government which was at that moment, as in the present day, almost independent of Vienna, raised an energetic protest against the meeting of any assembly, at which the Slavs of Hungary should be represented. The attitude of the German and liberal cabinet which had taken office in Vienna in March was one of hatred and fear of the Hungarians, of hatred and contempt of the Slavs. The cabinet of Vienna was, however, entirely powerless, as several government officials and generals, of whom Prince Windischgrätz—who at this moment became commander of the Imperial forces in Bohemia—was the most important, had already planned a return to the former absolutist system of government. In spite of the dangers that threatened them, the Bohemian patriots determined to hold their congress. About the end of May numerous Slavs from all countries began to arrive at Prague. The principal leaders met at the house of Baron Neuberg, an ardent patriot, on May 27 and 28.[1] The meeting had by no means a revolutionary character. Count Leo Thun, who was at that moment at the head of the government (Zemský president) acted as chairman. Most of the Bohemian patriots were present as well as several Servian guests, among whom was General Zach, who afterwards became known as leader of the Servian armies. On May 30 numerous other patriots arrived from the country districts of Bohemia, from Croatia, Servia, Poland, Moravia, and the Slavic parts of Hungary. They were received with great enthusiasm by the National Guard, which in Prague, as in most continental cities, had been formed in the revolutionary year. At a meeting which took place at the National Museum[2] on June 1, Palacký was elected president of the congress, and on the following day, after a solemn mass at the Týn church, the first general assembly took place on the Sophia island. From the first moment, however, dark clouds, as Tomek writes, appeared on the horizon. Though the Russian Government had forbidden its
- ↑ Tomek Paméty zroku 1848 (Memoirs of the year 1848). Professor Tomek took a considerable part in the events at Prague in 1848.
- ↑ The large building which now contains the collections of the National Museum had not then been erected; they were then housed in a building on the Přikop, the principal street of Prague. See my Prague.
