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The Story of Bohemia.

their example; but first the young king was to come into the country to take the usual oath to preserve the rights and liberties of the realm, since at his coronation he had been too young to do so. Various obstacles being placed in his way, he did not come to Bohemia till 1522. He brought his young wife with him, and asked that she be crowned Queen of Bohemia. The States were quite willing, and grand preparations were made for the ceremony. But the harmony of the occasion was marred by the quarrels between the noblemen as to who should hold the first place in the coronation procession. As there seemed no way of settling the difficulty without offending some of the parties, the king in great wrath ordered the decorations to be torn down and the preparations to cease. In a few days, however, the coronation took place, the difficulty being obviated by the king himself carrying in one hand the scepter, in the other the golden apple, while the queen carried the two golden loaves. The honor of carrying the sword was conferred upon a German nobleman. Even now all did not move on smoothly. The Bohemian nobles, either through shame or anger, would not come to the coronation dinner, which so vexed the youthful sovereign that the queen had all she could do to comfort him.

RISE OF LUTHERANISM IN BOHEMIA.

In a previous chapter it was said that the Diet of Kuttenberg, in 1485, by its wise laws settled for many years the religious troubles in the country; but in 1519 they began anew, bringing endless sufferings to the people. On this occasion the trouble was brought into Bohemia from abroad.