ing as that of Bohemians for the beverage of their own sunny hills.”
“May their concord be greater,” added Ogev of Lomnic, “than the said beverage has ever been able to confer on those who love it most.”
“May their love be as that of the true vine,” said Prokop; “and may the clear vintage of their lives be to them as the essence of that pureness which the Sun of Righteousness never fails to instill and to perfect.”
“Lords and gentlemen,” said Zawis, rising, “your good wishes are as sweet and refreshing as the mellowest juice of the grapes of Melnik, or the choicest of Fürstenberg itself. The unhappiness of the country, and the menacing aspect of affairs now compel gravity, and calm counsel among the wisest. In evidence of our appreciation of your generous; congratulations permit me to present to you, ere we separate, some views that seem to me imperatively to command attention at this moment when we hope for the reconstruction of our country and its institutions. We will, if you please, abandon strict formality and discuss these themes as friends and allies. We have fallen,” he continued, resuming his seat, “by our abandonment of practical knowledge, and useful science as studied and applied by our fathers, according to their light. We have largely become sentimentalists in religion first, and lastly in politics also. Our schools, that formerly inculcated the knowledge required in daily life, have been ecclesiasticised, and so far as they
