? she Good , how far is it to Prague said to the priest when he had had his afternoon nap and was in his best humor .

“ ’ i i l n e d at e nt r . . A h dr Be p , g They can t be back yet u — ’ r e t miles that s some distance . Th ee days to g there ,

Pe inka h two days p will stop in Prague , and t ree days — ” for the retur n trip fi gure it up yourself !

Bara counted the days , and when the fourth day a fter the conversation arrived there were great prepara tions at the parish house , and then Bara counted only the hours . For the tenth time she rushed out to look w i do n the road . The sun was already sink ng and her father was driving home the he rd when the carriage appeared on the highway . CZECHOSLOVAK STORIES

m They are co ing , shouted Bara , so that it could be heard over the whole place . The priest went out in front of the gate and the sexton after him . Bara would like to have flown directly to them , but she became shy suddenly and only ran about from place to place . When the carriage neared the parsonage a sort of fear filled her , her heart pounded , her thr oat contracted and heat and cold surged over her .

The carriage stopped at the gate . First , Miss Pepinka rolled o ut o f it and behind her leaped forth the slender figure o f a rosy - cheeked girl upon whom the priest , the sexton and the assembled crowd stood gaz ing . If she had not thrown her arms around the

’ “ ” priest s neck and called him Uncle they would no t l k have believed it was E s a. k Bara never took her eyes from her . When E ls a emerged from her uncle ’ s embrace she stepped at once

in wn to Bara , took her two hands her o and , looking “ up into her eyes , said in her sweet voice , Bara , — ’ Bara I ve been so lonely for you ! How have you been ? Is Lisaj still alive ? Then Bara burst into tears and cried as if her heart would break , unable to answer a word . After a while she sighed gratefully ,

“ ’ ” o l Well , it s good that y u are here at last , dear B ska!

“ ’ : The priest repeated after Bara Well , it s good that ’ ” you are here . We ve been so lonely . “ They wanted to detain me there a day longer,

Pe ink ll said Miss p a, piling a sorts o f things o ut of the

o f carriage into the arms the sexton , Bara and the

176 CZECHOSLOVAK STORIES

l k i . E s Yes , ndeed Far more beautiful , sighed a. Ar e there good people in Prague ? Is it a beautiful place ? Did you like it there ? ” questioned Bara a little later . “ all n They were good to me , au tie , the governess ,

o f . all them liked me I liked to be among them all , but I longed so for yo u and kept wishing that yo u

is so were there with me . Oh , Bara , dear , it beautiful there that you cannot even picture it in imagination .

saw When I the Vltava , the beautiful churches , the

— I as huge buildings , the parks was if struck dumb . And there were so many people on the streets as if

o f there were a procession , some them dressed in holiday costume even on the week days , carriages

so driving by constantly , turmoil and noise that a per

’

n w . son doesn t k ow who is ith them Just wait . Next year you and I will go there together to a church ” E lsk pilgrimage , added a. “ What would I do there ? People would laugh at ” me ! said Bara . “ ’ o n Don t believe it , dear . There , the streets one

’ ’ person doesn t notice another , one doesn t even greet ” another in passing . “ ’ I wouldn t like that . That must be a strange ” world , Bara wondered . The next day— Sunday— Blska arrayed herself in

o n b ec o m her holiday clothes , placed her head a very v ing red elvet cap such as was just in fashion , and went l to early mass . Al eyes in church were turned towards “ BEWITCHED BARA 177

’ her and many a young man thought , For you I d serve even twice seven years if I knew I ’ d surely get ” you . Whenever E lska was in church she was always devout and never looked about her and this time she was the

s h same . But when e went from the church through l t the vil age she turned in all directions , gree ing the villagers who crowded to her to welcome her home from Prague , inquired how each had been during her absence and answering their many questions . Many

a things had changed in those three years , lthough it

a and h rdly seemed so to the villagers . Here there some aged man or old grandmother whom Blska had been accustomed to seeing on Sundays sitting on the

o r high walk around their houses in the orchard , warm

was . ing themselves in the sun , no more In the circle

u a of yo ng people many a pair was missing , looking fter

r their own newly established housekeeping . Child en rolled in the grass whom E lska did not kn ow . Many a head which had been gray was now white and the

’ girls of E lska s o wn age were now being escorted by youths and were no longer regarded as children . “ o n s lska And , too , no e addressed her now a E , but “ ” n all added to her ame , Maiden . When E lska heard herself so addressed her cheeks

fl ushed red . By this prefix the simple villagers ex pressed what she herself was scarcely conscious o f that she was no more a child . In Prague they had “ ” “ called her the little miss and l ater miss . At 178 CZECHOSLOVAK STORIES

h fir st s e had thought it was some sort of mockery , but hearing that it was the general title for girls , she “ ” accepted the custom . The title Panna or Maiden i honored her more highly , expressing , as it did , v rginity and it was because she appreciated this that the blush o f virgin shyness overspread her sweet face .

’ The sexton s wife also emerged to her threshold , and

l k ka E s n . E ls When a passed , i vited her in She liked ,

ink though she thoroughly disliked Miss Pep a. She asked Blska how she had liked it in Prague and how the altar o f St . John looked at the castle and if it is true Blska that the bridge is paved with gold . When answered all these questions she examined her from head to foot , not even a thread escaping those venom

l k o sif k o s E s a J e . u eyes . asked about “ n Oh , he is getti g along well in his studies . He is the best student in school and is growing like a reed o — — ut of the water . Many ah many times he asked

l k fo r about you , Maid B s a, when he was here the

fo r o ne holidays . He pined you and had no at all i w th whom to enjoy himself . With the local youth it is no t fitting for him to associate now that he is a ” ’ student , said the sexton s wife .

E lska o f . was a different mind , but she said nothing

In the afternoon Blska went to visit Bara . The

’ shepherd s home was a little cottage , the smallest in i the entire v llage , but , excepting the parsonage alone , there was nowhere greater cleanliness and neatness . a A t ble , bench , two chairs , the beds , chest and loom

180 CZE CHOSLOVAK STORIES

wearing a tight girdle during the week , but she an swered that she felt freer without and El§ka always told her she looked better without a corset . There is no person free of some form of vanity and even Bara was not exempt . ’ Great was Bara s delight that E lska had come for a

Visit . She led her everywhere over the place, showing

o o ff her garden , the orchard , the field , and taking her ut to the meadow to her father , who could not admire k E ls a enough , and wonder at how she had grown . In short they visited every spot where three years ago they had romped together . Then they sat down in hi the orchard . Bara brought a dish of cream in w ch

o n black bread was crumbled , set it the grass and with El§ka ate it just as in former days . While they

ate , Bara related things about her black cow , about ‘’ if o s ek . Lisaj , and finally the conversation drifted to J “

s ? E lska. Does Mr . Vlcek still dislike you asked ’ i Yes , indeed ! When I m around it is l ke salt in

her eyes . When she knows nothing more slanderous f m to say o me she criticizes y eyes , saying that I look ” like a tadpole . “ ” How wicked of her ! Blska exclaimed angrily .

Yes , truly , for I have never injured her in any way .

The other day , though , I got angry about it . I sent her a mirror so that she might first look at her own

’ ” beauty before she found fault with others looks . “ E lska. You did just the right thing , laughed But why does she hate you so ?” BEWITCHED BARA 18 1

’ o n Oh , she s a hard e . She stings everyone with her basilisk eye , not only me . Perhaps she dislikes me because I am in better standing with your people than is Jo sife k and because Jo sife k likes me . The poor fellow gets a beating every time his mother learns that he has been to see me . I always tell him not to

no t come here , but he comes anyway , and I am to blame . Blsk a was silent , but after a pause asked , And do ? ” you like Jo sife k “ ’ Why shouldn t I like him ? Everybody picks o n him jus t as they do o n me . Poor little fellow ! He

’ ” can t defend himself and I feel sorry for him . “

? . Why , is he still the same as he used to be Mrs Vl ” eek told me he had grown remarkably .

“ ’ i s as L sa . Yes , as high j garters , smiled Bara But “ at once she added compassionately , How can he grow when his mother gives him more thumps o n the ” b ac k than she puts biscuits in his stomach ? “ ’ a ll ? his so n And what does Vlcek s y to a that It s , ” too ! “

o f o ne . Vlcek and Mrs . Vlcek are stripe They are angry because Jo sifek does not want to become a

o f priest . In the name the Lord , how can he help it that he doesn ’ t like it any more ? Unwilling service s urely could not be pleasing to G o d . “ l ” § Tru y , it could not be , El ka confirmed . i A little wh le longer the girls talked , and then Bara § acco mpanied El ka home . From that time they visited 182 CZECHOSLOVAK STORIES

n each other regularly as before , although they o l in longer played with do ls the space over the oven . But the friendship o f the two girls did not suit the neighbor women . They began to gossip that it was

’ o dd that El§ka should associate with the shepherd s

she daughter , that it was not fitting for her , that should rather seek the society o f the daughters o f the mayor, the justice and others . Purposely , they said these thin gs Openly so that they would be carried to Miss

’

in k Bl Pe inka. Pe p a s ears . The talk vexed iss p It Bl was not wise to irritate the neighbor women , yet iss P epinka did not like to send E lska among the local young people . Somehow it did not seem proper to invite the village girls to the parsonage when El§ ka e f l lsk did not h rsel seek them . She ta ked to E a about it , and the latter briefly decided that she would some times go to visit the village girls , but that Bara would

o f remain the dearest friend her choice .

Pe inka i Miss p did not oppose this plan , for she l ked

Bara herself for many reasons . She thought that Bara would hardly be likely to marry and that

o n l Blska later she wou d become her right hand , after

Bl Pe inka fo r l ka married . iss p had a suitor B s up her

ne no t sleeve , so to speak , but no o knew o f it , even the priest . This suitor was the manager or steward on a

Pe inka nearby noble estate , who was pleasing to Miss p , and it seemed to her that it would be a very con

’ v enient E l k s arrangement for s a futur e . The manorial

r fields bordered o n the parish lands and the stewa d ,

184 CZECHOSLOVAK STORIE S

“ ’ll the girl . I cast the wreath at random to see if it

s . t float after yours I only wish hat when you marry , ” Elska , I could go with yo u . E lska became silent as a blush overspread her cheeks .

After a pause she said , extending her hand to Bara “ Here is my hand o n it that we shall stay together ; ” o u if y do not marry , I shall never marry , she added with a deep sigh . “ E lska? What are you saying, Very few people

f r o . love me , but everyone cares you You will be rich ; i I am poor . You are beaut ful and I am homely . You are well educated and I am a simple , stupid girl i ? and I am to th nk of a husband , and you not Aun tie has always told me that it all depends o n

. o ne taste To a carnation is most becoming , to another a rose , to a third a violet . Every flower finds f its own admirer , each has its own kind o beauty . Do not underrate your self nor overvalue me ; we are ’ o n f equals . Aren t y u truly goi g to think of any o the ’ f ” boys , o r haven t you thought o any as yet? N ” l ’ o , no , Bara shook her head , smi ingly . I don t

n o f - thi k any o f them , and when they come a courting

I make short work o f them . Why should I spoil my ” o r ? thoughts , bind up my golden freedom “ But if one of them loved yo u very much and you him ’ ’ ?” , then you d let yourself be bound , wouldn t you B asked lska. “ Blsk ’ ? Why , a, don t you know how it goes First , his parents would bargain with my father and haggle BEWITCHED BARA 185

about how much he would give me before their son

’ would dare to marry me . My dowry isn t big enough

an to satisfy y parents I know , and I have no desire to be permitted to enter a household as a gracious

act of favor . I would rather tie a millstone around

’ my neck and jump into the river . If I d voluntarily ’ l put a load on myself , I d have to cal myself a fool . ’ If they abuse me now , they d revile me doubly after

wards . ‘ And no m am atter what I . b o u m b I have a uq et at y elt ,

fi i she n shed , quoting the popular song as she placed at her waist a nosegay made of the surplus flowers

from the wreath . Then pointing to the beams o f the “ ” to rising sun she cried , We have no time spare ! Blska quickly finished weaving her wreath and both girls hastened to the nearby bridge which led over the

river to the meadow . In the center of the bridge , they paused .

“ ’ ” e r ! Bl k in L t s th ow them together said s a, lift g the wreath high above her head . “ All ! ! ” right Ready cried Bara , tossing the wreath

o t . u over the water But her wreath , cast by a strong

rm di a , d not reach the water , but remained hanging on

w Fo r a willo . an instant Bara stood in startled silence ,

s he then she wept . Finally tossed her head resolutely , “ saying : Well , let it hang there . The flowers look ” pretty up on that willow .

Blska d , however , never remove her eyes from her 186 CZECHOSLOVAK STORIES

i n wreath , which , dropped by her trembl ng fi gers , i wh rled a moment in one place in the river , then a

o n wave seized it , pushed it to a second , and that o ne i to a th rd , and then carried it further and further down stream till it had vanished from the sight o f the two girls . Blska l , with clasped hands o n the rai ing of the bridge , gazed with flaming eye and chee k after the a wreath now carried by a strong current . B ra , lean i ing aga nst the rail , also looked silently after it .

And your wreath was caught here . See , you will ” marry someone right here ! exclaimed BIEka tur ning to

Bara . “ i ’ Accord ng to that , it looks as if we weren t to be

. a an together , after all I am to st y here d you are to ’ i . i go far away from us But I don t bel eve n it . Man plans but God decrees . “ E ls' k l Of course , a said in a voice ha f sad , and dropped her eyes with a sigh to the stream below . “ ’ B ka So , then , ls , you d like to go far away from us ?

’ ” i ? - Don t you l ke it here asked Bara , and her dark blue ’ E lska s eyes gazed into face searchingly . “ hi i f? ” Why , what are yo u t nk ng o whispered E lska, “ not raising her eyes I like it here , but But out there far away is someone for whom you ’ t — ’ are yearning , whom you d like to go o isn t that so , ” lska? n E concluded Bara , and laying her brown hand o the girl ’s white shoulder she looked with a smile into her face .

CZECHOSLOVAK STORIES

o ne She saw him in Prague . He is the who cured ” Auntie . “ Y o That doctor? I see . u mentioned several times to me what a good man he was . But why ’ ” doesn t Bl iss Pepinka like him ? “ ’ I don t know . She just scolds about him and says

’ ” a u E lska tear he s dist stef l to her , related almost q y “ ? Why , is he displeasing ”

! . Oh , Bara sighed the girl A man as handsome ” as he is cannot be found in the whole countryside ! “ Perhaps he isn ’ t rich ? ”

’ ? n o f ? Rich That I don t k ow . But what it What do riches amount to ?

’ That s true , but your auntie will want you to i marry a wealthy man who w ll provide well for you . “ ’ ’ No , no , Bara . I won t marry anyone else . I d rather die !” “ l ’ if Wel , it won t be as bad as that . And even he

’ Pe ink a isn t rich , Miss p and your uncle will listen to — ” reason when you tell them that yo u love him . “ ’ I don t dare tell them . My Prague aun t forbade

’ me to tell them , but she promised us that she d take care for o ur happiness even if Auntie Pepinka should oppose it . A week ago he wrote me that next month ’ ” we d meet again . “ You write to each other ? ’ — ’ It s this way my Prague auntie can t write and ’ ’ - — — is near sighted . Hynek that s his name it s a ’ ? ” pretty name , isn t it BEWITCHED BAR A 189

’ b Strange , I ve never efore heard such a name , said Bara ; and Blska continued “ f r Hynek offered to write letters o her to me . She

’ ul d wo n t write oftener than once a year , but he urges

her to always send some message . Uncle has bee n

much surprised that Auntie writes so often . “ ho w b And a out it , when your uncle reads the ” letters ? “ Oh , my dear , we have that part all planned out . We write in suc h a way that no one can understand ” exc epting we alone .

“ ’ ac After all , it s a fine thing when a person is

’ complished . I d never be able to do it .

“ ’

Blska . Oh , you d learn that easily enough , said

They had just reached the cottage , and she took both f ’ i o Bara s hands and , look ng with clear eyes into

' “ ’ she : Bara s face , said You can t even believe how

no w much better and freer I feel , as if a stone had fallen from my heart . Now I can talk to you about ” she him . But , added with a confidential tone in her “ ? ” voice , you , Bara , have you nothing to tell me “

? . I stammered Bara, and her large eyes dropped I — nothing ! ” Just a little word ? ” h lska ! B n . Not ing , , nothi g Mere dreams ” Tell them to me , then !

s i Some other time ! Bara shook her head , l pped k ’ i her hands o ut of E ls a s grasp and , po nting to the

a stable and the doghouse , concluded , Look , Lis j is 190 CZECHOSLOVAK STORIES

’ o t il l chafi ng to be u and Blackie w l hang herse f . It s And time to let them o ut . your cows are already in i i the herd ; I hear the r bells . In a m nute father will

‘' Blska . s drive them past Go past the garden , , o that ’ the peasant women wouldn t see yo u and gossip about you ! ” “ ’ Oh , let them talk . I m doing nothing wrong . But

’ ’ I ll mind yo u . I m going , but just as soon as possible l E lska we must tel each other more , said as she dis appeared between the hedges .

Two rumors were being carried about the village .

On every estate , in every cottage nothing else was talked o f than the ghost in the parish forest and the

i o f E lska approach ng marriage Maid and the steward . So she forgot her first love thus early ? ” the reader k E ls a. will think . Do not wrong She had not proved disloyal in even a thought and had determined to un dergo anything before she would become the stew

’ i n o t ard s w fe . Even if she were already betrothed , the steward was by no means the sort o f man with whom she coul d have fallen in love . f He was o a short figure , as if he had been baked and set up o n two short legs . His cheeks were as red as peonies , as was his nose also . On his head i was a roun d bald spot wh ch , however , he sought to cover with the red hair which still remained around i h s ears and neck . His eyes were surrounded by

192 CZECHOSLOVAK STORIES

’ customed to him . She told her brother , who didn t w a ant to hear of the plan , that such man would value his n and wife more than could some you g fop , that

' he would carry o ut every wish of E lska s who would be a lady , well provided for and , should he die , there would be no worries about the future . “ a And if my brother should die , she re soned in her

“ ’ ” mind further , I ll have a place to go .

Pe inka In short , Miss p knew how to manage cleverly

an so that the steward visited the parish often , d finally even the priest made no further objection . The good pastor go t accustomed to him and missed the steward when he did no t come for supper and he had only Miss P e pinka and the sexton o r the schoolmaster to play

’ l ka r P i k cards with . B s at fi st had no idea of ep n a s

o f plan , and listened to praises his goodness and wealth with about as much concern as she paid to his awkward enough courting . But the steward became more insistent , and her aunt more Open in her designs l B ska . until comprehended fully It amused her , but

was when her aunt made it clear that the matter serious , reprimanding her severely , and when the priest coun ll se e d her to accept the steward , she began to be gloomy , to avoid the steward and to hasten with her bur dens to Bara . ’ Bara learned Miss Pepinka s plan from the lady

P inka i herself, for ep wished her to a d in persuading l E ska. she But struck the wrong note there , for even ’ if Bara had no t known o f E lska s love she would not BEWITCHED BARA 193

he have tried to influenc e her . She herself esteemed t s teward no more than the dust in her eyes and would not have accepted him even if he had offered her the

entire noble estate . She said neither yes nor no to l Pe inka E ska . Miss p , but conspired secretly with

’ - i E lska s She herself carried to the town post off ce.

’ letter detailing everything fully to her Prague aun t .

’ From the time that E lska learned of the steward s intent he did not have a pleasant word or glance from

‘ No o ne - a her . would have said that the kind he rted and always amiable Blska could speak sharply o r

frown . Whenever he approached the parish he heard

o r in the village square from some hedge abusive songs , as if composed and sung for him especially . He tol e rate d it all , however , except once when he met Bara and she b egan suddenly to sing

“ An o o f m n n y s rt a iki , On spindly legs so thin c o o i Would like to h se our prettiest g rl . s in I t surely is a .

He nearly burst with bristling anger , and his nose crim

’ n so e d like a turkey gobbler s when it sees red . But what was the use ? The steward had already swal lowed all sorts of shaming and mockery— s o he gulped down the teasing of the girls , thinking to himself ,

Just wait , my girl , until I have you and your money then I ’ ll show them all what ’ s what ! ” But the steward

’ forgot that even in S tupidv ille they don t hang a thief until they catch him . 194 CZE CHOSLOVAK STORIES

One morning it was told around through the village that a ghost had been seen . A woman in white had gone from the parish forest to the village , through the square , over the meadows and somewhere near the

x graveyard had mysteriously disappeared . The se

’ o f she ton s wife fell sick fright , for , said , the ghost

o n had rapped her window , and when the sexton n stepped to the window , not k owing who it was , he beheld a white specter surmounted by a skull and it made a wry face at him , while the figure shook its

Vlée k l finger threateningly . It was a wonder himse f

’ no ill did t become as a result , but the sexton s wife would have it that death had given her warning that in a year and a day she must die . The night watchman also took his oath that it was a ghost and that it came out of the parish wood . People began to dig up past history , if perhaps someone had i not hanged h mself there , but when they could not think up any such incident they said that once upon a time someone buried a treasure somewhere and that his spirit had no peace and was seeking someone to free it . All sorts of conjectures were made and the talk was only o f the specter . “ ’ ” Blska I don t believe it , said Bara to when she came to her that same evening to the meadow near the wood where Jacob was pasturing the herd .

“ ’ ’ o r u Whether it s true not , I m gratef l to the ghost , for it has rid me for several days o f a much -d isliked

. w guest To be sure , he rote to uncle that they are

196 CZECHOSLOVAK STORIES

o n : down beside Bara the grass , said It was only a hi passing thought . I believe in m as I do in Go d !

Oh , if I were only that little bird and could fly to him ” and tell him all that grieves me ! d To Bara at once occurre the song , If I were a ! ” nightingale and she began to sing , but it did not

r o f s go me rily , for in the middle the song he paused

- e . suddenly , as if t rror stricken Her cheeks , too , became red . “ What frightened you ? Why did yo u stop sing ” ? E lska a ing asked , but B ra did not answer , only

o ff n gazed i to the forest . “ ” ! Blska n Bara , Bara shook her fi ger reproach “ hi n fully . You are ding somethi g from me and I

’ ’ haven t a secret thought before you . That isn t nice of you . “ ’ ’ n I don t k ow myself what I d say , replied Bara . Why did you start just now ? You are never afraid ? ” o f anything Who was that in the forest? “ n A hu tsman , perhaps , Bara said evasively .

’ You know very well who it was . Your fright wasn t ” was ? over nothing . Maybe it the ghost yo u saw

“ ’ ! u o f No , no I wo ldn t be afraid that , laughed

Bara heartily , and wished to change the subject , but El§ka persisted in unreeling the same thread until finally she asked directly if Bara would marry Jo sifek u in case he did not become a priest . Bara b rst into even louder laughter than before ‘ ” ’ Go she i d save me ! cried . The sexton s w fe B E WITCHED BARA ” 197

Jo sffe k would cook up a snake for me the first day .

’ is a good boy , but he doesn t fit among us . He is

’ neither for the herd nor the plow , and it wouldn t be

- proper to put him at the spinning wheel . Still I might keep him behind a frame and under glass ” for exhibition .

E lska , too , had to laugh at her notion , but after a “ n while she asked Bara very earnestly , The there is ” truly no o ne whom you are fond of ? ”

l§ ! . Listen , E ka Bara said , after short deliberation Last fall it happened often that alone with Li§aj

I took the herd o ut. Father had a sore foot and could

’ a not stand up . One fternoon the mayor s cow ,

’ Plav ka Milo st s Bfe z ina , and cow , , got into a fight and began to gore each other with their horns . One

’ mus t never let them get into a rage o r they d dig out

’ to each other s horns . So I seized a pail and ran the river for some water to throw o n their heads . Before I returned to the herd some huntsman approached from

s the wood and , seeing the cows with their locked horn , tried to drive them apart . “ ” “I ’ll Away Go away ! I shrieked at him.

’ ’ separate them myself . Don t let the bull see you , he s ” w ! n icked The huntsman turned arou d , but in that

ta o f . ins nt the bull , also , had caught sight him Luckily , the cows ran off in different directions when I splashed the water over them o r it would have been hard for the w huntsman to escape . It as all I could do to seize the

’ b l an a u l , restrain d calm him , for even father c n t hold 198 CZECHOSLOVAK STORIES

him , though he usually obeys me when I threaten him . The huntsman hid himself in the wood behind a tree l and watched . When the herd was again peaceful y at pasture he appeared at the edge o f the forest and asked me whose daughter I was . I told him . He looked at

his fo r me strangely , doffed cap , thanked me my pro tec tio n and went away into the forest . After that I s aw him many times , but I never spoke with him again except to greet him when he passed near by . He used to stand on the edge of the wood o r walk along the ’ w river s bank, even coming into the village , all that in ’ ter and spring . On St . John s day early in the morn ing after yo u left I was helping father drive o ut the cows when I saw him coming over the meadow to the bridge . He paused where you had stood , looked w around , then stepped do n from the bridge into the bushes near the bank . There I distinctly saw him take down my wreath which had remained hanging o n

w i his the illow and h de it under coat . Just a few moments ago I saw him down there near the wood .

Why I always have a sudden fright whenever I see him, ’ n I don t k ow . “ And yo u truly have never talked with him? n Not a word more than at that first meeti g , Bara declared .

“ ’ him o l ka But you like , don t y u? E s questioned further . “ n Yes, as I do every good man who has wronged o one .

200 CZECHOSLOVAK STORIES to i the tales , for every th rd night precisely from eleven “ ” m o to twelve it haunted , according to the testi ony f

its reputable people . It shook fist at many a person ’ wi and a death s head looked into numerous ndows . The people were so terrified that only the boldest men ven

e tur d outside their o wn thresholds at night . They began repenting their sins and gave generously fo r

o f prayers for souls in purgatory . In fact fear death drove them all to do penance . To be sure , the priest i preached against superstition and false bel efs, but it was all useless .

n so The steward , though he would o t own to it , was

no t frightened that he visibly paled , and if it had been for his great greed to possess a beautiful bride and her

no t rich dowry , the parsonage would have seen him

a . e gain He want d , therefore , to have certainty as sur ed as soon as possible . For that reason he had come to a definite un derstanding with Miss Pe pinka and the priest and decided to consult even E lska so that the wedding could be celebrated immediately after harvest

time . ’ Miss Pepinka announced to Elska the steward s impending visit the next day and urged her to be E lsk sensible and listen to reason . a wept and begged

her aunt not to force her to marry such a scarecrow ,

but Pepinka became very angry with her . Even her

his uncle , although he did not rebuke her as did sister , nevertheless reproved her for ingratitude and unreason — ableness . No letter came from Prague and not a ” BEWITCHED BARA 201

l k E s a . word of any ne ws . knew not what to do She

consulted Bara , who encouraged her to be brave and

further incensed her against the steward , but all this

was no real help to her . The next day came —the day when the ghost did not — haunt and the steward arrived all dressed up in

in finery to do his courting . Miss Pep ka cooked and baked from earliest dawning in order the better to

honor the guest . Even wine came to the table to

celebrate the glorious day . Bara was also at the parish and only on her persuasion was Blska able to stand o n her feet at all , for the whole affair made her terribly ill .

l E lska When he actual y pressed his demands, told him to come back a week later for her final word . She hoped against hope that in the meantime some word would come from Prague . The steward was not pleased with her evasive answer nor the cold demeanor

- - o f his b e . bride to , for he saw something was not right But there was nothing to do but keep still and trust

Pe inka. in his protectress , Miss p Despite his chagrin , the food and drinks tasted excellently and his cheeks

- fairly burned . That day he wore a blue frock coat so ll the contrast was a the more marked . W hen evening approached , the steward wished to w go home , but the priest did not ish to let him go yet . An hour later when he again spoke o f going the “ : a l e priest said Just st y a little longer . V e k will ’ ac company you , and also the hostler . It s poss ible t t o hat some sor of rabble d es infest our forest . 202 CZECHOSLOVAK STORIES

The steward acted as if some one had dashed ice water over him . He no longer had any appetite and

se e would have preferred to himself at home in bed . The only thing that held him was the promise of having an escort . Vlcek had a bit too much in his head and the stableman , too , had tippled , thinking to himself, “ ’ ” It doesn t happen every day , and neither cared to go w as . n until it after ten Then , at last , they set out o the journey . The steward , sobered by fear , observed that both his escorts were intoxicated . They ree led

o ne along the road , zigzagging here and the other there . There was no speech to be had with them and the steward was in mortal anxiety , although he buoyed himself up wi th the h0 pe that this was not the regular night for the specter to appear . — Al as ! how he had looked forward to that day for which he had had everything well figured out and now everything was botched . The night was clear enough ; one could see from the village to the forest . The travellers were quite near l i it when sudden y there issued forth a wh te figure , appearing to them immensely tall and came directly

e r towards them . The st ward sh ieked and rolled to the ground like a log . The sexton , sobered in a twinkling ,

n a started o a run . Only the hostler remained st nding

r t like a pillar, but when the figu e with skele on white

i nn his hand unve led its head , showing a gri ing skull , hair stood o n end and he fell to his knees down beside

. o no the steward The figure , however , to k notice

204 CZECHOSLOVAK STORIES

s rai ed the bundle gingerly , and carried it thus to the

ll l - vi age . On their return they picked up the ha f dead ste ward whom the hostler had to almost carry all the way back . They went directly to the parsonage . The priest was no t yet asleep and cheerfully Opened

i . the door . They there exam ned what they had found All Of them stood transfixed as if they had been dropped l from the clouds . Two white sheets and a brown woo len skirt with a red border . They recognized the skirt . “ ” That be longs to bewitched Bara ! they all cried . ” Damnable ! some of them cursed . ” A perfect dragon ! swore others . But the most furious were the sexton and the steward , both going almost mad with rage . The hostler

n was the only o e who laughed . “ ’ I d sooner have guessed it was real Death stalk

v ing around as a ghost than Bara . She is a de ilish woman ! ”

Miss Pepinka just then burst into the company . The noise and confusion had attracted her from her ro om where she had already betaken herself to bed . l She was wrapped in a shawl , on her head a yel ow quilted nightcap . She always had to have something yellow on . She came with a lamp in o ne hand and an “ ’ immense bundle Of keys in the other For Heaven s ” sake, people , what has happened ? she cried , wholly i terr fied . From several pairs of lips she heard the remarkable

occurrence . BEWITCHED BARA 205

9 , Oh , the godless, ungrateful girl exclaimed Pe pinka

“ ’ in shocked amazement . Just wait ! She ll catch it from me ! I ’ ll read the gospel to her properly ! Where ? ” have you got her she demanded . “ ? Who knows where she is She disappeared in the middle of the bridge , just as if the earth had opened and ” swallowed her . “ ? Did she jump in the river questioned the priest . We heard no splash nor did we see anyone in the

is water . But then , reverend father , that no trick for such a bewitched being ! She can make herself in visible and is as much at home in fire as in water , up ” s in the air a on earth , everywhere the same ! asserted o ne o f the neighbors . “ ’ ” s a Don t believe such non ensical t les , my people ! the priest rebuked . “ Bara is a venturesome girl and has been carrying o n h fo r misc ief, but that is all , and that she must be ” - reprimanded . She must come to me to morrow . “ ” Severely reprimanded , much respected sir ! ex w claimed the steward , trembling ith anger combined “ with the terror which had shaken his bones . Very severely . It is a punishable offense to make a fool of ” the entire community .

“ ’ sir Oh , it wasn t as bad as that , precious , inter “ r te d up the peasants . It was only the women who ” were frightened . “ My poor wife will have such a sick spell from the ” whole affair ! It is unforgivable godlessness ! Vléc k 06 CZECHOSLOVAK STORIES

n complained . Like the peasa ts , he did not mention

o wn his fright . Miss Pepinka was so rejoiced at the import of

’ Vléek s spee ch that she could have forgiven Bara o n

: the spot . But the hostler incensed her anew by saying “ ? l Why should I deny it I was real y scared , though

’ I m not usually afraid o f anything . We were all o f us

Mr . frightened . You , Sexto n , could hardly crawl home , and . the honorable Mr . Steward here was so

i his - terr fied he dropped to knees like an over ripe pear . When she grinned her teeth at me I was sure it was — ’ Death itself and it s no wonder , for I was three sheets

i . r in the w nd I expected her to clutch me by the th oat , but instead she grabbed the steward here , lifted him up

‘ his and screeched into ears , If you ever dare show your self again at the parsonage as a sui tor you sign your o wn death The hostler wanted to demonstrate exactly how

Bara seized the steward , but the latter dodged his grasp , his face changing from red to purple . But

P e inka Miss p was terribly offended , although the peasants fully forgave Bara for putting them to the blush when they learned what she did to the steward . ll All further procedure was postponed ti morning .

The steward remained at the parsonage overnight , but by earliest dawn he was well o n his way beyond the boundaries . When in the morning El§ka heard what Bara had ventured to do for her sake she begged her uncle and

208 CZECHOSLOVAK STORIES

to N0 , but Bara might want revenge herself . ! ” Leave my daughter alone cried Jacob angrily . ’ c i li If you want my servi es , I m w l ng to give them . ’ l a l . If not , it s right , too The world is wide . God won ’ t forsake us ! ” “ ’ Well , you see , it wouldn t do to kee p you , under the ” circumstances . “ ’ Then put into your herdsman s hut whomsoever ” o G o ! you please , and may y u be here with d Jacob

l his had never ta ked so much at once in all life , no r had he ever been as angry as at that moment . He

no t . went home at once . Bara was there He went l i to untie Lisaj . The cow and bu l wh ch he had in charge were left to moo and be llow while he went to the parsonage .

Bara was standing before the priest . “ ” Did you parade around as a ghost? the priest catechized her . “ ” sir ! s Yes , reverend Bara answered dauntle sly . And why ? ”

was I knew the steward a coward . I wanted to

’ so frighten him Off he wouldn t torture Miss E lska. ’ She can t bear him and would die if she had to marry ” him . “ Remember its no t your business to extinguish a

’

n o . fire that isn t burni g y u Even without you , it would have been settled . How were yo u able to vanish so suddenly from the bridge? ” “ i o ff e Very eas ly , reverend sir . I cast the she ts and BEWITCHED BARA 209

dress , jumped into the river and swam under water a ’ ” o ne se e short distance . That s why no could me . “ You swam under water ? ” The priest struck his hands together amazedly What a girl you are ! ” too ! ? And at night , Who taught you

’ Bara was amazed at the priest s surprise . h Why , reverend sir , my father instructed me o w I must move when in the water , and the rest I learned

’ myself . That s no trick . I know every stone in the ? ” river . Why should I be afraid

The priest gave long - drawn -o ut admonitions to Bara and then sent her to the servants ’ hall to await judg ment . He took consultation with the mayor , alder men and the schoolmaster , and they decided that since Bara had caused suc h a general scandal and had been so audacious she must be publicly chastised . As a punishment they condemn ed her to remain shut up for one whole night in the vaul t at the cemetery . It seemed to all a terrible punishment , but since she had been so bold and unabashed , let her learn , they said , what real terror is by a night spent among dead men ’ s bones . Miss Pepinka was not at all pleased with the sen E l ka te nce . s was utterly shocked and every woman in the village shuddered with horror over the penalty

’ s imposed . Even the sexton s wife wa willing to for give Bara , and thought she would be sufficiently pun is hed by the simple publication of the fact that judg

h e o n ment ad b en passed her . 210 CZECHOSLOVAK STORIES

Bara, alone , remained unmoved . It worried her far

more that the community had dismissed her father , l for she had a ready heard what had happened to him . When the priest told her where she was to spend the

she succeeding night , listened to all quietly , then

“ ’ as kissed his hand , saying , As far that s concerned , it makes little difl erenc e if I sleep in the charm !

n . house o r some other place . I can sleep even o a stone

’ But it s harder for father . What will become of him , now that they ’ ve taken his position away from him ? ’ w ’ Father can t live ithout his flocks and herds , for he s i been used to them all his life . He w ll die ! Arrange ” sir it somehow, reverend ! Everyone marvelled at Bara ’ s unsubdued spirit and wi refused to believe other se than that , after all , it was some sort o f supernatural power that made Bara different from other people . “ o f Never mind , her crest will fall by night , many them thought . But they were mistaken . Bara was dejected only until she learned that the peasants had

his i returned to Jacob work as public herdsman , wh ch the priest had arranged for by giving him his own herd to pasture . f A ter dinner , when the priest was napping and Miss

Pe inka E lska p was also dozing a little , stole out from the room and ran down to Bara . Her eyes were red

she with weeping and was shaking with fear . Vio

’ lently she thr ew her arms around Bara s neck and fell to sobbing anew .

212 CZECHOSLOVAK STORIES

o u upon she tossed her head defiantly , saying , Since y

v were pleased to judge me deser ing of punishment , I ” will serve out my se ntence ! And she went with the

men .

o t o f f The people ran u the houses , many o them feel

for e o f ing sorry her , but Bara took no notic Of any them

and walked merrily towards the graveyard , which was situated near the heel Of the forest not far from the

community pasture . Her two escorts Opened the door o f the death chamber where human bones and funeral biers were “ n G o kept and , after expressi g the wish , May d protect ” yo u ! they went home . From the vault a little window not much bigger

’ than o ne s hand looked o ut o n the valley and the f forest . Bara stationed hersel beside the window and

looked out for a long , long time . Sad , indeed , must

flitted have been the thoughts that through her mind , fo r tear after tear fell from her beautiful eyes and ran

down her brown cheeks .

i ne The moon rose h gher and higher , o light after

n a other in the village was extinguished , and more and

more quiet it grew all around her . Over the graves fell the shadows of the tall pines standing near the wall nl and above the valley a light mist gathered . O y the barking o r weird howling o f dogs disturbed the stillness

o f the night .

t o f e Bara looked o u upon the grave her mother , r l ca led her lonely childhood , the dislike and scorn of BEWITCHED BARA 213

o f l f r r her by the people the vi lage , and o the fi st time she felt the weight Of it all and for the first time the “ thought came to her, Oh , mother , would that I could be lying there beside you ! One thought gave birth to another , vision succeeded vision . In spirit she em E lska braced the beautiful , and on the forest path her

Of imagination portrayed as by magic the figure a tall ,

- broad shouldered huntsman , with a face expressing earnestness , energy and strength .

n she u But fi ally t rned away from the window, shook her head silently and , covering her face with her hands , sank with a deep sigh to the ground , weeping and praying . Her deep sorrow allayed somewhat , she

u rose from the gro nd , intending to lie down on the funeral bier , when suddenly near the window a dog “ barked and a deep voice asked , Bara , are you sleep ? ” ing It was Jacob and Lisaj .

“ ’ I m not sleeping , father , but I soon shall be . Why ? ’ did you come I m not afraid .

All t . right hen , girl , sleep I will sleep out here

’ ” a it s a warm night . And her father lay down bene th

w . the window , ith Lisaj beside him

They slept well until morning . In the morning when the first streaks Of dawn began

’ to show , a man dressed in huntsman s costume came

se e through the forest . Jacob Often used to him going through the forest or the valley . “ ? What are you doing here , Jacob the huntsman asked him as he drew nea r . 214 CZECHOSLOVAK STORIES

Well , sir , they locked my daughter in here over

’ night and so I couldn t stand it to stay at home . “ ” Bara ? What has happened ? the hun ts man asked in amazement .

Jacob related all briefly . The huntsman uttered an

i un his oath , and then jerk ng the g from shoulder , hung

o n s ale l it a tree and nimbly e d the cemetery wal . With a swing o f his powerful right arm he forced Open

o f - e the door the charnel house and stood b fore Bara , n whom the noise had awakened . Seei g the huntsman before her , she was under the impression that she was ll sti dreaming , but hearing his voice , she wondered

' how he had c o me there and could not in her embarrass ment even thank him for his greeting .

“ ’ Don t be angry , Bara , because I have burst in here

. s w this way I was going past , a your father and heard from him what had occurred to place you here , and it made me furious . Come away at once from these i ! ” dead th ngs the huntsman urged , taking Bara by the hand . “ l a Not yet , sir . I shal st y here until they come for me . They would say that I ran away . I really

’ wasn t so uncomfortable here , Bara demurred lightly , withdrawing her hand from the grasp Of the huntsman . “ Then I shall call your father and we shall both stay ” ll here , said the huntsman and shouted over the wa to

Jacob .

SO . Jacob , too , climbed over the stone enclosure Together they entered in to the death - chamber to join

216 CZECHOSLOVAK STORIES

r happy . I have never found anywhe e a woman I would want for a wife until I saw you . Bara , I am

o no t a man o f long speeches . I have cared for y u ’ from the moment I first saw yo u . I ve learned to

oo a know you well , t , even though we did not t lk to each other , and that I have said nothing before this is because I did not dare presume to ask your consent .

if o an No w you know all . Tell me you think y u c — care fo r me and if you want to be my wife . In

Vestec you cann ot remain after this . So if you care

hi o o u for me , take what t ngs y u wish with y and come at once with your father to me up there to our home ” in the forest where people will love you .

a n r Bara stood like a st tue , not moving a muscle , o o c uld she utter a single word . The huntsman did not i know how to interpret this but , w shing to learn the truth , even if it should prove bitter for him , he again asked Bara if she would become his wife . Then the “ girl burst into tears and cried out : Dear Go d ! Is it ” really true that you love me? The hun tsman assured

his i hi her with l ps and the warm clasp of s hand , and

n did - o ly then she avow her long cherished love for him . i t Hav ng come to a happy unders anding , they emerged “ and knelt before Jacob . The huntsman said : Y o u

o u know me , father , and y know that for a long time now I have been amply able to support a wife . But l none pleased unti I saw your daughter . I fell in love with her that very first time . She and I have just

come to an agreement , and we want your blessing . BEWITCHED BARA 217

' i too Even though we are in a cemetery , th s , , is God s — ” domain God Himself is everywhere !

- -o ut Jacob did not ask any long drawn questions , only assuring himself that Bara herself was contented . He gave them his blessing and then the three made further plans and arrangements . H o w astonished the sexton was when , after ringing

i e f the morn ng b ll for early prayers , he came o r Bara and found her in the company of her father and her accepted suitor , as the huntsman immediately an no unc e d himself to be . There was even greater amazement at the parsonage and in the entire village . The people had thought

o Bara would be tamed down , the L rd only knows how

she b eh - she much , and how humble would and now was returning as the betrothed Of such a splendid man . They could not even believe it to be possible

’ that bewitched Bara could win anyone s love— but it had come to pass .

She has luck from hell itself , the girls in the village told each other .

‘' But sincere and great was the rejoicing of Blska when

Bara brought her lover to her friend . “ See , God has repaid the service that you re ndered me and for which yo u suffered so much . I knew that you would fi nd a man who would truly love you . Y o u

— fo r v l must love her deeply she deser es it most ful y , the good girl said , turning to the huntsman and ex

a . tending her hand , which he clasped e rnestly 218 CZECHOSLOVAK STORIE S

The huntsman wished very much to take Bara with him i at once , but th ngs did not move as rapidly as that , as Miss Pepinka would not consent to let Bara go ll before the formal wedding . Better to have a three publications o f the banns o f marriage at once when the bridegroom is impatient . Jacob , too , could not at

’ once tear himself from the herdsman s cottage . l k Bara grieved most deeply about B s a. But the next day a letter arrived from Prague for the priest , in which the aunt stated that she would bequeath all her wealth to her niece o n the single condition that she marry the young doctor who had cured her (the aunt) and that the priest should ask E lska to decide yes o r no o n the matter . When also a special letter was enclosed for Blska full o f the most beautiful hopes for fi l an early meeting , then Bara had no more unful led

ir des es . Before the wedding all the people Of the village b e

’ came reconciled with Bara . Even the sexton s wife wished her happiness and handed her a letter from

‘' Jo sifek . Blska read it to Bara and then only did the

Blska Jo sife k latter learn what had long known , that

’ loved her and only o n Bara s account had not wanted to become a priest . But since she was to marry

’ another he would now accede to his parents wishes and enter the priesthood . A week later Bl iss Pepinka prepared a fine wedding

’ for Bara . The huntsman s dear Old mother came also to take away with her the daughter to whose coming

ALOIS JIRASEK

923 185 1 (Born August , , in Hronov . )

ALOI S JIRASEK was born o f a family o f small farmers

a his and weavers o f modest me ns . In native district

o f near Nachod , the bloodiest scenes the Prussian war o f 1866 took place and o n young Jirasek that period

’ o f his country s history left an ineffaceable effect .

i his The wars in wh ch people fell , from earliest times to his o wn day , whether in a cause they themselves upheld o r to gain the selfi sh ends o f the monarch

o f who controlled the man power the nation , form the basis o f most o f his elaborate historical novels as well as o f many Of his shorter tales . l While an instructor in the col ege at Litomysl ,

where he remained some eighteen years , he gathered further material for novels whose backgroun d shows his intimate knowledge Of the history and traditions o f

that locality rich in the lore he sought . His student

“ ” ’ novels Filo so fska Historie (A Philosopher s Sto ry) “ ”

. Re i a o n t . tt v which he la er based his drama M D go , together with all the stories included in his “ Mélo

méstské Historie (Small Town Stories) , his thr ee “ ” part novel F . L . Vek concerned with the torchbearers

o f a literary , linguistic and politic l progress , his drama 221 “ 2 CZECHOSLOVAK STORIES

Vo jnarka based on the later religious struggle o f l the Czechs , the sharp y cut figures in his play o f ” Otec all o we their origin to the influence of the

Litomysl district . Jirasek exc els as a novelist in using the times of John Huss and the Hussite Wars as a backgroun d and in merging himself deep in the significance of that period for his nation and for the world in general . The fir st fruits of his study Of the Spiritual revolution in ” Bohemia was his romance , Slavny Den (The Glori ” o us Day) in the collection entitled In Stormy Days . The crest o f the Hussite period is described in Proti V§em ” (Against All) which had been prepared for in “ ” the Mezi Pro udy (Between Currents) , and these two “ ” books with B ratrStv o (Brotherh ood) complete a ” B ratrstv o wonderful trilogy . In the final work , Jirasek rises to his best as a painter of far- reaching l strugg es and great national enthusiasms . Here

Henryk Sienkiewi cz in no wise excels the Czech artist . “ ” In V Ciz ic h Sluzb ac h (In Foreign Service) Jirasek gives a close but heartbreaking view of the part played by a chivalrous Czech in the defense of a Bavarian — “ ” ruler another tragic parallel to the Anabasis . O His short stories , like his more extensive pieces f work , are concerned with three main themes : first the — splendor o f the non - producing class the nobility

contrasted with the squalor and sorrow o f the workers ,

second , the careers of the soldiers of his native land in f home and foreign fields , and third , the life O the people

THE PHILOSOPHERS

B Y ALOI S u ni s e x

THE old entrenchment o f a field battery near the small

d no w woo , half sunken and overgrown with shrubbery , has stood in the solitude Of the fields for a good hun

f rtifi dred years . It alone has remained o all the fo cations and mounds which extended here in a long line through the plain , concealing numberless Prussian

’ cannon aimed against the emperor s army protected by trenches . Now it resembles an ancient tomb in

o n n which herdsmen , misty mornings or cold eve ings , build fi res to warm themselves and from which they

l i o hal oo nt the distance . In the year 1778 during the war over the Bavarian

s ll u r Me dhu the succe sion , a the co nt y along the j and

e upper Elb , containing two armies , resembled an

s o f m immen e anthill . At the head the Prussian ar y ,

n . Friedrich ; agai st him , Joseph , both philosophers A heavy fog had settled o n the country like a deep

lake . It was early in the morning , quiet and soundless ,

o f as if not a soldier were near . Nowhere was ringing t ’ bells permitted , but ins ead there sounded , in a man s “ o f voice , the old song Whoever the protection the Highest 226 CZECHOSLOVAK STORIES

’ a o f V clav Suk , soldier the emperor s regiment under

ll a o Hi er, st nding far ut in the front guard on the edge

s . Of the grassy dale, heard that ong Thick underbrush

his concealed half body . Becaus e it was cold he had rolled his gray cape closely up to his three - cornered

An d hat so that not even his braided cue was visible . no w came that song— as if from directly Opposite him ! Was the enemy so close ? How could it be? Suk liked best a worldly song with his comrades beside the fire o r before the booth of some youthful i female cant niere , but this time the religious song i moved him strangely . His grandmother used to s ng it from parlor to bedroom and from chamber to garret ,

l n when her loose s ippers , patteri g , woke the whole household .

Suk took up the song also . The voice opposite

o ld ceased for a moment , then soun ded anew and the song was carried on the waves of the gradually lifting fog .

Vaclav , however, could not stand it long . His curi n o sity go t the better Of him . The u known on the other side o f the hollow sang on like a music master and it seemed as if he wished to finish out the stanzas jus t as ’ S uk s grandmother used to do . “ Say , you , over there , are you a soldier? That is how Suk b egan the conversation and he did no t speak into unanswering mist . He learned that he was talking with a soldier of the Prussian advance guard .

228 CZECHOSLOVAK STORIES

trick perhaps— and then— to go away from the spot a ! K o lacn ppointed to him as guard y understood . ! Fear not , friend How could I inj ure you ? Le t ” o ur us lay aside weapons and each go half way . That voice did not deceive and Suk saw that K olécny

n e was propping his gu against a tr e trunk . He looked

around and went forward . Half way forward the sol m diers met . The Prussian ene y with undisguised

sincerity extended his hand . “ ’ Just come , don t be afraid . You and I have done

nothing wrong to each other . We are brothers of o ne

s blood . What matters it to us what the rulers of the e lands have done to each other? ” said the Helvetian

bible - loving descendant of the exiled Bohemian brethren

emigrants . And the lively lad from the home king m do m understood hi .

As these two deliberated , so , surely, many before them had reflected and doubtless many in future shall l do , whether kings be philosophers or, as P ato dreamed — n philosophers be ki gs .

ad e o ld And here it ended , d d the schoolmaster,

who related the incident to me , as it had been handed

down from ancient chronicles , indicating the in ruined earthworks which we paused to rest . Both Of the wise men became engrossed in conversation and

c were caught at it . Here in this pla e sat the Prussian

l n king and hither they brought K o éé y for trial . He l told all and in a short whi e afte r, they Shot him down

o ne over there behind the breastworks . The other THE PHI LOSOPHERS 229

sc a to . e aped le d and powder , be sure But he ran a bloody gauntlet and God knows where he completed the rest o f his punishment . — And there yo u have it what is there to that philosophizes and reflects ?

232 CZECHOSLOVAK STORIES

(Father - in- law K o ndelik and Son - in - law Vejv ara) went through several editions . His collections o f short “ stories which are most widely read are Prai ské ” “ ” Figurky (Prague Types) ; D ro b ni Lide (I nsignifi “ ” cant People) : Z Prai skyc h Zakouti (From Prague ‘ ” B o dii Prai ané Pra uers Nooks) and (Gay g ) . ” The story selected is from his Dro b ni Lide and 88 was written in 1 5 . The title refers to an actual

R e tti o v a author , Madame g , who published several “ ” novels and also a practical D o mac i K uc hafka

- (Home Coo k Book) . WHAT IS OMITTED FROM THE COOK- BOOK OF MADA ME M AGDALENA DOBROMI LA RE TTI GOVA

A C HRI STMAS C LE ANI NG

B Y I G NAT II B E R MAN

“ WHY are you all the time fussing in those shelves ?

o t at K o no ase k howled u the chief counsellor p , the day clerk who alone of the force remained in the Office o n

Christmas day .

It was late in the afternoon . The attorney was hastily completin g some documents in order not to have so much to do after the holidays and was angry at the clerk , who had already arisen several times from his copying work and had been rooting around in the i d cabinet where the supplies were kept . F rst , he neede w - riting sand , next he looked for a longer ruler , again he picked around among pieces of sealing wax . Up to this moment the counsellor had said nothing and

in had only pulled at his nose , as was his habit when ward wrath overpowered him— but finally the constant

- running about of the lean , gray haired c lerk exasperated him to such a pitch that he burst out on him

“ ’ t h I s . l nothing , Mr Counse lor , not ing , answered 233 234 CZECHOSLOVAK STORI ES

K o no pasek quickly and his ashen cheeks reddened

“ ’ with a faint flush I just ran o ut o f twine and I d ’ sew i like to up that inventory . I m just go ng for a fresh ball “ ’ Zounds , man ! Don t you see right there on the table before you a ball as big as thunder ? ” howled the counsellor angrily and pointed to a ball of black and

’ l wi n in f Ko no as yel ow t ne lyi g right front o p ek s nose , so to speak .

’ You re so excited about your Chr istmas dinner Of ’ fried carp that you re absolutely stupid , it seems to me .

’ ” t n t r I ll o un away . K o no pasek with red cheeks sat down at his place f o n . and sewed A ter a while , however , he rose again , l stepped quick y to the door , took the key from the

i l k o t o f wa nscot and hasti y wal ed u the Office . if When he had left , the attorney arose as something had pierced him and with short steps approached the cabinet . He Opened it and looked at the supplies in which K o no pasek had been rummaging . There was

i o f almost nothing nside . Some paper, a bit string , a w fe sticks o f sealing wax and two pairs Of scissors . In a corner o f the compartment were several small circular lio xe s o n the lid Of each o f which was pasted a round f white wafer, about the size o a cent , a hardened thin disk o f flour o r gelatin used for sealin g Ofli c ial docu f ments . One O the boxes stood at a little distance from the others . The counsellor involuntarily took hold of i l t l . to p ush it closer to the others , but sudden y ifted it

03 6 CZECHOSLOVAK STORIES

Now at last the attorney comprehended that the — clerk had taken them , but why for what possible purpose? And curiosity overpowering his obligatory n l x Official wrath , the cou sel or impatiently e ploded .

K o no asek? What did you intend to do with them , p ” — n Supper a evening meal , your honor ! stuttered

“ ’

a ek . K o no p s . It is Christmas day I haven t even a ’ ix i penc e . I prom sed my wife I d bring some wafers she wanted to bake them with shreds of fat . I have six chil dren and I must make some sort o f Chr istmas ’ — for them . They haven t eaten all day there was nothing in the house The counsellor slid the spectacles down from his

his l o f i forehead to eyes , gazed at the pi e wh te , taste less , unsalted , starchy wafers and then he meant to

K o no asek i look at p , but suddenly his glance Sh fted

mi i o from the serable, twitch ng face with its blue lips n which trembled the gray streaked moustache and fi x ing ’ his o n eyes the clerk s faded , stained necktie , he asked , “ o n a k Have you ever eaten them before , K o p se ? “ ” sir i Yes , , uttered the quivering l ps of the clerk . ” Is the stuff really eatable ? asked the amazed t at orney . “ Indeed , yes , Mr . Counsellor . Dear Lord , if one only had enough o f them “ Put them back into the boxes ! ” commanded the counsellor in a voice bristling suddenly as he tur ned to

o wn his desk .

- The clerk raked the wafers with his thin , ink spotted A CHRISTMAS GLEANING 237

o fingers and filled the emptied b xes . When he had w finished this , he sat do n on a chair to continue his

work . But he could not go on . His fingers trembled , in his eyes a mist formed and there was a roaring in his w — . a temples Shame , dismissal , retchedness and fter

- all , the children will have nothing to eat to day ! The attorney glanced at K o no pase k several times and

s an wiped his glasse d his eyes , after which he sneezed

violently a number of times . He , too , could not work .

He was doubtless angry at the good - for - nothing clerk who stole wafers in order to bake them up with shreds

Of . fat , for a Christmas dinner for his children He a twisted for a while in his chair , rose finally and p

e . pro ac h d the door The clerk shivered anew . Now

he was to hear his fate . The attorney stepped a little close r to the trans “ s r no asek gre s o , and not looking at K o p , ordered , Take your coat and hat and go to the market . Buy a carp ,

a good big one and take it home to the wife at once , you understand ? So that She ’ d have time to get it

ready . Then buy the children nuts and apples and for your wife get a bottle of pun ch o r tea o r whatever you want to drink after supper . Here , take this and ” get o ut !

r his At the concluding words , he d ew from pocket a

l t o n wal et , opened it , took o u a bit Of paper and laid it

e k the table . The astonished K o no pas saw before him

- flo r a ten in note . “ ” ! m the i s Jesus Mary , Mr . Counsellor broke fro l p 238 CZECHOSLOVAK STORIES

Of K o no pase k . But further words he was unable to utter . Perhaps , because the attorney made a violent

o f o r i gesture protest more l kely , because the poor clerk ’ s whole face and body quivered as with chills and w . as fever He choked with amazement , surprise , joy— all ! a In an inst nt after , the counsellor remained alone in h the office , but he ad no more inclination to work . He

i hi s arose after a wh le , put on handsome fur cloak , thrust his hands into his shaggy modern woolly mittens and , closing the office , departed . He walked lightly , joyously— and thought o f hi s own six children lookin g forward to the delight they would have over the gifts which for many weeks were being collected in a rear room . But at times a sort Of dejection and melancholy Oppressed him . That was whenever his thoughts involuntarily reverted to K o no pasek and his “ ” wafers with shreds Of fat , as the clerk had described the dish .

240 CZECHOSLOVAK STORIES is taken from the collection entitled Tv rdé Hlav y

(Stubborn Heads) , which has enjoyed much popularity . Other collections o f stories ranging from tragedy and “ pathos to gentlest humor are : Mezi Viry a Skalisky “ (Among Whirlpools and Cliffs) ; Hrdino v é Malyc h ” “ R o manfi (Heroes o f Small Romances) ; Vojac i v ” ” Miru (Warriors o f Peace) ; Na B ojiSti (On the

Battle Field) , the last two of which went through several editions . FOR THE LAND OF HIS FATHERS

B Y J A N K LE CA NDA

FATHER ! ” sounded the voice of the young master of the estate from the courtyard . “ ? ” i Well , what is it responded his old father w th an ill - humored question which expressed no pleasant “ anticipation o f what the yo ung master would have to say .

“ ’ we ll i ! Oh , , noth ng I just thought I d mention a certain matter so you ’ d not be too frightened when the ” - r gentlemen come to mo row , the younger man said

r w i somewhat irresolutely , and th o ing away the ax w th

b e e which he had been splitting wood , straight ned up from his work as if preparing to ward off an attack .

“ ’ ’ What s that ? gentlemen to see us ? What

‘ ’ kind of gentlemen ? From the courts ? For the execution Of a mortgage ? ” the questions fairly rushed l from the fear tightened throat of the O d man , who , though in his sixties , was still stalwart . “ ” Wh h k n o f n y , what are you t in i g ? the you g man m waved his hand , rather glad that his father had i me diatel t o n y suspec ed s mething evil a d that , therefore , “ o his rep rt would affect him the less . The German 242 CZECHOSLOVAK STORIES gentlemen from the factory will come here to ins pect ” the place . “ And what have they to inspect here ? Has some thin g been lost from the factory and has suspicion ” fallen o n you ? The words were as if ejected from the lips o f the old man as he leaped close to the fence o n which he leaned the better to look closely into his ’ son s eyes . “ e - What wild gu sses you are making to day . Am I a ruffi an or thief to have that sort Of visitations ? And

’ if they did have it in for me , they surely wouldn t ’ announce their visit beforehand . “ ” o f u Ol Of course , co rse ! assented the d man . l Such a visit , though , is as rare as if it fel from heaven , t ’ even though the devil may bring hem . You don t

o r — have an idea where why , and a gendarme lands — before you with handcuffs , and the mayor but God save us from that ! ” “ ’ There, there ! Don t worry about the gentlemen ” from the courts and their helpers ! “ ’ ’ Well , then , tell what s happened and don t torture ’ ’ me ! It won t be anything pleasant , I m sure , for these German “ gentlemen ” never cross the threshold Of a poor man to bring him anything good ! ” “ — ’ ‘ Well you ll see ! You yourself say , There is no

’ ’ rule without an exception , and this time it s proven i i ’ ? ” true . Money is someth ng good , sn t it “ ” Money ? I should say so ! assented the Old man ,

l in o ut de ighted , but the next instant he burst with

244 CZECHOSLOVAK STORIES

as n and it seemed if his figure , standing erect o the in other side Of the fence , had grown height . “ ’ o u l Well , y needn t ye l at me as if I were a mere ” r l il boy , o half the vil age w l come running here, “ ’ i the son said soothingly . It s noth ng to me what he

i o flerin needs , but it is someth ng to me that he is g a l thousand more than the place is rea ly worth , and a i ” thousand extra is m ghty good money these days .

i no t The Old man d d speak at once , but pushed his shaggy cap back on his head and with his calloused hand wiped Off the sweat which had burst o ut o n his w i forehead . Then he stepped to the gate h ch he

pushed open with his foot and entered the yard . He stalked towards his son with energetic strides and

grasped his stick firmly as if he intended to use it .

Pausing before his son , in deep yet Sharp tones he — — uttered , A thousand you are right is good money , providing it is honest profit ! ” “ ’ h And isn t t is honest , when I sell what is mine ? i l the young man defended h mself rebel iously , irritated

’ s by hi father s opposition . The o ld man vainly gasped for breath enough to

answer . His face turned red , then paled and purpled

’ with emotion and wrath . Joseph saw his father s

n him struggle , but in order to avoid looki g at , he u t rned away , picked up his ax and started at his

work again .

“ ’ ! run Leave that alone , now , Joseph It won t away ! ” the old man forced himself to be gentle when FOR THE LAND OF HIS FATHERS 245

’ e he could again regain his speech . L t s go into the

house and talk it over .

did no t His son , however , frowned , but still dare raise

r any objection . He th ew the ax away , kicked fiercely at the pile of wood until it Scattered in all directions

an d then followed his father , muttering in vexation , “ A man has to go into a conference just when he has so

’ much to do that he doesn t know what to leap at

fi rst .

’ no t The father , acting as if he did see his son s anger ,

e m went to the house , Opened the door and stooping ,

r te ed . The young man followed but he did not need

to stoop to enter .

O r When they had stepped inside , the ld man th ew his c ap o n the table behind which he seated himself

on the bench near the wall . The young man remained

his his standing near the door , crushing cap in hands in sullen indecision . “ l o n Ol Wel , come and sit down , Joseph , the d man urged in the most agreeable tones he could force from “ his throat . You are the master here and it is not fittin g that yo u should stand at the door like some passing vagabond ! ”

“ ’ SO t ! here I m the master , am I ? said the son in cutting tones , and approaching the table , sat down

o n his in sprawlingly the chair . He gazed at father a challenging mann er as if he wished to frighten him and

r give himself more cou age . “ ”

o l . Master , to be sure ! repeated the d man 246 CZECHOSLOVAK STORIES

Haven ’ t I always shown respect for you as the master o f the place , even though you are the son and I the father? You are master Of all here except of my little ” 1 reserve plot , he uttered the last words with distinct emphasis as if he were treading on a loud pe dal for each “ syllable, and what you command , shall be done . May it all be worthy ! ” “ ’ And don t I look after the homestead as well as can

’ be done ? Haven t I grubbed o ut o f this dry soil every bit that it possibly could be lashed into giving? ’ An d won t I give you all that is written down in the

o ut his contract ? the son struck at father .

“ ’ ’ Don t scold me that way . I don t want any

no t quarrels . I say , an egg nor a liter of milk have

o f - you o r Apolena cheated me o ut . May God repay — her for it ! And you labor and save all honor to you ” both ! gravely spoke the aged man . “ l ’ ?” We l , then what s the matter violently hurled k “ i i back the son , adding quic ly , And all th s toil ng ’ ? ’ what s it all for You can t make a living o n it . It will sooner raise thorns and weeds than grain enough

o f ko lace . for a loaf bread , without even speaking of ? ” So , what to do with it “ o May G d not punish you for those hard words , “ cried the father in deep grief . Honestly has this

1 The wo rd is signifying a small c o ttage wi th eno ugh attac hed land o r a sum se t aside to pro v ide maintenanc e fo r a pare nt who has b eq ueathed all his pro pe rty to the c hildr en and has retired is ust m am n h Cz c hs fro m its ac tive management . I t a c o o g t e e and Sl ovaks to rese rve a plo t o f gro und o r a pens io n fo r their Old age .

24 8 CZECHOSLOVAK STORIES

What are you coming here for? Who called you ” n o t his in ? the you g man burst u angrily at wife .

lo in We surely be ng here without being called ,

’ don t we ? An d your wife can hear what you have to ? ” say to your father the mistress of the home calmly answered . “ Right you are , Apolena . Just come here and let f o . me hear what you think this And you boys also . It ’ s a matter that concerns your inh eritance ! ” The master irritably crushed his cap down on his head and arose , intending to leave . ” Old Stay here , Joseph , said the man mildly , yet “ w ith a tone of firm command , when I honor the father

o o u in y u, y too , must honor the grandfather in the i ll ’ o f r . a presence my grandch ld en And after , it s the concern Of the entire family . This land , in the name o f o ur Christ Jesus , does not belong to you alone , but to

’ eSnéras all the N who , God granting , will yet succ eed us ! ” “ talk Oh , then as much as you please , but I say i t s ” all useless , said the master and carelessly and with an

sa air of resignation he t down again . “ Well , then , what do you say to it , Apolena ? the

his - in - his old man turned to daughter law , voice shaken

’ by emotion . Or didn t you know, either , that Joseph ‘ — intends to sell this hut as he called it tod ay to that German ? ”

’ ” In God s name , father ! burst forth the young “ woman and tears suddenly filled her eyes . I have FOR THE LA N! ) OF 1 115 FATHERS 249

o n e implored him my knees and with clasp d hands .

’ ‘ da I ve said , Joseph , y and night until my limbs give way under me will I toil if only you will not drive us

’ o t f . u O here But all pleading is in vain . Sooner could you squeeze a tear out of a rock ! ” ” So much has he hardened against his o wn family ! “ bitterly complained the old man . And for a miserable ” thousand he has— sold himself !

“ ’ An ! ft d we ll have an easier living A er all , I will

’ o wn stay on my soil , for I m to look after the place for ” so n in the German master , the defended himself some embarrassment . “ o wn ? On your soil That will be wholly different .

’ are Now you master here , then you will be a master s ’ servant o r lackey ! An d y ou ll serve by the hour !

’ ’ t e n . it suits him , he ll drive you out And you ll leave the homestead to which cling the blood and sweat ? o f your forefathers . So you wanted an easier living ’ ? Of And you seek it at a German s My boy , we the mountains are not born for , nor do we fit an easy life .

littleL — What God gave , take , even though it be there

ill . w be enough But from a German , it is as if you ” c e pte d water in a sieve ! “ But it ’ s to be by written contract ! Am I a child that I ’ m to be fooled by empty words ? You ’ ve heard

’ that I m to go in a carriage with them to the notary ” md there it will all be properly recorded . What will be recorded there ? Your shame for

? h — man everlasting memory Listen , Josep , the old 250 CZE CHOSLOVAK STORIES

i spoke almost majestically , rais ng himself earnestly h — “ i from the benc , your aged father , grown gray n

i o u . honest toil , is speak ng to y I , too , might have

v . had an easier li ing Temptation came to me , also ,

s w wi fi n e but when I a you gro ng up into such a , stal

‘ ' NeSneras wart youth , I said to myself , No , the must

’ n o f ! not die out here o this land my fathers Loo k, yo u al n could cut in to this p m of mi e , so hardened it is by

n ? Fo r o u u ! And labor . A d for whom y and yo rs why ? Because this land is sacred to me , because I f know how my father and grand ather toiled here .

’ That was in the times when the overlord s feudal lash

o f n his sed over them . This piece la d , because it lay so close to the castle , always pierced the eyes of the

to o ut— d nobles . They wanted buy us rive us away

o ur from here . Much blood fathers Shed , but they did

o f — not yield a single span the land And see , Joseph , it was only in that way that we have preserved our Czech nation by defending every inch of o ur native lan d in a tooth and nail struggle agains t o ur enemy !

t . Tod ay the nation ex ols us Yes , in a thous and years — they will still bless us that we simple peasants and cottagers devoting o ur lives lovingly to o ur soil ” preserved the land un tainted for o ur children !

l c i Wonderfu ly tou h ng , yes, even terrible was the

’ o n l look the grandfather s face as he stood there ivid ,

o f hi s i n the muscles face torn , his gray ha r disarra ged and pasting itself on his forehead with the perspiration that poured from him . The two boys looked in terror

252 CZECHOSLOVAK STORIES

Joseph dropped his eyes and his wife shivered in sudden terror .

o f Husband of mine , in the name Christ Jesus , “ sh w e moaned , t ining her arms around his neck , such ” a thing as this has never come between us ! “ And am I to blame fo r it ? Why are yo u moaning ” and wailing here ? Joseph shouted as he pushed her away so roughly that she staggered .

- fo r t There was no need to notice it , Joseph in reali y

NeSnéra had not struck his wife . Old might not have noticed it ordinarily , for he never meddled in their

- his afl airs . But to day , Apolena was on side and the deed offered a welcome Opportunity for him to rebuke his son . “ SO my son Joseph beats his wife because she tn} : ” “ - in - v < i the part Of her father law ? he shrieked . Did ever see me raise my hand against your mother ? ” The young master feeling that in this in stance a wrong was being done to him , for he had not even

s w thought o f striking hi ife , jumped up , seized his cap , and rushed out Of the room . Out in the yard , he

l hi s hi s paused ifted his cap , and ran hand over brow as if W iping away the perspiration and then , spitting

t . in disgust , walked o u towards the highway

In domestic quarrels , the sole consolation and refuge Of the o ne who forsakes the battlefield is

so NeSnéra the tavern . And , too , directed his step to the inn to ‘ drown the entire ugly occurrence in beer . FOR THE LAND OF HIS FATHERS 253

u f At home , for a while after his depart re , a pain ul

Ol silence reigned . The d man felt that he had wronged his son in his last speech and for that reason he was

o wn slightly shaken in his stand , so firm heretofore . But Ne Snéra was too honest a man not to own frankly

that he was at fault . “ Y o A o lenka u know , p , he said after a moment ,

i o Joseph did not even ntend to strike y u . It was only an accident “ ’ But he didn t even hurt me , father , eagerly the “ wife defended him . He just swung his arm “ Well , then , praise be to God , that from that quarter l O d . the clouds are driven away , the man rejoiced “ Now , if only we can chase the shadows away in the w other matter . But you are ith me in that and you will not permit the land which bore so many NeSnéras

’

o . see A o le nka to g into a stranger s hands You , p , you ,

o f no too , are peasant origin and though you were t born under this roof , you feel with me what it would ” mean to have o ur property fall into alien hands !

’

We ll . , what s up Why are you rushing about with

o n if n yo ur eyes top of your head , as you were hunti g

” ’ a midwife ? so o ne Of young Ne Snera s friends at the inn greeted him while the others burst into merry laughter . “ ! ” Oh , nothing Joseph disposed of the inquisitive “ ” o ne peevishly Had a little squabble at home . 254 CZECHOSLOVAK STORIES

With whom ? With your wife o r the Old father ? asked another . “ ’' l esnéra his Wel , since you must know , N turned to i if interlocutor , exam ning him a few moments as to decide whether it was worth while to answer him , ” with both o f them ! “ l h Ho ! ho , poor fel ow ! That surely is a o t bath when not only one ’ s wife but father as well rip into ” n O o ne , laughed a you g man , but the other , an lder man , spoke gravely . “ ’

l . Wel , let it be , Frank It s always better if the wi wife stands th the Old father than against him .

’ ’ sife And especially at Jo k s house . I don t know what l ’ l they quarrel ed about , but I ll wager the O d man

’ wasn t any farther Off from the truth than you could ” make in one j ump .

e Joseph looked at the sp aker disapprovingly , spat hi through his teeth , shoved his cap further back o n s l head , and having seated himself , emptied ha f the glass

which the innkeeper placed before him .

“ ’ - And to prove that I m a fortune teller , cried the

‘ ’ “ ’ one who had been called Frank , I ll tell you the

o f ! was cause the trouble It about the homestead ,

’ ’ ? o l wasn t it I ll bet the d man raised the devil , didn ’ t he ?” a Old H lama , the neighbor who had previously taken

’ o f i the part Joseph s father , looked search ngly at the

n a you g master of the est te , and when he nodded assent ’ “ ” l m ’ . Ha a a s to Frank s guess , he arose from his chair

256 CZECHOSLOVAK STORIES

him l would have beaten to death , I be ieve , if the good

’ o in L rd Himself hadn t decided to take a hand things , fo r e o f o ne onc , dur ing the execution Of their fiendish

o f s was orders torture , the Director him elf struck by ” lightning . The Countess fainted dead away . ” Well and what o f it ? cynically asked young “ n Neé éra. Because my Old folks were stubborn

’ headed and didn t understand what was to their o wn

so ? disadvantage , should we be , too If someone wants n to buy my land and pays well , I c a buy elsewhere and

’ ” it s just as good ! The neighbors looked breathlessly at o ld Halama to hear what he would say to that . Some thought that ‘’ m young Nes era was in the right , others felt , but could

was r not express why they felt , he wholly w ong . Old Halama seemed to sense the gravity of the mo i l i ment . He lost h mse f in thought for a wh le , appearing to look Off into a corner somewhere and a considerable time elapsed before he spoke . “ Y o u see i , Joseph , these are things wh ch are hard to explain by mere reasoning if the heart doesn ’ t i listen . The right feel ng has to be here under the n vest . These are strange thi gs . Perhaps a learned man could fi n d the proper paragraph in books to cover

’ a the c se , but I don t know any more than the Ten

Commandments and what I have written in my heart , ‘ Honor thy father and thy mother ’— and I do honor

i n t their work , their suffer ngs ! They did o bequeath

a was me very much , but I value it bec use it inherited FOR THE LAND OF HIS FATHERS 257

l Halama from them . Even my very name, , which

’ - isn t very pretty , I honor . My great grandfather received that name from the German overlords because he was indomitable and refused to kiss the lash with which they beat him . And that name given by the nobility to insult him has become my pride . None of my sons is ashamed of his father , even if he is only a Halama

. eSnéra his Eh , those are only speeches N waved

disc o mfi t r hand vexedly , drowning his u e in a glass . “ O Speeches they are , but not empty ones ! N ” o u ? no t evasions , y understand Halama would per mit himself to be interrupted once having gotten into “ o the cur rent . And it is true that y u can do as you

’ wn please with your o property . You re not sinning against any legal ordinance nor can anyone send yo u to court for it . But you are committing a sin against your o wn people on the land o f your fathers . What would become of us if everyone renoun ced his land as easily as yo u have done? Y o u get rid of it l in order to gain a few do lars , another to avoid some misfortune “ And soon the Germans would buy up in that way o ur in very mountains beneath our feet , echoed warm

Vav fik o ne . assent , of the young men I felt at once

’ ’ that Joseph wasn t doing the right thing . And what s

’ o f l worst all about it , he s sel ing the ground for a German school ! What do we need of it here ?”

Ha ama— s tub bo r c l 1 n hurl . 258 CZECHOSLOVAK STORIES

l a Wel , is it to your disadvant ge that you know ‘ v i ik German ? Joseph turned on Va . “ ’

NO. It s good to know languages , and the more a

n all person k ows the better it is for him . But , for

’ l r that, I m not going to send my chi d en to a German — school . No not for anything ! Time enough to learn it when they grow up and go among people as I

. An fo . did d r that matter , I never studied it In extreme cases one needs it in trading . But a German school? It isn ’ t that the German teacher instructs in the languag&b ut that he teaches the children to

o k think and fee l like Germans . And do y u now what

’ ’

ll . that means ? Y o u don t , but I tell you It means that some day your boy will be ashamed o f his father and Of his language and will probably spit upon your

’ ” grave becaus e he didn t have a better father . “ ’ Ho ! ho ! ho ! It surely won t be quite s o bad as

” “ ’

Ja h mek . that , c y checked him You re just saying that because you envy NeSnéra sinc e he is to have a

o i neat profit , and not y u . What k nd Of misfortun e is

’ ’ a German school? It do esn t mean that you ll all have to become Germans— and even though it did what o f it ? The master wants it b ecause he is a

’ master and a good one . Why didn t some Czech build us a factory here ?” “ And so you ’ re going to kiss his hand because he ” pays you your well - earned wages ? “ ! That I will , if the time comes ’ i And you don t real ze , do you , that that same

260 CZECHOSLOVAK STORIES holder for selling his cottage for a school and his lands f ’ for the extension o the nobility s park .

S - Just as had happened yesterday at the inn , O to day in the village square , various Opinions were heard

o f regarding the German school , but those who found a

n means of livelihood at the factory , not o e ventured to say aloud j us t what he thought .

o ne o f Only Makovec, those hard mountaineer heads , which when it makes up its mind to push through its ideas , would even have charged a stone wall at full speed , publicly spoke out against it , and when they i i tried to pac fy him , say ng someone would inform on ’ him at the German master s , he grew even more furious . “ ’ h ’ Yes , indeed ! It s a mighty sad t ing that we re all ’ l bought up , for we re ready to sel one another if the

‘ ’ l o n master smi es at us or places us a better jo b . ’ There didn t use to be such corruption among us not even when we were bondmen under the imported German nobility ! ”

“ ’ That s because money is everything now, vigor o sl u y assented Halama , who had joined the group . “ For money Joseph is selling the roof over his father ’ s head ! ” “ l ’ Wel , we haven t yet had a drink on the earnest ’ NeSnér money . Old a won t let it come to pass, you ’ ll see ! ” While there were plenty Of Opinions and knowing

’ n discussions in the village , at the NeS éras there was FOR THE LAND OF HIS FATHERS 26 1

absolute silence . The mistress put the house in order and walked silently from room to room , imploringly trying at times to catch the eye of her husband with

te rf l ' o ne s her o wn a u .

n She dared not speak . She k ew, too , that she could accomplish nothing by words when Joseph had made up his mind about anything . The old man , also , was as if dumb . His face wore a scowl and the so n and father passed by each other like dog and cat .

Finally the carriage came rumbling along . The

gentlemen were coming . The villagers, according to the degree dependent on the factory , greeted them m ff more or less hu bly or indi erently , and watched , with “ n pipes in mouths , the passi g nobility When the carriage stopped and the factory proprietor , Schlosser ,

o t with his manager stepped u and entered the gate , the neighbors came from all Sides and trooped after ‘ ik h mek . V v them Halama , a i , Makovec and also Jac y

o f and a host others were all there . w The factory o ner , Schlosser , expecting a showy

o ne o ut greeting, was a little surprised that no came to meet him . Joseph was ashamed , though ordinarily he would have gone out on the threshold o f his little court

- to welcome every guest . But to day he barely Opened the door with some timidity and bowed them in .

l o n Sch osser entered with his hat his head , the him manager after , and then the rest crowded into the doors as tightly as they could . The factory owner with the affable condescension of 262 CZECHOSLOVAK STORIES

his an indulgent ruler to subjects , made a gesture with his o ld and Ne Snéra hand towards both young . “ ? Well , how is it , old man Did we come to an ? ” w agreement he asked ith a hard foreign accent . “ The gentleman hasn ’ t been making any proposi ” eSnéra tions to me , answered old N , gazing with significant intimation at Schlosser ’s hat until the latter grasped the reproach suggested and removed it from

s hi head . “ ” NeSnéra Good , good ! nodded contentedly . We have o n the walls pictures o f o ur sainted protectors all and they , at least , deserve that who enter should ” bare their heads in greeting ! f A rustle o delight was heard from the doorway .

Schlosser , a little disconcerted , turned vexedly “ eSnéra towards the door and asked young N , What does this gaping crowd want here ? “ ” his I say , sir , the Old man answered for son , they

‘ ’ ’ are not a gaping crowd . They are neighbors . It s an old custom here that when transactions like this are

o taking place , we never close the doors before ur neigh ’ o f bors . After all , you know , it s the affair the entire community whether the estate is to be occupied by ” o ne o f our own kind o f people or some alien !

hl hi his Sc osser t lip , but he did not desire to quarrel

with the o ld man . “ And you ? Will yo u keep your agreement and ride with us ? “ ’ ’ ’

ll . . I go , gracious sir I m only waiting It s no

264 CZECHOSLOVAK STORIES

n Both the little boys , not even understandi g what all it was about , knelt down beside their grandfather .

i e asement o f Apolena , sobbing aloud , leaned aga nst the

n the door . The neighbors , deeply moved and frowni g, pressed forward .

‘’ Young Ne snera stood there in painful anxiety and

’ only at Schlosser s beckoning did he recover . “ ’ Of Let go me , father , and don t make any scenes ! It ’ s all useless ! ” “ l O d . I will not let go , shrieked the man wildly Let go by fair means ! ” threateningly shouted the s n o , incensed that he should be forced into such a f “ ” humiliating position in the presence o the master . “ ” Neither by fair means no r foul !

NeSnéra l But young , though he was smal er than his i ’ father , with his ron hands tore loose his father s hands

his him clinging to knees , and pushed away so roughly that the old man tottered and fell to the floor . Then he quickly followed Schlosser and the manager o ut to the courtyard and they hastened to enter the carriage .

’’ Old Ne snéra picked himself up from the floor and w ith clenc hed fists , flying locks Of gray , looking more

so n . like a specter than a man , ran out after his The n e ighbors who had stepped aside fo r the gentlemen intercepted his way , fearing that something would happen .

’ Let me go , let me go ! I d rather kill him with my own hands than to have him ejaculated the old man in a voice resembling the roaring of an animal FOR THE LAND OF HIS FATHERS 265

’ more than the tones of a human being . You re ? going , Joseph , really going There is no God above

! sell us if yo u get there safely And if you , my curse ” goes with yo u ! DO yo u hear ? The factory Owner urged the coachman to whip up the horses , but , unfortunately , something slipped loose

was o n the harness and it necessary to first fix it . The screams o f NeSnéra frightened the horses . “ — ” See see ? God does not wish it ! shrieked the o ld

half . man , mad with sorrow

nl li Vai y the neighbors tried to mol fy him . He

saw l neither heard nor , only fought to pul himself free o f their grasp . And when the carriage started to

NeSnéra drive away , by superhuman strength threw i aside those who stood in his way and , seiz ng a big stone

in . the yard , threw it after the receding carriage — ‘’ A loud scream was heard Ne snéra had struck the — manager b ut the horses plunged ahead . “ ! He gave it to him Lord , but he struck him ’ right ! Good fo r him ! Pity he didn t hit the right ” o ne ! these and similar exclamations were heard all around .

n i l NeS era, after th s explosion , was ike one broken n n a d bur st i to loud sobbing , refusing to be quieted even after the neighbors had led him into the room . The evening Of the same day a constable came and

i . a led away the Old man in rons He m de no resistance .

NeSnér Many things had happened that day . a in grief over his son ’ s treachery had gone to the inn 266 CZECHOSLOVAK STORIES which he had not v isited in many years and in his u wrath had dr nk there beyond temperate measure . He had bitterly reviled his son and had cursed the laws and him who made them . Rumors o f his speeches had reached Schlosser when hi he returned at noon , bringing Joseph with m as his w guest . The factory o ner rejoiced with glee that he

o f i had so cheaply gotten rid the obst nate old man .

His manager who was quite seriously wounded , t e

n . And c mai ed in the city here was a new rime , the crime Of insulting His Majesty , the Emperor , which the o ld man in his wild grief had unthinkingly committed

o f without consideration consequences . The factory owner knew he could fi nd enough people

s who would act as witnesse , and it was he who had se nt for the constable .

o f Hard times came to both the NeSnéras . The old man was locked in jail . The young man had lost all n in l standi g both the vi lage and in his own home . Even those who might have acted as he did now

’ charged him with being the cause o f his father s misfortune . Half the village was secured to testify to this o r that

eSnéra crime which the elder N had committed . Many

Of refused to know anything what had happened , but when they were threatened with punishment fo r

s al swearing fal ely they t ked . There was enough

268 CZECHOSLOVAK STORIES

such serious crimes , the convicted man announced f that he accepted the penalty and was ready to suf er it .

s Those ten months sped a if in winged flight . Old

NeSnér ne his a, returning o day to native village , was nearly petrified to fi nd a new building in the place where his little home used to stand .

The Old man , bent by grief and suffering , straightened up fiercely at the unexpected sight . “ NeSnéra? Oh , is that you , Welcome home , “ d ’ i sounded a hearty voice . We di n t expect you t ll ” - day after to morrow . NeSnéra silently extended his hand to Halama and with the other pointed to the building . “ ’ ? ’ It makes your eyes bulge , doesn t it That s the — ’ new school a German o ne ! Y o u ll se e the insc rip hl — tion . Sc osser made haste speeded up the building

’ o f . sa it ! In a few days it s to be consecrated And y ,

’ Old comr ade ! There ll be children in plenty there over half o f the village . The factory hands and many o f the others in some way employed by our German ’ gentlemen got a sort o f in sight that it was vain to resist ! ” “ ’ And that s what my so n did fo r you people ! You must all curse him for it ! ”

“ ’ Well , I haven t yet heard anyone praise him . And what about my reserved portion and cottage ? ” too ? NeSnéra Have they torn that down , asked in menacing tones .

“ ’ No , they didn t do that . Your son had it fixed up . FOR THE LAND OF 1118 FATHERS 26 9

Wants to get reconciled with you . And your daughter in - law saw to it that everything was made as attractive

as possible for you . They themselves live here in the

‘ his d school . Joseph has a sign over oor , School

’ ’ ‘ Janitor, but it s in German , in big letters , Schul

’ ” diener You ll be surprised !

“ ’ ” see Old i Well , I ll not it , said the man , but m mediately fell into thought . A queer idea flashed into his head . ’ So yo u say the school s to be consecrated in a week ?

’ r Well , I won t carry the holy water for them du ing the ” o f ceremony . Without any words parting , he left

his u Halama , entered the yard and directed co rse straight to the o ld drying kiln which now was newly whitewashed and tastefully prepared inside .

Joseph , Schuldiener , cried Halama in muffled

w . tones , tapping at the indow Your Old father has

‘ ’ returned and has gone to his cottage . There was a movement inside the room and Apo lenka came running out to greet her father- in - law and take him to his new abode . Joseph did not yet have the courage .

A peculiar change came over o ld NeSnéra. He never

e re had b en very loquacious , but from the time he turned from prison he never spoke a word with anyone .

He would pat his daughter—in - law and grandchildren o n

his s o n and the head , but he never offered hand to his , 270 CZECHOSLOVAK STORIES

when the latter tried to make friends with him he

always turned away . “ A silent madman ! ” they repeated throughout the “

. ! to his village Poor fellow His grief went head . And no wonder ! ” “ But what will it be when he see s the celebration of the school consecration ? ”

’ ’ He won t see it ! He ll lock himself in his room

’ and won t crawl o ut . f The great day o the school consecration arrived .

The factory proprietor, Schlosser , exerted every effort

to arrange a big celebration . He distributed an

immense number Of flags throughout the community ,

l - - main y the black and yellow emblem , but also a few

- - red and white ones . He himself went from house to i house . He prom sed the parish priest to secure funds

his for alterations o n the church . He gave word to the mayor that he would personally be responsible for the

o f i repair the public h ghways , which improvement the citizens had been un able to secure from the county

i o f r dir ectors . To others he gave prom ses this o that

e his sort , to the doubt rs he gave ready money , but to

fac tory employees he merely gave orders to be o n hand . Schlosser had determined that he mus t triumph in vauntingly ostentatious fashion over the obstinate o ld

did . Czech . And he triumph f i On the day O the celebration the ent re village , with

- - - the exception o f a few o ut and out Old fashioned Czechs ,

l Be was all rejoicing and excitement from e ar y dawn .

272 CZECHOSLOVAK STORI ES

m If someone had passed the school at that oment, they would have seen the black - and - yellow banner which had been waving from the dormer window disap pear . Almost immediately , however , the heavy flag staff was restored .

o f Beyond the village the firing mortars was heard ,

no w the mus ic began and the procession , fully formed , started o n its jubilant march towards the school . At

e néra that instant , old N S , with eyes fairly starting

i th e from their sockets , was kneel ng in prayer near dormer window . w i He knelt ith clasped hands , his l ps repeating the An l prayer of the dying . d when he rea ized that the procession had already turned into the main street leading to the school and that in the next moment they

l o ut. wou d be here , he rose and suddenly leaped

The factory proprietor , Schlosser , cursed loudly and “ ” m turned to Schuldiener Nes era , demanding to know

- - what had become o f the black and yellow flag . The

o f eyes all turned towards the dormer , but without warning something most remarkable appeared there . An unrecognizable figure dropped o ut of the dormer window and then , intercepte d in its fall by a rope , swung back and forth like a pendulum from the flag

b an ds staff. Later they distinguished that it had which were wildly gesticulating . “ ” Christ Jesus ! It is he ! It is the Old man !

o f echoed from every pair lips , and the participants in the ce lebration parade in excited haste flew to the FOR THE LAND OF HIS FATHERS 273

school . The music became silent , but the mortars

o n kept booming in exultant triumph . ! ” The key Quick , give me the key ! screamed

o ne l Joseph like stark mad , rushing at Sch osser .

A olenka se t p burst into sobs , the children up a wail ,

Schlosser uttered oath after oath , while his wife , i behold ng the horrible scene , sank to the ground and rolled about in spasms .

In vain did Joseph try to enter the school . The thr ong o f people meantime gazed at the corpse of the l i o d . H s man which still swung in the breeze face , around which fluttered his long gray locks and white beard , took on in the death struggle a terrible appear ance . The cheeks became ashy , the eyes were rolled up and from the Open mouth the tongue protruded . Women shrieked and covered their eyes with their hands . Men called for the firemen with their ladders until it occurred to someone to break Open a win dow and jump inside . An instant later the flag- post with the corpse o f

NeSnéra was drawn back into the dormer . They untied his body and began at once to try to resus citate him , but it was useless . NeSnéra was with his Go d !

NeSnera A year had passed sinc e the death of , but in the school no teaching had begun , although the teacher was there and all the equipment needed for 274 CZECHOSLOVAK STORIE S

f n instruction . The horrible death o NeS éra had S O reacted o n the min ds o f all that no t a single inhabitant

l r of the vil age a rived to register in the new school .

his Schlosser tried to compel employees , but they all threatened that they would rather hang themselves . f And from that time he had a horror o hanged persons . Often in his dreams he saw the apparition Of the Old ’ wi man whom he had driven to death . Schlosser s fe paid for that deed in the loss o f her health . She nearly

li l o f i lost her fe also , but as it was , the ife her ch ld which came into the world prematurely was the price paid .

An hi o f d it was t s woman , broken un til the end her days , who had been accustomed to look upon the laboring class contemptuously and without sympathy , who now implored her husband with clasped hands no t to force his workmen into the German school . i l f F nal y , even Schlosser himsel began to believe , although he would never acknowledge it , that fate had him avenged itself on .

B ut i th ngs went harder with Joseph , whom no one “ l ” addressed otherwise than as Schu diener . He f i i o . seemed to have lost w fe , ch ldren and love life He gave himself up to drinking and whenever he was l much intoxicated he cursed and reviled himse f, the “

r o . German master , the chu ch and even the scho l Often b e threatened that he would settle his score with Schlosser . But Schlosser one day jus t before he departed with

276 CZECHOSLOVAK STORIES

’ NeSnéra s Beyond the school , wife , with the money

o f left her after the death her husband , built a new

o n f cottage for her children . The Older e o the boys when he had grown up and attended the required ” schools , became teacher in school . The younger o ne devoted himself to farming the home fields and thus both remained o n the native soil o f their

fathers .

Tod ay the older of the two is in charge of the schools , for the community has grown and prospered and there was need Of more teachers for the increased number o f children . The younger brother became mayor o f the a town . Both are the most zealous dvocates o f love for that land which o ur fathers by the sweat of their brows have earned and by their blood have hallowed hi o . An for us as ur heritage d, in truth , I t nk that in that community it would be impossible for an enemy outsider to buy enough land to hold so much as a post o n which the o ne selling it might follow the example of Old NeSnéra. CAROLINE SVETLA

8 0 8 1 3 . 1 99 (Born in Prague Died , Prague . )

S e THI gift d authoress , whose maiden name was Johanna

B k v sk R o tto v a . . ac o , called by Dr J y the greatest of the more recent novelists devoting themselves almost exclusively to typical Bohemian backgrounds , was the

- child of a Czech father and a Czech German mother . She had early to go through a painful nationalistic struggle , being born in sadly backward surroundings ,

- but her marriage at the age o f twenty two to Prof . Peter Muzak strengthened her deep patriotic self consciousness . In the home Of her husband in the

Je téd she mountains of S , first met with the striking and rugged mountaineer types so well described in her “ ” collections Of stories entitled Sketches from Jested . She chose her pen name from the name o f the mountain — “ ” village which she so often visited Svetla below

Jested . Her first novel Two Awakenings was published in

185 8 sh . Since then e has been almost feverishly

in f o t i active her literary ef ort , bringing u her ntense

convictions on female education and advancement ,

national consciousness , and other subjects in a series Of

many novels and short stories . Chief among her works 277 278 CZECHOSLOVAK STORIES

Prv ni are Ceska (The First Czech Woman) , and “ ” Na Usv ité (At Dawn) bo th o f which depict the period o f the Czech renaissance ; Néko lik Arc hfi z ” R o dinn é K ro niky (Some Pages from Family Chron “ ” ic l s La a Dité e ) , m é a Jeho (The Quarryman and i “ V i k His Ch ld) , e sn c y Roman (A Village Romance) ” ‘ and Ki ii u Potoka (The Cross Beside the Brook) ,

— E liSka the,se latter two dramatized by Peskova and I I b i k u c a (The Kiss) dramatized by E . Krasnohorska . ” Po sle dni Pani Hlo ho v ska (The Last Lady o f Hlohov) a novel o f the Thirty Years War and Of the cour t o f Joseph II , has been translated into English under “ ” the title of Maria Felicia . Svetla is always sincere and direct and seldom varies

in her style . She has a story to tell that is worth reading and in no case does she tax the limits o f plausi

ili o f o wn b ty to induce interest . Her stories are her

e p ople , in whose happiness she rejoiced , in whose f su ferings she sorrowed .

280 CZECHOSLOVAK STORIES

t i atten ion to noth ng else , but sat down somewhere under a bush , found a stick , drew out his pocket knife and began to whittle out something .

But the other boys would not permit this . They wanted everyone who used the same pasture with them

Mat s k o f . y e to play the same sort pranks, they did If did not wish to Obey them— and he often didn ’ t— they

r would snatch his knife , th ow it away and break what ever he had just carved o ut. The more he pouted and growled about it , the more they made wry faces at

i . him , as is customary in such m schievous groups But as soon as Barka from a distance noted that the

Mat sek she boys were teasing y , ran directly to a tree ,

Off . broke a goodly branch , and rushed after the boys She barely glanced aroun d when she was among them and where the bough struck was all o ne to her why had they no t left M atysek in peace? “ This is for remembrance ! And if it seems too little

’ o u to some of y , just come , I ll give you plenty more till

’ you ve had enough , she would shout after them when ,

in . with much squalling , they dispersed all directions Then she seated the whimpering Matyse k back under his fo r bush , found his knife him and sought out the f pieces o f wood . A ter such a distribution of punish

at sek fi ne ment , M y had a time at the pasture for a week at least .

To be sure , the boys did not let it pass without

at s k comment that Barka always protec ted M y e . “ ” she There , there , they shouted at her when was BARBAR A 281

b o x quieting his wailing . Put him away nicely into a

so that the birds may not Swallow him in place o f a fly .

If a grasshopper tramples him to death , it will be all

’ up with your wedding and we d lose out o n o ur gifts . But the instant they s aw Barka raising the switch they were o ff with the wind and ran until their heads shook . They had ample proof that Barka had the strength o f fifteen of them and they knew they could no t over

all o f come her even if them at once pitched into her .

Matysek was in the service o f a childless Old widow who was no longer able to get about o n her feet and whose sight was very dim . She was satisfied with the

o f amount work he did and the way he did it, and never l cheated him out o f food . She was g ad she had a

. t helper who did not cheat her Nevertheless , Ma ysek

Often complained that no one had it as hard as did he , and that to o much was too much .

Barka served o n the estate o f the worst pinch- penny

in the entire neighborhood . Her fingers were like jagged pegs from sheer hard work , all the veins in her neck were swollen and her face was so burned from the

sun and wind that her skin was always peeling . She served him each year in return for ten yards of linen cloth fo r a waist and a loose jacket and fo r o ne pair

Of winter shoes . Instead o f wages he let her have small tips whenever he sold a head Of cattle from his

a n st bles or when she carried the corn to the mill , a d

yet she found cause for praises . 282 CZECHOSLOVAK STORIES

Not a day passes but what the peasant gives me ” “ M t s k a e . food , she said delightedly to y And I have

’ n shoes to wear to church . Since I ve been o his estate I have provided myself with two heavy wool head

’

o ne r o ne . t shawls , ski t and coat I don have to wear ’ ” o n n if my linen jacket Su days I don t wish to . And Barka was in the tenth year o f her service at the

’ miserly pe asant s . Sometimes people laughed about the attachment of

the two and then again they asserted , also laughingly ,

to be sure , that the two just suited each other as if the

pigeons had borne them . By which they meant that

s o ne was about a weak mentally as the other . If anyone let drop a whisper o f such an insinuation

she s before Barka, let it stand a far as it applied to her “ ” self, replying only with her customary , Never mind ! But God forbid that anyone should so express himself

M t sek . about a y She was up in arms immediately . “ ” Mat sek You just let y alone , she shouted till she “ f was fairly pur ple . He has sense enough o r himself

’ and he doesn t have to have it for others . Matysek never so violently opposed anyone who had i anything against Barka o r h mself, but it never was

erased from his memory . If he had to pass near

such a person , he dropped his eyes and would not have raised them if he had known that he ’ d be shot

t sek for it . Yes , Ma y had his own head and knew how to set it and also how to punish people whom he had a c use to dislike .

284 CZECHOSLOVAK STORIES

Why do you persist in dancing with such a clumsy

’ fellow ? Y o u trip so lightly and we d like to take yo u

r r for a few tu ns ou selves , the boys shouted to Barka , but only in mockery and never in earnest , just to see what she would say . They would not have taken her to dance fo r a great deal unless they intended to insult and anger their own sweethearts . ff But Barka always cut them o sharply . “ Just you take whomever yo u please for a turn .

’ ’ I ll keep Matysek and I ll not let yo u abuse him either .

h w o f He knows o to weave an Easter whip forty strands ,

he can make a broom , and a battledore for a shuttlecock l ’ as we l . Everybody do esn t have to go ramming his head into idlers for beauty o r to crush rocks with their ” hands . And again she was with Matysek in the whirl and him l whoever failed to turn briskly enough , wou d she take by the elbow and shove o ut so effectually that he wondered what world he was in and how he got there .

’ Matysek was much pleased with Barka s agility and he continued in low whispers to indicate others for her to

o f jostle out the circle , chuckling meanwhile till he nearly choked . He used to say to Barka afterwards when he escorted her home that he wouldn ’ t want ’ no t another girl , even for all of Jerusalem , and that he d stay faithful to her even if brides from Prague itself would send him word to come to marry them . ’ If Matysek s mistress gave him cheese on his bread a at the Sunday meal , he ate the bread and s ved the BARBARA 285

o n cheese for Barka . If Sunday Barka received a

’ muffin at the peasant s , she at once put it aside for

Mat sek Matys ek . As soon as y had washed his

n Off wooden spoon after di ner , he threw his linen blouse and put on the red vest h e had inherited from

and h his father , over it he drew the blue jacket w ich

was so displeasing to the girls . Barely had Barka finished milking after dinn er when

h n i s e slipped o her starched sk rt , placed one of her wool

h o n kerc iefs her head , another around her neck and

went to meet Matysek .

to She knew a hair when he would come , although

they never made a definite arrangement . He , in turn ,

no t only knew well that She would come , but just in

what spot among the trees he would first see her .

“ ’ You wouldn t go to meet any other man , would ” you ? he used to ask after they met . “ ” Not for seven golden castles , Barka assur ed him .

It was really remarkable how devoted they were . Never had a youth or maid cared fo r each other as did

o ne those two who seemed to have but soul in common .

o r When it was cold rainy , they sat down beside w each other in the stable . When it as bright and

sunny , they seated themselves somewhere on the

boundary stones . He reached into his pocket and drew out the cheese neatly wrapped in a large walnut f leaf , while she un olded her fresh white handkerchief

and gave him the muffin . They ate and sunned them

selves , but if it happened to be warm , they took a little 286 CZECHOSLOVAK STORIES nap o r at other times they got into such an earnest conversation that they did not know how to end it . Matysek knew how to lead one into strange discussions i and Often Barka sh vered in wonderment at him .

o For instance , if , from their position n the boundary

o n line , he saw a carriage approaching the highway ,

o he would begin c njecturing who rode in it , whether the steward from the court , the brewer from the city or,

i . perhaps , the Prince h mself “ There ought to be a law against certain peo ple always riding while others must continually go on foot and also again st some persons having great wealth ” Mat sek while others have nothing , y reasoned between

conjectures . “ The court will hardly make a law against such

” ’

i . th ngs , was Barka s Opinion

“ ’ ’ I m quite sure the rich men won t permit such a

n Mat s k . law , grin ed y e And to think that people said he was weak mentally ! “ Perhaps if God wished it , it would come to pass , “ ’ judged Barka . But most likely it isn t the law ’ ’ ” because it wouldn t agree with everyone s health .

t s k Ma y e remained firm , however , that a law should be enacted making it possible for all people to ride in

'

carriages and from that stand he refused to budge .

But Barka nevertheless tripped him up on the matter . “ And who , good friend , would then look after the horses ? Who would water and feed them ? ” Matysek could not quickly answer and remained

288 CZECHOSLOVAK STORIES

l One thing , at least , was fulfi led for my dear mother , she sobbed , trying to smile at the same time .

“ ‘ t ll She always used to e me , I can bequeath nothing

o n to you , but may God grant that you may inherit e

’ ho w trait from me . I don t know to be angry and I can always fi nd the bright side of everything I meet let it be what it

’ Matysek s eyes were wet also . When he could no t see i i her laugh without sm l ng himself, it is not to be

/ wondered at that he could no t see her cry without weeping with her ! I have alr eady said that in those two beings there was but o ne soul . “ ’ i There s noth ng on this earth I wish for , sobbed “ is i Barka , but one thing and that , that I m ght some i day go to Vamb ef c e . It is there my mother offered me to the Holy Virgin and there she prayed that I might inherit her good nature . “ ’ l Mat s k Some day you l get your wish , y e now in “ turn comforted Barka . And perhaps much more , ” o f besides , he added , and he was glad he thought it as a means o f bringing her o ut o f her tears . “ Do you think I ’ll some day be able to have a green ” - ? jacket with a sulphur yellow border sighed Barka , “ - wiping her eyes with her work calloused hands . I

’ must say I d dearly love to have something pretty in which to go to Communion .

’ o wn An d wouldn t you like to have a goat Of your , ” to o ? Mat sek i o f and a little cottage , y inqu red her searchingly . BARBARA 289

’ Why wouldn t I want a goat and a home o fmy o wn ?

’ Of course , I d want it . But , believe me , if I could

’ ’ really have a house , I d not give in an inch unless I d

have hanging beside the stove a spoon rack , painted a

fo r blood red and made eight sizes , with four pewter ” spoons in each. “ o wn Ma sek i And if I had my room , ty cried , seem ng “ t to have grown a head taller , I , too , would know wha

’ I want . At once I d quit all peasant toil and would

’ begin weaving brooms . That s something worth

’ s it while . A man can in the warmth and where it s clean and can keep busy at his o wn work . Everyone inquires after him and knows o f him . Nobody can

- get along without a broo m maker .

’ ” That s true , Barka nodded assent . To be a

- fi n . broom maker is a very e thing I , too , like that ” trade . “ ’ l I wouldn t spend a l my time making brooms , boasted Matysek and again he seemed to have grown l “ ’ much tal er . I d also make wooden lanterns and would fit in the glass sides myself, and if anyone ’ m wanted a cage for quails , I d ake it for him and

’ attach a little bell at the top . I d go in for making

’ - a dog kennel as well . I d paint it green and to make

’ fi x o n it please everybody , I d it a blue star and ’ ’ o a little yellow moon . Don t y u think I couldn t ” do it . I could ! If some o ne from the village passed by and saw them did sitting beside each other debating so fervently , he 290 CZECHOSLOVAK STORIES

ask o not fail to pause and them , When , go d people , do you intend to get married ?” “ ” Oh , some day , Barka dispatched the inquisitive

’ It s high time . You were courting when I was wooing my wife and now I have a so n almost ready for marrying

“ ’ ’ l n Wel , everythi g doesn t have to be done in a rush . ” What awaits a man will come to him of itself . ’ That s all true , but a man must set some limit o f ” f r time o doing everything . “ Well , then , it will be when our masters mention it ” to us . You ’ ll have a long wait ! ”

’ Never mind ! We re not in any hurry j ust now .

Mat sek y never answered such questions , but always remembered everyone who approached them in this matter . A hundred times such an inquirer might pass o r his call to him , but each time he would drop eyes and no t i l ft them until the mocker was past . How did Barka guess that whatever awaits a man will come to him o f itself? Everything that they had ever wished for and which they had discussed on Sun day afternoons was fulfilled for them with the e xc ep f tion O o ne little point . Would anyone have said that such things are possible ? Never ! Barka ’ s cousin who had never claimed relationship to her died . She had been a strange woman . She had but one daughter with whom she lived in great

292 CZE CHOSLOVAK STORIES

’ unable to comprehend that what had been her cousin s was now to be hers and that never again did she need — t k to be a servant nor Ma yse either . “ w ” Do get some isdom in you , the master of the

“ ’ place urged . If you ll be as stupid as this , people will soon deprive yo u of what the Lord has lavished

’ on you . I already see in my mind s eye how you will let yourself get cheated until yo u will again have

’ nothing . I must myself intervene so that you d not complain some day that I had no more sense than you .

It will be best if you get married and that very Soon . I can readily tell you o f a bridegroom who will very carefully attend to all the matters concerning your property and yo u yourself wi ll not have to pay any attention to them . And the peasant named his o wn brother who about a year before had lost his wife .

People said that he beat his wife to death . He was known as a bully far and wide . If a person just barely looked at him , having no evil intention what

l in ever , he cal ed him the ring for a fight . People went a hundred feet out of the way to avoid him . His children all took after him and were as evil as their father . The peasant was afraid that his brother might some day kill someone and , should he be sen

n te c ed to prison , the degenerate children would come into his home : He would much rather wish them upon Barka .

S They had to resuscitate Barka again , for his peech frightened her so . BARBARA 293

How can yo u talk to me of your brother , when you k at sek she now that I have M y rebuked him , trembling all over .

“ ’ no w Surely you don t intend , that yo u have

n - property , to tie yourself to that hu gry , half dead n mortal who has othing and never will have , to the day o f his death ? He was good enough while no one else wanted yo u . You should have seen ho w Barka flared up ! She flushed with anger and every nerve in her body was strained .

“ ’ fo r The man I wasn t good enough before this , l “ ’ burst violently from her ips , isn t good enough for me

t se k now . Ma y has wanted me for years and never cared for another . Even if a bride from Prague had

’ fo r fo r all Of sent him , he wouldn t have married her

’ n man Jerusalem , and you thi k I d consider another

? NO now , not for seven golden castles , not even if my

own patron saint made the match . Indeed , not even for the sake o f the Virgin Mary would I forsake ” — is him . That my vow ! And Barka became ’ almost ill at the idea of being

e torn away from Matysek . When sh got breath

she se t Mat sek enough , up such a wailing about y that

it could be heard to the village squar e . She was not

t o n to be quie ed , and the peasant , though he kept trying

to persuade her in order to provide. fo r his hectoring

l . brother and wicked children , cou d do nothing with her

S he He left her in great wrath , seeing at last that would 294 CZECHOSLOVAK STORIES

not yield , but he did not speak a Single word to her any more while she was there .

at sek M y , however , was not in the least astonished

f i . at the turn a fa rs had taken Why , had not Barka long promised these things ? They had been awaiting

o f it , talking it , finally it was actually here , so what was

o r u there strange unusual abo t it ? Indeed , he won

’ dered why it hadn t come to them long ago . It never once occurred to him that perhaps now he might not be

desirable to Barka . People here and there hinted H in . e it to him envy , but he laughed in their faces not to be desirable to Barka ! Fo r her there was no o ne else o n earth so well suited . Barka stood staring at him whe n he announced that

he was going to the parsonage to order their banns . She could no t comprehend where he had suddenly ac c umu

lated so much boldness . As soon as she told him to go

us i if he thought best , he adj ted h mself deliberately and then strode through the village to the priest so ener ge tic ally that the latter thought it was some fine

gentleman coming to him . From the time he heard his

Mat se k banns proclaimed in the church , y never got

’ o ut Of people s way , but , on the contrary , others stepped

’ aside for him . God alone can judge where by a hand s turn he acquired the ability to act the part o f a great

r l n man . Those who had not seen him fo a o g time and now met him did no t kn ow in what manner to

address him . In a word , he was totally changed from

his former self .

296 CZECHOSLOVAK STORIES would not permit the childr en to even come near that

o n day , and Sunday , when he put on his top coat ,

’ they did not dare even look at it for fear they d soil it .

at sek M y now whirled about proudly in a clean , warm

’ room into which he d call the children ten times a day to hear them repeat who was master in the house and from which he would ten times expel them for the most varied crimes such as disrespectful coughing o r sneezing in his presence , but mainly for silence when he ques tio ned them regarding his own importance and sig ifi n c anc e . Some days the children did little else than open the door to each other in a succession o f suc h

’ exercises . Barka did not cease to marvel at the fortune which

l o n was theirs , especia ly when her eyes fell the wall

u beside the stove , where h ng a spoon rack , painted red , made for eight sizes and four pewter spoons on each ,

she he the kind had always longed for . Sometimes s

Mat sek gazed at them for an hour at a time . She and y now ate only with pewter spoons and from porcelain dishes . They did not have a single wooden spoon nor wooden b o wl in the whole house . Neither was there anything else o f mean and lowly associations to be found in their dwelling from attic to cellar . It was not to be wondered at that Matysek would not permit it and that Barka gave her consent .

t s k - Ma y e carried out his oft repeated intentions , and

n . renou cing all peasant labor , began weaving brooms He would not let Barka go to pasture the cattle nor BARBAR A 297

see for wood to the grove . The tenant had to to all this and Barka dared do nothing else but prepare meals and sit beside him and spin . He wanted her to have him before her constantly and to admire him . Barka Often wondered not only that he wished this but that he was so truly in earnest about it . He made n t a o only brooms , but lanterns , c ges and anything his

t e fancy suggested . Many people now knew Of Ma ys k and sought him o ut. It was just as he had predicted he had become a notable . Often he related to the

( hildre n that all this was just what he had anticipated when Barka used to take his part while they were both pasturing flocks . At the same time , he admonished them to be mindful o f his every word and deed so that t e h y too might some day follow in his footsteps , but h e had great fears that such a result would not really t be at ained , for , not in a single trait did the children resemb le him . When the children had to hOp about Matysek prae tically all day , and , as the whim struck him , had to

a rush aw y or come speeding back , to speak or remain to place things within his reach o r to remain t mo ionless at a safe distance , Barka would Often secretly supply them with dainties which their mother could not have provided . She did this in order that i they should the more willingly do h s bidding . But Matyse k was not supposed to know of any such pro c e e din g and Barka had to exercise the greatest caution .

Mat se k o f Whenever y learned such a gift , he pou ted 298 CZECHOSLOVAK STORIES

’ and whimpered : Couldn t yo u have given it to me ?

It would have done me more good than them . The doghouse with the star and the moon orna ments which Matysek had joyously planned on for so i l long , he made for h mse f . “ ’ Why shouldn t we our selves have something ” unus ual ? he said to Barka . And he bought a do g to

n A h put in the ken el lthough it was a w ite dog , he

called it Gypsy . His former mistress had a dog “ ” named Gypsy and he could not break himself Of the

habit of calling every do g by that name .

o r When the weather was windy stormy , Matysek

in would lose himself thought for two hours at a time . “ ” What have yo u in your head again ? Barka would

k m n . was as , s ili g proudly meanwhile She knew he planning something that no o ne else would have thought o f And she was right . I was debating whether a person could make some

sort o f cage or trap to catch the wind and hold it . That would be an advantage to us in o ur mountains

’ ” o ur ? here , wouldn t it , Barka

From the time they had married , they never ad “ ” dressed each other otherwise than Our Barka and

t s o ur Ma y ek . Barka assented that it would indeed be a great con v e nienc e fo r people to entrap the wind so that it would

do no harm . “ ? o t Well , who knows Y o u may work it u success ” “

sh . fully , e Often said When people have been able

300 CZECHOSLOVAK STORIES

Hardly had Barka fully arranged her new household , V i f when she thought of amb ef c e . She was o the Opinion that her planet poured fortune on her only because her mother had Offered her in sacrifice at

Vamb efic e .

Matyse k could hardly wait till she returned from

the pilgrimage . Even the first day he ran to the win dow every little while to see if she were already coming

back . In order to have the time go more rapidly , he kept pushing the clock ahead and made marks on the door to indicate how many days she had been gone and

how soon she was certain to return . “ ” To o much is too much , he

returning alone to his room . During all that time , he

o r re never touched the cards , pipe glasses , and even

s fused to look at hi brooms . The tenant could not

suit him by a single glance o r act . Barka had arranged

fo r at sek her to cook for M y in her absence, but he found fault with everythin g that she prepared and brought

to the table .

o f . The children , however , fared the worst all They barely crossed his path when he started after them with

a switch and drove them o ut. If they were not around

ro him, he went looking for them with a d , inquiring

O why they were no t at hand to do his bidding . S it

went constantly j ust as in a comedy . The sun was “ o t still high , when he would cry u to the tenant , Have those children say their prayers and put them to bed so there would be some peace ! ” She had hardly heard BARBARA l301 them repeat their prayers and put them o n their beds o f hay when he burst out on her with a tirade for bring ing up her children as lazy lollers who will never know anything but how to sleep and surely would come to some evil end . He roused such fears in the woman with his predictions of a terrible death fo r her children that she herself seized the whip and drove the children from the hay . Half asleep they were forced to seat them

o l - selves beside her around the d tilted up cask , used to hold cabbage , and She compelled them to strip chicken feathers for down for the winter . They stripped for hours till both children and mother , together

o n with the tub , toppled over the floor , where they slept exhausted from very fear , continual running and un easiness until the next morning , when the treadmill began anew . Barka had her hands full to again bring about order

she r . when retu ned They had all lost flesh , in fact , were fairly ill and from all sides came only complaints and accusations in which she had the hard task of acting as judge . She made an end to all at once by vowing with uplifted hand that She would never again go away on a pilgrimage . At that time the poor thing did not know that She had near at hand another

pilgrimage from which there is no returning .

’ Without any previous warning , Barka s hand began

to swell . “ It must be because I am no longer doing any real ” k work , she said to Matyse . All the strength stays 302 CZECHOSLOVAK STORIES

’ ’ in my hand and that s why it is swelling . It isn t healthy for anyone to be lazy . I said that to you more than once when we were both single and you used to wish that all the people could jus t ride around in ” carriages and do nothing .

o f The tenant did not like the looks the hand . It seemed to her that it was somehow caused from the bone .

“ ’ as t Just as soon the snow mel s , I m going beyond the mountains to get you a doctor . He is very much ’ ” w ask reno ned and doesn t too much money either . “ l ’ll Let him ask what he wi l , I count it o ut for him ” o n Mat sek l here the table , boasted y , jing ing the i co ns in his pocket . He was grieved that Barka seemed to grow weaker from the afflicted hand and had i to lie down every l ttle while . When he did not have

her beside him , he was lonely . They had to move her bed right under the very win dow so that she could see

him clearly and he could look at her .

The tenant did not wait for the snow to melt, but at

o f the first gleam a warmer sun , when a little break

could be seen through the windows in the orchard ,

sh t e star ed out , over the mountains , not minding the snowdrifts and safely reached the doctor whom she

brought back with her to Barka .

o ut The doctor examined the swollen hand , drew from his case some sort Of oil and ordered that she

n should diligently rub it o the hand . If the Oil did

she not help , was to notify him and he would send some

304 CZECHOSLOVAK STORIES

fir st little stars sparkled forth . They smiled at the i w mounta ns , rejoicing ith them that soon they would be green and glad when the fir groves and the blue violets would pour forth their fragrance , when they would hear the nightingale sing beside the stream , when from every rock a flower would spring and in l every furrow the lark would cal . Even the stars are s se e ad when they nothing but snow , frost and ice .

’ Barka s eyes grew misty and great tears dropped o n her clasped hands . For her , spring had come for the

n last time . But i stantly her thoughts returned to

at sek M y . “ a He need not stay here alone . Now that he h s a

ul . house , any good and capable woman wo d marry him

It would be best , perhaps , if I myself would select

’

him . someone for It s a pity , he does not like o ur ” tenant . She would never do him any injury .

Just then a young woman , a neighbor , came running

r into the orchard . She was retu ning a hatchet which she had borrowed o f Matysek and began joking with him . “ When are you going to get a divorce from your ” wife so you can marry me ? she laughed . It was the way all the girls talked with him when they met him alone . Matysek imagined that each o ne was in earnest i ’ ’ ? ” about f. You d like to marry me , wouldn t you

He preened himself, seeming to become a head taller . “ I believe it . Others would , too . I have to defend BAR BARA 305

myself against them . But just bear in mind , once l ’ for all , that I wou dn t take anyone else than Barka

’ for all of Jerusalem . I wouldn t have left her even if brides owning seven castles had sent word to me from

Prague itself . “ And what if you ’ d become a widower ? ” o f ! Mat se k Get out here y , red with anger , shouted at the pert young thing , stamping his foot and brandish ing the hatchet at her . The girl laughed all the more , but had to run away to escape his wrath .

o n Barka , lying in tears the bed , felt as if all the nightingales which were preparing to welcome spring ll in the mountains had begun to sing in her bosom , a the violets which wished to pour o ut their fragrance in

Mat se k the groves bloomed in her heart . As y loved her no other man had ever loved a woman . As happy as they two were , no other husband and wife had ever

n been , even though o e were to seek the whole world over . She bowed her head meekly and owned that here on

she this earth had lived long enough in enjoyment , abundance and happiness and that it was just that her

n w portion should o pass o ver to another . “ f It would be useless to think o marriage for him .

He would have no other , no matter what happened . I must arrange it some other way so that all would go ”

she . on without me , said , wiping her eyes If only he w ould not be here when they carry me o ut . I would have to turn over in my coffin , before they put me in 306 CZECHOSLOVAK STORIES

u n the gro nd , to know how he would carry o . They say the dead see and hear everything that happens

n i k i arou d them before the priest spr n les the r grave .

What , dear God , would I see and hear ? He will not want to give me up to death and will yet anger Go d

Himself by his stubbornness . From that time Barka meditated on nothin g else than how to contrive to have Matysek let her go to her grave without too great an ado and too much sorrow and longing for her . ’ e If I could only last till the time of b rries , then I d ” his w take myself off without kno ing , she prayed again i and again . So ferv ently and ntensely did she pray i for th s that , though her hand was now nothing but a f mass o wounds and her body only skin and bones , nevertheless she lived through the spring and summer . Everyone who came to see her parted with her for ever , for , leaving, they knew they would never again

Mat sek i . see her alive . Only y as yet noticed noth ng He had become accustomed to seein g her o n the bed all the time and whenever he became thoughtful over her condition , Barka quickly had some joke ready to hi f lead m out o his mood . Well she knew how to turn

i r everyth ng to its chee y phase . It was a trait that stayed with her to her last moment . ’ On the afternoon just before Holy Mother s Day ,

u f Mat sek was n before Aug st fi teenth , y just fi ishing a

fo r fo r cage the parish priest , who had ordered it a rare

s bird . Maty ek was pleased with it and hoppe d about

308 CZECHOSLOVAK STORIES

Someone from here can go up there tomorrow to get them for yo u . I to o thought o f that I will ask the tenant to let the children go for them . “ ’ o f use o Well , well , they d be little there , burst ut l ’ Matysek . They wou dn t get much and would bring yo u only brush and bad fruit , ripe , unripe , red , green ’

o f . all in a b unc h . You d hardly relish that sort thing An d who knows W hether the little imps would ever

’ r reach Bezdez . They d ramble where thei fancy suited them and would boldly insist they had actually

’ o f been there . They d be no use except to carry the w t load . Someone ise and dependable should go wi h ? l wi th them . Do you know what I myse f shall go them . No one else can put them through their paces ” as well as I can .

sh Barka had him just where e wanted him . He was

’ r prepared fo r a th ee days journey , and in the meantime — she could set out on hers to eternity . Already her

o f mild eye was looking into the depths that eternity , but her lips still smiled . She had sojourned here long enough in happiness , enjoyment and plenty beside her husband who loved her as no man ever loved a woman .

“ ’ sh whis You re the best man on earth , after all , e “ pered to him . Since we belong to each other , I have never heard a hard word from you . You have never yet done me an injury and you have never once been angry with me May God bless you for that a hundred thousand times . BARBARA 309

t sek m Ma y s iled contentedly , jingling the money in “ his pocket . Neither is such a fine disposition as

n yours possessed by many women o earth . You know ho w to be cheerful about everything and yo u can fore tell and promise things before they really happen . Only please st0 p being so thin and pale ! And your ” lips are so blue and how they quiver ! And again Matyse k patted the bandaged hand and gazed at her with an uncertain , solicitous gaze as before .

’ I ll be better at once , and as soon as I eat a few of ’ i ” your berries I ll run about like a ch ck . ” I W ish you could do it right now !

I shall . I have it all arranged with the Virgin

she Mary . But when calls me , I must visit her at Vam ‘ i o f n b ei c e . She asked it me last ight in a dream and I ’ ” promised her I d go .

“ ’ Y o i u shouldn t have prom sed her that , complained “ Mat sek y and hung his head . Y o u gave us your word ’ with uplifted hand that you d never again go o n a ” pilgrimage . “ f This time it will be altogether di ferent , Barka “ explained Our tenant will do everything to suit yo u

to o . much better , and the children , , are better behaved ” Everything will go o n as if I were here .

“ ’ ’ ” ! Mat sek Oh , no it won t , it won t interposed y and he held o n to her feather bed like a child which fears its mother will slip away .

“ ’ see r You ll that it will , Ba ka smiled at him but

’ within she felt as if she already stood o n God s pillar . 310 CZECHOSLOVAK STORIES

Just give your orders to the tenant the way you

want things done here . She is not a bad woman and will gladly do all to please yo u and will manage the l household we l in my absence . She knows that the house and estate will be hers if she serves us both well

o f unto the day our death , for we have given her o ur ’ ll written agreement . Don t stay at home a the time . Go o ut to different place s and visit the neighbors to learn what is happenin g among people and o ut in the ’ i world and you ll have someth ng to laugh at . Go to

i fo r chur ch also and say a l ttle prayer me there . It is good for those who are o n a journey if we pray for them at home . I , too , shall always remember yo u in a ’ i prayer . Indeed , I ll do noth ng else there than pray ” for you ! “ if ’ ” Oh , but you d only rather stay right here ! Keep your things in good order so that they would last . Wear your fur coat whenever you wish , but take

’ o f to care the p coat , for such a piece of goods yo u can t

in . i i again get a hurry Those new sh rts , the l nen for

u o k which I sp n for y u last winter, you now , those with a l the little red he rts at the col ar band , do not wear

all o n n them the time . Put them only o Sundays and

’ holidays so that you d not wear them o ut at once , for ’ then you d have no memento o f the work o f my hands — ’ and that would grieve me . Don t stop your work . Keep at it every day and in that way you will chase

n i o u away the loneli ess most surely . It w ll be best if y begin right away to work o n that cage in which to shut

312 CZECHOSLOVAK STORIES

a spot , they would stop and pick , regardless of where it

se was . Of little u would they have been to Barka . They had no other thought o n the trip than where they could eat the greatest amoun t o f strawberries and blackberries . Their cheeks and hands were constantly painted with them . At every wayside well he had to pause with them and make them wash themselves so that people meeting them would no t be too horrified at their appearance . He made up his mind to complain

his to Barka , that all trials with them during those thr ee days were un equalled in the history of his troubles and that the berries surely should do her much good . He drove the children ahead of him like a herd o f

o ne n t young goats . Each bore a load so big that o one person , but ten , could have gotten well from eating the berries . They , too , had a story to tell about that journey to Bezdez for they , likewise , had learned many things they had no t before known . Before the tenant could intercept him he rushed with the children pellmell into the room so that Barka some how by the very sight of the abundant harvest could

o n as have joy . But he paused the threshold if he had grown fast to it . The bed beside the window was i n m . empty . Barka was nowhere the roo It was some time before the tenant could so far l control her tears as to fol ow him . He asked her nothing nor did he even look at her , though he felt her standing beside him . BARBARA 313

’ ’ o u Mat se k? You re surprised , aren t y , y she finally addressed him , but her thoughts fairly tore her heart . “ You had hardly gone when the mistress became so well suddenly that she got up . She would not let

se t o ut o n herself be detained , but at once a pilgrimage . She said she had already talked over with you how you ’ d arrange things here in case you did not find her ” at home . ’ Barka had died a few hours after Matysek s de h parture . She had felt to a minute the time s e was to

she go and happily left this world before he returned , just as she had so fervently prayed God might come to

f r pass . She herself had made all arrangements o her

n fu eral , had laid aside the money for it , discussed its details , and prepared for them all . She pleaded with

’ each o ne in God s name not to divulge to Matysek that she would never again return home . She hoped that he would gradually get accustomed to the idea

f so o n o her remaining long the pilgrimage .

He — , to get accustomed to being without her !

Mat sek The tenant softly led y to the table , though he made no resistance . She brought him something to eat and cared for him just as she had solemnly prom

’ ised Barka for her o wn soul s salvation that she would do ! Matysek did not respond to her words . Leaving w the food untouched , he sat quietly , motionless , ith eyes staring at the bed as if there were not a drop o f blood in him .

No coercion could make him go to bed . All night he 314 CZECHOSLOVAK STORIES sat beside the table looking with vacant gaz e at the empty bed .

W a to hen the tenant c me him the next day , he was ll sti sitting at the table . It seemed to her he had grown twenty years older and that his hair had suddenly i become wh te . He turned and spoke to her . “ ” To o much is to o much ! he said in a queer hoarse “ - voice . To go away and stay away , whoever heard o f ? she such a thing But since wanted to go , let her

’

. ll stay there I wi do my work here . I ll get along

Without her . “ You are right , the tenant lauded him . Let her

o n l she . stay her pi grimage if wants to We , again ,

’ she shall stay here . If you are grieved that left , you ll punish her best by no t showing it in the least . Next

’ l she time , she ll think it over more careful y before sets i o ut for some place . Just have a l ttle drink and wash down your trouble .

M at sek And the tenant brought y glasses , cards and his pipe j ust exactly as Barka had ordered her to do .

at s k k M y e quic ly seized upon the glass , cards and the pipe with eager hands . But the glass remained full , the pipe went o ut while he held it in his mouth and of a sudden he did not even know how to name the cards . l Alas , he had told her he cou d not get along without her and yet she had gone and left him . It was no wonder that again he never lay down in bed and remained sitting at the table all night , muttering in a strange “ h ! ” voice , W at is too much is too much

318 CZECHOSLOVAK STORIES have known that she had undertaken a journey from

n o which no o e has yet returned , regardless f how much those left longing push the clocks ahead to hasten the moment of reunion o r how many chalk marks they make

n o the door . Matysek persuaded himself o f his self- deception

Vamb efic e that Barka had gone to only before others . When he stepped before his God“ he acknowledged the

sat truth . He no longer among the married men in the pews at the right , but cowered in the corridor among the beggars who have no o ne o r nothing . There he fell on his knees , pressed the rosary to his lips and those who stood near him heard nothin g else during the “ his F entire mass except whispered prayer . o r my dead Barbara , my dead Barbara

But when he left the church , he again tried somehow to talk himself o ut o f the fact of her death and whom ever he met he asked if they had not met Barka some where , and scolded to them that what was too much

to o really was much , that his wife refused to come back home from the pilgrimage .

as And the people did not seek to change him , but sented that it was indeed a bur den to have such a roamin g wife . Many advised him to leave her where s he was and not let her into the house even if she would come back instantly . He nodded in agreement and looked forward to her pleading to be let in . He made up his mind that he would let her beg a long time at th — e door before he would open it . But whenever he BARBARA 317

entered the room where , near the window , stood her vacant bed from which she had smiled at him so e ar ne stly that his work went rapidly and perfectly— like play in fact ; from which she had gazed at him so happily that he had been able to do whatever people

him his asked , he sank again into chair gazing dt and confusedly into space and his poor mind could not cope with what Fate had sent him .

One morning he arose with brightened brow . It was

fo r Sunday and the bells were just ringing early mass . “ Quickly bring me from the closet the shirt with the

- red hearts and my blue top coat also , he ordered the

n tenant in his accustomed voice and ma ner . ’ She was much amazed , for since Barka s death he

- had never once worn the top coat . He was taking care o f it just as she had instructed him to do and the shir ts with the hearts, which had been spun by her o wn l hands , he cherished particularly . Yes, he recal ed to a hair every word o f hers spoken that evening before she started him o n his journey to Bezdez .

“ ’ fo r - Don t wait me to day from church , he said to the tenant . “ And why not?

’ ’ I can t stand it here any longer . I m going to

i o n punish th s longing . I shall set out the road to

am efi if o V b c e . Barka told me I should get l nely while she was gone , that I should start out to meet her, so

’ ’ she nl I m going . Won t stare when I sudde y appear

‘ sa before her and y , Here I am, o ur 3 18 CZECHOSLOVAK STORIES

The tenant thought that he really meant to carry out this oft - repeated thr eat to lock the door in case Barka

his should come , and nodding assent to plans , she gave him his rosary and cane . h Lo ng s e looked after him as he walked alone . Tears

M t ek filled her eyes . She liked to watch Barka and a ys

r walk together to chu ch , for one could tell by the very way they stepped along that they liked to be together

Po e le here on earth . p laughed , to be sure , and let drop a whisper here and there that they were weak in thoughts , but so few sins as those two had committed s urely were to be found in no other household in the entire community . ’ In vain did the tenant await Matysek s return to i n i dinn er . Her ch ldren came ru n ng home from him l church without all breath ess , heated up and

M t s k n frightened . a y e , they said , had k elt down in

his the corridor as usual , and holding rosary was praying “ ” for dead Barbara , but when , after the mass , all the people stood up , he alone did not arise . When the others had gone o ut from the church he alone did not leave . They tapped him on the shoulder , but he did

no t . move , only gazed at them strangely A terror seized the children and they began to scream . The

m Mat sek people ca e running up , picked up y , tried to bring him back to life , but he remained rigid .

M atyse k had truly gone to find Barka . He could no longer wait . He had pun ished the longing . And it was

is is to o ! no wonder . What too much , really much

320 CZECHOSLOVAK STORIES

The primary ac cent always falls o n the first syllable in Czech words . ” The suffix -o v a is added to masculine proper i o f i s names to ind cate female members the fam ly . Thu , B o ze na Nemc o v asignifies that B o zena is of the family or house o f Néme c . “ z i o f In C ech , the English spell ng Cech (Bohemian) , “ ” “ ” “ ” the c z is pronounced like ch in chair and the “ “ ” “ ” final ch like ch in the Scotch loch . APPENDIX B

THE SLAV S

So many people are under the impression that the Slavic tongues are wholly alien to the other languages o f Europe that a brief statement o f what groups con stitute the Indo - European family of languages will not i be amiss . Th s family includes eight main branches

- o each o f which has several sub divisions . The first r Aryan includes the Indian and the Iranian and those in turn have sub - divisions which are represented by the

Sanskrit , the Zend and the old and modern Persian .

The second is the Armenian branch . The third is the i e Hellenic , wh ch includes all the ancient Gr ek dialects as well as modern Greek . The fourth is the Albanian n branch spoken in ancient Illyria and in modern Alba ia . The fifth is the Italic branch represented by the Latin and other dead dialects and by the modern Ro mance languages , as French , Italian , Spanish and Portuguese . The sixth is the Celtic branch with sub - divisions o f the n i Gallic , Britta ic and Gael c and those in their turn - i represented by the Cornish , Irish , Scotch Gael c and

- Manx . The seventh branch of the Indo European family is the Teutonic which embraces three main i groups , the Gothic , now extinct ; the Norse , includ ng

the Swedish , Danish , Norwegian and the Icelandic ; i the West Germanic , wh ch is represented by the Ger Lo w ranc o nian man , the Saxon , Flemish , Dutch , F , i Frisian and Engl sh . The eighth branch is the Slavonic, 321 322 CZECHOSLOVAK STORIES

- sometimes called Balto Slavic . The languages devel se a s Oped around the Baltic were the old Pru sian , the

Lithuanian and the Le ttic . A rough di v ision o f the Slavs is territorial compris i I . o r f ing ( ) Eastern Slavs Russians , consist ng o Great t Russians , Whi e Russians and Little Russians , the last named being variously called Ukrainians , Rusins ,

- Ruthenians and C arpath o R ussians . (II . ) The Western v Ce c h s Slavs , embracing the Czechs ( ) , Slovaks , Poles ,

- . . o r Lusatian Serbs (III ) The Southern Jugo Slavs ,

- including the Slovenes , Serbo Croats and Bulgarians . The best authentic division o f the Slavs today ao Nie de rle a cording to Dr . Lubor , professor of Arch eology h n and Et nology at the Czech U iversity at Prague , the capital o f Bohemia and also o f the new Re public o f as : Czechoslovakia , is follows

1 . The Russian stem ; recently a strong tendency is i s i i man fe ted , toward the recogn tion with n this stem o f l - l two nationa ities , the Great Russians and the Sma l

Russians . 2 . t f The Polish s em ; united , with the exception o the o f K a ub small group the s Slavs , about whom it is as yet uncertain whether they form a part of the Poles o r f a remnant o the former Baltic Slavs .

3 z - i . The Lu ice Serbian stem ; divid ng into an upper and a lower branch . n 4 . The Bohemian o r Cech and Slovak stem ; i separa mi an w ble in Bohe a d in Moravia , but ith a tendency toward individualization among the Slovaks living in a wh t was formerly a part of Hungary . 5 . The Slovenian stem .

6 rb - h - . The S o C o rv at (Serbian Croatian) stem ; in W i al i h ch political and cultur , but especially rel gious ,

324 CZECHOSLOVAK STORIES

” e b In the Czech , the pr sent indicative of yti be) wi th the pronouns is :

ja jse m ty jsi o n jest The German is ich bin du bist er ist

The natural similarity o f words in the Slavic lan guages is obviously even greater and more pronounced than the resemblance o f words in the various Indo

European tongues . ” Thus , the word mother in the principal Slavic has : tongues three forms Russian , mati ; Czech , mati , r matka or mate ; Serbian , mati ; Polish , matka ; Bul “ ”

o r . garian , majka mama The word for water is ” voda in all o f the above languages except in Polish “ ” “ ” sit is where it is woda . The verb to , in Russian , sidét se déti se diti ; in Czech , ; Serbian , ; Polish , sied i z ec séd a . i ; Bulgarian , j One could trace this sim larity o f roots and suffixes in all the words common in the

experience o f o ur ancestors . The examples given are o f o r i but two hundreds even thousands , wh ch con elusively show that the Slavic tongues are philologically

- related to the other Indo European tongues . “ ” The etymology o f the word Slav was no t clear

for some time . Some philologists connected it with the “ ” “ ” “ word slava which means glory o r the glorious ” race . Others , and the numbers of such linguistic stu ao dents o r scholars exceed the former school , have c e ted o f D o b ro v sk p the theory Joseph y , the Bohemian APPENDIX B 325

i ph lologist , who asserted that the term comes from ” “ slovo which signifies word o r those who know ” “ ” words . The term in the original Slavic is Slovan which is more closely allied in appearance and sound D o b v s k to the word from which it is derived . ro y claimed that the earliest ancestors o f the present Slavs “ ” “ called themselves Slo v ané o r men who knew words ” o r languages in contradistinction to the Germans who did not know their words or language and hence were ” “ ” “ ” called Nemei from Nemy meaning dumb . The dl Slavic name for Germans , od y enough , has remained ” “ ” é i o N mc r the dumb ones to this day . This dubbing o f a neighbor nation which is dissimilar in language and customs recalls the practice o f the ancient Greeks who named all other nations who were not “ Greeks barbarians . “ The name Czech o r Cech as it is correctly writ l ten , should by all rights be the on y title applied to the group o fSlavic people occupying the square miles in what was Northern Austria . It is a word originally o f o f designating the leader the small band Slavs who , i in the fifth century , em grating from Western Russia , settled in the valley o f the Vltava (Moldau) in the heart o f Europe and there have remained as the sturdy F de vanguard o f the Slav people . General a jév well said in 1869 Without Bohemia the Slav cause is forever ”

o f . lost ; it is the head , the advance guard , all Slavs From the word “ Cech ” is derived the poetic name ” e c hi C a for Bohemia , this term corresponding to our ” symbolic Columbia for America . “ ” “ The names Bohemia and Bohemians as applied n u o f to the cou try and to this gro p Slavs respectively, “ ” “ ” o r are derived from the word Boji , Boii , a Celtic s o f the tribe , occupying the ba in the Vltava and Elbe 326 CZECHOSLOVAK STORIES

before the permanent settlement there of the Czechs . Julius Caesar in his Commentaries on the Gallic Wars “ ” i speaks frequently of the Boji and Marcomann . “ ” w Bo o h e The word Boii as in the Latinized form , j ” mum , applied to the country of those early Celts who had occupied the coun try and eventually the name h ” “ Bo jo e mum was changed to Bohemia . In the later days , the Slav inhabitants became known as “ Bohemians ” to the outside races unfamiliar with the ” correct term Cech which to facilitate pronunciation “ ” “ ” n n - Cz by o Slavs is written Czech . The is pro “ ” “ ” “ ” “ ” no unc ed hi like Ch in c ld , the e like in net , and the final “ ch ” is pronounced like “ h ” sounded gutturally . h W en the Magyars or Hungarians , a Mongolian i tribe , invaded Hungary , they spelled d saster to Slavic unity for , linguistically and racially , they were so dif fe re nt from the Czechs and Slovaks that they have ever been a scourge and a menace to those two Slavic peoples . k The Slova s , most nearly allied in language and i customs to the Czechs , occupy the fields and Carpath an n i an mountai s o f northern Hungary . A splend d and cient history is theirs though in latter centuries it has become o ne continuous record o f bitter oppression s uf fere d first at the hands o f the Tatar invaders and then from the cruel hI agyars o f Hungary and o f the always f privileged Germans o the Hapsburg domain . Slovakia suffered the misfortune o f being incorporated with Hun gary in the tenth century and Magyarization has n r as has gone o elentlessly a result . The Slovak language been wonderfully developed since the time o f Anton B e rno lak n but every mea s , every fiendish device has been used by the Magyars to utterly exterminate the

APPENDIX C

BI BLI OG RAP HY OF CZECH AND SLOVAK LI TERATURE

‘ Pie hle d Pis ni v B k sk . i ac o v . e m c t y, Dr F Ceskeho . 9 18 9 . . G ré r . . Dr . Ed g Prague w b o r asni i b c tv . Bowring , Sir John . ( y z ceskeho ) h n o f C e skia Anthology . Being a history the Poetical o f Literature Bohemia , with translated specimen . ’ 2 0 l u 7 . . . pp . Howland Hunter St Pau s Ch rch Yard 2 183 . London . Fl sh n ak z k a a s . . N starsr Pam t Ja a j , Dr V ej y y i Pis ni a k sk 1903 e v B c o v . . . m c t i Ceskeho . Fr . y Prague o f Hrbek , Jeffrey D . List books in English relating i k o Os v éta Ame r c a. to Bohemians and B hemia . Omaha .

1908 .

n k De i n lo e nske Jese s . . S v y, Dr Jan Nastin j j Litera ko lo nskaTla o v K nc ela . Ces s v e a a r . tury é Ekaterinburg , 918 b . 1 Si eria . ire e k Ruko v éti Dé inam Lite ratur J c , Josef . k j y Ceske k is u Vé u . Caso . do Konce XVIII . p Ceskeho M sea — 1875 1876 . Prague . i n L te ratur . Jungman , Josef . Historie y Ceske V . 849 Tomek . Prague . 1 . n o n B 0 Lutzow , Cou t . Lectures the Historians of he 19 4 mia; being the Ilchester Lectures for the year 0 .

120 1905 . F o wde . o . pp . Henry r L ndon i o f . Lutzow, Count . A History Bohem an Literature

4 2 1899 . 5 . pp . D . Appleton and Company . New York o f Mo rfi ll . , Richard William The Dawn European 329 330 CZECHOSLOVAK STORIES

r 264 Literature . Slavonic Literatu e . pp . Society 1883 for Promoting Christian Knowledge . London . .

‘ Histo ric Li e ra a t tur . Ninger , K rel . y Ceske I . L . 4 187 . Kober . Prague . Prehle Novak , Dr . Jan V . Dr . Arne Novak . dné

D in eratur . P b r éj y Lit y Ceske . R ro m e gr. Olomouc . 1 3 91 .

n k Ottfi v Naué y Slo v ni (Otto Encyclopedia) . Arti o n cles Czech , Slovak and western Slav literature , by hlai' Jo s . . . . Tru Fr . Bily , Hanus , F X Salda , Ant , Jan Vo b o rnik aro slav Vrc hlic k , J y. ‘ in . . as v r i . n i o . Pyp , A N . and V . D Sp c P el A ton n i l k . h . ma ek S v ans c c . Kotik . Historie Literatur o y Fr S

1882 . Prague . o f Selver , P . An Anthology Modern Bohemian 2 2 . 191 . 1 8 . . . Poetry . pp Henry J Drane London

Litera ur E dw . Tieftrunk , Karel . Historie t y Ceske .

é r . 1885 . G r g . Prague ac tého . Dev atén Vlcek , Jaroslav . Literatura Ceska i h 2—1 0 i 1 90 9 7 . La c te r . . Stoleti . Jan Prague Cest 4 D in i e l 90 . é . 1 Sp so v at é XIX Stoleti Prague . j y Litera ke ns 1890. tury Slo v e j. Prague . i l Wrat s aw, A . H . The Native Literature of Bohemia in the Fourteenth Century . Four lectures delivered be fore the University o f Oxford o n the I lchester Foun

174 . . . 1878 . dation . pp . Geo Bell and Sons London