31 JULY 1915, Page 13

"THE WRATISLAS DYNASTY."

[To TUN EDITOR OF TSR "SPECTATOR."] Sin,—The letter of your correspondent " W. H." upon the Wratislaw family in England is of great interest at the present moment, but your correspondent is incorrect in one or two items, and does not appear to know that the Rev. A. H. Wratislaw was an ardent patriotic Bohemian, with an intense love for his ancestor's kingdom, and the author of many important books upon the history of Bohemia. When I first began to write upon Bohemia early in the "eighties," I came in touch with the Rev. A. 11. Wratislaw, who was Head-Master of Bury St. Edmunds, and not Felsted School, and afterwards Vicar of Manorbier, at which historic spot I had the pleasure of meeting him; the last time I saw him was in Wiesbaden, where he had gone to try and retain at least the sight of one eye, he having injured his sight by much study of manuscripts, &c. ; and I well remember his kindly words to me, a younger writer upon Bohemian history and politics, and his ardent hope that some day Bohemia would again be a kingdom. Amongst his works is the valuable volume upon the life of John Hue and a very quaint and graphic picture of the days of Louis XI. in France and of King George of Bohemia in the year of grace 1464, entitled The Diary of an Embassy; he also translated the "Queen's Court Manuscript" and other Bohemian poems, and wrote the Adventures of Baron Wenceslas Wratislaw of Miirowitz, a picture of Constantinople in the year 1599; and in the year 1877 he delivered four lectures, the Ilchester Lectures, at Oxford upon the native literature of Bohemia in the fourteenth century, To those studying the history and literature of Bohemia these books are of real value,—I am,