the naked breasts which the Queen and her household exhibited in public. Had it been indeed known in Prague how the Queen turned up her nose at all she saw in Bohemia, she would have made every one her enemy. Her unfavorable judgment, however, was kept as a secret in the circle of those near her person.
During the few days which had passed since Frederic’s arrival in Bohemia, some of his attendants, and especially his Counsellor, Camerarius, who excelled all others in knowledge of affairs and in ability to labor, had found opportunity to form an opinion in regard to the general condition of the country. That this would be very unfavorable in relation to the state of the finances is evident; but it was just as unfavorable in regard to every part of the administration, which he described as in fatal confusion. Camerarius was so depressed when he ascertained these facts, that he fully justified the scoffing remark of the Pope. Paul V., on hearing of the Palsgrave’s acceptance of the Bohemian crown, expressed himself to the effect that Frederic had entered a filthy labyrinth, in which he must inevitably be lost. Unfortunately it was not to be expected that the Palsgrave’s coming would improve this state of things, since none of the men who had so miserably carried on the government might be removed. The counsellors which Frederic had brought with him could indeed inform him of this sad state of things in the country, but could not improve it, since it was strictly insisted upon that all positions, high and low, must be occupied by natives, to say nothing of that ignorance of the Bohemian language which made it, in the start, impossible to apply the remedy.
Frederic’s first measure, after his coronation, and the retirement of the Directors, which took place at the same
