The New York herald., 1869-09-17

Progress OF tho Slnv0nic Famlly-Its Lead
and Consequences to tho Empire-The Huss
Mnrtyrdom FestivnE-Poiitics Towards tho
Portc-Huss as n TheoIogian and Politician
Tho Cracow Nun Case.
ST. PETERSBURG. July 3o.(
august II, N. 81, 1860. !
have more than once told you that 1t is part Of
my plan, and the reason why 1t Is so, to keep you
regularly informed not only Of Russian events, but
OF the principal occurrences IN the great slavonc
family, OF which we form such prominent part.
and the leadership OF which IL thrust upon us by
circumstances without an EFFORT on our part, and
sometimes to the considerable annoyance and en-
barrassment Of our statesmen, who would fain not
incur more subjects OF disagreement with western
Europe than absolutely necessary, not being yet
arrived at the full comprehension that this, OF all
Others is the topic on which dissensions cannot, In
the long run, be avoided. Accordingly, this
letter will be devoted exclusively to an ac-
count of what Is going on In some Of our Kindred
countries as things are looking there just at
present more than usually interesting.
The great festival in honor OF the five hun
dredth anniversary OF John Huss's martyrdom and
the Serbian movement against the Porte Garect-
ing chiefly the Bosnian and Herzegovlan branches OF
the Serbian natOn form the most prominent features
OF the actual SavOnc po1lrical ta0teau and around
them gravtate the lesser details. taking from them
their form and cooring. The Huss festival, which
is to begin In week, will take place in Constance,
and the choice Of neutral place for the soemnity.
intended more especially to honor the tragic death
of the great reformer s the more judiciOus that 1t
affords no possible food to national jealousy among
the different Slavonic people who might have felt
aggreved at the martyrs birthplace, Prague, appro
priating him exclusively by solemnizing his memory
within her walls as he is considered almost
M much n common denizen of Siavondom GENE.
- =. a., .,-,,- ,-..,.u, r,,r,, .ra .sa.,oa,u.
raiy "s 'ne osi"'ty oio'"0'' a. ""u "eoo'
With these indeed ne mas more than one feature IN
circnmsfan cOncernng his life and doctrine has
been oyerIooxed until very lately. II was he in
fact who rave the Tchechs their present orhOgraphy
and literary ianUuaqe for which purpOse he Selected
the Praunan dialect out of the innumerabie unre0-
ulated, grammariess dialects into which the Tchech
vatscns Of which he is Considered the orirnator It
was GENERALLY held even among us Russians nor
wholly upfoundedly that he was merely the next
forer1nner Of the Reformation for which statement
we have Luther's own authority, VINO repeatedly
pointed him out as his predecessor. Thus Huss
came down to posterity with the undoubted
title OF a great Protestant reformer Now in
tnts there Il much truth, and q great deal
of fssenood also. He denied the Supremacy
of the POpe. condemned the celIbacy OF the
CLERGY ana advocated communion under both spe-
81 e bv thr ~ bs
II Luther acknowledged all OF Husss doctrines he
added much of mis- own went some lengths which
Qener0llV C0alQ00
the spirt of that same predecessor's doctrine wie
ne accepted It in the letter. Huss then, though he
tanrht mnch that the Protestants accented and an
iarged unon was by no means a Protestant in the
venerallv accented conventional sense of the word:
FOR ali IN Il he has been accounted such through CEN
tnries dining which no doubt has been raised as to
his 9enuins Professionalism. Now however two let
tersSno me- reiately discovered In our Petersburr
imperial Pubic Library lone OF the richest in
the world by the bye, have considerably
changed tic whole aspect OF the question.
0f these letters one Ia addressed by Huss to the
Patriarch of Constantinople the Prmate OF the East