„Breathes there the man, with soul so dead,
Who never to himself hath said
This is my own, my native land!“
GUIDE TO THE KINGDOM OF BOHEMIA.
PRACTICAL HINTS FOR BRITISH AND AMERICAN TRAVELLERS.
The guide books published for the benefit of foreigners visiting the baths and spas of Bohemia, such as Teplice, Karlovy Vary, Františkovy Lázně and Mariánské Lázně (Marienbad), as a rule, give a fair amount of general information relating to places on the direct line of route from and to London, Paris, Berlin, Vienna, Petersburg and Trieste; along with hints as to excursions on the Rhine, Bavaria, the Alps and the Bohemian Switzerland; but they completely ignore the country lying quite close to the fashionable resorts. There, the inhabitants are of Bohemian Slavonic nationality who dwell in a land full of attractions for all lovers of nature; where the people with their simple and quaint manners and customs wearing their pretty national costumes, ever present to strangers an interesting series of living pictures reminiscent of by-gone days. The country all around is rich in historic associations and its scenery is, most beautiful and varied; looking at these charming landscapes you realize that
„Nature’s voice is sweet
Wherever heard; her works, wherever seen,
Are might and beauty to the mind and eye.“
