No sooner were these severe measures enforced in Prague, than the wrath of the people began to calm down.
Four men were handed over to the mercy of the judges; each received a sentence of twenty years' imprisonment, and was immediately taken away without time for farewells.
The hand of the law is very heavy in Prague at this moment, and for this reason her citizens are gradually returning to their senses.
Throughout the length and breadth of this great city the people are forced to live by military rules. Among other orders, the commanding officer insists that the house doors must be closed at seven every evening. Shops have to be closed at five, cafés must have their lights out and doors closed at nine, and every person in the city has to give an account of himself whenever it is required.
Under these laws the people of Prague will continue to live until peace is restored. The condition of the city is very pitiable. The schools are closed, the hotels are empty, and the tradespeople declare that bankruptcy lies before them.
Amazing stories are told of the dreadful things done by the rioters in their hatred of everything German. It is said that the Children's Hospital was attacked, and pelted with stones until all the windows were broken. The poor little invalids were for hours subjected to the freezing cold, and all because the doctors and nurses were Austrian Germans. In another part of the city an ambulance with a sick man in it was attacked by the mob, because the doctor riding with the patient was known to be a German.
While these horrors have been going forward in Prague, matters have not improved much in Vienna.
The two parties are more furious against each other than ever. It is asserted that if the Reichsrath reassembles with the same president, the previous disgraceful riots will be repeated.
It is said, however, that there is a chance of an understanding on the language question, but it is thought that it will be impossible to pass the Austro-Hungarian Compromise Bill in the Reichsrath.