the coming doom of the British empire. Toleration of another man's opinion was for him the toleration of all that was unjust and dishonourable, and revolting to divine truth itself. By nature he was a despot, intellectually, socially, religiously, and politically. The law of give and take, the possibility that other men might have reason on their side too, could not be entertained for a moment. Considering his great abilities, and his knowledge of men and things, the obduracy of his temperament is almost unaccountable. It can only be understood by distinguishing nicely between moral and intellectual insanity. And yet Mr Mulock was a kind-hearted, genial, and most companionable man. He was fond of children and fond of music, and thoughtful and considerate about other people's comforts. He was master of a vast store of anecdote relative to other times and manners, and even to the most recent occurrences. It would scarcely have been possible to name a celebrity of the last sixty years of whom he had not some interesting anecdote to relate. His conversational powers were of a rare order when he was in the mood, but he was like a sleeping lion, easily roused to anger, and ready for a serious bout of fence with his best friend when his prejudices were touched. In a word, his weakness was excessive egotism. In all that he did, it was himself, his opinions, his convictions, his supposed rights, that he guarded. And as Wolsey spoke of ego et rex meus, so Mr Mulock always associated his cause with that of the Almighty. There was a something wanting in him, which I can only designate as that abandonment of self which is the root after all of every enduring virtue. A careless word touched him like a studied insult, and a slight variation in the manner of doing a thing, compared with his own sometimes strange ways, was a want of principle. ST PROCOP OF BOHEMIA: A LEGEND OF THE ELEVENTH CENTURY. BY THE REV. A. H. WRATISLAW, THE great Hussite movement at the commencement of the fifteenth century has never yet been satisfactorily accounted for. Even Palacky, writing under the strict and vexatious censorship of the press at Vienna, has been unable to display in their fulness the various forces which then acted in the same or in parallel directions, and produced that tremendous explosion which shook the Church of Rome to its foundations, and placed the four millions of Bohemian or Czeskish Slavonians for a time, both morally and intellectually, at the head of the nations of Europe. That movement was at once national, intellectual, literary, religious, and also historical; that is to say, one of the forces which tended to produce it was traditional, and arose from the fact that Bohemia was originally converted by Greek missionaries, possessed a Slavonic ritual of its own, and permitted the use of the chalice to the laity. Hence the surname of the ever-victorious, though eventually totally blind, leader of the Hussites, ZISKA Z KALICHU," Ziska* of the Chalice," the chalice which was borne on the banners of the Hussite armies, and is even now the only ornament allowed in the simple Protestant chapels thinly scattered through the north of Bohemia. The legend of St Procop, scenes from which are to be found depicted or sculptured by the wayside in various parts of Bohemia, exhibits very strongly the resistance made to the introduction of the Roman ritual to the exclusion of the Græco-Slavonic one. It is also in itself a curious legend, but, * It is not generally known that Ziska is merely an abbreviation of Sigismund. as might be expected in the case of a saint who interfered actively after death in opposition to the Church of Rome, it is not to be found in such works as Alban Butler's "Lives of the Saints." It occurs in a poetical form in a manuscript of the first half of the fourteenth century, but corrupted rhymes and omitted lines indicate that the composition itself must be considerably older. It has been twice printed this century in Bohemia. The writer commences by an address to old and young to listen to what he is about to tell them of St Procop," who was born in Bohemia, successfully extended his order, faithfully fulfilled the holy law, and wrought great miracles." The holy Procop, he continues, was of a Slavonic family in the village of Chotun, not far from Böhmisch Brod. His parents were an old farmer and his wife, who, according to Solomon's wish, were neither over rich nor over poor, but occupied in every respect a middle station. They were God-fearing people, and brought their son up in such a manner that he was soon remarkable for his virtues amongst his equals. Seeing his excellences and the bent of his mind, they sent him to Vyssegrad (High-castle), near Prague, to a distinguished teacher, under whom Slavonic learning and literature were flourishing. Procop paid especial attention to the study of the Scriptures, in which he made such progress that all the teachers marvelled thereat, and remarked upon it among themselves. He was never idle, and never devoted any time to amusement, but was always engaged either in prayer or study, and was "as meek and quiet as if he had been a monk.” The canons began to take notice of him, and on account of his humility, made him a priest, and elected him a canon of St Peter's, and they would have elected him their provost, had he not, in order to avoid the snares of the world, refused to accept the position. Meanwhile, he met with a virtuous old Benedictine monk, and requested him to admit him into his order. The monk at first dissuaded him from giving up the prospects before him in the Church in Bohemia, but eventually consented to admit him. Procop then adopted a hermit's life in the neighbourhood of his native district, and finally settled in a forest near the river Sazava, about ten English miles from Kourim. Here he found a rock, on which he proposed to dwell, preoccupied by devils. Undaunted by this, he proceeded to clear away the forest around, and built a chapel in honour of the Virgin Mary. For many years he remained here unknown to all men, but, as a city upon a hill cannot be hid, neither can a fire be under a bushel, so did not God allow him to remain unknown all his days. A prince named Oldrich (Odalric, Ulric), after a discussion with his attendants as to where they should hunt, determined upon doing so in the hilly neighbourhood of the Sazava. In the course of the hunt, the prince was left entirely alone, and a marvellously beautiful and well-fatted stag appeared before him. Oldrich pursued it, crossbow in hand, and it gradually retired before him, always just keeping out of range, till it reached the rock on which Procop was at work felling an oak. It sprang behind Procop, and turning its antlers towards him, displayed a cross between them. Prince Oldrich threw down his crossbow, and pulled up his horse. He then proceeded to question the monk, asking him who he was and what he was doing there. The monk replied that he was a sinner named Procop, living in that hermitage under the rule of St Benedict. Oldrich dismounted, and begged him to hear his confession, which Procop did, and assigned him a penance. After this, the prince requested him to give him something to drink, as he was heated with his long chase. Procop replied that he had no other drink save the water which he drank himself. Taking a drinkingcup, he sighed from his heart, blessed the water with his hand, gave it to the prince, and bade him drink. On drinking, the prince was astonished at finding such excellent wine in so lonely a spot, and said that he had been in many lands, but had never drunk better wine. Struck by these miracles, he bade Procop collect more brethren about him, for it was his intention to found and endow a convent there, which at Procop's recommendation he determined to dedicate to St John the Baptist. Oldrich took counsel with his lords and esquires, assembled workmen, and had the building erected with all possible speed, and Procop, against his will, was chosen abbot. This happened in the year of our Lord 1009, and in the reign of the Emperor Henry II. Procop exercised all virtues and all hospitality as abbot, and people crowded to him, "as chickens to a hen," from all quarters. Various miracles of his are related. named Menna, who desired to see him, found himself unable A person to cross the Sazava, all the boats being moored at the other side. Suddenly up came Procop and the brethren, chanting and praising God. Menna prayed that for the merits of Procop God would grant him the means of crossing the water. In a moment a boat released itself from its fastenings, came to him, and conveyed him across. Procop refused to accept the credit of this occurrence, and referred his brethren to the Scriptures, in which the power of true faith, if only as a grain of mustard seed, is exhibited. Another miracle, given at considerable length in the poem, is the casting out of a devil, which flew up to the church top, but eventually fell down, and burst into four pieces. Another set of devils complained bitterly that a Bohemian was now set over them, and that they would have to leave their comfortable residence, where Procop and his brethren had established themselves. Procop, overhearing what they said, made himself a whip, put on his priestly robes, went into the cave where they dwelt, and drove them away. Next is related the restoration of a blind woman to sight. But just as the reverence for Procop was at its height, Prince Oldrich died without completing the convent as he had intended. His successor was his son Bretislaw, who, being informed that Procop had first been a hermit, and then his father's confessor, and that his father had made him many |