phrases, and certain acts of worship, do not affect the way in which social problems are met or individuals treated. A breakfast, for instance, at which a gospel address is given, is not less demoralizing or more sustaining than one given without such an address. A visit to a poor man when the Bible is read, or the theory of the position of the Church explained, does not of necessity increase his good-will any more than a visit where the talk has been of common things.

Religion, indeed, when it is claimed as the basis of philanthropy, has not always that consciousness of God which is the essence of religion. Every age, perhaps every individual, has to discover what is the name of the controlling power and what is the source of the spark which troubles the clod. It preserves its discovery in forms of words or of worship which are good if used by succeeding ages as a means for further discovery, but which are bad if used as the final expression of all truth. The religion which is now connected with philanthropy is often that which rests on forms or words used by past generations to express their consciousness of God, and not that which rests on a consciousness derived by men of to-day from the revelations of to-day.

The conclusion of the whole matter for one distressed by what he has seen of man's failure to do good is that philanthropists should be better students of the signs of the times, and before giving or doing should find out, not what is expedient, but what it is that must be done. The rich, before they go to deal with their poor, disinherited brother, should, like Jacob, wrestle with the spirit which haunts their path and breathes in science, politics, and art; and they should never let it go till they know its name and its will. Philanthropists should think before they act, and pray for the individual before they begin to help him. A religion of the nineteenth century is necessary to its philanthropy.

From Temple Bar. THE RIVAL LEADERS OF THE CZECHS. On the 18th of January, 1891, the streets of Prague were crowded; the Czechs had turned out to a man, and in none too pleasant a temper. There was a dangerous look in their eyes, ar angry ring, too, in their voices, and they bandied about threats and curses in a most reprehensible fashion. Evi dently their world was out of joint and they had more faith in blows for righting it than in diplomacy. They! stood about in groups, and paced up and down, conning over their griev ances; and whenever they came withirsight of a certain house in the Palacky gasse they shook their fists and seemed to lose their heads completely. It was a plain, inoffensive looking building but it acted on their nerves as a red rag on a bull. Once there was an ugly rush towards the place. Some five hun dred men fought their way right up to the door, and stood there hissing hooting, shrieking, and yelling, unti one might have thought the very pow ers of hell were loose. Shrill cries of "Rieger, Rieger, the traitor!" were heard, mingled with cheers for Vasaty and Edward Gregr. Then came the whiz of stones in the air, and the crash of broken windows. "We will have none of your compromise, Rieger," cried the mob, "none of your noose on ou necks." And they swore they would raze the house to the ground, and tear its owner limb from limb.

It was a pitiable scene, for the house the Czechs were storming had been their Mecca for many a long year; and the man whose home it was was their "uncrowned king," on whom they had lavished love and devotion such as no living monarch has ever received. He had led them within hail of the Promised Land, and then, as they thought, had played them false. Little wonder there was a sorely troubled look on the faces of those even whose wrath was fiercest. Idol-smashing is at best a heart-rending business.

No statesman in Europe has had a wider experience of the ups and downs of public life than Franz Rieger. He

never forgotten. From that time forth it has been by peaceful means alone that he has sought to obtain the recognition of Bohemia's rights as a nation. Dr. Rieger was one of the Bohemian representatives in the Constituent Assembly which met after the revolution to regulate the affairs of the empire. Young-he was barely thirty-handsome, brilliantly clever, and with singularly charming manners, he was an attractive personality; and, in spite of his somewhat aggressive patriotism, in Vienna, as one of his keenest critics assures us, "die Frauen sahen ihn gern, die Männer hörten ihn gern." He was a consummate orator even in those days, with a voice of such marvellous sweetness that few could hear it unmoved. He was a skilful debater, too, with plenty of ready wit, sagacity, and tact, and, thanks to Palacky's training, he was well skilled in the art of leading men, and thoroughly versed in statecraft. In the Constituent Assembly his influence was felt from the first; no member was listened to more eagerly, no member scored so many personal triumphs. By the sheer force of his ability he entirely dominated his colleagues on more than one occasion. Unfortunately, at this time his discretion was by no means on a par with his talents. His patriotism warped his judgment. Perhaps, too, his head was a trifle turned by the incense burnt around him. Be this as it may, he certainly made some serious blunders. His keen sense of Bohemia's wrongs blinded him to those of his neighbors; so long as she was freed from her chains, those around her might, for anything he cared, be left in bondage forever. He even threw his influence more than once on the side of oppression, and it was chiefly owing to a speech of his-one of which he has since repented in sackcloth and ashes -that the Magyar Deputation was refused a hearing in the Constituent Assembly.

This everything-for-Bohemia policy, selfish and short-sighted as it was, excited great enthusiasm among the Czechs, who were immensely proud

of the position Rieger had won for himself in Vienna. They welcomed him as a national hero when he returned to Prague; nor did they lose their faith in him even when they found he had brought back with him nothing but vague promises. On the contrary, his influence increased steadily in the dark unsettled days that followed; and, when in 1861 the longwaited-for Constitution was at length granted, there was but one opinion among the people-Rieger must go to represent them in Vienna, no matter who should stay at home.

When Dr. Rieger took his seat for the first time in the Reichsrath his hopes were high. He never doubted but that the emperor and his advisers," convinced by the disastrous result of the war in Italy of the danger of running counter to national sentiment, were prepared to grant complete autonomy to Bohemia. Certain safeguards for German interests must, he knew, be devised, but this was a question of detail; the principle of Home Rule was conceded, he held, when the '61 Constitution was granted. And the imperial ministers did their best to encourage him in this delusion. They were anxious to secure his support; they therefore lavished on him courteous attentions, assured him of their sympathy, assured him, too, that personally they would be only too glad to leave Bohemia to manage her own affairs. There were difficulties in the way, they allowed-the German Bohemians' mistrust, for instance-but they undoubtedly implied that they were doing their best to find means of surmounting them. Meanwhile Dr. Rieger must be patient. And patient he certainly was. In the Reichsrath he worked in a very different spirit from that in which he had worked in the Constituent Assembly. He had become more tolerant, more conciliatory in his methods, more statesmanlike in his views. His patriotism, though as enthusiastic as ever, had lost its aggressive tone, and his love of the Czechs no longer blinded him to the merits of other races. He advanced no exorbi

tant claims, he made no extravagant demands; all he asked was that Bohemia should be allowed to work out her own salvation in her own way. For this he pleaded in the Reichsrath as no other man has ever pleaded there. His speeches are perfect models of persuasive oratory. As he spoke it was As if he held his hearers in the hollow of his hand and swayed them at will. Men who had no sympathy whatever with the views he expressed hung on his words with delight, and applauded him to the echo. On the morrow though, it is true, when no longer under the spell of the magic sweetness of his voice, as often as not they would record their votes against him.

For two long years he sat in the Reichsrath, rendering valuable help to the government, and so long as he was Content with promises in return all went smoothly. The time came, however, when he insisted on the imperial ministers proving their sympathy for Bohemia by deeds, not words. Then he was informed that he had mistaken the intentions of the government; nothing was further from their thoughts than to grant Home Rule to Bohemia. Rieger sprang to his feet with flashing eyes. He had been betrayed, he cried, deliberately deceived, and he refused to sit in a parliament in which such shameless dealings were tolerated. Shaking the dust from off his feet, he quitted the Reichsrath, and took with him every member of his party.

Dr. Rieger is a proud man, and it cut him to the quick to be obliged to return and tell his countrymen that the Viennese had made a plaything of him, had flattered him with promises, and then turned round and scoffed at him. For nearly twenty years he had been working ceaselessly for his county; he had sacrificed for her everything-his home life, his professional career, his chance of wealth, his ease, his comfort-and it seemed as if all that he had done had been done in rain; Austria's yoke was as firm on Bohemia's neck as on the day he had first joined hands with Palacky. If Rieger's patriotism were less sincere,

he would either have thrown up his leadership in despair, or have revenged his defeat in Vienna by giving a free rein to the more violent section of his followers. As it was, before a week had passed he was hard at work again, preparing for a fresh campaign.

While in Vienna he had chafed sorely at the scant respect with which his followers were treated. The Reichsrath in those days was a stately ceremonious assembly, and it had resented as an outrage on its dignity the somewhat erratic courses of "Rieger's rabble," as Count Hohenwart sneeringly styled some of the Nationalist representatives. Their ignorance of parliamentary etiquette had drawn down on them ridicule without stint; while their uncouth manners, their lack of self-control, and, above all, the way they had of having recourse to blows when words failed them, had completely alienated from them the sympathy of their fellowmembers. Rieger was keenly alive to the defects of his followers, alive, too, to the injury they had done to the Nationalist cause, and he was determined to make a thorough reformation in their ranks. If ever again he led a party in the Reichsrath, he had made up his mind that it should be one of which Bohemia should have reason to be proud. He resolved to bring his personal influence to bear on the younger men among the Nationalists, with a view to training them for parliamentary life.

His door stood open night and day, and no matter how tired he was, all comers met with a warm welcome. He talked with them, argued with them, entered into all their difficulties, and tried to make them understand the importance of cultivating the amenities of life. He always spoke to them as a friend, never as a leader; and even when he dealt out blame and criticism, which he did unsparingly, it was in such a kindly genial fashion that no one could resent it. Meanwhile, he was doing what he could by delivering lectures, giving addresses, and holding public discussions, to train the nation at large in constitutional ways.

He

used to describe the past glories of Bohemia, and tell his hearers how, a thousand years before, when all their neighbors were still in chains, the Czechs were free. It behoved them more than any other people, he always insisted, to regard liberty as a sacred heritage; and they must set to work at once to fit themselves to be good citizens in the bright days that were coming, when Bohemia would again have a king of her own. Wherever he went he excited the wildest enthusiasm; men flocked from miles around to hear him speak, and hung on his words as if he were inspired.

While thus educating his countrymen for freedom, Dr. Rieger was doing his utmost to obtain freedom for them by carrying on a ceaseless agitation against the Austrian régime. In this work he found an able coadjutor in Edward Gregr, who had been elected member of the Landtag in 1861. Dr. Gregr is a man of great learning, a distinguished scientist, a brilliant writer, and an eloquent and incisive speaker. Nor is he less notable physically than mentally; for years of his life he hardly knew the meaning of the word fatigue. He could speak all day and write all night for the week together. He was about thirty-five when he entered the Landtag, and up to that time he had paid little attention to politics, devoting himself entirely to his duties as university professor, and as editor of the well-known scientific Journal, the Zivy. At first Dr. Gregr was far from popular among his colleagues, who were inclined to resent a certain roughness which characterizes his manner. He calls spades spades with quite unnecessary distinctness, and he had then an uncomfortable habit of striking out all round. long as his blows were aimed at their enemies, the Czechs could admire the vigorous dexterity with which they were dealt; but when, as sometimes happened, they came down with a crash on their own heads, they viewed the matter differently. Besides, some of his articles in the Narodni Listy were too strong meat even for their taste.

So

Rieger and Gregr are by nature antagonistic; to the former there is t something barbarous in the latter's iconoclastic ways, and he has little faith either in his wisdom or his discretion. Still, in political warfare, a leader cannot always choose his tools. Gregr's ability is undeniable; and his patriotism was above reproach. Rieger welcomed him, therefore, as a powerful though somewhat dangerous ally. At this time the differences between them related to methods rather than principles, for the great object in life of the one man, as of the other, was to obtain autonomy for Bohemia. For this they could and did fight side by side for years, though they chafed and worried each other sorely.

In 1866 Bohemia was turned into a battle-field. So long as the war lasted the hands of the Nationalists were tied, for they had no wish to fight Germany's battles for her by adding to Austria's embarrassment. But when once peace was restored, they returned to the charge. Keenly as Rieger regretted Austria's defeat, he was not blind to the fact that it might turn to the advantage of the Nationalist cause. Now that Austria was no longer a member of the German Confederation, the imperial government might be less inclined to support the German Bohemians in their refusal to be placed under the rule of the Czechs, especially as these Bohemians had played a more than equivocal rôle during the war. To this day men tell how, at Königgratz, they saw them throw down their arms when the fight was at its hardest, and heard them vow they didn't care a Pfeife Tabak which way the battle went. The disloyalty of their rivals might, Rieger thought, induce the emperor himself to favor the aspirations of the Czechs; and his hopes rose high when Count Beust, whose sympathies were known to be antiGerman, was placed at the head of the government. Before long, however, disquieting rumors reached him; it was the aspirations of the Magyars, not of the Czechs, that were to be gratified; Home Rule was to be granted, but to

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