NEW YORK CITY, October 18th, 1897.


DEAR FRIEND:

We were very pleased to receive your letter.

You have evidently misunderstood the article in question, and also
misquoted it.

If you will look back at page 1,390 you will see that we do not say the
Bohemians are an unruly people, but that they are wild and quickly
irritated--information which you can easily verify for yourself. We had
no intention of making any disparaging remarks about the race. We merely
stated facts which are so well known in Europe that they have become
proverbs.

In reference to the Czech language we must also differ with you. Your
argument that you have friends who speak the language does not strike us
as very sound. There are numbers of Europeans who have learned Chinese,
but that does not alter the fact that Chinese is an abnormally difficult
tongue.

If you will read our article through again you will see that your zeal
for the Bohemians has made you defend them before they were accused.

We stated that the governing of Austria is a very difficult task in
consequence of the three conflicting elements of which it is composed,
and explained the nature and grievance of each element.