"I've decided," he said, "that the teacher is right. In Bohemia, Jozef will learn more about his own country than we can ever teach him here and he'll learn to fight. I'll take him with me and somehow we'll find means to pay for his schooling there."
So, one day, Jozef found himself whirled away on a train over the fertile farm lands of Moravia, in parts of which there are many Slovak villages, through Nivnitz, where the great Moravian educator, John Amos Comenius was born, through towns and hamlets until they came to Brno, Moravia's capital. They changed trains here, and Jozef had time to see the Spielberg, crowned by a citadel long used as a Government prison, with its horrible torture cells, which throw some light on the conception of humanity of the Hapsburg Monarchy.
And then away again but not to Praha, Bohemia's capital. Instead, Jozef's godfather was bound for Tabor, one of the most interesting towns of Bohemia, having been founded by one of the great religious reform parties at the outbreak of the Hussite Wars. This was the town of Jan Zizka, the redoubtable military hero of the times.
Jozef was full of questions regarding this patriot and military genius—the greatest one of his age. He learned that he is regarded by many as the inventor of modern tactics, that he organized peasants and mechanics so wonderfully that they beat back and drove into despair the best trained arm-clad knights of Europe; that he never lost a battle; and that he probably was the composer of a splendid hymn, "All Ye Warriors of God," which seemed to inspire his men with wonderful power as they sang it marching to battle. At the battle of Domazlice (Taus), which took place after Zizka's death, 130,000 crusaders entered Bohemia, proclaiming that they would not let a single heretic live. They proceeded with plunder and slaughter until they reached Domazlice, where they pitched their camp. Some days after, the report spread among them that the Hussites, now under the command of Zizka's splendid successor, Prokop the Great, were on their way and that a battle was imminent.
While the Hussites were still four miles distant, the crusaders heard the rattle of their famous wagons and the mighty tones of the hymn sung by the whole Hussite army. It made such a terrible impression that the fanatical soldiers fled before the song, even the curses of the Cardinal failing to stop them.
Not knowing the passages of the gray Bohemian mountain forest they were overtaken by the Hussite vanguards; many thousands were killed and many more taken prisoners. Their camp with all the ammunition and provisions fell into the hands of their captors. Thus a song proved more mighty than the sword.
"Fear not those, the Lord hath said,
Who would your body harm.
For love of your fellowmen,
He hath ordered you to die,
Hence take courage manfully."
This great victory for a time put an end to all efforts to make Bohemia betray her conscience.
Before Jozef's godfather left for home, he told the boy another and beautiful story about Prokop.
"Not only did Prokop repulse the enemy when they invaded Bohemia, but he himself made incursions into neighboring lands. Once he led his army to the walls of Naumburg, in German Saxony. The inhabitants were seized with great terror for all counted on the town being entirely destroyed.