19 JULY 1919, Page 11

IRELAND AND BOHEMIA.

[To THE EDITOR or THE " SPECTATOR."] Sia,—Knowing Bohemia and Ireland well, and having con- tinuously stated there are contrasts but no comparisons between the two countries, let me curtly answer Mr. Arnold Lunn's letter. He gibes at Shakespeare's sea coast of Bohemia; but did not Bohemia conquer to the Baltic, a veritable desert country by the sea ? Bohemia's land frontiers have not changed for centuries; but take from it the frontier hinted at by Mr. Lunn and you take the intricate difficult mountain passes that have ever been Bohemia's safeguard. You can find no uncultivated land in Bohemia, no rags and tatters and no weeds in the fields, no slums in her towns. The Bohemians will not allow a priest to interfere in, or dominate, social or civic affairs. The Vatican is all-powerful in Ireland, and has no power in Bohemia. These are some of the contrasts; where are the comparisons ?—I am, Sir, &c., JAMES Bina, F.R.Hist.S.