The Bronze Statue, or, The Virgin's Kiss — page 19: what you’re looking at

Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.

THE BRONZE STATUE. 17 ‘It is so, rejoined the Carthusian. Zitzka, surnamed the One-Eyed. This " ¢ And in this letter” resumed the Knight, | desperate man was the Lord Chamberlain that it is in your power to lace the crown of Bohemia upon the head of Albert Duke of Austria. ‘Such is indeed the fact,’ ther Cyprian, ¢ But how happens it that a humble eccle- ‘you declare answered fa- giastic, whose life 1s apparently devoted 10 penitence and self-mortification, should possess either the ability or the inclination thus to interfere in political matters of such magnitude and importance and as Sir Ernest de Colmar spoke, he fixed his eyes | significantly upon the rosary and the} acourge suspended to Father Cyprian’s | girdle. | ‘With regard to my motives, said the | priest, after a few minutes’ deep thought, | ‘vou might have spared me the pain of con- | fossing that they are selfish: you mig have understood as much without wrest- | ing the avowal from my lips. | ‘It is better that we should understand | each other fully at the very outset of our | negociations, observed the Knight. — Pro- | ceed, then, to explain the means which you | have at your disposal, and the reward you | expect for the employment of those means in behalf of Duke A\bert. ‘Peradventure your Excellency 18 4| stranger in Bohemia,’ said Father Cyprian | and therefore ‘ndebted only to flying ru- mors and conflicting reports for any know- ledge which you may possess with re-| troubles that have plunged the affair of this country into such confusion. ‘Such is indeed the case, returned de Colmar ; ‘and | should esteem myself fa- vored if you would give me a sketch of the exact position of opposite parties and con- flicting interests 1n Bohemia.’ Cheerfully will f accede to your request, Sir Koigh', answered the Carthusian. | Twenty years have elapsed since John Huss began to preach the Reformation of the Roman Church. A grand council of | Sovereigns and Prelates was assembled at Constance; and John Huss, being cited before that august tribunal, was accused of heresy. The result was, a6 your Excellency must be well aware, that Huss was con- demned to death and burnt at the stake. But alas! the feeling which he had excited in Bohemia was not subdued by the smoke of his funeral pyre ; and in his very ashes, scattered to the winds, there seemed to ex- ist that spirit which prompted his disciples to propagate his doctrine and fan the flame of a rancorous hostility against the priest- hood. was however continued secretly y until about two years agvo—when a new leader of the Re- formers started Up in the person of John ard to the et LL LE 4h —~ c iis WoOTK A. 7 7 +) nad ea tiousiy Austria.’ ' ean of Wenzel, the Kiny of Bohemia 5 and—’ Ne. ‘Was not Zitzka provoked by some pri- A vate injury to take part against the priest- hood 2’ inquired the Knight. Atleast, such ‘3 the rumor which had reached my ears In ‘1 believe there 18 a tale current to that effect, observed Father Cyprian, throwing a furtive look at Sir Ernest de Colmar'’s countenance: then, after a brief pause, he added, ‘ But we will not waste time in dis - cussing trifles. Suffice it for us to know that Zitzka placed himself at the head of who thenceforth took the name of Taborites: and their watchwords became, * Vengeance on the murderers of John Huss! Down with Monarchy ! Down with the priesthood: Heaven prosper Re- ublicanism ?—V ainly did King Wenzel seek to appease the fury of ‘Zitzka; his Majesty was a prisoner in his palace—and the terrible Taborite chieftain ruled the c.ty of Prague and the snrrounding districts according to his own good will and plea- sure. At that period 1 dwelt in a Carthu sian monastery at Prague; and, as the king dared not openly receive a priest of the Roman Church, for fear of incurring the displeasure of Zitzka and his horde, [ was appointed by the Abbot of the covenant to visit the palace secretly at night, and ad- minister the consolations of our blessed religion to the unfortunate monarch. Six months have elapsed since the King died ; but on his death-bed he entrusted his only child, the Princess Flizabetha, to my charge and guardianship. We likewise made me the depositor of his will; and he informed me where he had secreted the vast trea- sures which he had amassed, but which he was compelled to conceal with the utmost care, lest the Taborites should lay their hand on the fortune he had thus accumu- lated for his beloved daughter. ‘The prin- cess Elizabetha, who is now in her eigh- teenth year and 2 m ‘racle of loveliness, 18 at present In a safe rank is unknown; for retreat where her real it would have been madness to proclaim her Queen of Bohemia in the face of the formidable Zitzka and his devoted Taborites. Thus, during the last six months, the kingdom has remaine without a monarc h—torn by dissensions— a prey to anarchy—and knowing Ho other ‘ale than tl f ti | : rule than that of the reign the Reformers, of terror which John Zitzka has established.’ ‘Such, then, is the p sition of Bohemia,’ said the Knight, ‘na musing tone. ~ And now, holy father, what do you propose in respect to Duke Albert of Austria f’ he demanded, afer a minute’s deep thought. ‘That hia Highness should become the comicbooks.com