THE 
 
 LIFE OF WALLENSTEIN, 
 
 DUKE OF FRIEDLAND.
 
 •'raser, 215, Regent Stre<?t,lB5 '
 
 Ex IJbriB 
 C. K. OGDEN 
 
 THE 
 
 LIFE OF WALLENSTEIN, 
 
 DUKE OF FRIEDLAND. 
 
 Arnold. And can it 
 
 Be, that the man who shook the earth is gone, 
 And left no footstep ? 
 
 Stranger. There you err. His substance 
 
 Left graves enough, and woes enough, and fame 
 More than enough to track his memory. 
 
 Byron. 
 
 By LIEUT.-COLONEL J. MITCHELL, 
 
 H. P. 
 
 LONDON: 
 JAMES ERASER, 215. REGENT STREET. 
 
 MDCCCXXXVII.
 
 James Walker, Printer, 
 0. James's Court, Lawiiniarket, 
 Edinburgli.
 
 
 / 
 
 ;U^ 
 
 DIVERSITY OF CALIPORNU 
 SAiSTA BARBARA 
 
 TO 
 
 Lieut.-General Sir JAMES S. BARNES, K. C.B. 
 
 COLONEL, 2d battalion RIFLE BRIGADE, 
 
 AND WHO, DURING THE PENINSULAR WAR, 
 
 COMMANDED THE 3d BATTALION OF THE ROYALS, 
 
 THIS VOLUME IS INSCRIBED 
 
 BY 
 
 THE AUTHOR.
 
 TABLE OF CONTENTS. 
 
 Page. 
 Preface, ...... xi 
 
 ORIGIN OF THE THIRTY YEARS' WAR. 
 
 Important and interesting- character of the contest. — ReUgion 
 and civihsation deeply indebted to the Roman Pontiffs, and to 
 the early Church of Rome — Causes that led to the Reforma- 
 tion : it is begun in Eng-land by Wyclyff ; continued by Huss 
 in Bohemia, where the Calixtenists and Utraquists already 
 obtain full freedom of relig-ion — Luther spreads the Refor- 
 mation in Germany — Confession of Augsburg War of the 
 
 Smalcaldick League — Rehgious peace concluded at Passau 
 
 Dissensions arising from the ill-defined terms of the treaty 
 
 Rapid spread of the Reformation — Fraternal War The 
 
 Emperor Rudolph grants a Letter of Majesty to the Bohe- 
 mians, confirming their civil rights and religious liberties 
 
 Ferdinand of Gratz, and Maximilian of Bavaria : they per- 
 secute the Protestants with unrelenting severity ; and root 
 
 out the reformed faith from their respective dominions The 
 
 Bohemian charter infringed — The Imperial Commissioners 
 
 thrown out of the window of the palace at Prague The 
 
 general war begins — State of Europe at the time, . 1 
 
 CHAPTER L 
 
 Wallenstein's family and education — His want of success in 
 early life — Marriage, his first step on fortune's ladder
 
 Vlll CONTENTS. 
 
 Page. 
 Female influence of the period — Wallenstein's rapid rise — 
 Progress of the Bohemian insurrection. — Vast power of the 
 
 Protestants The Emperor and the Catholic party in great 
 
 danger Wallenstein turns the scale in their favour. — Fre- 
 derick y. elected King of Bohemia — Suppression of the in- 
 surrection. — Severities exercised against the insurgents — 
 Fierce persecution of the Protestants. — Wallenstein serves 
 with distinction against the Transylvanians ; acquires great 
 wealth, and is created Duke of Friedland, . . 40 
 
 CHAPTER II. 
 
 Progress of the war. — Christian IV. of Denmark joins the Pro- 
 testants of Lower Saxony. — Parties balanced till Wallenstein 
 again turns the scale. — He raises, at his own expense, an army 
 for the service of the Emperor ; defeats Count Mansfeld ; 
 checks Bethlem Gabor ; drives back the Danes ; conquers 
 Holstein and Jutland, and renders Ferdinand all-powerful in 
 Germany. — His great plans. — Carries on splendid works for 
 the embellishment of his principalities. — Is created Duke of 
 Mecklenburg, ..... 85 
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 
 Wallenstein besieges Stralsund without success — Gives peace 
 to the Danes, and sends 10,000 men to the aid of the Poles. 
 — Carries the Edict of Restitution into effect The Protes- 
 tants driven from their possessions. — Wallenstein exercises 
 dictatorial power in Germany — Diet of Ratisbon. — Wallen- 
 stein accused of tyranny and oppression, and removed from 
 the command of the army — Retires into Bohemia — His ap- 
 pearance and manner. — Pomp and splendour of his establish- 
 ment — Already suspected of treasonable projects, . 117
 
 CONTENTS. IX 
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 
 Page. 
 Gustavus Adolphus lands in Germany — His character and con- 
 duct — His army and first operations — The Protestants fear to 
 
 join him — Count Tilly commands the imperial armies Wal- 
 
 lenstein negotiates with the Danes, to the great danger of 
 the Swedes, . . . . . .149 
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 
 Progress of the Swedish army — Tilly destroys Magdeburg 
 
 Gustavus gains the battle of Leipzig, and is hailed as a libe- 
 rator by the Protestants — Conquers a great part of Germany. 
 
 — Passage of the Lech — Tilly defeated and slain Gustavus 
 
 overruns Bavaria — Tolerant disposition of Wallenstein and 
 Gustavus contrasted with the persecuting spirit of the age, 177 
 
 CHAPTER VL 
 
 The Emperor in his distress applies to Wallenstein, who raises 
 a powerful army and obtains almost dictatorial power Re- 
 conquers Bohemia, and marches against the Swedes Events 
 
 round Nurenberg — Anecdotes of Wallenstein, . 209 
 
 CHAPTER VH. 
 
 Campaign of 1632 continued — Battle of Liitzen — Death of 
 Gustavus and defeat of Wallenstein — Examination of the re- 
 ports respecting the pretended assassination of the King of 
 Sweden. — The plans ascribed to him, . . 239 
 
 CHAPTER VHL 
 
 Wallenstein rewards, in a magnificent manner, the officers and 
 soldiers, who had distinguished themselves in the battle of
 
 X CONTENTS. 
 
 Page. 
 Liitzen. — Sanguinary punishments inflicted on the guilty. — 
 He reforms his army, and opens his last campaign — His ap- 
 pearance ; and traits illustrative of his character. — His inacti- 
 vity in the field, and suspicious negotiations, . 273 
 
 CHAPTER IX. 
 
 Mysterious negotiations with Feuquires. — The French offer to 
 make Wallenstein King of Bohemia. — Strange communication 
 with the Swedes and Saxons — Wallenstein surrounds the 
 Swedish army at Steinau ; and forces them to lay down their 
 arms. — Clears Silesia of the enemy, and invades Brandenburg'. 
 — Is recalled to the south, and takes up winter quarters in Bo- 
 hemia — Is suspected at Vienna, where his enemies accuse him 
 of treason. — He forms a compact with the officers of his army 
 for their mutual security — The Emperor, terrified by the mea- 
 sure, sends secret orders against Wallenstein, who is declared 
 an outlaw, . . . . . . 301 
 
 CHAPTER X. 
 
 Wallenstein, apprised of his danger, flies to Eger, and is assassi- 
 nated by order of the Emperor. — Examination of the charges 
 preferred against him, . . . . 321 
 
 TERMINATION OF THE WAR. 
 
 Last actions of the war. — Banner, Torstensohn and Bernhard of 
 Weimar — Peace of Miinster. — Dreadful situation to which 
 Germany was reduced by the contest. — Examination of its 
 consequences. — Frightful atrocities committed by the soldiers 
 of the period — The events of the war still remembered in 
 German tradition, ..... 347
 
 PREFACE. 
 
 Any attempt to write the Life of Wallenstein, 
 is attended with greater difficulty than might be sup- 
 posed, when his striking appearance on the fore- 
 ground of history is alone considered. *' His cha- 
 racter," as Schiller says, ** has been so obscured by 
 the hatred and applause of factions, as still to float 
 unfixed and stationless in history." And though 
 late researches have thrown considerable light on the 
 principal events of his time, — the real causes that led 
 to the tragedy of Eger remain, even now, enveloped 
 in doubt, if not in darkness. 
 
 Besides this difficulty, the biographer of Wallen- 
 stein has others to contend with. The hero cannot 
 always be kept before the reader. Wallenstein twice 
 retires from the scene, and we know so little of his 
 private and domestic life, that we cannot follow him 
 into retirement. This may seem strange when 
 Schottky of Munich has actually written a book, pro- 
 fessing to be a history of that private life j but though 
 the author is a gentleman of name and learning, the 
 book, like so many other German books, contains
 
 Xll PREFACE. 
 
 nothing, as indeed the author himself allows, to justify 
 its title. Wallenstein retires in early life, a dis- 
 appointed soldier and an unfortunate courtier. He 
 remains for ten years entirely out of sight ; and then, 
 without giving us the advantage, so desirable to bio- 
 graphers, of tracing the growth of his character, comes 
 before us in all the lofty originality that distinguished 
 him to the last. When at the very height of dicta- 
 torial power, he again retires from public view, and 
 a more brilliant character occupies the foreground 
 during his absence : he therefore reappears, at first, 
 as a star of secondary magnitude only ; and he no 
 sooner becomes, for the second time, sole lord of the 
 ascendant, than the clouds which still obscure the 
 last part of his career, begin to close and thicken 
 around him. The history of Wallenstein is there- 
 fore, rather a grouping of great events round the 
 principal actor, in the scenes described, than a regular 
 and legitimate biography. 
 
 So great, however, was the fame of the Duke of 
 Friedland, — so vast the influence he exercised over 
 his contemporaries, as well as over the events of his 
 time, — and so dark the mystery which shrouded the 
 last scenes of his life, that many attempts were made 
 in France, Italy and Germany, to write his history 
 even in the face of all the enumerated obstacles. 
 These attempts proved, however, very unsuccessful ; 
 and it remained for Schiller to bring Wallenstein for- 
 ward as a popular character, by making him the hero
 
 PREFACE. Xlll 
 
 of three dramas, and the principal figure in the his- 
 tory of the Thirty years' War. The success of the 
 dramatist ruined, however, the fair fame of the Duke 
 of Friedland. Opinion had before been pretty well 
 divided as to his guilt or innocence ; but Schiller, 
 guided principally by the official statement which the 
 Court of Vienna published after the catastrophe of 
 Eger, took the unfavourable view of the question ; 
 and the magic of his style, not only put his works into 
 every hand, but made him authority with the million, 
 on points, on which he had even expressed doubts of 
 his own accuracy : and Wallenstein was condemned 
 by poetry, before history had fairly tried the cause. 
 Doctor Forster of Berlin, librarian to the King of 
 Prussia, was the first who undertook the defence of 
 the once famous Duke of Friedland. Instigated 
 by the honourable desire of rendering justice to the 
 memory of his celebrated countryman, the learned 
 librarian occupied himself for many years in collect- 
 ing papers relative to the history of Wallenstein. 
 In 1828 he published three volumes of letters, writ- 
 ten by the Duke, during the most important years 
 of his life, and addressed principally, to Field-Mar- 
 shal Arnheim, his second in command. At a later 
 period, the Doctor obtained access to the archives of 
 the war department at Vienna, and was permitted to 
 inspect the secret papers connected with the affair of 
 Wallenstein, and which had for two centuries been 
 carefully concealed from public view. The Imperial
 
 XIV PREFACE. 
 
 Cabinet had always, indeed, shown itself anxious to 
 bury the entire transaction in oblivion ; and when 
 Frederick the Great asked Joseph II. *' How it really 
 was with that story of Wallenstein ?'* the Emperor 
 only replied, that " he could not possibly doubt the 
 honour and integrity of his ancestor." 
 
 To the valuable booty gained at Vienna, Forster 
 afterwards added all the information which could be 
 gathered in a careful search through the libraries and 
 archives of Prague, Friedland, Gitchin and Eger : 
 and thus provided, he published, in 1834, the Life 
 of Wallenstein, which the present writer has taken 
 as his principal authority. But Forster's book, how- 
 ever well executed in itself, could not serve as a 
 guide, or model, for an English life of the German 
 hero ; for it is addressed to German readers, who are 
 perfectly familiar with the leading events of Wallen- 
 stein's life and time. " Der Friedlander^^ is the 
 best known of all German heroes : he is constantly 
 before the public, not only in Schiller's History of 
 the Thirty years* War, a work with which every Ger- 
 man is perfectly familiar, but he also appears before 
 them on the stage, in the well-known dramas of the 
 same author, and figures besides, in an endless variety 
 of tales and romances. Forster is therefore less the 
 biographer of Wallenstein, than a collector of docu- 
 ments explanatory of his history j and the Doctor's 
 book, however deserving of praise, could not be taken 
 as a guide, or model, for an English history of a per-
 
 PREFACE. XV 
 
 son who is comparatively a stranger in our country. 
 To be successful here, the Duke of Friedland must 
 appear in all his power and splendour : he must come 
 before us as the creator of mighty armies ; at once 
 the terror and support of his sovereign : he must 
 come as an all-powerful actor in the most important 
 period of Christian history. It is in connection with 
 the great events that fixed the destinies of Europe, 
 that he must make his first impression upon us : and 
 we must learn to take an interest in his fate, before 
 we can take pleasure in the perusal of documents, 
 tending to illustrate events of which we have only a 
 partial knowledge. 
 
 Besides Forster and the other biographers of Wal- 
 lenstein, the present Author has availed himself of 
 all the aid he could derive from the most eminent 
 writers, who have touched upon the history of the 
 period of which he had occasion to speak. He has 
 also collected, what information could be obtained 
 from visiting the principal scenes mentioned in the 
 narrative, and has searched pretty diligently, for addi- 
 tional materials, through the rather confused mass of 
 modern German literature. 
 
 There could be no intention, in this volume, to 
 give any opinion on the merits of the question at 
 issue, between the parties engaged in the great con- 
 test for religious freedom. The Author had only to 
 relate events as they influenced the fortunes of an 
 individual j but before he is charged with having
 
 XVI PREFACE. 
 
 spoken too harshly of Ferdinand II. and his advisers, 
 it will be well to consult, — first, the instructions with 
 which that Emperor sent TrautmansdorfF on a spe- 
 cial message to Rome in 1619 ; — secondly, the ques- 
 tion which he submitted to certain professors of theo- 
 logy, before he took the oath, and signed the obliga- 
 tion required by the Bohemian constitution ; and, 
 thirdly, the answer given by the men of learning, 
 and which so easily quieted the royal and imperial 
 conscience. Senkenberg, in the preface to volume 3, 
 page 48, and Erhard, page 425, give the first docu- 
 ment. The Slavata manuscript, quoted by the above 
 writers, gives the second document, at page 659 of 
 the 5th volume. 
 
 As, in the following narrative, the Thirty years' 
 War has, however, been termed a contest for religious 
 freedom, it may be as well to justify an appellation, 
 often questioned by those who affirm, that the war 
 was carried on, — not for religious, but for worldly 
 objects ; — for the recovery on one side, and the main- 
 tenance on the other, of the Catholic Church pro- 
 perty seized by the Protestant States and Princes. 
 
 There is no intention here to defend the rapacity 
 with which the Reformers seized upon the domains of 
 the Catholic Church ; — nowhere more zealously y in- 
 deed, than in Great Britain and Ireland, as the pos- 
 sessions of our leading nobility show to this day ; — 
 nor shall we deny the persecuting spirit too often 
 evinced by the early reforming churches j the natural
 
 PREFACE. XVll 
 
 consequence of their situation, perhaps, and of the 
 oppressions to which they were exposed. But, grant- 
 ing the full force of what may be urged against the 
 Protestants on these points, it must still be allowed, 
 that they never infringed the religious Treaty of 
 Passau : that treaty was not very favourable to their 
 cause ; yet they adhered to it ; and refrained from 
 all acts of violence or persecution, capable of justify- 
 ing attacks on their religion or independence. 
 
 In towns and districts, as at Aix-la-Chapelle, Co- 
 logne, Strasburg, — where both parties were nearly 
 balanced in strength and numbers, there religious 
 animosities, — if the term is not a contradiction, — 
 were displayed ; and feuds took place when either of 
 the parties thought themselves strong enough to strive 
 for exclusive supremacy, and for worldly possessions, 
 perhaps, under the mantle of religion. But in such 
 cases, the Catholics were as often the aggressors as 
 the Protestants ; and Catholic power invariably de- 
 cided the points at issue, in favour of Catholics. 
 
 If the Protestants did not violate the Treaty of 
 Passau, the Catholics were less forbearing ; and from 
 the unprovoked occupation of Miinster and Osna- 
 briick by the Spaniards in 1598, — when, at a period of 
 profound peace, the soldiers treated a tranquil coun- 
 try as they would have treated a hostile town taken 
 by assault, — down to the seizure of the churches of 
 Brunau and Kloster-Graben, which became the sisnal 
 for the general explosion j many flagrant acts of op-
 
 XVIU PREFACE. 
 
 pression and persecution were committed by Catholic 
 powers. And when the Bohemian insurrection was 
 suppressed, and the Catholic arms were everywhere 
 triumphant, the Catholic Princes, so far from being 
 satisfied with reclaiming the property of their Church, 
 proceeded to root out the Protestant faith, from all 
 the subdued and recovered provinces. And so effec- 
 tually was the work performed, — so completely were 
 the new doctrines extirpated, — that when, in the fol- 
 lowing century, the conquests of Frederick the Great, 
 and the tolerant disposition of Joseph II. gave reli- 
 gious freedom to countries in which millions had pro- 
 fessed the reformed faith, not a vestige of that faith 
 was to be found. The very seed had been torn from 
 the soil by the iron hand of power ; for it was with 
 the sword of wrath, and not with the Book of God, 
 that the conversion was effected. 
 
 Nor can it be said, that these persecutions were 
 confined to the Palatinate and to the dominions of 
 the House of Austria ; for no sooner had the victo- 
 ries of Wallenstein rendered the Emperor all-power- 
 ful, than the Edict of Restitution was signed, and 
 the ruthless manner in which that terrible decree 
 was enforced, proclaimed, too surely, the fate which 
 awaited all Protestant countries that should fall under 
 Catholic dominion. 
 
 The arms of Gustavus arrested these proceedings ; 
 and as the contest continued, the objects for which 
 it was carried on, also augmented. And by the time
 
 PREFACE. XIX 
 
 Catholic France had taken part with Protestant Ger- 
 many, and Protestant Saxony had joined the Catholic 
 League, the war was, as usual, maintained for spoil, 
 power and dominion j the ordinary objects of human 
 ambition. But though these objects were added to 
 the original cause of strife, that cause still stood fast ; 
 and the Protestant powers who resisted the encroach- 
 ments of the Emperor and the League, defended, 
 not only their temporal rights, and the church pro- 
 perty formerly confiscated ; they also defended the 
 faith which they had embraced, and fought for reli- 
 gious freedom, as well as for political independence. 
 How far the Catholic Church approved of the per- 
 secutions, exercised by Catholic princes, is a question 
 which belongs not to our subject. That too many 
 of the clergy followed the example of Lammermann 
 and Quiroga is true ; but the Catholic world was 
 divided, at the time, into moderate and ultra Catho- 
 lics J and the Pope himself. Urban VIII, was at the 
 head of the moderate party. The extent also, to 
 which a church can be held answerable for the actions 
 of those who acknowledge its doctrines, is a point for 
 churchmen to decide : and one that cannot be argued 
 here. The Author's only object, in these remarks, is 
 to claim the full right of arraigning the conduct of 
 princes, without prejudice to the religion they pro- 
 fessed ; for if we once take to settling the value of 
 creeds, not by the Revelation which has been vouch-
 
 XX PREFACE. 
 
 safed to us, but by the conduct of a few individual 
 sovereigns, the Christianity even of a Constantine, 
 may appear to some disadvantage, when contrasted 
 with the polytheism of an Aurelian.
 
 THE 
 
 LIFE OF WALLENSTEIN. 
 
 ORIGIN OF THE THIETY YEARS' WAR. 
 
 As the history of Wallenstein, is the history also 
 of an important period of the Thirty years' War, it 
 will be right to begin this account of his life, with a 
 brief sketch of the origin of that sanguinary struggle : 
 for it is only in relation to the times in which they 
 lived, and to the circumstances in which they were 
 placed, that the conduct of public men can be justly 
 appreciated. Wallenstein was called upon to act a 
 leading part in the most eventful of all times ; but 
 whether he acted that part for good or for evil, — 
 whether he acted the part of a great man, or of a 
 great criminal, are questions which two centuries have 
 still left undecided. 
 
 The Thirty years' War is the most memorable 
 of any recorded in history. It is a war, great from 
 the actions performed during its progress, as well 
 as from the characters which it called forth j it is 
 
 a
 
 2 ORIGIN OF THE THIRTY YEARS* WAR. 
 
 o-reater still from the cause out of which it arose, 
 and from the results which it produced. It was this 
 fearful contest that first brought the different nations 
 of Europe into direct contact with each other, and 
 established them as members of one community ; 
 every state of which was forced to take a deep in- 
 terest in the fiite of its neighbour, as well as of the 
 commonwealth at large. The cause of religious 
 liberty, which was soon found to be closely identified 
 with national independence, successively called to 
 arms every people from the Tagus to the Vistula, 
 And the Danes, Germans, Swedes and Britons, who, 
 on the banks of the Rhine and the Danube, main- 
 tained the rights of the Protestant Church against 
 the See of Home, defended, at the same time, the 
 independence of their respective countries against 
 the power and ambition of the House of Austria : a 
 house that brought all the resources of its vast pos- 
 sessions in Spain, Italy, Germany and the Indies, 
 to support, not only the spiritual absolutism of popes 
 and councils, but the temporal absolutism of em- 
 perors and imperial chambers also. 
 
 The very period of history in which this great 
 contest falls, tends to augment the interest which it 
 inspires. It stands alone, a separate era, dividing 
 modern times from the middle ages. It constitutes 
 the last stage on which chivalry appeared in the 
 splendour of high feeling and conduct : it is the last 
 period, during which, in opposition to the time, when 
 important events should be brought about by the 
 strength of opinion, or of wide-spread delusions, we 
 still see great actions performed by the force of indi-
 
 ORIGIN OF THE THIRTY YEARS WAR. 3 
 
 vidual talent or character. All the manners, habits, 
 institutions and modes of thinking, derived from an 
 earlier age, gradually lose themselves, or become 
 modified, during the war : those that survive, re- 
 appear at its close in a more polished form, perhaps, 
 but too often without their antique nerve and value. 
 Even man himself, who entered on the terrible 
 struggle the slave of false opinion, issues from the 
 fiery ordeal, free in belief, and released from the 
 shackles of the Church of Home ; but, already 
 bearing in triumph the very arms, destined to form 
 the chains that despotic power was alike preparing 
 for the victors and the vanquished. 
 
 Religious freedom and national independence, had 
 been secured by Protestant Europe ; but civil liberty 
 was lost to both parties in the strife. The very 
 strength sovereigns had acquired in resisting foreign 
 foes, rendered them independent of the institutions 
 which, in all countries, had still sheltered the rights of 
 the subject against the will of the ruler. In the 
 early part of the seventeenth century, we see these 
 ill-defined rights and privileges, as nobly contended 
 for, as bravely maintained. During the long struggle 
 for religious liberty they disappear entirely from the 
 continent of Europe, and take their last stand on the 
 more congenial soil of Britain. The Protestant 
 princes and rulers of the period, less politic than 
 their Catholic contemporaries, fell into a great error 
 when they supposed that men, allowed to think 
 freely on the most important points on which hu- 
 man thoughts can be engaged, would long refrain 
 from speculating on the civil rights to which they 
 
 A 2
 
 4 ORIGIN OF THE THIRTY YEARS* WAR. 
 
 might deem themselves entitled ; or, that having 
 once entered on the inquiry, they woidd limit their 
 demands for power by their ability to make a proper 
 use of freedom. In this error were already contained 
 the seeds of the great political convulsions witnessed 
 during our own days. 
 
 Deep and indelible is the debt, which religion and 
 civilisation owe to early Roman Pontiffs and to the 
 Church of Rome. They strove, long and nobly, to 
 forward the cause of human improvement ; and it is 
 difficult to say what other power could have exer- 
 cised so beneficial an influence, over the fierce and 
 fiery nations, who established themselves on the ruins 
 of the Roman Empire, after rooting out all that re- 
 mained of ancient art and ancient knowledge. Nor 
 were tlieir efforts confined within these territorial 
 limits : monks and missionaries, disregarding per- 
 sonal danger, penetrated into the forests of Ger- 
 many and into the distant regions of the North, and, 
 unappalled by the deaths of torture to which so many 
 lioly men had fallen victims, preached to heathens 
 and barbarians the mild doctrines of Christianity, 
 which only sprung up in Europe, watered by the 
 blood of saints and martyrs. Even the efforts of the 
 Church, to interpose its spiritual power in the direc- 
 tion of temporal affairs, and to control the conduct of 
 kings and princes, were beneficial in an age when the 
 clergy alone possessed whatever learning and know- 
 ledge was extant ; and the uniformity of belief 
 which rendered all the western churches dependent 
 on the authority of the Popes, an authority so greatly 
 enlightened, when contrasted with the general dark-
 
 ORICxlN OF THE THIRTY YEARS* WAR. 5 
 
 ness of the times, became a principal cause of the 
 progress and prosperity of the Catholic world. 
 
 And vast was the power, and boundless the in- 
 fluence, which the Church acquired by this superior 
 knowledge and conduct. But as its influence ex- 
 tended, so it began to deviate from the principles of 
 the Founder of Christianity ; and in striving after 
 worldly greatness, the cause of religion was forgotten. 
 With the extension of knowledge, the nations strove 
 to free themselves from clerical thraldom, as the boy, 
 advancing to manhood, gradually shakes off the con- 
 trol of the tutor, who had ably guided his infancy. 
 But, unfortunately, neither the Popes nor the cleigy 
 were willing to yield an authority that the spirit of 
 the age was every day outgrowing, and of which an 
 improper use was too frequently made. The Church, 
 along with its power, had amassed wealth also. The 
 income of some of the monastic establishments was 
 immense ; and the pride and arrogance, of priests 
 and prelates, shocked the chivalrous feelings of 
 princes and nobles. The dissolute and debauched 
 lives, led by so many of the clergy, injured not only 
 the entire order, but the cause of religion itself ; so 
 that, in the fourteenth century, a call for the reform 
 of the Church was already heard. The great schism, 
 also, which, in that and the following century, divided 
 the Church, only rendered this call louder and more 
 general. 
 
 John Wycliff, an Englishman, born at Richmond 
 in Yorkshire, and one of those men of whom even 
 a proud country may be proud, was the first, in the 
 midst of darkness, to raise the torch destined to shed
 
 G ORIGIN OF THE THIRTY YEARS* WAR. 
 
 the lio"ht of" truth over so many benighted nations. 
 The writings of this learned and pious man, the first 
 and most highly gifted of all the reformers, spread 
 with such rapidity over Christian Europe, that twelve 
 hundred volumes of his works were burned at Prague 
 alone, after the condemnation of John Huss, his fol- 
 lower and disciple. 
 
 Huss, who trode in the footsteps of WyclifF, perish- 
 ed at the stake. It was in vain that he appealed to 
 the Emperor, for the fulfilment of the imperial safe- 
 conduct, on the faith of which he had come to Con- 
 stance, in order to appear before the council there 
 assembled. Sigismund blushed for very shame, in- 
 deed, yet allowed the murder to proceed. But 
 thouo;li the ashes of Huss were thrown into the 
 Rhine, to prevent them from being worn as relics 
 by his disciples, the truth which he had so eloquently 
 preached still survived. The noble and heroic man- 
 ner in which he, and Jerome of Prague, met their 
 fiery deaths, was not forgotten ; and the Bohemian 
 Hussites avenged, in more than a hundred battles, 
 gained over the German and Imperial troops, the 
 treachery which had been practised on their unfor- 
 tunate master. But the dreadful cruelties they 
 committed while fi<j:htin<»; under the fierce and unre- 
 lenting Ziska, — he *' of the chalice," as he styled him- 
 self, and who, in the art of war, was the scholar of our 
 Henry V. — rather strengthened, than weakened the 
 cause of their enemies. And fifteen years of almost 
 nninterrupted triumph, and, in some respects, ulti- 
 mate success also, proved, that the time for granting to 
 men full freedom of thought, together with the free-
 
 ORIGIN OF THE THIRTY YEARS* WAR. 7 
 
 dom of action, which, to a certain extent, must ever 
 accompany it, had not yet arrived. This was no 
 cause, however, for delaying the reform in ecclesias- 
 tical discipline, which had long been called for by 
 all enlightened Catholics. Even St Bernard had 
 already expressed a wish for such a reformation ; and 
 in the Councils of Constance and Pisa, a similar 
 wish had been repeated. Cardinal Julian, in his 
 Epistle to Eugenius IV, foretells, with prophetic 
 spirit, the inevitable consequence of delaying such a 
 measure. Speaking of the " disorders of the clergy," 
 this great divine says, " they excite the hatred of 
 the people against the whole ecclesiastical order ; and 
 should they not be corrected, it is to be feared lest 
 the laity, like the Hussites, should rise against the 
 clergy, as they loudly threaten us." Again, " the 
 rancour they" (the laity) " have imbibed against 
 us becomes more manifest ; and when they shall no 
 longer have any hopes of our amendment, then will 
 they fall upon us. They will soon think it an agree- 
 able sacrifice to God to rob and abuse ecclesiastics, 
 as abandoned to extreme disorders, and hateful to 
 God and man. Men will cast the blame of these 
 abuses on the Court of Rome, which will be consi- 
 dered as the cause of them, from having neglected 
 to apply the necessary remedy." 
 
 True it is, that the Catholics, on their side, spoke 
 only of a reform in church discipline, and not in 
 faith ; but it was impossible not to foresee, as Cardi- 
 nal Julian clearly foresaw, that the two questions 
 would be mixed up together. Men were every day 
 acquiring additional knowledge, and it was not to be
 
 8 ORIGIN OF THE THIRTY YEARS* WAR. 
 
 supposed that they would quietly witness the mere 
 suppression of gross and long-maintained abuses, 
 without inquiring into the origin of that power by 
 which they had been tolerated. The art of printing 
 had been invented, and gave a new, and hitherto 
 unknown, impulse to learning. The authors of 
 Greece and Rome became more generally known ; 
 and the clear, simple, and beautiful manner, as free 
 from false glitter and ornament, as from scholastic 
 subtleties, in which they bring the most important 
 truths home to the understanding, tended, far more 
 than any particular system of ancient philosophy, to 
 develope the reasoning faculties, and to give the 
 spirit of investigation a just direction. The num- 
 ber of universities was augmenting : seven were 
 founded in Germany alone, during the first half of 
 the sixteenth century. The number of students 
 who already frequented these seats of learning ap- 
 pears almost incredible, when contrasted with the 
 small increase that has since taken place, — an increase 
 that bears no proportion to the vast augmentation in 
 population, and in the general spread of wealth and 
 civilisation ; causes that would seem to render learn- 
 ing and knowledge more indispensable than ever. 
 But along with all its so-called barbarism, there was 
 a nerve, vigour and freshness, a free and youthful 
 breathing, about the sixteenth century, which are 
 altogether wanting in these times ; and which our 
 frequent failures to explain the manners, habits and 
 actions of that early age, shew that we do not always 
 understand, and cannot altogether appreciate. 
 
 The Church of Rome had never, in its pleni-
 
 ORIGIN OF THE THIRTY YEARS* WAR. 9 
 
 tude of power, been able to root out, or entirely to 
 obliterate, the doctrines of Wycliff and Huss. The 
 wild and fanatic Taborites had indeed been exter- 
 minated, after the defeat at Erzeb, on the 30th of 
 May 1434 ; but the Calixtenists, Utraquists, and the 
 more moderate of the Hussites, made good their 
 cause, and obtained, in 1435, by the so-called com- 
 pacts of Brenaun, entire freedom of religion, toge- 
 ther with a full share of the civil privileges enjoyed 
 by their Catholic fellow-subjects. They maintained 
 these rights through a succession of civil and reli- 
 gious wars, that devastated Bohemia and the neigh- 
 bouring countries till the year 1512, when the peace 
 of Prague put, for a period, a stop to the sanguinary 
 contests, the most barbarous and inhuman, perhaps, 
 of any recorded in the annals of a Christian people. 
 Resistance to the papal power had thus, in one shape 
 or the other, been carried on from the time of Wycliff j 
 and every pile at which a victim to truth was consum- 
 ed, had become a beacon of light, that helped to dis- 
 pel the very darkness it was intended to perpetuate. 
 The Church of Rome had wealth and power : it 
 therefore had the envious and grasping for its natural 
 enemies. The Church of Rome had faults and fail- 
 ings ; it had committed many errors ; had, in its 
 pride of strength, been guilty of mighty and manifold 
 crimes, in order to uphold its supremacy : it had 
 therefore manly and honourable adversaries also. 
 To these was of course to be added the loud, noisy 
 and ignorant crowd, always eager for whatever change 
 or disturbance, holds out a prospect of individual 
 profit. The time for more general resistance had
 
 10 ORIGIN OF THE THIRTY YEARS* WAR. 
 
 thus arrived, and thousands were ready to array them- 
 selves under the banner of opposition, the moment 
 it should be raised by strong and skilful hands. The 
 task was reserved for Martin Luther, a friar of the 
 order of St Augustin, and professor of theology in the 
 newly founded university of Wittenberg. And it is a 
 curious circumstance, that from the first university, 
 founded without papal sanction, were to go forth the 
 thunders destined to smite the papal power. Luther 
 was endowed by nature with a clear, penetrating 
 understanding ; a strong, comprehensive, but coarse 
 mind ; a deep and fervent zeal for religion. Though 
 inferior, as a scholar, to many of his less celebrated 
 contemporaries, he possessed, nevertheless, a consi- 
 derable share of learning. But the qualities that were 
 of the greatest advantage to him as a reformer, were 
 his direct, manly and vehement style of eloquence, his 
 dauntless courage and boundless energy ; — a courage 
 that quailed before no danger, and an energy that 
 rose superior to every difficulty. This noble strength 
 of character was clearly depicted in every feature of 
 his face, we might almost say, in the very outlines of 
 his strong, robust and square-built figure. As a 
 scholar and a man of refined genius, he was much 
 below his follower and associate Melanchthon ; as a 
 chief of reformers, he far surpassed all who had be- 
 fore, or who have since trodden in the same path. 
 
 A single spark is sufficient to fire the mine that is 
 fully prepared for explosion ; and so it was with the 
 commencement of the revolution that led to the great 
 reformation of the Church. The sale of indulgences 
 was an abuse of old standing, to which the Popes had
 
 ORIGIN OF THE THIRTY YEARS* WAR. 11 
 
 often resorted, in order to replenish their treasury. 
 Leo X, a Pontiff fond of pleasure and splendour, 
 and a liberal patron of the arts, happening, about 
 the year 1516, to be in want of money, empowered 
 Albrecht, Elector of Maye'nce, and Bishop of Magde- 
 burg, a prelate, who, in many respects, resembled 
 his superior, to authorise a sale of indulgences ; half 
 the profits of which were to be remitted to Rome. 
 Among other agents employed by the bishop on this 
 occasion, was one John Tezel, a Dominican friar of 
 dissolute and debauched habits, but already acquainted 
 with the nature of the trade, and distinguished by a 
 noisy sort of eloquence ; vile and blasphemous in 
 reality, but unfortunately too well calculated to act 
 on the hopes and fears of the ignorant and unthink- 
 ing ; a class to which nearly all the lower orders of 
 the period belonged. Chance brought this man, 
 during the course of his trading tour, to Jutterbock, 
 near Wittenberg. The papal bull authorising the 
 sale of indulgences had, at least, the decency to 
 require from the purchasers repentance and amend- 
 ment. Tezel was far more liberal : he sold uncon- 
 ditional pardon for all sins, past and future ; and as 
 his terms were as moderate, as his promises were bril- 
 liant, he carried on a most lucrative traffic. 
 
 An abuse so gross and scandalous, practised in his 
 immediate presence, and almost under his own eyes, 
 excited the indignation of Luther. He preached 
 against the right of indulgences ; and the novelty of 
 the theme, together with the power and eloquence 
 of the orator, attracted immediate notice. The ap- 
 probation and encouragement he experienced aug-
 
 12 ORIGIN OF THE THIRTY YEARS WAR. 
 
 mented his zeal ; and, in accordance with the custom 
 of the period, he soon afterwards published his ninety- 
 five celebrated theses against the right of indulgences. 
 Doctrines that affected so many, and such high inte- 
 rests, were not allowed to pass unchallenged. The 
 champions of papal power attacked Luther with a 
 fierceness of zeal, that tended to injure their own 
 cause ; for not only was the reformer their superior 
 in skill and learning, but he stood upon vantage 
 ground, and met all their appeals to schoolmen and 
 papal decrees, by direct appeals to the Word of God 
 itself. Every day augmented the number of his ad- 
 herents. His own views also enlarged as the contro- 
 versy proceeded ; and from having at first attacked 
 only the practice of granting indulgences, professing 
 at the same time the utmost submission to the papal 
 See, he came at last to question the authority of the 
 Pope altogether. Leo X. occupied with plans for the 
 aggrandisement of his family, and disliking theolo- 
 gical controversies, tried at first to allay the storm 
 by gentle means ; but the indiscreet zeal of the 
 clergy forced him to resort to more violent measures. 
 Luther having refused to recant his errors, was ex- 
 communicated as an obstinate heretic, and delivered 
 over to Satan. 
 
 The great reformer was not daunted by a blow 
 which he had long anticipated. He examined the 
 papal bull very minutely ; and being convinced that 
 Leo had been guilty of injustice and impiety, he de- 
 clared the Pope to be the antichrist of Scripture, 
 and called upon all Christian princes to throw off 
 the yoke of Rome. Not satisfied with this public
 
 ORIGIN OF THE THIRTY YEARS* WAR. 13 
 
 appeal, he proceeded, in great pomp, accompanied 
 by the professors and students at Wittenberg, to 
 burn the Pontiff's bull, and the volume of the canon 
 law, an example immediately followed in many parts 
 of Germany. In Switzerland, Ulrich Zuingli was 
 at the same time forwarding the cause of the Refor- 
 mation. Like Luther, he had begun by simply at- 
 tacking the doctrine of indulgences, but was, like 
 the German reformer, carried hv beyond the mark 
 which had been the first object of his attainment. 
 Zuingli was killed in an action, fought between 
 the people of Zurich and the Catholics of Schwitz, 
 Luzern, Uri and Zug, on the 11th October 1531. 
 Calvin became, after him, the head of the Swiss re- 
 formers. He was the first who dishonoured his call- 
 ing, by bringing an adversary to the stake : an act 
 of which many think that his church long afterwards 
 bore the impress. 
 
 In 1522, Luther published his German transla- 
 tion of the New Testament. It was everywhere 
 read with the greatest avidity ; and in 1524, Nurem- 
 berg, Frankfort, Hamburg, and many others of the 
 free towns of Germany, the real cradles of European 
 freedom, openly embraced the cause of the Refor- 
 mation. And the Protestant Confession of Faith, 
 known by the name of the Confession of Augsburg, 
 presented to Charles V. while presiding at the diet 
 held there in 1530, was already signed by three 
 Electoral Princes, twenty Dukes and Princes of the 
 Empire, twenty-four Counts and Barons, and by the 
 deputies of thirty-five imperial free towns. Before 
 sixty years had elapsed, from the breaking out of this
 
 H. ORIGIN OF THE THIRTY YEARs' WAR. 
 
 great revolution, all the countries now professing the 
 Protestant religion had fallen off from the Church 
 of Rome ; and the new doctrine had, besides, made 
 numerous converts in France, Austria, Hungary and 
 the Netherlands. In France, the Hugenots long 
 maintained a gallant struggle for religious freedom. 
 In Austria and the Netherlands, address and perse- 
 cution succeeded in putting them down at an earlier 
 period. The fate of the Bohemian Hussites, Utra- 
 quists and Calixtenists, we shall have further occasion 
 to touch upon in the course of this narrative. In 
 Spain, Portugal and Italy, the Reformation made 
 comparatively little progress. The natives of those 
 countries want the clear and comprehensive mental 
 power, for which the children of the North are more 
 particularly distinguished : they also want the energy 
 and constancy of character requisite for bringing great 
 and hazardous enterprizes to a successful termination ; 
 and with weak men, the force of imagination, on 
 which the rites of the Church of Rome are well cal- 
 culated to act with effect, too easily overcomes the 
 force of truth. The rapid spread of the Reforma- 
 tion over so many countries in so short a period, and 
 the singular check that arrested its further progress 
 within the boundaries which it had reached in the 
 first instance, is one of those extraordinary phenomena 
 that no writer has yet explained on philosophical 
 principles. 
 
 Charles V. was neither a bigot nor a persecutor, 
 and was even suspected of leaning towards the new 
 doctrine ; but the sinews of his power lay in Catholic 
 countries, and the views of political aggrandizement,
 
 ORIGIN OF THE THIRTY YEARs' WAR. 1.5 
 
 which influenced all the actions of his reign, induced 
 him to take part against the Protestants. The grasp- 
 ing spirit in which the domains of the Catholic Church 
 had been seized by Protestant princes told strongly 
 against their cause. In many parts of Germany, the 
 ignorant peasantry, excited to rebellion by fanatics 
 and designing agitators, were guilty of crimes that 
 greatly injured the Reformation, which these mis- 
 guided men pretended to forward. The madness, 
 cruelty and licentiousness of the Anabaptists, under 
 Stork and Muncer, made even Luther threaten to re- 
 tract all he had written ; while the horrible extrava- 
 gances committed by John Bockhold, a tailor of 
 Leyden, who, for nearly three years, exercised abso- 
 lute sway at Munster in Westphalia, helped also to 
 cast discredit on the new doctrines, which these fero- 
 cious maniacs pleaded in justification of their con- 
 duct. The reformers were thus accused of discard- 
 ing, without any true guide, the Catholic rule of faith, 
 and of throwing open the door to that belief in pri- 
 vate inspiration, from false claims or fanatical preten- 
 sions to which, so many atrocities had arisen. 
 
 Urged on by these causes, Charles took arms against 
 the Protestants, and, in 1547* vanquished the princes 
 of the Smalcaldick league, in the decisive battle of 
 Miihlberg. This victory would have given him the 
 means of crushing, at once, both the civil and religious 
 liberties of Germany, had not the unexpected defec- 
 tion of his former friend and ally, Maurice of Sax- 
 ony, deprived him, when at the very height of power, 
 of all the fruits of his previous triumphs. The success 
 of Maurice obtained for the Protestants, by the treaty
 
 16 OUHilN OF THE THIRTY YEARS' WAR. 
 
 of Passau, tlie free exercise of their religion ; a boon 
 which was afterwards confirmed at a general diet of 
 the Empire, held at Augsburg, in 1555. This first 
 settlement of the religious dissensions in Germany, 
 and first acknowledgment of the Protestant states, 
 is o-enerally termed the " Religious pacification of 
 Auo-sburg." The many points in dispute between 
 the contending parties which this diet left unsettled, 
 particularly as regarded the appropriation of the Ca- 
 tholic Church property seized by Protestant princes, 
 proved, in a great measure, the cause of the troubles 
 we shall have to relate. 
 
 While Luther was forwarding the Reformation in 
 Germany, the House of Austria, destined to become 
 its most determined foe, was acquiring vast accessions 
 of territory, if not of immediate power. Lewis IL 
 King of Hungary and Bohemia, had fallen, with the 
 flower of the Hungarian nobility, in the unfortunate 
 battle of Moiiacz, fought, in 1526, against the Turks, 
 under Soleyman the Magnificent. His extensive 
 dominions devolved, partly by treaty, partly by elec- 
 tion, on Ferdinand of Austria, the same who, in 
 1557, succeeded to his brother Charles V. on the 
 imperial throne. 
 
 The peace of Augsburg remained unbroken, dur- 
 ing this prince's reign, and the mildness, wisdom 
 and toleration evinced by his son, who, in 1564, suc- 
 ceeded him in the imperial dignity, under the title 
 of Maximilian 11. went far to appease the religious 
 animosities that still ran high in the empire. But 
 the task, which he did not live to fulfil, was above 
 the power of Rudolph, his feeble son, who ascended
 
 ORIGIN OF THE THIRTY YEARS* WAR. IJ 
 
 the throne in 1575. Owing to the wise measures 
 which Maximilian had pursued, the early part of 
 this reign was comparatively tranquil ; and for a time 
 Rudolph was allowed to indulge in his favourite occu- 
 pation, the study of alchemy, and to seek for the 
 philosopher's stone in peace. The calm that pre- 
 cedes the tempest seemed necessary, in order to 
 strengthen the nations for the terrible struggle that 
 was approaching. 
 
 But though the general peace of the Empire was 
 hardly disturbed during the early part of Rudolph's 
 reign, yet was the hostile feeling existing between 
 the two parties constantly augmenting. The Ca- 
 tholics were accused of tyrannising, wherever they 
 had power, over the Protestants ; and of striving, by ' 
 fair and unfair means, to recover the property which 
 had belonged to their church. The other party, 
 again, were charged with, abusing the toleration 
 which they enjoyed in Catholic countries, insulting 
 the rites of the Church of Rome, and with preaching 
 up doctrines inconsistent with peace, loyalty, and 
 good order. There was probably cause enough for 
 these recriminations ; but the Catholics acted, where 
 the others only preached. And though the forbear- 
 ance of the latter may have resulted from insuffi- 
 cient power, we should not be justified in ascribing 
 I it to such a cause : we are bound to acquit where 
 we want the means to condemn : and we nowhere 
 find the Protestants the active persecutors the Catho- 
 lics so frequently proved themselves. The latter, 
 in addition to other acts of violence, surprised the 
 
 B
 
 18 ORIGIN OF THE THIRTY YEARS* WAR. 
 
 Protestant town of Padersborn, expelled its wealthiest 
 citizens, and confiscated their property ; while the 
 chief" magistrate, Loboriiis AVishart, was drawn and 
 quartered because he refused to change his religion *. 
 A few years afterwards Donauwerth, another Pro- 
 testant free town, was forcibly occupied, oppressed in 
 every way, and kept for many years under Catholic 
 dominion ; shewing how ready the Catholics were 
 to commit acts of aggression at the expense of their 
 Protestant brethren. The spirits were thus embit- 
 tered, and the evident necessity for self-defence, 
 together with the disputes that arose respecting the 
 succession to the Duchy of Cleves, led to the for- 
 mation of the Evangelical Union on one side, and of 
 the Catholic League on the other. Frederick IV. 
 Elector of the Palatinate, was head of the Union, 
 and Maximilian of Bavaria chief of the League. 
 The circumstance is mentioned here, only in order 
 to indicate the terms by which the respective parties 
 were long distinguished j for not only did the Elector 
 of Saxony, the most powerful of the Protestant 
 princes, join the Catholics, but the Union disbanded 
 their forces as soon as the time for action arrived. 
 
 The feebleness of Rudolph encouraged his more 
 ambitious brother Mathias to rise ao;ainst him. The 
 rebel first deprived the Emperor of Hungary, 
 Austria, and Moravia. Two years afterwards he 
 obtained the reversion of the crown of Bolicmia ; 
 leaving the unhappy Rudolph nothing but the vain 
 title of King, as useless to him as that of Emperor. 
 
 * Erliart, l^cho aus den Zeiten des 30 Jahrigen Krieges, p. 241.
 
 ORIGIN OF THE THIRTY YEARS* WAR. 19 
 
 German historians term this contest the " Fraternal 
 War." 
 
 Notwithstanding this unnatural rebellion, Mathias 
 succeeded his brother on the imperial throne in 
 1612. Under the wise and tolerant administration 
 of Maximilian II. the number of Protestants had 
 greatly increased in the hereditary states of the House 
 of Austria. They had also obtained, from that en- 
 lightened monarch, many additional privileges. — 
 Rudolph had subsequently oppressed and persecuted 
 them ; and, it was only in the hour of need, that he 
 granted to the people of Bohemia the celebrated char- 
 ter, known by the name of the Letter of Majesty, a 
 charter which confirmed all their ancient privileges, 
 and gave them entire freedom of religion. Mathias 
 acted at first with more duplicity : he flattered the 
 Protestants, confirmed, and even augmented their 
 privileges, whenever he acquired power, and thus se- 
 cured their support during the contest for the crowns ; 
 so that the cause of the Reformation was continuing 
 to acquire strength by the dissension of its enemies. 
 And how fully the Bohemians, who were mostly 
 Protestants, already felt that strength, may be judged 
 of, from the ceremony that took place when Mathias 
 was first crowned King. The elected Sovereign 
 having sworn at the altar, with his hand on the Bible, 
 to maintain the charter granted by Rudolph, the 
 Lord Marshal of the Empire turned round to the 
 deputies of states, and to the assembled people, and 
 asked, " Is it your will and pleasure that his Ma- 
 jesty's Grace shall be crowned ?" " It is our will," 
 
 B 2
 
 20 ORIGIN OF THE THIRTY YEARs' WAR. 
 
 replied the multitude, with loud acclamations ; and 
 then only was the ceremony permitted to proceed. 
 
 The Emperor Mathias having no children, was 
 anxious to secure for his cousin, Ferdinand of Griitz, 
 already chosen as his successor in the imperial dignity, 
 the succession to all the dominions of the German 
 branch of the Austrian Family. For this purpose he 
 again strove to conciliate the Protestants, whom, in 
 the hour of victory, he had oppressed, and in I617 he 
 actually succeeded in causing Ferdinand to be elected 
 future King of Bohemia. But, as this prince was 
 known to be a determined enemy of the Reformation, 
 the people of that country refused to crown or to 
 acknovvledo:e him, till he should sio-n a reverse, free- 
 ing them from their allegiance as subjects, in the 
 event of his infringing any of those rights which tlie 
 coronation oath would call upon him to maintain. 
 Ferdinand complied, and was crowned : how he kept 
 faith and word we shall see presently. 
 
 Ferdinand of Gratz, Archduke of Carniola and 
 Styria, thus chosen King of Bohemia, had been edu- 
 cated at Ingolstadt, under the tuition of the Jesuits. 
 Unfortunately for himself and the world, he entered 
 too readily into the views and policy ascribed to that 
 celebrated order ; for, by all accounts, he wanted not 
 the qualities that, under more auspicious leading, 
 might have made his reign a blessing to humanity. 
 No sovereign was ever called to the throne at a more 
 eventful crisis ; no one more fortunately placed for 
 bestowing happiness on the extensive countries en- 
 trusted to his rule. He might have been a messenger 
 of peace ; and became the harbinger of war and de-
 
 ORIGIN OF THE THIRTY YEARS* WAR. 21 
 
 solation. His name, which might have been respond- 
 ed to by the blessings of millions, is mentioned only 
 with abhorrence. He might have closed the temple 
 of Janus ; by one wild and fanatic effort he flung it 
 open. He never lived to see it closed ; and his reign 
 appears, on the page of history, as only one fright- 
 ful mark of blood and flame. 
 
 If we are to believe many respectable writers, this 
 prince, the author of a thirty years* war, was of a mild 
 and moderate disposition, assiduous in business, fond 
 of field sports, pomp and music. In manners and 
 deportment he was polite and courteous ; he was also 
 well informed, and master of the Latin, Spanish and 
 Italian languages. His devotion was extreme : he 
 often scourged himself, prayed frequently, attended 
 mass twice a-day, read the lives of the Saints, the 
 Fathers of the Church, and the Bible ; and was, by 
 the account of Lammerman, his confessor, the very 
 pattern of a perfect prince. *' I will rather," said 
 Ferdinand, on assuming the government of his here- 
 ditary dominions, in 1596, *' be cut to pieces, or beg 
 my bread outside of the gates of my palace, than suf- 
 fer heresy to exist any longer in my country." «' It 
 is because I love the heretics that I wish to convert 
 them from the paths of evil ; and I would lay my 
 head upon the block to-morrow, if, by so doing, I 
 could make them renounce their errors." Having 
 first made a pilgrimage to Loretto, for the purpose 
 of surrendering his dominions to the Virgin, he next 
 proceeded to Rome, in order to seek counsel from 
 Pope Clement VIII. and, as it is generally said, to 
 obtain absolution from the oath which he had taken
 
 22 ORIGIN OF THE THIRTY YEARS* WAR. 
 
 on assuming the government of Styria and Carniola. 
 He had no sooner returned from his pious voyage, 
 than he set about extirpating what he termed heresy 
 from both his principalities. All Protestants were 
 ordered to renounce their religion, or to depart the 
 country forthwith, leaving, however, one-tenth of 
 their property behind them. All the evangelical 
 schools and churches were pulled down, or closed. 
 On the 8th of August, 10,000 Bibles and religious 
 books were burned by the hands of the executioner ; 
 and Ferdinand laid the foundation of a Capuchin con- 
 vent, on the very spot where this strange auto da 
 fe had been held. The Catholic clergy, forgetting 
 that their duty called upon them to appear as the 
 messengers of peace only, headed the soldiers in press- 
 ing the execution of the Archduke's decrees ; and 
 scaffolds were everywhere erected for all who delayed 
 obedience. Vain was the intercession of maffis- 
 trates and authorities ; vain the representation of the 
 deputies of the provinces ; as vain all appeals to 
 former oaths and charters ; death and confiscation 
 of property awaited all who attempted to resist. 
 
 The feebleness of the Emperor Rudolph rendered 
 application to him for redress altogether hopeless ; 
 and his brother Mathias, forgetful of the promises 
 he had made to the Protestants, issued a decree, an- 
 nulling the privileges conferred by the " ill-advised 
 Maximilian," on the grounds that the Church alone 
 had the power to bestow such rights. He further 
 added, that *' lords and princes were not bound to 
 abide by the charters and promises which their pre- 
 decessors might have granted."
 
 ORIGIN OF THE THIRTY YEARS* WAR. 23 
 
 While Ferdinand of Gratz was thus carrying per- 
 secution and sorrow into every town, hamlet, castle 
 and district of his dominions, Maximilian, the young- 
 Elector of Bavaria, was acting a similar, but more 
 moderate part in the country he had been called upon 
 to govern. 
 
 This prince, who possessed both talents and ability, 
 had been educated at Ingolstadt along with his rela- 
 tive Ferdinand j and been brought up, like him, in 
 strict accordance with the views of the Jesuits. The 
 holy fathers at first interdicted the young prince from 
 reading even the classical writers of Greece and 
 Rome. The followers of Loyola termed the immortal 
 writers of antiquity " heathen dotards, and relaters of 
 old women's tales :" and it was cunningly said ; for 
 where those writers are read, cultivated and under- 
 stood, there light will ultimately prevail, however 
 deep the previous darkness may have been. Fortu- 
 nately for the young prince, some man of better judg- 
 ment interfered, and this strange interdict was recall- 
 ed by order of his father, the reigning Elector of Ba- 
 varia. Maximilian's ability and assiduity are univer- 
 sally praised; but how soon his natural good sense and 
 good feeling were corrupted by erring zeal and false 
 devotion, may be judged from the following extract 
 of a letter addressed to his mother. On the 21st of 
 August 1589, the young prince writes thus : *' I yes- 
 terday heard, with great pleasure, that the King of 
 France had been assassinated. Should the account be 
 confirmed, I shall have still greater cause to rejoice." 
 This hopeful scholar of the Jesuits was then sixteen 
 years of age. Similarity of character already esta-
 
 24i ORIGIN OF THE THIRTY YEARs' WAR. 
 
 blished, at Ingolstadt, a bond of friendship between 
 Maximilian and Ferdinand, which was never shaken 
 or impaired during the severest trials of their reigns. 
 
 The Bohemians, who, as we have before seen, had 
 elected Ferdinand of Gratz for their future king, 
 are not, properly speaking, a German people, though 
 forming part of the German Confederation. They 
 iwe the descendants of a Slavonic tribe, called the 
 Czechi, who, about the sixth century, settled in the 
 country ; after subduing, or, what with the Slaves was 
 pretty nearly synonimous, exterminating its previous 
 occupants. When Charlemagne and his successors 
 drove the other Slavonians, who had penetrated into 
 Germany, back beyond the Vistula, the Czechi main- 
 tained their ground in Bohemia, where they still con- 
 tinue, retaining, even to this day, the name, lan- 
 guage, and something of the Slavonic appearance of 
 their ancestors. At the period of which we are writ- 
 ing, they were said to retain much also of that fiery 
 impetuosity of character, which distinguished the 
 early Slavonic invaders of Germany, and which made 
 them too often rush into difficulties and dangers, 
 without considering what means they possessed to ex- 
 tricate themselves from the former, or to overcome 
 the latter. 
 
 Fancy sometimes loves to trace a resemblance be- 
 tween the natural appearance of a country and the 
 history and character of its inhabitants. If this 
 theory be not altogether an idle one, it may derive 
 a certain degree of confirmation from the history of 
 the Bohemians, and from the appearance of their 
 country. Bohemia stands isolated in the midst of
 
 ORIGIN OF THE THIRTY YEARS* WAR. 25 
 
 Germany : it is on every side divided from the ad- 
 joining countries by high mountains of volcanic 
 origin j and is inhabited by a people, strangers also 
 among those that surround them. Volumes of flame 
 must once have issued from the craters of those 
 forest- crowned hills : torrents of glowing lava must 
 have descended into the valleys below ; while clouds 
 of burnino; ashes were carried far and wide over 
 neighbouring and affrighted regions. But the vol- 
 canoes are extinct : nature has cast a rich mantle of 
 verdure over all the scenes of former desolation ; and 
 it is only by the skill of the geologist that we now 
 discover where the elements once raged in their 
 might. In like manner have the wild passions of 
 men raged and been allayed in that wild country. 
 The savage hordes of ruthless Slavonians, who de- 
 scended from the mountains of Bohemia, were long 
 the terror of all surrounding nations ; but it is only 
 in the pages of history that we now discover the marks 
 of their fury. No traces remain of the flames lighted 
 at the pyres of Huss and Jerome of Prague : no- 
 thing is left of the fierce, fanatic zeal that instigated 
 the followers of Zisca to the commission of so many 
 crimes. The religious fervour and enthusiasm that 
 made an entire nation rise, as one man, against the 
 tyranny of Ferdinand, have sunk within their just 
 and silent limits. A wise and paternal government 
 has atoned for early wrongs by the mildness of its 
 sway : for two centuries, peace has smiled upon the 
 land ; and, in Bohemia, every thing is 
 
 " as tranquil and as still, 
 As the mist slumbering on the hill."
 
 26 ORIGIN OF THE THIRTY YEARS* WAR. 
 
 We must, however, return to times of strife. In 
 the charter which the Emperor Rudolph had granted 
 to the people of Bohemia, and which both Mathias 
 and Ferdinand had so solemnly sworn to maintain, 
 it was distinctly specified, *' that the Protestants 
 should have the full right to build new schools and 
 churches ; not only in the towns, but in the country 
 also." The citizens of Prague had made undisputed 
 use of this privilege ; but when the evangelical con- 
 errcEfations of Brunau and Klostero-raben were about 
 to consecrate their new churches, the Catholic clergy 
 seized them both, by express order, as they stated, 
 of the Emperor, and pulled down the one, and shut 
 up the other. 
 
 The injured congregations immediately presented 
 a complaint, in form, to the Lords of the Council, 
 the Emperor's representatives at Prague ; but these 
 authorities, instead of granting redress, caused the 
 deputies to be thrown into prison. The Protestant 
 members of the states then assembled in the capital, 
 took part with their brethren in belief, and addressed 
 a strong, but respectful, remonstrance to the Em- 
 peror against such a breach of privilege, requesting, 
 at the same time, that the wrong committed might 
 be redressed. 
 
 The Jesuits were all-powerful at Vienna, and to 
 their influence, and to that of Ferdinand, is ascribed 
 the severe and haughty answer which the Emperor 
 Mathias returned to this remonstrance. On the 
 22d of May 1G18, the deputies of the Protestant 
 states were called before the Council at Prague, in 
 order that the imperial reply might be communicated
 
 ORIGIN OF THE THIRTY YEARS* WAR. 27 
 
 to them. It was to the following effect : *♦ His 
 Imperial Majesty had, for good and sufficient rea- 
 sons, deemed it right to command that the church 
 of Brunau should be closed, and the one of Klos- 
 tergraben demolished. His Imperial Majesty further 
 thought that the states had abused the charter, and 
 that the deputies had rendered themselves liable to 
 be punished as rebels and traitors." The deputies 
 were not surprised by an answer, the purport of 
 which was already well known, as the Protestant 
 clergy had proclaimed it from their pulpits, and had 
 every where exerted themselves, to rouse the indig- 
 nation of the people, against so flagrant an encroach- 
 ment on their religious liberties. The deputation, 
 therefore, only solicited a copy of the imperial letter, 
 together with permission to return, and deliver their 
 explanation, on the following day. Both requests 
 were granted of course. 
 
 While minds were still in the state of excitement 
 which this announcement, however fully anticipated, 
 could hardly fail to produce, a meeting of the Pro- 
 testant noblemen, then in Prague, was held at the 
 house of Count Thurn. It was here resolved to in- 
 form the Lords of the Council, that, " after the sig- 
 nature of the Great Charter by the Emperor, no 
 order or decree, tending to endanger the liberties 
 of the Protestant religion, could be received or 
 obeyed." The most distinguished men of the party 
 were selected, for the purpose of conveying to the 
 Emperor's representatives this decisive resolution. 
 The persons on whom devolved the dangerous and 
 precarious duty, were Counts Henry Mathias of
 
 82 ORIGIN OF THE THIRTY YEARS' WAR. 
 
 Thurn, Joachim, Andreas and Alboni of Schlisk ; 
 the Lords William of Lobkowitz, Wenzel of Rau- 
 powna, Koln of Fels, and Paul of Reiczan. The 
 people had, in the meantime, assembled in great 
 crowds in the market-place. They were here ad- 
 dressed by the leaders of the Protestant party, who 
 first read to them the charter of Bohemian liberty, 
 and then the imperial mandate. The consequence 
 was, that the multitude, always so easily excited, 
 either for good or for evil, immediately insisted upon 
 storming the castle ; and it was with difficulty that 
 the deputies of the states succeeded in appeasing the 
 tumult : the first roar of the surge that foretold the 
 storm. 
 
 When, on the following morning, the 2Sd of 
 May, the Protestant noblemen proceeded to the 
 castle, they were in full armour, and were followed 
 by vast multitudes of armed persons, all calling aloud 
 for vengeance. Among the Lords of the Council, 
 William of Slavata, and Jaraslaw of Martinez, had 
 rendered themselves particularly obnoxious, as well 
 by their pride and harshness, as by the false reports, 
 injurious to the liberties of the country, which they 
 were said to have forwarded to Vienna. Li full re- 
 liance, however, on their inviolability, as represen- 
 tatives of the Emperor, they attended the council 
 to receive the deputies, who, on their side, had 
 probably no intention of proceeding to acts of vio- 
 lence. But in the outer hall of the palace, it was 
 agreed, at the suggestion of Count Thurn, to send 
 away Slavata and Martinez, in the first instance, 
 and to employ even force, if fair means should fail.
 
 ORIGIN OF THE THIRTY YEARS* WAR. 29 
 
 On entering the chamber of audience, the discussion 
 was nevertheless carried on for a time with modera- 
 tion and cahnness, though a number of armed per- 
 sons had forced themselves into the presence, along 
 with the deputies. Count Adam of Sternberg pre- 
 sided at the council ; near him were Slavata, Mar- 
 tinez, and Diephold of Lobkowitz : William Fabri- 
 cius acted as secretary. Paul of Reiczan, who had 
 been chosen speaker of the states, specified, in their 
 name, the g-rievances of which the Protestants had 
 to complain ; declaring also, that they were not dis- 
 posed to obey the unconstitutional mandates that 
 had been communicated to them, and against which 
 they were secured by the Emperor's own signature, 
 as well as by the oath he had taken, even on the Holy 
 Scripture itself. He further added, that they, the 
 Lords of the Council, were the real disturbers of the 
 public peace, having violated the charter, and thus 
 forced the Protestants to seek redress in the present 
 manner. 
 
 Count Sternberg, who, from age, character and 
 conduct, was generally respected, succeeded for a 
 moment, in calming the uproar that followed on the 
 conclusion of this speech. He obtained a short hear- 
 ing for what he had to say in defence of the council, 
 which only went to shew, that they were agents 
 possessing no power of their own, and acting merely 
 by order of the Emperor and King. On the other 
 side, the Lord Kolon of Pels replied, that every 
 respect was entertained for the count himself, whose 
 good disposition was well known. *' But with you," 
 he said, turning to Slavata and Martinez, " we shall
 
 30 ORIGIN OF THE THIRTY YEARS* WAR. 
 
 never agree, for you are traitors to the liberties of 
 the country." Martinez returned taunt for taunt, 
 but was speedily interrupted by the fiery and im- 
 petuous Wenzel of llaupowna, who called aloud, 
 •' Wherefore all this delay ? Let them be thrown out 
 of the window, according to good old Bohemian 
 fashion." 
 
 To excited multitudes, the counsels of folly are 
 never more acceptable than when recommending 
 acts of cowardly violence. The ill-omened words 
 were no sooner uttered, than they were loudly 
 cheered by the thoughtless crowd, more excusable 
 than their leaders, whom such ignorant applause en- 
 couraged and instigated. Sternberg and Lobkowitz 
 were hurried into an adjoining apartment by friends, 
 who protected them from injury. But Martinez 
 was instantly seized : a window, some fifty feet above 
 the level of the castle moat, into which it looked, 
 was thrown open, and the unhappy Lord Commis- 
 sioner, notwithstanding his supplications, was fairly 
 hurled out of it, while in the very act of repeating a 
 Latin prayer. Another and another followed : it 
 was in vain that Slavata entreated to have a con- 
 fessor, or to be allowed time to pray. The waves of 
 the ocean are not more deaf to the voice of mercy, 
 than are the ears of an enraged multitude : he was 
 thrown out without an instant's respite. The secre- 
 tary Fabricius had concealed himself under a table ; 
 he was discovered and dragged forth. No harm had 
 been intended to him ; but madness ruled the hour. 
 " The fox*s tail must follow the head," was re-echoed
 
 ORIGIN OF THE THIRTY YEARS* WAR. 31 
 
 through the hall, and the unhappy secretary was im- 
 mediately sent after his superiors. 
 
 The escape of these victims of popular fury seems 
 almost miraculous. It was, in a great measure, 
 owing to the circumstance of a mound of rubbish 
 having, in consequence of some repairs, been col- 
 lected exactly beneath the fatal window. Martinez 
 fell on this mound, and received little injury : Sla- 
 vata rolled off it, struck against the iron bars of the 
 castle vaults, and was severely cut about the head. 
 Fabricius was so little hurt, that, with courtly polite- 
 ness, he is said to have begged Martinez's pardon for 
 falling above his excellency. All three happened to 
 be in full state costume, and it is probable that the 
 flowing silk mantles which they wore, helped to break 
 their fall. The few musket shots fired after them, 
 the first shots of the Thirty years' War, were fortu- 
 nately so ill aimed, as to prove altogether harmless. 
 Fabricius escaped immediately, and was already on 
 the road to Vienna, to report what had happened, 
 before he was missed. Martinez hurried to the aid 
 of the bruised and bleeding Slavata, and both, by the 
 aid of some of their domestics, got into the house of 
 the Countess of Lobkowitz. They were instantly 
 claimed by Count Thurn and his followers ; but the 
 countess, with great firmness and dexterity, avoided 
 compliance. Martinez soon effected his escape ; and 
 I Slavata obtained his parole, which he took the earliest 
 opportunity of breaking. 
 
 No sooner had this act of senseless violence been 
 committed, an act which injured the noblest cause 
 that ever put arms into the hands of men, than the
 
 3^ ORIGIN' OF THE THIllTY YEARS* WAR. 
 
 leaders saw the abyss into which they were hurrying 
 their unhappy country, and strove, apparently with 
 honest repentance, to arrest the progress of the evil. 
 An humble apology and justification was immedi- 
 ately sent to Vienna. The states declared, in this 
 document, that it was their full intention to live and 
 die the Aiithful and obedient subjects of the Emperor, 
 and that their only object was to maintain his power 
 and their own charter. 
 
 Not, however, relying altogether on the imperial 
 clemency, they took precautionary measures also. 
 They elected a council of thirty, composed of the 
 most distinguished men of their body, to administer 
 the civil and military affairs of the country. The 
 Archbishop of Prague, the Abbot of Brunau, and 
 many of the Catholic clergy, were banished the king- 
 dom. The Jesuits were instantly expelled ; and the 
 severe decree issued against them, applies to the 
 entire order the most opprobrious epithets. Mea- 
 sures of defence were not wanting. Count Thurn 
 was placed at the head of the army : alliances were 
 entered into with the neighbouring countries of Silecia 
 and Lusatia ; and applications for aid and support 
 were addressed to all the Protestant states of Ger- 
 many. Thus one champion already stood, armed in 
 the arena : evil were the auspices under which the 
 lists had been entered : fearful the odds to be en- 
 countered, but just and noble the cause that was to 
 be defended. No blow had yet been struck : on the 
 head of the assailant was therefore to rest the blood 
 that might be shed in the strife. 
 
 Before proceeding to narrate events, in which all
 
 ORIGIN OF THE THIRTY YEARS* WAR. 33 
 
 the nations of Europe took, directly or indirectly, 
 some share, it will be right, briefly to view the situa- 
 tions in which the different powers were placed at 
 the moment, when the great struggle for religious 
 freedom broke out in Germany. 
 
 Spain, mistress of Portugal, Naples, Milan, Sicily, 
 Rousillion and the Netherlands, possessing, besides, 
 boundless empires in the new world, was still looked 
 upon as the most powerful nation of Europe. But 
 internal misgovernment, and corruption in every de- 
 partment of the state, more than counterbalanced 
 these great advantages ; and Spain was weak in the 
 midst of vast possessions, and poor with the mines of 
 Mexico and Peru at her command. Philip III. un- 
 able to subdue the revolted people of Holland, had 
 concluded with them a twelve years' truce, which 
 was on the eve of expiring. The war that followed, 
 secured to the Dutch their independence. These 
 seafaring and commercial republicans had already, 
 by wise economy, acquired the reputation of being 
 better paymasters than the lords of the Indies. 
 
 The German Empire was a federation of free 
 towns, and of temporal and spiritual princes, all in- 
 dependent of each other, but avowing subjection to 
 the decrees of the general diets, and to certain anti- 
 quated, and ill-defined laws, over the execution of 
 which the Emperor was supposed to preside. But 
 as the imperial dignity was unaccompanied by power, 
 the decrees of the diet, and the laws of the empire, 
 generally remained dead letters, unless when the 
 strong were authorised to execute them at the ex- 
 pense of the feeble. 
 
 c
 
 34 ORIGIN OF THE THIRTY YEARS* WAR. 
 
 France had lost, during the corrupt and turbulent 
 regency of Maria of Medicis, much of the strength 
 and influence acquired under Henry the Great. An 
 act of assassination, placed the reins of government 
 in the hands of Louis XIII, a weak prince, ill cal- 
 culated to rule a country everywhere split into par- 
 ties, and torn by contending factions." But his weak- 
 ness became beneficial to the nation ; it gave Richelieu 
 the power, which enabled that celebrated minister to 
 lay the foundation of the future greatness of France. 
 Under the guidance of this wily churchman, the most 
 Christian King oppressed and subdued the Protes- 
 tants of his own country, at the same time that he 
 supported those of Germany against the House of 
 Austria. 
 
 Italy could hardly be said to have any indepen- 
 dence. As the papal states were surrounded by 
 the dominions of the House of Austria, the Roman 
 Pontiffs were little more than vassals at the will of the 
 Emperor and the King of Spain. Venice, though still 
 in possession of Dalmatia, Candia and the Morea, 
 was no longer the power which had so bravely re- 
 sisted the league of Cambray ; nor did the Signoria 
 take any direct part in the Thirty years' War. The 
 other Italian states were too feeble to deserve notice. 
 As a nation, the Swiss also, had disappeared from the 
 great stage of political contention. The defeats of 
 Marignan and Biccoca, had tamed their insolence 
 and pride : they now shrank within their hills, and 
 only sold, as they still continue to sell, the blood of 
 their sons for foreign pay. 
 
 Great Britain had, for the first time, seen the
 
 ORIGIN OF THE THIRTY YEARs' WAR. 35 
 
 crowns of the three kingdoms placed on the head of 
 the same prince. But the advantages of this fortu- 
 nate union, the source of so much future greatness 
 and glory, were not at first perceived ; and England, 
 under the reign of Elizabeth, was more powerful, 
 and exercised more influence abroad, than Great 
 Britain under the first kings of the House of Stuart. 
 As a nation, Britain took no direct part in the 
 Thirty years' War, but thousands of her sons sup- 
 ported in arms, the honour of their country. Seve- 
 ral foreign states and princes, acquired greater fame 
 during the contest, than any which the most patrio- 
 tic writer, can possibly claim for Great Britain or 
 its rulers ; but no laurels, gathered in the field, 
 shone brighter or more nobly, than those gained 
 by the British soldiers, who followed the fortunes 
 of Gustavus Adolphus. Schiller, speaking of the 
 arrival in Germany of a British force, under the 
 Marquis of Hamilton, says, *' the landing of these 
 troops is all that fame relates of the British during the 
 Thirty years' War." A more impartial inspection of 
 the rolls of fame, would probably have induced the 
 great historian to alter his opinion. 
 
 In the north, Gustavus Vasa had freed Sweden 
 from the yoke of Denmark, and had placed his own 
 family on the throne : it was occupied, at the period 
 of which we are writing, by his grandson, Gustavus 
 Adolphus. Christian IV. reigned in Denmark. 
 Both these countries were alike poor, but governed 
 by wise princes, and inhabited by bold and warlike 
 subjects. They both took, with different fortunes 
 indeed, a prominent part in the great struggle for 
 
 c 2
 
 3() ORIGIN OK THE THIRTY YEARS* WAR. 
 
 religious freedom. Though now outgrown by other 
 nations, the Scandinavians remained great, as long as 
 courao-e and manlv conduct, were sufficient to coun- 
 terbalance the power of well-regulated numbers. 
 
 Poland, always a prey to contending factions, had 
 little internal strength or exterior influence. It 
 carried on an unsuccessful war against Sweden, in 
 support of the claims of its own sovereign, King Sigis- 
 niund, to the throne of that country. 
 
 Russia had not emerged from barbarism ; and 
 Turkey was still looked upon by all its neighbours, 
 as the most formidable military state in Europe. 
 
 But though most of the European nations had 
 already, in the seventeenth century, assumed a good 
 deal of their present shape and form, they were still 
 ignorant of the practical art, or science of govern- 
 ment, which has been so greatly perfected of late 
 years. The theory of legislation was, at least, as well 
 understood two hundred years ago, as it is now ; but 
 the art, so to strengthen the hands of government, 
 as to enable kings and princes to collect and wield 
 the power and resources of their respective dominions, 
 was an art or science, totally unknown ; and one that 
 subjects were not, perhaps, willing that their rulers 
 should acquire. For mere acts of capricious violence, 
 tyranny or oppression, there were always means at 
 hand ; but for great and permanent objects, whether 
 for good or evil, — for national defence or external 
 aggression, strength, proportionate to the territorial 
 resources of the parties engaged, was constantly want- 
 ing. The rulers of nations had not yet obtained so 
 firm a hold of the reins of government, as they have
 
 ORIGIN OF THE THIRTY YEARS* WAR. 3J 
 
 since acquired. There was no perfect and unbroken 
 chain of authority, proceeding, by regular links, from 
 the cabinet of the sovereign, down to the most distant 
 provincial functionary, and carrying the sparks of 
 command, lightning-like, through all the depart- 
 ments of the state. 
 
 In times, when the machinery of government is 
 imperfect, without being barbarous, when the general 
 principles of justice are well understood, while their 
 application is uncertain ; individual strength of cha- 
 racter naturally shines out, more conspicuously, than 
 in tax-paying and well-regulated police-days, like the 
 present. In the seventeenth century, the wild pas- 
 sions of men, had, no doubt, more scope, and led more 
 openly to deeds of evil, than they do now ; but they 
 were far better balanced, by the kindness, generosity 
 and high feeling, that suffering virtue was sure to 
 call forth, than they have ever been since ; whether 
 in the so-called philosophical age of the next century, 
 or in our own more refined, and artificial times. Men 
 stood more upon their own ground ; and manly cha- 
 racter was brought out, in bolder traits, than it is at 
 present ; the outlines, whether good or bad, were 
 more marked and decided. With more of violence 
 than we now find, there was more of greatness ; less 
 of admired sameness and vaunted mediocrity. And 
 it is this stage of civilisation, that renders the men 
 of that century so strikingly interesting. The age 
 was not one of ignorance, or barbarism. On the con- 
 trary, it was an age when much brilliant light was 
 already abroad : a light rendered more brilliant and 
 vivid, perhaps, by the very darkness against which it
 
 38 ORIGIN OF THE THIRTY YEARS* WAR. 
 
 was set off, and which still formed the background of 
 the picture. 
 
 Literature, architecture, painting, and the fine 
 arts in general, had attained a height, which has 
 not been much surpassed. The moral sciences also 
 were well understood ; but the physical sciences 
 were comparatively in their infancy, though, all the 
 great and leading inventions, on which those sciences 
 have since been advanced, had ah*eady been made. 
 Tycho de Brahe, honoured and protected in Ger- 
 many by the Emperor Rudolph, had been persecuted 
 in his own country, on account of superior know- 
 ledge J and his scholar, Keppler, the greatest astro- 
 nomer of his time, was still valued, more for his sup- 
 posed skill in astrology, than for his astronomical 
 discoveries. A good deal of splendour and magni- 
 ficence was displayed by princes and men of rank, 
 and by none more than Wallenstein himself; but 
 the elegances of life, and what we would now, per- 
 haps, call the art of living, were little known. But, 
 though affluence was confined to few, the excess of 
 poverty, now so frequently seen even in the most 
 prosperous countries of Europe, was of rare occur- 
 rence : and if there was less luxury, there was also 
 less misery. Compared to our own, the seventeenth 
 century presents us with a romantic and spirit-stir- 
 ring state of society ; not always secure and com- 
 fortable, perhaps, but robust, healthy and picturesque, 
 and well calculated to call forth talent, genius and 
 courage. 
 
 During the period, indeed, of which we have to 
 speak, we shall constantly see more effected by indi-
 
 ORIGIN OF THE THIRTY YEARS* WAR. 39 
 
 vidual character, than by the weight of physical 
 force : we shall even find talent and valour, taking 
 fairly the lead of imperial decrees and royal ordi- 
 nances. Private adventurers maintain, in the field, 
 the cause of princes, abandoned by their subjects and 
 relations. The landless, but chivalrous, Bernhard 
 of Weimar, carries on a war of conquest against the 
 greatest sovereigns of Catholic Germany : the he- 
 roism of Gustavus outweighs, at the head of only 
 thirteen thousand men, the strength and resources 
 of Spain, Austria and Italy : and the mere name of 
 Wallenstein, calls a formidable army into life, at the 
 very moment when his imperial master, the absolute 
 ruler of kingdoms and principalities, had not a dis- 
 posable soldier at command.
 
 LIFE OF WALLENSTEIN. 41 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 Albrecht Eusebius Wenzeslaus of Waldstein, 
 known in history under the name of Wallenstein, 
 was born at Hermanic in Bohemia, on the 15th of 
 September 1583. He was the third and youngest 
 son of John Waldstein of Hermanic, and of Mar- 
 garet of Smirricky, a lady of ancient and noble 
 family, who brought to her husband nearly all the 
 moderate fortune he possessed. As both parents 
 were Protestants, the young Albrecht received the 
 first rudiments of religious instruction in the same 
 faith. 
 
 It is related of Wallenstein, that he already 
 evinced, as a boy, the fierce, haughty and self-willed 
 disposition, which afterwards distinguished him as a 
 man. We are told that he was averse to study, of 
 ungovernable temper, and fond only of military games, 
 in which he always assumed the command over his 
 companions. It is also said, that, being one day 
 sharply rebuked by an uncle, for speaking more in 
 the tone of a prince than of a gentleman's son, he 
 replied, with great fire and quickness, *' If I am not 
 a prince, I may yet live to become one." There 
 is nothing either very impossible or improbable in 
 these statements ; but similar traits might, with 
 equal truth, be related of many boys who never
 
 42 LIFE OF WALLENSTEIN. 
 
 evinced any talents, and never rose, in after life, 
 above mediocrity. We are not yet sufficiently ac- 
 quainted with the route by which human character 
 arrives at maturity, and know too little, what degree 
 of impression it receives from exterior circumstances 
 and situation, to tell, by the manners and apparent 
 aptitude of the boy, what the man will ultimately 
 prove. Rivers formed by numerous springs and 
 rills, none of which can, singly, indicate the nature 
 and magnitude of the future stream, are emblemati- 
 cal, perhaps, of human character. Many that pro- 
 mise fairly at the outset, collect whatever is rank 
 and gross in the swamps and poisoned grounds which 
 they traverse, and infest, as they roll along, whole 
 districts with noxious exhalations : while others, 
 rising from dark and turbid sources, are purified in 
 their progress j flow in fertilising beauty through 
 the lands, and carry with them only the golden por- 
 tions of the soil over which they hold their clear and 
 sparkling course. It is even so with character and 
 talent : they are formed and developed by circum- 
 stances that rarely begin to exercise much influence 
 at a very early period of life. But the world, in its 
 love of the wonderful, will have it otherwise : and 
 we have seen the certificate given to Napoleon Bona- 
 parte at the college of Brienne, a certificate which 
 was evidently intended to represent him as a young 
 man of inferior ability, possessing only a moderate 
 knowledge of mathematics, metamorphosed into an 
 early proof of the high genius, which, on the strength 
 of subsequent events, was so generally ascribed to 
 the triumphant commander.
 
 LIFE OF WALLENSTEIN. 43 
 
 The family of Walstein are, as the name implies, 
 of German origin ; but they appear to have been long 
 settled in Bohemia ; and ever since the brave Lord 
 Waldstein of Dux, joined King Ottakar's army, in 
 the thirteenth century, at the head of his four and 
 twenty sons, all mail-clad men, they seem to have 
 acted a prominent part in the history of that country. 
 But though noble and numerous, they appear to have 
 been poor ; and, as the father of our Albrecht was 
 the youngest of six brothers, the hero of the present 
 memoir could look forward only to very slender ex- 
 pectations. 
 
 The early years of the boy were dark and unpro- 
 mising. Owing to his stubborn disposition and aver- 
 sion to study, he was treated with great harshness by 
 his father : a circumstance to which much of his sub- 
 sequent severity has been ascribed. Before he was 
 twelve years of age, he lost both parents : the greatest 
 loss, perhaps, youth can sustain, however sternly pa- 
 rental authority, may, at times, be exercised. The 
 orphan was first taken under the protection of a ma- 
 ternal uncle, the Lord Slavata of Chulm ; and as this 
 nobleman was a Protestant, young Albrecht continued 
 to be educated in the faith of his fathers. We next 
 find him under the care of another maternal uncle, 
 a Lord Kavka of Ricam, a zealous friend of the 
 Jesuits, who placed the young man at the college of 
 Nobles, which the society of Jesus had established 
 at Olmiitz. The followers of Loyola soon discovered 
 the talents of their pupil, and failed not to take 
 immediate steps to insure his conversion to the Ro- 
 man Church. The task was assigned to a Father
 
 44 LIFE OF WALLENSTEIN. 
 
 Pachta, and found easy enough of execution ; for 
 Wallenstein not only embraced the Catholic religion, 
 in order to be released from Latin and other serious 
 studies, but conceived for his indulgent tutor a friend- 
 ship which made him, ever afterwards, speak of the 
 good Jesuit as the real founder of his fortune. 
 
 All the biographers of Wallenstein have asserted 
 that he studied at the university of Altorf, near 
 Nuremberg, and was there distinguished for extra- 
 vagances, and punished for misconduct. And, strange 
 to say, the acts of the university are still preserved, 
 shewing that a " Baro a Waldstein," who signs 
 himself Albrecht of Waldstein, was punished there 
 at the period specified. The same veracious writers 
 also inform us, that Wallenstein, after leaving the 
 university, became page to Charles, Count of Bur- 
 gau, son of Ferdinand, Duke of Tyrol ; and em- 
 ijraced the Catholic religion while serving in that 
 capacity at the court of Inspruck. He had one day, 
 as the tale goes, fallen asleep near an open window, 
 in the third storey of the castle. Frightened by a 
 dream he threw himself over the parapet, but escaped 
 unhurt, a circumstance that was looked upon as a 
 miracle, and universally ascribed to the direct inter- 
 position of the Virgin. So signal a mark of favour, 
 culled, of course, for some grateful return, and Wal- 
 lenstein could do nothing less than become a Ca- 
 tholic, and bend the knee before the shrine of his 
 heavenly patroness. 
 
 This strange event, say historians, produced a very 
 marked effect on the disposition of young Wallen- 
 stein. " He came to himself," as they express it,
 
 LIFE OF WALLENSTEIN. 45 
 
 " and learned to reflect. He acknowledged the ex- 
 istence of some great, unknown and all-ruling power 
 that watched over him ; believed himself reserved 
 for extraordinary achievements ; and it became, 
 from that moment, the study of his life, to penetrate 
 into futurity, and to discover the high destiny that 
 awaited him." Unfortunately for these speculations, 
 there is not a word of truth in the statement on 
 which they rest. Forster proves, on good authority, 
 that Wallenstein never studied at Altorf, and that 
 he never was in the service of the Prince of Burgau. 
 On the contrary, he appears to have remained a con- 
 siderable time at Olmiitz, and only to have left the 
 academy when, by the exertion of his friend. Father 
 Pachta, an arrangement was made, which enabled him 
 to join a wealthy young nobleman, the Lord Liek 
 of Riesentein, who was setting out on his travels. 
 
 In company with this gentleman, Wallenstein 
 visited a great part of France, Spain, Germany, 
 England, Holland and Italy. Peter Verdungo, the 
 mathematician and astrologer, afterwards known as 
 the friend of Keppler, accompanied the travellers 
 during part of their tour, in the character of tutor, 
 perhaps ; and it is more than probable that he was 
 the first who initiated Wallenstein into the mys- 
 terious and speculative science of astrology. Of the 
 particulars of the journey we know nothing ; but all 
 writers allow that Wallenstein was an acute and ob- 
 servant traveller. He made himself acquainted with 
 the manners and languages of the countries he visit- 
 ed ; studied the nature of their military institutions ; 
 examined into the causes of their external and in-
 
 46 LIFE OF WALLENSTEIN. 
 
 ternal strength, and already inspected fortresses with 
 professional accuracy. In Spain he wore the mantle 
 of Castile, — he dressed like a Frenchman in France, 
 and acted the Briton in England. He entered into 
 the customs of all countries, his genius assumed every 
 form, and he was, if we believe his biographers, the 
 very Alcibiades of his time. 
 
 Italy was the country in which he made the long- 
 est stay. This was not owing to any great prede- 
 liction for the people, or their manners, as Count 
 Pricrato has asserted; for Wallenstein seldom, in his 
 letters, mentions the Italians, without some term of 
 ridicule or reproach ; but in order to pursue the study 
 of astrology, to which he had seriously devoted him- 
 self. He appears to have remained some time at 
 Padua, under the tuition of Professor Argoli. 
 
 It has been thought strange that a person of Wal- 
 lenstein's enlightened understanding, should have 
 been so firm a believer in astrology. But, to say 
 nothing of the endless contradictions and anomalies, 
 discoverable in the human mind, astrology was the 
 weakness of the age, and occupied the attention of 
 many men of high talents and station. Keppler 
 himself was an astrologer, and was employed as such 
 by the Emperors Rudolph, Mathias and Ferdinand. 
 These sovereigns not only had their nativities cast 
 by him, but they consulted him on important state 
 affairs : and the great astronomer acquired more 
 celebrity by the singular accuracy with which he 
 foretold the death of the Emperor Mathias, than for 
 having discovered the independent motion of the 
 heavenly bodies. Nor can we wonder that, in an age,
 
 LIFE OF WALLENSTEIN. 47 
 
 when science had not yet made the progress it has done 
 since, men should have sought to penetrate the mys- 
 tery that surrounds our narrow sphere ; sought alli- 
 ance with beings of superior nature, and tried to dis- 
 cover their future destiny in the stars. In feeble minds 
 this would be only weakness, but in men of loftier 
 character and intellect, it was a high and creditable 
 aspiration. There is something noble and elevating 
 in the thought, that our fate may be linked with the 
 course of those brilliant orbs, placed so far above all 
 our little world's control and influence. To believe 
 that we are so closely connected with the machinery 
 of the universe ; that the part assigned to us in its 
 mighty working is of so exalted a character, as to 
 make the very stars trace our destiny on the dial- 
 plate of heaven, is to entertain a lofty idea of the 
 greatness and dignity of human nature. There is 
 a grandeur in the conception that belongs not to 
 ordinary men, and, abstracted from ignorant super- 
 stition, which takes fear and credulity for beliefj it 
 is one that can hardly fix itself in any but minds 
 of great and imaginative power. The progress of 
 science has, of course, dispelled these illusions : we 
 now know that, in size and strength, we are mere 
 atoms, imperceptible in the vastness of creation ; 
 but at the period of which we are writing, this 
 knowledge was not so universal : men of character 
 and talent stood also upon higher ground ; astro- 
 logy was in general vogue ; and it is not so very sur- 
 prising, therefore, that Wallenstein should, at times, 
 have consulted the stars. But, though the fact it- 
 self is undeniable, we have nowhere the slightest
 
 48 LIFE OF WALLENSTEIN. 
 
 evidence to show that he was ever guided by their 
 decrees ; or, if he really did take advice fiom the 
 planets, it must be allowed that they proved, for 
 many years at least, good and faithful counsellors. 
 
 By the aid of his art. Professor Argoli had dis- 
 covered that great martial fame, and a brilliant des- 
 tiny, awaited his pupil. Young AVallenstein's ambi- 
 tion did not perhaps require such excitement ; but 
 the prophecy seems to have fired his imagination ; 
 and already fancying himself equal to Cassar and 
 Alexander, lie left Padua and joined the imperial 
 army, then contending against the Turks in Hun- 
 gary. In what capacity he first served is not known, 
 but it must have been in some very humble rank ; 
 for it was only after he had been present in several 
 campaigns, that, at the siege of Gran, he was pro- 
 moted to the command of a company of infantry. 
 
 AVhether this tardy preferment arose from his want 
 of money, or from the circumstance of the army in 
 which he served, being commanded by the celebrated 
 George Basta, it is not easy to say. In those times 
 money formed, in all the armies of Europe, as it now 
 forms in the British, a far surer ladder to promotion 
 than professional merit ; and Wallenstein was poor. 
 The practice of selling military rank, though always 
 discreditable, was less so at the period of which we 
 are speaking, than it is at present. In early times, 
 officers only bought the right of commanding the 
 men, whom their own money had levied. The sol- 
 diers hired themselves to those in whom they con- 
 fided : it was a voluntary engagement entered into 
 between the parties. At present, the nation sells
 
 LIFE OF WALLENSTEIN. 49 
 
 the right of commanding the troops it has raised for 
 the service of the state, and is satisfied with recei- 
 ving, from the purchaser, a sum of money as a suf- 
 ficient proof that he is capable of exercising the 
 authority attached to liis rank. Honour, bravery 
 and talent go for nothing in these ignoble bargains, 
 by which a country barters for gold, nearly absolute 
 power over the lives and fortunes of its sons. And 
 as to George Basta, if we judge of him by his system 
 of tactics, which was then exactly what Saldern*s is 
 now, and which, when the object of such a system is 
 considered, must be looked upon as second only, in 
 feebleness and insufficiency, to the one followed in 
 our own time, he was not a likely person to appre- 
 ciate talent, or to encourage and call forth genius. 
 Wallenstein's want of preferment is not therefore 
 surprising. 
 
 The tacticians, having held their ground but in- 
 differently against the Turks, peace was concluded 
 in 1606, when our hero returned to Bohemia, and 
 entered upon the legacy bequeathed him by his father. 
 As it is the custom, if not the absolute law of the 
 country, for parents to divide their property equally 
 between all their children, and as Wallenstein had 
 three sisters, besides his brothers already mentioned, 
 the fortune that fell to his share, must have been 
 extremely moderate. Without money or patrons, 
 his prospects were naturally unpromising j and we 
 find his brother-in-law. Count Zerotin, the friend 
 and companion in arms of Henry IV, exerting him- 
 self to obtain for the young soldier, an appointment 
 as chamberlain to the Archduke Mathias, in order, 
 
 1)
 
 50 LIFE OF WALLENSTEIN. 
 
 as the writer very frankly avows, ** that his kinsman 
 may have a ladder by which to ascend to fortune." 
 Zerotin, whose love of truth is well known, and 
 whose letters are preserved, speaks in high terms of 
 Wallenstein's talents, says that " he is extremely re- 
 served, and entertains the most ardent predilection 
 for the profession of arms." 
 
 The result of this negotiation does not appear. 
 Certain it is that, if Wallenstein obtained the situa- 
 tion, he did not retain it long, and there is even rea- 
 son to believe that he displeased or offended the 
 Archduke in some way or other. He was either one 
 of those men who cannot find themselves in subor- 
 dinate situations, or who, with the best intentions, 
 are never popular in such situations ; who cannot 
 submit gracefully to superior control, or who, with 
 the most perfect disposition and willingness to obey, 
 carry along with them a look and manner of natural 
 superiority, from which ordinary men so constantly 
 shrink back vvith dislike. Wallenstein was ever after- 
 wards considered a most decided enemy of courtiers 
 and court functionaries. 
 
 It may be said with some truth, that women ap- 
 preciate talent sooner, and value men of genius more 
 liighly than men do. They are also free from the 
 painful and uneasy feeling under which so many of 
 our own sex labour, when they find themselves in im- 
 mediate contact with persons of superior intellect. 
 Men bow readily enough, and shamefully enough to 
 wealth and power ; but there is always the mental 
 reservation, that they are bowing to the possessions 
 and not to the possessor, who may still be looked
 
 LIFE OF WALLENSTEIN. 51 
 
 upon as individually their inferior ; a reservation that 
 falls away when they are called upon to do homage 
 to genius and talent : considering how unwillingly 
 this homage is paid, it may perhaps be taken as a 
 proof that the gifts of the mind are, after all, more 
 envied even than those of fortune. 
 
 When perfectly unbiassed, women seldom err in 
 their judgment of men ; but the cleverest of the sex 
 are so constantly led into error, by the influence of 
 wealth, rank, fashion, distinction and notoriety, as 
 well as by the persuasion of others, that their opinion 
 is rarely of much value. When, however, they are 
 allowed to love men of genius, the probability is that 
 their attachments will prove generous, ardent and 
 sincere ; and Wallenstein was destined to owe his first 
 step on fortune's ladder, to female favour and discern- 
 ment. He had failed in his attempt to rise at court j 
 in the field of war he had been equally unsuccessful : 
 another career was now to be tried ; and love, though 
 not exactly " love divine," smiled upon the young 
 aspiring soldier. By the advice of friends, he paid 
 his addresses to a wealthy widow, the Lady Lu- 
 cretia Nikessin of Landek. The fair object of his 
 pursuit was not only advanced in years ; she was ac- 
 tually engaged to another person, a gentleman of far 
 higher rank than Wallenstein ; but our hero acted 
 his part so well, and was so ably seconded by the ex- 
 ertions of the Archbishop of Prague, — and well for 
 them who have such assistance, — that he gained the 
 lady's heart and hand, and what was probably more 
 to the purpose, her very large fortune also. How 
 the parties lived together we do not know ; certain 
 
 D 2
 
 52 LIFE OF WALLENSTEIN. 
 
 it is, that the lady was extremely jealous, as all ladies 
 who marry husbands younger than themselves, should 
 lay their account to be. This continued affection, 
 speaks however in Wallenstein's favour : it shews 
 that, if he married a lady for money, he was yet 
 too much a man of honour and feeling, to use her 
 afterwards with the coarse and vulgar rudeness, so 
 generally resorted to on similar occasions. Such, in- 
 deed, was his wife's attachment to him, that it nearly 
 occasioned his death ; for the good lady doubting the 
 power of her own charms, and anxious to preserve 
 her husband's affections, administered to him a love- 
 draught, that brought on a dangerous illness, from 
 which he only recovered after long and severe suf- 
 fering. It was well for Wallenstein that the lady 
 herself did not long survive this extraordinary expe- 
 riment, or she would certainly, as Count Prierato as- 
 sures us, have killed him in the end by " drugs and 
 magical incantations." 
 
 The Italian biographer takes occasion, in mention- 
 ing this circumstance, to read the sex a grave and 
 severe lesson on their conduct in general, and on 
 practices of this nature in particular. We shall not, 
 for two reasons, repeat what he says. In the first 
 place, ladies have now obtained a better hold on the 
 affection of men, than any which could be acquired 
 by the dangerous and long-forgotten arts here men- 
 tioned : their sway over all who deserve to be ruled 
 is sufficiently certain ; and the coarse, the rude and 
 illiterate, are alone placed, by insensibility, beyond 
 the power of female control. These cannot be sub- 
 dued by draughts and incantations, and are in truth.
 
 LIFE OF WALLENSTEIN. 53 
 
 much better lost than gained. In the second place, 
 the very best lecture on female conduct and man- 
 ners, delivered in the seventeenth century, would 
 appear very simple and superficial in the nine- 
 teenth. Women have now risen to a higher and 
 more influential station in society, than the one they 
 held at the period of which we are writing. In ex- 
 terior deportment, a more dignified and respectful 
 kind of politeness was evinced towards them ; far 
 greater deference was observed in conversation ; a 
 reserved stateliness of behaviour marked all inter- 
 course between the sexes. No prince or sovereign, 
 pretending to the slightest degree of politeness, ever 
 spoke to a lady, except hat in hand. The free and 
 easy manners of our time, which, when not founded 
 on the highest polish and mental cultivation, or on 
 great goodness and singleness of heart, are gene- 
 rally very bad manners, were completely unknown. 
 Women were more looked up to ; far greater respect 
 and attention were shewn them. On all occasions of 
 state and ceremony, at jousts, masks, banquets and 
 festivals, they reigned supreme : their favours were 
 worn at balls, and in battle fields ; but their actual 
 station was comparatively humble ; and the defe- 
 rence, reserve and submission, with which we find 
 ladies of the highest rank, writing to their husbands, 
 would astonish the least presuming wife of the pre- 
 sent time. 
 
 The augmented sway which women have acquired 
 in society, has been productive of great benefit ; be- 
 cause they naturally possess more kindness, taste, 
 feeling and delicacy, as well as more quickness of
 
 54} LIFE OF WALLENSTEIN. 
 
 perception than men can claim, and they have 
 brought all these qualities along with them into the 
 bustlino; intercourse of life. It is therefore a mat- 
 ter of regret, to see them counteracting the good 
 they have themselves effected, by encouraging a tone 
 of fashion tending only to nourish and extend the 
 very selfishness on which it is founded ; and which 
 cannot fail to destroy all female influence resting 
 solely on the better feelings of the heart. 
 
 How long, and how deeply, Wallenstein lamented 
 the death of his wife, to whose extensive domains 
 he succeeded, we have no means of ascertaining, 
 and from the year I607 to 16 17, that is, from his 
 twenty-third to his thirty-third year, we completely 
 lose sight of him ; a circumstance sufficiently curious 
 when the ardent, restless and ambitious character of 
 the man is considered, and one that tends to confirm 
 the belief that he had, in some way or other, ren- 
 dered himself obnoxious to the Archduke, after- 
 wards Emperor Mathias. During this long interval 
 he resided quietly on his estates in Moravia, and 
 took no share in the Fraternal War, though strongly 
 solicited by both parties. Neither of the brothers 
 were very deserving of support ; and it is probable, that 
 he did not consider either of them possessed of suffi- 
 cient strength of character to help him on to the 
 greatness, he is said to have always had in view. It 
 was only in I6I7, when Ferdinand of Griitz had some 
 dispute with the Venetians, that he left his retreat. 
 He then raised, at his own expense, a corps of 200 
 horsemen, and hurried to the aid of his future sove- 
 reign.
 
 LIFE OF WALLENSTEIN. 55 
 
 It is from this expedition, that Wallenstein's 
 brilliant career is to be dated. The operations of 
 the Friuli campaign, consisted in throwing supplies 
 into the fortress of Granitza, which had for some time 
 been blockaded by the enemy. Wallenstein per- 
 formed the service without, as it appears, striking a 
 blow, a proof that it could hardly have been attended 
 with much difficulty ; but it brought him into notice, 
 which was his great object, and could hardly fail to 
 do so ; for it was not only the principal action of the 
 campaign, and it matters not how little a principal 
 action is, but it was achieved by one whose magnifi- 
 cence and generosity already formed the theme of 
 universal applause. No troops in the army were so 
 liberally paid, and so magnificently appointed, as those 
 of Wallenstein ; no commander had ever been known 
 to reward merit in so munificent a manner. He 
 lived in the most splendid style ; his table and his 
 purse seemed not to be private property, but open to 
 all who were willing to partake of the hospitality of 
 the one, or who required the aid of the other. The 
 fame of such an officer, failed not to attract the atten- 
 tion of Ferdinand : he invited Wallenstein to Vienna, 
 and introduced him at court, where all former offences 
 were soon forgotten. The Emperor raised the new 
 favourite of fortune to the rank of Count, gave him 
 a chamberlain's key, and named him commander of 
 the Moravian militia, a post that appears to have been 
 of great trust and importance. 
 
 When a gallant young soldier of fortune, desti- 
 tute alike of wealth and patrons, possessing only 
 genius and talents, Wallenstein had served, unre-
 
 56 LIFE OF WALLENSTEIN. 
 
 warded and unnoticed, in several campaigns, under 
 the great tactician George Basta. He then con- 
 tended against the Turks, the most formidable sol- 
 diers of the period, men against whom honour was to 
 be acquired ; but he remained in the background. 
 No sooner, however, had the wealthy nobleman made 
 his appearance at the head of a gallant band of well- 
 appointed horsemen, than the voice of fame was loud 
 in his praise. He no sooner takes the field against 
 the worthless mercenaries of Venice, troops con- 
 stantly kept in a state of mutiny and insufficiency, 
 by the ignorant fears of their despicable government, 
 than he is overwhelmed with rewards. As fortune 
 is a lady, we are bound to speak of her in measured 
 terms, though it must be confessed that she some- 
 times behaves in a manner very discreditable to her 
 sex : Wallenstein's unsupported merit could not ob- 
 tain a single smile for him ; but his wealth, instantly 
 called the goddess herself to his arms. 
 
 It was at this promising period of his life, that 
 our hero married his second wife, Isabella Catherine, 
 Countess of Harrach, daughter of Count Harrach, 
 the imperial minister ; a lady who not only brought 
 him a great accession of fortune, but of influence 
 also. Count Prierato knew her personally, and 
 assures us that she was a lady of great merit and 
 virtue : '' Z)ama veramente modestcty e diunagran- 
 dissima purita ;" but as so excellent a courtier says 
 nothing of her beauty, there was probably not much 
 to record. Of the peculiar style and manner of 
 Wallenstein's courtship, we know nothing, a circum- 
 stance to be regretted ; for in all we do know of him,
 
 LIFE OF WALLENSTEIN. 57 
 
 he is SO unlike what is generally termed a lady's man, 
 that it would be as interesting, as instructive perhaps, 
 to see him making love, or only talking familiarly 
 with the countess and his intimate friends : the ab- 
 sence of information respecting his domestic life forms 
 the great blank in his biography. We only know, 
 that his splendid style of living, which had attracted 
 so much attention during the Friuli campaign, was 
 continued during his stay at court ; where his liber- 
 ality and magnificence, obtained for him as usual, 
 both friends and enemies. Soon after his marriage 
 he repaired to Olmiitz, and assumed the command 
 of the provincial militia, which had been placed under 
 his orders. 
 
 At a period when the power of sovereigns was in 
 most countries, very precarious, depending as often 
 on the willingness of the subjects to obey, as on 
 the means of enforcing obedience, which the laws 
 did not always very clearly prescribe, the command 
 of the armed force of a province, was evidently a 
 situation of great trust, and shews how high Wallen- 
 stein already stood in favour. For the present, we 
 must leave him in his new dignity, and bring up the 
 events that first bore him aloft to the pinnacle almost 
 of human greatness, to dash him afterwards against 
 the rocks of treachery and ingratitude : as the waves 
 of ocean bear highest on their breast, the bark des- 
 tined to destruction, at the moment when about to 
 hurl it against the sunken reef, which defies alike the 
 skill and courage of the mariner. 
 
 The act of violence, committed on the Imperial 
 Commissioners at Prague, soon led to open hostilities.
 
 58 LIFE OF WALLENSTEIN. 
 
 Negotiations were indeed attempted before recourse 
 was had to arms ; but all endeavours to bring about 
 an amicable arrangement fliiled, owing, as is gene- 
 rally believed, to the influence of Ferdinand and of 
 the Jesuits. Lammermann frankly avows, in a let- 
 ter, that " if war takes place it will furnish a de- 
 sirable opportunity for depriving the Bohemians of 
 all their privileges." And Ferdinand, writing to the 
 King of Spain, declares, " that princes must lose all 
 influence and authority if they are to be dependant 
 for power and money on the good will of provincial 
 deputies *." The Emperor Mathias, old and infirm, 
 seemed indeed anxious for peace, but he was pro- 
 bably overruled ; and, as the Bohemians, though 
 submissive enough in words, would not disarm, two 
 Austrian armies, under Dampier and Bucquoi, en- 
 tered the country. The Catholics and Protestants 
 having however joined their forces, and resigned, for 
 a time, their religious animosities, to complain of 
 general grievances, the imperial troops were repulsed. 
 Count Mansfeld, the celebrated Condottieri leader, 
 also brought 4000 men to the aid of the states. 
 With this force he took Pilsen, the second town in 
 the kingdom, and the last which adhered to the 
 Austrian cause : the entire country was thus in pos- 
 session of the insurgents. 
 
 From the first breaking out of the war, the Bohe- 
 mians had vainly endeavoured to gain Wallenstein 
 over to their cause ; but he refused, with haughty 
 disdain, and not only declared his resolution of ad- 
 
 * Raumer, Geschicbt von, Europa, vol. iii.
 
 LIFE OF WALLENSTEIN. 59 
 
 hering to the Emperor, but used every exertion to 
 maintain the Moravians in their allegiance : and 
 when the states of the province agreed, notwith- 
 standing his efforts, to meet the Bohemian deputies 
 at Brun, he attempted to intercept them, and to 
 crush rebellion in the bud. In this attempt he failed, 
 and the states in return passed a decree depriving 
 him of his command ; and though he opposed his 
 imperial commission to their mandate, he was forced 
 to yield, and evacuate Olmiitz, on the approach of 
 a body of troops which Count Thurn sent against the 
 town. In doing so, however, he carried the public 
 treasure along with him, and delivered to the Em- 
 peror 100,000 crowns on his arrival at Vienna. The 
 Moravians indeed, forced the Emperor to restore part 
 of the money, by detaining the Cardinal of Dietrich- 
 stein as a hostage for its repayment : but part of it 
 was nevertheless given to Wallenstein for the pur- 
 pose of raising a regiment of cuirassiers. 
 
 At a time, when most men were familiar with the use 
 of arms, such a force was soon embodied ; and in June 
 following, he was already present with his corps at 
 the battle of Teyne, fought between Count Mansfeld 
 and General Bocquoi. Mansfeld's mercenaries had 
 made a gallant stand against the Imperialists, and 
 when forced to give way, had retired, according 
 to the custom of the old German and Slavonic na- 
 tions, within an inclosure formed of cars and wag- 
 gons. Making good use of these defences, which 
 were not so feeble as might at first be supposed, they 
 resisted, with great obstinacy ; till at last Wallenstein 
 broke through, at the head of his men, and decided,
 
 60 LIFE OF WALLENSTEIN. 
 
 not only the fate of the action, but of the Emperor, 
 who was, at that moment, sorely pressed in the very 
 palace of his capital. 
 
 Ferdinand of Griitz, already, as we have seen, 
 elected King of Hungary, Bohemia, and of the Ro- 
 mans, had, by the death of the Emperor Mathias, 
 succeeded, on the 20th March 1618, to all the Ger- 
 man dominions of the House of Austria. It was a 
 splendid heritage, no doubt ; but it had to be gathered 
 beneath the fiercest storm, that ever, perhaps, threa- 
 tened a kingly crown. The Bohemians, proud of 
 their first success, refused the plausible terms which 
 Ferdinand offered. Count Thurn, at the head of 
 an insurgent army, advanced into Moravia, captured 
 Briin, and brought the entire country over to his 
 side. The Protestants of Upper Austria, encouraged 
 by the success of their brethren in belief, rose in 
 arms, and joined the Bohemian forces on their ad- 
 vance towards Vienna. The Protestants of Lower 
 Austria began to raise troops with a view to follow 
 the same example, and Bethlem Gabor, Prince of 
 Transylvania, was in full march to assist the invaders, 
 with an army of 50,000 men. The storm no loniier 
 threatened at a distance, but gathered round the very 
 seat of empire. Thurn, at the head of his Bohemians, 
 encamped at the Danube bridge, and the sound of 
 hostile guns already shook the halls of the imperial 
 palace. 
 
 Vienna was destitute of troops : the citizens were 
 not to be depended upon : no aid of any kind 
 was near. Ferdinand seemed lost ; and the most 
 zealous Protestants already hoped to see this dan-
 
 LIFE OF WALLENSTEIN. 6l 
 
 gerous enemy of their faith, consigned to a convent 
 instead of being raised to a throne. Many advised 
 him to fly ; but he easily perceived, that to leave the 
 town, was to abandon it to the enemy, and to resign 
 the cause. He braved the danger, and his courage 
 saved him. Twelve Austrian deputies had already 
 forced their way into the palace, and demanded, 
 rather than solicited, his signature to the conditions 
 required by the insurgents. One of the noblemen 
 went so far as to seize hold of the button of the 
 Emperor's coat, fiercely exclaiming, " Nandel," a 
 familiar abbreviation of Ferdinand, " do'st hesitate 
 to subscribe ?" Ferdinand wavered, submission ap- 
 peared indeed unavoidable ; when the sound of trum- 
 pets was unexpectedly heard in the castle yard. A 
 party of Dampier's cuirassiers had arrived to defend 
 the sovereign ; fame augmented the number ; deputy 
 after deputy left the castle and retired to the camp ; 
 the court party recovered courage, the Catholic stu- 
 dents and citizens flew to arms, and breathin"" time, 
 at least, was gained. But the insurgents still held 
 their ground ; Bethlem Gabor was still advancing ; 
 destruction appeared certain if the hostile armies 
 united ; and what was to prevent their junction ? 
 
 At this critical moment, news arrived that Wallen- 
 stein and Bocquoi had defeated Count Mansfeld at 
 Teyne, and were in full march towards Prague. The 
 Bohemians instantly broke up their camp, and hur- 
 ried away to the defence of their own country. 
 
 It is curious to consider how closely linked to- 
 gether, are all the threads of human history; and 
 how often world-changing events are brought about
 
 62 LIFE OF WALLENSTEIN. 
 
 by the most trifling causes. What would have been 
 the fate of the Catholic religion had Ferdinand 
 yielded to the demands of the Austrian and Bohe- 
 mian insurgents ? What would have been the fate of 
 Europe had the Protestants gained the ascendancy 
 in Germany, and overthrown the main bulwark of 
 the Roman Church ? Might not the tide of the 
 Reformation have swept across the Alps, and borne 
 down the feebleness of Italian resistance ? Would 
 not the closely contested battle have been renewed 
 in France with an augmented chance of success ? 
 And would not the new doctrine have again found 
 its way into Spain, where it had been repressed only 
 by the force of temporal power ? What prevented 
 the great probability, at least, of so mighty a revolu- 
 tion ? A charge of cavalry in the plains of Teyne ; 
 and the sain of a battle which was little better than 
 a skirmish, when compared to a hundred actions 
 fought, without results, during the thirty years of 
 strife that followed. 
 
 The Austrian capital thus saved, and the roads 
 open, Ferdinand was enabled to set out for Frankfort, 
 where, notwithstanding the efforts of the Bohemians 
 and of several other Protestant states, he carried his 
 election to the imperial throne. 
 
 The acquisition of this high dignity was of vast 
 importance to Ferdinand. It gave him great moral 
 force at a time when that force was of all others 
 the most essential. Once established in public opi- 
 nion as a sovereign, deserving of confidence and sup- 
 port, and one whose rights were unjustly invaded by 
 his subjects, he could hardly fail to secure champions
 
 LIFE OF WALLENSTEIN. G3 
 
 among sovereigns equally jealous of their privileges, 
 and who, in defending his rights, defended the gene- 
 ral cause of princes also. And time it was that he 
 should obtain such aid, for his own power was 
 rapidly falling away. At the very moment when he 
 received at Frankfort, the news of his elevation to 
 the imperial throne, he learned that the Bohemians 
 had, on the 19th August, formally renounced their 
 allegiance, a step which they followed up by offering 
 the sovereignty of the country to Frederick V, Elec- 
 tor of the Palatinate, a young prince of pleasing 
 manners and address. John George, Elector of 
 Saxony, had also been proposed ; but he was objected 
 to as being *' a drunkard, a friend to Austria, and 
 led by others, though rude, coarse and vulgar in his 
 manners." It might with truth have been added, 
 that this prince, who, from the situation of his coun- 
 try, acted so important a part in the great events of 
 the period, was nevertheless the most selfish and 
 ignoble sovereign of his time. 
 
 Frederick, after some hesitation, accepted the prof- 
 fered dignity, and historians generally assert, that he 
 was influenced in his decision, by the ambition of his 
 wife, the unfortunate and high-minded Elizabeth of 
 England, daughter of James I. This Princess, whose 
 beauty gained for her husband's cause, more hearts 
 than would, if bravely led, have defended three em- 
 pires, is said to have overcome the doubts of the 
 wavering elector, as much by her haughty taunts, as 
 by her charms. *' Thou hast married the daughter 
 of a King," she said, '* and fearest to accept a kingly 
 crown ! I would rather eat black bread at thy royal
 
 64 LIFE OF WALLENSTEIN. 
 
 board, than feast at thy electoral table." The tale 
 may be true, and certainly tells well ; but there exists 
 a letter from Elizabeth to her husband, who it ap- 
 pears had consulted her, in which she expresses, with 
 the utmost deference and humility, her perfect readi- 
 ness to acquiesce in whatever resolution he may 
 adopt *. 
 
 While the Bohemians were thus depriving Ferdi- 
 nand of one kingdom, their ally, Bethlem Gabor, was 
 overrunning another. This restless pretender to the 
 Crown of Hungary, advanced within sight of Vienna, 
 and occupied the very ground where Count Thurn's 
 army had just before been encamped. It was in vain 
 that General Bocquoi attempted to impede the pro- 
 gress of the Hungarian and Transylvanian swarms ; 
 he was defeated and forced to give way before them ; 
 and it was entirely owing to Wallenstein that the 
 Austrians were enabled to effect their retreat into 
 the large islands that intervened between Vienna and 
 the left bank of the river. He defended the ap- 
 proaches to the bridge, and broke it down, after a 
 severe struggle, when the last of the troops had passed. 
 Bethlem Gabor finding his allies gone, the country 
 exhausted, the bad weather approaching, and having 
 no means of forcing the passage of the Danube, soon 
 struck his tents and retired. Ferdinand relieved 
 from this adversary, was at last enabled to direct his 
 efforts against the Bohemians ; and the opportunity 
 was not neglected. 
 
 The Emperor, on his way to Frankfort, had gained 
 
 * Senkenberg, p. 370.
 
 LIFE OF WALLENSTEIN. 65 
 
 over to his cause Maximilian of Bavaria, once the 
 companion of his studies at Ingolstadt, now head 
 of the League, and the ablest and most powerful of 
 the Catholic princes. France, forgetful of the wise 
 policy of Henry IV, had brought about an arrange- 
 ment between the princes of the Union and the 
 League, by which the former promised to afford Fre- 
 derick no assistance, except for the defence of his 
 hereditary dominions. This shameful convention, 
 concluded at Ulm, excited the indignation of Protes- 
 tant Europe, and enabled Ferdinand to turn the arms 
 of all Catholic Germany against the newly elected 
 King of Bohemia, who was but indifferently prepared 
 for defence. 
 
 This ill-fated prince, accompanied by his wife, and 
 a gay and gallant band of knights and nobles, made 
 his entry into Prague on the 1st of November. 
 He was received with all the noisy and joyous en- 
 thusiasm that marks the reception of new kings, or, 
 as the fashion may be, of new constitutions, from 
 which the unreflecting, everywhere the most nume- 
 rous, usually anticipate vast and immediate benefits, 
 never yet conferred by mere changes of laws or 
 rulers. Frederick's affability, his pleasing manners 
 and natural kindness of disposition, rendered him, at 
 first, extremely popular ; and the constant succession 
 of shows, festivals and carousals that followed on his 
 coronation, helped to blind the many to the rapidly 
 approaching danger. But symptoms of dissatisfac- 
 tion soon began to appear. The young King was 
 discovered to be fonder of banquets than of business ; 
 the stern remnants of the old Hussite party were
 
 66 LIFE OF WALLENSTEIN. 
 
 shocked at the levities of the court ; the Lutherans 
 were displeased at Frederick's Calvinistical zeal ; the 
 Catholics still more so. Instigated by the fanaticism 
 of his chaplain Scultetus, he ordered the principal 
 church at Prague to be deprived of its pictures, orna- 
 ments and relics j an act which gave great and just 
 offence j and it was the speedy intervention of more 
 judicious friends alone, that prevented the statue of 
 Saint Nepomuck, the revered patron of Bohemia, 
 from being precipitated into the river Moldau. 
 
 The imperial confessor Lammermann, the Luthe- 
 ran minister Hoenegg, principal chaplain to the 
 Elector of Saxony, and this Scultetus, may all have 
 been convinced of the justness of their own views. 
 But, it is to the spiritual pride, resulting from this 
 overbearing conviction, — a pride that acknowledges 
 neither truth, honesty nor virtue beyond the sphere 
 of its own belief, which condemns every deviation 
 from that belief, and seeks to establish, even by force, 
 absolute conformity, and rejoices when successful in 
 the achievement of such unchristian victories, — that 
 the countless evils of the thirty years' wars must be 
 ascribed. These three influential men proved, as 
 many others have proved, how easy it is to be car- 
 ried away by false zeal, and to violate the first precepts 
 of Christianity, even within the rules of the principal 
 Christian confessions. 
 
 In addition to the complaints which the Bohemians 
 began to make about internal grievances, came the 
 anxiety resulting from the non-arrival of external aid. 
 King James of England declined to interfere in 
 their affairs ; Christian IV. of Denmark, Frederick's
 
 LIFE OF WALLENSTEIN. 67 
 
 brother-in-law, remained tranquil ; Holland was hard 
 pressed by the Spaniards ; and the Elector of Saxony 
 openly took part with the Emperor and invaded 
 Lusatia, at the same time that a Spanish army, under 
 Spinola, was advancing against the Palatinate. The 
 Bohemians were therefore left to their own resources, 
 and even these were impaired by the want of unani- 
 mity in their councils. Both Thurn and Mansfeld 
 had aspired to the command of the army, and served 
 unwillingly under Hohenloe and Anhalt; and though 
 the latter was a man of high talent, and one of the 
 ablest soldiers, perhaps, of the age, he obtained, 
 as a foreigner and a stranger, but little power and 
 influence. At the commencement of the revolution, 
 the insurgents had boasted a good deal about the 
 victories formerly gained by their Hussite ancestors; 
 but they forgot, on this occasion, to bring into the 
 field, the prompt, instant and implicit obedience 
 which the ** Captain in the hope of God," as the 
 unrelenting Zisca styled himself, exacted from all his 
 followers : for without obedience there is no victory, 
 and even valour itself is vain. 
 
 No sooner had the dishonourable convention of 
 Ulm disarmed the Protestant Union, and given Maxi- 
 milian free hands, than he appeared in Upper Aus- 
 tria, at the head of an army, which rendered re- 
 sistance unavailing. The revolted peasantry were 
 defeated, and the states of the province forced to 
 submit, unconditionally, to the will of the Emperor, 
 The victor being joined by the imperial troops, under 
 Wallenstein and Bocquoi, advanced immediately into 
 the very heart of Bohemia. All the insurgent par- 
 
 E 2
 
 G8 LIFE OF WALLENSTEIN. 
 
 ties, dispersed in Lower Austria and Moravia, gave 
 way before the invaders : the towns that resisted were 
 carried by storm : others, terrified by the severities 
 exercised on the vanquished, opened their gates and 
 implored mercy : nothing arrested the progress of 
 Maximilian. 
 
 The gallant Prince Christian of Anhalt, at the 
 head of an ill-disciplined, and half-mutinous army, 
 could only retreat. But even this was effected with 
 skill : he gained a march upon the allies, and took 
 up an advantageous position, on, what is called, 
 the White Mountain, near Prague. Here he in- 
 tended to fortify himself, but no one would work ; 
 and when, on the 8th November l620, the enemy 
 arrived, not a single redoubt was finished. Even at 
 the eleventh hour, there was hope had there been 
 discipline. The passage of a narrow bridge, leading 
 over a swampy rivulet, had broken the advancing 
 columns, and the attempt to turn the obstacle se- 
 parated the Bavarians from the Austrians. Anhalt 
 saw the favourable opening, and instantly proposed 
 to fall, with the whole army, on the unsupported 
 Bavarians ; but his advice was overruled : and it 
 proved the last chance. Maximilian having reunited 
 and reformed his divisions, immediately advanced to 
 the attack. The combined army of the Emperor 
 and the League amounted to nearly 30,000 men : 
 the Bohemians had about 25,000 present : a number 
 more than equal to have struck a fair blow for victory, 
 if duty had been bravely done. The reverse, how- 
 ever, was the case. The young Prince of Anhalt, 
 at the head of the cavalry, among whom were a num-
 
 LIFE OF WALLENSTEIN. 69 
 
 ber of English and Scottish cavaliers, made indeed a 
 gallant and successful charge upon the right wing of 
 the Austrians, and fell, as the latter expressed it, 
 " like thunder and lightning on their cavalry." But 
 the prince was wounded and taken ; and the advan- 
 tage was not followed up. Some Moravian troops, 
 under Count Schlick, also fought bravely ; but all 
 the other corps fled the moment they were attacked : 
 the Hungarian auxiliaries did not even wait the ap- 
 proach of the foe. It was a perfect rout ; and in 
 less than an hour from the commencement of the 
 action, the whole of the Bohemian army was com- 
 pletely dispersed and driven from the field. 
 
 Frederick, though not exactly banqueting, as his- 
 torians have asserted, was not present in the battle. 
 It was Sunday, and the ill-fated prince had been very 
 quietly listening to a sermon, not perhaps of the 
 shortest, delivered by the learned Scultetus, and was 
 only about to proceed to dinner, with the Queen and a 
 party of ladies, when news was brought him that the 
 armies were engaged. He immediately set out for 
 the scene of action ; but had not proceeded far, when 
 the Prince of Anhalt, arriving without his hat, in- 
 formed him that the day was completely lost. The 
 unfortunate King solicited from Maximilian, a ces- 
 sation of arms for four and twenty hours ; eight only 
 were granted. Frederick availed himself of this 
 short respite, and left the town during the night, 
 accompanied only by the Queen, and a few intimate 
 friends. So precipitate was his departure, that he 
 left his crown and most important state papers behind 
 him. He nowhere attempted to make a stand, but
 
 70 LIFE OF WALLENSTEIN. 
 
 retired immediately into Holland, thus forfeiting his 
 electoral hat and kingly crown at the same time. 
 Prague surrendered next day, and the states of the 
 kingdom submitted without condition. 
 
 Frederick's pusillanimous flight was a virtual aban- 
 donment of a cause, that, in itself, was far from being 
 hopeless. Prague was fortified, and could have been 
 defended. Mansfeld's army was at Pilsen, and had 
 taken no share in the action ; the winter was ap- 
 proaching, and the Imperialists could hardly have 
 kept the field long after the exertions of the summer 
 campaign j the Bohemians had been more frightened 
 than hurt, and might easily have been rallied ; and 
 Bethlem Gabor was again preparing to invade Aus- 
 tria. Courage and energy might have saved every 
 thing : but the want of these king-making qualities 
 lost every thing : and Frederick could hardly say, 
 that honour had been saved. It is understood that 
 the unfortunate King dreaded the inconstancy of 
 the people, and was afraid that his loving subjects 
 would deliver him up, in order to make their peace 
 with the Emperor. This was certainly not enter- 
 taining a very favourable opinion of those who had, 
 only a year before, so enthusiastically received him. 
 But allowing the suspicion to have existed, it should 
 not have been taken into account, when fame and 
 empire were at stake. Such brilliant prizes must be 
 played for, sword in hand, and in first line : the 
 aspirant for diadems, must throw away the scabbard, 
 must keep bright honour alone in view, and set his 
 life as nothing on the cast ; for history, though too 
 lenient, perhaps, to the crimes of a Sylla, and the
 
 LIFE OF WALLENSTEIN. 71 
 
 failings of a Cassar, will never acquit the man who, 
 having sent thousands to battle in his cause, dreads 
 himself to stand the ** hazard of the die." Zisca *' of 
 the Chalice " would not have been at sermon while 
 his troops were fighting : Cromwell would not, like 
 Charles Edward, have kept aloof, with the reserve, 
 while the bravest of the clans were cut down, with- 
 out support, on Culloden moor ; and had this " sagest 
 of usurpers " been called upon, by the senates and 
 chambers of his own creation, to abdicate imperial 
 power, he would, in scorn and pity, have told them 
 " to begone, as he had found other tools wherewith 
 to do his work.'* 
 
 Wallenstein was not present at the battle of Prague. 
 He had been detached, and was occupied with the 
 capture of Tanen, at the moment when the decisive 
 action took place. The entire kingdom having, in 
 imitation of the capital, yielded to the victors, he 
 was sent into Moravia, to receive the submission of 
 that province also : but before we accompany him, 
 we must relate events, in which he took no part in- 
 deed, but which greatly influenced his fortunes. 
 
 The victory gained under the walls of Prague, not 
 only placed Ferdinand in possession of all his domi- 
 nions, but placed him in that possession with far 
 greater powers than any of his predecessors had ever 
 enjoyed. The war was at an end : the sword might 
 have been sheathed, had it not been kept drawn to 
 aid the vengeful work of inquisitors and executioners, 
 to whom the unhappy kingdom was remorselessly 
 given over. Three months elapsed before any steps 
 were taken against those who had joined the insur-
 
 72 LIFE OF WALLENSTEIN. 
 
 gents. Many who had fled in the first instance, 
 were deceived by this moderation, and returned to 
 their homes. It is due to the honour of Count Tilly 
 to say, that he more than warned the suspected *, 
 though unfortunately the many trusted rather to the 
 Emperor's clemency, than to the general's warning. 
 On the same day, and at the same hour, eight and 
 forty of the principal actors in the late events were 
 arrested at Prague. The Elector Frederick, and the 
 Prince of Anhalt, were proscribed, and put under 
 ban ; and nine and twenty others, mostly men of high 
 rank, were publicly cited to appear, and failing to 
 do so, they were to be outlawed and their property 
 confiscated. Of the prisoners, seven and twenty 
 were condemned to death, others to perpetual im- 
 prisonment, some to minor punishments, and all to 
 the total loss of property. Not a single act of par- 
 don, — not a single remission of punishment was 
 granted. Prince Charles of Lichtenstein, the Em- 
 peror's representative, a convert from the Protestant 
 faith, and who laboured under the heavy accusation 
 of having been an active plunderer at the capture of 
 the town, did not send to Vienna a single one of the 
 many petitions for mercy which had been presented 
 to him t. 
 
 The noble bearing of the condemned, merits the 
 highest praise ; on the Sunday previous to their exe- 
 cution, they requested to be included in the prayers 
 of the Protestant congregations ; they solicited for- 
 
 * Hal.ernfeld Do Bcllo Boliem. p. Gl. 
 
 f Eriiaid, Echo aiis den zcitcn dcs 30. Jahrigcn Krigcs, p. 203.
 
 LIFE OF WALLENSTEIN. 73 
 
 giveness from all men, and passed the last of their 
 nififhts assembled in acts of devotion. On the morn- 
 ing of the 1st of June, they were singly conducted to 
 the place of execution . The scaffold was surrounded 
 by soldiers, and the constant rolling of the muffled 
 drums, proved, that victorious power dreaded to the 
 last the voices of these destined victims of oppression. 
 At the moment when the scene of blood was about 
 to commence, a rainbow appeared in the sky, and 
 continued to shine in all its radiance, for upwards 
 of an hour. The condemned received it as a sign, 
 that the mercy which had been refused below, would 
 be granted on high ; and met their fate with the 
 serenity and resignation that became Christians and 
 patriots. 
 
 The venerable Count Schlick, nearly eighty years 
 of age, led the march of death. Unsupported, hold- 
 ing a prayer book in his hands, he advanced with a 
 firm step, between the files of soldiers. Arrived on 
 the scaffold he bared his neck with the aid of his 
 servant ; then kneeling down, his hands clasped on 
 his breast, and with eyes raised to heaven, received 
 the blow of the executioner, which, at a single stroke, 
 severed his head from his body. His right hand 
 was next struck off: it was kept with the head to 
 be publicly exposed ; the body was delivered over 
 to his friends by masked attendants. Three and 
 twenty men of noble families suffered successively in 
 this manner. Jessinius, the chancellor of the uni- 
 versity, suffered in a manner more horrible still, for 
 his tongue was torn out by the executioner before he 
 was beheaded. Three of the condemned, being of
 
 74- LIFE OF WALLENSTEIN. 
 
 plebeian rank, were hanged ; and one unhappy man 
 of the name of Debis, was, with unheard-of barbarity, 
 nailed by the tongue to the gibbet, where death only 
 relieved him, next day, from his sufferings. The 
 number of the lower orders who were put to death 
 in the provinces, is said to have been immense. 
 
 These executions were soon afterwards followed 
 by a proclamation, calling upon all persons who had, 
 directly or indirectly, taken part in the rebellion, to 
 appear before specified tribunals, and render an ac- 
 count of their conduct : thus, on pain of death, to 
 become their own accusers. And such was the terror 
 inspired by the severities exercised, that no less than 
 seven hundred and twenty-eight individuals of rank 
 and property, actually appeared and denounced them- 
 selves. After having been detained a short time in 
 prison, they were informed, that though they had 
 forfeited honour, life and property, by their treason, 
 his Imperial Majesty was nevertheless pleased to spare 
 their lives and restore their honour ; only reserving 
 to himself, the right of disposing of their property. 
 Some lost the entire, some half, and others minor 
 portions of their wealth. In less than two years, six 
 hundred and twenty-two estates, belonging to Pro- 
 testant nobles, were confiscated for the benefit of the 
 Crown. 
 
 One act of severity rapidly followed another. Fer- 
 dinand, with his own hands, cut in two the Bohe- 
 mian Magna Charta, and burned the seal. Relieved 
 from the obligations which it imposed, all Protestant 
 ministers were banished the kingdom, and sent help- 
 less, with their families, to seek shelter in foreign
 
 LIFE OF WALLENSTEIN. "^5 
 
 countries, of which few even knew the language. 
 The pastorless flocks were next subjected to every 
 kind of oppression, for the purpose of making them 
 embrace the Catholic religion. Public and private 
 libraries were ransacked, and all works deemed here- 
 tical, including the new translations of the Bible, were 
 seized and burned. Protestants were removed from 
 all public institutions ; they were prohibited from act- 
 ing as guardians to the young ; were deprived of the 
 rights of citizens ; could not be received as appren- 
 tices ; were precluded from the privilege of making 
 wills and testaments ; and all marriages, between per- 
 sons professing different religions, were interdicted. 
 
 On the 9th of December 1624, all Protestant 
 schoolmasters were, on pain of death, ordered to leave 
 the country within eight days ; till at last it was de- 
 creed, that whoever had not, by Easter 1626, em- 
 braced the Catholic faith, was to quit the kingdom. 
 Prayers, petitions and appeals, remained, as before, 
 without effect ; and 30,000 families, 500 of whom 
 belonged to the patrician and equestrian orders, emi- 
 grated from Bohemia alone : many of these were to- 
 tally destitute, and all, from the difficulty of finding 
 purchasers for their property, in greatly reduced cir- 
 cumstances. " The Muses," says Galleti, in speak- 
 ing of these scenes, " accompanied the learned in 
 their flight ; and all that remained of old Bohemian 
 valour and gallantry, forsook the land when its chi- 
 valry departed." 
 
 Commissioners, attended by military parties, tra- 
 versed the country to enforce obedience to the impe- 
 rial decree. In many places, despair led to resistance
 
 7^ LIFE OF WALLENSTEIN. 
 
 and insurrections, and these again, to punishments of 
 fearful severity. Soldiers were placed at free quar- 
 ters ; children were taken from their parents ; wives 
 from their husbands ; and death or blows followed 
 resistance. Towns and villages were laid in ashes, 
 sometimes by the troops, sometimes by the maddened 
 inhabitants themselves ; and the savage and unrelent- 
 ing ferocity, displayed by the Spanish colonel, Don 
 Martin de Huerta, has never, perhaps, been equalled, 
 except by the exterminators of the Peruvians, and the 
 oppressors of the Flemings. Neither feeble age, nor 
 helpless infancy,— neither youth, beauty, valour nor 
 merit, found mercy before this man of blood, who, 
 on one occasion, caused no less than I6OO persons to 
 be massacred in the streets of Prachshatilz alone *. 
 
 In the Palatinate, which the Emperor bestowed 
 upon Maximilian, the Spaniards and Bavarians car- 
 ried on their reformation on similar principles; while 
 Ferdinand spared his Austrian subjects as little as he 
 spared his Bohemians ; and the French Ambassa- 
 dors write, that they can hardly describe the cruelties 
 exercised even in the capital. The knowledge that 
 deeds so dreadful have been committed by men, hum- 
 bles at once and confounds the judgment ; for we are 
 bound to confess, that we cannot look so far into the 
 heart, as to discover the sources of dark and deadly 
 fanaticism. The cause of many crimes may be re- 
 vealed to us, but the source whence arises the spirit 
 of religious persecution, remains impenetrable. That 
 barbarous nations should deem offerings of blood ac- 
 
 * Eihaid, page 224.
 
 LIFE OF WALLENSTEIN. 77 
 
 ceptable to the divinities of wrath, whom their wild 
 imaginations conjure up, is easily understood ; but 
 that men who called themselves Christians, to whom 
 the doctrines of Christianity had at least been revealed, 
 should ever have thought that the slaughter and op- 
 pression of thousands, though even of erring thou- 
 sands, could be acceptable to a God of love and be- 
 nevolence, exceeds altogether the bounds of human 
 understanding. 
 
 We must now return to Wallenstein, who, as we 
 have seen, had immediately after the victory of Prague 
 been dispatched into Moravia. As no resistance was 
 offered, he soon entered Olmiitz, and not only repos- 
 sessed himself of his own estates, which had been con- 
 fiscated during the rebellion, but already began that 
 system of buying up confiscated domains, which in the 
 course of a few years made him master of such bound- 
 less wealth. Nobler pursuits interfered, however, for 
 a time, with this mean traffic. Bethlem Gabor, not 
 intimidated by the defeat of his allies, had again in- 
 vaded the Austrian states. Bocquoi and Dampier, the 
 two most renowned imperial generals of the period, 
 fell, in vain attempts to arrest the progress of the 
 Turkish and Transylvanian hordes. Wallenstein was 
 more fortunate : he first defeated the Prince himself 
 at Shanutz, and on the 18th October 1621, com- 
 pletely routed another body of the army at Kremser. 
 This second blow was so severe, that Gabor re- 
 nounced all claim to the crown of Hungary, andcon- 
 cluded a peace with the Emperor. But, as he never 
 looked upon such a peace as more than a cessation of 
 arms, he always renewed the war whenever he thought
 
 78 LIFE OF WALLENSTEIN. 
 
 his means equal to the contest : and in 1623, he once 
 more took the fiekl, at the head of a numerous army. 
 
 The Itahans, who were never able to defend their 
 own country, had at this time, acquired some repu- 
 tation for military science : a reputation, not founded 
 upon actions, indeed, but principally on George 
 Basta's Treatise on Tactics, and some other works, of 
 nearly similar merit. On the strength of this fame 
 for excellent soldiership, a number of Italian officers 
 were employed in the imperial service ; and the 
 country had often to pay dearly for the proofs of 
 their skill : on this occasion it nearly cost a whole 
 army. The Marquis Caraffa di Montenegro, a 
 scientific Neapolitan, was placed at the head of the 
 troops destined to oppose unscientific Turks and Tran- 
 sylvanians. According to rule, victory should not 
 have been doubtful : but victory is painted with 
 wings, and the science that shall bind them, has not 
 yet been discovered. At all events, CarafFa knew it 
 not ; for, like many other vastly scientific men, he was 
 not only defeated, but so completely inclosed by the 
 enemy, that, nothing but the arrival of Wallenstein, 
 who raised the blockade, saved the army from abso- 
 lute destruction. 
 
 It is stated, that Prince Charles of Lichtenstein 
 accused Wallenstein of having endangered the safety 
 of CarafFa's army by the tardiness of his march ; and 
 it is added, that the accused found it advisable to 
 secure the good opinion of the Aulic Council by a 
 present of 12,000 ducats. The story is not very 
 likely to be true ; for, by the honours bestowed upon 
 him, it is evident Wallenstein was at this time, in
 
 LIFE OF VVALLENSTEIN. 79 
 
 high favour with the Emperor ; though his extreme 
 liberality, at the expense of the countries occupied 
 by his troops, already began to attract notice 5 and 
 we find Ferdinand writing to him about certain 
 " disordini " that existed in a regiment of cavalry, 
 the men and officers of which, had exacted from 
 some districts no less than 170,000 florins, in a single 
 month : a sum so large, that we venture to repeat it 
 only, on royal and imperial authority. 
 
 In reward of the manv brilliant services which he 
 had performed, Wallenstein was, towards the end of 
 the year 1623, created Count Palatine and Duke of 
 Friedland ; with the right of striking coin and grant- 
 ing patents of nobility. The domains forming the 
 duchy had been confiscated, and Wallenstein had 
 purchased them for 150,000 florins, a sum, which we 
 may easily suppose him to have had at command. But 
 where he obtained the 7>290,228 florins with which 
 he afterwards purchased more than sixty other confis- 
 cated estates, we cannot well understand. As the 
 acquisition of such property was not deemed very cre- 
 ditable, nor the tenure looked upon as very secure, 
 Wallenstein bought the domains at less than a third 
 of their real value ; a circumstance that accounts for 
 his being wealthy, but not to the extent of the sum 
 in question, and still less to the extent of the much 
 larger sums he afterwards had at his disposal. He 
 inherited a considerable fortune from his first wife, 
 and had received a large portion with the Countess 
 of Harrach : he had also, as we know, handed to the 
 Emperor a pretty long account, for the arms, pay 
 and appointments of the regiments he had raised. 
 
 t
 
 80 LIFE OF WALLENSTEIN. 
 
 But all this could hardly amount to a sum that would 
 now be more than a million sterling ; for, though a 
 good manager, and always preaching economy to his 
 agents, he was magnificent in his expenses ; and his 
 Bohemian and Moravian estates had been confiscated 
 during the rebellion, and had no doubt suffered by 
 the war. This extraordinary command of money, 
 still remains an enigma in Wallenstein's history. 
 
 But, by whatever means he obtained the sums ne- 
 cessary for the purchase of these domains, it is but 
 justice to say, that having once acquired so many 
 splendid estates and principalities, he used every ex- 
 ertion to improve them ; and to render those happy, 
 whom fortune had placed under his rule. Though 
 still termed " colonel of certain troops of infantry 
 and cavalry," over whom he continued to hold active 
 command, we find him constantly employed, during 
 the two years that followed the last Hungarian cam- 
 paign, in performing the duties of a good prince and 
 landlord. We use the word " prince " in translation 
 of the German word " Fiirst," though it is difficult 
 to say, what was the extent of sovereign power which 
 the rulers of such principalities had a right to exer- 
 cise. 
 
 From this period of his life, to within a few days 
 of his death, AVallenstein's own letters throw a great 
 deal of light on his occupations and pursuits. At 
 one time he directs a good French tailor to be sent 
 to Gitchin, which he intends to make his future 
 residence. Here the number of his noble pages 
 is already to be augmented ; and liveries for fifty 
 servants are to be prepared. Then, again, he
 
 LIFE OF WALLENSTEIN. 81 
 
 issues strict orders for the establishment of schools ; 
 
 preaches up the necessity of education ; lectures 
 about the conduct of the clergy, and all but com- 
 mands the citizens of Leipa, to send their children to 
 an academy which he had founded for their benefit 
 and advantage. He is a practical farmer also ; gives 
 long detailed orders about draining and planting, and 
 improving the breed of cattle ; of horses he is very 
 fond, has a splendid stud, is learned on the treatment 
 of colts ; and in a letter to his agent says, *' You 
 know that I value a single foal more than two farms." 
 The new ruler is stern enough too, at times ; the 
 expelled Lord of Friedland having excited some of 
 his former vassals to revolt, Wallenstein instantly 
 orders a price of 5000 crowns to be put on the head 
 of the intruder, and threatens, with instant death, all 
 who shall presume to join him. This proves, how- 
 ever, but a passing storm, and is noticed only in one 
 or two letters, and he returns immediately to his 
 plans for ameliorating the condition of his vassals, and 
 improving the principalities. He makes roads, builds 
 palaces, brings artizans, architects and instructors 
 from foreign countries ; invites men of letters and 
 of learning to his court. Keppler was in his service ; 
 and a situation was offered to Grotius : he encourages 
 and establishes manufactories, and gives even, what 
 would now be termed a constitution, to his subjects. 
 This charter still exists ; it conferred very extensive 
 privileges on the inhabitants of certain towns and dis- 
 tricts, and reflects, when the times are considered, 
 the very highest credit on the head and heart of its 
 author.
 
 82 LIFE OF WALLENSTEIN. 
 
 It is in this constant strivino; to elevate and benefit 
 his subordinates, to import the arts into his country, 
 and to raise up monuments of splendour and mag- 
 nificence, amidst the wilds of Bohemia, that the lofty 
 genius of this man is to be discovered. Born to a 
 throne, he would probably have been a great and 
 benevolent monarch : born in an humble station, and 
 raised by his talents to all but regal sway, it is difficult 
 perhaps, to say what he really became. But whatever 
 fortune, virtue or ambition made him, nature had 
 certainly endowed him with rare and noble qualities. 
 To a lofty and aspiring disposition, he added a sin- 
 gular ability for the details of business, whether civil 
 or military. It was not, however, from partiality 
 that he entered into the minutiae of ordinary affairs ; 
 but for the purpose of instructing others to aid in the 
 execution of his own views. His genius was of a 
 high caste, and naturally above details ; he seemed 
 formed for the conception of vast and magnificent 
 plans, and saw farther into European politics than 
 any public character that had gone before him ; but 
 this did not blind him to the just proportion and con- 
 struction of ambition's ladder. 
 
 ' It is idle indeed to say, often as the assertion is 
 made, that men of first-rate talents cannot enter 
 into minute details of business. The reverse is the 
 case : they enter into such details with a facility that 
 is astonishing to those who can comprehend details 
 only ; nor can we suppose a really great man, ignorant 
 of the working of the very machinery which he em- 
 ploys to effect his elevation. Caesar not only com- 
 manded armies, but instructed his soldiers how to use
 
 LIFE OF WALLENSTEIN. 83 
 
 their arms. Many men have, no doubt, been raised 
 to greatness on the mere tide of events, which they 
 could neither guide nor direct, and the moving cause 
 of which they did not even understand j but they were 
 only fortunate men, whom the world, in its adoration 
 of greatness, called able men. 
 
 While Wallenstein was thus occupied with the in- 
 ternal administration of his newly acquired principa- 
 lities, Tilly was reaping laurels in the fields of war. 
 No sooner had the Bohemian insurrection been sup- 
 pressed, than the Emperor turned his arms against 
 the hereditary dominions of the expelled King ; and 
 Tilly entered the Palatinate from one side, while a 
 Spanish army entered it from the other. Left almost 
 without protection, by the troops of the Protestant 
 Union, which dissolved itself on the first approach of 
 danger, the electorate would have been overrun with- 
 out opposition, had not an outlawed adventurer, with- 
 out home, family or country, undertaken its defence. 
 This was Count Ernest of Mansfeld, the natural son 
 of an Austrian general of that name. With no other 
 fortune but his sword, possessing no resources but 
 those with which courage supplied him, this extraor- 
 dinary man undertook the defence of a country, aban- 
 doned by its sovereign, and the support of a prince 
 forsaken by his relations. So successfully did Mans- 
 feld maintain the contest for a time, that he brought 
 two other champions, the Markgraf of Baden-Dur- 
 lach, and Prince Christian of Brunswick, to the aid 
 of the cause. 
 
 Without stores, fortresses, money or resources, 
 these adventurers were, of course, obliged to make 
 
 F 2
 
 Sh LIFE OF WALLENSTEIN'. 
 
 the countries which they traversed, support their ro- 
 ving and undisciplined bands : they lived by plunder, 
 rather than by regular contributions, and came over 
 the affrighted lands, more like flocks of devouring 
 harpies, than banded soldiers and defenders. But 
 such irregular armies, however boldly led, could not 
 long resist the united forces of the Emperor and the 
 League. The adventurers were successively defeated 
 by Tilly, in the battles of Wimphen, Darmstadt and 
 Hochst. Of the Markgraf of Baden we hear nothing 
 more after his defeat : The other two fought their 
 way through the Spanish forces, and reached Hol- 
 land, where they disbanded their troops ; but had not 
 long to remain inactive, before the events of the war 
 again called them into the field.
 
 LIFE OF WALLENSTEIN. 85 
 
 CHAPTER II. 
 
 The conquest of the Palatinate, and the expulsion 
 from Germany, of Mansfeld and the Duke of Bruns- 
 wick, terminated the second act of the Thirty years' 
 War. It was again in Ferdinand's power to sheathe 
 the sword : he stood alone in the arena ; but he stood 
 armed, and his conduct and formidable attitude soon 
 forced the remnants of the opposite party to adopt 
 measures of security. Not only had the Palatinate 
 been conferred on Maximilian of Bavaria, contrary to 
 the laws of the empire, and in total disregard of the 
 representations made by all Protestant Germany, but 
 Tilly remained at the head of a victorious army on 
 the frontiers of Lower Saxony ; and, on pretence 
 of following the Duke of Brunswick, made several 
 plundering inroads on the territory of the Circle. 
 Alarmed by the presence of so dangerous a neigh- 
 bour, as well as by the acts of oppression exercised 
 wherever the power of the Emperor and the League 
 extended, the states began to arm. They called 
 upon England for assistance, and entered into an 
 alliance with Christian IV. of Denmark, who, as 
 Duke of Holstein, was already one of their members, 
 and who was declared commander-in-chief of the 
 combined forces. Mansfeld and the Duke of Bruns- 
 wick, aided by English subsidies, again made their
 
 86 LIFE OF WALLENSTEIN. 
 
 appearance ; so that an army of 60,000 men was 
 actually brought together. The states declared this 
 force to be solely intended for the protection of their 
 rights and independence. A different language, 
 however, was held at Vienna : it was there said that 
 the army was far too numerous for such a purpose, 
 and had been raised to reconquer the Palatinate, and 
 to circumscribe the power of the Emperor. There 
 may have been truth in both statements ; for it was 
 easy to see that the liberty of Protestant Germany 
 could not long be maintained, unless the power of 
 the Emperor and the Catholics were confined within 
 narrower bounds. 
 
 Ferdinand having vainly tried, by threats and re- 
 monstrances, to induce the King of Denmark and 
 the states of the Circle to disband their forces, ordered 
 Tilly to enter the country : Upper Germany had 
 been entirely subdued : Lower Germany was now to 
 become the theatre of war. The imperial general 
 advanced along the banks of the Weser, and overran 
 Calenberg, but made no great progress ; for Christian 
 was an able commander, and the Danes proved them- 
 selves, on every occasion, brave and determined sol- 
 diers. Tilly applied for reinforcements ; but the 
 Emperor had none to send. Ferdinand had, from 
 the commencement, carried on the war, principally 
 with the forces of Maximilian and the Catholic 
 League, and even Tilly, who commanded their army, 
 was a Bavarian general. This entire dependence on 
 the good will of others, was not altogether pleasing to 
 the Empero)', whose views of conquest gradually ex- 
 j)anded with success j but the long-continued contest
 
 LIFE OF WALLENSTEIN. 87 
 
 had so completely exhausted his resources, that he 
 found it impossible to remedy the evil. The few troops 
 at his disposal, were employed in watching the move- 
 ments of Bethlem Gabor, and preserving tranquillity 
 in the newly reconquered provinces ; and he was too 
 poor to augment their number. 
 
 It was under these circumstances, that Wallen- 
 stein came forward with a proposal, which placed the 
 lofty and aspiring nature of his genius in full view. 
 And the same man, who only a few years before, had 
 been an humble candidate for some subordinate situa- 
 tion about court, now undertook, what kings could 
 not effect, and offered to raise and equip at his own 
 expense, an army of 50,000 men. Many laughed 
 at the proposal, as altogether chimerical ; while others 
 thought there might be danger in confiding so much 
 power, to an individual of Wallenstein's haughty and 
 peculiar disposition. Even the Emperor hesitated, 
 and wished to limit the strength of the army to half 
 the number ; but Wallenstein cut the matter short, 
 by declaring that *' twenty thousand men would die 
 of hunger, whereas fifty thousand would enable him 
 to raise contributions at pleasure ;" and as the troops 
 were wanted, the conditions were soon agreed upon. 
 The new commander was allowed to nominate his 
 own officers, and was, besides, empowered to reward 
 himself and his followers, out of the property that 
 might be confiscated in the conquered countries. On 
 this occasion, he is first styled General : in his com- 
 mission he is called " Colonel General, and Field 
 Captain," and is promised a salary of 6000 florins 
 per month.
 
 88 LIFE OF WALLENSTEIN. 
 
 No sooner had districts, for assembling the troops, 
 been assigned, than adventurers, allured by the fiime 
 of Wallenstein's liberality, flocked, from far and near, 
 to his standard. Light horsemen came from Poland, 
 Croats from Hungary, and heavy-armed Cuirassiers 
 from Belo-ium and the Netherlands. The new com- 
 mander made no distinction of religion or country : 
 all who were promising soldiers, were gladly recei- 
 ved ; so that by the end of a month, he had already 
 20,000 men under arms. Leaving Eger on the 3d 
 of September 1625, he soon afterwards appeared, at 
 the head of 30,000 men, on the frontiers of Lower 
 Saxony. This army, if we believe the report of an 
 officer who saw it, and gave an account of its appear- 
 ance to the Duke of Wolfenbiittle, bore at first no 
 inconsiderable resemblance to Sir John Falstaff's 
 celebrated corps. The men are described as being 
 mostly in rags, greatly dissatisfied for want of pay, 
 the cavalry wretchedly mounted, and almost destitute 
 of arms. They must have made good use of their 
 time and opportunities, for we soon afterwards find 
 them distinguished for all the splendour that charac- 
 terised the soldiers of the time. 
 
 The Duke of Wolfenbiittle's agent says, that " all 
 the regiments had been raised at the expense of the 
 officers who had received no money from the Empe- 
 ror." But as Ferdinand allowed 600,000 florins levy 
 money for every regiment of infantry, — about 3000 
 men, — we may easily form an idea of the immense 
 sums that Wallcnstein, and others, would ultimately 
 have to claim for embodying and supporting sucli 
 iiumcrous armies. How these matters were settled
 
 LIFE OF WALLENSTEIN. 89 
 
 we do not exactly understand. The troops always 
 lived at free quarters, and raised vast sums in the 
 countries through which they passed ; and yet we find 
 enormous accounts rendered to the government for 
 the support of the men, as well as for supplies of arms, 
 clothing and ammunition. That the Emperor could 
 not be deceived on these points is evident ; because 
 complaints were constantly made of the sums levied 
 by the troops, and he was too careful of his own 
 money, to allow double payments, even where one 
 payment was made at the expense of others. 
 
 If Wallenstein's soldiers were not at first overwell 
 equipped, it is evident that he knew how to render 
 them useful : for at Gottingen he already defeated 
 the corps sent against him by the Duke of Bruns- 
 wick-Liinenburg, and then placed himself in com- 
 munication with Count Tilly. He took good care, 
 however, to keep at a distance from that general, as 
 he had no intention to share, with any one, the glory 
 he might acquire in the field. No sooner, indeed, 
 had he entered Saxony, than differences, respecting 
 rank and precedence, arose between the two com- 
 manders. The Emperor would not decide the ques- 
 tion ; and only recommended a continued good un- 
 derstanding, which, as far as correspondence went, 
 seems always to have existed between them ; but for- 
 tunately for their enemies, the two armies never 
 joined. 
 
 The King of Denmark finding himself threatened 
 by such formidable adversaries, made advances to- 
 wards a negotiation for peace. The allied generals 
 readily met these proposals ; but the attempt only 
 tended to shew the dictatorial and domineering tone
 
 90 LIFE OF WALLENSTEIN. 
 
 which Wallenstein ah'eady thought himself entitled 
 to assume. As the Danish and Saxon forces were 
 still unbroken, the King and the states considered 
 themselves strong enough to demand, that " the im- 
 perial troops should immediately be withdrawn from 
 the territory of the Circle : that the Emperor should 
 pay the expenses of the war, and give full security 
 for the maintenance of the civil and religious liberty 
 of the Protestant states." 
 
 To these demands, which were positive enough, 
 Wallenstein replied immediately, and to the follow- 
 ing effect : " It is for the Emperor and not for the 
 Saxons to give laws. They, the latter, and not the 
 Emperor, must be the first to disband their troops. 
 The King of Denmark and his army must leave Ger- 
 many. The disbanded Saxon soldiers are not to be 
 given to the outlawed Mansfeld, nor to the Duke of 
 Brunswick ; and the former must, without delay, 
 quit the territory of the empire. Neither the King 
 of Denmark nor the Circle of Lower Saxony are, for 
 the future, to undertake any thing, directly or in- 
 directly, against the Emperor and his faithful states : 
 nor shall the Circle be allowed to levy troops, unless 
 by the express permission of the court of Vienna. 
 The King of Denmark and the states of the Circle 
 are to defray all expenses of the war ; and when 
 security for the fulfilment of these conditions is 
 given, then, and not till then, will the imperial troops 
 be disbanded *." 
 
 With views so opposite, supported, on both sides, 
 by unbroken forces, no fiiendly arrangement could 
 
 * Kcvcnhuller, vol. x, p. 888.
 
 LIFE OF WALLENSTEIN. 91 
 
 be expected. The war continued : the country was 
 ravaged in every direction ; towns and castles were 
 taken and retaken ; but no very decisive action was 
 fought. The armies of the period were too depen- 
 dent upon casual and accidental supplies, to pursue 
 regular and systematic plans of operation. They 
 were frequently obliged to disperse, when they should 
 have united, and compelled to march in directions, 
 exactly opposite to those in which success could best 
 have been achieved. 
 
 Wallenstein evidently strove to remedy this de- 
 pendence on uncertain supplies ; for during the whole 
 course of these campaigns, he is constantly urging 
 his agent in Bohemia, a gentleman of the name of 
 Taxis, who is termed " Landhauptman," or captain 
 of the district, to forward stores and provision for 
 the troops. Sometimes the general orders corn to 
 be sent down the Elbe, sometimes flour : at other 
 times boots and shoes are to be made, " and care- 
 fully tied together, pair and pair, in order to pre- 
 vent mistakes in the distribution." Cloth and linen 
 are to be bought ; arms, matches and powder are to 
 be got ready. His own vassals always to have the 
 preference in making and supplying the articles, 
 which are to be paid for in ready money. He de- 
 sires to have no profit himself on the business ; but 
 directs the accounts to be well and regularly kept, 
 so that he may call upon the Emperor for payment. 
 Wallenstein appears, from these letters, to have 
 been, not only commander-in-chief, but adjutant, 
 quartermaster, and commissary-general also. The 
 agent Taxis, is often reminded to be careful of money ;
 
 92 LIFE OF WALLENSTEIN. 
 
 but when Walleiistein is himself in debt, he con- 
 stantly urges for prompt payment to his creditors ; 
 being always in dread of losing his credit. A debt 
 due to the house of De Witt at Hamburgh, presses for 
 a long time upon his mind, and he complains of it in 
 at least twenty letters. While in the field, he also 
 desires coin to be struck, which is evidently to give 
 him a name for wealth and liberality. ** Coin away 
 as fast as you can," he writes to Taxis ; *' I only 
 want credit and no profit by the coin ; but must have 
 the 30,000 ducats ready before the end of the year." 
 He is also very particular about the die, and does not 
 know what could have put " Dominus protector 
 mens" into Taxis's head, as his, Wallenstein's motto 
 is, *' Invita invidia." 
 
 The ducats were coined out of " gold chains and 
 other effects," furnished by the banking house of De 
 Witt ; but the question is still, where did the wealth 
 come from ? Independently of his largesses and enor- 
 mous expenses, Wallenstein occasionally advances 
 money to the imperial treasury, and pays, at this 
 time, two hundred thousand crowns for the Duchy 
 of Sagan, which he had purchased in addition to his 
 other domains. Over this principality the Emperor 
 offered to make him lord superior ; but he preferred 
 holding it by feudal tenure. To refute Schiller's 
 assertion, that the Duke of Friedland levied sixty 
 thousand millions of crowns in Germany, during the 
 seven years of his first command, would only be a 
 waste of words. No sum of this kind could be raised 
 in the country, rich as it certainly was ; and though 
 we have evidence to show that vast sums were ex-
 
 LIFE OF WALLENSTEIN. 93 
 
 tortetl by the troops, it is not clear that Wallensteiii 
 ever received any part of the unworthy spoil ; for we 
 constantly find him drawing money from his princi- 
 palities, and never remitting any. On two occasions 
 he even refuses, with apparent disdain, to accept por- 
 tions of certain contributions which his second in 
 command had set aside for him ; and orders the 
 money to be very openly employed in forwarding 
 some naval armament then in progress ; *' as the 
 world," he says, " would speak ill of him were he 
 suspected of applying such sums to his own use." 
 Wallenstein was as much above his contemporaries 
 as above the princes and marshals, who, in our own 
 time, ** played such fantastic tricks before high 
 heaven," as to make even Fortune blush for the rapa- 
 city of the ignoble minions she had raised to thrones, 
 power and command. 
 
 The letters which he writes during these cam- 
 paigns throw no new light upon any point of history ; 
 but they furnish curious proofs of his clear and ever 
 active mind. The subjects that occupy his attention 
 seem endless ; and from the most important to the 
 most trifling, they are all treated with order and dis- 
 tinctness. These letters, so various in their contents, 
 are, of course, addressed to various persons. One 
 letter, after giving instructions about silk-worms and 
 mulberry trees, which he had imported from Italy, 
 in order to establish silk manufactories, — concludes 
 with directions for building additional powder-mills, 
 " to keep the army well supplied with ammuni- 
 tion." Sometimes they are about public, sometimes 
 about private affairs : parks, palaces and plantations ;
 
 9i LIFE OF WALLENSTEIN. 
 
 buildings, decorations and improvements of all kind, 
 occupy his attention even in the field ; and the works 
 which he commands to be made, are upon a scale of 
 imperial magnificence. A vast number of the letters 
 relate to military matters and the movements of 
 troops : many are about politics and alliances. Taxis 
 sometimes receives instruction to give money to cer- 
 tain distressed persons, and during a year of scarcity, 
 Wallenstein orders the poor of his principalities to 
 be furnished with bread at a reduced price. 
 
 No less than five and twenty of these letters are oc- 
 casionally despatched in one day, many of them writ- 
 ten with his own hand. The orders and directions 
 which they contain are invariably distinct, and can 
 never be misunderstood by those to whom they are 
 addressed : nor does he ever use the ambiguous ex- 
 pressions that admit of being construed according to 
 after circumstances. His style is concise ; and as 
 good, perhaps, as was consistent with the hard and 
 intractable German of the period. In the seventeenth 
 century, the German language had evinced nothing 
 but the rude elements of that power which it has 
 since displayed. To the philologer, its strength 
 might, even then, have been apparent, but its pliancy 
 and grandeur, could hardly have been imagined : its 
 infancy was that of the gnarled oak only, promising 
 the force, indeed, but not the beauty of the majestic 
 tree which is now developing its far-spreading boughs 
 before us ; and displaying a luxuriance of foliage 
 which the foresters have, as yet, shown themselves 
 but indifferently qualified to shape and form. 
 
 When full allowance is made for the treasures of
 
 LIFE OF WALLENSTEIN. 95 
 
 German literature, and these treasures are great, it 
 must still be confessed, that the richness of the lan- 
 guage has, strange as it may appear, greatly injured 
 that literature. It has given a facility of composi- 
 tion, of which men have availed themselves who had, 
 in fact, nothing to communicate ; and it has enabled 
 ordinary writers to overload poor and meagre senti- 
 ments, with an exuberance of well-rounded, full- 
 sounding sentences, that too often impose upon the 
 reader, and obtain for the mere obscurity resulting 
 from an absence of clear and well-defined ideas, a 
 reputation for depth and power, which learning and 
 talent are alone supposed capable of appreciating. 
 
 Wallenstein's handwriting is large and plain ; and 
 his letters, written in the German character, would 
 still pass for good specimens of calligraphy : he some- 
 where, indeed, expresses great contempt for persons 
 who are too fine to write intelligibly. The many 
 Latin phrases and quotations which he uses, show 
 that he was not so very inapt a scholar as his bio- 
 graphers assert : his orthography is, however, care- 
 less, and he never punctuates. 
 
 It is rather singular, that among all the letters of 
 Wallenstein which have been handed down to us, 
 there is not one addressed to his Duchess. When- 
 ever he mentions her in writing to others, it is always 
 with affection ; and the legacies bequeathed to her 
 by his will, and by codicils at different times affixed 
 to it, are, in his usual style, splendid and munifi- 
 cent. This testament is, in all respects, in full keep- 
 ing with his character ; and there is much more of 
 real character evinced in testaments than might at
 
 yG LIFE OF WALLENSTEIN. 
 
 first be supposed. How often do we see these un- 
 happy documents displaying the pride, fear, hatred, 
 envy or servility it had been the object, perhaps, of 
 a long life to conceal, and exhibit, after death, all 
 the poor and ignoble feelings which had lingered to 
 the end in the dark recesses of the heart, and which 
 the grave should, in mercy, have buried along with 
 the last remnants of feeble mortality. 
 
 On what terms Wallenstein lived with his wife, we 
 have no means of knowing ; but it is evident that he 
 always behaved to her with kindness and attention. 
 On one occasion, it appears that a criminal was par- 
 doned at her intercession ; and, from the Duchess's 
 letters, it is equally evident that she was greatly 
 attached to him. She writes to him, indeed, as all 
 the ladies of the seventeenth century seem to have 
 written to their husbands, with a degree of distant 
 and respectful submission, that would now appear a 
 little extraordinary ; but there is nevertheless, much 
 feminine gentleness and tenderness concealed be- 
 neath the formal reserve which the manners of the 
 period commanded ; and it is clear, that the good 
 Duchess would have written with great affection, if 
 she had dared. We have little to say of this lady in 
 our work •, but we record her attachment to her lord, 
 because the love of a truly virtuous woman must 
 always redound to the honour of the man who long 
 remains its object. 
 
 What were the reasons that prevented the impe- 
 rial generals from uniting, in order, at once, to crush 
 the King of Denmark by the superiority of their 
 combined forces, we have no means of knowing,
 
 LIFE OF WALLENSTEIN. 97 
 
 unless we ascribe it to jealousy between them, or to 
 the difficulty of finding, on one line of inarch, sup- 
 plies for such numerous armies. Certain it is, that 
 they kept at a distance from each other ; for on the 
 opening of the next campaign, we find Tilly occu- 
 pied on the banks of the Weser, and Wallenstein on 
 the banks of the Elbe. 
 
 The Duke of Friedland, to command the passage 
 of the river, had secured the bridge of Dessau, and 
 fortified it by strong redoubts, erected on the right 
 bank. Count Mansfeld attacked this post, without 
 success, on the first and eleventh of April, and again 
 advanced to renew the assault on the twenty-fifth. 
 Wallenstein, aware of his approach, caused the bridge 
 to be hung over with sails, passed the river unobser- 
 ved with his whole army, sallied from the works and 
 totally routed the Condottieri, who are said to have 
 lost 9000 men in the action. The indefatigable 
 Mansfeld fled, unpursued, into the sands of Bran- 
 denburg, where he soon recovered from the effects 
 of his overthrow ; for in the month of June, he re- 
 appeared in the field, at the head of 20,000 men. 
 This sudden augmentation of force, is ascribed, by 
 German writers, to reinforcements received from 
 England ; and, on the second of April, Wallenstein 
 writes to the Emperor, saying, that " 6000 British 
 soldiers, intended for Mansfeld's army, were reported 
 to have landed at Hamburgh." There is, neverthe- 
 less, great reason to doubt these statements ; for all 
 the British auxiliaries, of which we know any thing, 
 were serving, at this time, under the immediate orders 
 
 G
 
 98 LIFE or WALLENSTEIN. 
 
 of" the King, or under the command of Colonel Mor- 
 gan, on the banks of the Weser. 
 
 Be this, however, as it may, Mansfeld began 
 operations in June, and directed his march through 
 Silesia, for the purpose of joining Bethlem Gabor 
 in Hungary ; whence the combined armies were to 
 advance upon the Austrian capital. It was a bold 
 plan ; and was no sooner known at Vienna, than 
 orders were despatched to Wallenstein, commanding 
 him to hasten after the Condottieri, and to protect 
 the Emperor's hereditary dominions from attack. 
 Remonstrances and representations were vain ; the 
 general was forced to obey, and sustained, as he had 
 foreseen, great losses in his rapid march across the 
 Carpathian mountains, where few supplies could be 
 found, and where none could follow. 
 
 Mansfeld, though closely pursued, and contend- 
 ing against a thousand difficulties, forced his way 
 into Hungary, where Bethlem Gabor, in the expecta- 
 tion that a favourable diversion would be made from 
 Lower Saxony, and that considerable subsidies would 
 be sent from England, had again taken the field, sup- 
 ported by the troops of the neighbouring Turkish 
 Pachas. But Mansfeld, instead of bringing Eng- 
 lish subsidies along with him, brought Wallenstein's 
 army in his train, and solicited money instead of sup- 
 plying it ; and the Transylvanians, unable to effect 
 any thing under such adverse circumstances, has- 
 tened, as usual, to conclude a truce, till a more 
 favourable opportunity for renewing the war should 
 present itself. Mansfeld, thus forsaken by his ally, 
 resigned his troops to Prince Ernest of Weimar, who
 
 LIFE OF WALLENSTEIN. 99 
 
 led them back into Silesia. He, himself, set out for 
 Venice, in hopes of obtaining aid from the Republic, 
 but died on his way, at Wrakowitz in Dalmatia ; 
 having only, by a few weeks, survived his pupil, 
 and comrade in arms. Prince Christian of Brunswick. 
 The actions of these men had been attended with 
 too much cruelty, and depended too much upon deeds 
 of rapine and oppression, to be looked upon as great 
 or laudable, however extraordinary they must ever 
 appear. 
 
 Wallenstein having placed his diminished army in 
 winter quarters along the banks of the Danube, pro- 
 ceeded to Vienna, to make preparations for the en- 
 suing campaign, and, as itwould seem, to make friends 
 also ; for complaints, if not actual charges, had been 
 preferred against him. The loss sustained by the 
 army in its march over the Carpathian mountains, 
 furnished the ostensible grounds for these complaints : 
 the devastation of some domains belonging to Prince 
 Lichtenstein and Count Dietrichstein, was however 
 believed to be the real cause. 
 
 It was easy for Wallenstein to clear himself of all 
 blame respecting the march into Hungary, as the ex- 
 pedition had been undertaken contrary to his advice, 
 and against his strongly urged representation. How 
 he settled with Counts and Princes we do not know ; 
 but he equipped and reformed his army in a manner 
 which was striking when compared to the dilatory 
 mode of proceeding then in use. The contrast is so 
 admirably drawn by Schiller, in a speech which he 
 puts into the mouth of Count Isolan, one of Wallcn= 
 
 G %
 
 100 LIFE OF WALLENSTEIN. 
 
 Stein's generals, that we transcribe the passage from 
 Mr Moir's excellent translation of the great drama : 
 
 ** I never shall forget — seven years ago, 
 Wlien to Vienna I was sent, to obtain 
 Remounts of horses for our cavalry, 
 How, from one antechamber to another, 
 They turned me round and round, and left me standing 
 Beneath the threshold, ay, for hours together. 
 At last a capuchin was sent to me ; 
 I thought, God wot, it must be for my sins. 
 Not so — but this, sir, was the man with whom 
 1 was to drive a bargain for my horses. 
 I was compelled to go with nothing done ; 
 And in three days the Duke procured for me 
 What in Vienna thirty failed to gain." 
 
 During Wallenstein's absence in Hungary, Tilly 
 had completely defeated the King of Denmark at 
 Luther-am-Baremberg. Terror immediately seized 
 upon the Protestants. The states of Mecklenburg 
 forced their Dukes to renounce the Danish alliance, 
 and submit to the Emperor ; from whom, as their 
 lord superior, they at once discovered that they had 
 nothins: to dread. The states of Holstein followed 
 the same example, and the Elector of Brandenburg 
 persisted in remaining neutral, though totally des- 
 titute of the means requisite for maintaining that 
 neutrality. The Elector applied, indeed, to the pro- 
 vincial states for money to raise the troops necessary 
 for the protection of the country j but they declared 
 *' that troops were no longer wanted : the country 
 had," they said, " been most shamefully plundered 
 by Mansfeld's bands, and by Danish soldiers, who 
 without leave had traversed it in every direction ;
 
 LIFE OF WALLENSTEIN. 101 
 
 and as these marauders were now happily gone, no- 
 thing more was to be dreaded ; least of all from the 
 Emperor, with whom they had always been on good 
 terms." 
 
 In one place, the love of peace was pleaded, as 
 an excuse for submission j in another, the deference 
 due to the Emperor, the natural head of the empire: 
 one set of men pretended, that the expense of main- 
 taining armies, exceeded the benefit derived from 
 the protection which they afforded ; some asserted 
 that resistance was vain ; and many declared that 
 peacefid states and peaceful subjects had nothing to 
 dread from any quarter. '* Let us behave with justice 
 to all men," said these profound philosophers, *' and 
 all men will behave with justice to us." This bril- 
 liant reasoning, which was, of course, nothing but a 
 cloak for cowardice and avarice, the consequences of 
 which we shall see presently, is deserving of particu- 
 lar notice, owing to the striking resemblance it bears 
 to the logic so often heard in our own country. In 
 reading the decisions of the German Protestant 
 states, or parliaments, of the seventeenth century, we 
 may, at times, fancy ourselves reading speeches de- 
 livered in the British Senate during our own time : 
 a proof that absolute wisdom belongs to no particular 
 age, or country. 
 
 Wallenstein opened the campaign of 1627, at the 
 head of a refreshed and well-equipped army of 40,000 
 men. His first effort was directed against Silesia ; 
 and the Danish troops, few in number, and ill com- 
 manded, gave way at his approach. To prevent the 
 fugitives from infringing on the neutrality of Bran- 
 
 Ite'RARY 
 It^VERSITY OF TAI TF^^lR^^
 
 102 LIFE OF WALLENSTEIN. 
 
 denbui'g', he occupied the whole electorate. Meck- 
 lenburg and Pomerania soon shared the same fate. 
 Remonstrances and assurances of perfect neutrality, 
 were treated with absolute scorn ; and Wallenstein 
 declared, in his usual haughty style, that " the time 
 had arrived for dispensing altogether with electors ; 
 and that Germany ought to be governed like France 
 and Spain, by a single and absolute sovereign." In 
 his rapid march towards the frontiers of Holstein, 
 he acted fully up to the principle he had laid down, 
 and naturally exercised despotic power, as the repre- 
 sentative of the absolute monarch of whom he spoke. 
 Too proud to share with another the honours of vic- 
 tory, he caused Tilly to be sent across the Elbe, 
 to watch the frontiers of Holland. He himself fol- 
 lowed up the Danes, defeated their armies in a series 
 of actions near Heiligenhausen, overran the whole 
 peninsula of Jutland before the end of the campaign, 
 and forced the unhappy King to seek shelter, with 
 the wrecks of his army, in the islands beyond the Belt. 
 
 The sea at last arrested Wallenstein's progress ; 
 and his biographers assert, that, indignant at finding 
 himself checked, he ordered red-hot shot to be fired 
 into the rebellious element which had thus set bound 
 to his conquests. The repetition of these puerile tales 
 proves how the character of this celebrated person 
 has been misrepresented ; for the writers who could 
 ascribe such conduct to the Duke of Friedland, were 
 evidently incapable of appreciating the mind and 
 genius of the man whose life they attempted to 
 describe. 
 
 Brilliant as the campaign of 1627 proved in its
 
 LIFE OF WALLENSTEIN. 103 
 
 general result, few very striking feats of arras were 
 performed during its progress. Three of these we 
 are bound, however, to mention : two, because they 
 were performed by our own countrymen, who have 
 been so unjustly treated, in Schiller's great history 
 of the Thirty years' War ; and the third, because it 
 stands alone of its kind in military annals. 
 
 Along with some other field-works, which the King 
 of Denmark had thrown up near Boizenburg, was a 
 bridgehead on the left bank of the Elbe. When the 
 Danes fell back before Tilly's army, these works were 
 all either carried by the Imperialists, or abandoned 
 by their defenders. The bridgehead alone, garri- 
 soned by four companies of Scottish infantry, under 
 the command of Major Dunbar, made resistance. 
 And so effectually did the brave defenders perform 
 their duty, that they forced the imperial general to 
 raise the siege, though he had actually broken ground 
 before a mere redoubt, and attempted three regular 
 assaults in the course of four days. " The Scots," says 
 an eye-witness, " fought with the butt ends of their 
 muskets ; and when their ammunition was expended, 
 they threw sand into the eyes of the assailants, and 
 wanting bettermissiles, made evengood useof stones." 
 These gallant men were not yet encumbered with 
 bayonets, to impress on their minds the necessity of 
 yielding, the moment the object contended for was 
 no longer to be obtained by firing. 
 
 At the period of which we are speaking, most of 
 the seats of the Holstein nobility retained the appear- 
 ance, and something also of the strength, of the old 
 baronial castles of the middle ages. But though the
 
 104 LIFE OF WALLENSTEIN. 
 
 owners had refused to pay for the support of troops, 
 on the plea that they were the natural protectors of 
 the country ; one only of these strongholds made the 
 least resistance, and that was defended, not by Hol- 
 stein nobles, but by Scottish soldiers. The castle 
 of Breitenburg, belonging to the ancient family of 
 Ranzau, was occupied by Major Dunbar with his four 
 companies : it was surrounded only by an old, ill- 
 flanked wall, and by a ditch which had long been more 
 than half filled up : but gallant men find bulwarks 
 of strength where the feeble see only untenable ruins. 
 To give the unhappy peasantry as much time for flight 
 as possible, the Major, at first, spread his troops over 
 as great an extent of country as he could cover : when 
 closely pressed, he withdrew within the castle, where 
 a six days' cannonade followed. The defences of 
 the place were completely levelled ; but the courage 
 of the defenders remained unshaken. On the seventh 
 day the assault was given ; and to the defenders an 
 assault in those days was a different affliir altogether 
 from what it is now : such attacks were then made 
 by heavy-armed infantry, who wore breastplates and 
 skull-caps of proof, and were armed, not with use- 
 less bayonets, but with swords, halberts and parti- 
 sans. The defenders were equally well prepared ; 
 and knowing that certain death was the consequence 
 of defeat, they never stood an assault without making 
 a most determined resistance j even in the breach 
 itself. 
 
 In modern times, if the assailants pass through the 
 storm of fiery missiles hurled upon them from every 
 direction ; if they ascend the breach and pass over
 
 LIFE OF WALLENSTEIN. 105 
 
 the defences, always, when there is time and skill, 
 raised behind the ruins, then every thing is settled ; 
 the defenders fly for shelter and implore mercy : no 
 manly contest takes place between modern infantry ; 
 every thing is effected by distant firing. Since the 
 introduction of bayonets, the Turks alone have de- 
 fended their towns and fortresses hand to hand, in 
 gallant and manly style ; and the terrible price paid 
 for the capture of Ockzacow and Ismailow, the only 
 places thus taken from them, seems to have cooled 
 the ardour of their enemies for the renewal of such 
 contests. 
 
 On the occasion of which we are speaking, the 
 fiercest of Wallenstein's Walloon bands made the 
 onset against the castle ; they were driven back with 
 great loss ; a second attack was foiled in like man- 
 ner by the dauntless courage of the defenders ; a 
 third, made with fresh troops and redoubled fury, 
 found the Scots, exhausted by toil, wounds and fa- 
 tigue, unable to resist the shock. The victors, exas- 
 perated by the loss which they had sustained, gave 
 no quarter : every person found in the castle was put 
 to death ; and the body of Dunbar, its gallant de- 
 fender, who had fallen in front rank, was mangled 
 in the most barbarous manner. But the unworthy 
 treatment of a dead body, lessened not the flime 
 which a brave soldier had so nobly purchased with 
 his life ; and the resolute defence of the feeble castle 
 of Breitenburg against a whole army, will ever prove 
 how much one gallant spirit may effect in war. The 
 name of Major Dunbar is still remembered with 
 honour in the country where he fell j and it should
 
 106 LIFE OF WALLENSTEIN. 
 
 not be forgotten in the land of his birth, which may 
 be justly proud of his conduct. Independently of 
 the pleasure there is at all times, in recording the 
 actions of the brave, it is the duty of an English 
 writer, who speaks of the Thirty years' War, and 
 above all of Wallenstein, to collect and place in the 
 most conspicuous view, as many of the noble deeds 
 of arms performed by his countrymen, as can be 
 brought within the compass of his subject : we must 
 strive to find, in their military glory, some compen- 
 sation for the foul blot we shall see British hands in- 
 flicting on the name and fame of our country. 
 
 The singular manner in which Wolfenbiittle was 
 taken, has now to be related. 
 
 Tilly had caused this place, which was of some 
 strength, and was defended by a numerous garrison 
 under Count Solmes, to be invested at the very com- 
 mencement of the campaign. The bravery of the de- 
 fenders foiled all the attacks, and the siege was twice 
 raised. At last Pappenheim appeared before the 
 town. The approach of the bad season, and the 
 want of a sufficient battering train, soon convinced 
 him that the place was not to be taken by regular 
 siege. But the truly great man, and such was Pap- 
 penheim, is seldom at a loss. Obstacles only tend to 
 call forth his energy and augment his exertions ; his 
 genius supplies him with resources, which the ordi- 
 nary observer no longer perceives, the moment they 
 are to be sought for beyond the rules of professional 
 science ; and Pappenheim, finding himself unable 
 to reduce Wolfenbiittle by the strength of fire, de- 
 termined to reduce it by the strength of water. For
 
 LIFE OF WALLENSTEIN. 107 
 
 this purpose, he erected a stop-water across the river 
 Ocker, close below the town ; and though Count 
 Solmes used every effort by sallies, and by a heavy 
 fire of artillery, to destroy the work, it proved com- 
 pletely successful. At the expiration of fourteen 
 days, the water had risen to such a height, as com- 
 pletely to fill the streets and the lower stories of the 
 houses, so that all communication, as well between 
 the different parts of the town, as between the town 
 and the works, had to be carried on in boats, and the 
 brave governor was forced to yield to an adversary, 
 whose genius could make even the elements contri- 
 bute to the execution of his designs *. 
 
 And now it was that the princes and states of 
 Lower Germany began to feel the consequences of 
 their pusillanimous conduct ; and the very provinces 
 which had just before refused to raise troops for their 
 own protection, were obliged to submit without a mur- 
 mur, to every species of insult and exaction. Wal- 
 lenstein*s army, augmented to a hundred thousand 
 men, occupied the whole country ; and the lordly 
 leader following, on a far greater scale, the principle 
 on which Mansfeld had acted, made the war maintain 
 the war, and trampled alike on the rights of sove- 
 reigns and of subjects. And terrible was the penalty 
 now paid for the short-sighted policy which avarice 
 and cowardice had suggested, and which cunning 
 had vainly tried to disguise beneath affected philan- 
 thropy, and a generous love of peace. Provided with 
 imperial authority, and at the head of a force that 
 
 * Zur Geschiclitc Christian des IV. von Mauvillion.
 
 108 LIFE OF WALLENSTEIN. 
 
 could 110 longer be resisted, Wallenstein made the 
 empire serve as a vast storehouse, and wealthy trea- 
 sury for the benefit of the imperial army. He for- 
 bade even sovereigns and electors to raise supplies in 
 their own countries, and was justly termed " the 
 princes' scourge, and soldiers' idol." 
 
 The system of living by contributions had com- 
 pletely demoralised the troops. Honour and disci- 
 pline were entirely gone ; and it was only beneath 
 the eye of the stern and unrelenting commander, 
 that any thing like order continued to be observed. 
 Dissipation and profligacy reigned in all ranks : 
 bands of dissolute persons accompanied every regi- 
 ment, and helped to extinguish the last sparks of 
 morality in the breast of the soldier. The generals 
 levied arbitrary taxes ; the inferior officers followed 
 the example of their superiors ; and the privates, soon 
 ceasing to obey those whom they ceased to respect, 
 plundered in every direction ; while blows, insults, 
 or death awaited all who dared to resist. The cele- 
 brated Montecucoli demanded from the single pro- 
 vince of New-Markt 30,000 florins a-month for the 
 support of the twelve companies of his regiment, be- 
 sides 1200 florins for his own table, 600 for the table 
 of every lieutenant-colonel, and 5000 florins over 
 and above for exigencies ; and as the authorities were 
 able to raise only 25,000 florins, the rest was levied 
 by main force. Other officers proceeded in a similar 
 manner, each according to his rank and power. 
 
 The sums extorted, in this manner, prove that Ger- 
 many must have been a wealthy country in the seven- 
 teenth century ; for the money pressed out of some
 
 LIFE OF WALLENSTEIN. 109 
 
 districts, by the imperial troops, far exceeds any thing 
 which the same quarters could now be made to fur- 
 nish. CompLiints against the author of such evils 
 were, of course, not wanting; but the man complained 
 of, liad rendered the Emperor all-powerful in Ger- 
 many : from the Adriatic to the Baltic, Ferdinand 
 reigned absolute, as no monarch had reigned since 
 the days of the Othos. This supremacy was due to 
 AVallenstein alone ; and what could the voice of the 
 humble and oppressed effect against such an offender? 
 Or when did the voice of suffering nations, arrest the 
 progress of power and ambition ? 
 
 During the winter that followed on the campaign of 
 1627, Wallen stein repaired to Prague, to claim from 
 the Emperor, who was residing in the Bohemian 
 capital, additional rewards for the important services 
 so lately rendered. The boon solicited was nothing 
 less than the Duchy of Mecklenburg, which was to 
 be taken from its legitimate princes, on the ground 
 of their having joined the King of Denmark, and 
 bestowed on the successful general. There were not 
 wanting persons in the imperial council who opposed 
 this grant. It was unjust, they said, to deprive the 
 Dukes of Mecklenburg of their hereditary domi- 
 nions, on account of a fault, already repented of, and, 
 to a certain extent, even atoned for : and it might 
 also be dangerous, to bestow such power on a person 
 of Wallenstein's aspiring disposition. Others main- 
 tained, that the services which he had rendered could 
 not be too highly rewarded ; and that it would, be- 
 sides, be an act of piety to rescue so fine a province 
 as Mecklenburg from heretical hands, and bring it
 
 110 LIFE OF WALLENSTEIN. 
 
 back, by means of a Catholic prince, into the bosom 
 of the Catholic Church. 
 
 This last argument, supported by an account of 
 three millions of florins, which Wallenstein claimed 
 as arrears due for the support of the army, determined 
 Ferdinand. J3y letters-patent, dated Prague, 1st Feb- 
 ruary 1628, the Dukes of Mecklenburg are declared 
 to have forfeited their dominions ; *' because they had 
 entered into an alliance with the King of Denmark ; 
 cast all good advice to the winds ; conspired against 
 the empire ; and helped to bring even Turks and 
 infidels upon its soil." The states and the people are 
 freed from their former allegiance, and the Duchy, 
 with all the rights thereto belonging, *' transferred to 
 the Duke of Friedland, his heirs and successors ; who 
 are to hold it in pledge for the repayment of certain 
 war expenses," which were never expected to be offer- 
 ed or accepted. Though Wallenstein entered im- 
 mediately into possession of this splendid acquisi- 
 tion, and strove to gain the good will of his new sub- 
 jects by relieving them, as much as possible, from 
 the burdens consequent on the support of troops, it 
 was not till the year following, that he was actually 
 created Duke of Mecklenburg, and began to assume 
 the title. 
 
 We have seen, that even in the field, and when 
 weighed down by the heavy load of business which 
 necessarily presses upon the commander of an army 
 engaged in active operations, he never lost sight of 
 the administration of his own principalities. From 
 the camp he was constantly sending directions about 
 the improvement of his domains, and when at home.
 
 LIFE OF WALLENSTEIN. Ill 
 
 in the midst of siicli pursuits, he is as constantly 
 sending orders to the army, on the most important 
 points of military duty and discipline. 
 
 The letters written at this period are the most 
 curious of those handed down to us. They are mostly 
 addressed to Colonel Arnheim, who had been left in 
 command of the army, and who seems to have pos- 
 sessed Wallenstein's entire confidence ; and the man- 
 ner in which he illustrates the trust that should be 
 placed in officers holding high military situations, is 
 too striking to be passed over. In a letter to Arn- 
 heim, dated 2d July 16'28, is the following passage : 
 ** Count Piccolomini informs me that a Swedish 
 admiral has come to Stralsund, on purpose to speak 
 with you, but that you decline meeting him, on the 
 ground of having no authority from me to hold such 
 a conference. Your present situation shows how per- 
 fect is the confidence I repose in you ; and those to 
 whom we intrust the command of armies, may surely 
 be allowed to hold conversation with an adversary." 
 Before the acquisition of Mecklenburg is distinctly 
 mentioned, he desires Arnheim not to permit a single 
 man of Tilly's army to be quartered in the Duchies ; 
 adding, in strict *' secretezza" " that they," — the 
 Duke of Bavaria and Tilly, — " have designs upon 
 the country." He then recommends that informa- 
 tion for charges against the Dukes of Mecklenburg- 
 may be collected, as reports of " strange practices 
 have come to his ears j" and, at a later period, desires 
 that both princes may be frightened, or, if necessary, 
 forced out of the country. 
 
 No sooner had the King of Poland notified to him
 
 112 LIFE OF WALLENSTEIN. 
 
 the truce concluded with Sweden, on the 9th of Oc- 
 tober 1627, than he foresees the storm which, from 
 that quarter, was destined to burst upon the empire. 
 He immediately directs Arnheim to *' keep a sharp 
 look-out." " We shall certainly," he says, '* have the 
 Swedes landing on the coast of Pomerania or Meck- 
 lenburg." In a second letter, written on the same 
 day, are these ominous words : " Gustavus Adolphus 
 is a dangerous guest, who cannot be too closely 
 watched." Wallenstein here shews himself no bad 
 prophet, or judge of character ; and from this mo- 
 ment he never loses sight of the King of Sweden. 
 He is willing, indeed, to enter into an alliance with 
 him, and gives a friendly reception to some advances, 
 which had come from Oxenstiern ; but foretells, from 
 the first, that they will lead to nothing. " The 
 King of Sweden will only play with us ; he means us 
 no good," are Wallenstein's usual words. 
 
 Most men are certainly endowed, at times, with pro- 
 phetic feeling ; or they are open to receive, from the 
 shadows of coming events, impressions that indicate 
 the figure, form, or nature of approaching changes. 
 Such at least appears to have been the case with Wal- 
 lenstein : he never, from first to last, mentions the 
 King of Sweden except with evident marks of dislike 
 and mistrust : even when trying to gain him over by 
 the most flattering proposals, some dark foreboding 
 tells him that the star of Friedland is doomed to 
 wane before the star of Gustavus. Yet were the offers 
 made to the Scandinavian monarch well calculated to 
 tempt a young, ambitious sovereign, eager for fame 
 and extended rule. He was invited to join in the
 
 LIFE OF WALLENSTEIN. 113 
 
 war against Denmark, and conquer Norway, which, 
 together with some other provinces, not specified, 
 were to form his share of the spoil. It is highly 
 to the honour of the King of Sweden that he ulti- 
 mately rejected these proposals ; for he had good 
 cause to complain of the Danes, and had, on his first 
 accession to the throne, been forced to purchase, at 
 great sacrifices, a most disadvantageous peace from 
 Christian IV. 
 
 Another, and more extraordinary project occu- 
 pies, about this time, the ever active mind of the 
 Duke of Friedland. Reports had reached Prague 
 that the Danes, irritated by the losses sustained dur- 
 ing the war, as well as by the burdens which it con- 
 tinued to impose upon them, were dissatisfied with 
 their King, and anxious to place another Prince on 
 the throne. Wallenstein instantly sends orders for 
 Arnheim to encourage the disaffected ; and to use 
 every effort to secure the crown for Ferdinand. Let- 
 ter after letter is dispatched on this business. In 
 one he says, " I yesterday spoke to the Emperor 
 about it; and you may depend upon being well reward- 
 ed for your exertions : you are, I assure you, in high 
 favour." In another, he says, enpassant, " At court 
 they would willingly have given me this crown ; but 
 I should not be able to maintain myself on the 
 throne ; and am well satisfied with what I have." 
 Not even the prospect of a crown could blind Wal- 
 lenstein J and where is the other man of whom so 
 much can be said ? 
 
 In continuing the negotiation, he promises, " on 
 his word of honour," that the Danes shall retain all 
 
 H
 
 114 LIFE OF WALLENSTEIN. 
 
 their rights and privileges, provided they choose Fer- 
 dinand for their King \ adding, by way of threat, how- 
 ever, that " they must of course become our vassals, 
 if we subdue them by force of arms." This, like the 
 Swedish negotiation, ended in nothing ; but if under- 
 taken with the view of deceiving Wallenstein for the 
 purpose of making him relinquish his military prepa- 
 rations, it failed completely. A Count Swarzenberg, 
 a diplomatic agent of the court of Vienna, appears 
 to have been the principal mover of the intrigue. He 
 afterwards, when in some official situation about the 
 army, incurred the displeasure of Wallenstein, who, 
 in a very peremptory manner, made the Emperor re- 
 call him, leaving his Imperial Majesty no choice, but 
 to dispense with the services of his successful general 
 or of his unsuccessful diplomatist. 
 
 Hitherto the ocean had alone arrested the progress 
 of Wallenstein : a fleet was now to be formed, which 
 should enable him to give laws beyond the Belts, and 
 perhaps beyond the Baltic also. Every seaport in 
 Mecklenburg and Pomerania is ordered to be taken 
 possession of and fortified. Ships are collected from 
 all quarters j some are to be armed, others are to 
 serve as transports. During Wallenstein's stay in 
 Bohemia, he is constantly pressing this subject upon 
 Arnheim's attention. *• Whatever is now done," he 
 says, " must be done by sea." Napoleon himself was 
 not more anxious for " ships, colonies and com- 
 merce," than Wallenstein was at this time for ships, 
 arsenals and seaports. He soon afterwards assumes 
 the title of " Admiral on the Ocean and the Baltic ;" 
 andhaving obtained from Spain the promise of twenty-
 
 LIFE OF WALLENSTEIN. 115 
 
 five ships of war, together with a supply of money, 
 he says in a letter, that he *' soon hopes to seek out 
 the Danes in their very islands." But he still dreads 
 the Swedes ; and desires Arnheim to obtain for him 
 a more perfect horoscope of Gustavus Adolphus than 
 the one which had, it seems, been already furnished. 
 Wallenstein gives good astrological reasons for requi- 
 ring the additional information which he specifies ; 
 but we are nowhere told what the royal nativity ulti- 
 mately indicated j nor is the subject ever again allu- 
 ded to ; a proof perhaps, that Wallenstein only amused 
 himself with astrology ; for whatever idea seriously 
 occupies his mind, is always followed up with great 
 spirit, and may be as constantly traced through a long 
 and rapid succession of letters. 
 
 Thus, we find him at this period, projecting the 
 destruction of the Danish and Swedish fleets : he pro- 
 poses to have them burned ; and the plan occupies 
 his attention for a long time. And though he is, at 
 the moment, so poor, that he cannot, by his own ac- 
 count, command 1000 florins, and actually sells an 
 estate to Colonel Hebron, merely to raise a little 
 ready money, he nevertheless offers 35,000 crowns 
 for the performance of this extraordinary service. 
 Arnheim is desired to spare neither trouble nor ex- 
 pense in effecting the desirable object : and a Scotch- 
 man, whose name is not mentioned, actually obtains, 
 more ingeniously perhaps than honestly, the sum of 
 5000 crowns for some purpose connected with the 
 undertaking. It appears that the man died before 
 any thing was attempted. 
 
 Nor was Wallenstein, though absent, inattentive 
 
 H 2
 
 116 LIFE OF WALLENSTEIN. 
 
 to the discipline of the army. He sends frequent 
 and severe orders on the subject ; and desires that all 
 delinquents, of whatever rank ; may be punished in 
 the most exemplary manner, even with death when 
 the Jaw ordains it. These orders seem to have fallen 
 with peculiar force upon the Italians, who only speak 
 of him as II tiranno ; and some of their countrymen, 
 Count Montecucoli, Caraffa, and the Marquis di 
 Boisy, are particularly mentioned among the delin- 
 quents.
 
 LIFE OF WALLENSTEIN. II7 
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 
 The siege of Stralsund, which was resolved upon early 
 in 1628, constitutes one of the most memorable 
 operations of the war. Not merely because it fur- 
 nishes an additional proof of what may be effected by 
 skill, courage and resolution, against vastly superior 
 forces, but because its result influenced, in an emi- 
 nent degree, some of the most important events that 
 followed. When Wallenstein ordered the seaports 
 along the coast of Pomerania to be occupied, Stral- 
 sund, claiming its privilege as an imperial and Han- 
 seatic free town, refused to admit his troops. Arn- 
 heim, who, as regular gradations were not much 
 attended to at the period, had been promoted, at 
 one step, from Colonel to Field-Marshal *, pressed 
 and threatened ; but in vain : the citizens remained 
 firm, and began to improve the fortifications of the 
 place. Wallenstein easily saw the importance of 
 Stralsund, and desired Arnheim not to yield the 
 point. " These rascals of Stralsund," he writes, 
 " will prevent us from making peace in Germany, 
 
 * In the 17th century the rank of Field-Marshal corresponded, 
 however, rather to the French rank of Marshal-de-camp, than to the 
 Field-Marshal Commander-in-Chief of our own time : a Lieutenant- 
 General was superior to a Field-Marshal.
 
 118 LIFE OF WALLENSTEIN. 
 
 and leading the army against the Turks, a measure 
 to which the Pope and the Emperor have already 
 consented. There are, I know, many persons who 
 desire to draw the war a la longa^ but, by the help 
 of God, 1 have counteracted their schemes." This 
 Turkish war was another favourite plan of his ; but 
 he sees no means, except the complete occupation of 
 the coast, that can prevent the Swedes from invading 
 the Empire, while the army is engaged against the 
 infidels. 
 
 Stralsund, strong from position, and having a fine 
 harbour, is situated on the Baltic, opposite the isle 
 of Rugen. It is built in form of a triangle ; one side 
 of which is washed by the sea, while the others are, 
 to a certain extent, defended by lagoons or salt 
 marshes, that can be passed only on three causeways 
 leading to gates of the town. The fortifications con- 
 sisted, at the time, of an inner wall, flanked by bas- 
 tions, and of a double line of exterior redoubts. The 
 garrison was, at first, composed of only 150 soldiers, 
 but there were 2000 citizens capable of bearing arms. 
 After a good deal of negotiation, which only cost the 
 people of Stralsund some large sums of money, paid 
 away in presents to the imperial officers, Arnheim 
 invested the place on the 7th of May with 8000 men. 
 The senate and the wealthier classes immediately took 
 the alarm, and proposed to purchase pardon by in- 
 stantly surrendering the town. Not so the citizens 
 and lower orders : composed in a great measure of 
 sailors and seafaring persons, endowed with the daring 
 and energy that men so generally acquire by a long 
 familiarity with the ocean and its dangers, they
 
 LIFE OF WALLENSTEIN. 119 
 
 would hear of no submission whatever. On the con- 
 trary, they claimed a share in the executive adminis- 
 tration; and having carried this point, they passed a 
 resolution that the walls should be defended to the 
 last extremity. It soon became necessary to act up 
 to this bold resolve ; for danger, in its wildest form, 
 was rapidly approaching. 
 
 Arnheim, in the hopes of coming to an amicable 
 arrangement with the senate, had carried on his first 
 operations very slowly ; but he no sooner found him- 
 self deceived in his expectations, than, on the l6tli 
 May, he assaulted the outworks, and made himself 
 master of two redoubts. Another attack followed 
 on the 23d, in which all the outworks were taken : 
 and the town itself would, as tradition and grave 
 historians alike assure us, have been carried two days 
 afterwards, but for the presence of mind displayed 
 by a citizen's wife. 
 
 It was Sunday ; and the people of Stralsund, know- 
 ing that Arnheim was a Protestant, and believing him 
 therefore, too good a Christian to break the Lord's 
 day, had all repaired to church, without leaving a 
 single centinel on the ramparts. By some happy 
 chance, however, a lady was on the alert : she per- 
 ceived that the enemy, instead of being engaged in 
 acts of devotion, were actually advancing to the as- 
 sault : seizing a drum that by good fortune was at 
 hand, she beat to arms : the citizens rushed to the 
 walls, and the attack was repulsed after a fierce and 
 determined contest. Now, the sex have, avowedly, 
 great merit, — greater merit, perhaps, than they gene- 
 rally get credit for : but in this particular instance,
 
 120 LIFE OF WALLENSTEIN. 
 
 we rather suspect that a compliment has been need- 
 lessly paid them, at the expense of the good citizens 
 of Stralsund. We can well conceive that a lady would 
 beat a drum, if necessary ; but we can hardly under- 
 stand how the defenders of a besieged town should, 
 on the mere belief that the assailants were too pious 
 to fight on Sunday, abandon the ramparts without 
 leaving either watch or ward. Knowing how military 
 history has been written, in our own time, we must 
 not be surprised to find such tales occasionally handed 
 down to us from the seventeenth century. 
 
 Alarmed by these fierce and repeated assaults, the 
 inhabitants of Stralsund again resorted to negotia- 
 tions ; but the arrival of three companies of Scottish, 
 and one company of German infantry, which the 
 King of Denmark sent to their aid, as quickly re- 
 vived their courage : a company of infantry counted 
 at the period, from 150 to 300 men. Wallenstein, 
 who was at the moment on his way to join the army, 
 also desires Arnheim to negotiate, but to conclude 
 nothing. " I want to put the people of Stralsund off' 
 their guard," he says, '* but shall not forgive them ; 
 1 shall yet pay them home for all the trouble they 
 have given us." Hostilities were soon renewed, and 
 well it was for the besieged that they trusted more 
 to arms than to fine words and fair promises ; and 
 well it is for nations and communities that follow the 
 same rule. This intended treachery on the part of 
 Wallenstein, is the only low and unworthy act or in- 
 tention that can be fairly brought home to him. It 
 was soon destined to meet with just retribution. 
 
 The town of Stralsund, unable to obtain assistance
 
 LIFE OF WALLENSTEIN. 121 
 
 from the Duke of Pomerania, the lord superior of 
 the province, who, however willing, had no means 
 of furnishing relief, placed itself under the protec- 
 tion of Sweden : and Gustavus Adolphus, fully sen- 
 sible of the importance of the place, immediately dis- 
 patched the celebrated David Leslie, at the head of 
 600 men, to aid in its defence. Count Brahe, with 
 1000 more, soon followed ; so that when Wallen- 
 stein reached the army on the 27th of June, he found 
 himself opposed by a garrison of experienced soldiers, 
 who had already retaken all the outworks which 
 Arnheim had captured in the first instance. 
 
 The lordly commander-in-chief announced his arri- 
 val before the town, by a general assault upon all the 
 outworks. The most important of these fell into the 
 hands of the Imperialists ; and the inner line itself, 
 would have been carried, but for the gallantry of 
 Colonel Munro, and the Scottish troops, who there 
 repulsed the assailants with great loss. The ap- 
 proaches were, however, brought so near the ram- 
 parts ; and so heavy a fire was opened upon the place, 
 that deputies, sent to solicit terms, soon made their 
 appearance in the imperial camp. Wallenstein, 
 though he only consented to suspend hostilities for 
 a quarter of an hour, received the parties in a very 
 frank and friendly manner, and on their representing 
 the dreadful state to which the bombardment had 
 reduced the town, asked them " Who had occasioned 
 the mischief?" 
 
 The senate were, as usual, willing enough to sub- 
 mit ; Wallenstein had assembled nearly 20,000 men 
 round the place, and had declared that he would
 
 122 LIFE OF WALLENSTEIN. 
 
 take Stralsund ** were it fastened with chains to hea- 
 ven ;" and he was not a man to threaten in vain. As 
 the courage of the citizens also began to cool, an 
 armistice was, contrary to the opinion of foreign offi- 
 cers, agreed upon, in order that terms of submission 
 might be drawn up. 
 
 Difficulties having for some days retarded the pro- 
 gress of the negotiation, a Danish fleet appeared off 
 the harbour ; the defenders again took courage, and 
 sent out to say that they would enter into no terms, 
 unless the foreign troops consented to withdraw of 
 their own accord. ** You see what the knaves now 
 tell me," was all that Wallenstein wrote on the mar- 
 gin of the letter which he sent to Arnheim, who hap- 
 pened to be absent at the moment. The attack was 
 of course renewed ; but the opportunity was lost. 
 Rain began to fall in such torrents that the trenches 
 were entirely filled, and the flat moor ground, on 
 which the army was encamped, became completely 
 inundated and untenable. The proud spirit of Fried- 
 land, unused to yield, still persevered ; but sickness 
 attacked the troops, and the Danes having landed at 
 Jasmund, he was obliged to march against them with 
 the best part of his forces ; and in fact to raise the 
 siege. From Gustrow he writes to Arnheim, " so to 
 manage matters that we may retire with credit j" and 
 desires him to give out that the enterprise was aban- 
 doned, " solely with a view to oblige the Duke of 
 Pomerania." 
 
 The Danes having effected their object, in causing 
 the siege of Stralsund to be raised, withdrew their 
 troops from Jasmund, and landed them again at
 
 LIFE OF WALLENSTEIN. 123 
 
 Wolgast. Here, however, Walleiistein surprised, 
 and defeated them with great loss, and would pro- 
 bably have destroyed their whole army, had not the 
 castle held out, and secured the embarkation of the 
 fugitives, who only reached their ships under the pro- 
 tection of its guns. This victory afforded, to his 
 wounded spirit, some balm for the failure sustained 
 in the late siege. 
 
 From Pomerania, Wallenstein went to Holstein, 
 where he took Krempe, but was unable to reduce 
 Gliickstadt, which the Danes constantly relieved by 
 means of their ships. The Spaniards not having sent 
 the fleet they had promised, and the imperial " ad- 
 miral " having found it more difficult to form a navy 
 than to raise an army, began seriously to think of 
 peace, in order, as he writes, to lead the " armada " 
 aofainst the Turks. 
 
 To effect the first of these objects, Wallenstein 
 submitted a memorial to the Emperor, in which he 
 explained the difficulty of carrying on the war with- 
 out a navy, against enemies, who, like the Danes, 
 were completely masters of the sea. This document 
 alone, if we knew nothing else of its author, would 
 prove him to have been a man of first-rate military 
 talents. He shews, in the clearest manner possible, 
 the great advantage which the Danes derived from 
 their naval supremacy. *' They can attack us," he 
 says, •' on all points with superior strength. No 
 army can be imagined sufficiently numerous to guard 
 every accessible part of the coast against disembarka- 
 tions ; and scattered detachments may be cut up, in 
 detail, by an enemy who is inaccessible in his islands.
 
 124 LIFE OF WALLENSTEIN. 
 
 and whose naval operations can neither be followed 
 nor observed by land forces alone." 
 
 Here is an officer already explaining, in the seven- 
 teenth century, what we could not understand, even 
 in the nineteenth ; the tremendous force, namely, 
 resulting from the combined power of naval and mi- 
 litary armaments. Wallenstein could see that victo- 
 rious fleets lend wings to armies ; augment their 
 numbers in a tenfold degree, and render boundless 
 the sphere of military operations. While armies, on 
 the other hand, give permanent effect to the success 
 of fleets, and gather in, for the benefit of the mutual 
 country, the fruits of naval conquests. It is really 
 difficult to say what might not have been achieved, 
 had such a man appeared in Downing Street during 
 the last war. 
 
 The Emperor submitted, as usual, to the views of 
 his general, and authorised him and Tilly to treat with 
 the Danes. There being on all sides, a willingness 
 to bring the war to an end, peace was already con- 
 cluded at Lubeck in January 1629. By this treaty, 
 the Danes recovered, without reserve or indemnity, 
 all their former possessions; only pledging themselves, 
 not again to interfere in the affairs of the Empire. 
 Considering that the cession of Holstein, together 
 with the payment of several millions, had been de- 
 manded from them little more than a year before, the 
 very moderate terms granted at Lubeck, cannot fail 
 to surprise us ; and we are strongly tempted to sus- 
 pect, that the newly created Duke of Mecklenburg, 
 was willing to make a friend of his nearest and most 
 powerful neighbour, the King of Denmark.
 
 LIFE OF WALLENSTEIN. 125 
 
 No sooner was this peace concluded, than Wallen- 
 stein dispatched Field-Marshal Arnheim, at the head 
 of 10,000 men, to the aid of King Sigismund. The 
 avowed object of the expedition was, to keep up the 
 war in Poland, and to prevent Gustavus Adolphus 
 from landing in Germany. Arnheim achieved little 
 against the Swedes, and not liking his command, re- 
 tired altogether from the imperial service. The en- 
 terprise helped only to give Gustavus an additional 
 cause of complaint against the Emperor, and to hasten 
 the execution of a project which had long been deter- 
 mined upon. 
 
 The peace of Lubeck left Wallenstein absolute 
 master in Germany, and without an equal in great- 
 ness : his spirit seemed to hover like a storm-charged 
 cloud over the land, crushing to the earth every hope 
 of liberty and successful resistance. Mansfeld and 
 Christian of Brunswick, had disappeared from the 
 scene : Frederick V. had retired into obscurity. 
 Tilly and Pappenheim, his former rivals, now con- 
 descended to receive favours, and to solicit pensions 
 and rewards through the medium of his intercession. 
 Even Maximilian of Bavaria, was second in greatness 
 to the all-dreaded Duke of Friedland : Europe held 
 no uncrowned head that was his equal in fame, and no 
 crowned head that surpassed him in power. Stand- 
 ing in so proud a position, and with all the cares of 
 his new Duchy pressing upon him ; it is rather cu- 
 rious and afflicting, to see Wallenstein volunteering, 
 as it is said he did, the service in which we next find 
 him engaged. 
 
 Ferdinand, elated with success, had neglected the
 
 126 LIFE OF WALLENSTEIN. 
 
 opportunity, again afforded him by the peace of Lu- 
 beck, for restoring tranquillity to the empire. The 
 barbarity of the imperial soldiers, the rapacity of their 
 generals, had exceeded all bounds. Germany, tra- 
 versed in every direction by plundering and destroy- 
 ing bands of Condottieri ; occupied by the dreaded 
 and oppressive hosts of Tilly and Wallenstein, lay 
 exhausted, bleeding and panting for repose. Loud 
 and universal was the call for peace : but Ferdinand 
 heard it not : to him the voice of a monk " was the 
 voice of God," and the Church of Rome, or some 
 of those who, by their conduct dishonoured its doc- 
 trines, had still further demands on the yielding will 
 of their sceptered slave. 
 
 Instead of a general peace, Ferdinand signed the 
 fatal Edict of Restitution, by which the Protestants 
 were called upon to restore all the Catholic Church 
 property they had sequestrated since the religious 
 pacification of 1555 : such sequestration being, ac- 
 cording to the Emperor's interpretation, contrary to 
 the spirit of the treaty of Passau. The right of long- 
 established possession was here entirely overlooked j 
 and Ferdinand forgot, in his zeal for the church, that 
 he was actually setting himself up as a judge, in a 
 case in which he was a party also. It was farther 
 added, that, according to the same treaty, freedom of 
 departure from Catholic countries, was the only pri- 
 vilege which Protestants had a right to claim from 
 Catholic princes. 
 
 This decree came like a thunder-burst over Pro- 
 testant Germany. Two archbishopricks, twelve bi- 
 shopricks, and a countless number of convents and
 
 LIFE OF WALLENSTEIN. 1^7 
 
 clerical domains, which the Protestants had confis- 
 cated, and applied to their own purposes, were now 
 to be surrendered. Imperial commissioners were 
 appointed to carry the mandate into effect, and, to 
 secure immediate obedience, troops were placed at 
 the disposal of the new officials. Wherever these 
 functionaries appeared, the Protestant service was 
 instantly suspended j the churches deprived of their 
 bells ; altars and pulpits pulled down ; all Protestant 
 books, bibles and catechisms were seized ; and gib- 
 bets were erected to terrify those who might be dis- 
 posed to resist. 
 
 All Protestants, who refused to change their reli- 
 gion, were expelled from Augsburg : summary pro- 
 ceedings of the same kind were resorted to in other 
 places. Armed with absolute power, the commis- 
 sioners soon proceeded from reclaiming the property 
 of the church to seize that of individuals. The 
 estates of all persons who had served under Mansfeld, 
 Baden, Christian of Brunswick j of all who had aided 
 Frederick V, or rendered themselves obnoxious to the 
 Emperor, were seized and confiscated. The survi- 
 ving parents of those, who had been condemned for 
 former offences, were obliged to resign their pro- 
 perty ; and children were, in like manner, forced to 
 give up what they had inherited from parents who 
 had been declared guilty. Twenty florins was the 
 largest sum given, more in derision than in pity, to 
 those who were turned out of house and home *. 
 
 * Raumer's Geschichle Europas seit dem Ende des 15. Jalir 
 hunderts 3. Baud 47 1.
 
 128 LIFE OF WALLENSTEIN. 
 
 Universal as were the complaints raised against 
 proceedings so tyrannical, little local, and no gene- 
 ral resistance was offered : the hand of violence was 
 still too strong. But the Protestants saw plainly 
 enough, that the destruction of their religion was 
 determined on ; they learned to know, that resolute 
 opposition could alone save them ; a proper spirit 
 was awakened, and all were prepared to rally round 
 the first victorious banner that should be unfurled 
 in their cause. 
 
 While the defeated party were thus acquiring the 
 first elemejits of future strength, dissensions began 
 to appear among the victors, who already differed 
 about the spoil which they had acquired. In few 
 cases were the convents and domains restored to the 
 original orders or possessors : it was declared that the 
 Pope and the Emperor could alone dispose of whatever 
 surplus might remain, after the expenses of the war 
 should be defrayed. The minions of power were, as 
 usual in such cases, the greatest gainers by the rob- 
 bery : and it is lamentable to find Wallenstein amonof 
 the distributors, if not among the partakers, of such 
 unworthy booty. 
 
 The Duke of Friedland, who now ruled with dic- 
 tatorial sway over Germany, had been ordered to 
 carry the edict of restitution into effect, in all the 
 countries occupied by his troops. The task, if we be- 
 lieve historians, was executed with unbending rigour: 
 appeals and solicitations were addressed to him in 
 vain, and princes of the empire were made to wait, 
 with the crowd of ordinary petitioners, in the ante- 
 chambers of the haughty commander. Wallenstein,
 
 LIFE OF WALLENSTEIN. 129 
 
 who always appears to far greater advantage in his 
 own letters than in the accounts which contemporary 
 writers give of him, has left us no authority on which 
 we can contradict the accusations brought against 
 him in regard to these transactions. 
 
 The town of Magdeburg, formerly the seat of a 
 Catholic archbishop, had refused to submit to the 
 edict, and to receive imperi si troops within its walls. 
 It was immediately surrounded, and it is probable that 
 the recollection of Stralsund, and the payment of a 
 large sum of money, alone saved it from a regular siege. 
 In no other quarter was opposition attem.pted : in 
 some places, indeed, the imperial agents were slain by 
 the exasperated populace ; but such isolated outbreak- 
 ings of powerless indignation were soon suppressed. 
 So absolute was Wallenstein at this period, that Tilly 
 applied to him for " a piece of land,'* meaning the 
 Duchy of Kalenberg, in addition to the 400,000 
 crowns, which the old Walloon acknowledges to have 
 received through his intercession : and Pappenheim, 
 speaking more distinctly, requests, at once, to be 
 made Duke of Halberstadt. Wallenstein, as liberal 
 of the property of others as of his own, took sum- 
 mary measures to comply with both requests ; and 
 would probably have carried his point, and made his 
 comrades in arms princes of the empire, at the ex- 
 pense of the House of Brunswick, had not his power 
 been cut short in the manner we are now to relate. 
 
 A general Diet had been convoked to meet at 
 Ratisbon early in 1630. The settlement of all re- 
 maining differences, and the establishment of a per- 
 manent peace, w^ere the reasons assigned by Ferdi- 
 
 I
 
 130 LIFE or WALLENSTEIN. 
 
 nand for calling this assembly together. Besides 
 these important objects, the Emperor also wished 
 to have his son, the King of Hungary, elected King 
 of the Romans, to insure the young monarch's fu- 
 ture succession to the imperial throne. The Diet 
 met ; but no sooner was the election of the King of 
 Hungary mentioned, than the members burst out 
 into loud, indignant, and reiterated complaints, of 
 the cruelty, rapine, and tyranny exercised by the 
 imperial troops. From every part of Germany, the 
 voice of the ruined and oppressed called for ven- 
 geance ; and memorials, detailing deeds of the most 
 savage barbarity, poured in, from all quarters, upon 
 the astonished Emperor *. The fame and power of 
 the imperial army had been acquired under Wallen- 
 stein : its crimes were now to be charged against the 
 envied and all-dreaded commander, and the call for 
 his dismissal was loud and universal. This object 
 alone seemed to have brought the members of the 
 Diet to Ratisbon, and it actually appeared, as if no 
 other business could be entered upon, till this im- 
 portant point was carried. 
 
 From the nature of his career, Wallenstein could 
 hardly fail to have many and powerful enemies. 
 Reports had, at different times, been circulated, that 
 
 * Ferdinand's defenders say, that he knew nothing of these ex- 
 cesses. It would speak ill for an Emperor to have been ignorant. 
 But when one of Dampier's dragoons carried oft' his Majesty's 
 favourite falcon, and seriously injured the valuable bird, the mis- 
 chief was soon known, and a sharp note sent to Wallenstein on the 
 subject, directing, however, that the offender sliould not suffer in 
 life or limb for the crime.
 
 LIFE OF WALLENSTEIN. 131 
 
 his life was to be attempted ; and a letter addressed 
 to him on the 14th June 16^9, by the Chancellor 
 81avata, contains the following very remarkable pas- 
 sage : " I have been told by several persons of con- 
 sequence, that Tilly has orders to seize your high- 
 ness, and to throw you into prison ; or, if that can- 
 not be effected, he is to send you out of the world 
 in a shorter and more summary manner." Wallen- 
 stein laughs at this sort of warning, and in his reply 
 says, *' I really wonder how you can give ear to such 
 childish tales. The Emperor is a just and grateful 
 sovereign, who rewards faithful services in a different 
 way from what you suppose. Count Tilly, also, is a 
 cavalier of honour, who knows not how to commit 
 murder." Lightly, however, as he treated the mat- 
 ter, it would still appear that he entertained some 
 apprehension of danger, for on the 2d of March 
 1630, we find his friend. Count Questenberg, send- 
 ing him an antidote for poison. " This reminds 
 me," says the imperial minister, " to send your high- 
 ness the counter-poison, — recept contra venenum^ — 
 which you required, and which you will receive here- 
 with." 
 
 From the first of Wallenstein's elevation, reports 
 had already ascribed to him ambitious and daring 
 plans. There seems to have been something about 
 the man, that awed and repelled minor spirits : his 
 lofty imaginings had no communion with them ; and 
 they believed that his gloomy look and haughty re- 
 serve, could indicate only a guilty mind, brooding 
 over dark and dangerous projects. His boundless 
 liberality, brought thousands to his standard : the 
 
 I 2
 
 132 LIFE OF WALLENSTEIN. 
 
 larse sums which, as Count Prierato tells us, he dis- 
 tributed at the court of Vienna, purchased for him 
 plenty of advocates, ready to sound his praise as 
 long as he remained in power : he had many adhe- 
 rents who, trusting to his fortune, willingly followed 
 him ; but there is no appearance, in the voluminous 
 correspondence lately brought to light, that he had a 
 single friend ; while entire nations were his enemies. 
 
 At the head of the hostile party stood Maximilian 
 of Bavaria, the companion of Ferdinand's studies, the 
 second prince of the empire, whose first step, at Ra- 
 tisbon, was to take an open and decided part against 
 Wallenstein. He was supported by the whole Elec- 
 toral College ; Catholics and Protestants : all were 
 unanimous in preferring charges against the man 
 who, with much to answer for, was chiefly guilty in 
 having deeply offended the pride of peers, princes 
 and electors : even men of humble station rarely 
 forixive the wounds inflicted on their self-love ; men 
 of high station more rarely still. 
 
 The following is an abstract of the registers of 
 crime handed in, at the Diet, against the imperial 
 general and his army : 
 
 *' Wallenstein," it is said, " a man of restless and 
 ferocious spirit, — virinquies etferox^ — has, without 
 consent of the states, and contrary to law, obtained 
 absolute power in every part of the empire. And he 
 uses this power, as if he, the mere nobleman, were 
 the lord and director of princes, and they only his 
 servants and subordinates. He raises and quarters 
 troops at will, levies contributions, and enriches him- 
 self and his followers in the most unworthv manner.
 
 LIFE OF WALLENSTEIN. 133 
 
 Law, right and justice are completely set aside. 
 Magistrates, established authorities, and the states of 
 provinces, are neither noticed nor consulted. And 
 occasional proceedings instituted against delinquents 
 and malefactors, tend but to exasperate, and excite 
 them, and their comrades, to the commission of new 
 crimes. 
 
 " In reply to our complaints of extortions, and of 
 the insupportable burdens imposed upon us, we are 
 scornfully told that the Emperor prefers to have his 
 subjects poor to having them rebellious ; as if excess 
 of misery did not, of itself, cause insurrection, and 
 put an end to obedience. When the Duke of Wir- 
 temburg represented that the 8000 men quartered in 
 his country, completely ruined the land, he was in- 
 formed that they would remain till the Edict of Re- 
 stitution was carried into effect. When the citizens 
 of Stargard complained of hard usage, the Italian, 
 Torquato-Conti, commanded them to be stripped 
 naked, that they might have sure grounds for com- 
 plaints. Magistrates who were unable to levy the 
 sums demanded of them, were beat, thrown out of 
 windows, or shut up, without food, in overheated 
 apartments. Not only were the people disarmed, but 
 churches and graves were broken open and ransacked. 
 
 " In Pomerania, the entire revenue of the province, 
 hardly enabled the Duke to keep an ordinary table ; 
 while imperial captains and rittmeisters were living 
 luxuriously in quarters, and remitting money out of 
 the country. The soldiers also behave in the most 
 barbarous manner towards the people : they ill-use 
 and dishonour the women, beat and torture the men.
 
 134 LIFE OF WALLENSTEIN. 
 
 They burn and plunder in every direction ; and by 
 depriving the peasantry of their wholesome food, force 
 them to resort to the use of unnatural and destruc- 
 tive aliments, and to the commission of crimes the 
 most revolting, such as consuming the flesh of chil- 
 dren and dead bodies. 
 
 *' Houses, furniture, and the implements of agricul- 
 ture, are destroyed out of mere wantonness ; young- 
 women have been driven to suicide, to escape dis- 
 honour ; and others have died in consequence of 
 the ill-treatment they had experienced. Turks and 
 heathens never conducted themselves as the imperial 
 troops have done ; nor could the fiends of hell," — 
 we translate literally, — " have behaved worse. In 
 this manner, has our unhappy country been used, 
 though there is no enemy near. Religion, pity, 
 mercy, and old German faith, have entirely vanished 
 from the land ; nor is there any appearance that a 
 change of fortune will bring relief to our sufferings. 
 And all these excesses are perpetrated under the 
 command of Wallenstein ; the great captain of the 
 age ; the champion, as he is called, of Christendom ; 
 under Wallenstein, a man who was born, not like your 
 heathen Titus to be the delight of the human race, 
 but to be its disgust and abhorrence," — in the terrible 
 words of the original,-^ — " odium ac nausea gener^is 
 liumani" Where was a man, so heavily accused in 
 life, to find defenders after death ? 
 
 We have seen that the Duke of Friedland strove, 
 with honest zeal, to remedy the disorders here com- 
 plained of; and the dreadful severity with which he 
 punished offenders against discipline, is well known.
 
 LIFE OF WALLENSTEIN. 135 
 
 On one occasion, no fewer than fifteen soldiers, caiio-lit 
 in the act of plundering, were ordered to be imme- 
 diately executed. Officers were often disgraced, dis- 
 missed, or cashiered with infamy, and their names 
 affixed to public gibbets ; while others, who had fled 
 from justice, were ordered to be brought back dead 
 or alive. 
 
 But at a time when organization and discipline 
 were so imperfect in the imperial, as well as in most 
 other European armies, mere severity could effect 
 little. There was no general chain of responsibility 
 extending through all ranks and gradations, which 
 insured to the commander the punctual execution of 
 his orders in the most distant cantonments, as well 
 as on the most distant points of operation. Such a 
 chain of responsibility can be founded only, on the 
 honour of individuals ; for no commander, however 
 active, upright and vigilant, can possibly watch over 
 the conduct of the thousands placed beneath his rule. 
 He must depend upon others, and when they cease 
 to be faithful, he can only be blamed for employing 
 the unfaithful, and even then only, where better sub- 
 jects may be obtained. The elements necessary to 
 the formation of well-disciplined armies are not to be 
 found at all times and in all countries. We see Chris- 
 tian states of Europe wanting those elements even at 
 this moment : and, at the period of which we are 
 speaking, they were only taking root in Europe, and 
 had taken feeble root in the Catholic countries. 
 
 Those among us who witnessed the campaign in 
 Portugal, and recollect the dreadful cruelties com- 
 mitted by the French army under Masscna, when
 
 136 LIFE OF WALLENSTEIN. 
 
 discipline was already much better understood than 
 it was in the seventeenth century, will pause before 
 they condemn Wallenstein on the report of his ene- 
 mies. The excesses of which, according to Segur, 
 Napoleon's army was guilty, when marching through 
 Lithuania in 1812, — the accounts given of the Rus- 
 sians in Champaign, after the campaign of 1814, — the 
 traditions still extant, of the enormities perpetrated by 
 the troops of the same nation in East Prussia, during 
 the seven years' war, all prove how difficult it is to 
 control masses of men, living by requisition, even 
 when the war-horse is better curbed ; and when the 
 reins of discipline are more firmly grasped in the 
 hands of commanders, than they could have been in 
 the time of Wallenstein. 
 
 The composition of the armies he commanded must 
 also be considered. They did not consist of well paid 
 and well organised mercenaries, ruled by strict disci- 
 pline and military honour ; for the avarice and short- 
 sighted policy of the court of Vienna, generally left 
 them as destitute of money as of supplies; and high 
 professional feeling was little known to the officers. 
 Still less were they patriots, banded together for the 
 defence of a native land ; or enthusiastic champions, 
 called to the field by the resistless voice of religion. 
 No ; they were adventurers from all countries, wan- 
 derers on the face of the earth, who had no home 
 but the camp ; no kindred but their comrades : they 
 were deserters from all armies ; renegados from all 
 religions, avowing but a momentary obedience to the 
 standard which had allured them by the greatest pro- 
 spect of booty : they were men who fought for plun-
 
 LIFE OF WALLENSTEIN. 137 
 
 tier and for the power of oppressing the afflicted 
 countries which the fortune of war placed at their 
 disposal. And it was the employment of such troops ; 
 the giving to such lawless hordes, the mastery over 
 provinces and empires, that caused the Thirty years' 
 War to be so dreadfully fraught with crime and sor- 
 row. 
 
 We know from Wallenstein's letters how strenu- 
 ously he exerted himself to maintain discipline, and 
 to remedy the evils resulting from the ruinous system 
 followed ; but the task was too great for a single hand ; 
 and he was evidently not very successful, for we shall 
 find him using artifice to insure compliance with the 
 most important commands. And when we recollect 
 the well-authenticated rapacity of so many of his prin- 
 cipal officers, and the terrible severity with which he 
 punished every dereliction from discipline that came 
 within his reach, we are strongly tempted to believe 
 that, the very man who, in so many tales of terror, 
 falsehood and folly, has been represented, as a ruth- 
 less and sanguinary barbarian, fell, after all, a victim 
 to his generous zeal in the cause of discipline and hu- 
 manity. He tried to prevent plunder and extortion, 
 and was betrayed to death by those who prospered 
 by such practices. 
 
 There were not wanting persons, about the Em- 
 peror, who represented the danger of dismissing 
 Wallenstein and reducing the army, at the very time 
 when a new storm was gathering in the north. '* It 
 was,'* they said, " an act as ungrateful as it was im- 
 politic, to remove from the command, an officer who 
 Lad rendered such eminent services to the House of
 
 138 LIFE OF WALLENSTEIN. 
 
 Austria. Where was Wallenstein's equal in reputa- 
 tion, and who could replace a chief, the idol of the 
 soldiers ?" " As the general," they continued, " did 
 not receive from the Emperor the sums necessary for 
 the support of the troops, how were the soldiers to be 
 maintained, unless at the expense of the countries in 
 which the war was carried on ? The complaints of 
 the electors were, in reality, directed much more 
 against the Emperor than against the commander ; 
 but not daring openly to attack the sovereign, they 
 contented themselves with attacking the servant." 
 
 The court of Madrid, then very closely connected 
 with the court of Vienna, had, from the first, used 
 all its influence to obtain the removal of Wallenstein 
 from the head of the army. He was too high, and 
 too domineering, for the courtiers and confessors of 
 Philip III. ; had rendered the Emperor more power- 
 ful and independent, than accorded exactly with their 
 wishes ; and as quick to penetrate the views of others, 
 as impenetrable himself, he could hardly fail to be an 
 object of dislike to Spanish statesmen. 
 
 France, for different, but more politic reasons, fol- 
 lowed in the same course. Richelieu was at that 
 moment negotiating his secret treaty with Gustavus 
 Adolphus ; and to deprive the imperial troops of the 
 oeneral who had so often led them to victory, was to 
 deprive them of half their strength, and to give the 
 King of Sweden comparatively free hands. Louis 
 XIII. sent an ambassador to Ratisbon ; ostensibly for 
 the purpose of putting an end to the war which had 
 broken out in Italy, between France and Austria, re- 
 lative to the Duchy of Mantua. But in the minister's
 
 LIFE OF WALLEN STEIN. 139 
 
 train, though in no official capacity, was the celebrated 
 capuchin friar, Father Joseph ; the intimate friend and 
 nominal confessor of Cardinal Richelieu ; who had 
 instructions to press the dismissal of Wallenstein by 
 all the means in his power. Nor could an abler and 
 more artful agent have been selected. " It were 
 well," he said, speaking to the Emperor on the sub- 
 ject, •' to oblige the electors in this trifling matter ; 
 it will help to secure the Roman crown for the King 
 of Hungary j and when the storm shall have passed 
 away, Wallenstein will be ready enough to resume 
 his former station." 
 
 Ferdinand yielded, with a heavy heart, it is said, 
 and protesting before God and man, that he was in- 
 nocent of the mischief which might result from the 
 measure. But feeble and unwarlike sovereigns, are 
 so often jealous of the fame and power acquired by 
 successful commanders, that we may perhaps be al- 
 lowed to doubt the sincerity of the regret expressed 
 by the Emperor on the occasion. In return for this 
 important concession. Father Joseph counteracted the 
 imperial plans so skilfully, that the King of Hungary 
 lost his election ; and the victorious Ferdinand, after 
 sacrificing 30,000 men of his army, and giving up a 
 general who was alone worth an army, had to leave 
 Ratisbon without effecting a single object for which 
 he had called the Diet together. " A worthless 
 friar," he said, " has disarmed me with his rosary, 
 and put six electoral hats into his narrow cowl." 
 
 Wallenstein was at Memmingen, at the head of 
 100,000 men, to whom his will was absolute law, 
 when his dismissal was determined upon at Ratisbon.
 
 140 LIFE OF WALLENSTEIN. 
 
 Two noblemen, Counts Werdenberg and Questen- 
 berg, with whom he had always been on terms of 
 friendship, were dispatched to communicate to him, 
 in the best and most conciliatory manner possible, 
 the resolution which had been adopted ; and to as- 
 sure him, at the same time, of the Emperor's conti- 
 nued friendship, favour and protection. The task 
 was looked upon as one of great delicacy, not alto- 
 jiether free from danajer, and doubts seem to have 
 been entertained, whether the haughty commander 
 would yield implicit obedience, and descend from his 
 " high estate," to the powerless rank of a private 
 individual. " It was singular," men said, " that the 
 Emperor should obey the Electors ; but it would 
 be more singular still, should the General obey the 
 Emperor." 
 
 Always well informed of what was passing at court, 
 the official announcement, of his removal from com- 
 mand, did not take Wallenstein by surprise. He re- 
 ceived the deputies with cheerful politeness ; assured 
 them that the object of their mission was well known 
 to him, as the stars had already foretold it. Then 
 producing an astronomical calculation, " You may 
 observe by the planets," he said, " that the spirit of 
 Maximilian predominates over the spirit of Ferdi- 
 nand : I can attach no blame to the Emperor there- 
 fore, though I regret that he should have given me 
 up so easily : but I shall obey." 
 
 Whether Wallenstein intended to conceal wounded 
 pride, by thus ascribing his removal from command 
 to an authority superior to that of Emperors and 
 Diets J or whether policy made him anxious to im-
 
 LIFE OF WALLENSTEIN. 141 
 
 press on the deputies, that lie harboured no ill-will 
 against Ferdinand, and considered him only as an 
 executive agent of higher decrees, is now uncertain. 
 How far he was the dupe of his own art, or tried to 
 make others the dupes of his artifice, can no longer 
 be decided ; but the anecdote is too well attested to 
 be called into question. 
 
 The imperial messengers, not knowing, perhaps, 
 what the really great man owes to his character, were 
 surprised at the calmness with which the haughty 
 Duke of Friedland received their unwelcome tidings. 
 They expected to witness some low burst of undig- 
 nified anger, and were amazed to find themselves 
 sumptuously treated during their stay at head-quar- 
 ters, and loaded with presents when they took their 
 departure. They were also charged with a letter to 
 the Emperor, in which Wallenstein thanked the sove- 
 reign for all his former fiivours, and only requested 
 that " His Majesty would not lend an ear to the evil 
 reports, that malevolence might spread to his disad- 
 vantage." 
 
 In none of the letters which he writes at this pe- 
 riod, is there the slightest appearance of the hostile 
 or revengeful feeling which he is said to have enter- 
 tained against the Emperor and the House of Austria, 
 On the contrary, he seems to have devoted his whole 
 attention to the improvement of his domains and 
 principalities. " His parks are to be well stocked 
 with game ; his palaces are to be splendidly fur- 
 nished, decorated with pictures; and his gardens to be 
 adorned with grottos and fountains." No sooner had 
 his dismissal from the command been determined up-
 
 142 LIFE OF WALLENSTEIN. 
 
 on, than he writes to Taxis, saying, that he intends 
 to reach Gitchin, his future residence, about the end 
 of October. He desires that a store of " o-ood wine 
 and other necessaries may be laid in, as he proposes to 
 keep a great establishment." The apartments to be 
 prepared for his friends and visitors, are to be ele- 
 gantly furnished ; and hung *' with satin, velvet, or 
 gilt leather tapestry ;" stabling must be provided for 
 about 800 horses, which these visitors will *• bring 
 along with them." 
 
 Having laid down the command of the army, he 
 left Memmingen on the 3d of October, and set out 
 for Gitchin, attended by a large party of friends, fol- 
 lowers and retainers. Why he retired at this time into 
 Bohemia, instead of Mecklenburg, is not very intelli- 
 gible. True it is, that Gustavus Adolphus had land- 
 ed in Pomerania ; but he had not yet approached the 
 confines of Mecklenburg, which it might be supposed 
 could not have been better protected than by its own 
 warlike Duke. The Diet of Ratisbon had, indeed, 
 refused to ratify the imperial grant by which the 
 Duchy was bestowed upon Wallenstein ; but no at- 
 tempt was made to deprive him of its possession j and 
 the Emperor continued, to the last, to style him 
 Duke of Mecklenburg:. 
 
 But if he did not personally exercise the functions 
 of a sovereign, the pomp of a king surrounded him in 
 his retirement. Six gates conducted to the palace 
 which he inhabited at Prague, and a hundred houses 
 were pulled down to enlarge its avenues and ap- 
 proaches. Similar structures were raised on several 
 of his estates ; and Carve tells us that the palace at
 
 LIFE OF WALLENSTEIN. 143 
 
 Sairan would have been one of the wonders of the 
 world, had Wallenstein lived to see it finished. Gen- 
 tlemen of the best families courted the honour of 
 serving him ; and imperial chamberlains resigned 
 office at Vienna to fill the same situation in Wallen- 
 stein's establishment. He had sixty pages who were 
 instructed by the best masters in all polite accom- 
 plishments : and fifty chosen yeomen guarded his 
 halls and ante-rooms. A hundred dishes were every 
 day placed upon his table : a hundred carriages, and 
 fifty led horses followed him when he travelled, and 
 his court accompanied him in sixty state coaches. 
 
 The richness of his liveries, the splendour of his 
 equipages, and the decorations of his halls, were all 
 in keeping with the rest of his state. Six noblemen, 
 and as many knights, were constantly near his person, 
 ready to obey the slightest sign or direction. To 
 keep every noise at a distance, twelve patroles per- 
 formed their regular circuits round his habitation : 
 his ever active mind required stillness ; and he was 
 as silent himself as the avenues that led to his pre- 
 sence. Dark and reserved, he was more sparing of 
 words than of presents, and the littla that he spoke, 
 was uttered in a harsh and unpleasant tone. He 
 seldom laughed ; was a stranger to conviviality ; and 
 the coldness of his temperament rendered him in- 
 accessible to the seduction of the senses. Always 
 occupied in the formation of vast and extensive plans, 
 he shared in none of the empty pleasures with which 
 others cast away the valuable hours of life. A cor- 
 respondence, extending over all Europe, was con- 
 ducted principally by himself j and a great many of
 
 144 LIFE OF WALLENSTEIN. 
 
 the letters written with his own hand, in order that 
 he might be as independent as possible of the fidelity 
 of others. Princes and sovereigns are among his 
 correspondents ; and our own King, Charles I, writes 
 to him in the most friendly terms, and solicits his 
 intercession in favour of the Palatine Elector, Fre- 
 derick V, Charles's brother-in-law. The King of 
 England styles Wallenstein, •' lUiistrissime et cel- 
 sissime princeps amice et consanguine carissime ;'* 
 and says, that *' he is well aware of Wallenstein's 
 great and deserved influence with the Emperor, and 
 how much he is therefore capable of effecting." 
 
 In person, Wallenstein was tall and spare : he had 
 a sallow complexion ; dark hair, and small, but quick, 
 penetrating dark eyes. A cold, stern, even repulsive 
 earnestness, was ever fixed upon his high gloomy 
 brow ; and nothing but his boundless profusion and 
 liberality kept the trembling crowd of attendants 
 around him. 
 
 *' In this ostentatious retirement," says Schiller, 
 " Wallenstein awaited quietly, but not inactively, the 
 hour of glory and the day destined to vengeance. 
 Seni, an Italian astrologer, had read in the stars, that 
 the brilliant career of Friedland was not yet ended ; 
 and it was easy to foresee, without the aid of astro- 
 logy, that an adversary like Gustavus Adolphus, 
 would soon render the services of a general like Wal- 
 lenstein indispensable. Not one of all his lofty pro- 
 jects had been abandoned : the ingratitude of the 
 Emperor had, on the contrary, released him from a 
 galling and oppressive curb. The dazzling brilliancy 
 of his retirement, announced the full altitude of his
 
 LIFE OF WALLENSTEIN. 145 
 
 ambitious projects : and liberal as a monarch, he 
 seemed to look upon his coveted possessions as al- 
 ready within his grasp, and fully at his disposal." 
 
 In none of Wallenstein's letters, — in no document 
 which historians have yet produced, is there the 
 slightest indication to show that he entertained the 
 sentiments of hatred towards the Emperor ; or ever 
 formed those projects of vengeance which have been 
 so universally, and, being without proof, so unjustly 
 ascribed to him. Even Schiller, instead of taking, 
 as a great man should have done, the part of a great 
 man who had been condemned without being con- 
 victed, joined the unworthy cry against Wallenstein. 
 The historian of the Thirty years' War, not satisfied 
 with representing him as a *' mad," " extravagant," 
 and " blood-thirsty tyrant," describes him also as 
 brooding, in his retirement, over dark and dangerous 
 plans of treason, the existence of which, have never 
 yet been established by the slightest shadow of evi- 
 dence J while we shall see the suspected traitor giving 
 Ferdinand the best advice that could possibly have 
 been followed. 
 
 Wallenstein was proud, haughty and ambitious : 
 he had been injured, and treated with ingratitude j 
 and it is unfortunately too congenial to ordinary 
 human nature, to suppose that hatred and plans of 
 revenge would spring up in such a heart in return for 
 such treatment. There are so few men capable of 
 rising above the feelings of resentment occasioned by 
 wounds inflicted on their self-love, so few really able 
 to burst asunder the chains by which the meaner pas- 
 sions of our nature drag us down to earth j that we 
 
 K
 
 146 LIFE OF WALLENSTEIN. 
 
 hasten to condemn as guilty all those who come 
 within the range of suspicion. We are slow to believe, 
 that there are minds capable of rising altogether above 
 injuries, though we cannot deny the existence of such 
 noble pride. 
 
 If, in the present case, for instance, we reason only 
 from what we know, and put merely a liberal, not 
 even a partial, construction on what appears obscure, 
 we shall be forced to confess that the man of whom 
 we are speaking, the accused, condemned and but- 
 chered Wallenstein, whose name and memory have, 
 for two centuries, been loaded with reproach and 
 obloquy, possessed such a mind, and that he was above 
 harbouring, even anger, in return for the ingratitude 
 with which he had been treated. He got no credit 
 indeed, for such disinterestedness ; and from the mo- 
 ment of his dismissal, designs hostile to the Emperor 
 and to the House of Austria were universally ascribed 
 to him. 
 
 On the 21st of February 1631, Tilly writes to him, 
 and " out of friendship and affection," as he says, 
 " sends him some French newspapers, in which it 
 is stated that Gustavus Adolphus had, immediately 
 on landing, dispatched a messenger to the Duke of 
 Friedland, who had been greatly delighted with the 
 King's communication, and had given the messenger 
 a gold chain, in token of his satisfaction." Wallen- 
 stein, in return, thanks Tilly for the information ; 
 and says that " he is not surprised by the reports cir- 
 culated at his expense, such having been the world's 
 good fashion from time immemorial ; and as to the 
 papers, they are amusing to read, though best an-
 
 LIFE OF WALLENSTEIN. 147 
 
 swered by being laughed at. The open and defence- 
 less town of Gitchin," he continues, " situated in 
 the midst of the Austrian dominions, is not a place 
 wherein to form dangerous projects : and I can as- 
 sure your Excellency that I should have presented 
 the Swedish messenger with a very different chain 
 from the one he is said to have received at my hands." 
 To prevent these reports, however, from making an 
 unfavourable impression at court, he forwards the 
 papers to Questenberg, as containing " idle fooleries," 
 and concludes his letter with the Spanish proverb, 
 •' Piensa il ladron, que todos son de su condition *." 
 His aversion to the Swedes we have before noticed : 
 it was not likely to be diminished by the proclamation 
 of Gustavus, calling on the people of Mecklenberg 
 to " arrest or slay all the agents of Wallenstein, as 
 robbers, and enemies to God and the country." 
 
 We now turn with pleasure to the brightest page 
 of our dark history. 
 
 * The rogue believes every man to be of his own stamp. 
 
 K ^
 
 LIFE OF WALLENSTEIN. 149 
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 
 With the landing of Gustavus Adolphus in Ger- 
 many, begins the dawn of a new and a better era. 
 Not only is the fortune of war changed almost imme- 
 diately, the mode of conducting it is changed also, 
 and the voice of humanity is again listened to even 
 amidst the din of arms. Military operations are more 
 concentrated, and bear more directly on the attain- 
 ments of the objects contended for ; so that greater re- 
 sults are produced in the field, while less of suffering 
 is inflicted on the defenceless. For the first time 
 since the decline of the Roman legions, an organ- 
 ised and well-disciplined army appears in Europe ; 
 and the noble character of its leader, gives to its ac- 
 tions an impress of greatness which succeeding ages 
 have confirmed rather than effaced. 
 
 Gustavus Adolphus, on whom friends and foes con- 
 ferred, with one accord, the name of " Great," as- 
 cended the throne of Sweden when only seventeen 
 years of age. Unlike most other young princes, he 
 began his reign by giving peace to his country, which 
 was involved in heavy and expensive wars with Den- 
 mark, Russia and Poland. He made concessions to 
 the Danes, his nearest and most formidable adversa- 
 ries ; availed himself, with wisdom and moderation, 
 of some success achieved against the Russians, and
 
 150 LIFE OF WALLENSTEIN. 
 
 thus gained the friendship of both nations. Having 
 obtained free hands, he directed his attention to the 
 internal affairs of his kingdom, which he administer- 
 ed with great ability, while he concentrated all its 
 military efforts against his cousin, and most inveterate 
 foe, Sigismond, King of Poland ; who claimed the 
 crown of Sweden, as nearest in descent from Gusta- 
 vus Vasa ; though excluded from the throne by his 
 attachment to the Catholic religion. It was during 
 the war occasioned by this disputed succession, a war 
 which had been as often renewed as suspended, that 
 the dangerous progress of the imperial arms, attracted 
 the attention of Gustavus. 
 
 The German princes had been successively de- 
 feated ; their real independence was annihilated, and 
 the King of Denmark, driven from his continental 
 possessions, had been forced to seek shelter within 
 his islands. The Protestant religion, long threaten- 
 ed, was almost proscribed by the Edict of Restitu- 
 tion ; and Wallenstein, at the head of a powerful 
 army, was besieging Stralsund, and fortifying the 
 other German ports of the Baltic. 
 
 This enterprising leader had already assumed the 
 title of imperial admiral on the high seas, and was en- 
 deavouring to form a fleet which could only be des- 
 tined to act against the Scandinavian kingdoms. To 
 these causes for apprehension, insults had been added. 
 Swedish couriers had been intercepted on their way 
 into Transylvania ; Swedish ships had been plunder- 
 ed in the German ports occupied by the imperial 
 troops. Wallenstein had haughtily refused to admit 
 Swedish ambassadors to the Congress of Lubec j and
 
 LIFE OF WALLENSTEIN. lol 
 
 the Emperor continued to withhold from Gustavus, 
 the title of King. 
 
 The hostile dispositions of the court of Vienna 
 were thus sufficiently manifested, and Gustavus soon 
 perceived that just policy and the interest of Sweden, 
 would ultimately force him into the German quarrel: 
 his chivalrous feelings and upright Protestant zeal, 
 also urged him to become the champion of an op- 
 pressed church and people, who, from all quarters, 
 called to him for aid in their affliction. He stated 
 this so clearly in his farewell address to the senate, 
 that we cannot refrain from quoting the closing words 
 of his admirable and affecting speech. " The object 
 of this enterprise," said the great King, in speaking 
 of his expedition, " is to set bounds to the increasing 
 power of a dangerous empire, before all resistance 
 becomes impossible. Your children will not bless 
 your memory, if, instead of civil and religious free- 
 dom, you bequeath to them the superstition of the 
 monks, and the double tyranny of Popes and Em- 
 perors. We must prevent the subjugation of the 
 continent, before we are reduced to depend upon a 
 narrow sea, as the only safeguard of our liberty ; for 
 it is a mere delusion to suppose, that a mighty empire 
 will be unable to raise fleets, wherewith to attack us, 
 if it is once firmly established along the shores of the 
 ocean." It will be long ere the schoolmaster, who 
 is now abroad, shall give us a more valuable lesson. 
 
 Gustavus Adolphus had, as we have seen, sent 
 troops to aid in defending Stralsund, when that place 
 was attacked by the Imperialists. Wallenstein, after 
 the peace of Lubec, had dispatched Arnheim with
 
 152 LIFE OF WALLENSTEIN. 
 
 an army to aid the Poles. Hostilities had thus 
 commenced, though no declaration of war had taken 
 place ; but it was the continuance of the Polish con- 
 test alone, that prevented the King of Sweden from 
 turning the full force of his arms against the Emperor. 
 Cardinal Richelieu had the merit of removing this 
 difficulty. Charnace, a French minister, appeared 
 in Poland, and exerted himself so effectually as me- 
 diator, that a six years' truce, by which the Swedes 
 retained all their conquests, was established between 
 the parties. No actual alliance was yet entered into 
 between France and Sweden. Richelieu, the minis- 
 ter of a Catholic King, and himself a high dignitary 
 of the Church of Rome, could hardly venture, openly 
 to assist a Protestant prince, about to attack a Ca- 
 tholic sovereign : he contented himself, therefore, 
 with promising ample subsidies, in case Gustavus 
 should invade Germany : England made similar pro- 
 mises, and Holland also held out a prospect of support. 
 Thus encouraged, urged on above all by his own 
 gallant spirit, Gustavus embarked his army, and 
 sailed from Elfsnaben in Sweden, with a fleet of 200 
 transports, escorted by sixty ships of war. He landed 
 near Pene-Miinde, in Usedom, on the 24th June 
 1630: exactly a hundred years after the presenta- 
 tion of the Confession of Augsburs:. The Kino- 
 was the first who leaped on shore j and his first act 
 on German ground, was to kneel down and return 
 thanks to God for the protection, which had been 
 vouchsafed to his fleet and army, during the passage. 
 Then turning round, and replying to some remark 
 made on this act of devotion, <' a good Christian,"
 
 LIFE OF WALLENSTEIN. 153 
 
 he said, " can never be a bad soldier ; and the man 
 who has finished his prayers, has already got over the 
 best half of his day's work." These words were im- 
 mediately circulated over Germany ; and were not, 
 perhaps, the worst advanced guard that could have 
 preceded the march of the conqueror. 
 
 Gustavus Adolphus belongs to the class of men, 
 who appear too rarely on the page of history. Well 
 acquainted with the military institutions of the an- 
 cients, he strove, on their model, to render himself 
 independent of the mere power of fortune, which so 
 often decides the fate of battles ; and endowed with 
 a high and inventive genius, he devised a system of 
 tactics, not only superior to the one then in use, but 
 in principle, much superior also, to any which has 
 since been followed. He was the first, so far to do 
 homage to the fatal power of artillery, as to diminish 
 the ranks of the infantry from twelve to six. It was 
 the custom of the period to draw up battalions into 
 large, square, unwieldy masses of mail-clad spearmen, 
 flanked and surrounded by musqueteers, as if to pre- 
 vent the lances from being used against the enemy. 
 These formations Gustavus broke up entirely: he 
 separated the spearmen from the musqueteers, form- 
 ed small divisions of each, so as to render them more 
 moveable, and capable of supporting each other, ac- 
 cording to the actions of their respective weapons. 
 The divisions were so drawn up, that the musqueteers 
 could file out between the intervals of the spearmen, 
 and again flill back, like the Roman velites, through 
 the same intervals, when the parties came to push 
 of pike. The spears were shortened, from 18 to 14
 
 154* LIFE OF WALLENSTEIN. 
 
 feet, and the men relieved from the most cumbrous 
 part of their armour. The matchlocks of the in- 
 fantry, were likewise so much reduced in weight, that 
 the soldiers could dispense with fork q>\ fourquette^ 
 over which the former heavy pieces had alone been 
 fired. 
 
 The system of cavalry tactics was also improved ; 
 and the weight of the cavalry appointments lessen- 
 ed : the men were taught to depend more on the 
 sword than on lire-arms, to which the horsemen of 
 the period so generally resorted. Only a single vol- 
 ley, with pistols, was to be fired by the front rank ; 
 and was to be immediately followed by a sword-in- 
 hand charge, at full speed. These just views of 
 cavalry tactics, accord ill with the received state- 
 ments, that Gustavus mixed infantry with his horse- 
 men, in the manner of the ancients. The Romans, 
 who were bad riders and rode without stirrups, knew 
 nothing of cavalry action, and certainly resorted to 
 such practices ; but Gustavus, who well understood 
 the nature of cavalry action, as certainly did not. 
 That a mixed formation may, on some particular oc- 
 casion, or for some particular purpose, have been 
 adopted, is possible : but as a regular order of battle, 
 it is a contradiction of which the French under Na- 
 poleon, with their slow and heavy masses of cavalry, 
 might have been guilty, but which could never have 
 entered into the head of the gallant King of Sweden. 
 Horsemen tieing themselves down to the movements 
 of infantry, tie their horses' legs, sacrifice all their 
 speed and impetuosity, and cease to be horsemen ; for 
 they are placed on horseback in order to avail them-
 
 LIFE OF WALLENSTEIN. 155 
 
 selves of the speed and strength of the horses. Such 
 a mixed body can neither hurry on from a distance, 
 nor dash in upon the enemy with the full force of 
 cavalry : all that cavalry so situated can effect, is to 
 pursue the enemy, leaving the infantry behind : but 
 then they also leave the infantry behind when they 
 are forced to fly ; and in that case, they leave them 
 to certain destruction. Gustavus knew how to com- 
 bine the action of infantry and cavalry, and the 
 moderns, unable to understand the principle, thought 
 that he mixed up the arms. 
 
 Historians have also asserted, that this great King 
 followed, in his military operations, the course of 
 rivers, though a single look at the map, should have 
 convinced them of the contrary. Had Gustavus fol- 
 lowed the course of rivers, the Elbe must have led 
 him into Bohemia ; whereas he crossed the Elbe, 
 the Rhine, and the Danube, and generally marched 
 on lines diverging as much as possible from the course 
 of those streams. Gustavus followed the inspirations 
 of genius, for which historians looked in vain on their 
 maps. 
 
 Except that both were tall, and that both had high 
 features, no two men could be more dissimilar in 
 manners and appearance, than Wallenstein and Gus- 
 tavus : it might have been said, that nature intended 
 them to be adversaries. We have seen what Wallen- 
 stein was, and must now attempt to sketch his great 
 opponent. 
 
 In person, the King of Sweden was remarkably 
 stout and full chested ; he had a ruddy complexion, 
 blue eyes, light hair, and a pleasing expression of
 
 156 LIFE OF WALLENSTEIN. 
 
 countenance. In character and disposition, he was 
 frank, open-hearted and courteous ; and though 
 temperate himself, a friend of conviviality ; a good 
 speaker; — master of several languages, and rather 
 fond of displaying his oratorial powers. Kind, gene- 
 rous, humane, easy of access, his affability never 
 failed to gain the hearts of all who approached him ; 
 his popularity was therefore universal, and even the 
 enemies of his cause and religion, always avowed the 
 highest respect and admiration for the man. 
 
 Unaffectedly pious, he prayed openly before his 
 troops ; of fiery courage, he was the first to charge 
 at their head on the day of battle ; and the boundless 
 sway which he exercised over the minds of his sol- 
 diers, became, when added to his intrepid temper, 
 the principal cause of his success. It naturally led 
 to the adoption of vigorous and decisive measures : 
 and Alexander and Charles XII. excepted, no great 
 commander seems to have been more fully convinced 
 than Gustavus, that a bold onset in war, is already 
 half the battle. But the very qualities, that almost 
 chained victory to his standard, were ominous of his 
 fate. He had received thirteen wounds, during his 
 early campaigns ; and this generous prince, the ad- 
 miration of his own, and of all succeeding time, died 
 at last, on battle plain, the death of a private soldier. 
 He appeared on the dark scene of the Thirty years* 
 War, as the sun, when it bursts in splendour through 
 a tempestuous sky ; and even as that sun, gilds with 
 its parting beams the stormy clouds around ; so did 
 the lustre of the great King's fame, brighten the 
 black horizon to the last, and throw far aloft the
 
 LIFE OF WALLENSTEIN. 157 
 
 rainbow of hope which continued to animate his fol- 
 lowers, long after his gallant course was closed for 
 ever. 
 
 The small army with which Gustavus Adolphus 
 landed in Germany, forms a singular feature in his 
 history ; for it now appears, from certain documents, 
 that he brought only 13,000 men along with him. 
 David Leslie occupied Stralsund and lliigen, with 
 6000 more, making a total of less than 20,000 men : 
 a force which the genius of its leader could alone 
 render equal to the task of assailing the combined 
 power of Spain, Austria and Catholic Germany. 
 
 The Swedish Chancellor Oxenstiern, who, at times, 
 acted both as general and minister, was indeed, sta- 
 tioned in East-Prussia, wiih some 8000 men ; but 
 these were only new-raised troops, intended for the 
 protection of the lately conquered provinces, and 
 could not be looked upon as disposable. Sweden 
 must have been a very thinly peopled country at the 
 period, for even this small force was, in a great mea- 
 sure, composed of foreigners, principally Germans and 
 British. In his third campaign, Gustavus had un- 
 der his command, of British alone, mostly Scotch, 
 6 generals, 30 colonels, 51 lieutenant-colonels and 
 10,000 men : a number sufficient to entitle Britain 
 to a fair proportion of the honour acquired. But 
 though the soldiers of the Swedish army were natives 
 of very diffiirent countries, they were moulded into 
 one united body by habits of discipline, and ani- 
 mated by one spirit. From the very first, they ac- 
 quired the most decided superiority over the Impe- 
 rialists ; who, completely disorganised by their crimes
 
 158 LIFE OF WALLENSTEIN. 
 
 and excesses, had degenerated from soldiers into 
 mere robbers. Forced to fly before the Swedes, the 
 stragglers from these dishonoured bands were slain, 
 without mercy, by the exasperated peasantry when- 
 ever they could be set upon with advantage. 
 
 Gustavus had studied Quintus Curtius too atten- 
 tively, not to extend himself, like Alexander, along 
 the coast before he penetrated into the interior of the 
 country. This accomplished soldier, evidently un- 
 derstood the vast importance of establishing a just 
 basis of operation ; the very first rule of strategy, and 
 one of the many of which the moderns have been so 
 strangely ignorant. He began by taking Wolgast, 
 then Camin ; he next cleared the island of Wollin, 
 and advanced towards Stetin, where he forced the 
 unwilling Duke of Pomerania, to accept his proffered 
 friendship and alliance. " Who is not with us," said 
 Gustavus, " is against us." The Duke had, there- 
 fore, nothing left but to yield, and dispatch a courier 
 to Vienna to excuse his conduct on the plea of neces- 
 sity. The Emperor, in return, sent orders for his 
 generals to ravage the country ; a task they had not 
 waited for instructions to execute. While the Impe- 
 rialists were plundering, Gustavus was conquering ; 
 and as most of the German towns were fortified at 
 the time, the campaign was a succession of sieges, of 
 which, we shall only give a general sketch, to pre- 
 vent the necessity of describing them in detail. 
 
 The approaches were usually made under cover of 
 the suburbs ; and if these were burnt down, the ruins 
 still facilitated the advances. The Swedish soldiers 
 were quick at the spade and axe, as all good soldiers
 
 LIFE OF WALLENSTEIN. 159 
 
 should be : they soon covered themselves, and then 
 protected their works by palisaded redoubts. In 
 the first campaigns they knew not how to connect 
 the zig-zags by parallels, though they were ultimately 
 the first to fall upon the discovery. In general, the 
 towns were only surrounded by old walls, flanked 
 with towers : these defences were too high to be 
 easily escaladed ; but as they were mostly built of 
 brick, it was not difficult to batter them down. 
 
 When a breach was formed, the ditch was either 
 filled up or passed on rafts, as the towers could not 
 throw out a sufficient flanking fire to prevent the pro- 
 gress of such operations. In many cases the gates were 
 burst open with petards, and entered sword-in-hand. 
 The garrisons of places taken in this manner were 
 not always, as a matter of course, put to the sword. 
 The profession of arms began to be a regular trade, 
 the members of which, had a sort of fellow-feeling for 
 each other, and were sometimes willing to show the 
 mercy they might in turn have occasion to solicit. 
 Such fits of humanity were not, however, of every-day 
 occurrence, and depended a good deal on the charac- 
 ter and influence of the officers who led the attacks. 
 When a town capitulated, it was usual for the victors 
 to call out to the garrison, as they filed past, " Who 
 will take service ?" and it was not uncommon for the 
 entire party to accept the invitation ; numbers almost 
 invariably did so : nor do we see any acts of severity 
 exercised against them when retaken. Sometimes 
 all the prisoners were forced to enter the ranks of the 
 conquerors, and at Steinau, Wallenstein augmented 
 his army by the whole force which he had captured.
 
 160 LIFE OF WALLENSTEIN. 
 
 Frederick II. afterwards did the same with the 
 Saxon army that capitulated at Pirna. From these 
 courtesies, the Croats were however exchided : they 
 were always cut down as heathen barbarians. Du- 
 ring the Pomeranian campaign, the Swedes also cut 
 down most of the Italians that fell into their hands, 
 owing to the treacherous attempt, made on the King's 
 life, by some Italian officers. 
 
 Places of greater strength and more regularly for- 
 tified required, of course, to be more regularly at- 
 tacked. But even the most difficult of these sieges 
 were in a great degree facilitated by the very heavy 
 artillery with which the armies of the period encum- 
 bered themselves j for both Swedes and Imperialists 
 dragged twenty-four pounders along with them in 
 the field. The light artillery was, on the other hand, 
 extremely light : the falconet, the lightest, carrying 
 only a two-pound ball. It would now appear that 
 none of the leather ordnance which Gustavus had 
 used during the earlier campaigns, were, as historians 
 assert, brought to Germany. The guns of the Swe- 
 dish light artillery consisted, besides falconets, of four, 
 six and twelve pounders, constructed upon a new 
 and improved principle, by a Scotch gentleman of 
 the name of Hamilton : these guns continued to be 
 used in the French army down to the year I78O, under 
 the name of pieces Suedoises. 
 
 The misfortune which about this time, befell a de- 
 tachment of 700 Scotch soldiers, under the command 
 of Colonel Robert Monroe, deserves to be recorded, 
 as it shews what courage and resolution can effect 
 even in situations that appear hopeless. These
 
 LIFE OF WALLENSTEIN. l6l 
 
 brave men, while on their voyage to join the King's 
 army, were shipwrecked near Riigenwalde, and lost 
 every thing except their swords, lances, and about 
 ten wet muskets. Thrown destitute upon an inhoii- 
 pitable coast, in the midst of the enemy's quarters, 
 and distant at least eighty miles, from the nearest 
 Swedish post, their ruin seemed inevitable. But 
 bold men find resources where others see only de- 
 struction. 
 
 Colonel Monroe, instead of awaiting, on the open 
 beach, the prepared attack of the Imperialists, was 
 before-hand with them. Pie surprised the town of 
 Riigenwalde, during the night, and afterwards de- 
 fended it for nine weeks, against all the attempts of 
 the enemy. At the expiration of that time he was 
 relieved by his countryman, Colonel Hepburn ; to 
 distinguish himself again at the blockade of Colberg. 
 This important place having been reduced, almost 
 to extremity, by the Swedes, the imperial general 
 Montecucoli, the same who afterwards acquired so 
 much fame as the opponent and rival of Turenne, 
 was dispatched to its relief at the head of 10,000 men. 
 As soon as the direction of his march became known, 
 Monroe, with some companies of Scottish infantry, 
 took post at Schevelin on the Rega, a small town 
 through which the Imperialists had to pass. Mon- 
 tecucoli surrounded the place and summoned the gar- 
 rison to surrender. " My instructions contain no 
 mention of capitulation," replied Monroe, and con- 
 tinued the defence. A sharp assault followed. The 
 Scots, unable to defend the town, set it on fire and 
 retired into the castle, which they maintained so reso- 
 
 L
 
 162 LIFE OF WALLENSTEIN. 
 
 lutely, that Montecucoli was forced to raise the siege 
 and change the direction of his march. The future 
 rival of Turenne having lost both time and men, be- 
 fore an old ruinous castle, was unable to relieve Col- 
 berg, which surrendered shortly afterwards. 
 
 Though winter had arrived, it arrested not the 
 progress of Gustavus. The Austrians proposed, in- 
 deed, a cessation of arms, in order that the troops 
 might be placed in winter quarters : the King, how- 
 ever, would listen to no arrangement of the kind. 
 ♦' The Austrians," he said, *' may do as they please ; 
 but the Swedes are soldiers in winter as well as in 
 summer :" an assertion he fully justified, by some 
 very gallant actions performed notwithstanding the 
 rigour of the season. This continued success, at last, 
 emboldened Richelieu to enter into an open and regu- 
 lar alliance with him. France agreed to pay a subsidy 
 of 400,000 crowns a year ; and Gustavus promised, 
 on his part, to maintain an army of 35,000 men in 
 Germany. Some little difference took place on this 
 occasion between Gustavus and Charnace. The 
 French ambassador insisted, that, in the treaty, the 
 King of France should take precedence of the King 
 of Sweden, and that his name should always be men- 
 tioned first. *' Merit alone gives precedence among 
 Kings," said Gustavus indignantly, and refused to 
 grant the slightest concession. England contributed 
 also, at this time, L.108,000 towards the expenses of 
 the war ; so that the King was enabled to give his 
 soldiers a handsome gratuity, over and above their 
 usual pay, which, compared to the starving allowances 
 granted to modern soldiers, was very considerable.
 
 LIFE OF WALLENSTEIN. IGS 
 
 The landing of the Swedes had excited little or 
 no apprehension at Vienna. The imperial ministers, 
 accustomed to success, thought the Emperor invinci- 
 ble, and treated the invasion lightly : the courtiers 
 even exercised their wit on the subject, and called 
 Gustavus, a " King of snow, held together by the 
 frost of the north, who would soon melt under the 
 influence of a southern sun." But as these jests did 
 not arrest the progress of the invaders, it became 
 necessary, after the dismissal of Wallenstein, to ap- 
 point a new general-in-chief, in order to unite all 
 the scattered forces of the Emperor and the League. 
 Maximilian of Bavaria, and the King of Hungary 
 were both candidates for this high office : the fears 
 of the court of Vienna excluded the first, and the 
 jealousy of Maximilian, the second, so that the choice 
 fell ultimately on Tilly, who exchanged the Bavarian 
 for the imperial service. 
 
 This general, who could boast that he had never 
 lost one of the six and thirty actions in which he had 
 commanded, was born in 1559 at Tilly, in the county 
 of Liege, and was descended from an ancient Walloon 
 family. He first served in the Netherlands against 
 the revolted Flemings, and afterwards under the 
 Emperor Radolph in Hungary, where he rose rapidly 
 from one station to another. On the conclusion of 
 the peace in that quarter, the Elector of Bavaria ap- 
 pointed him to the command of the Bavarian army ; 
 and it was to the skill and ability which Tilly dis- 
 played in this capacity, that Maximilian's superiority 
 in the field was principally due. He was an ancho- 
 rite in temperance, and though moderate and disin- 
 
 L 2
 
 164 LIFE OF WALLENSTEIN. 
 
 terested, when compared to Wallenstein, he was, like 
 him, accused of being cruel and severe ; and there is 
 too much reason to fear, that the accusation is not 
 without foundation. His fidelity to his sovereign, 
 and his devotion to his church, were boundless and 
 unshaken : but the religion of Christ was with him, as 
 with so many men of the period, a persecuting creed, 
 rather than a creed commanding charity and universal 
 benevolence. Educated by the Jesuits, and trained in 
 the exterminating wars of the Netherlands, — carried 
 on at first, by executioners rather than soldiers, — his 
 intolerant zeal and dark fanaticism, rendered him the 
 terror of Protestant Germany. On the other hand, 
 many traits of generosity are related of him : his 
 courage was of the highest order, and his word was 
 always sacred. His military and political talents 
 were never disputed ; and he more than once gave 
 advice, which, if followed, might, perhaps, have re- 
 stored peace to Germany. 
 
 As it was Wallenstein's wish to lead the army 
 against the Turks, so it was the wish of Tilly to lead 
 them against the people of Holland. Both may have 
 been influenced by the force of early impressions ; or 
 the first may, in accordance with his character, have 
 looked for power, spoil and renown, in contending 
 against the Osmanli, the wealthiest and bravest ene- 
 mies of Christian Europe ; while the second, in his 
 high notions of legitimacy, would deem the suppres- 
 sion of heresy and rebellion, the most glorious ser- 
 vices that could be rendered to God and his sove- 
 reign. Tilly must ever be considered as one of the 
 most remarkable men of his age ; but he was not,
 
 LIFE OF WALLENSTEIN. l65 
 
 like Wallenstein and Gustavus, capable of raising 
 himself above the age. His personal appearance 
 corresponded with his gloomy disposition. He was 
 of short stature, very meagre ; had sunk cheeks, a 
 long nose and pointed chin ; his eyes were large and 
 dark, and he had a broad, wrinkled forehead. In 
 dress he was equally singular : he wore a green silk 
 coat with slajjhed sleeves ; a narrow brimmed, high, 
 conical hat, surmounted by a red ostrich feather, that 
 fell down over his back. His image associated itself, 
 in the minds of beholders, with the idea of the too- 
 celebrated Duke of Alba ; and his actions were fiir 
 indeed from removing the impression his appearance 
 created. 
 
 Driven out of Pomerania, the imperial troops 
 sought shelter in the Duchy of Brandenburg, where 
 their excesses were such, that the Elector, who had 
 no men to defend his country, was forced to issue a 
 proclamation, ordering his subjects to repel force by 
 force, and slay every imperial soldier taken in the act 
 of plundering. Yet such was the dread still enter- 
 tained of the Emperor, that the Elector, even in this 
 extremity, declined forming an alliance with Gusta- 
 vus, and requested permission to remain neutral, at 
 the very moment when the Imperialists were in full 
 possession of his country, and directing all its acces- 
 sible resources against the Swedes. 
 
 From the first moment of his arrival, the Protes- 
 tant people of Germany, every where received Gus* 
 tavus with boundless, in many places with extrava- 
 gant, demonstrations of joy ; but, strange to say, 
 not one of the oppressed Protestant princes dared to
 
 16G LIFE OF WALLEN STEIN. 
 
 join him till victory had declared in his favour. 
 Caution is, no doubt, a commendable quality in so- 
 vereigns ; but the enthusiasm displayed by the sub- 
 jects, on this occasion, will, we suspect, be far more 
 admired than the wariness of their superiors. 
 
 The heavy penalties men have paid for their timi- 
 dity, and that of their rulers, exceed in amount, per- 
 haps, what they have had to pay for all the other 
 errors committed by nations or governments. It is 
 seldom that we see kings or senates avoiding the 
 timid paths which have led others to destruction, and 
 boldly following up, through danger if necessary, a 
 direct and manly line of honourable and profitable 
 policy. There have been unprincipled and aggres- 
 sive kings, as well as unprincipled and aggressive 
 republics ; but few have kept the middle course, and 
 refrained alike from oppressing the weak, or bend- 
 ing to the strong. On the contrary, fear makes 
 them ingenious in self-deception, and they adopt, 
 from cowardice, unwise, as well as unworthy mea- 
 sures, which sophistry represents as the dictates of 
 absolute wisdom, and of fearless liberality. History 
 shews, from first to last, how certain of ruin it is, to 
 yield a single step, to grasping and powerful ambi- 
 tion, in the vain hope of courting safety by submis- 
 sion. And yet is there hardly an instance recorded 
 of men having cordially joined, hand in hand, to 
 meet threatened danger while it could be opposed to 
 advantage. They have sometimes been driven to 
 resistance by excess of tyranny, and have occasion- 
 ally thrown off the yoke of oppression ; but they have 
 been more frequently crushed : their subjugation be-
 
 LIFE OF WALLENSTEIN. 16? 
 
 ittg as often due to their own dissensions, as to the 
 force of the aggressor. 
 
 Grecian armies accompanied the first Persian in- 
 vaders of Greece ; and it was the want of union 
 among the states of Greece, which, at a later period, 
 enabled the Macedonians to subdue the country. 
 The next page of the same history, shews us the 
 second Philip, doubting and delaying, till Hannibal 
 and the Carthagenians had fallen before the power 
 of the Romans j and then receiving on the heights 
 of Cenocephalae a tardy lesson in political wisdom. 
 Turn but the page, and we see the Achaians, called 
 the wise, joining the Romans, whom they feared 
 and hated, against the Macedonians, whom they 
 loved and cherished. On the very same page we 
 see the deserters from the cause of honour and of 
 patriotism, receiving, in the fields of Leucopetra, the 
 well-merited reward of their baseness. It was even 
 so at the period of which this volume treats. The 
 German princes first left the unfortunate Frederick 
 without support : they next abandoned Christian of 
 Denmark : nor could the tyranny and oppression of 
 the court of Vienna drive them into an alliance with 
 Gustavus, till their lands and subjects had suffered 
 countless evils, and till victory had rendered the 
 Swedes masters of the field. 
 
 If we have acquired any wisdom from these monitory 
 examples, it must have come upon us very lately in^ 
 deed. During an entire generation, Europe was de- 
 luged with the blood of her bravest sons, owing to the 
 weakness and want of foresight displayed by timid 
 rulers and trembling nations J for in modern times
 
 168 LIFE OF WALLENSTEIN. 
 
 nations have governed kings, perhaps, as much as 
 kings have governed nations. To pass over the first 
 coalition against republican France, dissolved after a 
 few unsuccessful skirmishes, let us come down to the 
 year 1805, when imperial France, giving laws to the 
 trembling governments of Spain, Italy and Portugal, 
 already threatened the independence of Europe. We 
 first see Prussia, blind to her own danger, looking 
 tamely on, when Austria was humbled in the field of 
 Austerlitz. In the following year Prussia was over- 
 thrown at Jena, while Austria remained a tame 
 spectator of the contest : an obligation that Prussia 
 repaid in 1809, when the power of Austria was 
 broken at the battle of Wagram ; where a few squa- 
 drons would almost have chansjed the fate of the war. 
 The consequence was, that in 1812 both powers were 
 forced to march, like vassals, in the train of the con- 
 queror, to attack the very country from which they 
 expected aid and relief. 
 
 It was not till the hand which directs the storm, 
 had paralysed the mighty in his career, and strewed 
 the frozen plains of Russia with the bones of uncon- 
 quered armies, that the great in their generation 
 arose in wisdom. When the danger was looked 
 upon as over, and the spoil only to be shared, then 
 were the nations of Europe enlightened to that in- 
 terest to which they had before been so blind. The 
 same want of foresight and union afterwards showed 
 itself at the Congress of Vienna, when Poland was 
 sacrificed to the ambition of Russia ; it was again 
 seen in 1828, when the interest of Europe called 
 loudly and vainly for the defence of Turkey. Future
 
 LIFE OF WALLENSTEIN. 169 
 
 events must tell, what the world will have to pay for 
 this last act of false and feeble policy. Let us now 
 show some of the results brought about by the timid 
 spirit of which we have been speaking. 
 
 While Tilly was collecting the imperial armies and 
 preparing to advance against Gustavus, the Elector 
 of Saxony called a meeting of the Protestant princes ; 
 who assembled at Leipzig in February l63L This 
 congress is very remarkable, as showing, not what 
 men can do, but what they are capable of omitting ; 
 for at the very moment when the fate of the Protes- 
 tant religion and of the yet remaining liberties of Ger- 
 many were about to be decided in the field, the Pro- 
 testant princes, and the ambassadors from a number 
 of free towns, met in very sober conclave, not to adopt 
 resolute measures, but to draw up humble and respect- 
 ful memorials. They deliberated when they should 
 have acted ; and instead of raising armies capable of 
 giving effect to their representations, expended much 
 learning and eloquence in making clear their griev- 
 ances, which could only be redressed, as they had 
 been inflicted, — sword in hand. The consequence 
 was, that the Emperor declared the meeting unlaw- 
 ful ; refused to comply with its requests, and ordered 
 the members to disperse. No mention was made of 
 the King of Sweden at this congress, nor was his 
 ambassador, Chemnitz the historian, admitted to a 
 hearing. Fortune soon atoned to Gustavus for the 
 slight attempted to be put upon him by an assembly 
 against which the voice of humanity charged the 
 dreadful catastrophe we shall presently have to relate. 
 
 Tilly had advanced into Pomerania at the head of
 
 170 LIFE OF WALLENSTEIN. 
 
 a powerful army ; but finding the King's post atSvvedt 
 unassailable, he left a strong force at Frankfurt on 
 the Oder, and then proceeded towards Magdeburg, 
 which had openly declared in Aivour of the Swedes. 
 All this was strategically correct. On his way, the 
 imperial commander took the small town of New- 
 Brandenburg, which was defended by the Swedish 
 General Kniphausen, with a garrison of 2000, one 
 half of whom were Scotchmen. 
 
 Military history is as valuable and instructive, 
 when so related as to give a clear and just view of the 
 events described, as it is useless and unprofitable when 
 it merely tells of results without explaining the causes 
 by which they were produced. Campaign after cam- 
 pain is fought and recorded in this manner, without 
 furnishing a single lesson worth preserving ; so that 
 we may generally say of it, 
 
 " What boots the oft-repeated tale of strife, 
 The feast of vultures, and the waste of life," 
 
 since the perusal leaves us as ignorant of professional 
 principles at the close of the volume, as we were at 
 the opening. And yet will the capture and defence 
 of the small, and unimportant town of New-Branden- 
 burg present us with two important lessons that 
 should never be overlooked. The place was only sur- 
 rounded by an old wall, and a moat nearly half filled 
 up, and the artillery consisted of two falconets, or 
 two-pounders, which the garrison had brought along 
 with them. Resistance against a whole army, pro- 
 vided with an efficient battering train, seemed alto- 
 gether hopeless ; but Kniphausen expected to be re-
 
 LIFE OF WALLENSTEIN. 171 
 
 lieved, and held out. He defended the town suc- 
 cessfully for eight days ; on the ninth, three wide 
 breaches having been opened, he was for the second 
 time summoned to surrender, and was advised to do 
 so by the officers of the garrison. In reply, he pro- 
 duced a letter from the King, containing a promise 
 of relief, with an order to defend the place to the last 
 extremity. Men and officers submitted without a 
 murmur : they all, successively, took the sacrament 
 in the different churches, which, from the commence- 
 ment of the siege, had been crowded with the towns- 
 people, imploring grace and protection ; and then re- 
 paired to their posts, resolved to perform their duty 
 to the utmost. After a repetition of fierce assaults, 
 the place was entered, and the assailants, exasperated 
 by the loss of more than 2000 men, put the garrison 
 to the sword. Kniphausen, his wife and daughter, 
 and about 50 soldiers only escaped. In the old town- 
 records, from which this statement is taken, and which 
 give an afflicting account of the cruelty exercised to- 
 wards the citizens, a Scotch nobleman, called Earl 
 Lintz, is mentioned as having defended his post, long 
 after all other resistance had ceased : the strange and 
 unknown title, gives us an opportunity of relating a 
 gallant action, which we might not otherwise per- 
 haps have been allowed to bring forward. 
 
 This nine days' defence of an old rampart without 
 artillery, proves how much determined soldiers can 
 effect behind stone walls ; and is exceedingly valuable 
 in an age that has seen first-rate fortresses, fully 
 armed, surrender before any part of the works had 
 been injured, often indeed at the very first summons.
 
 172 LIFE OF WALLENSTEIN. 
 
 It must further be mentioned, that an order had 
 been dispatched to Kniphausen, subsequent to the 
 one on which he acted, directing him to evacuate the 
 town on the approach of Tilly, and not to expose the 
 garrison to an unequal contest. This order miscarried, 
 and the neglect caused ^000 brave men to be useless- 
 ly sacrificed ; shewing, for the thousandth time, what 
 terrible consequences the slightest errors may pro- 
 duce in the danserous and difficult business of war. 
 And yet, with this knowledge fully before us, mili- 
 tary rank is still sold in the British army : and staff 
 appointments are given, according to the interest of 
 the parties ; though we here see how easily thousands 
 may be sacrificed by a little neglect or inability, on 
 the part of an adjutant or quarter-master-general. 
 
 While these operations were in progress, Wallen- 
 stein, who had already lost his Duchy of Mecklen- 
 burg by the events of the war, conceived a project 
 that evinced great political sagacity ; and would have 
 been worth whole armies to the Emperor, had it been 
 duly followed up. He proposed to gain over to the 
 imperial cause, no less an ally than the King of Den- 
 mark J who, by means of his fleet, was master of the 
 Baltic. This bold plan, if carried into effect, would 
 have raised up a new enemy in the very rear of the 
 Swedish army ; and would not only have threatened 
 their communication with the north of Germany, but 
 with Sweden itself, and must certainly have prevent- 
 ed their advance into the empire. With this clever 
 project, Wallenstein sent his chamberlain, Colonel 
 Brenner, to Vienna, where the suggestion was most 
 gladly received. Ferdinand was as much pleased
 
 LIFE OF WALLENSTEIN. 17^ 
 
 with the proposal, as with the quarter from whence it 
 came ; for it convinced him, that the deeply-wrong- 
 ed Wallenstein was above allowing personal injuries 
 to influence his conduct, when the cause of his coun- 
 try was concerned. In the joy of his heart, he wrote 
 to Wallenstein with his own hand, before the minis- 
 ters could dispatch the official answer. He fully 
 approved of the Duke's proposal, requested him to 
 carry on the negotiation with his usual " dexterity," 
 though, at first, in his own name only : and conclu- 
 ded, by expressing himself " delighted to find that his 
 dear friend did not forsake him in the hour of diffi- 
 culty." Not satisfied with this, he immediately after- 
 wards invited the dismissed general to Vienna, as 
 «' he wished to consult him on various important 
 points concerning the war, as well as on other matters 
 of public interest :" he also asked his opinion about 
 a corps of 10,000 men which a Count Palatine had 
 proposed to raise. 
 
 Wallenstein never went to Vienna, alleging illness 
 as the cause of declining the invitation ; but it is said 
 that he was afraid of not being treated as Duke of 
 Mecklenburg, though always addressed as such by 
 the Emperor. But, though he did not visit the 
 capital, he entered with great spirit into the Danish 
 negotiation. The favourable terms, so unexpectedly 
 granted to Denmark by the treaty of Lubeck, had 
 established a good understanding between Wallen- 
 stein and the King, of which the former now availed 
 himself with considerable ability. He represented 
 how prejudicial to Denmark the rapidly augmenting 
 power of Sweden might become, and recommended
 
 174 LIFE OF WALLENSTEIN. 
 
 that Christian should join the Emperor, the King 
 of Spain and the House of Austria, in time to arrest 
 the progress of this dangerous enemy. Christian IV. 
 lent a willing ear to the proposal. 
 
 If we could always follow to their sources the 
 leadino; events of the world, how much of what is 
 deemed greatness and glory, to say nothing of sor- 
 row and evil, might not be traced to impure springs : 
 how much to the spirit of envy alone, which spreads 
 its poisoning influence through the whole frame of 
 society. In love, in commerce, in all the subordi- 
 nate pursuits of life, its power is constantly seen ; its 
 far extended sway is exhibited in the countenances 
 of thousands. It shines through the smile of the 
 courtier, and is as little concealed by the assumed 
 sternness of the soldier, as by the vapid and unmean- 
 ing coldness affected by the man of fashion. In 
 war, in politics, and in the government of empires, 
 its influence is felt. Where virtue and patriotism 
 have produced one honest reformer, malignant envy 
 has produced a thousand. How often are men of 
 merit arrested in mid career, by the jealousy of their 
 superiors : how often are the most gifted individuals 
 prevented, by the same cause, from serving their 
 country in situations in which their talents might be 
 of the greatest advantage ; while feeble and incapable 
 men are committing, perhaps, irremediable follies. 
 Thrones are not above the reach of the noxious va- 
 pour, and even the kings of the earth are liable to 
 the fatal conta<xion. Christian IV. was a wise and 
 able prince : his reign had, in many respects, been 
 glorious to himself and beneficial to his people : yet
 
 LIFE OF WALLENSTEIN. 175 
 
 was he willing to risk the peace of his country, and 
 sacrifice the interest of his religion ; the very religion 
 for which he had fought with honour, if not success, 
 to the mere workings of that jealousy, which the 
 growing fame of the King of Sweden excited in 
 his breast. 
 
 On the receipt of Wallenstein's letter, he sent 
 Colonel Oynhausen to Gitchin, " there to treat con- 
 fidentially on various matters with the Duke of 
 Mecklenburg and Sagan." Wallenstein immediately 
 communicated to the Duke of Eggenburg the nature 
 of the Danish proposals. Christian, after expressing 
 the greatest affection for the House of Austria in 
 general, and for the Emperor in particular, agreed 
 to join them, on condition of receiving, as a reward 
 for his exertions, the bishoprics of Bremen and 
 Verden. These bishoprics had been taken from the 
 Protestants by the Edict of Restitution ; and Ferdi- 
 nand's conscience would not allow him to replace 
 them in the hands of heretics ; particularly, since the 
 Pope had conferred them on his second son, the 
 Archduke Leopold. While this point was negotia- 
 ting, the Swedes took the bishoprics, and settled the 
 point of conscience, so that other compensations had 
 to be proposed. The Emperor suggested, that the 
 Danes should receive part of Wallenstein's Duchy of 
 Mecklenburg, for which the latter was to be repaid 
 in money : the ministers also recommended in their 
 letters, that the King should be *' flattered with the 
 prospect " of obtaining other conquered provinces. 
 The treaty was really so far advanced, as only to re- 
 quire the Emperor's signature, but it was never rati-
 
 176 LIFE OF WALLENSTEIN. 
 
 fied ; though for what cause we do not learn. It 
 required, no doubt, some time to arrange the details, 
 and Wallenstein had probably been appointed to the 
 command of the army, before the diplomatists were 
 ready with their parchments ; and once at the head 
 of a gallant host, the proudest of men might not, per- 
 haps, be willing to share, even with a king, the ho- 
 nours and the conquests he expected to achieve. 
 
 It is particularly necessary to notice this Danish 
 negotiation, as the very act which the Emperor had 
 approved and encouraged, was charged *' as a secret 
 practice," against Wallenstein in the official state- 
 ment afterwards published by the court of Vienna. 
 The treasonable correspondence, which, in the same 
 document, he is accused of having carried on with 
 Gustavus Adolphus, is also placed at this period ; at 
 the very period when he was striving to call up a 
 champion, whose first appearance in the lists, must 
 have been ruinous to the interests of the Swedish 
 monarch. It is not easy to acquit the imperial 
 Cabinet of unfair dealing in this transaction ; for 
 they had all the papers relative to this Danish nego- 
 tiation under their hands, when they drew up their 
 charges against the Duke of Friedland.
 
 LIFE OF WALLENSTEIN. 177 
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 
 GusTAVus Adolphus seems not to have suspected 
 this threatening negociation ; for Tilly had no sooner 
 withdrawn from the banks of the Oder, than he 
 broke up his camp and advanced towards Frankfurt. 
 The town was large and ill fortified ; but defended 
 by 8000 men ; an army rather than a garrison. Some 
 taunting insults offered by the Imperialists, and the 
 general spirit of the Swedish troops, occasioned the 
 first investment to be turned into an immediate 
 assault. The place was carried, sword in hand, and 
 between two and three thousand of the garrison cut 
 down ; vast numbers perished in the Oder j few 
 escaped, as the bridge was blocked up by carts and 
 waggons, and still fewer received quarter. " New- 
 Brandenburg quarter" was the reply given to every 
 man who implored mercy ; and the enraged soldier 
 thought himself justified in imitating the very bar- 
 barity which he was condemning in others. 
 
 The town having been first plundered by the Im- 
 perialists, was again plundered by the Swedes : the 
 usual fate of towns and nations that are morally or 
 physically too feeble to defend themselves. It is 
 afflicting to find our countrymen already fighting 
 against each other on this occasion. The Scottish 
 troops in the Swedish army, took an active part in 
 
 M
 
 178 LIFE OF WALLENSTEIN. 
 
 this assault ; and among the defenders was an Irish 
 regiment, in which served the infamous Walter But- 
 ler, of whom we shall see too much hereafter. This 
 corps is said to have fought with peculiar gallantry ; 
 and it is generally asserted, that the attack would 
 have failed, had the rest of the garrison behaved with 
 equal bravery. 
 
 Tilly was already on the inarch to relieve Frank- 
 furt ; but when he heard of its capture, he turned 
 again, and began the siege of Magdeburg in form. 
 The place was extensive, but not strong ; and the 
 citizens were unfortunately better economists than 
 soldiers. They thought the storm would blow over, 
 as it had done before ; or that it would be time enough 
 to take precautionary measures when the enemy were 
 at the gates. The King of Sweden had sent Colonel 
 Falkenberg, an experienced engineer, to assist them ; 
 but no persuasion could induce them to advance 
 money for the purpose of raising troops, though the 
 garrison consisted of only 2000 infantry and 200 
 cavalry ; a number totally inadequate to the defence 
 of the extensive works. The citizens performed, in- 
 deed, military duty, but they performed it more like 
 civilians than like soldiers. The rich thous^ht them- 
 selves exempted from attendance, provided they sent 
 their servants to the ramparts j and the middle classes 
 objected to serve along with menials j so that the 
 number of defenders diminished daily. It was also 
 said that the Imperialists had friends and adherents in 
 the city, and even in the senate. 
 
 These insufficient means caused the strong and ex- 
 tensive outworks to be abandoned as soon as they were
 
 LIFE OF WALLENSTEIN. 179 
 
 seriously attacked ; and the besieged found themselves 
 reduced to the defence of the inner wall, without 
 being able to maintain even the covered way. The 
 Imperialists quickly availed themselves of the advan- 
 tages offered, and erected batteries on the crown of 
 the glacis : several breaches were opened ; but as the 
 passage of the ditch had not been effected, owing to 
 the fire of the besieged, they were not deemed very 
 accessible, and Tilly had doubts of the result. Pap- 
 penheim*s impetuosity overcame his scruples, and a 
 general assault was determined upon ; but not before 
 the citizens had been lulled into security by the pre- 
 tended retreat of the besiegers. 
 
 On the ninth of May, the fire of the imperial 
 artillery suddenly ceased j the guns were withdrawn 
 from the batteries ; an unusual silence prevailed in 
 camp ; and every thing indicated that the siege was 
 raised. Count Gualdo, who was present in Tilly's 
 army, informs us, that the imperial adherents in the 
 town, helped to render this opinion general ; but we 
 should not believe that any men, having life and for- 
 tune depending on the issue, could have been decei- 
 ved by so gross an artifice, were we not assured of the 
 fact from undoubted authority. A respectable cler- 
 gyman, who was saved by the avarice of an imperial 
 officer, tells us himself, that he was addressing his 
 congregation, and returning thanks for their general 
 deliverance, at the moment when the enemy were 
 ascending the ramparts. 
 
 At seven o'clock, on the morning of the 10th of 
 May, the town was attacked at four different points. 
 As the citizens always retired to their houses at day- 
 
 M 2
 
 180 LIFE OF WALLENSTEIN. 
 
 break, the soldiers only were at their posts ; and from 
 the small number of the original garrison, and the 
 extensive nature of the works, few could be assem- 
 bled on vulnerable points ; so that no very formidable 
 resistance was offered. Pappenheim * first planted 
 a standard on the rampart : it was hailed with the 
 loud cheers that generally prognosticate success : the 
 other columns which had been arrested in their pro- 
 gress, again rushed on to the attack ; and the walls 
 were soon in possession of the assailants. The gal- 
 lant Falkenberg was killed at the commencement of 
 the attack : a Captain Smith, who tried to rally the 
 unhappy citizens, also fell : the confusion became 
 general, and all attempts to dislodge the enemy failed 
 completely. Those who had first entered burst open 
 two of the gates, and admitted more of the spoil- 
 breathing bands ; cannon were pointed along the 
 principal streets, and the ill-fated citizens driven to 
 their houses, there to await their fate. 
 
 ** They were not," says Schiller, " left long in 
 suspense. A general, endowed with humanity, 
 would vainly have recommended mercy to troops like 
 those which Tilly commanded ; but the imperial 
 leader did not even make the attempt ; and the sol- 
 diers, thus rendered absolute masters of the lives and 
 fortunes of the people of Magdeburg, rushed into the 
 houses, and gave way to every low and vile desire. 
 Suppliant innocence found mercy before many a Ger- 
 
 * In writing to Wallenstein, Pappenheim says, that he carried the 
 rampart with the loss of only five men ; but suffered severely after- 
 wards ; because, from not being supported in time by the other 
 columns, he had to maintain his post against the whole garrison.
 
 LIFE OF WALLENSTEIN. 181 
 
 man ear : none from Pappenheim's infuriated Wal- 
 loons. Scarcely had the scene of blood commenced, 
 when all the gates were thrown open, and the entire 
 of the cavalry, followed by the whole swarm of mur- 
 dering Croats, were let loose upon the unhappy 
 town. 
 
 •' And now began a scene of death and crime for 
 which history has no language, and poetry no pencil. 
 Not guiltless inflincy, not helpless age ; neither 
 youth, sex, beauty nor station, could disarm the fury 
 of these ruthless conquerors. Wives were dishonour- 
 ed in the arms of their husbands ; daughters at the 
 feet of their parents; and the defenceless sex had only 
 the privilege of serving as victims to twofold fury. 
 No place, however secluded, however sacred, offered 
 an asylum ; and fifty-three women were found be- 
 headed in one church alone. Croats took a pleasure 
 in throwing children into the flames ; Pappenheim*s 
 Walloons in fixing infants with spears to the breasts 
 of their mothers. 
 
 *' These horrors continued till smoke and flame 
 put an end to rage and rapine. To augment the 
 confusion, and break the resistance of the defenders, 
 several houses were set on fire, in the first instance. 
 A tempest now arose, which spread the conflagration 
 with fearful rapidity ; so that the whole town was 
 soon enveloped in flame. Dreadful was the pressure 
 through fiery vapour and over dead bodies, through 
 the midst of flashing swords, falling ruins, and 
 streams of blood. The atmosphere glowed, and the 
 burning heat forced, at last, even these murderers to 
 seek shelter in their camp. In less than twelve
 
 182 LIFE OF WALLENSTEIN. 
 
 hours this great, rich, strong and prosperous city, 
 one of the finest in Germany, was, with the excep- 
 tion of two churches, and a few huts, completely re- 
 duced to ashes. The administrator, Prince Christian 
 William, was, after receiving several wounds, taken 
 prisoner ; along with three senators. Many officers 
 and magistrates found, sword in hand, an enviable 
 death. About 400 of the richest citizens were saved 
 by the avarice of imperial officers, who expected to 
 extort from them a heavy ransom. Most of the in- 
 dividuals who displayed, even this sort of humanity, 
 were officers of the League ; and the unsparing cruelty 
 of the imperial soldiers, caused them to be looked 
 upon as guardian angels. 
 
 *• Scarcely had the flames subsided, ere the plun- 
 dering bands returned, with unquenched voracity, 
 to seek, amid ashes, for additional spoil. Many 
 were suffi)cated by smoke and vapour : many found 
 rich booty ; as the citizens had concealed most of 
 their valuables in vaults and cellars. On the 13th, 
 after the principal streets had been cleared of ruins 
 and corpses, Tilly himself appeared in the town. 
 Horrible was the scene presented to humanity ; the 
 living, crawling out from under the dead, children 
 wandering about and seeking, with loud lamenta- 
 tions, for their lost parents, and infants striving to 
 obtain nourishment from the breasts of their slaugh- 
 tered mothers. More than GOOO dead bodies were 
 thrown into the Elbe, before the streets could be 
 cleared : a great many more had been consumed by 
 the flames : the total number of slain amounted to 
 30,000.
 
 LIFE OF WALLENSTEIN. 18-J 
 
 " On the following day the plundering was put an 
 end to ; and all who had till then escaped, were par- 
 doned. About a thousand persons were brought 
 out of the Cathedral, where they had remained for 
 three days and nights without food, in constant fear 
 of death. Tilly assured them of safety, and caused 
 bread to be distributed among them. Mass was cele- 
 brated in the same church on the day following, and 
 a solemn Te Deum was sung under the discharge 
 of artillery. The imperial general rode through the 
 streets to report, from ocular evidence, that, since 
 the fall of Troy and Jerusalem, no such conquest 
 had been achieved. Nor is the statement much 
 exaggerated, when we consider the wealth, greatness 
 and importance of the city, and the ruthless bar- 
 barism which marked its destruction." 
 
 Schiller and other historians assert that some Ger- 
 man officers, revolted by the enormities committed, 
 applied to Tilly soon after the capture of the town, 
 and requested that he would order a stop to be put 
 to deeds so diso-raceful. " Come back in an hour," 
 was his reported answer, " and I shall consider of 
 it ; the soldier must have some reward for his toil." 
 Other accounts say that he quoted the well-known 
 lines of Virgil on the occasion, 
 
 " Venit summa dies et ineluctabile falutn 
 •fuit Ilium et ingens 
 
 Gloria Parthenopes." 
 
 It is right to mention these reports ; affecting the cha- 
 racter of a celebrated man, since history has deemed 
 them worthy of being received as authentic j but we
 
 184 LIFE OF WALLENSTEIN. 
 
 must still be allowed to express doubts of their ac- 
 curacy. The indignation of mankind could hardly 
 iail to be aroused by the commission of crimes so 
 dreadful, and the world would, of course, visit on 
 the head of the commander, the misdeeds of the 
 troops, however inadequate to the control of such 
 bands his power might have been. By some, Tilly 
 is said to have shed tears of sorrow and indig- 
 nation over the fate of the unhappy city *, and to 
 have thrown the blame upon Pappenheim. This 
 however would be no justification ; we can easily 
 acquit the general of having willingly sanctioned 
 atrocities more certain to injure than to forward his 
 cause ; but we still know enough to condemn him. 
 He survived a massacre which it was his duty to have 
 arrested, sword in hand if necessary, and at peril of his 
 life : he neglected this duty, and his name and fame 
 are for ever tarnished in consequence. Pappenheim 
 seems to have approved of the deed ; for in writing 
 to the Elector of Bavaria, he calls it ** a punishment 
 justly inflicted by heaven on the town, as a similar 
 punishment was formerly inflicted on Jerusalem, — 
 for the crimes of its people." 
 
 Magdeburg's appalling fate spread terror and dis- 
 may through Protestant Germany ; and placed the 
 merits of the Congress of Leipzig in full and con- 
 spicuous view. 
 
 The frightful event fell heavily on the spirits of 
 Gustavus. The voice of Europe loudly accused him 
 of pusillanimity for neglecting to strike a blow in 
 
 * lliscius, 236. Theatr. Europ. 636.
 
 LIFE OF WALLENSTEIN. 185 
 
 favour of his allies. He was obliged to justify him- 
 self before the world, and easily did so ; but it was 
 at the expense of the Electors of Brandenburg and 
 Saxony, who, instead of aiding him, had thrown 
 obstacles in his way at the very time when he was 
 proceeding to aid the beleaguered city. It is pro- 
 bable, however, that the weakness of his army, though 
 not stated, was the real cause of the delay. After 
 the many garrisons he had left in the conquered for- 
 tresses, he could have no large disposable force at 
 hand ; and we shall see presently, that he was not 
 equal to meet Tilly in the open field ; and unable 
 consequently to hazard a battle for the relief of the 
 besieged. 
 
 The imperial general announced the fall of Mag- 
 deburg in the tone of a conqueror ; and encouraged 
 by this new victory, the Court of Vienna, disregarding 
 the presence of the Svv^edes, added oppression to op- 
 pression, and threatened all the resisting Protestant 
 towns with similar punishment. Tilly first marched 
 into the country of Hesse, there to carry the Edict 
 of Restitution into full effect ; but was soon recalled 
 by the movements of the King of Sweden, who had 
 advanced and taken post at Werben, a position, that 
 in a strategical point of view, is evidently the finest in 
 Germany : a good reason, perhaps, why it was never 
 occupied in modern times. The imperial general, 
 unmindful of the adversary to whom he was opposed, 
 kept his troops so indifferently together, that Gus- 
 tavus, who was constantly on the watch, surprised 
 three of his regiments by a night attack, and com- 
 pletely destroyed them. The art of keeping armies
 
 186 LIFE OF WALLENSTEIN. 
 
 well together, and well in hand, so as to hover con- 
 stantly in a threatening attitude over an enemy, ready 
 to strike at the slightest opening, is a species of stra- 
 tegy requiring the highest skill and talent. Gusta- 
 vus, and above all Frederick and Turenne, under- 
 stood this difficult part of the science. In modern 
 times Blucher's campaign in Silesia furnishes a proof 
 of such conduct ; though modern strategy has, in 
 general, been founded on the power of conscriptions 
 rather than on intelligible professional principles. 
 
 The King of Sweden, who had no conscription to 
 supply him with soldiers, was forced to make up, by 
 ffenius and talent, for inferior numbers. He had no 
 sooner taken post at Werben than he surrounded him- 
 self with entrenchments, the remains of which attest, 
 to this day, the skill of the leader in designing, and 
 the exertions of the soldiers in executing such works. 
 It mi^ht almost be said of this admirable soldier, that 
 he owed his success in Germany, as much to the spade 
 as to the sword ; for he could never be forced to a 
 battle unless when it suited his own purpose ; and 
 when not disposed to fight, he was always found too 
 strongly posted to be attacked with success, however 
 inferior might be the number of his troops. This 
 Tilly found to his cost. 
 
 Anxious to strike a blow at the Swedes, and de- 
 sirous of avenging the fate of his three regiments, 
 the imperial commander advanced against the camp, 
 and after a day's cannonade, ventured upon a night 
 attack, which failed completely. The Imperialists 
 were driven back at all points, and pursued far into 
 the plain by the Swedish cavalry, who sallied out
 
 LIFE OF WALLENSTEIN. 187 
 
 through the intervals left between the redoubts. 
 Magdeburg was Tilly's last victory : on his asphodel- 
 covered brows the laurel could spring no more. 
 
 From Werben, the imperial general directed his 
 march towards the frontiers of Saxony, where he was 
 ordered to force the Elector, John George, to carry 
 the Edict of Restitution into effect ; to disband the 
 Saxon army, and to admit imperial troops into his 
 dominions. It is due to Tilly to say, that he disap- 
 proved of a measure so likely to drive the Elector 
 into the arms of the King of Sweden. Both Pap- 
 penheim and himself represented the danger, and 
 always spoke of Gustavus as an adversary already 
 sufficiently formidable. But the Court of Vienna, 
 blinded by former success, thought only of availing 
 themselves of the panic occasioned by the destruction 
 of Magdeburg. The order to Tilly was positive j 
 he therefore sent it to the Elector, requiring im- 
 mediate compliance with its mandates ; but John 
 George, indignant at seeing his long subserviency to 
 the House of Austria repaid by such unworthy treat- 
 ment, refused to submit ; and the imperial army im- 
 mediately entered the country, laying every thing 
 waste with fire and sword. A hundred villages were 
 burned in the course of a few days ; Leipzig was 
 attacked, and taken ; and the unfortunate electorate 
 would have paid dearly for the resolution of its sove- 
 reign, had not the presence of the King of Sweden 
 arrested the progress of destruction. No sooner had 
 the Imperialists entered Saxony than John George 
 hastened to conclude a treaty of alliance with Gus-
 
 188 LIFE OF WALLENSTEIN. 
 
 tavus Adolphus, who, always ready to take advantage 
 of circumstances, had followed close upon the enemy. 
 
 On the day after the conclusion of this treaty, the 
 King crossed the Elbe at Wittenberg, and joined the 
 Saxons at Diiben. From thence the combined armies 
 marched towards Leipzig, for the purpose of attack- 
 ing the Imperialists, who, on their part, advanced as 
 far as Breitenfeldt, to give the new allies the meeting. 
 
 Tilly on learning the junction of the Swedes and 
 Saxons, had at first taken up a strong position in front 
 of Leipzig, where he could safely await a reinforce- 
 ment of 8000 men, which General Altringa was 
 bringing forward ; but the eagerness for battle, ex- 
 pressed by Pappenheim, and by most of the younger 
 officers, overcame the veteran's better judgment. 
 Hints were also thrown out that the aged general 
 feared to measure swords with the gallant and high- 
 hearted King of Sweden. Tilly was a soldier, and 
 an able one ; but he had a soldier's failing, and 
 brooked no taunts directed ajjainst what he miixht 
 deem his honour and military character : his personal 
 courage was undoubted, but he proved on this occa- 
 sion that he wanted mental courage, a quality equally 
 essential to a commander. He decided on battle, 
 contrary to his own conviction ; and the world owes 
 its freedom, perhaps, to his want of resolution ; for 
 it is difficult to say what the world's situation would 
 now have been, liad the fate of war turned against 
 the allies in the plains of Leipzig. 
 
 The battle of Breitenfeldt, which decided the fate 
 of Germany, and of the Protestant religion, was 
 fought on the 7tli December 1C31. The imperial
 
 LIFE OF WALLEN STEIN. 189 
 
 army was drawn up along the highest ridge of a wide, 
 undulating plain. The troops were formed, contrary 
 to the assertion of Schiller, and those who have fol- 
 lowed him, in two lines, having some corps in third 
 line as a reserve. The wings were unsupported ; but 
 as the country was perfectly open, no unseen flank- 
 movement, could be attempted against them, without 
 being readily met by a counter-movement. The prin- 
 cipal part of the artillery was dispersed along the 
 front of the infantry. Sixteen heavy guns were 
 posted on the right, most likely on the spot where 
 the monument now stands, and where the ground 
 forms a slight elevation. It was altogether a fair, 
 well-chosen battle-field ; and measured nearly two 
 miles and a half from right to left. The imperial 
 army amounted on this important day to about 35,000 
 men : of nearly equal strength were the combined 
 forces of the Saxons and the Swedes. 
 
 At nine o'clock in the morning, the allies were 
 seen advancing, in two columns, along the plain : 
 the Swedes formed the right, the Saxons the left 
 column. The van of the Swedish army, consisting 
 of three regiments of Scottish infantry, no sooner 
 crossed the Lober, a small streamlet that had to be 
 passed in full view of the Imperialists, than they were 
 immediately assailed by Pappenheim, at the head of 
 a large body of cuirassiers. The Scots availed them- 
 selves of the ground which was in their favour ; and 
 being supported by some dragoons, drove back the 
 enemy. Pappenheim set fire to the village of Podel- 
 witz, in order to arrest the progress of the Swedes ; 
 and being reinforced in his turn, fell upon the right
 
 190 LIFE OF WALLENSTEIN. 
 
 flank of the advancing column. But General Banner 
 wheeled the leading divisions to the right, and pre- 
 sented a regular front, which the cuirassiers were 
 unable to break ; while the rest of the army moved up 
 and formed in the plain under cover of this Ceesarian 
 line. Such skilful movements, though easy enough 
 of execution to modern troops, to those at least who 
 are capable of moving under fire, were unknown to 
 the Imperialists, and impracticable with their un- 
 wieldy formations ; a circumstance that naturally 
 made them fight to great disadvantage. 
 
 On the present occasion, the repulsed cuirassiers 
 retired so rapidly to the main position, that the Hol- 
 stein regiment of infantry, which had been sent to 
 their aid, was left alone on the plain, where their faulty 
 system of tacticswasimmediately made apparent. The 
 square, and closely-formed mass of spearmen, in the 
 centre of the musqueteers, could afford no protection 
 to the latter, who seemed placed round the square only 
 to render the spears useless. They were instantly 
 charged by some Finland cavalry and cut down : the 
 spearmen thus left defenceless, in their turn were 
 attacked by two companies of Swedish musqueteers, 
 and completely routed : their colonel, the Duke of 
 Holstein, was among the slain. To the Imperialists, 
 this was an evil-boding commencement of the action. 
 
 The Swedish army, when drawn up for battle, stood 
 in two lines, having besides some corps of cavalry and 
 infantry in reserve : there was also, in front of the 
 second line, a reserve of artillery ; the first we find 
 mentioned in history. Besides the intervals between 
 the different brigades, the lines were at a considerable
 
 LIFE OF WALLENSTEIN. IQl 
 
 distance from each other, so that the troops had 
 ample room to move without endangering their order 
 or formation. The cavah-y, as in all the armies of 
 the period, were formed on the flanks. The King 
 commanded the right wing, Gustavus Home the 
 left, General Teufel the centre, and our countryman 
 Colonel Hepburn, the second line. The reserve was 
 under the command of Colonel Hall. The Saxons 
 were on the left of the Swedes, under the command 
 of the Elector and of Field-Marshal Arnheim, the 
 same who formerly served under Wallenstein : in 
 what particular manner these troops were formed we 
 are unable to state. 
 
 The cannonade had not lasted long after the armies 
 were in presence, when Tilly fell with great impe- 
 tuosity on the entire front of the allied line. It 
 was a gallant onset on the main body of the enemy, 
 and resembled in nothing, the partial attacks directed 
 in modern times against hamlets, houses, woods or 
 villages, to which a conventional mode of warfare 
 attaches an unreal value. Genius and the high mental 
 courage resulting from it, strike at once at the main 
 object ; while mediocrity, pretension and bloated 
 vanity, brave only in the waste of brave men's lives, 
 beat about for some piece of good fortune to turn up 
 in their favour : fight battles with skirmishers, leaving 
 armies in reserve, literally to feed the fire, to come, 
 like the wounded Curiatii, successively instead of 
 simultaneously into action, and above all, to protect 
 the fame of some mighty leader, should the Goddess 
 of Chance remain deaf to the prayers of her votaries,
 
 192 LIFE OF WALLENSTEIN. 
 
 notwithstanding the hecatombs of human victims, 
 always so readily offered up at her shrine. 
 
 Tilly's gallantly served him but little however, 
 against more skilful and equally brave opponents. 
 The Imperialists made the attack resolutely, but were 
 driven back by the heavy fire of the Swedish infantry. 
 Ao-ainst the Saxons they were more successful : these 
 
 & 'Til 
 
 newly-raised troops were unable to withstand the 
 fiery onset of the old war-trained bands, the victors 
 in so many fields, and gave way almost immediately. 
 The Elector himself hurried off to Eulenburg, where 
 he arrived in very low spirits, thinking that everything 
 was lost. Two regiments made for a time an honour- 
 able stand ; but overwhelmed by numbers, they were, 
 at last, thrown into confusion, and obliged to follow 
 the flight of their comrades. 
 
 Arnheim, abandoned by his army, galloped away 
 to the right, to inform the King of what had hap- 
 pened. On this point, where Pappenheim and Gus- 
 tavus had encountered, the combat had been very 
 severe. But the cuirassiers, clad from head to heel 
 in heavy armour, could not follow up the advantage 
 sometimes gained in their first charge ; nor were 
 they capable of reforming when once disordered by 
 their own success. The Swedes could do both, and 
 were therefore victorious, as men, in other respects 
 equal, always will be over cuirass-encumbered adver- 
 saries. The Imperialists were driven from the field 
 notwithstanding the heroic efforts of Pappenheim, 
 who is said to have slain fifteen men with his own 
 hand. It was just when the success of this combat 
 was decided, that the King received, from Arnheim,
 
 LIFE OF WALLENSTEIN. 193 
 
 the news of the disaster which had befallen the Saxons. 
 Leaving Banner to pursue the imperial cavalry, he 
 hurried to the left, to remedy the misfortune of his 
 allies. Every thing was already in good train. Field- 
 Marshal Home no sooner saw the flight of the Sax- 
 ons, than he wheeled up the second line ; and, by 
 placing their right close to the left of the first line, 
 formed them en potence, and presented a front to the 
 left, as Banner had before presented one to the right. 
 And time it was that precaution should be taken ; 
 for the Swedes had now to contend against double 
 their numbers, and Tilly saw, and tried right gallantly, 
 to follow up the advantage he had gained. He re- 
 called his troops from the pursuit of the vanquished, 
 brought up his second line, and calling to his men, 
 *' Now, comrades, let us fall upon the left wing of 
 the Swedes and the empire is ours ;" advanced them 
 bravely to the charge. But the tactical skill of his 
 adversaries more than atoned for their inferiority in 
 numbers ; they were soon formed, and prepared to 
 receive a better onset than Tilly was able to make. 
 He only hurled against their line, bodies of men 
 hastily collected, as fortune brought his unwieldy 
 masses to his hands ; some returning from the pursuit 
 of the Saxons ; some arriving from where they had 
 stood in reserve ; and all, rushing tumultuously on, 
 without order or concert, were rolled back, with great 
 slaughter, from each successive attack. 
 
 Gustavus seeing that danger was arrested on the 
 left, made a forward movement with his first line, 
 charged and took the imperial artillery in his front, 
 and turned the guns upon the rest of their infantry. 
 
 N
 
 19"i LIFE OF WALLENSTEIN. 
 
 They were soon in confusion. On the hill, however, 
 where the heavy guns were posted, Tilly made a 
 stand with the reserve, and a severe contest here took 
 place. Four regiments, who had never fled from a 
 field of battle, and who were determined not to do so 
 now, retired fighting and in good order, after the rest 
 of the army were dispersed. Reduced to a few hun- 
 dreds they gained a wood, where nightfall protected 
 them from further pursuit. Tilly, though wounded, 
 was, with Pappenheim, the last to leave the ground, 
 and had a narrow escape for his life. A Swedish 
 captain of horse fired a pistol at him, and was trying 
 to dispatch him with the butt end, when a Prince of 
 Lauenburg came to his aid, and shot the Swede 
 through the head. The imperial army lost about 
 10,000 men ; 7OOO were killed or wounded and 3000 
 taken : 30 pieces of artillery, 100 standards and all 
 the baggage of the vanquished fell into the hands of 
 the conquerors. To these losses must be added the 
 fame in arms, and the spell of invincibility which was 
 broken for ever. The Saxons had 2000 men killed 
 and wounded ; the Swedes 7OO only. 
 
 Thus ended the most memorable battle recorded 
 in history. It was not a battle fought, between rival 
 nations, for spoil, power and dominion ; not for the 
 possession of provinces, or the supremacy of empires : 
 it was a battle between the two great divisions of the 
 Christian race ; and fought to determine whether 
 men should be allowed the free agency of thought, 
 or be forced to receive the dictates of self-elected con- 
 claves, on points of vital importance to their worldly 
 and future happiness. And it is according to the view
 
 LIFE OF WALLENSTEIN. 195 
 
 taken of this question, that the result of the day's 
 action must be determined. As this question shall 
 be answered, so will the battle of Leipzig be termed 
 either glorious and beneficial to men, or destructive 
 to their welfare, and dangerous to their salvation. 
 
 Tilly was, of course, much blamed for his conduct 
 on this occasion. No case has, however, been made 
 out against him ; and judging only from what we 
 know, and from what his critics have told us, we 
 should say that his arrangements merited every en- 
 comium. His position was a good one ; he was right 
 in trying to impede the advance and formation of the 
 allies ; he was right in boldly falling upon them the 
 moment they came fairly within his reach ; and he 
 was right also in turning from the pursuit of the 
 Saxons, in order to break in upon the left wing of 
 the Swedes. His defeat was owing entirely to the 
 tactical superiority of the Swedish troops, and to the 
 skill of their commanders. The promptness with 
 which they first presented a front to Pappenheim on 
 the right, and afterwards to Tilly himself on the left, 
 is deserving of the highest praise, and could not be 
 surpassed by the soldiers of the present day ; quickly 
 and accurately as they are allowed to move. No mo- 
 dern army has, indeed, manoeuvred so well in a field 
 of battle as the Swedes manoeuvred at Leipzig ; and 
 no Austrian General, of modern times, has behaved 
 with the skill, courage and resolution displayed by 
 Tilly on the same occasion. 
 
 The usual accounts of this action describe Gustavus 
 as making a movement to the right, seaman-like, to 
 gain from Tilly the advantage of sun and wind j and 
 
 N 2
 
 196 LIFE OF WALLENSTEIN. 
 
 afterwards represent him throwing forward his right 
 wing, en echelon, to attack the imperial artillery 
 on the hill. These are either the mere tales of his- 
 torians, unacquainted with military affairs, or they are 
 the devices of ignorant tacticians anxious to find, in 
 the actions of a great soldier, some support for their 
 impracticable puerilities. Gustavus could not, at the 
 outset of the action, move away to the right without 
 abandoning the Saxons, and presenting his left flank 
 to the enemy : and as to the echelon movement de- 
 scribed, it would have brought the right flank of 
 the Swedish troops close to the muzzles of the im- 
 perial guns, stationed in their front. The idea of 
 men actually brushing the hostile guns with their 
 right shoulders, and marching away to the left under 
 the fire of those guns, there to attack some other guns, 
 placed upon a distant height, belongs altogether to 
 the transcendental school of modern strategy : the 
 plain good sense of the seventeenth century never 
 soared to such an elevation. 
 
 The lustre which this victory shed over the fame of 
 Gustavus, more than doubled his strength, by the 
 moral power which it added to the force of his arms. 
 His friends assumed courage ; those who had before 
 only wished him success, now prepared to aid him ; 
 and his enemies were, in an equal degree, discouraged 
 and depressed. At Vienna the news was not at first 
 believed : no one would credit, " that," as they ex- 
 pressed it, *' God Almighty had turned Protestant." 
 But the on-rolling storm soon brought conviction to 
 the most incredulous. 
 
 At a council of war, held by the victors imme-
 
 LIFE OF WALLENSTEIN. 197 
 
 diately after the battle, it was resolved, that the 
 Saxons should invade Bohemia, and the Swedes 
 march towards the Rhine. Gustavus has been much 
 blamed for this plan, and for not marching straight 
 upon Vienna : but the censure seems unjust. An 
 advance on Vienna would have led him, on the ap- 
 proach of winter, to the banks of the Danube, where 
 that river had before arrested the Bohemian insur- 
 gents, as well as Bethlem Gabor. 
 
 With less than 20,000 men, what could have been 
 effected in the centre of the Austrian monarchy ; all 
 its available resources closing around him, and the 
 forces of Catholic Germany collecting in his rear, and 
 on his right flank ? Arnheim, with the remnants of 
 his fugitive Saxons, could not even have kept the 
 remains of Tilly's army in check. The march on 
 Vienna would therefore have been a mere chance 
 adventure, in the Napoleon style j whereas, by march- 
 ing into Franconia, and towards the Rhine, the King 
 disarmed the Catholics of those provinces ; rallied 
 the Protestants around him, and not only deprived 
 the House of Austria of all the support it derived 
 from Western Germany ; but raised up a Protestant 
 force, by the aid of which Sweden was enabled to 
 maintain, for sixteen years afterwards, a successful 
 struggle against the combined power of the League 
 and the Emperor. By advancing through Franconia 
 and Bavaria towards Vienna, Gustavus took the 
 Danube and the Austrian defences in reverse ; and 
 had the Saxons performed the easy task allotted them 
 in the execution of this admirable plan, they would 
 already, on the opening of the next campaign, have
 
 198 LIFE OF WALLENSTEIN. 
 
 joined the Swedes under the walls of the imperial 
 capital. 
 
 From Leipzig, Gustavus directed his march right 
 into the centre of the empire. He was everywhere 
 received with boundless acclamation by the Protes- 
 tants : princes, nobles and soldiers flocked to his 
 standard from all quarters. The castle of Wurtz- 
 burg was the first important place that attempted 
 to resist. Situated on a hill, on the banks of the 
 Maine, opposite to the town, it is of great strength ; 
 and was taken by one of those bold actions that so 
 often succeed in war, owing to the mere excess of 
 daring, for which they are distinguished. 
 
 Not a stone of the works had been injured ; but 
 a Swedish officer, sent with seven men to reconfioitre 
 the gate, found the drawbridge down, as the garri- 
 son were about to make a sally. On being challen- 
 ged, he boldly answered, " A Swede," and instantly 
 sprung, sword in hand, upon the bridge. Darkness 
 concealed the small number of the party, — fear mag- 
 nified it, and the noise of battle soon brought the 
 Scottish infantry and the Swedish regiment of Axel 
 Lilly to the spot. The garrison was strong, and 
 made a resolute defence ; but the fiery impetuosity 
 of the assailants overcame all resistance, and after a 
 short, but sharp contest, the castle was in possession 
 of the Swedes. It was found to contain stores, wine, 
 and treasure to a large amount. Among the slain 
 were twenty monks, who had fought, says Billow, 
 " not for their religion, but for their wine and their 
 wealth." 
 
 An army which the Duke of Lorraine led against
 
 LIFE OF WALLENSTEIN. 199 
 
 the Swedes, was dispersed at the first sight of the 
 enemy ; the Duke himself leading the flight. As he 
 hurried through a village in Franconia, a peasant gave 
 his horse a sharp cut with a whip, calling out at the 
 same time, ** Quick, quick. Sir Duke ; those must fly 
 fast, who fly before the great King of Sweden." 
 
 From Wurtzburg, Gustavus descended the Maine. 
 Hannau was taken by surprise ; Wertheim by storm ; 
 Frankfurt opened its gates. At Oppenheim, the 
 King forced the passage of the Rhine with only a few 
 boats. The first troops that crossed were charged 
 by the Spanish cavalry ; but the Swedish infantry 
 drove them back, and entrenched themselves so well 
 and so rapidly, that the Spanish infantry, on advan- 
 cing, experienced no better success than the cavalry. 
 Oppenheim was taken by assault, and Mayence, the 
 capital of Western Germany, after a few days' siege. 
 Landau, Spiers, Worms, Wiessenburg, Frankcathal, 
 towns that, in the first revolution war, saved the 
 independence of France, followed in rapid succession. 
 It seemed as if no barrier could arrest the progress, — 
 no fortress withstand the arms of this northern con- 
 queror. 
 
 During the few weeks that Gustavus halted at 
 Mayence, his head-quarters became the seat of active 
 negotiations. The Catholic powers of Germany 
 found that the battle was no longer for empire, but 
 safety, and sought to shelter themselves under the 
 wing of France. Even Richelieu was alarmed by 
 the success of the Swedes, and trembled at the spirit 
 he had himself evoked. He tried to throw obstacles 
 in the way of the King's farther progress, and to
 
 200 LIFE OF WALLENSTEIN. 
 
 fetter his hands, by foolish conditions. But Gus- 
 tavus, who had been untractable enough on the shores 
 of the Baltic, had not learned humility from victory, 
 and as before, the firmness of the soldier easily over- 
 came the feeble arts of the minister. Of all sciences, 
 diplomacy is surely the weakest and most inefficient : 
 it is in fact nothing more than the slave of military 
 success ; depending entirely on the force, ready, in 
 the background, to give weight to protocols. Napo- 
 leon and his ministers were great diplomatists after 
 the battle of Wagram, though very poor ones after 
 the battle of Waterloo j but Attila was always a great 
 diplomatist. 
 
 A short breathing-time only, was given to the 
 Swedish army at Mayence ; and early in March the 
 King already appeared before Donauwerth, which 
 was taken as soon as attacked. Here he crossed the 
 Danube, and advanced to the frontiers of Bavaria. 
 To preserve, from invasion, this favoured country, 
 which had so long escaped the evils of war, Tilly took 
 up a strong position behind the river Lech, between 
 Augsburg and Raine. In the choice of this post, 
 the imperial commander displayed great skill, and 
 proved himself far superior to one of his successors. 
 General Mack having the same object in view, took 
 up a position near Ulm ; and leaving thus his right 
 flank exposed, lost his army without striking a single 
 blow. 
 
 The depth of the stream, the rapidity of the cur- 
 rent and the height of the banks, made the attempt 
 to force a passage, in the face of a well-posted enemy, 
 extremely dangerous. The Swedish council of war
 
 LIFE OF WALLENSTEIN. 201 
 
 wavered : Gustavus alone was resolved. His darino; 
 genius made him perceive advantages of position, 
 that were invisible to ordinary observers, and of these 
 he availed himself with skill. 
 
 Under the fire of seventy-two pieces of artillery, a 
 bridge was thrown across the river, some infantry 
 passed over, while the cavalry traversed at a ford, 
 which had been discovered a little higher up the 
 stream. Tilly no sooner saw the Swedes forming on 
 the right bank, than he bravely sallied forth to attack 
 them. It was the last of his fields j a falconet-ball 
 shattered his knee, and fainting from pain, he was 
 carried to the rear. Altringer, the next in com- 
 mand, was also wounded ; and the soldiers, seeing 
 their leaders struck down, gave way and fled. 
 
 The Elector of Bavaria, who was present in the 
 action, rallied the troops, and under cover of night 
 led them to Ingolstadt, the defence of which Tilly 
 had recommended with his last breath, and where he 
 died on the following day. This aged commander 
 was regretted by his Sovereign, who placed unbound- 
 ed confidence in his fidelity ; and by the soldiers, 
 who, it seems, were attached to him. Had he been 
 a strict disciplinarian, this would have redounded to 
 his credit ; but as it was, the attachment of the troops 
 may have resulted as much from the licence allowed 
 them, as from other causes. He left a very moderate 
 fortune, for one who had so long held a high com- 
 mand, in times of almost universal spoliation ; and 
 bequeathed the best part of his wealth to different 
 regiments of his army. He probably felt that the 
 soldiers had done something for the general, and
 
 202 LIFE OF WALLENSTEIN. 
 
 strove to shew his gratitude accordingly ; and, as the 
 sentiment was a generous one, it would be pleasant 
 to relate proofs of its having existed in the breasts of 
 modern chieftains ; though the opportunity for doing 
 so has not yet been publicly furnished. Gustavus 
 called him the " Old Corporal," owing to his having, 
 perhaps, some martinet propensities ; but Tilly had 
 nevertheless qualities which placed him far above the 
 martinets of a later date. Many were, no doubt, the 
 faults of this stern old man ; many were the evil deeds 
 of which he was guilty ; and heavily and justly have 
 they been visited on his memory. But historians, in 
 drawing his character, should have recollected that 
 religious adversaries, and deeply aggrieved parties, 
 were his enemies ; and in loading him with a thousand 
 crimes, they should not have omitted all mention of 
 his virtues. His unshaken fidelity to his sovereign 
 and to his religion, should have been mentioned with 
 honour ; his talents, bravery, courtesy ; his disinte- 
 restedness, his never-broken word ; as well as his 
 generosity to the persecuted Bohemians, should all 
 have been recorded with high and deserved praise. 
 
 Gustavus, after taking Augsburg and Landshut, 
 advanced to Munich : the citizens, afraid that the 
 fate of Magdeburg was to be avenged on the capital 
 of their Sovereign, a prince who had brought so many 
 evils over Protestant Germany, threw themselves at 
 the feet of the conqueror, and implored mercy : the 
 King laughed at their fears, and forgave them at once. 
 
 The monks and clergy were still more alarmed ; 
 they had preached up persecution of heretics even to 
 the last, and never mentioned Gustavus except as
 
 LIFE OF WALLENSTEIN. 203 
 
 Antichrist, armed with a sword of peculiar construc- 
 tion, the gift of Satan himself. In many parts of the 
 country, their evil counsels had kindled a guerilla 
 war, which led to the commission of fearful crimes ; 
 the peasantry slew and tortured the straggling Swedes 
 that fell into their hands, and these excesses were 
 punished again with adequate severity, by the en- 
 raged soldiers ; but at Munich, the clergy also were 
 pardoned. The King spoke to them in the most 
 friendly manner j attended some Catholic ceremony 
 in person, and on one occasion even entered into a 
 theological discussion with the Dominicans : and it 
 may be presumed, that the good fathers took care not 
 to have the best of the argument. The most exem- 
 plary discipline was preserved ; religion and property 
 were alike respected ; and Gustavus, after levying a 
 good sum in contributions from the rich, and bring- 
 ing to light some guns and treasures which the Elec- 
 tor had caused to be buried, very liberally distributed 
 money to the poor. 
 
 As the world were in the habit of seeing contribu- 
 tions levied, by all parties, on the rich, the act was 
 not visited with unusual severity on the dreaded con- 
 queror ; but they had never seen victorious foes dis- 
 tributing money to the poor of the vanquished : the 
 King's generosity excited therefore universal admira- 
 tion ; and gained for him golden opinions, far more 
 valuable, even in a political point of view, than the 
 gold by which they had been purchased. 
 
 It was indeed a direct and merciful interposition of 
 Providence, which placed so humane and enlightened 
 a prince at the head of the Protestants, when after
 
 204 LIFE OF WALLENSTEIN. 
 
 years of adversity, the tide of war turned in their 
 favour ; for it prevented the long-oppressed nations 
 from avenging, on Catholic subjects, the many in- 
 juries they had sustained from Catholic rulers. Gus- 
 tavus Adolphus set an example of toleration, very 
 rare at the period, but which was followed by his 
 adherents ; for even those were proud to imitate the 
 conduct of so great a King, who could not always 
 appreciate the noble sentiments from which it arose. 
 The tolerant disposition of Wallenstein was also 
 of infinite benefit to the cause of humanity. He 
 was the agent of severe measures directed against 
 the power and possessions of the Protestants ; but 
 he never oppressed individuals on religious grounds : 
 he exerted himself, on the contrary, to mitigate, as 
 far as was in his power, the evils resulting from Fer- 
 dinand's persecuting decrees. In one letter only do 
 we find him touching on the subject of conversion, 
 and that as concisely as possible. When writing to 
 his Bohemian agent, from Havelberg, on the 27th 
 August 1627, he says, *' This would perhaps be a 
 good time for urging the peasantry and citizens to 
 become Catholics : " not another word is added, nor 
 is the subject again repeated. On the other hand, 
 he often recommends that mildness and forbearance 
 may be observed in carrying on the counter-reforma- 
 tion : •* Give the peasantry plenty of time ;" — *' do 
 not press the peasantry and lower orders too hard 
 about religion ;" — " do not meddle with the pea- 
 santry in the mountains ;" are expressions frequently 
 used in his letters. And on one occasion he directs 
 that a poor widow, who was about to be deprived of
 
 LIFE OF WALLENSTEIN. 205 
 
 her estate, because she refused to change her reli- 
 gion, should be allowed to retain her property, *' as 
 the Lord would no doubt enlighten her mind, and 
 bring her to a right way of thinking." 
 
 To estimate, even this degree of toleration, we 
 must contrast it with the savage barbarity, exercised 
 by commands of the Sovereign in whose dominions 
 Wallenstein's estates and principalities were situa- 
 ted ; and from whom alone the Duke of Friedland 
 held land, power and authority. Two short extracts 
 from a contemporary chronicle, quoted by Forster, 
 at page 358, will be sufficient for our purpose. 
 
 Speaking of the year 1623, the writer says, " When 
 in this year, the Protestant clergy were banished, 
 their churches closed, Luther's and Melanchthon's 
 books and pictures burned, twenty ministers of the 
 Gospel were killed along with many others : some 
 of these were cut down, some speared and some 
 stretched out on their books and burned." Opposite 
 the year 1628, we have the following entry : *' At 
 the commencement of this year a number of peasants 
 mutinied in the county of Koniggratz, and refused 
 to obey the imperial commissioners. Soldiers were 
 sent against them, when 500 were killed and a num- 
 ber taken prisoners : these were brought to Prague, 
 when they were brand-marked on the shoulders, had 
 their noses cut off, and were then sent home again." 
 
 Though scenes of this kind are, for many years, of 
 constant recurrence in various parts of the country, 
 we never find them acted in Wallenstein's principa- 
 lities. From his own letters, and from a letter of 
 his agent. Taxis, it is evident that he carried on
 
 206 LIFE OF WALLENSTEIX. 
 
 the counter-reformation with great mildness ; with 
 indifference perhaps, and contented himself with 
 checking the cruelty of the imperial commissioners, 
 though never directly infringing the imperial orders. 
 The letter of Taxis is sufficiently curious to deserve 
 notice. *' U your Highness," says the captain of 
 the district, " wishes your vassals to become Catho- 
 lics, you must employ Catholic captains and magis- 
 trates ; for the peasants and lower orders cannot, 
 they say, comprehend why they should change their 
 religion, while their superiors, who are so much more 
 learned, remain Protestants." Wallenstein's zeal did 
 not even carry him to the length of complying with 
 this recommendation, for he continued to employ 
 Protestants as well as Catholics even to the last. 
 
 How much the world are indebted to Gustavus, 
 and the Duke of Friedland, for the moderation they 
 displayed towards religious opponents, has never been 
 duly appreciated ; though the fearful addition of evil 
 that would have been inflicted on Europe, had the 
 two great leaders of the adverse parties, shared in the 
 fanatic spirit of persecution, for which so many infe- 
 rior men were distinguished, is almost incalculable. 
 The example of these princes, who exercised such 
 boundless sway over the opinions of their age, would 
 have been followed with fatal zeal ; and the contest, 
 from being one, carried on between Catholic and Pro- 
 testant states, would have become a war of extermi- 
 nation, carried on, for life and death, between all the 
 individuals professing different religions : — and to the 
 great men, who gave the directing impulse taken by
 
 LIFE OF WALLENSTEIN. 207 
 
 their respective parties, — is due the honour of having 
 saved the vvorld from a calamity so frightful. 
 
 During the whole of the war, we find government 
 the only persecutors on account of belief; we find 
 no popular persecutions. Popular indignation was 
 often excited to acts of violence by insults, and by 
 the oppression of agents who carried into effect the 
 tyrannical decrees of persecuting authorities : it w'as 
 often excited to violence and cruelty against the law- 
 less soldiery of both parties ; and in some districts, 
 as in Jutland and Bavaria, a guerilla war was carried 
 on against the foreign invaders ; but we nowhere find 
 the followers of one religion committing, of their 
 own accord, outrages on the adherents of another. 
 And during the great war for religious freedom, 
 religious hostility seems to have remained almost 
 dormant ; a circumstance highly creditable to the 
 moderation of the German people j and deserving 
 some attention, perhaps, in this country, where so 
 many efforts are made to excite religious animosities 
 for political purposes. 
 
 We must now bring Wallenstein once more upon 
 the stage. A great change had taken place since 
 he retired from public life. The Emperor and the 
 Catholic princes of Germany were then all power- 
 ful. Now, the King of Sweden was master from the 
 Baltic to the Rhine, and to the mountains of the 
 Tyrol. The imperial army was no more ; nor could 
 an imperial soldier shew himself in the open field ; 
 and the victorious name of Gustavus alone filled the 
 trumpet of fame. It was under such circumstances, 
 and to oppose such an adversary, that the Duke of 
 Friedland was again to appear on the scene of action.
 
 LIFE OF WALLENSTEIN. 209 
 
 CHAPTER VI. 
 
 Wallenstein was living in the splendid retire- 
 ment before described, while fortress after fortress 
 was falling into the hands of the Swedes j and, while 
 Gustavus was conquering provinces, his future ad- 
 versary was building towns, churches and convents ; 
 raising up a garden in the wilderness, and striving to 
 domesticate arts, sciences and civilisation, in the least 
 hospitable parts of Bohemia. But though removed 
 from public life, he saw more clearly into public 
 aflPairs than the most politic of the imperial ministers ; 
 and so far from brooding over plans of revenge, as 
 historians assert, he proposed an alliance with Den- 
 mark, which, if followed up, must have been ruinous 
 to the Swedish cause. And as he had been the first 
 to point out a judicious mode of arresting the pro- 
 gress of the enemy, so he was the first from whom 
 the Emperor sought assistance when every other hope 
 of relief had failed. 
 
 The Saxons had no sooner entered Bohemia, after 
 the battle of Leipzig, than Ferdinand, who was with- 
 out soldiers, and who saw his hereditary dominions 
 open to invasion, applied to Wallenstein for aid and 
 counsel. The imperial minister Questenberg, the 
 same who two years before went to Memmingen, to 
 deprive the general of his command, now writes, as a 
 
 o
 
 210 LIFE OF WALLENSTEIN. 
 
 sort of suppliant, on the part of his master. But 
 though a courtier and statesman, it must be allowed 
 that he writes with spirit and frankness. *' Post 
 factum errorem agnoscimus" he says, " we now see 
 our error plainly enough ; and as the miracles we 
 anticipated have not come to pass, we would gladly 
 retrace our steps ; if we only knew how." And this 
 is exactly what they w^ant to learn from Wallenstein. 
 
 The minister, therefore, asks, whether the Duke 
 of Mecklenburg, as Wallenstein continues to be styled 
 by the Emperor and his ministers, is still in corre- 
 spondence with Arnheim ; and whether he has, in 
 that case, any objections to hint, as from himself, 
 ** that the Emperor is by no means so much dis- 
 pleased with the Elector of Saxony, but that means 
 may be found to bring about a reconciliation." 
 Questenberg is also very facetious, at the expense of 
 those who principally opposed the Duke at the Diet 
 of Ratisbon : " Many of the gentlemen," he says, 
 ** who talked so loudly and so boldly on that occa- 
 sion, are silent enough now." The man of office 
 breaks out, however, before the conclusion of this, 
 otherwise, excellent letter : and Questenberg, a 
 member of the very cabinet which, at the commence- 
 ment of the Swedish war, had disbanded one-third of 
 the army, and allowed a great part of the rest to dis- 
 band itself for want of pay, now accuses Tilly of not 
 having had a second army in reserve ; though that 
 general had constantly represented the danger likely 
 to result from his insufficient force. 
 
 Wallenstein, in reply to Questenberg's letter, ex- 
 presses his readiness to enter upon the negotiation j
 
 LIFE OF WALLENSTEIN. 211 
 
 and the Duke of Eggenberg immediately sends him 
 some instructions, together with a safe conduct for 
 General Arnheim, with whom he urges Wallenstein 
 to hold a personal conference, strongly impressing 
 upon him, how much more may be effected by a single 
 interview, than by a long correspondence. Wallen- 
 stein acted on the suggestion, and, after some delay, 
 — for, as Prague was destitute of troops, Arnheim 
 secured it before he began to treat, — the Saxon 
 general met his former commander, at the Castle of 
 Kaunitz, near Limburg. Both parties expressed 
 great anxiety for peace ; but nothing was settled, and 
 Wallenstein, leaving Count Terzka to continue the 
 negotiation, departed again on the same day. But 
 his voice was still for peace ; and, writing from 
 Znaim, on the 26th of December, he says, ** When 
 the different countries are laid in ashes, we shall be 
 forced to make peace ; as the experience of the last 
 fourteen years has amply shewn." In the official 
 statement, published by the Court of Vienna, this 
 meeting is also brought forward as a charge against 
 Wallenstein, who is accused of having laid the foun- 
 dation of his pretended conspiracy, at this very inter- 
 view, held by order of the imperial minister. 
 
 Though this negotiation led to no results, it open- 
 ed the way for another and a more successful one. 
 The defeat of Tilly's army, the rapid advance of the 
 enemy, and the enthusiasm with which the King of 
 Sweden had been received by the Protestants, soon 
 made it apparent to the Emperor, that an efficient 
 military force could alone enable him to treat with 
 advantage. But where to find an army when he had 
 
 o 2
 
 2Fi LIFE OF WALLENSTEIN. 
 
 not a single soldier at his disposal ; — for the Saxons 
 had occupied Bohemia without meeting the slightest 
 resistance ? Here again Wallenstein was applied to ; 
 not indeed to take the command of the army, for 
 there was none to command ; but to resume his for- 
 mer station, and to bring, as before, an army along 
 with him. 
 
 At first he positively refused to accede to the re- 
 quest, alleging illness and severe sufferings from gout. 
 As the danger augmented, however, the requests 
 became more pressing; notwithstanding the efforts of 
 a strong party in the cabinet who always opposed the 
 Duke of Friedland. This party, who were support- 
 ed by the influence of the Elector of Bavaria, con- 
 stantly represented the dangerous character of the 
 man, and recommended, that the King of Hungary, 
 in whom they discovered an absolute treasure of mili- 
 tary talents, should be placed at the head of the 
 troops. The wiser saw, however, that to oppose an 
 inexperienced King of Hungary, to the victorious 
 King of Sweden, was risking too much, in so dan- 
 gerous a state of affairs j and the rapid progress of 
 the enemy left the Emperor no choice. He wrote, 
 with his own hand, to Wallenstein ; and the proud 
 monarch, entreated the discarded general, " not to 
 forsake him in the hour of adversity." It was im- 
 possible, altogether, to resist such solicitations ; and 
 Wallenstein felt disposed to yield, till he found that 
 the King of Hungary was to be joined with him in 
 authority. At this his pride instantly took fire : 
 " Never," he exclaimed, " will I accept a divided
 
 LIFE OF WALLENSTEIN. 213 
 
 command, were God himself to be my coadjutor ! 
 No ! 1 must command alone, or not at all." 
 
 The point was, of course, conceded ; and the Duke 
 of Eggenberg, the imperial prime minister, having 
 gone in person to Znaim, to renew the Emperor*s 
 request, and to hint at the danger which a subject 
 might incur, by forcing a mighty sovereign to become 
 an abject petitioner, Wallenstein*s real or affected 
 objection gave way, and he agreed to accept the com- 
 mand for three months ; during which time, he un- 
 dertook to raise an army of from 40,000 to 50,000 
 men, which the Emperor might then dispose of at 
 pleasure. The title of commander-in-chief he de- 
 clined, as well as the salary of 100,000 crowns, 
 offered along with it ; but he strongly urged Eggen- 
 berg to press for the payment of 300,000 ducats, 
 which the King of Spain had promised to contri- 
 bute towards the armament. Wallenstein knew that 
 Spanish payments w^re always precarious, and slow 
 at the best. About this time, the Duchy of Gross- 
 Glogau was conferred upon him, being the fourth 
 Duchy he had acquired by grant or purchase. 
 
 Never was the magical power of a name made 
 more apparent than on this occasion. The Emperor 
 was totally destitute of troops, and had neither money 
 nor credit wherewith to raise them ; all who sought 
 military service, flocked to the standard of the vic- 
 torious King of Sweden. The Sovereigns of Spain, 
 Italy and Austria, the rulers of mighty nations, stood 
 helpless in the midst of greatness ; dangers seemed 
 to have paralysed each friendly arm ; not a sword 
 was drawn in their defence ; but no sooner had fame
 
 214 LIFE OF WALLENSTEIN. 
 
 announced tliat Wallenstein was arming, than sol- 
 diers flocked from every quarter to his standard. 
 They well knew the terrible severity of his punish- 
 ments ; but they also knew how magnificent were 
 his rewards ; and they trusted, as men naturally do, 
 to escape the former and to merit the latter. All 
 the provinces of the Austrian monarchy, vied with 
 each other in zeal on this occasion. More than 300 
 officers applied for letters of service ; some raised com- 
 panies ; others entire regiments ; noblemen and men 
 of fortune, armed and equipped corps of cavalry and 
 infantry at their own expense : all were anxious to 
 acquire renown, and perhaps spoil also, under the 
 liberal and magnificent Duke of Friedland. Before 
 the expiration of the third month, an army of 40,000 
 men, that seemed to have sprung into life at enchant- 
 ment's call, stood ready for the field. They were 
 commanded by experienced officers, abundantly sup- 
 plied with stores of every kind : high of heart, and 
 full of hope, they awaited but the signal for battle, 
 ready to strike home in a manner worthy the fame 
 of their extraordinary commander. 
 
 Wallenstein had fulfilled his promise : the army 
 was formed ; but the three months for which he had 
 taken the command had expired, and he now declared 
 his intention to retire from the scene, notwithstand- 
 ing the pressing requests of the Emperor and of 
 the imperial council. All historians, and Schiller 
 among the rest, assert that this was a mere piece of 
 acting, devised for the purpose of obtaining absolute 
 and dictatorial power, over this newly raised force ; 
 which he was well aware could only be wielded and
 
 LIFE OF WALLENSTEIN. 215 
 
 kept together, by the power which had called it into 
 existence. 
 
 Nowhere is there any proof to bear out these state- 
 ments. Wallenstein pleaded ill health, and want of 
 money, as reasons for wishing to retire into private 
 life. We know, that he suffered severely from gout : 
 his signature, which before was a large, bold flourish, 
 begins to dwindle down to a meagre scrawl ; and the 
 hand which historians describe as grasping at a crown, 
 was scarcely, at the time of the pretended conspiracy, 
 able to hold a pen. That he was in want of money 
 may also be conjectured : the troops had been raised 
 principally at his own expense, and at the expense of 
 the officers who had levied corps and regiments ; for 
 it does not appear that the Emperor contributed any 
 thing towards the armament ; and, of course, the 
 Spanish subsidy never arrived. 
 
 The consequence was, that Wallenstein, who had 
 always been a generous landlord and liberal Prince, 
 remitting rents and reducing taxes, began, at this 
 time, to be very harsh towards his tenants and vassals; 
 till he threatened, at last, to strike off the heads of 
 the agents and magistrates, that should fail to collect 
 the arrears due from certain towns and districts. 
 Owing to ill health, the cares of command and the 
 frequent want of money, his temper appears to have 
 completely given way during the last two years of his 
 life, so that his wish for retirement may be easily 
 explained ; but we see no reason why the existence 
 of the army should have depended upon his presence. 
 True it is, that the officers, who had advanced money, 
 had done so more in reliance on the power and for-
 
 216 LIFE OF WALLENSTEIN. 
 
 tunes of the Duke of Friedland, than on the word of 
 the Emperor ; but this is no reason for alleging that 
 they would not have followed another leader, had jus- 
 tice been done them by the Court of Vienna. Their 
 wish, to retain as a commander, the only general who 
 was looked upon as an adversary fit to encounter the 
 King of Sweden, was natural enough, and can hardly 
 be made a charge against Wallenstein. 
 
 Whatever may have been thought on the subject, 
 new negotiations had to be entered upon ; and the 
 Spanish friar. Father Quiroga, the all-influential con- 
 fessor of the Queen of Hungary, went to Znaim, 
 nominally for the purpose of explaining something 
 about the non-arrival of the Spanish subsidy, but, in 
 reality, to persuade AVallenstein to retain the com- 
 mand. The monk was received with the stately 
 courtesy invariably shewn to the visitors of the mag- 
 nificent Duke of Friedland ; but his mission only drew 
 from Wallenstein the remark, that " it was strange 
 to see Kings and Princes employing, in worldly 
 affairs, men who had altogether renounced the world." 
 
 At last the Duke of Eggenberg again made his 
 appearance at head-quarters, bearing, almost suppli- 
 cating, letters from the Emperor and the King of 
 Hungary. The minister declared that he was autho- 
 rised to obtain Wallenstein's services at almost any 
 price ; and as this left him little more, perhaps, than 
 a choice of dangers ; he was forced to yield. Mode- 
 ration had, at no time, formed any part of his cha- 
 racter, and the Court of Vienna knew, that they 
 would have to purchase his services at no very mode- 
 rate price J but the conditions which he demanded
 
 LIFE OF WALLENSTEIN. 217 
 
 exceeded, after all, their most extravagant anticipa- 
 tions. The following were the terms dictated, rather 
 than proposed : 
 
 *' Wallenstein claimed to be made commander-in- 
 chief, with absolute power, of all the Austrian and 
 Spanish forces in Germany. Neither the King of 
 Hungary, nor the Emperor were to appear with the 
 army ; still less to exercise over it any act of autho- 
 rity. The Emperor was to dispose of no military 
 appointment, to confer no reward ; nor was any par- 
 don, which he might grant, to be valid without the 
 sanction of the Duke of Friedland. Whatever might 
 be conquered and confiscated, was to be appropriated 
 at the sole will and pleasure of the commander-in- 
 chief; without the interference of any other authority. 
 As a certain reward for his services, Wallenstein de- 
 manded one of the hereditary provinces of the House 
 of Austria ; as an extraordinary reward, one of the 
 conquered provinces of the empire was to be conferred 
 upon him. All the Austrian dominions were to be 
 open for the reception of the army, in case a retreat 
 should become necessary. On the conclusion of a 
 peace, he was to be confirmed in the possession of the 
 Duchy of Mecklenburg ; and timely notice was to 
 be given him, should it again be thought expedient 
 to remove him from the command." 
 
 In regard to the article of pardon, Wallenstein 
 added, with his own hand, a note to the effect that, 
 *• His Majesty was always too merciful, and forgiving," 
 an assertion, afterwards, rather questionably illus- 
 trated at his own expense. He also recommended, 
 that the King of Hungary should reside at Prague,
 
 218 LIFE OF WALLENSTEIN. 
 
 on the reconquest of Bohemia, ** in order to gain the 
 affections of the people, and to secure the fidelity of 
 the army :" a pretty strong proof, that he never 
 entertained the project so often ascribed to him, of 
 seizing the crown of that country. 
 
 Ferdinand subscribed to these conditions, without 
 a moment's hesitation ; nor does it appear that, though 
 subsequently brought forward as clear proofs of trea- 
 sonable intentions, they excited the least murmur at 
 the time. And the Archbishop of Vienna, writing to 
 Wallenstein immediately after the conclusion of the 
 treaty, congratulates him on his noble and heroic re- 
 solution, which, the Prelate says, " will redound, not 
 only to the Duke's own glory, but to the glory and 
 advantage of the Emperor, and of the whole Catholic 
 world." The circumstance, indeed, that Wallenstein 
 was about to encounter a victorious monarch, totally 
 independent in all his movements, should be borne 
 in mind, before we ascribe to sinister motives, his very 
 natural demands for equal and absolute power. A 
 commander in the field can hardly possess too much 
 authority ; and any interference exercised, from a 
 distance over an army, by cabinets and ministers, is 
 sure to prove injurious to the progress of operations : 
 a truth that no government has more fully and more 
 frequently experienced, than that of Austria. 
 
 Wallenstein's appointment to the supreme com- 
 mand, electrified at once all the imperial armies : 
 from the shores of the Danube, to the Oder and the 
 Adriatic, the influence of his genius was instantly felt : 
 a new spirit was infused into the hearts of the soldiers, 
 and a new war commenced. The Catholics again
 
 LIFE OF WALLENSTEIN. 219 
 
 acquired courage, and the Protestants already antici- 
 pated, with gloomy apprehension, another turn of 
 fortune. The town of Nuremberg, which had received 
 the Kino; of Sweden with boisterous demonstrations 
 of joy, was the first to send a memorial to the new 
 general, assuring him, that the senate and citizens 
 had only yielded to force, but were, in reality, the 
 Emperor's best, and most devoted subjects. Wallen- 
 stein put the memorial into his pocket, and only re- 
 plied, by inviting the deputies to dinner ; a mode of 
 proceeding, that deserves the highest praise ; as it 
 evinced, at once, the general's sagacity, courtesy and 
 frankness. 
 
 We have seen that, by order of the Emperor, 
 Wallenstein had, even before he assumed the com- 
 mand of the army, entered into negotiations with the 
 Saxon general Arnheim. These were still conti- 
 nued, as it was from first to last, the Duke of Fried- 
 land's object to detach Saxony and Brandenburg, 
 from the Swedish alliance. This plan was as just 
 and politic, as his previous plan of a Danish alliance 
 had been j for, if it had succeeded, the Swedes would 
 have been cut off from the north of Germany, and 
 forced to an immediate retreat out of the central pro- 
 vinces of the empire. The Elector of Saxony was 
 still, however, too much impressed with the obligation 
 due to Gustavus Adolphus, to conclude any thing 
 without his concurrence, and it was Wallenstein's 
 object to have the King of Sweden excluded from 
 the treaty, so that nothing was settled. 
 
 General Arnheim, who with his Saxons occupied 
 Bohemia, had allowed the new imperial army to be
 
 220 LIFE OF WALLENSTEIN. 
 
 assembled, almost under his very guns ; unmindful 
 of the indignant remonstrances of Gustavus, he did 
 not strike a single blow to impede its formation ; and 
 he justly became the first sufferer by its operations. 
 On the 4th of May, Wallenstein appeared so unex- 
 pectedly before Prague, that it was with some diffi- 
 culty Arnheim effected his retreat, by sacrificing an 
 insufficient garrison, which he threw into the place. 
 
 No sooner had twenty heavy guns opened from with- 
 out, against the ramparts, than the Capuchin friars 
 began, from within, to break down the wall of their 
 convent, which formed part of the town wall also. 
 Two breaches were soon effected, and an assault was 
 given ; the first attempt failed ; but Wallenstein made 
 the cavalry dismount, and, sword in hand, drive the 
 infantry back to the ramparts, which were carried at 
 the second onset. The Saxons fled to the castle, and 
 obtained terms ; but the Emperor's Catholic troops 
 plundered his good Catholic city. Wallenstein gave 
 money to every soldier who had been wounded in 
 the attack : what the monks gained by their share in 
 the transaction, is not mentioned. Egra and Leume- 
 ritz fell as soon as invested ; and Bohemia was as 
 quickly recovered, as it had been lost. With the 
 Emperor's letter of thanks to the victor, and his assu- 
 rances of endless gratitude for these important ser- 
 vices, we spare the reader, as they are pretty well 
 matters of course, and easily supposed. 
 
 It was the intention of the new General to follow 
 up this success by an irruption into Saxony, not only 
 for the purpose of drawing the King of Sweden away 
 from the centre of the empire ; but for the purpose
 
 LIFE OF WALLENSTEIN. 221 
 
 also of detaching the Saxons from his alliance ; ob- 
 jects as just in a military, as in a political point of 
 view. The Emperor, however, whose dominions 
 were threatened, and the Elector of Bavaria, whose 
 country was in possession of the enemy, brooked not 
 the delay, which this operation might require, and 
 pressed for immediate relief; and Wallenstein, show- 
 ing that he had power to refuse, yielded to the soli- 
 citations of the two Princes. He advanced by stately 
 marches to Egra, where Maximilian joined him with 
 the Bavarian troops, which were to be under Wal- 
 lenstein's command as long as the two armies acted 
 together. 
 
 The frontier town of Egra witnessed the triumph 
 which Friedland celebrated over his proud rival. Not 
 satisfied with seeing before him the Elector of Ba- 
 varia, a supplicant for relief, he had obliged the 
 humbled prince to leave his own country without de- 
 fence, and seek his protector at a distance ; thus 
 shewing to the world, how helpless and destitute was 
 the situation of this once haughty opponent. Maxi- 
 milian submitted : and after a regular deed of recon- 
 ciliation, in which both parties promised to forget 
 and forgive, had been drawn up and signed, a meet- 
 ing was agreed on between them. 
 
 Maximilian had been Wallenstein's most deter- 
 mined enemy at the Diet of Ratisbon, and had again 
 used every effort to prevent his late re-appointment 
 to the command of the army. Wallenstein, on the 
 other hand, had rendered the Emperor independent 
 of Maximilian, and had, by his power and fame, 
 thrown the proud Elector of Bavaria completely into
 
 222 LIFE OF WALLENSTEIN. 
 
 the shade. All feelings of wounded pride were now, 
 however, to be suppressed ; the Princes met and 
 embraced in front of both armies ; and exchanged 
 pledges of faith and friendship, at the very time when 
 one heart, at least, was overflowing with hate and ran- 
 cour. *• It was remarked," says the imperial minis- 
 ter, Khevenhiiller, who had good access to informa- 
 tion, and who could hardly fail to be a judge in such 
 matters, " that the Elector of Bavaria was more per- 
 fect in the art of dissimulation than the Duke of 
 Friedland." What the sentiments of the latter were, 
 we know not ; but the former has left more than suf- 
 ficient proof to justify the historian's assertion. 
 
 It is said that Wallenstein, elated at the sight of 
 the numerous and splendid army assembled under 
 his command, allowed his high spirit, pride or grati- 
 fied vanity, to get the better of his usual reserve ; and 
 that he indulged in some idle and foolish boasts, which 
 were afterwards termed extravagant, because they were 
 not realised. All this, if true, may be called weak- 
 ness ; but before we are stoically severe on the sub- 
 ject, we must bear in mind the circumstances of the 
 case, and the fortunes of the individual. Wallenstein 
 had, by his own talents, raised himself from humble 
 rank to the high station he occupied ; and which at 
 one time had made him the dictator of princes and 
 the most influential man in Europe. The intrigues 
 of enemies, whom such an elevation could hardly fail 
 to create, had precipitated him from the pinnacle of 
 greatness : his power had excited the fear of the 
 timid, his genius the hatred of the envious ; his faults 
 had furnished the ostensible, his merit the real causes
 
 LIFE OF WALLENSTEIN. 223 
 
 of his dismissal. But these attempts to humble him 
 had failed ; and he was now called from his retire- 
 ment, as the only person deemed capable of saving his 
 country and sovereign. He saw his bitterest enemy 
 before him, a suppliant for aid and protection : he 
 found himself at the head of a gallant and war- 
 breathing army, ready at his first sign to execute any 
 deed of daring and of gallantry ; and who, so situated, 
 would not feel his hopes awaken, and his spirit soar, 
 till carried away, perhaps, beyond the bounds of that 
 conventional discretion, the wisdom and the idol of 
 ordinary mediocrity ? 
 
 The imperial and Bavarian forces amounted, after 
 their junction, to about 60,000 men, and formed by 
 far the most numerous army which had appeared in 
 Europe since the time of Charles V. Wallenstein 
 immediately led them into the Upper Palatinate, 
 determined, it would seem, to attack the King of 
 Sweden. How far Gustavus could have prevented 
 the junction of the hostile forces, is uncertain : that 
 he has been blamed by historians, ignorant of such 
 matters, proves nothing ; but that he could not, after 
 their union, immediately face them, in the open field, 
 is perfectly evident j for he had, at the utmost, only 
 about 20,000 men at his immediate disposal. The 
 advance of the foe rendered a quick resolve neces- 
 sary, and Gustavus was not the man to despond at 
 the mere approach of danger. 
 
 With just strategical eye, he immediately fixed 
 upon Nurenberg as the pivot of his future operations. 
 Situated almost in the centre of Germany, this town 
 covered his conquests on the Rhine, the Danube and
 
 224 LIFE OF WALLENSTEIN. 
 
 the Maine ; and left him in perfect communication 
 with his allies and possessions in the north. To 
 make up for his temporary inferiority of numbers, he 
 called in the spade, to aid the lance and musket. 
 Entrenchments, capable of receiving a large army 
 were immediately formed : the works completely sur- 
 rounded the town and suburbs, and extended to a 
 circumference of at least six miles. The lines were 
 flanked by bastions and salient fasces, according to 
 the nature of the ground ; and the numerous outlets 
 were covered by regular half-moons. The ditch was, 
 in general, twelve feet broad, and eight deep ; but 
 from distance to distance there were closed forts and 
 redoubts of a much stronger construction. The river 
 Pegnitz, which runs through the town, divided the 
 camp in two parts, which were connected again by 
 numerous bridges. 
 
 While these works were in progress, the Senate of 
 Nurenberg, seeing that they were forced to take a 
 part, did so manfully ; and atoned for their first pusil- 
 lanimity, by the zeal and ability with which they pre- 
 pared to meet the pending storm. They collected 
 stores and provisions of all kinds, and took every pos- 
 sible precaution to ensure the health and comfort of the 
 thousands about to be assembled around their walls. 
 The city, with its old fortification, formed the centre 
 of this vast place of arms, which was completed with 
 a degree of celerity and stability, that has not been 
 equalled in Europe since the best times of the Roman 
 legions. Upwards of 300 pieces of cannon were dis- 
 tributed along the ramparts of the town and camp ; 
 and before Wallenstein could complete his short march
 
 LIFE OF WALLENSTEIN. 225 
 
 from the Bohemian frontier, the Swedes stood secure 
 and unassailable, within their new fortress. 
 
 To attack such soldiers so posted was, of course, 
 out of the question, and Wallenstein, who was urged 
 to the attempt, said, that " battles enough had been 
 fought already, and that it was time to try another 
 method." He resolved, therefore, to subdue by 
 famine those whom he could not subdue by arms ; and 
 with great judgment, took up a position about five 
 miles to the south-west of Nurenberg, so as very much 
 to narrow, and nearly block up, the channels through 
 which the King received his supplies. 
 
 The imperial camp formed an irregular parallelo- 
 gram, about four miles in length, and from one 
 to two in breadth. It was placed upon a range of 
 wooded hills on the left bank of the Rednitz, a small, 
 fordable stream that ran along the front of the works, 
 and separated the two hostile armies. The entire 
 camp was inclosed by a line of entrenchments : strong 
 redoubts were erected on the most important points, 
 and treble lines of abatis covered all the approaches. 
 Two hills, the one called, from the ruins of an old 
 castle, the Alte Feste, the other the Altenberg, form 
 the highest points of the ground, and were most 
 strongly guarded and fortified. The steep and rugged 
 banks of the Rednitz helped to protect the front of 
 the position ; and ponds and marshes rendered all 
 access to the right extremely difficult. 
 
 From this well-chosen post Wallenstein detached 
 Croats and light troops to cut off the Swedish sup- 
 plies, and to harass the Swedish foragers. Gaunt 
 famine, in its thousand shapes of fear and horror, 
 
 p
 
 226 LIFE OF WALLENSTEIN. 
 
 was now to do the work of Friedland : it is a melan- 
 choly and ignoble ally, no doubt, but the most for- 
 midable of all, when skilfully used ; and on this 
 occasion it vanquished even Gustavus. 
 
 Wallenstein's plan, led to a constant succession 
 of skirmishes between detached parties of the two 
 armies, in which the Croats proved, at first, very 
 troublesome to the Swedes. The most remarkable of 
 these actions was the surprise of Frienstadt, where the 
 Imperialists had their principal magazine. A large 
 convoy, which had arrived from Austria and Bavaria, 
 was assembled there on its way to the camp before 
 Nurenberg. Gustavus received information of the 
 circumstance, and took immediate measures forattack- 
 ing the place. A Colonel Hauwaldt, a very distin- 
 guished officer in the Swedish army, was detached, 
 with a strong party, so as to arrive by night before 
 the town ; while the King himself covered the move- 
 ment with another body of troops. Hauwaldt's attack 
 succeeded completely : he petarded the gates, and 
 carried the place, sword in hand : an immense booty 
 was obtained, and whatever could not be brought away 
 was, along with the unfortunate town, given to the 
 flames. 
 
 Wallenstein, anxious for the safety of his convoy, 
 had detached Colonel Spar, with about 4000 men, 
 to reinforce the escort. At Burgau these troops 
 fell in with Gustavus and his party. A sharp 
 encounter ensued : the imperial cavalry were soon 
 overthrown ; but the infantry made a determined 
 resistance ; and, it was not till the King himself 
 charged them home, at the head of some squadrons of
 
 LIFE OF WALLENSTEIN. 227 
 
 lioise, that they were broken and driven into a swamp, 
 where the greater part were killed or taken. Colonel 
 Spar was among the prisoners : he had concealed 
 himself in the morass ; but was betrayed by his fool : 
 a just punishment, perhaps, for having so strange an 
 attendant, where, as it proved, fooPs play was out of 
 the question. 
 
 The capture of this convoy, by the Swedes, occa- 
 sioned great want in Wallenstein's own camp, at the 
 very time when he was endeavouring to subdue his 
 adversary by hunger. The severe loss sustained by 
 Spar's detachment, also cooled the ardour of the 
 Croats, — the hussars of the Thirty years' War, — who 
 had before rendered themselves very useful ; and it 
 was only by a very daring and successful attack on a 
 Swedish detachment, that Colonel Isolan, the com- 
 mander of these active bands, restored their courage. 
 Wallenstein, who knew how important it was to main- 
 tain the confidence of these troops, rewarded the 
 action splendidly. Isolan received 4000 crowns for 
 his share, together with a fine horse, and was, as 
 usual on such occasions, invited to dinner. Wallen- 
 stein never appeared at the splendid table which he 
 kept : it was presided over by Count Michna, the 
 commissary-general, who could encourage the bois- 
 terous conviviality of the period, which the presence 
 of the stately and reserved Duke of Friedland would 
 only have checked. Before the party separated, 
 Isolan, who was a merry companion and a gambler, 
 had lost at play both horse and money : a page im- 
 mediately placed 2000 ducats before him. The 
 hussar instantly ran to the apartment of the general, 
 
 p 2
 
 228 LIFE OF WALLENSTEIN. 
 
 to return tlianks for such extreme generosity. Wal- 
 lenstein, without seeming to notice the subject, only 
 pointed to a report, just received, which announced 
 that a Swedish convoy was on its way from Wurtz- 
 burg to Nurenberg. Isolan took the hint, and col- 
 lecting his men, sallied forth in search of the enemy. 
 He managed so well that he defeated the escort, took 
 200 prisoners, 3 standards, and 200 waggons loaded 
 with provisions : these last were probably the most 
 w^elcome trophies which he brought ; for famine was 
 already beginning to show itself in both camps. 
 
 Some other instances, illustrative of Wallenstein's 
 character, and manner of gaining on the minds of 
 subordinates, may be mentioned, while we are on the 
 subject. As he knew the value of discipline, though 
 he could not always maintain it, he strove to implant, 
 in the minds of others, the advantage and necessity 
 of paying prompt and implicit obedience to his com- 
 mands. When forming his new army, at Znaira in 
 Moravia, he issued an order, directing that red sashes 
 only should be worn for the future : a young officer 
 instantly tore from his shoulder, and trampled under 
 foot, a fine, gold embroidered scarf, which he had 
 been in the habit of displaying with some pride. 
 Wallenstein heard of it, and promoted him imme- 
 diately. Hiding out one day, a soldier, taken in the 
 very act of plundering, was brought before him. 
 ** Hang up the wretch," said Wallenstein, and was 
 about to pass on : the soldier, who knew that en- 
 treaties would be vain, as the decree so pronounced 
 was considered absolute and irrevocable, drew his 
 sword, and calling out, " U I am to die, I shall at
 
 LIFE OF WALLENSTEIN. 2^9 
 
 least die guilty," rushed upon the general. He was 
 instantly disarmed, but pardoned also. " Now let him 
 go," said Wallenstein ; " he has been sufficiently 
 frightened." A horseman, who had lost his cuirass, 
 was disgraced before the whole regiment ; and an 
 officer, who refused to accept a challenge, dismissed 
 the service. Another, who drew his sword, and 
 attempted to avenge, even in the Duke's presence, 
 an insult offered by a man of rank, was applauded. 
 A private had been promoted for an act of gallantry ; 
 but neglected to return thanks. Wallenstein, to 
 whom the omission was pointed out, declared that he 
 was flattered by the circumstance, as it proved that 
 the man was conscious of having only received his 
 due. 
 
 The King of Sweden had summoned to his aid, 
 all the Swedish and allied troops that were acting in 
 different parts of Germany, the moment Wallenstein 
 made his appearance before Nurenberg. And it is 
 a remarkable circumstance, that this Prince who, two 
 years before, had landed in Pomerania with only 
 13,000 men, now saw 60,000 assemble at his first 
 call in the very centre of Germany ; and that too, 
 after sufficient garrisons had been left in the nume- 
 rous fortresses he had captured. From Bavaria and 
 the frontiers of the Tyrol, from Alsace, from the 
 banks of the Rhine, the Elbe and the Oder, troops 
 of all nations flocked in towards Nurenberg. Among 
 the number were two British regiments, the remains 
 of Hamilton's corps, who after aiding in the recap- 
 ture of Magdeburg, now hastened to the aid of their 
 adopted Sovereign. Oxenstiern assembled all these
 
 230 LIFE OF WALLENSTEIN. 
 
 reinforcements at Kinzingen, about five marches from 
 Nurenberg, and entered the Swedish camp on the 
 l6th of August with 36,000 men, 60 pieces of artil- 
 lery and 4000 waggons. The two most formidable 
 armies which had appeared during the war, now 
 stood opposed to each other : the fire-charged clouds 
 of battle had collected from all quarters of Ger- 
 many, over one point ; and after empires had been 
 ravaged, the long and terrible contest seemed about 
 to be decided in a single field. 
 
 Wallenstein has been blamed for having allowed 
 this strong reinforcement to join the King of Sweden ; 
 but the censure is unjust. From the moment he had 
 determined to make hunger do the work of arms, and 
 knew his own camp to be impregnable, he was per- 
 fectly right in allowing these additional troops to pass 
 unmolested. Directed against the Austrian domi- 
 nions, or well employed in the rear of Wallenstein*s 
 position, the powerful army that Oxenstiern brought 
 to the aid of Gustavus, might have shaken the im- 
 perial throne : within the circumference of the 
 Swedish lines, they could add only to the distress 
 already suffered there. And if that distress was 
 great, before the arrival of this reinforcement, it was 
 greatly augmented by the additional numbers which 
 had then to be supplied. The Swedish troops had 
 lived principally on the provisions so wisely collected 
 by the magistrates of Nurenberg, before the arrival 
 of the armies ; but these stores declined exactly in 
 proportion as the number of claimants for food aug- 
 mented : the surrounding country was completely
 
 LIFE OF WALLENSTEIN. 231 
 
 exhausted, and thousands of the peasantry had sought 
 shelter within the lines, and augmented the scarcity. 
 
 Crime and disease, the constant followers of hun- 
 ger, soon appeared ; and, by breaking asunder the 
 bonds of discipline, added to these evils, all those 
 sure to result from insubordination. Frightful ex- 
 cesses were committed j and the King of Sweden, 
 besides making severe examples of the offenders, was 
 forced to reprimand the German troops in a speech 
 that, for power and eloquence, has hardly ever been 
 surpassed ; and which is said to have drawn tears 
 from the eyes of the hardened soldiers themselves. 
 The effect ascribed to this address has been doubted ; 
 though unjustly, perhaps j for Gustavuswas eloquent, 
 and it is in the nature of multitudes to fly from one 
 extreme to the other: from deeds of cruelty, to repen- 
 tance, and from shame and sorrow, to the commission 
 of fresh atrocities. 
 
 All this suffering, rendered it necessary to employ 
 the army which had been so skilfully, though inju- 
 diciously assembled. On the 22d of August, the 
 King erected three strong batteries, along the banks 
 of the Rednitz, from which he cannonaded the Im- 
 perialists the whole day ; but, as might have been 
 anticipated, without any result. Wallenstein remain- 
 ed immoveable, within his lines, and only replied to 
 the Swedish guns by a similar fire. Hunger was to 
 do his work for him ; and nothing changed his reso- 
 lution. Vain were the representations of Maximi- 
 lian ; as vain the impatience for battle expressed by 
 his army : the entreaties of his friends influenced his
 
 232 LIFE OF WALLENSTEIN. 
 
 determination as little as the repeated taunts of his 
 enemies. 
 
 The first attempt to dislodge the Duke of Fried- 
 land having failed, a more determined effort was to 
 be made. On the day after this fruitless cannonade, 
 Gustavus crossed the Rednitz, with his whole army, 
 near the small town of Fiirth j and took up a new 
 position, which placed him exactly on the left flank 
 of the Imperialists. Here he had the hill of the 
 Alte Feste, the highest and most commanding point 
 of their camp, nearest to his front ; and this he caused 
 to be attacked with great impetuosity on the morn- 
 ing of the 24th of August. Under the fire of eighty 
 pieces of artillery, four detachments, each composed 
 of 500 chosen musqueteers, mostly Scotsmen, as 
 an old Nurenberg writer of the period informs us, 
 led the attack : they were followed and supported 
 by divisions of spearmen, who, on different points, 
 attempted to force the entrenchments. But their 
 bravest efforts were unavailing j no impression could 
 be made on foes, covered by works which nature and 
 art alike combined to strengthen ; and after repeated 
 efforts, renewed with all the gallantry for which these 
 unconquered troops were distinguished, the assault 
 was abandoned, and the combat dwindled down to a 
 mere skirmish, and fire of artillery, which continued 
 till friendly night cast a mantle of peace over the con- 
 tending foes. 
 
 Nothing was gained by the victors, and little lost 
 by the vanquished ; for in the mehincholy trade of 
 war, slight is the stress laid upon mere human suffer- 
 ing. In a sally, made on one point, a body of impe-
 
 LIFE OF WALLENSTEIN. 233 
 
 rial cuirassiers defeated some Swedish infantry, and 
 made the celebrated General Torstensohn prisoner. 
 The Cronberg horsemen, who styled themselves 
 " The Invincibles," were less fortunate : encounter- 
 ing a party of Finland cavalry, under the gallant Stal- 
 hansh, they were defeated and forced to fly, leaving 
 Count Fiiger, their colonel, mortally wounded on the 
 field. It may be presumed that their modestly assu- 
 med title was in no way impaired by so untoward an 
 accident. 
 
 Wallenstein, as his duty commanded, was every- 
 where in the hottest of the fire : he had a horse shot 
 under him, when in the very act of driving some fu- 
 gitive soldiers back to their post. Gustavus exposed 
 himself with his usual indifference to danger, and a 
 musket ball tore away part of his boot. Bernhard 
 of Weimar, whose horse was also killed, particularly 
 distinguished himself: he had carried a hill, that at 
 first promised to lead to some advantage. Colonel 
 Hepburn was sent by the King to examine the 
 ground, and made a favourable report of its command- 
 ing position ; but the failure of all the other attacks, 
 probably deterred Gustavus from following up this 
 single success. 
 
 The advanced musqueteers remained all night on 
 the ground which they had gained, and the firing 
 commenced again at daylight ; but the King, mis- 
 trustful of fortune, which had failed him on this im- 
 portant occasion, and for the first time vanquished, 
 because he was not victorious, declined to renew the 
 assault. Not altogether satisfied, perhaps, with his 
 conduct as a general, he was determined to perform, 
 
 t
 
 ^34 LIFE OF WALLENSTEIN. 
 
 at least, the service of a platoon officer with distinction. 
 Seeing Colonel Munroe, whose duty it was to with- 
 draw the advanced infantry from under the enemy's 
 works, wounded and hardly able to walk, he ordered 
 him to the rear, and seizing the Scotchman's spontoon, 
 brought away the musqueteers in person, closing up 
 the rear, pike in hand, like a captain or lieutenant- 
 colonel. The generous gallantry of the soldier, ab- 
 solutely disarms the voice of criticism, which, on this 
 occasion, might be disposed to find fault with the 
 kingly commander. The Swedish army retired, un- 
 pursued ; and took up a position in front of Fiirth, 
 close to the field of battle. 
 
 As on the capture of Prague, Wallenstem here 
 also, distributed money among the wounded officers 
 and soldiers. Every colonel received a thousand 
 crowns, every private fifteen crowns, and the wound- 
 ed of intermediate ranks, sums in proportion. " Such 
 conduct," says a contemporary writei", *' encou- • 
 raged the whole army, and made the soldiers eager 
 for another opportunity to fight." This well-timed 
 liberality alone, shows the man of genius, and places 
 him immeasurably above the generals who have up- 
 held the starvation system of modern times. 
 
 The letter in which the imperial commander ren- 
 ders an account of this affair to the Emperor, is ra- 
 ther a curious document. The victor speaks modestly 
 of the action, and in general terms only, but allows 
 that the position was, at one time, nearly carried : on 
 the other hand, he is profuse in praise of the officers 
 and soldiers, and solicits for them marks of favour and 
 distinction. He concludes his letter in the follow-
 
 LIFE OF WALLENSTEIN. 235 
 
 ing words : •' The King has bhinted his horns a 
 good deal in this impressa ; and the result has shown, 
 that he can no longer claim the title of invictissimif 
 which must henceforth belong to your Majesty- 
 alone." He acknowledges to have lost 400 men and 
 a great many officers ; and estimates at 2000, the loss 
 sustained by the enemy. As these are nearly the 
 exact numbers stated by the Swedes themselves, for 
 the killed and wounded on both sides, it shews that 
 the generals of the seventeenth century had not yet 
 learned to practise that ridiculous system of exagge- 
 ration, by which so many commanders of the nine- 
 teenth, tried to forge a little fame. 
 
 While the armies remained in position, opposed 
 to each other, some courtesies passed between the 
 respective leaders. The Swedish Colonel Dobattle 
 was taken prisoner by the Croats. Wallenstein paid 
 his ransom to the captors, and sent him back free of 
 all expense, desiring him to assure the King that he, 
 Wallenstein, entertained the highest respect and ad- 
 miration for His Majesty, and looked upon him as the 
 greatest general in the world. He also ransomed 
 another Swedish officer, a Captain Reisel, and relea- 
 sed him in a similar manner, saying, that nothing 
 would give him greater pleasure than to bring about 
 a peace between Gustavus and the Emperor. When 
 General Spar was exchanged, the King of Sweden 
 also made some proposals of peace. These Wallen- 
 stein forwarded to Vienna : but the imperial ministers 
 seeing that the dreaded conqueror had, for some weeks 
 at least, been arrested in his career of victory, thought 
 that all danger was over, and that they had only to
 
 236 
 
 LIFE OF WALLENSTEIN. 
 
 dictate their own terms. The consequence was, that 
 they proposed conditions so extravagant that they 
 were never sent to the Swedish camp. 
 
 The town of Nurenberg had made great efforts 
 and sacrifices, in order to support, for eleven weeks, 
 the countless multitudes pressed together upon its 
 territory. At last, however, all resources were ex- 
 hausted, and a retreat on the part of the Swedes be- 
 came inevitable. Death had made dreadful ravages 
 among the town's people, and Gustavus had lost by 
 disease and the sword, more than 12,000 soldiers. 
 The surrounding fields had been trampled down ; the 
 villages reduced to ashes, and the peasantry, plun- 
 dered of all their property, had sought shelter from 
 violence in the recesses of woods and wildernesses. 
 The heat of the season, the want of proper nourish- 
 ment, and the grave-like exhalations that infected 
 the air, occasioned the most frightful maladies both 
 among men and cattle ; and long after the departure 
 of the armies, the afflicted country continued to suffer 
 from the ruinous effects their presence had occasioned. 
 The King of Sweden seeing that he could not over- 
 come the constancy of Wallenstein, and that he was 
 only bringing destruction on himself and his allies, by 
 his protracted stay, determined to break up his camp. 
 Having placed a garrison of 5000 men in Nurenberg, 
 under the same Kniphausen who had defended New- 
 Brandenburg against the whole of Tilly's army ; 
 he left his lines on the 8th of September, and with 
 drums beating and colours flying, passed slowly along 
 the front of the imperial entrenchments, and pro- 
 ceeded to Neustadt. Wallenstein, regardless of the
 
 LIFE OF WALLENSTEIN. 237 
 
 bold defiance, remained unmoved upon his hills, and 
 so far from impeding the march of the enemy, order- 
 ed his outposts to withdraw on their approach. In 
 his report to the Emperor, he says, " the King made 
 a skilful retreat, and showed clearly enough, how 
 well he understood his business." He assigns as a 
 reason for not obstructing the march of the Swedes, 
 the absence of his cavalry, which he describes as being 
 distributed in distant quarters ; and adds, that he 
 was not disposed to trust to the hazard of a battle, 
 results which he looked upon as already secure. 
 «* With the help of God," he continues, " the King's 
 credit is already very much on the decline ; and it 
 will be all over with him as soon as Pappenheim 
 arrives and attacks him on the other flank." If the 
 prediction was verified, it was owing to circumstances 
 on which, as usual in such cases, the prophet could 
 not well have calculated. 
 
 It was made a principal charge against Wallenstein, 
 in the official statement afterwards published by the 
 Court of Vienna, that he had neglected to attack the 
 Swedes on this occasion. Judging of these remark- 
 able events, from all the information we can now 
 collect, we are bound to say that his conduct, so far 
 from deserving censure, appears, on the contrary, to 
 merit the very highest praise. To have attacked, 
 tried and experienced soldiers like the Swedes, posted 
 behind works so formidable as those thrown up round 
 Nurenberg, would have been rushing on almost cer- 
 tain defeat. When, with their assembled army, they 
 afterwards defied him to combat on open plain, he 
 was more than justified by circumstances, in declin-
 
 '238 LIFE OF WALLENSTEIN. 
 
 ing the challenge, however painful to the feelings of 
 a proud man must have been the taunts to which he 
 exposed himself from friends and foes. But Wallen- 
 stein knew his game, and played it resolutely, in 
 defiance of all the efforts made to shake his purpose ; 
 and his firmness alone proved him far superior to 
 Tilly at Leipzig. 
 
 In numbers and bravery, the two armies may have 
 been nearly equal ; but the Swedes had great tactical 
 advantages. They were accustomed to act together ; 
 above all, they were accustomed to conquer, and 
 placed the most boundless confidence in themselves, 
 their officers and the Sovereign ; and to have risked 
 a field battle against such troops, with a newly raised 
 army, however brave, must have been precarious at 
 all times j but would have been criminal at such a 
 moment. The Swedes, masters of all the fortresses 
 from Colberg on the distant Baltic, to Mayence on 
 the Rhine, were too firmly based to suffer any great 
 loss from a reverse sustained under the walls of Nu- 
 renberg. To the imperial party, on the other hand, 
 defeat must have been ruinous. Wallenstein's army 
 was their last stay, and its overthrow would have cost 
 the Emperor his crown, the Elector of Bavaria his 
 dominions, and must have rendered the Protestant 
 religion dominant in Germany : ultimately, perhaps, 
 in Europe. And, as nearly all the chances of battle 
 were in favour of Gustavus, we are not asserting too 
 much, when we say that it was the prudence of the 
 Duke of Friedland, which alone saved the Catholic 
 power from entire destruction. How the great obli- 
 gation was repaid, we shall soon have occasion to see.
 
 LIFE OF WALLENSTEIN. 239 
 
 CHAPTER VII. 
 
 The long stay which Gustavus made in the camp 
 before Nurenberg, seems the only military error that 
 can be laid, to the charge of this great soldier, during 
 his German campaigns. From the moment that Wal- 
 lenstein's army was arrested before the Swedish camp, 
 not another soldier should have been brought within 
 its limits ; and the great reinforcement which Oxen- 
 stiern led to the King's aid, ought to have marched 
 into Austria and Bavaria, and struck at the heart of 
 the enemy's power. 
 
 From Nurenberg the King of Sweden, directed 
 his march to Neustadt, on the Aisch, where he halted 
 and gave his troops some rest. Having afterwards 
 dispatched Bernhard, Duke of Weimar, to Wiirts- 
 burg, for the defence of the Maine, he returned with 
 the rest of his army into Bavaria, to complete the 
 conquest of that country. 
 
 Five days after the King's departure, Wallenstein 
 gave his camp to the flames, and left the banks of 
 the Rednitz. He directed his march on Bamberg, 
 where he separated from Maximilian, who hurried 
 to the defence of his own country. Wallenstein 
 refused him every assistance : it was his object to 
 separate the Saxons from the Swedes, and he now 
 determined to follow up this well-conceived plan with
 
 240 LIFE OF WALLENSTEIN. 
 
 all the means at his disposal. Having vainly attempted 
 to reduce the castle of Cobourg, which a Swedish 
 garrison defended against him, the imperial com- 
 mander advanced into the very heart of Saxony, and 
 took Leipzig on the 23d of October. But, so far 
 from ordering the country to be plundered and laid 
 waste, as stated by Schiller and other historians, he 
 gave strict injunctions to the contrary. We have 
 before us the letters written to Hoik and Gallas on 
 the subject, and they contain the most positive direc- 
 tions to refrain from all acts of violence. " Let 
 nothing," he says, " be destroyed or taken from the 
 peasantry, for we must live during the winter, on 
 the supplies we can find here." In a postscript is 
 added : " The Croats must not, under pain of death, 
 presume to take a single thing from the people." 
 
 It is not, however, severity of punishment alone 
 that insures from troops implicit obedience to the 
 orders of their superiors. It is only by the perfect 
 working of the whole military machinery, that obe- 
 dience is maintained j and in this essential point, the 
 armies of the seventeenth century were, as already 
 stated, extremely deficient. Gustavus Adolphus 
 was the first who established something like subor- 
 dination : and he was enabled to effect this difficult 
 task, owing as much to the moral strength derived 
 from his character and genius, as from his indivi- 
 dual position. Gustavus was not only a King, but a 
 great King, and his high reputation gave an oracular 
 force to his orders, that hardly left an opening for dis- 
 obedience : and not a little of his success was due to 
 the power which he thus acquired. And yet we learn,
 
 LIFE OF WALLENSTEIN. 241 
 
 from many of his letters, that he could not always 
 calculate with perfect certainty on the exact fulfil- 
 ment of his commands. The Prussian army, under 
 Frederick II, was the first to show an example of per- 
 fect military subordination. The other armies of 
 Europe gradually adopted the Prussian machinery, 
 which worked ill or well, in different countries, ac- 
 cording as national character, habits, manners, and 
 the general state of society, were adapted to the mili- 
 tary frame-work. Where power was sufficiently abso- 
 lute, and well regulated, to enforce equal obedience, 
 from the highest to the lowest j or where a due sense 
 of honour pervaded all ranks, so as to admit of per- 
 fect reliance being placed on the word and fliith of the 
 officers entrusted with the most trifling, as well as 
 the most important commands, there, such a system 
 worked well ; but exactly in proportion as these 
 means of control fell short, so did the system of mili- 
 tary subordination also fall short of excellence. Asia- 
 tic and South American governments, have never 
 been able to introduce military subordination in their 
 armies, and there are armies in Europe in which sub- 
 ordination is to this day, merely nominal. In the 
 German armies of the seventeenth century the pu- 
 nishments were extremely severe : death indeed was 
 the most usual ; but, as we shall see from Wallenstein's 
 own letters, subordination was very precarious. 
 
 The Duke of Friedland, when meditating the 
 invasion of Saxony, had written to Pappenheim, who 
 commanded a separate corps on the Lower Rhine, to 
 march in the same direction, and to join the main army 
 at Leipzig. Suspecting, however, that some excuse 
 
 Q
 
 242 LIFE OF WALLENSTEIN. 
 
 would be made to evade compliance, he inclosed a 
 general order, directing the next officer in seniority 
 to assume the command of the troops, in case Pappen- 
 heim should be detained by illness : and it was signi- 
 fied at the same time, that all the officers failing to ac- 
 company the army, should forfeit their commissions. 
 Commands so positive could not well be disregarded, 
 and Pappenheim appeared accordingly ; but before 
 setting out on his march, he applied both to the Em- 
 peror and to the King of Spain, to have the order 
 recalled. It does not appear that the Emperor took 
 any notice of the application, but the King of Spain 
 wrote to Wallenstein, saying, that '* the capture of 
 Maestrich had so much augmented the arrogance of 
 the inflated Hollanders, as to render Pappenheim's re- 
 turn to the Netherlands very desirable." Wallenstein 
 never allowed the troops to return to the frontiers of 
 Holland, thinking, perhaps, that as the King of Spain 
 had kept back the promised subsidy. His Majesty had 
 forfeited his right to advise the movements of armies, 
 which he never helped to pay. 
 
 Just before Pappenheim's arrival Wallenstein sent 
 an order to General Altringer, who was still acting 
 on the Danube, directing him to march immediately 
 into Saxony, *' because," he says, *' we hear nothing 
 of Pappenheim, who will hardly arrive." This let- 
 ter he incloses, open, to General Gallass, to be for- 
 warded, and writes to him as follows : " 1 may ac- 
 quaint you, however, in confidence, that Pappenheim 
 has arrived within two marches of us, and will join 
 me at Leipzig the day after to-morrow ; but as I 
 well know the Duke of Bavaria, I tell him the re-
 
 LIFE OF WALLENSTEIN. 243 
 
 verse ; for, were he to know it, he would find means 
 to detain Altringer and his troops." It was no easy 
 matter to carry on systematic operations with such 
 precarious authority, and Wallenstein was more than 
 justified in demanding the ample powers he obtained 
 on assuming the command. 
 
 The King of Sweden had reduced Ingolstadt to 
 extremity, when he received the unwelcome intelli- 
 gence of Wallenstein*s irruption into Saxony ; and 
 he was too well acquainted with the character of John 
 George to expose so weak and vain a prince, to the 
 arts and arms of Friedland : for the Elector, though 
 incapable of being himself the head of the Protestant 
 party, was jealous of the fame of Gustavus ; and con- 
 temptible as an individual, he was formidable from 
 the power, as well as from the position of his domi- 
 nions. Gustavus was obliged, therefore, to abandon 
 the brilliant prospects opening in the south, where 
 the road to Vienna was almost clear, and to hurry, 
 with all speed, to the aid of this precarious ally : 
 thus showing how judicious was the plan on which 
 the Duke of Friedland continued to act. 
 
 A sufficient force having been left for the protec- 
 tion of his Bavarian conquests, the King proceeded, 
 by forced marches, to Erfurth, where he joined the 
 Duke of Weimar ; from thence the army advanced 
 to Naumburg, which was so rapidly seized, that Wal- 
 lenstein had not even time to reinforce the detach- 
 ment which occupied the place. On this, his last 
 march, Gustavus was everywhere received with 
 boundless demonstrations of joy. The people, ter- 
 rified at the approach of the imperial troops, flocked 
 
 q2
 
 244 LIFE OF WALLENSTEIN. 
 
 from all directions to meet and hail their protector 
 and liberator ; they kneeled down before him as he 
 passed, vied with each other for an opportunity to 
 kiss, or merely to touch, the hem of his garment, or 
 the sheath of his sword. " Rise up, rise up," said 
 Gustavus, more than once, " or God will punish me 
 for being the cause of this idolatry.'* These testi- 
 monies of love, gratitude and admiration, however 
 foolishly expressed, cast nevertheless a beautiful and 
 brilliant halo round the closing scene of so great and 
 glorious a life. 
 
 The imperial general, true to his plan of separating 
 the Saxons from the Swedes, was on his march from 
 Leipzig to Torgau, where he hoped to destroy the 
 Saxon army, or to intimidate the Elector, when he 
 received the unexpected news of the King's arrival 
 at Naumburg. Another and a more difficult game 
 had now to be played, and Wallenstein took his part 
 accordingly. He immediately counter-marched, and 
 determined to ftill, with his whole army, upon the 
 Swedes, before they could form a junction with the 
 Saxons. Every appearance of success was in his 
 favour : his army was estimated at little less than 
 40,000 men, and the Swedes alone could hardly have 
 more than 20,000 or 22,000 at hand. The oppor- 
 tunity was therefore not to be lost : it was doubly 
 dear to Wallenstein ; because his inactivity before 
 Nurenberg had given rise to a belief that, he feared 
 to encounter the King of Sweden on level plain. 
 The army advanced to Weisenfels, and a regular 
 reconnaissance of the Swedish position at Naumburg 
 was undertaken. But liere, as at Werben and at
 
 LIFE OF WALLENSTEIN. 245 
 
 Nurenberg, the indefatigable King of Sweden was 
 already so strongly posted and entrenched, as to ren- 
 der hopeless all direct attempts to force his camp. 
 
 Wallenstein desired his generals to assemble and 
 consult on the best plan to be pursued : he was not 
 himself present at the meeting, and it is evident that 
 Pappenheim was the person who most strongly in- 
 fluenced the deliberations. A council of war seldom 
 fights ; and on this occasion, all the generals decided 
 against an attack on the Swedish position, which they 
 declared to be too strong to be assailed with any 
 prospect of success. They also expressed the singu- 
 lar opinion that Gustavus intended to make a long 
 stay in his camp, as he had done at Nurenberg. But 
 why the active King of Sweden should have come all 
 the way from Bavaria to shut himself up at Naum- 
 burg, they forebore to explain. It was further deemed 
 advisable by this extraordinary assembly, that Pap- 
 penheim should hasten to the relief of Cologne, with 
 2000 Croats, and that the rest of the army should 
 go quietly into winter quarters ; ready to assemble, 
 however, at a moment's notice if necessary. Wallen- 
 stein entered into the views of his generals, strange 
 as these now appear, and having placed most of the 
 troops in cantonments, dispatched Pappenheim to the 
 Rhine. 
 
 This commander was ordered to dislodge, on his 
 way, a Swedish garrison from Halle, and received for 
 that purpose, six regiments of infantry and six of 
 cavalry ; which were not to accompany the march 
 further than was required for the execution of this
 
 24() LIFE OF WALLENSTEIN. 
 
 service. Wallenstein himself took post with some 
 troops at Liitzen, to cover the expedition. 
 
 Colonel Diodati, who was quarter-master to the 
 array, drew up, for the information of the Emperor, 
 a detailed, and pretty clear account, of all these pro- 
 ceedings. In this document he states, with great, 
 and rather singular, candour, that the plan, devised 
 by the council of war, failed, because " the views of 
 the King of Sweden did not at all accord with theirs ;" 
 — a circumstance that might, perhaps, have been 
 anticipated without much deliberation. 
 
 Before daylight, on the 5th of November, the 
 Swedes unexpectedly broke up from Naumburg, and 
 proceeded towards Pegau. Their object was evi- 
 dently to join the Saxons at Dresden, where Arnheim 
 had arrived with part of his troops : the march on 
 Grima, as reported by Heart, was totally impracti- 
 cable. About ten o'clock in the morning, the King 
 learned, from intercepted letters, as well as from some 
 peasants and prisoners, that Pappenheim, with a large 
 force, had left the army, and that Wallenstein him- 
 self was in the plain of Liitzen. The eagle darts 
 not more promptly, from his tranquil course in mid 
 air, to seize upon some unexpectedly discovered prey, 
 than Gustavus turned, on this occasion, to dart 
 upon the foe, so closely within his grasp. " Right 
 shoulders forward " was the order passed along the 
 column, and the whole army was immediately in full 
 march for the celebrated field of death and fame. 
 
 Three signal guns fired from the castle of Weisen- 
 fels announced to Wallenstein the approach of the 
 Swedes ; and bands of fugitive cavalry soon came
 
 LIFE OF WALLENSTEIN. 217 
 
 hurrying in to confirm the fearful tidings ; for fear- 
 ful they were at the moment. Pappenheim was at a 
 distance ; most of the other troops were distributed 
 in cantonments, and could only arrive successively 
 on the field. To retreat was impossible ; the Elbe, 
 and a line of hostile fortresses, were behind ; to fall 
 back on Leipzig, was to abandon Pappenheim and 
 the other detached corps to certain destruction ; to 
 follow Pappenheim, was to abandon the only com- 
 munication with the Austrian states ; to inclose him- 
 self in a hostile country, and leave open the junction 
 to all the Saxon and Swedish troops. 
 
 In such an hour of fear, courage and promptness of 
 resolution could alone save the imperial army, who 
 were thrown into great confusion by this unexpected 
 advance of the enemy, and Wallenstein was not want- 
 ing to his fame. Though he had hardly 12,000 men 
 at hand, he determined, at all hazards, to make a 
 stand, till the rest of his forces should arrive : the ap- 
 pointed signal guns were fired, and orders sent to all 
 the corps to march immediately upon Liitzen. Pap- 
 penheim also was directed to hurry on towards the 
 field with every man and gun he could assemble *. 
 
 * The Duke of Friedland to Field- Marshal Pappenheim. 
 
 '* The enemy is marching hitherwards. Break up instantly with 
 
 every man and gun, ao as to arrive here early in the morning. And 
 
 I remain, 
 
 A. D. OF M. 
 
 " p. S. — He is already at the pass and the hollow road." 
 
 " I found this letter," says Forster, " in the archives of Vienna : 
 it was covered with the blood of Pappenheim, who had it in his 
 pocket on the day of the battle."
 
 248 LIFE OF WALLENSTEIN. 
 
 Fortune aided these exertions. The roads leadins: 
 towards Liitzen were deep and miry. The Swedes in 
 their advance, had to cross the Ripach, a small stream- 
 let with high, clayey banks, that retarded the march. 
 Isolan defended the passage with Croats and cuiras- 
 siers : he was indeed routed with loss ; but even vic- 
 tory occasioned delay. A thick November fog, so 
 usual in these low, marshy countries, brought day to 
 an early close ; and darkness already covered the plain 
 before the Swedes could profit by the chance that pro- 
 mised so fairly in the morning. Wallenstein made 
 good use of the time thus gained. 
 
 The plain of Liitzen is a perfect level, without tree, 
 bush or elevation, and offers nowhere any advantage in 
 point of ground. But there, as in most of the flat coun- 
 tries of Germany, the roads are separated from the 
 fields by ditches ; and these Wallenstein turned very 
 ably to account. He took post behind the road leading 
 from Weisenfels to Leipzig ; having the small town 
 of Liitzen on his right : the left was entirely uncover- 
 ed. General Hoik placed the troops in order of bat- 
 tle as they arrived during the night, and caused the 
 ditches, that bordered the roads, to be deepened. 
 The earth of the ditch nearest the Swedes, was thrown 
 outwards ; and musqueteers placed in the ditch so as 
 to fire over the excavated earth as over a parapet : the 
 earth from the inner ditch was thrown inwards, and 
 another line of musqueteers placed, on the level field 
 behind it, so as to fire over the parapet, as well as 
 over the heads of the front line of musqueteers. This 
 arrangement was probably more ingenious than judi- 
 cious ; for, to fire over the heads of soldiers, at such
 
 LIFE OF WALLENSTEIN. 249 
 
 a distance, and at so small an elevation, tends to make 
 them, at least, very unsteady. 
 
 About 200 yards behind this road the army was 
 formed, according to a plan drawn by Wallenstein 
 himself. As we have Fdrster's copy of it before us, 
 and as the formation differs so totally from the ac- 
 counts given by historians, we shall here describe 
 it, for the satisfaction of the curious in military an- 
 tiquities. Unfortunately there is no scale attached 
 to the drawing, so that we can form no certain idea 
 of the extent of front occupied. 
 
 The infantry are formed in ten large square bat- 
 talions, of which six are in first, and four in second 
 line : double the number also represented by histo- 
 rians. Behind the openings left between the larger 
 battalions, smaller bodies of infantry, light troops per- 
 haps, are posted ; so as to make in all, something like 
 four lines, the first three resembling the Roman quin- 
 cunx order of battle. The cavalry are posted on the 
 flanks, six laige bodies in column, on each. The 
 entire forms very nearly a parallelogram, the front of 
 which only exceeds the depth by about one-third. 
 On the left, a place is marked for Pappenheim, and 
 a field-work is traced out on the same flank. A bat- 
 tery is marked in front of the centre, where we know 
 that seven guns were stationed. The windmill bat- 
 tery on the right, where, as we also know, seventeen 
 guns were placed, is not marked on the plan. The 
 garden walls round Liitzen were loopholed and lined 
 with musqueteers. What was the number of troops 
 collected, is uncertain j but it is not likely that they 
 exceeded six and twenty or eight and twenty thousand
 
 ^50 LIFE OF WALLENSTEIN. 
 
 men, even including Pappenheim's cavalry, which, 
 contrary to ordinary statements, arrived in sufficient 
 time to take some rest before the commencement of 
 the action- Goltz commanded the left wing. Hoik 
 the right, and Offizius the centre. Wallenstein, as 
 Commander in Chief, very properly assumed no par- 
 ticular post. As he suffered severely from gout, he 
 came to the ground in his carriage, and was carried 
 through the ranks in a sedan chair : it was only when 
 the action began, that he got on horseback. Thus 
 occupied and posted, the imperial army awaited the 
 dawning of the eventful morning. 
 
 The Swedes, after the passage of the Ripach, ad- 
 vanced close to Liitzen, and having formed their 
 order of battle, remained all night under arms. The 
 troops were drawn up in the same manner as at Leip- 
 zig ; the infantry in two lines, w^ith Henderson's Scot- 
 tish regiment in reserve. There were four brigades 
 in front line, and as many in the second ; but the bri- 
 gades of the first had twenty companies each, while 
 those of the second had only thirteen companies. The 
 cavalry, which nearly equalled the infantry in strength, 
 was posted on the flanks, also in two lines ; one 
 regiment remained in reserve along with Henderson's 
 infantry. Forty pieces of artillery were distributed 
 along the line : the left reached nearly to the village 
 of Liitzen, and the right extended to beyond the 
 Floss-Graben, a shallow canal used for floating tim- 
 ber, and easily passed at all points. The King him- 
 self commanded the right wing, Bernhard of Weimar 
 the left, and Kniphausen the second line. In point 
 of numbers, the Swedes, who were probably not
 
 LIFE OF WALLENSTEIN. 251 
 
 more than 20,000 strong, were inferior to the Im- 
 perialists ; but the extended front of their brigades, 
 the greater pliability of their formations, and the 
 superior tactical training of the soldiers, gave them, 
 in all other respects, a decided superiority. The 
 imperial army might be compared to the alligator, 
 formidable from its strength and fierceness if attack- 
 ed in front ; but slow, rigid and unwieldly in its 
 movements : while the Swedish host more resembled 
 the lion, being active as well as strong ; and as able 
 to spring directly upon the foe, as to tear, strike and 
 deal destruction in every direction. Still, the man- 
 ner in which the armies of the period went to work 
 in the hour of battle, with their mixed masses of 
 spearmen and musqueteers, is a difficulty which his- 
 torians have left unsolved, and which, at this distance 
 of time, we are not well able to explain. What were 
 the spearmen doing, exposed, without any power of 
 reaction, to the shot, when the musqueteers were 
 engaged ; and what became of the musqueteers when 
 the battle came to '* push of pike ?" 
 
 Though these particular points are obscure, we can 
 very well understand that, in some way or other, 
 good work might be effected with spears and muskets, 
 because they are manly and formidable arms. But 
 what will posterity think of our bayonets ? — Will 
 they ever believe that such rickety zig-zags were se- 
 riously intended to be used in mortal combat ? And 
 what idea must future generations form of the histo- 
 rians and despatch writers, who have gravely ascribed 
 victories to the power of such weapons ? What, again, 
 must be deemed of the military intelligence of an age.
 
 252 LIFE OF WALLENSTEIN. 
 
 which could tolerate the tactical puerilities founded 
 on the presumed use of a toy, that has been bran- 
 dished, with bombastic fierceness, for upwards of a 
 century, and has never yet, in fair and manly fight, 
 inflicted a single wound on mortal man ? We must 
 return, however, to a battle fought with different, and 
 more efficient arms. 
 
 The morning of the 6th of November broke dark 
 and dimly on the plain of Liitzen ; the sun was ob- 
 scured, and the ground everywhere covered by a thick 
 and impenetrable mist : nature seemed anxious to 
 withhold the light destined to shine on the approach- 
 ing scene of human destruction. The continued fog 
 enabled the Swedes to advance unmolested, and per- 
 haps unobserved, to within about a thousand yards of 
 the enemy. Here they halted : and while waiting till 
 the haze should clear away, the King commanded 
 prayers to be said in front of every regiment : and 
 afterwards gave out a psalm himself, in which the 
 whole army joined. Service over, he rode along the 
 ranks, and addressed the troops. His speeches have 
 been variously reported, and probably a good deal 
 lengthened. Certain it is that he said to some regi- 
 ments, " Fight as usual, brave comrades, and you will 
 this day make me the first King in the world." Gus- 
 tavus, who, — like Alexander, Henry IV, Charles 
 Xn, and other generals of what we may call the 
 bold and daring school of tactics, — always attacked at 
 the head of the cavalry, rode very conspicuous horses : 
 on this occasion he was mounted on a white charger 
 of peculiar beauty ; which, according to Gassion, had 
 been thrown in his way by the enemy, in order that
 
 LIFE OF WALLENSTEIN. ^53 
 
 it might betray him to their fire, on the day of battle. 
 As at Leipzig, he wore a plain elk-skin coat ; a for- 
 mer wound preventing him from wearing armour, 
 the use of which was rapidly declining among officers 
 of rank. Wallenstein also wore a buff coat ; but it 
 was laced and embroidered according to the most 
 splendid fashion of the period. 
 
 About half-past eleven o'clock the sun began to 
 break, with red and ominous glare through the haze : 
 Liitzen was discovered to be in flames : it had been 
 set on fire to prevent the right wing of the Impe- 
 rialists from being turned ; — and stray shots, from 
 the advanced parties, told that the expectant foes 
 were gradually gaining sight of each other. The 
 ardent courage of Gustavus could no longer be re- 
 strained. Placing himself at the head of the regi- 
 ment of Steinbock, he ordered the army to advance, 
 and exclaiming, " Now Lord Jesus give us aid ; we 
 are going to fight for the honour of thy holy name,'* 
 led on towards the enemy. The shouts of exulting 
 thousands who, under such a leader, deemed them- 
 selves marching to assured victory, replied to the 
 order j and the gallant display of pennons and stan- 
 dards that waved high above the ranks of ancient war, 
 told that the unconquered host was marching to the 
 onset. 
 
 A terrible fire of musquetry and artillery received 
 them as they approached : it checked not the pro- 
 gress of troops who, on level ground, acknowledged 
 no equal foes. The trenches are passed, but a heavy 
 loss is sustained and much confusion occasioned in 
 the ranks of the assailants. The left wing of the
 
 254 LIFE OF WALLENSTEIN. 
 
 imperial cavalry, charged by the Swedish cavalry 
 under the King in person, is throv^^n and pursued 
 across the plain. Equal success attends the centre : 
 the blue * and yellow brigades, after scattering the 
 troops that lined the road and carrying the seven 
 gun battery, fall with determined resolution on the 
 first line of the imperial infantry. The serried mass 
 of spears bears down all resistance ; Wallenstein's 
 musqueteers perish in the shock of the hostile lances, 
 and his front battalions are broken and forced to fly. 
 The firing continues only near Liitzen ; the Swedes, 
 masters of a great part of the field, shout victory, and 
 deem the day already gained. 
 
 But on the left they had been less fortunate. 
 Bernhard of Weimar, exposed to a galling fire from 
 the troops posted behind the garden walls and en- 
 closures of the burning village, as well as to the'^fire 
 of the seventeen gun battery, had been unable to 
 make any impression. Gustavus, informed of the 
 ill success of this wing, hurried to its aid. He re- 
 formed the troops, and again prepared to lead them 
 forward. Wallenstein was similarly occupied : rid- 
 ing from rank to rank, and from regiment to regi- 
 ment, he brought the fugitives to a stand, advanced 
 fresh corps and made a fierce attack on the brigades 
 of the Swedish centre, who, disordered by their own 
 success, were forced back across the road, and ob- 
 liged to abandon the captured battery. The ever 
 active Gustavus again arrested the progress of the 
 
 * The blue brigade was composed of British. — Hoyer, Ges- 
 chichte der Kriegskunst.
 
 LIFE OF WALLENSTEIN. 9.55 
 
 Imperialists ; and having, with uncovered head *, re- 
 turned thanks for the victory he thought ah'eady 
 won, galloped forward, accompanied by a few atten- 
 dants only, to see how the advantage could best be 
 followed up. 
 
 At this moment a musket ball shattered his left 
 arm ; and finding himself growing faint from loss of 
 blood, he requested Francis Albert, Duke of Lauen- 
 burg, to lead him out of the battle. In attempting 
 to clear the front of their own men, they came too 
 near a party of the enemy, and the King received 
 another shot in the back. " Take care of yourself, 
 brother," said the unhappy Prince to the Duke of 
 Lauenburg, " I have got enough," and instantly 
 fell from his horse. The foe approached ; the at- 
 tendants fled ; and even Gustavus, the great, the 
 generous and the brave was abandoned in his dying 
 moments. A page, the son of Baron Liibeling of 
 Nurenberg, alone remained by the fallen monarch. 
 This young man leaped from his horse and offered 
 it to the King ; but Gustavus was too feeble to 
 mount : he only raised his hands, and the page was 
 unable to lift him. A party of Imperialists rode up 
 and asked, " who was the wounded man ?" Liibeling 
 replied that he was an officer. The enemy, not satis- 
 fied with the answer, or seeing Swedes advancing, 
 dispatched the King with several sword and pistol 
 wounds. Gustavus, in expiring, said, " I was King 
 of Sweden." Liibeling remained, mortally wound- 
 ed, by the side of his master : the storm of battle 
 
 * Bcrnhard of Weimar's letter to Louis XIII.
 
 Q56 LIFE OF WALLENSTEIN. 
 
 swept along, and both bodies, stript to the skin, were 
 soon disfigured beneath the hoofs of vaunting ene- 
 mies. 
 
 The King's horse, flying wild, with loosened rein 
 and blood-covered housings, gave the first intimation 
 of what had happened ; and fugitive attendants too 
 soon confirmed the fatal tidings. An equerry named 
 Trueshes, who had seen the King fall, was the first 
 to tell the Duke of Weimar that, Gustavus was either 
 dead, or wounded and in the hands of the enemy. 
 Bernhard hastened to Kniphausen, and whispered 
 the sad news into his ear, asking him, what was to 
 be done ? The General replied, that, as the troops 
 were still in good order, it would be easy to effect a 
 retreat. But of this, the high-hearted Weimar would 
 hear nothing : on the contrary, he expressed his 
 resolution to fight it out to the last ; and to release 
 the King, if a prisoner, or to avenge his death should 
 he have fallen. Calling on the soldiers to follow him, 
 in order to liberate their captive and wounded sove- 
 reign, he again reformed the troops and prepared 
 to advance. The colonel of the regiment of Stein- 
 back refused to obey : Bernhard cut him down with 
 his own hand ; the rest submitted. Order havino- 
 been restored, the whole line was again led towards 
 the enemy, who, with great promptness, had taken 
 advantage of his temporary success to restore his 
 battle, and re-occupy his favourable position. 
 
 Undismayed by the heavy fire of musquetry from 
 the trenches, the Swedes again cross the road ; they 
 had the death of their great King to avenge ; and 
 who could value life when the noblest had been sacri-
 
 LIFE OF WALLENSTEIN. 257 
 
 liced ? Religion, loyalty, patriotism animated the Im- 
 perialists : every sentiment that could raise the heart 
 and nerve the arm of the brave, was in action ; nor 
 was a sterner combat, than the one which followed, 
 ever fought by exasperated men. The gallantry of 
 the Swedish onset again bears down all resistance : 
 not only is the windmill battery taken, the large 
 battery on the right also falls into the hands of the 
 assailants ; and the imperial guns are turned against 
 their own battalions. The left wing is once more 
 driven from the field, the centre is in disorder j 
 powder waggons blow up in rear of the army and ren- 
 der the confusion general : whole regiments already 
 take to flight : the exulting Swedes shout victory ; 
 when Pappenheim again tears the blood-stained laurel 
 from their brows. This intrepid soldier received the 
 order to march on Liitzen, at the very moment when 
 his men were en<J:ao:ed in sackino- the town of Halle. 
 He instantly sounded to horse, and leaving directions 
 for the infantry and artillery to follow, as soon as they 
 could be assembled, set out at the head of his cavalry, 
 and hurried, with spur of fire, towards the scene of 
 action. 
 
 The imperial army was beaten, when his heroic 
 spirit gave them another chance for victory. Col- 
 lecting the best of his troops, who had taken little 
 share in the first part of the action, he threw him- 
 self on the ftitigued and loosened ranks of the Swe- 
 dish right wing, and again bore them back. Wal- 
 lenstein, profiting by this success, once more brought 
 the infantry of the centre to the charge. The fiercest 
 combat ever known to any of the soldiers present 
 
 R
 
 258 LIFE OF WALLENSTEIN. 
 
 here took place, and the Swedes, unable to withstand 
 the onset of additional thousands, were forced, with 
 dreadful slaughter, across the trenches, and the twice- 
 captured guns were again retaken. Wallenstein, in 
 the midst of the fire, directed this terrible combat 
 himself: wherever danger was greatest there he was 
 present : all his attendants were struck down by his 
 side ; a cannon shot tore the spur from his heel, and 
 several musket balls lodged in the folds of his buff 
 coat ; but he escaped unharmed. Not so fortunate 
 was Pappenheim, the Telamon of the army, and the 
 most formidable warrior of the House of Austria, 
 and of the Church. Urged on by his fiery impetuo- 
 sity, he penetrated, at the head of his cavalry, — who 
 readily followed such a leader, — into the very midst of 
 the Swedes, and fell, nobly fighting, in the foremost 
 rank. Two musket balls pierced his scar-covered 
 breast, and fainting from loss of blood, he was carried 
 out of the field. While in the arms of his attendants, 
 a murmur reached his ear that Gustavus was no more. 
 When the report was confirmed to him, a ray of light 
 re-animated, for a moment, his glazing eyes : "Then 
 tell the Duke of Friedland," he said, " that I die 
 happy, since I know that this irreconcileable enemy 
 of my religion, has fallen with me on the same day." 
 The gleam of victory, which the spirit of Pappen- 
 heim had shed over the imperial army, vanished again 
 with the fall of its author. The cavalry which he 
 had so bravely led, fatigued by their long and hurried 
 march, were unable to follow up the advantage they 
 had gained. The rest of the army occupied the 
 ground on which they had fought j but in broken
 
 LIFE OF WALLENSTEIN. 259 
 
 and mixed"Up bands, without officers, without order, 
 and totally incapable, therefore, of any combined 
 effort. The Duke of Weimar profited quickly by the 
 helpless condition of the enemy ; and the superior 
 discipline of the Swedish troops well aided his spirited 
 exertions. The reserves were brought forward, the 
 other troops were formed around them, and as day 
 was closing, the army advanced, for a third time, 
 against the Imperialists. 
 
 The resolution itself was enough to insure victory ; 
 for the long and fearful excitement of battle once 
 relaxed, leaves the toil-worn frame nerveless and ex- 
 hausted J and the mind itself destitute of the energy 
 and elasticity requisite for any renewal of vigorous 
 exertion. And in war, a bold onset made by a few 
 resolute men, against troops who have maintained, 
 even successfully, a hard day's combat, is pretty sure 
 to turn the scale in favour of the new assailants. 
 And at Liitzen, the resistance offered to the third 
 attack of the Swedes, was comparatively feeble : the 
 trenches were passed, the guns captured, and the 
 enemy, whose strength and order were completely 
 gone, was forced at last to leave the long-disputed 
 field. 
 
 Under cover of darkness, Wallenstein withdrew 
 his army towards Leipzig, leaving his baggage and 
 artillery in possession of the victors. An hour after 
 nightfall Pappenheim*s infantry arrived ; still strong 
 enough to have disputed the ground with the ex- 
 hausted Swedes: but destitute of orders, and uncertain 
 as to the result of the action, they followed their com- 
 rades to Leipzig ; and without having been exposed 
 
 R 2
 
 260 LIFE OF WALLENSTEIN. 
 
 to a single shot, shared completely in the defeat of 
 the array, by falling, like them, into that state of 
 disorganization, always the surest proof, and worst 
 consequence of a lost battle. 
 
 The number killed outright in both. armies, is ge- 
 nerally estimated at 9000 men ; but as this would, 
 according to modern computation, give about 30,000 
 killed and wounded, we may easily suppose it to be 
 exaggerated. The loss must, however, have been 
 very great ; the whole plain, from Liitzen to the 
 Floss-Graben, was covered, as an eye-witness says, 
 with *' heaps of slain ;" and Wallenstein could only 
 assemble 2000 effective men, on the morning after 
 the action, when he attempted to bring his lost artil- 
 lery from the field ; while the Swedes, on their part, 
 mustered less than 12,000 men at Weisenfels, a few 
 days afterwards. The imperial army was completely 
 disorganised, owing to the loss of all its stores and 
 artillery, and to the fall of its best and ablest offi- 
 cers. 
 
 The most lamented of these was Pappenheim, who 
 died at Leipzig on the day after the action. This 
 officer, who is still one of the most popular of Ger- 
 man heroes, gave at the battle of Prague the first 
 proofs of that dauntless courage for which he after- 
 wards became so celebrated. At the head of a small 
 body of cavalry, he overthrew a whole regiment of 
 the enemy ; and being severely wounded, was left for 
 dead on the field, till accidentally discovered by those 
 who were plundering the slain. A few years after- 
 wards he vanquished the insurgents in Upper Aus- 
 tria J and distinguished himself on all occasions,
 
 LIFE OF WALLENSTEIN. 26l 
 
 during the war, by a spirit of daring enterprise, that 
 rose superior to every toil and every danger. 
 
 This heroic gallantry, though it obtained for him 
 the admiration of his subordinates, exposed him, in too 
 many cases, to the envy of his equals and superiors. 
 Forgetful that in war, the dictates of courage are 
 nearly the best that can be followed, these men re- 
 presented him as a useful soldier, but an incapable 
 commander ; though the result generally proved the 
 reverse. He was long victorious in Lower Saxony : 
 and his romantic expedition to the relief of Maes- 
 trich, so emblematic of his character, showed great 
 justness in calculating movements, and failed of suc- 
 cess, only in consequence of the mean malevolence 
 of the Spaniards, who did not fire a single shot in 
 aid of the army which had come to their assistance. 
 
 At the battle of Leipzig he retarded the defeat of 
 the Imperialists by his exertions, and covered the 
 retreat when the day was lost. It is not true that 
 Tilly ascribed to him the unfortunate result of the 
 action. Both Tilly and Wallenstein were above such 
 practices j and it redounds to the honour of both, 
 that they strove, on all occasions, to place the merit 
 of their subordinates in a favourable light. Wallen- 
 stein deserves particular praise on this account : he 
 was liberal of his recommendations ; but never made 
 family rank, the standard of military merit. 
 
 It is further said of Pappenheim, that he was a man 
 of cultivated mind, and had displayed an early taste 
 for learning and the arts, which too soon withered 
 beneath the chilling tempest of war. We know not 
 how the case may have been ; for none of his letters
 
 262 LIFE OF WALLENSTEIN. 
 
 throw any light on the subject : but we cannot agree 
 with those who would make us believe that war 
 tends to harden the heart, to blunt the imagination, 
 or blight genius in the bud. Our opinion is exactly 
 the reverse : there is so much in war to awaken all 
 the better feelings of our nature, that, though it may 
 occasionally harden the bad, it can scarcely fail to 
 improve the good. In civil life the heart is chilled 
 by a daily contact with callous and calculating society, 
 — to say nothing of the vapid affectation of mere 
 fashion, — generous feeling, if called forth, meets 
 with no sympathy : it finds itself in a strange world, 
 and hastens back, ashamed, to the recesses of the 
 heart, where it withers and decays ; if not, as too 
 often happens, turned to rancour and misanthropy 
 by ingratitude and ill usage. 
 
 In war, on the contrary, there is so much generous 
 devotion to duty and humanity constantly brought 
 before the eye, that it is impossible not to think well 
 of men. Independently altogether of the gallantry 
 and heroism so frequently displayed, in the hour of 
 battle, by the humblest soldier, there is so much dis- 
 interestedness, so much readiness to aid comrades and 
 friends, even at the hazard of life ; so much willing- 
 ness to make sacrifices for the destitute and forlorn, 
 that no man of fair feeling, can help being impressed 
 with a lofty idea of the excellence which human na- 
 ture is capable of attaining. The iron hand of war 
 shakes off, from men, the trammels of habitual thought 
 that bind down the greater part of the species, to every- 
 day mediocrity : it throws them back, and roughly 
 too, upon theirown innate qualities, which are brought
 
 LIFE OF WALLENSTEIN. ^63 
 
 rapidly to light and maturity. That, along with the 
 good, many bad qualities are also brought to light, 
 cannot indeed be denied : but the school which leads 
 to perfection, has yet to be discovered. 
 
 In returning to the direct thread of our subject, 
 we mention, as a matter of curiosity, that among 
 those who fell at Liitzen, was an Abbot of Fulda, 
 who had come to witness the battle. In the request 
 he addressed to Wallenstein, for permission to join 
 the army, this very Christian prelate, — who was 
 killed, not in administering consolation to the dying, 
 but in galloping about the field along with a German 
 Prince, — says, that he is willing to put up with the 
 " fare of the humblest soldier :" and the levelling: 
 hand of war kept him to the very letter of his bargain. 
 Wallenstein abandoned Leipzig, on the day follow- 
 ing the battle, and continued his retreat without in- 
 terruption, till he placed the broken remnants of his 
 army securely in winter quarters, behind the lofty 
 mountains of Bohemia. The victorious Swedes in 
 front, and the unbroken Saxons on his flank, left him 
 evidently no other alternative. He was feebly pur- 
 sued : the Swedes, uncertain of their position after 
 the fall of their Sovereign, proceeded to Weisenfels, 
 where they mustered at first only 12,000 men. These 
 acknowledged Bernhard Duke of Weimar for their 
 leader ; and it must be confessed, that they could 
 hardly have made a better choice. This Prince, who 
 acted an influential part in the great drama of the 
 times, long after Wallenstein and Gustavus had 
 passed away, was certainly one of the most remarkable 
 men, of that very remarkable period. His skill in
 
 S64 LIFE OF WALLENSTEIN. 
 
 gaining the affections of" the soldiers, became the 
 main-spring of his power : his lofty, gallant and chi- 
 valrous bearing, excited their admiration and enthu- 
 siasm, and bound them to his fate, as well in adver- 
 sity as in prosperity. His method of war consisted 
 in boldly challenging fortune, under all circum- 
 stances ; and no bad method it is, when backed by 
 a clear head and brave heart. The Duke of Weimar 
 possessed both, and proceeded, with rare ability, to 
 raise up a throne, formed of the fragments of con- 
 quered provinces, taken from the principal Catholic 
 states of Germany, and resting on no other founda- 
 tion than the point of his sword. In daring, prompt- 
 ness and activity ; in deeds of heart and hand, no 
 general can be placed above him ; and it may be 
 truly said, that he combined, in his own person, the 
 Paladin of the olden time, and the skilful strategist 
 of the modern. 
 
 It is impossible to take a final leave of Gustavus 
 Adolphus, without noticing the reports which have 
 gradually obtained a footing in history, and which 
 so generally ascribe his death to treachery, rather 
 than to the fair chances of battle. A sovereign, on 
 whose life such mighty interests depended, could 
 hardly fall under circumstances, that prevented the 
 exact details from being immediately known, with- 
 out giving rise to some of those tales of wonder, in 
 which the world take such peculiar delight j and ima- 
 gination certainly made the most of the death of this 
 great King. He was said to have been assassinated ; 
 snd new murderers continued to be discovered, and
 
 LIFE OF WALLENSTEIN. 0,65 
 
 new tales of murder to be invented, down even to 
 the middle of the eighteenth century. 
 
 It was at first asserted, that Gustavus had fallen 
 by the hands of conspirators, bribed or instigated to 
 the crime, by the Emperor and the Jesuits. The 
 interest which these parties had in wishing for the 
 Swede's death was, indeed, the only proof ever 
 brought forward to substantiate the unjust accusa- 
 tion : but, on the other hand, there was nothing in 
 the character of the supposed culprits, which, of itself, 
 could free them from suspicion. The instigators 
 being thus clearly discovered ; who were the perpe- 
 trators of the deed ? Here conjecture was at a loss, 
 for no one received any reward for the murder ; 
 though, as we shall see presently, the Court of Vienna 
 was actually munificent in rewarding assassination. 
 Two of the King's attendants, or persons rather who 
 said that they had accompanied him during the battle, 
 obtained, many years after the action, forgiveness 
 and absolution for having, as they confessed, mur- 
 dered their royal master. One of these men died at 
 the village of Crailsheim, in Franconia, and the 
 other at Naumburg, in Saxony. The latter gave the 
 clergyman who attended him, a telescope, that he 
 declared to have taken from the murdered King. 
 The Swedish government purchased the glass, which 
 is still preserved at Stockholm ; and as they paid, no 
 doubt, a good price for it, they probably received the 
 tale of wonder into the bargain. Only one of these 
 men pretended to have been instigated by the Catho- 
 lics to the commission of the crime j but no parti- 
 culars are given : the names of the parties are not
 
 266 LIFE OF WALLENSTEIN. 
 
 even mentioned, and both statements rest on the most 
 unsatisfactory evidence possible. 
 
 Bernhard, Duke of Weimar, was also accused of 
 having killed the King of Sweden : the accusation 
 arose from some difference which had taken place 
 between the two Princes, shortly before the battle of 
 Liitzen. We pass it over as undeserving of notice, 
 and totally inconsistent with Bernhard's frank, loyal 
 and gallant disposition. 
 
 The person generally fixed upon as the murderer 
 of Gustavus, is Francis Albert, Duke of Saxon- 
 Lauenburg ; and his vacillating character, and strange 
 fortunes appear, after all, to have been the only 
 grounds on which the charge was founded. Francis 
 Albert began his military career in the imperial 
 army, and served, not without some distinction, in 
 the Mantuan campaigns. Thinking himself slighted, 
 he forsook the Austrian cause, and joined the King 
 of Sweden, while that monarch was confronting Wal- 
 lenstein in the camp before Nurenberg. Oxenstiern 
 is said to have warned Gustavus against him ; but 
 the King disregarded the advice, and allowed the 
 Duke to remain near his person in the character of 
 a volunteer. 
 
 When Gustavus soon afterwards fell at Liitzen, 
 Francis Albert was the only person near him that 
 escaped unwounded. Not being well received by the 
 Swedish officers after the battle, he went to Dresden, 
 and took service in the Saxon army ; but unable to 
 agree with Count Thurn and Arnheim, he resigned 
 his command ; and endeavoured to obtain service in 
 France. Failing in this, as the French did not wish
 
 LIFE OF WALLENSTEIN. 267 
 
 to offend the Swedes, by employing a person who 
 was obnoxious to them, he attached himself to the 
 fortunes of Wallenstein, and was entrapped by Gor- 
 don, the day after the murder at Eger, and sent a 
 prisoner to Vienna. At the end of a year's confine- 
 ment he obtained his liberty, and a command in the 
 Austrian army at the same time, by forsaking his 
 religion, and embracing the Catholic faith. 
 
 In 1644, he was dispatched with a corps to the re- 
 lief of Sweidnitz, then closely pressed by the Swedes ; 
 but was defeated by the celebrated General Torsten- 
 sohn, who, calling on his troops to avenge, on the 
 very murderer, the death of the great Gustavus, at- 
 tacked the advancing Austrians so unexpectedly, and 
 with so much fury, that the whole army was, almost 
 immediately, broken and dispersed. Francis Albert, 
 a man of distinguished bravery, whatever else he may 
 have been, fought it out to the last, and surrendered 
 only after having been severely wounded. Torsten- 
 sohn generously protected him from the rage of the 
 soldiers, who were inclined to deal rather summarily 
 with the supposed assassin of their King. But his 
 hour was come ; his wounds were mortal, and ten 
 days after his capture, he died, in great agony, and 
 " made no sign." He never, during his life, took 
 any steps to clear himself of the suspicion which at- 
 tached to his name, though he complained of it bit- 
 terly in one of his letters. 
 
 His fate, though a strange one, cannot well convict 
 him of murder : historians have therefore thought it 
 right to add corroborating circumstances, the insuffi- 
 ciency of which we can demonstrate, even at this dis-
 
 268 LIFE OF WALLENSTEIN. 
 
 tance of time. Francis Albert, they say, wore, during 
 the battle of Liitzen, a green scarf which was the impe- 
 rial cognisance, and thus escaped, when the rest of the 
 King's attendants were slain. The fact, however, is, 
 that the green scarf was the Swedish, and the red scarf 
 the imperial cognisance * ; besides which we all know 
 that, under a heavy fire, the colour of a scarf would 
 be little attended to, even if observed. Equally 
 untrue is the story that this unhappy Duke left the 
 Swedish army during the battle, and was the first 
 who brought to Wallenstein the news of the King's 
 fall. Even during the action, it was reported in the 
 imperial army that Gustavus was killed, and Wal- 
 lenstein still knew it by general report only, ten days 
 afterwards. In his first official letter to the Emperor, 
 dated from Freyenstein, the 15th November, he 
 merely says in a postscript, " The King is certainly 
 dead ; left dead on the field covered with many 
 wounds." Colonel Diodati, who was the bearer of 
 Wallenstein's letter, drew up, by order of the Em- 
 peror, a written account of the action, and speaks in 
 the following words of the King's death : •' While 
 the battle was thus fiercelv contested, and while it 
 was yet uncertain on which party fortune would con- 
 fer the victory, it became known that the King was 
 lying dead on the field ; officers and soldiers who 
 knew him very well confirmed this ; but no one 
 would credit the report." 
 
 In opposition to these statements, it is right to 
 mention the account furnished by another eye-witness 
 
 * Hoyer.
 
 LIFE OF WALLENSTEIN. ^69 
 
 of the King's death. Hans of Hazendoiff, a private 
 of the Life-guards, who lost a leg at the battle of 
 Liitzen, occupied himself, while recovering from his 
 wound, in composing what he calls " Truth and 
 Poetry, on the death of the King of Sweden." In 
 this strange account, the life-guardsman says, that he 
 was one of five persons who accompanied Gustavus, 
 when he rode forward to observe the enemy : two of 
 the attendants were dispatched to tell the Finland- 
 ers not to push on so rapidly ; thus leaving only three 
 persons near the King : probably Liibeling, the 
 Duke of Lauenburg, and the author himself. At 
 this moment Hazendorff was wounded and thrown to 
 the ground ; and while in that position, he saw " a 
 great lord " who was of the party, — meaning Francis 
 Albert, — shoot the King through the head, and dis- 
 patch him with a sword after he had fallen. This tale 
 has also been received as authority, though bearing, 
 in all its details, the clearest marks of folly and ex- 
 travagance ; for the author, who, as he says, was fifty 
 yards from the scene, and had just had a leg shot off, 
 not only sees all that passes, but hears all that is said 
 by the dying monarch. 
 
 PufFendorfF was the first who gave historical circu- 
 lation to the charge preferred against Francis Albert, 
 by bringing it forward, less as a surmise, than as 
 an established fact. And as the historian had seen 
 persons who were present at Liitzen, and had, be- 
 sides, free access to the Swedish archives, his book 
 
 was looked upon, — and in many respects justly so, 
 
 as deserving every credit. The work was also writ- 
 ten in Latin, which was the universal literary Ian-
 
 270 LIFE OF WALLENSTEIN. 
 
 guage of the period, and was thus accessible to all 
 the literary world ; so that it served as an authentic 
 source, from whence other writers were contented to 
 take, without much scrutiny, whatever information 
 they required respecting the Swedish history of the 
 time. 
 
 The only person present with Gustavus, when he 
 was killed, was the page Liibeling, whose noble con- 
 duct has been already mentioned. This young man, 
 who was eighteen years of age, died of his wounds 
 six days after the battle. He w^as perfectly collect- 
 ed before his death ; fully resigned to his fate ; and 
 related the particulars we have mentioned, in order 
 that they might be communicated to his father at 
 Nurenberg. The entire statement has been pub- 
 lished by Murr, in his historical contributions ; and 
 throws not the slightest suspicion on any one. 
 
 Liibeling's statement is fully confirmed by the ac- 
 count of the battle which Bernhard, Duke of Weimar, 
 sent to Louis XIII, and which is recorded in Siri's 
 Memoirs. The document contains not a word about 
 the supposed murder, and has been too generally 
 overlooked by historians. 
 
 Oxenstiern, in an official letter written eight days 
 after the battle, says, of the King's death, " I had 
 long foreseen the misfortune, and often requested his 
 Majesty not thus to expose himself. But God had 
 endowed this Prince with a degree of courage, which 
 made him disregard all danger : so that we can only 
 speak of his death as an event that tends to enhance 
 his fame." 
 
 AVe are bound therefore to acquit the unfortunate
 
 LIFE OF WALLENSTEIN. 271 
 
 Francis Albert of the crime laid to his charge : there 
 is no evidence against him sufficient even to justify 
 suspicion ; and we are unacquainted with any motive 
 that could urge him to the commission of so foul a 
 deed. The personal resentment which he is said to 
 have entertained against the King of Sweden rests, 
 in like manner, on a mere device of the enemy ; for 
 it was with the Duke*s elder brother, and not with 
 Francis Albert, that the young Gustavus had a boy's 
 quarrel *. We need, however, be at no loss to account 
 for the death of the great King; where thousands fell 
 in fair and manly fight, the bravest of the brave was 
 but too likely to prove one of the gallant victims. 
 
 The body of Gustavus was embalmed at Weisenfels, 
 two days after the battle, and the unhappy monarch 
 was found to have received nine wounds j four shot 
 and five sabre wounds. 
 
 It would be encroaching too much on the province 
 of history to enter into an examination of the ambi- 
 tious plans which late German writers, Schiller not 
 excepted, have ascribed to the liberator of their coun- 
 try. The debt of gratitude, due to the King of 
 Sweden, seemed to press a little on the Germans, 
 and the authors of that nation have, in consequence, 
 tried to diminish its weight. They positively assert 
 that the imperial crown was his aim, and that he 
 intended to establish, by force of arms, and, at the 
 expense of German liberty, an independent power in 
 the empire. These accusations are distinctly made 
 by Protestant as well as by Catholic writers j but the 
 
 * Lundblat's Swedish Plutarch. 
 
 t
 
 272 LIFE OF WALLENSTEIN. 
 
 proofs necessary to substantiate the charge are totally 
 wanting. That a victorious monarch, in the very 
 prime of life, whose ambition had been fired by a 
 splendour of success, unequalled in Europe since the 
 time of the Romans, would not have gone back 
 empty-handed to Sweden, after dictating a peace to 
 the Emperor, is sufficiently probable. But we have 
 no right to bring a direct charge against an individual 
 of the noblest disposition, because ordinary ambition 
 loses no opportunity to grasp at power and dominion. 
 We can easily fancy a height of character that shall 
 rise above these *' meaner things," and strive only for 
 the attainment of glory and renown : and, if we are 
 just, we must allow that no one, in modern times, 
 has approached nearer to that model than Gustavus 
 Adolphus. 
 
 If, on the other hand, we are disposed to give the 
 rein to imagination, we can well suppose that such 
 a King might, had his life been spared, have raised 
 up a power in Germany which should have changed 
 the face of Europe. Before the onset at Liitzen, he 
 told his soldiers, " Eight as usual, and you will this day 
 make me the first King in the world :" and such in 
 truth he would have been, had he lived to see the close 
 of that fiery combat. Already master of the north 
 and of the west of Germany, as well as of a great 
 part of Bavaria, the road to Vienna was open to him. 
 He might there have dictated a peace. His presence 
 would have rallied round his victorious standard, the 
 Protestants of Austria, Moravia and Bohemia, while 
 his tolerant disposition and popular qualities every- 
 where disarmed his religious adversaries. The im-
 
 LIFE OF WALLENSTEIN. 273 
 
 perial sceptre would then have been within his reach, 
 and would, in his warlike hands, have been an ensign 
 of real power. As politic as Charles V. and possessed 
 of the military talents and popular qualities which 
 that Emperor wanted, he might have grasped at uni- 
 versal monarchy with a prospect of success far greater 
 than any of which the Austrian could boast. 
 
 The efforts at this universal dominion ascribed to 
 Louis XIV. and Napoleon, belong not to our paral- 
 lel ; for the men were differently situated and of in- 
 ferior caste. The first succeeded by regular inheri- 
 tance, to vast power, and his taste for splendour and 
 magnificence gave a brilliancy to his reign which it 
 could never have derived from the mediocrity of his 
 abilities. Napoleon was thrown by the events of the 
 Revolution into the possession of still greater power. 
 A ruthless conscription placed hundreds of thousands 
 of brave and intelligent soldiers at his command, and 
 the victories which he purchased with their blood, 
 dazzled the world, who, in their ready admiration of 
 *' imperial sway," willingly overlooked the meanness 
 of his character, and the insignificance of his talents.
 
 LIFE OF WALLENSTEIN. 275 
 
 CHAPTER VIII. 
 
 Having followed Wallenstein in his progress, to the 
 zenith of power ; we must now trace his footsteps 
 through the dark and dubious path which led to the 
 close of his career. We have seen him, a friendless 
 soldier ; a wealthy, courted and ambitious noble ; an 
 all-powerful dictator, and a victorious commander, 
 balancing even the fortunes of Gustavus. We must 
 now trace to his end the man of doubt and mystery, 
 the same " whose character, obscured by faction's 
 hatred and applause, still floats, unfixed and station- 
 less, in history." The star that appeared before us, 
 feeble at first, and scarcely noticed, till it burst upon 
 the view a wild and fiery meteor, terrifying by its 
 eccentric course more than it gladdened by its bright- 
 ness, has now to pass away, darkened by murky clouds 
 that veil from the eye the real nature of its parting 
 light. 
 
 Immediately after the battle of Liitzen, Wallen- 
 stein dispatched the Marquis de Grana to Vienna, 
 to acquaint the Emperor with the particulars of the 
 action. But the Italian, not wishing, perhaps, to be 
 the bearer of indifferent news, was taken ill on the 
 road, so that Colonel Diodati, the quarter-master- 
 general, had to replace him. Owing to this delay, 
 
 s g
 
 276 LIFE OF WALLENSTEINi. 
 
 Ferdinand heard nothing of the battle till thirteen 
 days after it had been fought. 
 
 Wallenstein, in the few lines which he wrote, laid 
 no claim to victory, as has been asserted. He was, 
 with all his faults, above these poor practices : he 
 simply referred the Emperor to Colonel Diodati for 
 information, and only mentioned, in a postscript, 
 that the Kinsj of Sweden was dead. Ferdinand 
 having heard the colonel's verbal account, directed 
 him to draw up a written statement of the affair ; 
 and it is in this report, which Forster has published, 
 that a victory is claimed for the Imperialists *. The 
 first part of the quarter-master-general's narrative 
 is very good ; and better, perhaps, than some of 
 the modern functionaries of the department would 
 write ; but towards the end there is sad faltering, 
 and the Italian finds it difficult to account for a 
 retreat following so quickly upon a victory : military 
 mystification was then in its infancy. Diodati de- 
 clares that the retrograde movement was owing to 
 want of provisions ; the battle having been gained, 
 the troops *' retired in the night, with the loss of 
 certain pieces of artillery." Ferdinand was willing 
 enough to believe himself victorious, and wrote imme- 
 diately to Wallenstein, thanking him for the important 
 service he had rendered the state and the cause, and 
 
 * Tilly's account of the battle of Leipzig is much fairer : he 
 frankly admits having been defeated, and says, tliat it is " a heavy 
 misfortune, which can only be atoned for by courage and activity." 
 He also sends an officer to Vienna, who draws up, for the Emperor's 
 information, an account of the battle : it is a clear, plain statement ; 
 very difl'erent from the generality of modern bulletins.
 
 LIFE OF WALLENSTEIlsr. 277 
 
 congratulating him on the death of the " Swede," 
 as he calls Gustavus. The great satisfaction evinced 
 by the Emperor, in offering these congratulations, 
 tends to throw doubt on the story of his having 
 shed tears when he was shewn the blood-stained coat 
 which the King of Sweden had worn at Liitzen. 
 Wallenstein spoke more frankly, and more in cha- 
 racter, when he said, after the death of Gustavus, 
 *' It is well for him and me that he is gone : there 
 was no room in Germany for both our heads." 
 
 In all Catholic countries Te Deiim was sung for 
 the victory of Liitzen, and at Madrid, the King of 
 Sweden's death was represented on the stage, in a 
 drama of twenty-four acts, which was repeated for 
 twelve successive nights ; and whoever failed to appear 
 was looked upon as an enemy of the House of Austria. 
 Pope Urban VIII. was indeed the only Catholic 
 prince who behaved with Christian feeling on the 
 occasion ; for which he was loudly enough censured 
 by the rest of the Catholic world. 
 
 To the Catholic cause, the death of Gustavus was 
 ultimately of more advantage than any which could 
 have been derived from a mere victory in the field ; 
 but it had been balanced by defeat, instead of being 
 crowned by success, and did not immediately lead to 
 any brilliant result. Great therefore was the disap- 
 pointment of their party : they expected to have been 
 instantly replaced at the height of power from whence 
 they had been precipitated by the victories of the 
 King of Sweden. They now found that they had 
 only escaped destruction, and that the battle for supre- 
 macy still remained to be fought : they seemed not
 
 278 LIFE OF WALLENSTEIN. 
 
 to know that the genius of a great man will long 
 survive his fall ; and that ordinary hands may guide 
 the helm, after the master-spirit has once indicated 
 the course that is to he pursued. Gustavus once 
 removed, they thought that Wallenstein was imme- 
 diately to carry every thing before him ; and were 
 dissatisfied because the general did not act up to their 
 exaggerated expectations. 
 
 The imperial commander had no sooner settled his 
 army in winter quarters behind the mountain ram- 
 parts of Bohemia ; than with his usual magnificence 
 he began to reward the officers and soldiers who had 
 distinguished themselves in the battle. Besides be- 
 stowing gold chains and medallions, he gave away, 
 in presents, to individuals and regiments, a hundred 
 thousand crowns, equal perhaps to what a hundred 
 thousand pounds would be in our time ; and an enor- 
 mous sum certainly, for a private individual to give out 
 of his own funds. Count Brenner received 12,000 
 florins ; Colonel Kerhous, 16,000 ; the regiment of 
 Comar, 10,000 ; Colonel Berthold Wallenstein's 
 regiment, 9000, and so on. The names of all the 
 officers who shared in this bounty are recorded ; but 
 we do not find Piccolomini among the number ; nor 
 does any thing appear to justify the usual report that 
 Wallenstein entertained any friendship for this man. 
 He was rather, we suspect, too good a judge of cha- 
 racter to place any confidence in so mean and worth- 
 less a person. 
 
 Rewards having been distributed to the deserving, 
 the more painful task of punishing the guilty re- 
 mained to be fulfilled. And severe as the military
 
 LIFE OF WALLENSTEIN. 279 
 
 punishments of the period certainly were, those in- 
 flicted after the battle of Liitzen, were among the 
 most sanguinary that are recorded *. Twelve officers, 
 convicted of having misbehaved before the enemy, 
 were beheaded at Prague, on the 4th of February 
 1633. Seven others were cashiered with infamy, and 
 their swords broken, by the public executioner, on 
 the scaffold. Forty who had absconded, and refused 
 to stand their trials, were declared dishonoured and 
 disgraced, and had their names affixed to the gibbet. 
 As most of these officers were men of high family, — 
 one was an Italian Count, — and as they were not 
 even allowed to solicit pardon from the Emperor, 
 their punishment exposed Wallenstein to severe ani- 
 madversions. And though he had not acted in the 
 first heat of the moment, but allowed two months to 
 pass before he brought them to trial, it was still said 
 that he only sought to wash out, in the blood of inno- 
 cent men, the disgrace of his late defeat. Others 
 maintained that he only wished to show his power and 
 total independence of the Emperor, by these severi- 
 ties. 
 
 Strictly speaking, the punishments were probably 
 well deserved ; but whether men should be punished 
 with such severity, unless fully and fairly aware of 
 their duty, and of the consequence of failing in its 
 performance, is a different question. In the seven- 
 
 * In 1642, the imperial cavalry regiment of Madloi, which led 
 the flight at the second battle of Leipzig, was decimated. The 
 colonel, several of the oflBcers and every tenth man, suffered death 
 by the sword : the rest were declared infamous in front of the 
 whole army, and dismissed from the service.
 
 280 LIFE OF WALLENSTEIN. 
 
 teenth century the rules of duty and of discipline 
 were too ill defined, and were too frequently deviated 
 from with impunity, to justify altogether these ter- 
 rible examples. Still, it must be allowed that Wal- 
 lenstein, standing almost alone and unsupported by 
 a good system or a good staff, for we hardly find a 
 trace of either, effected wonders by the mere force of 
 rewards and punishments : he had always a nume- 
 rous army well in hand ; and it may be doubted whe- 
 ther the Austrians ever fought, either before or after- 
 wards, with more determined resolution, than at 
 Liitzen. 
 
 The imperial commander employed the repose 
 which the winter secured for him, to recruit and re- 
 organise his army ; and on this occasion we find him, 
 for once, touching on the subject of tactics. And it 
 is curious to see the '* creator of mighty armies," as 
 Wallenstein has been termed, paying in general so 
 little attention to this important professional subject. 
 In this respect, at least, he resembles the com- 
 manders of the present age, not one of whom has 
 ever done the slightest thing for the science of tac- 
 tics, the very foundation on which rests the whole 
 science of war. We have had changes of dress in 
 abundance ; in matters of drill, we have changed from 
 one puerility to another ; but in regard to tactics we 
 have not made a single step of progress since the days 
 of Frederick II. During the late war some change 
 took place in the mode of fighting, or rather in the 
 mode of employing the tactical machines : this arose 
 principally from the circumstance of unskilful men 
 being entrusted with the command of large armies j
 
 LIFE OF WALLENSTEIN. 281 
 
 but SO far from any improvement having been made, 
 the British, who deviated the least from the old me- 
 thod, managed better than those who deviated the 
 most. 
 
 Wallenstein's tactical regulations are not nume- 
 rous: he only gives two orders to the cavalry, but one 
 of these shows that, he well knew wherein consisted 
 the real strength of that arm. In directing the heavy 
 cavalry to be deprived of their carbines, he says, " few 
 of the soldiers know how to use them, and having 
 once given a fire, they think they have only to make 
 a ' caracol,* and turn their back on the enemy :" 
 that is, he wishes to reduce the cavalry to the use of 
 the sword, the only real cavalry weapon. The other 
 order directs all the heavy cavalry to be provided 
 with cuirasses ; *' because it was found in the late ac- 
 tion that the mail-clad horsemen did their duty, while 
 the others ran away." Of this last order we cannot 
 so entirely approve ; though it may have been less 
 objectionable in the time of Wallenstein than it would 
 be at present. At the period, of which we are writ- 
 ing, artillery was less numerous than it has become 
 since, and fire-arms w^ere less perfect ; so that the 
 weight and inconvenience of the cuirass might be 
 redeemed by advantages, of which it has been deprived 
 by the augmented fire of modern battles, that renders 
 celerity of action so essential. No passive resistance 
 can be opposed to modern arms : their action must 
 be met and destroyed by superior action ; for neither 
 masses nor cuirasses can arrest round shot, grape or 
 musket-balls j and all the defensive arms and forma-
 
 282 LIFE OF WALLENSTEIN. 
 
 tions, would long since have been consigned to ridi- 
 cule, but for the pertinacity with which, according to 
 Marshal Saxe, military men adhere to existing prac- 
 tices, however objectionable. Authorities, indeed, 
 will not always perceive that there is a wide difference 
 between disobeying orders and detecting errors : they 
 identify themselves with established regulations, and 
 too often look upon all attempts to point out defi- 
 ciencies, as little better than direct violations of disci- 
 pline. Implicit obedience to the rules of the service, 
 and to the orders of their superiors, is the first duty 
 of soldiers ; but men may be obedient without being 
 blind ; though the pride of station is not always dis- 
 posed to grant even this concession. 
 
 To supply the artillery lost at the battle of Liitzen, 
 Wallenstein, is said, to have taken down the church 
 bells for the purpose of having them cast into cannon. 
 The assertion rests on no good authority, though it 
 is not likely he would have hesitated much, had there 
 been any necessity for the proceeding. But as his 
 fall has often been quoted as an additional proof of 
 the fate, sooner or latter sure to attend all who quarrel 
 with the Church, — or who formerly, perhaps, quar- 
 relled with the Church of Rome, — it may be as well 
 to say a few words respecting the position in which 
 he stood towards the clergy. 
 
 If we suppose the Catholic clergy to have been as 
 ambitious, bigoted, cunning and intriguing, as their 
 opponents assert, we may well suppose that Wallen- 
 stein would incur their hatred. Totally free from 
 prejudices j proud, haughty and overbearing j en-
 
 LIFE OF WALLENSTEIN. 283 
 
 (lowed with a clear and vigorous understanding ; 
 gifted with the dreaded 
 
 " power that took 
 
 Their thoughts from others at a single look," 
 
 he could not fliil of being obnoxious to such a priest- 
 hood. Always ready to tear aside the slender veil, 
 beneath which designing and little-minded persons 
 so constantly strive to conceal the motives of un- 
 worthy actions, he stood " in his pride of place," the 
 natural and declared enemy of the Church of Rome. 
 
 If, on the other hand, we give the Roman clergy 
 credit only for ordinary fair dealing, and forget alto- 
 gether that they were a class of men who had volun- 
 tarily dedicated themselves to the instruction of 
 others, in the ways of virtue and religion, — a pursuit 
 that could hardly fail to make the mass of the clergy 
 better than the mass of ordinary laymen ; we can 
 discover no cause for the bitter hatred which they 
 are said to have entertained against the lordly Duke 
 of Friedland. Wallenstein had, at an early age, 
 become a convert to the Roman Church : he had 
 fought in its cause, and was its most powerful cham- 
 pion. In his principalities he had endowed churches 
 and convents ; and at one time favoured the Jesuits, 
 who, even after his death, boasted of his friendship 
 as a proof of their merit. He never, in exterior man- 
 ner, affected to be what is called devout ; but when- 
 ever in his letters he touches upon religious subjects, 
 he always writes in a sincerely Christian spirit. 
 
 When directing a convent to be founded, at Stippa 
 in Moravia, he says, " We must strive to exchange
 
 284 LIFE OF WALLENSTEIN. 
 
 the worldly for the heavenly, and all that is poor and 
 transitory, for what is great and everlasting." He 
 often writes in the same tone, and is on many occa- 
 sions very liberal to the church, though he sometimes 
 lectures and reprimands the clergy. The Jesuits also 
 lose favour with him at a later period : they had 
 attempted to enlist, in their order, two young noble- 
 men whom he had entrusted to their charge ; and he 
 declares in a letter, that he would willingly give 
 100,000 crowns if he could get rid of them again. 
 Some monks at Leippa also come in for a share of 
 censure: he directly accuses them of having spent " on 
 dissolute women and in their usual debaucheries," 
 a sum of 2000 florins which he had given them for 
 the improvement of their convent. 
 
 His greatest crime, however, in the eyes of the 
 Church, if he had any such crime, was his spirit of tole- 
 ration. Individually, he never persecuted any one 
 on account of religion, and favoured and employed 
 Protestants as readily as the most zealous Catholics. 
 Immediately after the battle of Llitzen, he recom- 
 mended that the Emperor should avail himself of the 
 consternation occasioned among the Protestants by 
 the death of Gustavus — grant universal amnesty, 
 proclaim religious toleration, and proceed, on the 
 strength of such acts, to conclude a general peace. 
 But the noble and exalted views of the soldier, were 
 not calculated for the meridian of the cabinet of 
 Vienna : there the prospect of acquiring spoil and 
 power, overbalanced every other consideration : and 
 sixteen years of sanguinary war were the conse- 
 quences of this narrow view, while Wallenstein's
 
 LIFE OF WALLENSTEIN. '285 
 
 tolerant spirit was afterwards brought forward as a 
 charge against him. 
 
 With his usual ability, Wallenstein had recruited 
 and reformed his army during the winter. It now 
 amounted to 40,000 men, all well equipped ; and on 
 the 5th of May 1633, he left Prague, in order to 
 open his last campaign. An eye-witness thus de- 
 scribes his departure : " The train announced the man 
 who, in power and splendour, vied even with the 
 Emperor himself. The procession consisted of four- 
 teen carriages, each drawn by six horses : twenty 
 cavaliers of rank attended on Wallenstein's own per- 
 son ; and a hundred and twenty livery servants fol- 
 lowed in the suite. All the court attendants were 
 dressed in new scarlet and blue uniforms ; and ten 
 trumpeters sounding their silver gilt trumpets, opened 
 the way. All the baggage waggons were covered 
 with gilt leather ; the greatest order prevailed in the 
 establishment, and every person knew exactly what 
 was his place, and what were his duties. The Duke 
 himself was dressed in a horseman's bufF-coat ; and 
 the entire scene resembled more a victor's triumph 
 than the march of a lately baffled commander." 
 
 Count Gualdo, who long served under Wallenstein, 
 says, that " in the field, his usual dress was a buff or 
 elk-skin coat, red hose, a red scarf, a scarlet cloak 
 and a grey castor hat adorned with red feathers. He 
 always wore boots and spurs, and never appeared 
 without the order of the Golden-fleece, which the 
 King of Spain had conferred upon him. In the 
 latter years of his life, he suffered greatly from gout, 
 walked with difficulty, and was forced to lean on a
 
 286 LIFE OF WALLENSTEIN. 
 
 bamboo cane for support. His dislike of noise," which 
 we have before noticed, ** was such, that he could 
 not bear the barking of dogs, nor the clatter of the 
 large spurs then in fashion." The story that he once 
 caused a servant, who approached him with these 
 large clanging spurs, to be hanged for the offence, 
 shows what liberties fame took with the reputation 
 of this dreaded and powerful individual. 
 
 " Actions of spirit and enterprise," continues the 
 Italian, *' were sure to meet with his approbation, 
 even when bordering on extravagance. Wit, prompt- 
 ness and originality were passports to his favour ; 
 but the qualities he valued most in military men, 
 were pride, ambition, daring and resolution. He had 
 a marked aversion to regular court-jesters, as well as 
 to buffoons of every kind ; but men of genius and 
 talent were sure of his friendship and protection. He 
 was a firm friend to the soldiers, and never lost an 
 opportunity of speaking in their favour. In reward- 
 ing or promoting officers, he was guided solely by the 
 merit of the candidates, and never influenced by 
 family connections, or by recommendations from men 
 of rank, not even by those of the Emperor himself." 
 We manage things differently here ; for in the Eng- 
 lish service, no one speaks in favour of the soldiers, 
 and promotion is sold for money, or given according 
 to the interest of the parties ; and always as an ine- 
 vitable consequence of such a system, with the most 
 perfect disregard of merit. Gualdo, who, from his 
 position in the imperial army, could not write very 
 favourably of Wallenstein, concludes his account of 
 him, by saying that, " he carried firmness and im-
 
 LIFE OF WALLENSTEIN. 287 
 
 patience to obstinacy, severity to cruelty, and libera- 
 lity to extravagance J while he made the highest, the 
 Emperor not excepted, feel the effects of his unbend- 
 ing pride." 
 
 It is to be regretted that the Count does not tell us 
 how this pride, which has given rise to so many 
 charges against the Duke of Friedland, — was actually 
 displayed ; for there are various qualities of pride. 
 The pride resulting from great actions and great intel- 
 lect, if perceptible, can only press upon the envious : 
 whereas the pride of birth, wealth, office, rank and 
 station, is offensive, and would perhaps be insulting, 
 were it not for the shade of ridicule which it casts over 
 the possessor. Thus mellowed, good men pity the 
 infirmity, and ordinary men forgive it ; because, as 
 La Rochefoucault says, even the best are too often 
 pleased with the misfortunes of others. The pride, 
 again, which, without vulgar condescension, — and so 
 many men are guilty of showing condescension that 
 the distinction must be marked, — could be affable 
 with the humble soldier and high with emperors and 
 princes, may have been of a nature to deserve praise 
 rather than the heavy censure, so universally cast upon 
 Wallenstein. His letters contain no appearance of 
 offensive pride : a polite and dignified tone pervades 
 the whole of them : we see nothing of the haughty 
 and overbearing style, so often affected by little per- 
 sons in high stations ; and the man who made mo- 
 narchs and ministers feel the superiority due to talents 
 and character, when contrasted, even with imperial 
 power, — always requests where he could command ; 
 often indeed when the request has to be repeated. 
 
 t
 
 288 LIFE OF WALLENSTEIN. 
 
 There is still preserved, in the castle of Friedland, 
 a very striking, full length original picture of Wallen- 
 stein. The face is like the portrait prefixed to this 
 volume : the Duke is dressed in the bufF-coat above 
 mentioned, resembling in cut the surtout of the pre- 
 sent day : it is splendidly " frounced and broider'd 
 o'er,** fits close to the body, and is buttoned up to 
 the throat. Long boots, fitting the leg, reach above 
 the knee, and join the large trunk hose : a fine point 
 lace collar falls over the breast and shoulders, and 
 point ruffles of the same kind double back over the 
 cuffs of the coat. His gauntlet-fashioned gloves, one 
 of which is on, are, like his scarf, richly embroidered, 
 and he wears one of tlie long Toledo rapiers, with 
 the large and beautifully worked bar hilts, generally 
 worn by the cavaliers of the period. The entire 
 fio-ure is striking and noble, and the martial and 
 appropriate nature of the dress, contrast fiivourably 
 with the absurd military costumes which it has since 
 been the flishion to devise. 
 
 Before proceeding with our narrative, it may be 
 right at once to state, that every thing which follows, 
 rests, as far as the actions of Wallenstcin are directly 
 concerned, on authentic documents, published or in- 
 spected by Forster. The German author prints many 
 of these at length; from others he gives extracts : our 
 limits must confine us to the substance only. The 
 Swedish authorities that have been used are nearly 
 as authentic as the German ones ; for it is well known 
 that the work of Chemnitz was written almost under 
 the direction of Oxenstiern, and inspected, previous 
 to publication, by that great statesman himself. 
 Wallenstein on taking the field directed the greater
 
 LIFE OF WALLENSTEIN. 289 
 
 part of his force against Silesia, which the Saxons, 
 under Arnheim, had conquered during the Liitzen 
 campaign ; and it was expected that the opponent 
 of Gustavus would soon have cleared the province of 
 Arnheim and his troops. But the expectation was 
 disappointed ; for Wallenstein appeared in the field, 
 not to fight, but to conclude an armistice and open 
 negotiations with the Saxons. Forster, who is as 
 often a special pleader as a biographer, accounts for 
 this inactivity, on the grounds of the General's ill 
 health, and of his predilection for the embellishment 
 of his principalities, on v/hich he had expended vast 
 sums. The first excuse, if true, is not a good one, for 
 he might have obtained leave of absence ; or he 
 should have resigned the command, if unequal to the 
 duties it imposed : and he might have done so with 
 credit after the death of Gustavus *. The second, 
 is no excuse at all ; for private considerations must 
 never be allowed to influence the public conduct of 
 a public man ; least of all that of a soldier. 
 
 Peace was clearly Wallenstein's object ; and, he 
 probably saw, in the then situation of affairs, a better 
 prospect of bringing the war to an end by sparing 
 the Saxons, than by overthrowing them. It is also 
 possible that he wished to establish a balance between 
 the contending parties, which, by the aid of his wealth, 
 reputation and influence with the soldiers, should 
 enable him to give the ultimate decision, and gain 
 
 * Montecucoli did so after the death of Tuienne. " A man," 
 said he, " who has had the honour of commanding against Conde, 
 Mahomet Kuprogli and Turenne, must not risk his reputation in 
 contending against inexperienced and chance-favoured generals." 
 
 T
 
 290 LIFE OF WALLENSTEIN. 
 
 advantages both for himself and the Emperor. The 
 Swedes were the most formidable enemies of Austria, 
 and he knew that the jealousies, existing between 
 them and the Saxons, had rather increased than dimi- 
 nished since the death of Gustavus. 
 
 The Elector of Saxony, who had ill supported the 
 influence exercised over the Protestants by the King 
 of Sweden, could still less brook to see that influence 
 in the hands of Oxenstiern, who acted as legate of the 
 Swedish crown in Germany. This great statesman, 
 the greatest, perhaps, that modern times can show, 
 — because, to profound learning and knowledge of 
 the world, he added the highest and most brilliant 
 talents, the noblest integrity of purpose, boundless 
 activity and unbending firmness, — had been appoint- 
 ed, by the League of Heilbron, to take upon himself 
 the management of the war. The Protestant states 
 of the four Upper Circles of the empire composed this 
 league ; and they invited all their brethren in belief 
 to join them for the good of the common cause ; but 
 the Elector of Saxony refused to become one of their 
 members, though he still carried on the war as an 
 ally ; and at his suggestion, the Duke of Branden- 
 burg adopted a similar line of policy. This, of 
 course, put an end to all unity of action among the 
 Protestants ; and it required not Wallenstein's saga- 
 city to foresee, that opportunities for taking advantage 
 of their differences would soon offer. We shall find 
 that he was right in his conjecture : but the short- 
 sighted policy of the Courts of Munich and Vienna 
 baffled his honest plans for turning the divisions to 
 account, and drove him, perhaps, to the formation
 
 LIFE OF WALLENSTEIN. 291 
 
 of projects, the suspicion of which, still weighs on his 
 memory and darkens his fame. 
 
 We have before stated, that rumours, ascribing 
 to Wallenstein the most extravagant and ambitious 
 plans, had been circulated, after his dismissal from 
 the command at the Diet of Ratisbon. The unex- 
 pected armistice just mentioned, led to a renewal of 
 these reports. Wallenstein, it was said, had offered 
 to join the Saxons ; the two armies combined were 
 to march against Vienna ; a peace was to be forced 
 upon the Emperor ; the Jesuits were to be driven 
 from the empire ; the Protestants to be placed on 
 the same footing on which they were under Rudolph 
 and Mathias ; the property of the exiled was to be 
 restored ; and Wallenstein himself was to be made 
 King of Bohemia. 
 
 All these reports, together with many others, were 
 afterwards collected and published by imperial order 
 and authority, as satisfactory proofs of Wallenstein*s 
 guilt J though many of the idle tales carry their 
 own contradiction along with them. In the first 
 place, the Emperor required not to be forced into a 
 peace, as Wallenstein had authority from him to ne- 
 gotiate one ; and though it is probable, that the 
 Duke of Friedland would willingly have changed his 
 principalities, made up of confiscated property, for 
 a royal crown, we cannot see on what grounds he, 
 a convert from the Protestant faith, could look for 
 the suffrage of the Bohemians ; or how he could ex- 
 pect to maintain himself on the throne of a country 
 which he had so actively aided to oppress. That 
 Wallenstein, as his defenders say, only made these 
 
 T 2
 
 292 LIFE OF WALLENSTEIN. 
 
 proposals with a view of deceiving the enemy, seems 
 equally incredible. What object could be gained by 
 such deception ? And what vigilant enemy would risk 
 any thing on the mere assertion of one who avowed 
 himself a traitor ? Who plays with treason is sure 
 to be defiled ; and Wallenstein must have known 
 how dangerous, to life and honour, such an absurd 
 proceeding would prove under the suspicious govern- 
 ment of Ferdinand II. And, inferior foes, acting 
 on the defensive, as the allies were acting in Silesia, 
 would be glad enough to accept a truce, even for its 
 own sake. That they afterwards complained of hav- 
 ing been injured by its effects, proves nothing ; for 
 the moment a man is stopped from going forward, 
 though he may not have been very eager to advance, 
 he will be sure to assert that, unseasonable interfe- 
 rence alone, prevented him from achieving wonders. 
 And it seems a settled rule with all armies, to blame 
 delay on the part of their leaders ; though the many 
 can seldom know the circumstances which render it 
 necessary or advisable. 
 
 But if we cannot well understand the cause of this 
 inactivity, still less can we understand the following 
 circumstance. The Court of Dresden had exerted 
 itself to bring the negotiation with W^allenstein to a 
 satisfactory conclusion ; and the imperial commander 
 had actually signed the preliminary articles, among 
 which the "junction of the two armies" was included. 
 When it came, however, to an explanation, Wallen- 
 stein said to Francis Albert, Duke of Lauenburg, 
 who was then in the Saxon service, and conducting 
 the negotiation on the part of the Saxon Cabinet,
 
 LIFE OF WALLENSTEIN. SQS 
 
 " We must combine our forces, in order to drive the 
 Swedes out of the empire, for they have no business 
 here : having once done so, we can, at pleasure, con- 
 clude a peace among ourselves." " This," the Duke 
 of Lauenburg replied, " would not be acting a very- 
 honest part ; since the Swedes were parties to the 
 treaty, and had helped the good cause." The answer 
 put a stop to the negotiation ; and, as the armistice 
 was at an end, hostilities were again renewed. How 
 a misunderstanding on so vital a point could have 
 taken place, is altogether incomprehensible ; and we 
 are forced to recollect, that Francis Albert, of very 
 suspicious memory, is our sole informant. 
 
 The truce had no sooner expired, than Wallenstein 
 invested Sweidnitz, which he bombarded for some 
 days ; but heavy rains arrested the progress of the 
 siege. And when Arnheim advanced to the relief 
 of the place, the redoubted Duke of Friedland imme- 
 diately relinquished the enterprise, and took up a 
 strong position, from whence he contented himself 
 with harassing the allies by means of his numerous 
 light cavalry. ** This," says Fdrster, ** was very 
 cleverly done ; for it injured the enemy, who loudly 
 complained of the great loss they sustained." Such 
 lamentations must, at times, be received with as much 
 doubt as pretended victories. Certain it is, that Wal- 
 lenstein*s conduct led to no important result, and 
 was therefore unworthy of his fame and reputation ; 
 for while he was lying inactive on the frontiers of 
 Bohemia, the Swedes under Bernhard of Weimar 
 and Field-Marshal Horn, were carrying every thing 
 before them on the Lower Rhine and the Danube.
 
 294< LIFE OF WALLENSTEIN. 
 
 The Imperialists were defeated at Oldendorf j Mu- 
 nich, Landsberg and Echsted, were taken ; Maximi- 
 lian was driven from his country, and forced to seek 
 shelter in the Tyrol ; while the unfortunate Electo- 
 rate was ravaged, both by friends and foes. 
 
 The rigid and humane system of discipline which 
 the King of Sweden had maintained, vanished with 
 him from the scene of action: even the generous exer- 
 tions of Horn, who, more than all the other scholars 
 of Gustavus, resembled his great master, were unable 
 to repress the disorders of which the troops were 
 guilty. Acts of cruelty, on one side, naturally led 
 to retaliations on the other, till both parties exhausted 
 invention, to discover new modes of torture, that 
 should exceed in atrocity those last practised by their 
 exasperated enemies. And Wallenstein, while this 
 was passing on the Danube, was skirmishing and ne- 
 gotiating on the frontiers of Silesia. " He would 
 not aid his personal enemy, the Elector of Bavaria," 
 say his advocates : it is an unfortunate defence ; for 
 if such a motive influenced his conduct, it redounds 
 not much to his honour. 
 
 About this time a congress assembled as Breslau, 
 to negotiate a peace under the mediation of Denmark : 
 but no deputies appeared on the part of Sweden, Bran- 
 denburg and the Heilbron League. These parties 
 excused themselves on the plea, of not having received 
 timely notice of the meeting : an excuse, from which 
 we may infer that they were neither very anxious 
 to be present, nor very anxiously wished for by the 
 other powers. The Emperor informed Wallenstein 
 of the approaching congress, and the latter immedi-
 
 LIFE OF WALLENSTEIN. 295 
 
 ately proposed to Arnheim to conclude another truce, 
 which was soon settled between them. This armistice 
 was to extend to all the hereditary dominions of the 
 House of Austria, to Brandenburg and Saxony : it 
 was to continue for four weeks ; and hostilities were 
 not to recommence till three weeks after it should 
 have expired. The other states of the empire were 
 left free to join the treaty, if so disposed ; but no 
 mention was made of the Swedes, who complained 
 loudly of the neglect : though the circumstance 
 throws more suspicion on Arnheim, who was their 
 ally, than on Wallenstein, who was their open enemy. 
 And here we have another of those strange state- 
 ments that tend so much to obscure Wallenstein*s 
 extraordinary history. 
 
 Immediately after the conclusion of the second 
 armistice, Arnheim acquaints Wallenstein that he is 
 going to visit Oxenstiern, in order to settle matters 
 about the treaty. To this Wallenstein replies, under 
 date of the 4th September, " I am sorry you are going 
 into the empire, for at this rate the work " (the 
 peace) " will never be brought to a conclusion." 
 Without, however, minding this letter, Arnheim set 
 out for Gelnhausen, where he had an interview with 
 Oxenstiern : and it must be confessed that the pro- 
 posals which the Saxon general here made to the 
 Chancellor, were sufficiently singular. Arnheim, it 
 seems, told Oxenstiern that Wallenstein had never 
 forgotten the insult put upon him by his first dismissal 
 from the command : that he stood even then in no 
 good favour at Vienna, — that new indignities were 
 preparing for him, — and that the Duke of Feria was
 
 296 LIFE OF WALLENSTEIN. 
 
 to come from Italy, to replace him at the head of the 
 army. For these insults, continued Arnheim, Wal- 
 lenstein was determined to take vengeance on the 
 House of Austria. He had already secured General 
 Hoik and Gallas to his interest, and requested the 
 Chancellor to place six good regiments at his dis- 
 posal, in return for which, he would give over six of 
 his own. As soon as this exchange should be effected, 
 he would enter Bohemia, restore the old rights and 
 charters of the kingdom, and then march to Vienna 
 and force the Emperor to make peace. 
 
 These proposals appeared rather suspicious to the 
 wary Oxenstiern, who thought them too promising to 
 be altogether confided in : he therefore declined the 
 exchange of regiments, said that the Protestant party 
 would not interfere, but would let things take their 
 chance, and concluded by observing, ** If this is a 
 jest, it is a bad one, and can tend only to excite mis- 
 trust on one side and contempt on the other." He 
 immediately acquainted the Duke of Weimar with 
 what had passed ; and recommended him to be on his 
 guard against the arts of the Duke of Friedland ; but 
 not to throw obstacles in his way should he really 
 declare against the House of Austria. 
 
 That the proposals here mentioned were actually 
 made to Oxenstiern, cannot admit of a doubt, since 
 we know, that the Swedish historian Chemnitz had 
 the Chancellor's own authority for the statement ; 
 but what authority Arnheim had for making them 
 is more difficult to comprehend ; as we soon after- 
 wards find him and Wallenstein completely misun- 
 derstanding each other.
 
 LIFE OF WALLENSTEIN. 297 
 
 On Arnheim's return to the army, he had an in- 
 terview with Wallenstein ; and on the 17th of Sep- 
 tember, he writes as follows to the Duke of Branden- 
 burg : ** The first time 1 spoke to the Duke of 
 Friedland he promised every thing that was fair ; 
 declared his only object, to be the conclusion of a per- 
 manent peace, and desired me to draw out some ge- 
 neral plan as to the best mode of proceeding." Fur- 
 ther on, Arnheim says, that " the proposal to march, 
 with the combined armies, into the empire, appeared 
 a little suspicious to him, as he did not know what was 
 thereby intended ; till the Duke declared, that no 
 lasting peace could be concluded, before the strangers 
 were expelled from Germany. To effect this he sug- 
 gested that we should join him, and drive the Swedes 
 out of the country, and then we could make our own 
 peace on our own terms. Hereupon," continues the 
 Saxon general, " I reminded him of his former will- 
 ingness to enter into an alliance with the Swedes 5 
 but on this he broke off the conversation ; and when 
 I recalled to him what his own proposals had been, 
 he merely replied, that * he should reserve those to 
 the last.* The end of all must be, that no one will 
 believe him." On the 29th of September, Arnheim 
 sends a second letter to the Duke of Brandenburg, 
 in which he writes, " I declare to God, that I do 
 not know what finesse Friedland seeks in this j but 
 whatever it may be, certain it is, that no safe treaty 
 can be concluded with the man, for there is no steadi- 
 ness in him." 
 
 Now, it must always be recollected, that these 
 strange statements rest altogether on the authority
 
 298 LIFE OF WALLENSTEIN. 
 
 of Arnheim, a man mistrusted by all parties ; and of 
 whom Cardinal Richelieu said, that the " Court of 
 Rome had lost, in him, the most perfect Jesuit that 
 ever lived." 
 
 Rumours of this friendly intercourse kept up with 
 the enemy, and particularly with Arnheim, began to 
 excite suspicion at Vienna ; and the Emperor ac- 
 tually sent Count Schlick, into Silesia, to learn how 
 matters stood. Though the ambassador was very 
 civilly treated by Wallenstein, who well knew the 
 real object of the mission, his report is stated to have 
 been rather unfavourable than otherwise. 
 
 Before proceeding, we must here weave another 
 dark thread, into our history. 
 
 The congress of Breslau had been dissolved, owing 
 to the murder of Prince Ulrick of Denmark, who 
 was shot by one of Piccolomini's riflemen, while 
 taking a ride, and just after he had passed and salu- 
 ted that general himself on the road. The King of 
 Denmark naturally complained ; and Wallenstein 
 was ordered to institute an inquiry into the affair ; — 
 " an order," says Forster, " which could not fail to 
 occasion some ill will between him and Piccolomini." 
 This conclusion is not very evident, nor are the par- 
 ticulars of the investigation given ; but the historian 
 thinks, that the murderer acted by order of his su- 
 perior, and distinctly accuses the " Italian party," 
 meaning the Italian officers in the army, of having, 
 from selfish and avaricious motives, counteracted all 
 Wallenstein's endeavours to bring about a peace. 
 " The war," he says, " enriched them j they wished 
 to spend, in their own country, the wealth acquired
 
 LIFE OF WALLENSTEIN. 299 
 
 by the plunder of Germany : and as Wallenstein was 
 the advocate of peace ; they hated him and brought 
 about his ruin." And it is certain that, the Duke 
 of Friedland's most active enemies were Italians, and 
 that all the letters which urged on, and which give 
 us a clue to the real motives of the catastrophe of 
 Eger, are written in Italian : Piccolomini was the 
 most active of the party, and was evidently a worthy 
 head of such a band.
 
 LIFE OF WALLENSTEIN. 301 
 
 CHAPTER IX. 
 
 France had taken a deep interest, though no direct 
 share in the German war ; and the alliance entered 
 into with Gustavus Adolphus was, after his death, 
 renewed with the Swedish government. An ambas- 
 sador was sent to Heilbron ; and besides the Swedish 
 subsidy, France paid large sums to the Protestant 
 states and princes of the empire. Cardinal Richelieu 
 had therefore friends in the country. The gallant 
 Marquis de Feuquires, ambassador at Heilbron, had 
 gone from thence to Dresden, in order to persuade 
 the Electors of Saxony and Brandenburg to join the 
 league of the Upper Circles. At Dresden he learned 
 the conclusion of the first armistice ; and having 
 already heard at Heilbron that Wallenstein was on 
 bad terms with the Court of Vienna, and was actually 
 negotiating with the Saxon government, he deter- 
 mined, at once, to join the intrigue, and to make the 
 most of it for the benefit of his own country. 
 
 Diplomacy may have produced some cunning men, 
 but it has produced few men of enlightened wisdom 
 and capacity ; though many able men have served in 
 its ranks ; among the ablest, may be reckoned the 
 ambassador of whom we are speaking ; and his best 
 diplomatic qualities were formed in the fields of war. 
 In a despatch, dated the lyth of June, Feuquires
 
 302 LIFE OF WALLENSTEIN. 
 
 says that, " he does not know for what purpose Wal- 
 lenstem has concluded the truce ; though reports, 
 circulated both at Vienna and in the army, speak of 
 him as intending to forsake the imperial cause." The 
 ambassador soon gets, what he thinks more positive 
 information. There was at this time a Count Kinsky 
 at Dresden, an exiled Bohemian Protestant, who, 
 from having married a sister of the Duchess of Fried- 
 land, was nearly connected with Wallenstein ; and 
 from him Feuquires learns that Wallenstein, though 
 highly irritated against the Emperor, wishes to treat 
 only with the King of France, or with the Crown of 
 Sweden. 
 
 Richelieu well knowing how valuable such an 
 ally would prove, seized immediately on, what he 
 thought, a fair opportunity for gaining him over : 
 and, as it is easy to be liberal at the expense of others, 
 the ambassador received instructions, " to assure the 
 Duke of Friedland, that the King of France was 
 ready to aid, in placing him, by force of arms, on the 
 throne of Bohemia, and even higher." Richelieu is 
 however cautious ; Father Joseph still more so, and 
 Feuquires is therefore directed to be on his guard, so 
 that Wallenstein may not deceive them all by fair 
 promises. But as Kinsky persevered in the assu- 
 rance, that Wallenstein was dissatisfied with the Em- 
 peror, the Frenchman addressed a memorial to him, 
 which he forwarded by M. de la Borderie. In this 
 curious, and clever paper, the Duke of Friedland 
 is reminded of the " treatment he formerly expe- 
 rienced at the hands of the Emperor ; he is assured 
 that a similar fate again awaits him, as the Spaniards,
 
 LIFE OF WALLENSTEIN. 303 
 
 who are all-powerful at Vienna, invariably contrive 
 to ruin those who inspire them with jealousy." The 
 approaching fall of the House of Austria is predicted, 
 and the Duke is urged, " not to lose the opportunity 
 of acquiring, by the aid of such powerful friends, as 
 the King of France and his allies, the possession of 
 a crown which he is so well qualified to wear and 
 adorn." 
 
 No direct answer to these proposals was ever re- 
 ceived from Wallenstein himself; but Kinsky carries 
 on the negotiation ; and Richelieu, fearing that the 
 Duke might throw himself into the arms of Sweden, 
 and thus render the Protestant party independent 
 of France, continues to court his alliance with the 
 most flattering promises. Louis XIll. writes to him 
 with his own hand, in the most friendly terms ; and 
 on the l6th of July, Feuquires is desired to promise 
 Wallenstein the Bohemian crown, the aid of two 
 French armies, and a subsidy of a million of livres 
 annually, provided he will declare himself against 
 the Emperor. But before Feuquires could act upon 
 these additional instructions, the armistice had come 
 to an end, and the ambassador writes to Father 
 Joseph, saying, that " Wallenstein had deceived 
 them all, and had concluded the truce merely to 
 strengthen his own army, and to weaken the allies." 
 And yet we do not find any advantage taken of the 
 reinforcements so received, or of the w eakness thus 
 occasioned to the enemy. 
 
 At a later period Feuquires again writes from 
 Dresden, saying, that Kinsky had once more called 
 upon him, to ascertain whether the French govern-
 
 304i LIFE OF WALLENSTEIN. 
 
 ment still retained their former sentiments on the 
 subject of the negotiation. In reply to this question, 
 continues the Marquis, " I told Count Kinsky, that 
 the Duke of Friedland played far too deep a game 
 for me j that his silence regarding the proposals made 
 to him, indicated too clearly an intention to excite 
 mistrust between the allies ; and that all his finessing 
 would, in the end, tend only to deprive him of the 
 aid he might have received from the King of France, 
 and the Protestant League." 
 
 Feuquires is however too good a diplomatist to 
 break off a negotiation, while a hope of advantage re- 
 mains ; he therefore promises to obtain for Kinsky 
 the protection of the French government ; and con- 
 cludes his letter by observing, that the jealousy enter- 
 tained against Wallenstein, at Vienna, is so great, as 
 still to render the defection of the latter more than 
 probable. Soon after this, Feuquires learns that Wal- 
 lenstein had offered to unite with the Saxons against 
 the Swedes ; that the second armistice had termina- 
 ted, and that hostilities had been renewed. But Kin- 
 sky still perseveres in asserting Friedland's sincerity. 
 This mysterious messenger, who never produces a 
 single line to authorise his mission, boldly declares 
 that Wallenstein, exasperated by the ingratitude of 
 the Emperor, — who seeks only to take his life in re- 
 turn for his many services, is determined to extirpate 
 the whole of the imperial family, and to send both 
 Ferdinand and Maximilian, to a place which we shall 
 not name to ears polite. And so anxious are the 
 French government to gain this extraordinary man, 
 that crowns, armies, millions and kingdoms, are to
 
 LIFE OF WALLENSTEIN. 305 
 
 the very last offered for his acceptance. We shall 
 see that Wallenstein falls a victim to treason, but we 
 are unable to discover who is the real traitor. 
 
 All attempts to gain the Saxons by negotiations 
 having failed, and the armistice being at an end, 
 Wallenstein determined to try what could be effected 
 by force of arms. The hatred and jealousy existing 
 between the Swedes and their allies was so great, that 
 the armies were kept asunder ; and of this division, 
 the Duke of Friedland determined to take advantasre. 
 The Saxons, under Arnheim, stood at Kauth, while 
 the Swedes, commanded by Count Thurn, occupied 
 an intrenched camp at Steinau, on the Oder. The 
 object was to augment the distance between them ; 
 and for this purpose, Wallenstein made a feint with 
 Holk*s division, against the county of Meissen, and 
 broke up, with his whole army, as if intending to fol- 
 low the same direction. Arnheim hurried away to 
 defend the Electorate. Wallenstein, concealed by 
 the Lusatian mountains, allowed the Saxons to get 
 the start of him, and then turning suddenly to the 
 right, completely surrounded the unprepared Swedes. 
 Count Schaffgotch, at the head of 8000 cavalry, 
 crossed the Oder, at a ford above Steinau, dispersed 
 the Swedish cavalry that attempted to oppose the pas- 
 sage, and drove in all the outposts stationed on the 
 right bank of the river ; while the Duke himself, 
 issuing from the mountains, encircled the works on 
 the left bank. Count Thurn was instantly summoned 
 to surrender ; only half an hour was allowed him for 
 deliberation : and a commander who had suffered him- 
 self to be thus surprised was not likely to be very fcr- 
 
 u
 
 306 LIFE OF WALLENSTEIN. 
 
 tile in resources. Thurn was a brave man, but evi- 
 dently no general. He had 5000 men, with seven- 
 teen pieces of artillery under his command, a force 
 that, in most situations, should be able to effect some- 
 thing ; but his intrenchments were not completed : 
 he belonged, it seems, to the class of officers who are 
 never ready, and resistance against 30,000 men, pro- 
 vided with fifty pieces of artillery, was therefore 
 deemed hopeless. The whole corps laid down their 
 arms ; the privates became prisoners of war, and were 
 forced to take service in the ranks of the victors. 
 
 By the terms of capitulation, the officers were per- 
 mitted to depart ; and it was afterwards made a charge 
 against Wallenstein that he had honestly adhered to 
 the conditions. The notorious Count Thurn, the 
 principal instigator of the Bohemian insurrection, 
 was, with other officers, set at liberty by the conven- 
 tion ; having been detained only till it was fully car- 
 ried into effect j and the mortification felt, at Vienna, 
 by the escape of this great offender, on whom wound- 
 ed pride had already determined to inflict signal ven- 
 geance, far exceeded the satisfaction derived from the 
 victory gained. *' What," said Wallenstein, when 
 taxed with this unexpected clemency, *' could I have 
 done with the madman ? It were well if the allies had 
 no better generals : and at the head of the Swedish 
 army he will be of more use to us than in prison." 
 There were persons in and about the Imperial Cabinet 
 who thought differently ; and many believe, that the 
 generosity whicii saved Count Thurn proved ulti- 
 mately the cause of Wallenstcin's own destruction : 
 honour in the service of dishonour will always suffer
 
 LIFE OF VVALLENSTEIN. 307 
 
 for the contrast it occasions ; and is a light, certain 
 of being destroyed by the very darkness it unveils. 
 
 The victory of Steinau was as rapidly followed up 
 as cleverly achieved. Glogow, Leignitz, Goldberg 
 and Crossen were reduced one after the other. All 
 Silesia was cleared of the enemy j and even Frankfurt 
 on the Oder, and Landsberg, the most important of 
 Gustavus' early conquests, were taken. Wallenstein 
 was now evidently in the right path. The Swedes 
 were about to be cut off from all communication with 
 their own country : and the German Protestants had 
 gained so little wisdom by former disasters and late 
 victories, and were so much divided among them- 
 selves, that they could not have maintained the con- 
 test without foreign aid. It was impossible to devise 
 a better plan of operation than the one here pursued ; 
 and yet no writer has done justice to its merit ; all 
 have ascribed it to Wallenstein's hatred of Maximi- 
 lian, and to his anxiety for the ruin of the Elector's 
 dominions. 
 
 The imperial light troops had already penetrated 
 far into Pomerania, and the General himself was on 
 the eve of marching to Dresden, when the fears of 
 the Cabinets of Miinich and Vienna again arrested 
 him in his successful career. On the 24th of October, 
 Ratisbon, the last stronghold of Maximilian, and 
 the last bulwark of the Austrian states, had fallen 
 into the hands of the enterprising Duke of Weimar, 
 and messenger after messenger was sent to Wallen- 
 stein, requesting that he would march immediately 
 to the south, in order to save Bavaria and protect 
 Austria. Wallenstein, who had the power of refusing, 
 
 u 2
 
 308 LIFE OF WALLENSTEIN. 
 
 yielded, though reluctantly, to these solicitations ; 
 and leaving troops to protect his late conquests, took 
 his way through Bohemia, towards the Upper Pala- 
 tinate. 
 
 The imperial minister. Count Trautmansdorff, — 
 universally allowed to have been one of the ablest 
 and most upright men of his time, — happening, at 
 this moment, to be on one of his estates near the line 
 of march, Wallenstein requested an interview with 
 him ; and specified the town of Pilsen, as the place 
 most likely to suit both parties. The minister 
 came in consequence, and sent the Emperor an 
 account of the meeting ; and the report is sufficiently 
 curious to deserve a place here, as it shows the high 
 estimation in which Wallenstein was held even by 
 those who were not his friends ; for Trautmansdorff 
 belonged to the party which opposed the Duke of 
 Friedland. The minister writes as follows : 
 
 *' Having come here to meet the Duke of Meck- 
 lenburg and Friedland, I found his Highness far 
 more excited than I had ever seen him before. He 
 had just received letters from Vienna, in which, it 
 was said, that even high functionaries of state spoke 
 of him in the most injurious terms. These persons, 
 not content with depriving him of all merit, by 
 ascribing his success to fortune, and his failures to 
 neglect or incapacity, actually attributed to him the 
 most sinister projects. He complained that orders 
 had been sent, without his knowledge, to Generals 
 Altringer and Strozzi, and declared that he had 
 never in his life been so much offended ; and that 
 he was determined to resign the command of the
 
 LIFE OF WALLENSTEIN. 309 
 
 army." *' I said a few words," continues the minis- 
 ter, " just to pacify him, and give time for his anger 
 to evaporate. He then spoke on the subject of your 
 Majesty's affairs, saying, that * unless peace were con- 
 cluded, every thing would be lost ; for should your 
 Majesty gain ten battles, they would lead to no- 
 thing ; as the enemy had resources, and could always, 
 by foreign aid, recover from his losses ; whereas a 
 single battle lost on your Majesty's part, admitted 
 of no redemption ;' * and if,' he exclaimed with an 
 oath, * peace is not made, I shall retire, with some 
 eight or ten persons, to Dantzig, and there await the 
 result.' " 
 
 At this very time the unfortunate Francis Albert 
 of Lauenburg, whom we constantly find hovering, 
 vampire-like, over the doomed, arrives with some new 
 propositions for peace -, but Wallenstein, who suffered 
 greatly from gout, was unable to receive him. Traut- 
 mansdorff mentions the circumstance ; and such is 
 the confidence he places in the General's talents and 
 integrity, that he actually advises the Emperor to 
 intrust him altogether with the negotiation ; or first to 
 arrange the principal conditions with him, and obtain 
 his concurrence in them j should it be thought expe- 
 dient to carry on the negotiation itself at Vienna. 
 The report goes on to say, that Wallenstein is deter- 
 mined, next day, to undertake, " in the name of 
 God, a cavalcade towards Staubingen." He is to 
 start at the head of a hundred companies of the best 
 cavalry, all the dragoons and Croats, besides 1600 
 infantry, and eight pieces of artillery. Cavalry still 
 formed, in a great measure, the strength of armies j
 
 310 LIFE OF WALLENSTEIN. 
 
 and dragoons continued to act on foot as well as on 
 horseback; being, probably, as inefficient in the saddle 
 as out of it. The report declares the recapture of 
 Ratisbon, to be impossible at so late a period of the 
 year, as the attempt could hardly fail to destroy the 
 army. It is equally impossible to avoid taking up 
 winter quarters within the Austrian states : but, on 
 the other hand. Count Strozzi had been sent across 
 the Danube, to the aid of the Elector of Bavaria, with 
 thirty companies of cavalry and dragoons. Traut- 
 mansdorff praises the spirit and confidence of the 
 troops ; and adds, that *' the Duke had submitted 
 all the foregoing points to a council of war, by which 
 they had been fully approved." 
 
 In a postscript to his long letter, the minister 
 writes : *' The Duke has been with me for four hours 
 this afternoon, and has again repeated, in substance, 
 what he said yesterday. In regard to the negotia- 
 tion, he does not wish to interfere with details and 
 minor points ; but hopes your Majesty will consult 
 him on the principal terms, that he may acquire 
 some favour with the empire, for having aided to 
 bring about the desired pacification." 
 
 Now this is certainly a testimony honourable alike 
 to Wallenstein's head and heart : and the Emperor 
 himself confirms it, to its full extent ; for in his 
 answer to Trautmansdorff, he declares that he knows 
 nothing of the discourses alluded to, and only requires 
 to have the authors named, that he may call them 
 to account. He denies having given any orders to 
 military commanders without the Duke's knowledge ; 
 and as a proof of his anxiety for peace, sends the pro-
 
 LIFE OF WALLENSTEIN. 311 
 
 posals brought by the Duke of Lauenbiirg, to his 
 *' trusty and well-beloved Duke of Mecklenburg," in 
 order to have his opinion on their contents. This 
 was only three months before the catastrophe of Eger; 
 and shows how much skilful malevolence may effect 
 in a short time. 
 
 Wallenstein undertook his *' cavalcade," as he 
 called it, invested Cham, and advanced as far as 
 Fiirth j but declined an action with the Duke of 
 Weimar, who crossed the Danube on purpose to give 
 him the meeting. Having called this enterprising 
 commander away from his Bavarian conquests, sent 
 Generals Altringer and Strozzi to the aid of Maxi- 
 milian, and given the Duke of Feria, time to arrive 
 with his 10,000 Spaniards, Wallenstein returned into 
 Bohemia, to protect that country, which the Saxons, 
 after retaking Frankfurt, had again threatened during 
 his absence. 
 
 On the return of the army, the Emperor sent the 
 minister of war, Questenberg, to Prague, for the pur- 
 pose of inducing Wallenstein to place the troops in 
 quarters, beyond the frontiers of the Austrian domi- 
 nions. If this should not be found practicable, 
 Wallenstein was to send to the Emperor, a state of 
 the distribution, that his Majesty might, according to 
 ancient custom, arrange with the provincial authori- 
 ties, for the reception of the soldiers, so as to prevent 
 the quarters from being made good by violence. *' A 
 mode of proceeding," says Ferdinand in his official 
 letter of instruction, " by which our high authority 
 is diminished, and an appearance given to foreign 
 nations that we possess only divided power in our own
 
 312 LIFE OF WALLENSTEIN. 
 
 dominions, and have a coadjutor — corregem — on the 
 throne." The Latter part of the letter, which is dated 
 the 3d December, is in a milder tone ; but for a wise 
 man, the hint here quoted should, perhaps, have been 
 sufficient. 
 
 An army, which, during the summer, had acted in 
 Silesia and Brandenburg, which had marched from 
 tlience into Franconia, and back again into Bohemia, 
 could hardly, as armies were then supplied and or- 
 ganised, effect much in the depth of winter without 
 first having some rest : and this Wallenstein had re- 
 presented to the Emperor, a few days before Ques- 
 tenberg's arrival. When the minister therefore came 
 with his instructions, pressing to have the troops 
 removed into distant winter quarters, most of which 
 were still occupied by the enemy, the General sub- 
 mitted the proposal to a council of war, who, it must 
 be confessed, treated the military suggestions of the 
 Cabinet of Vienna rather cavalierly ; declaring that 
 they were totally impracticable, and could only have 
 been drawn up by persons utterly unacquainted with 
 military affiiirs. Besides this remark on a practice, 
 still very common to cabinets, the officers added dis- 
 tinct complaints of want of pay ; saying that " they 
 had advanced their last farthing in the service, and 
 saw no hope of being either reimbursed or rewarded," 
 and hinted, that, *' the army might become disgusted 
 with the treatment which they were made to expe- 
 rience." 
 
 Wallenstein sent this paper to the Emperor with- 
 out remark, requesting only, that his Majesty would 
 give •' the necessary orders for the reception of the
 
 LIFE OF VVALLENSTEIN. 313 
 
 troops in their allotted cantonments :" and Ferdi- 
 nand seeing, perhaps, the justice of the demand, 
 complied with the requisition. But another cause of 
 quarrel was in progress. The Emperor, contrary to 
 the agreement with Wallenstein, had sent repeated 
 orders to the Baron de Suyes, directing him to cross 
 the Inn with his corps, and join the Elector of 
 Bavaria. The Baron, in submission to Wallenstein's 
 instructions, delayed compliance, and the irritated 
 Monarch writes to Questenberg, desiring him to get 
 the necessary orders forwarded to De Suyes, " that 
 I may not be forced," as he says, *' to take different 
 measures for the maintenance of my imperial autho- 
 rity, and be obliged to make an example fit to serve 
 as a warning to other officers." 
 
 Wallenstein, though he explained the cause of De 
 Suyes' delay, and sent for that officer " to see what 
 could be done," still remained blind to these threaten- 
 ing proofs of imperial displeasure ; and seemed not to 
 know, how ** dreadful was the wroth of kings." Was it 
 lofty consciousness of rectitude that made him slow to 
 suspect unworthiness in others ? It could not be want 
 of penetration : for men of high character generally 
 see at once, as by a very gift conferred on them, into 
 the darkest recesses of the human heart ; and, as 
 none saw more quickly than Wallenstein, we should 
 be at a loss to understand the motives of his conduct, 
 did we not suppose, that the altered tone of the 
 Emperor's subsequent letters extinguished suspicion 
 in his breast. These letters are very frequent, and 
 very friendly ; and on the od of January his Majesty 
 notifies having sent both money and supplies to the
 
 314 LIFE OF WALLENSTEIN. 
 
 army. But this appearance of restored confidence 
 was altogether assumed ; for in the montli of Decem- 
 ber Ferdinand had ah'eady determined to deprive 
 Wallenstein of the command ; and had secretly ac- 
 quainted Generals Gallas and Altringer with his 
 resolution. 
 
 Wallenstein was, however, slow, or unwilling to 
 believe in these reports when they reached him ; but 
 suspecting, at last, that something worse than a second 
 dismissal might be mtended, he determined to be 
 beforehand with the Emperor, and to resign of his 
 own accord. He had already, as we have seen, noti- 
 fied this intention to TrautmansdorfF, and he now 
 determined to carry it into effect. For this purpose 
 he assembled the principal officers of the army at 
 Pilsen, and declared to them, that the measures of 
 the Court of Vienna, rendered it impossible for him 
 to retain the command any longer, with honour to 
 himself, or with advantage to the service. 
 
 The instructions brought by Questenberg had 
 caused a good deal of discontent ; and the proposed 
 resignation of the General, on whose word most of 
 the officers had advanced money, to raise and equip 
 their regiments, and without whose aid they hardly 
 ever expected to be repaid, greatly added to the ex- 
 citement. The officers pressed him to remain at 
 their head ; and, it is said, that he demanded from 
 them a promise, pledging themselves to adhere to 
 him in return. At a banquet given by Count Illo, 
 at which the temperate and reserved Wallenstein 
 was not present, but at which the wine circulated 
 so freely that many of the parties afterwards declared
 
 LIFE OF WALLENSTEIN. 315 
 
 they did not well know what passed, a petition to 
 this effect, was agreed upon and drawn up. By this 
 document, forty-two officers, among whom was Pic- 
 colomini, pledged themselves, ** to adhere to Wal- 
 lenstein to the last drop of their blood, as long as 
 he should continue to command the army, in the 
 service, and for the good of the Emperor." It is 
 not true, as was afterwards stated by the Court of 
 Vienna, that the reserve clause, in favour of the Em- 
 peror, was left out in the paper presented for signa- 
 ture, which, by a legerdemain trick, had been sub- 
 stituted for the document originally agreed upon. 
 None of the parties tried, alleged such a circum- 
 stance in their defence ; and the proceeding would 
 have been of too unworthy a nature, to have obtained 
 the concurrence of Wallenstein : there was nothing 
 low or mean about him ; his very faults bore some 
 impress of greatness. 
 
 On the day after this paper had been signed, the 
 Duke again called the officers together, and told 
 them, that nothing was intended against the Emperor 
 or the Catholic religion, by the compact into which 
 they had entered : it was only formed, he said, for 
 the safety and maintenance of the army, and for the 
 service of the state. Wallenstein and his officers 
 were probably encouraged in this proceeding, by a 
 similar agreement which the Swedish officers had 
 entered into a few weeks before, and by which they 
 had forced Oxenstiern, and the members of the Heil- 
 bron League, to grant certain terms which the mar- 
 tial synod demanded. Looked upon with our present 
 ideas of subordination, nothing could be more crimi-
 
 Sl6 LIFE OF WALLENSTEIN. 
 
 iial than such a combination : but the just principles 
 of discipline were then unknown ; the early part of 
 the seventeenth century was the very age of insubor- 
 dination ; and the combination here mentioned, must 
 be judged of by the ideas then existing on such sub- 
 jects, rather than by those which are now entertained. 
 During the banquet which preceded the signature 
 of the paper already mentioned, Piccolomini had 
 made so free with the rapidly circulating wine, that 
 he drew his sword, and called aloud for a bumper to 
 the Emperor's health. No one refused the toast ; 
 but the two Princes of Toscana, who were with the 
 army, and who lived on the opposite side of the street, 
 hearing of this thoughtless proceeding, contrived to 
 get the intoxicated general removed from the room, 
 fearing, that he might betray the secret instructions 
 which, it seems, he had already received respecting 
 Wallenstein ; respecting the very man to whom he 
 was just about to pledge fidelity and adherence. 
 The young Princes themselves were so much alarmed, 
 that they immediately took horse and set out for 
 Prague ; from whence they dispatched one Lorenzo 
 Guicciardini to Vienna, to inform the Emperor of 
 what had passed. The Italian was provided with 
 letters from Piccolomini, and was besides a clever 
 alarmist. He had several interviews with Ferdi- 
 nand, and made some progress in convincing the 
 Monarch, that Wallenstein was conspiring, to raise 
 his truncheon of command, even above the imperial 
 sceptre : " Nothing," he said, " but crushing the 
 scorpion on the wound, could now avert the dange- 
 rous consecpiences of the mischief already done."
 
 LIFE OF WALLENSTEIN. • 317 
 
 Wallenstein's enemies had before this time been 
 actively at work. Count Ognate, the Spanish am- 
 bassador, and all the members of the Spanish and 
 Italian factions, had spread the most sinister reports 
 of the General's intentions ; so that accounts of trea- 
 son poured in upon the Emperor from every quarter. 
 The Duke of Savoy sent intimation of negotiations 
 carried on with France ; alluding probably to the 
 offers made by Feuquires ; and the Elector of Ba- 
 varia, was ready enough with his exertions, to defame 
 the man who had eclipsed the influence and renown 
 of the once all-powerful Maximilian. We perceive 
 the dark web of treachery spinning gradually round 
 its victim ; but we cannot discover the reptiles with 
 whom it originated. 
 
 On the 18th of December, just a month after he 
 had sent thirty companies to aid the Elector of Ba- 
 varia, the latter already forwarded to Bernhard 
 Richel, the Bavarian ambassador at Vienna, some 
 very strong charges against the imperial commander. 
 Richel was, if possible, to keep them in reserve, and 
 was only to aid others in pressing for Wallenstein's 
 dismissal, if he found the work already in progress. 
 Maximilian himself wished to remain out of sight, 
 " well knowing," as he says, " how Wallenstein 
 would requite him for interfering." 
 
 Richel plays his part to admiration ; and on the 
 30th December informs the Elector, that Wallen- 
 stein's removal from the command, is already deter- 
 mined on ; and that secret agents have been dis- 
 patched to the principal officers, in order to ascertain 
 their real sentiments. Urged on, however, by the
 
 318 LIFE OF WALLENSTEIN. 
 
 King of Hungary, and by the infamous Marquis de 
 Grana, the ambassador, thinking himself well sup- 
 ported, comes forward with his charges, and then 
 learns that steps will be taken to " remedy the evil." 
 The great difficulty is, what to do with Wallenstein ; 
 it being thought as precarious to leave him entirely 
 at liberty, as to secure his person. 
 
 Maximilian no sooner hears of the combination at 
 Pilsen, than he directs Richel to press on the Em- 
 peror the necessity of forming at once, " some heroic 
 resolution." But Ferdinand had already got the in- 
 formation from Guicciardini, as well as from other 
 quarters ; and tells Richel, that measures are in pro- 
 gress for arresting the threatened danger. " This 
 business," says the terrified Monarch, " is never out 
 of my thoughts : it rises with me in the morning, and 
 goes to bed with me at night, and completely deprives 
 me of rest." Richel adds in his letter, that prayers 
 are offered up in all the churches, for the " successful 
 termination of the work." What are the measures 
 to be adopted, the ambassador is unable to learn, as 
 the affair is conducted with the greatest secrecy ; 
 but Eggenberg having said, that " it would be safer 
 and easier to kill Friedland, than to take him pri- 
 soner," the diplomatist, knowing his people, very 
 coolly concludes, that " this will most likely be the 
 ultimate remedy." Eggenberg had further told him, 
 *' that it was Wallenstein*s first intention to march on 
 Vienna, and to attack the Emperor in the capital, had 
 not God deprived him of his senses, and rendered 
 him incapable of concealing the project." And the 
 infamous Grana writes to say, that the conspiracy is
 
 LIFE OF WALLENSTEIN. 319 
 
 directed, not only against the Emperor, but against 
 the whole imperial family. 
 
 Terrified by so many accounts of treason and con- 
 spiracy, Ferdinand, on the 24th of January, sent a 
 secret commission to Gallas and Piccolomini, depri- 
 ving Wallenstein of the command, and directing 
 officers and soldiers to obey only those two generals. 
 An amnesty, afterwards most shamefully broken, is 
 granted to all who signed the compact of Pilsen, " an 
 affair," in which it is said, *' they had gone a little 
 too far." From this amnesty Illo and Terzky are 
 excepted ; and the document concludes, by declaring 
 the Duke of Friedland an outlaw, and commanding 
 him to be taken, " dead or alive." The two gene- 
 rals were to keep these instructions secret, till a safe 
 opportunity for acting should offer, and were to con- 
 fide them only to those in whom they could most 
 fully rely. On the 13th of February Gallas, — pro- 
 perly Gallasso, — issues in Italian, an order to his 
 countrymen, Piccolomini, De Suyes, Maradas, Col- 
 laredo, Carretto, Mohra and Marzini, directing them 
 to receive no orders except from himself and General 
 Altringer : the " holletino " is still to be kept secret 
 for three days, and then to be confided to the most 
 trustworthy officers. To this order, a list of ** heretic 
 conspirators," is added : these " heretics" are not all 
 Protestants, but they are all Germans, and are among 
 the most distinguished officers in the army. 
 
 The booty, expected to be derived from confiscating 
 the property of the so-called rebels, was probably one 
 of the leading causes of their condemnation. Even 
 before the parties knew that they were accused, a
 
 320 LIFE OF WALLENSTEIN. 
 
 Count Puscheim received authority from the Em- 
 peror, to seize the property of Terzka and Friedland, 
 •* now forfeited," as the commission says, " by their 
 flight and rebellion." All military commanders are 
 ordered to aid this functionary, " as the confiscation 
 is intended solely for the good of the army, and will 
 ultimately tend to their profit." 
 
 The imaginations of the Italian banditti are abso- 
 lutely fired by the prospect of the plunder : every 
 one sends information where property is to be found ; 
 and every mean beggar, already petitions for a share 
 of the spoil, to be torn from the victims of falsehood 
 and treachery. Among these instigators to robbery 
 and murder, the most conspicuous, by far, is the 
 Marquis of Grana : almost every day brings from this 
 man a tale of terror, accompanied by requests for 
 objects of value which he specifies. It has even been 
 supposed, that the Emperor himself, was willing 
 enough to cancel, by a single blow, not merely a debt 
 of gratitude, but a debt of twenty millions of florins 
 also. His blind fear, his ready credulity, and his 
 haste to condemn, untried, a man of the highest rank 
 and merit, more than expose him to suspicion.
 
 LIFE OF WALLENSTEIN. 321 
 
 CHAPTER X. 
 
 And how was Wallenstein occupied while the dark 
 web of treason was weaving around him ? Embody- 
 ing rebel armies, strengthening himself by foreign 
 alliances, building strongholds, or corrupting the 
 soldiers placed under his command ? The reverse was 
 the case : he was zealously engaged in quartering 
 the troops for the winter, and in carrying on, with 
 the full knowledge of the Emperor, the Saxon nego- 
 tiation. He was, to the last, in friendly correspon- 
 dence with Piccolomini and with Ferdinand himself; 
 and on the 13th of February, the very day on which 
 Gallasso issues his secret *' BoUettino" from Pilsen, 
 the Emperor writes to Wallenstein, whom he had 
 
 OUTLAWED TWENTY DAYS BEFORE, " COnfiding the 
 
 kingdom of Bohemia to his approved care and pro- 
 tection, should the Swedes," who had assembled in 
 force near Ratisbon, " advance against the frontier." 
 To what extent Wallenstein was apprised of the 
 measures taken against him, is not very certain ; but he 
 no sooner heard that an unfavourable construction had 
 been put upon the meeting at Pilsen, than he again 
 called the officers together, and signed, along with 
 them, a joint declaration, expressive of their " entire 
 devotion to the Emperor, and of their resolution to 
 shed every drop of their blood in his service." This 
 
 X
 
 3^2 LIFE OF WALLENSTEIN. 
 
 was on the 20th of February. But as every hour now 
 brought proof, that hostile proceedings, were ah'eady 
 in progress, he dispatched Colonel Mohrwald to 
 Vienna on the 21st, and General Brenner on the 
 22d, to assure the Emperor of his perfect readiness 
 to resign the command, and to appear at any time 
 and place, to answer whatever charges might be pre- 
 ferred against him. Both messengers were arrested 
 on the road, the one by Piccolomini, the other by 
 Diodati ; the latter declaring in his official report of 
 the circumstance, that the message to the Emperor, 
 was only a trick devised by Wallenstein to save " i 
 suoi ducati.'* 
 
 It was not till after the Emperor's proclamation, 
 which denounced him as an outlaw, had been pub- 
 licly posted up at Prague, that Wallenstein learned, 
 or believed, the full extent of his danger. Hearing, 
 at the same time, that some of the troops had already 
 refused to obey his orders, and that Piccolomini and 
 Diodati were marching towards Pilsen, where no pre- 
 parations had been made for resistance ; he deter- 
 mined to fly to Eger, and to throw himself into the 
 arms of the allies. Before his departure he sent 
 Prince Francis Albert to the Duke of Weimar, then 
 at Ratisbon, to solicit assistance. As the fugitive 
 General had nothing left, which he could carry over 
 to the allies, but his name and fame, the aid requested 
 implied little more than protection for his outlawed 
 life. And even this was at first denied ; sufficient 
 proof that no understanding existed between him 
 and the allied commanders. " If Wallenstein still 
 lives," says Oxenstiern in a letter to the Duke of
 
 LIFE OF WALLENSTEIN. 3*23 
 
 Weimar, " throw no obstacles in the way of his 
 plans: if he is dead, there will be confusion in the 
 imperial army, of which it might be well to take ad- 
 vantage." 
 
 When Francis Albert arrived at Ratisbon, the 
 Duke of Weimar positively declined to move on the 
 mere word of the Duke of Friedland : " Who be- 
 lieves not in God," said Bernhard, •• will not be be- 
 lieved by man ;" and it was only after the news of 
 Wallenstein's actual departure from Pilsen had been 
 received, that he set out at the head of his army for 
 Eger. But the blow had been already struck, and 
 the Swedes *' came but to augment the slaughter." 
 
 Wallenstein left Pilsen on the morning of the 22d of 
 February l63i^, accompanied by Counts Illo, Terzky, 
 Kinsky, Colonel Butler, and Rittmeister Neumann. 
 As he suffered greatly from gout, he travelled in a 
 sedan chair carried between tv/o horses : and the man, 
 who was to have marched rebellious armies to the 
 gates of Vienna, was only escorted by seven com- 
 panies of infantry and 200 dragoons. The horse- 
 men were under the orders of Colonel Butlei', an 
 Irish Catholic officer, to whose regiment they be- 
 longed ; and who sent his chaplain * to tell Piccolo- 
 
 * This was Carve, the author of the Itinerary, the same who, after 
 Butler's death, was chaplain to Devereux ; for all these men had 
 chaplains. Carve was among the number of those who had shared in 
 the bounty of the munificent Duke of Friedland ; and, in a list of 
 donations still preserved, is the following entry : " To Thomas 
 Carve, Hyherno, 5 florins on a petition for alms." It is hoped 
 that the comparative smallness of the sum, — for in the same list 
 very large sums are specified as bestowed upon other persons, — 
 
 X 2
 
 324 LIFE OF WALLENSTEIN. 
 
 mini that he, Butler, would remain faithful to his 
 allegiance, and use every effort to thwart the designs 
 of the rebels. Galass, and the Marquis de Grana, 
 had, as they inform the Emperor, received similar 
 assurances ; and the Marquis says of Butler, that " he 
 is a cavalier on whom His Majesty may place the 
 most perfect reliance." Of Colonel Gordon, the 
 commandant of Eger, the Marquis is not so certain, 
 and fears that " this officer's Calvinistical spirit, will 
 make a rebel of him." The Italian unfortunately 
 paid that spirit too high a compliment by his suspi- 
 cion. 
 
 Wallenstein and his escort halted the first night at 
 Miess, and arrived on the following evening at Eger, 
 the last Bohemian fortress on the road leading into the 
 Palatinate. Colonel Gordon, a Scottish Presbyterian, 
 held the post with the regiment of Terzka, of which 
 he was Lieutenant-Colonel, and of which another 
 Scotchman of the name of Leslie, was Major. Neither 
 of these officers had yet heard of the Emperor's pro- 
 clamation, and Major Leslie was sent out to meet 
 Wallenstein, and to conduct him into the fortress. 
 The fugitive General took up his quarters at the 
 Mayor's house, in the market-place, and, thinking 
 himself in perfect safety, communicated to our three 
 unworthy countrymen, the cause of his being obliged 
 to fly and seek safety with the allies : he left it to 
 them to accompany him, or not, as they might think 
 proper. Gordon and Leslie agreed at first to follow 
 
 facilitated, to the worthy chaplain, the task of granting absolution 
 to the murderers of the donor.
 
 LIFE OF WALLENSTEIN". 3*25 
 
 him ; but at a conference which they hekl during 
 the night with Butler, the Litter showed them the 
 Emperor's proclamation and the order which he had 
 received from Piccolomini ; on which they unfor- 
 tunately came to a very different resolution. What 
 was the exact order produced by Butler, is not known ; 
 but from a passage in one of the Marquis de Grana*s 
 letters, its purpose may be easily conjectured. That 
 worthy Italian, in recommending Colonel Teufel to 
 the Emperor for a vacant regiment, says, that he was 
 one of the first who offered to " murder the tyrant," 
 (diammazzare il tiranno,) and Ferdinand, " delight- 
 ed " with the Colonel's '* honour and bravery," pro- 
 mises to grant the request. Butler, we may therefore 
 conclude, had direct instructions to kill his General, 
 and had, no doubt, authority also to promise ample 
 rewards to those who should aid in the deed. He 
 found, unfortunately, too many willing accomplices ; 
 and it is painful for a British writer to add, that they 
 belonged mostly to his own country ; the fair fame of 
 which is deeply stained by the infamy of their crime. 
 Gordon, Leslie and Butler, having pledged them- 
 selves to the murder by an oath, which they swore 
 over their drawn swords ; Butler brought seven 
 other officers into the conspiracy : these were, Geral- 
 dine, Devereux, Brown, Macdonald, Birch, Pesta- 
 luzi and Lerda ; the first five were Irishmen belong- 
 ing to his own dragoons, and the last two Spaniards, 
 captains in Terzka's regiment. The execution was 
 fixed for the following evening ; and as lUo, Terzka, 
 Kinsky, and Neumann, w^ere to sup with Gordon in 
 the citadel, it was resolved to commence with them j
 
 3S6 LIFE OF WALLENSTEIN. 
 
 as it was well known that Wallenstein never joined 
 such convivial parties. 
 
 No sooner had the guests entered the castle on 
 the fatal evening, than the gates were closed, and 
 guards posted so as to prevent all egress. Captain 
 Geraldine was stationed, with twelve dragoons, in an 
 apartment that opened into the supper hall, while 
 Captain Devereux, with six more, stood in the apart- 
 ment exactly opposite. To prevent noise the soldiers 
 were without fire-arms, and were ordered to use 
 their swords only. Not a shadow of apprehension 
 seemed to cloud the party ; the wine circulated briskly 
 as was wont in that bold, jovial and boisterous time, 
 and the guests were in high spirits at the thought 
 of being beyond the reach of their enemies. The 
 easy frankness of the conspirators disarmed suspicion ; 
 but the idea of men supping tranquilly with their in- 
 tended victims, offers a fearful proof of the callous- 
 ness of which the human heart is capable. 
 
 No sooner had the dessert been placed on the table 
 and the servants dismissed, than the signal was given. 
 Geraldine instantly burst in at one door, exclaiming, 
 " Viva la casa d* Austria" while Devereux entered 
 at the other, asking, ** Who are good Imperialists ?" 
 Butler, Gordon and Leslie sprung from their seats, 
 drew their swords, and called out, " Vivat Ferdi- 
 nandus ;" on which the dragoons rushed, at once, 
 upon the designed victims, as bloodhounds rush upon 
 their prey. Kinsky was the first who fell ; Illo was 
 stabbed through the back in attempting to reach his 
 sword, which hung suspended against the wall : 
 Tcrzka alone contrived to get his sword, and throw-
 
 LIFE OF WALLENSTEIN. 327 
 
 ing himself into a coiner, resisted with tlie fierce- 
 ness of a lion at bay. He reproached Gordon and 
 Butler with their baseness, challenged them to single 
 combat, killed two dragoons outright, disarmed De- 
 vereux and mortally wounded Captain Lerda, before 
 he sunk beneath the blows of the assassin band. 
 Neumann had fallen, wounded, under the table, and 
 in the confusion escaped out of the hall j but not 
 knowing the countersign, was cut down by the castle 
 guard. 
 
 The first act of the tragedy thus concluded, the 
 principal conspirators proceeded to hold another 
 council. Long habits of submission and obedience, 
 — the fame, greatness and power of their victorious 
 chieftain, — and the deference with which his sub- 
 ordinates had invariably looked up to Wallenstein, 
 as to a being of almost superior nature, awed for a 
 moment even murderers, whose hands were yet drip- 
 ping with the blood of noble and innocent men. 
 Their council was of short duration. Gordon raised 
 a feeble voice in the cause of humanity ; and though 
 he hinted that those might rejoice in the murder, 
 who would yet punish the murderers, his scruples 
 were overruled by Butler, who better knew the par- 
 ties he had to deal with. It was not very clear, 
 indeed, that the Duke could be arrested : but it was 
 evident that he would not prove an acceptable cap- 
 tive at Vienna. As a fugitive outlaw, he was no 
 longer dangerous to the House of Austria ; but his 
 escape might be dangerous to those who should con- 
 nive at it, and would certainly bring them no re- 
 ward : his death was the most agreeable service that
 
 328 LIFE OF WALLENSTEIN. 
 
 could be rendered to the Emperor ; and avarice, 
 therefore, sealed his doom. 
 
 Two shots having been fired at one of Terzka*s 
 servants, who had escaped from the citadel, Leslie 
 made the soldiers of the main-guard renew their oath 
 of fidelity to the House of Austria, admitted a hun- 
 dred more dragoons into town, and caused them to 
 patrole the streets, and maintain the most perfect 
 stillness. Towards midnight, Butler, followed by 
 Devereux and six dragoons, proceeded to Wallen- 
 stein's quarters ; and as it w^as not unusual, for officers 
 of rank, to call upon the General at late hours, the 
 guard allowed them to enter. Devereux, with his 
 party, ascended the stairs, while Butler remained be- 
 low to wait the result. 
 
 It is said that VVallenstein had, only a few mi- 
 nutes before, dismissed, for the night, an Italian 
 astrologer of the name of Senni, who was then attach- 
 ed to his household, and who declared that the stars 
 still boded impending danger, which Wallenstein 
 himself, either could not, or would not see. He 
 had just retired to bed, and the servant who had un- 
 dressed him, was descending the stair when he met 
 Devereux and his party, and desired them to make 
 less noise, '* as the Duke was going to sleep j" ** but 
 this is a time for noise," shouted Devereux, as he 
 pressed on. Finding the door of the bed-chamber 
 locked, he burst it open with his foot, and entered, 
 followed by the soldiers. Wallenstein was standing 
 at the window : startled by the screams of the ladies 
 Terzka and Kinsky, who lodged in the house oppo- 
 site, and who had just learned the murder of their
 
 # 
 
 LIFE OF WALLENSTEIN. 329 
 
 husbands, he had opened the casement, and was ask- 
 ing the centinel what was the matter, at the moment 
 Devereux broke into the room. The sight of his 
 long-honoured and long-obeyed commander, arrest- 
 ed not the hand of this bold and ruthless assassin : 
 " Thou must die," he exclaimed ; and Wallenstein, 
 true to his pride of character, disdained to parley, even 
 for life, with a slave and a stabber. Dignified to the 
 last, he threw open his arms to the blow, and sunk 
 without a word or groan, beneath the first thrust of 
 the traitor's halberd, the blade of which went right 
 through his breast. Thus fell a man who, as Gualdo 
 says, •* was one of the greatest commanders, most 
 generous princes and most enlightened ministers of 
 his own, or of any preceding time :" and thus ended 
 the work, for the successful termination of which, the 
 Emperor had caused prayers to be offered up in all 
 the churches of the capital. 
 
 The body was immediately rolled in a carpet, 
 and carried to the citadel, where it was deposited 
 along with the others. They were all, next morn- 
 ing, placed in hastily constructed shells, and conveyed 
 to the castle of Miess. Piccolomini ordered, indeed, 
 that they should be sent to Prague, for the purpose 
 of " being exposed," as he tells his worthy colleague 
 Grana, •' in the most disgraceful situations." But 
 even Ferdinand retained sufficient sense of decency 
 to prevent such an unworthy proceeding : he directed 
 that the body of Friedland should be given up to his 
 friends, and that the others should all, with the 
 exception of Neumann, be interred in consecrated 
 ground. The last was, on account of his " slanderous
 
 330 LIFE OF WALLENSTEIN. 
 
 tongue," to be buried beneath the gibbet. Wallen- 
 stein's remains were deposited in the vault of a Car- 
 thusian convent, which he had himself built near 
 Gitchen. When, in 1639, the Swedes penetrated 
 into that part of the country, the celebrated General 
 Banner caused the coffin to be opened, and took out 
 the skull and right arm, which he sent to Stockholm. 
 No sooner was the death-blow struck, than Butler 
 sent an account of it to Gallass, and, with hands 
 stained inTerzka's blood, already begged for Terzka's 
 regiment. Major Leslie carried the report to Vien- 
 na. The Emperor, though unable to find the right 
 word for the proceeding at Eger, — having, with his 
 own hand, twice altered the draught of the original 
 answer to Gallass, and effaced the words " killed " 
 and " slain," before he fixed on the term ** cut down," 
 — well knew how to reward the service he dared not 
 describe ; and could be liberal, at a moment when he 
 had so rich a legacy at his disposal. Leslie was made 
 Imperial Chamberlain, Captain of the Body Guard, 
 and Colonel of a regiment : he was raised to the dig- 
 nity of Count, and presented with the lordship of 
 Neustadt in Bohemia ; an estate valued at 200,000 
 florins. 
 
 The moment Butler heard of the Emperor's gene- 
 rosity, he also hurried to Vienna, and, as it proved, 
 had ample cause to be satisfied with his journey. Fer- 
 dinand gave him a public reception, shook hands with 
 him, and made the Archbishop of Vienna suspend 
 a sold chain round his neck. Like Leslie, he re- 
 ceived a regiment, and the gold key of Chamberlain ; 
 was raised to the dignity of Count, and obtained all
 
 LIFE OF WALLENSTEIN. 331 
 
 Terzka's Bohemian estates. The estates of Kinsky 
 fell to Gordon's share ; and Devereux, who, with his 
 own hand, had slain the Duke of Friedland, was re- 
 warded with a gold chain, and with several confiscated 
 domains. Every private soldier who aided in the 
 murder received 500 crowns. Captain Geraldine 
 got 2000, and the other officers 1000 each. Assas- 
 sination has seldom been so richly rewarded as on 
 this occasion, and the Emperor, having estates to the 
 value of nearly fifty millions of florins at his disposal, 
 was as liberal to the original instigators of the murder, 
 as to the murderers themselves. 
 
 It is needless to go over the list of imperial dona- 
 tions ; but there is some pleasure in recording, that 
 the most worthless of the band of conspirators, were 
 those who profited least by the treason. Piccolomini 
 was, at first, entirely passed over, because he had 
 appropriated to himself Wallenstein's plate, and all 
 the moveable property found at Eger, which the 
 menial murderers had, strangely enough, spared : he 
 resigned his commission in consequence, but was after- 
 wards pacified with the estate of Nashod. The mean- 
 ness of the Marquis de Grana seems, however, to 
 have shocked even Ferdinand. This Italian, whose 
 excess of baseness sets all power of description at 
 defiance, had, in the first scramble for booty, seized 
 the horses, equipages and other valuables belonging to 
 the unfortunate Count Schaffgotsh, who was arrested 
 and afterwards executed as one of the conspirators. 
 The Emperor, who only retained for himself the two 
 valuable Duchies of Sagan and Glogau, reprimanded 
 the rapacious Marquis, and entirely passed him over
 
 332 LIFE OF WALLENSTEIN. 
 
 when distributing the spoil, which his Italian inge- 
 nuity had so ably helped to drive into the imperial net. 
 The estate of Neuschloss was assigned to the Duchess 
 of Friedland, as a dowager-portion ; andWallenstein's 
 only child, a daughter, called Maria Elizabeth, was 
 afterwards married to a Count Kaunitz. 
 
 To prove, that the so-called *' prompt execution of 
 Eger " was not a mere act of murder, and that Wal- 
 lenstein had been sacrificed to justice and not to ven- 
 geance, it became necessary to show that some dan- 
 gerous and extensive conspiracy, calling for so un- 
 usual and sanguinary a measure, had really existed. 
 And, as a plot of this nature could hardly have been 
 confined to the five persons slain, a number of officers 
 and men of rank, were arrested and tried as Wallen- 
 stein's accomplices. None of these trials tended to 
 throw the least light on the subject j and with the 
 exception of Count SchafFgotsh, all the prisoners 
 were by degrees set at liberty. The last-mentioned 
 officer, one of the most distinguished in the army, 
 was alone executed ; because, as his sentence declared, 
 there were *' strong grounds for believing that he was 
 an accomplice in Friedland's treason." He was twice 
 put to the torture, once before, and what is still more 
 horrible to relate, once after his condemnation ; but 
 made no confession of any kind ; and so little was 
 proved against him, that the Emperor ordered the 
 proceedings to be kept secret. 
 
 The Marquis de Grana had promised that Wallen- 
 stein's papers, which had been secured at Eger, would 
 disclose the whole of the " diabolical " conspiracy ; 
 but when examined, they were found not to contain
 
 LIFE OF WALLENSTEIN. 333 
 
 a single line that could throw even a shadow of siis- 
 picion on the Duke. Grana, who was always ready 
 to justify one falsehood by another, then declared that 
 Terzka had destroyed six hundred letters the evening 
 before his execution. 
 
 The Court of Vienna, finding that public opinion 
 was not altogether in their favour, and that many, 
 even among the Catholic party, termed, — as Kheven- 
 hiiller allows, *' the prompt and noble execution of 
 Eger, a wicked and infamous murder j" thought it 
 advisable to publish, what they called, an official and 
 authentic account of the conspiracy. To this was 
 added the statement of Seschina Ratchin, an exiled 
 Bohemian Protestant, who, hearing that the Austrian 
 Government were in want of evidence to justify the 
 transaction of Eger, came forward and offered, on 
 condition of having his estates restored, to disclose 
 Wallenstein's negotiation with Gustavus Adolphus ; 
 which he declared to have been carried on through 
 his agency. The Imperial Cabinet agreed to the 
 proposal, and Ratchin published his statement j the 
 poorest compound of folly, with which it was ever 
 attempted to impose upon ignorance and credulity. 
 The author is a person totally destitute of ordinary 
 talent, who, in pretending to repeat the words, and 
 disclose the intentions of men of the highest genius, 
 betrays his falsehood, by making them speak and act 
 like men of his own mean stamp and capacity ; an 
 error, which, on a small scale, we constantly see com- 
 mitted in ordinary society. 
 
 The official account published by the Court of 
 Vienna, is termed, *' A particular and detailed ac-
 
 331 LIFE OF WALLENSTEIN. 
 
 count of the abominable conspiracy of Friedland and 
 his adherents, showing what were really their wicked 
 objects and intentions. The entire compiled, from 
 authentic sources, original documents, private letters, 
 and the willing confessions of accused accomplices. 
 Collected and printed in accordance with the special 
 commands of the Emperor, by Albert Curtius." This 
 statement, which in point of ability is not much supe- 
 rior to Ratchin's Narrative, is far more discreditable ; 
 for it contains many charges and assertions which, as 
 Forster proves, the compilers well knew, from official 
 documents before them, to be totally destitute of 
 foundation. As far as the charges are of a treasonable 
 nature, they are totally unsupported by proof, and 
 rest solely on the assertion of those who, by their own 
 showing, were fully capable of falsehood, and had, 
 besides, a case to make out : *' the authentic sources, 
 original documents and willing confessions," are to- 
 tally wanting. The principal charges preferred may 
 be summed up as follows : 
 
 •* That after his first dismissal from the command, 
 Wallenstein entered into negotiations with Gustavus 
 Adolphus, for thepurpose of obtaining Swedish troops 
 to aid in the conquest of Bohemia and Moravia. 
 After the battle of Leipzig, he induced the Saxons to 
 occupy Prague, and granted them too favourable 
 conditions when he subsequently drove them out of 
 the kingdom. He purposely left Bavaria exposed to 
 the inroads of the enemy ; did not avail himself of 
 his superiority to destroy the King of Sweden at 
 Nurenberg ; and retired, without cause, into Bohe- 
 mia, after the victory of Liitzen." It is farther add-
 
 LIFE OF WALLENSTEIN. 335 
 
 ed, that " he liberated Count Thurn, contrary fo all 
 right and justice ; paid no attention to the orders of 
 the Emperor ; and not only employed Protestants in 
 his army, but allowed them free exercise of religion 
 on his estates. Urged on," it is said, *' by ambition 
 and astrological superstition, he conceived the wild 
 and wicked project of dividing the Austrian domi- 
 nions among his generals, and of becoming himself, 
 after changing the entire face of Europe, the head of 
 a new imperial dynasty." 
 
 We have seen meaner hands accomplish something 
 like this " wild project," and obtain an imperial bride 
 in reward for his success. Times, however, and cir- 
 cumstances also were different, and Wallenstein's 
 enemies declared, that " his crimes deserved death, 
 and that the faithful servants of the Emperor dared 
 not, under the great danger then pending, risk the 
 safety of the empire and the Catholic religion, by 
 giving way to false pity, or by tarrying for the ordi- 
 nary formalities of justice." 
 
 All these charges are easily answered. We have 
 seen that Wallenstein, so far from entering into nego- 
 tiations with Gustavus Adolphus, was from the first, 
 the enemy of that Prince ; and ridiculed the idea of 
 having had any communication with him after his 
 landing in Germany. And though we might refuse 
 to receive his own testimony in this case, his asser- 
 tion is so fully confirmed by the silence of Chemnitz, 
 as to place doubt entirely out of the question. The 
 historian does not say a word about negotiations ha- 
 ving taken place between Gustavus and the Duke of 
 Friedland j and as he wrote, not merely under the
 
 336 LIFE OF WALLENSTEIN. 
 
 inspection, but almost under the dictation of Oxen- 
 stiern, it is impossible that he could have been igno- 
 rant of the fact, had any communications passed be- 
 tween them. 
 
 This is saying nothing of the character of the in- 
 dividuals, who however dissimilar in other respects, 
 were so far alike, that neither of them could act 
 secondary parts. The proud, stately and imperious 
 Duke of Friedland, could never become the follower 
 of a young Scandinavian monarch ; and the fiery 
 genius of Gustavus, brooked hardly an equality even 
 with kings. Besides, we have seen that Wallenstein 
 was actually carrying on a negotiation with Denmark, 
 highly dangerous to the interest of the Swedes, at 
 the very time he is accused of having intended to 
 join them. 
 
 That he did not bring the Saxons to Prague, is 
 equally evident : they took that very natural direc- 
 tion by the decision of a council of war, held at Halle, 
 on the day after the battle of Leipzig, and before 
 Wallenstein could have known the result of the action. 
 
 His conduct, and pretended inactivity at Nuren- 
 berg, and again after the battle of Liitzen, are mili- 
 tary questions, of which he was a better judge than 
 the imperial ministers could be ; and, as already 
 shown, he seems, on both occasions, to have acted in a 
 manner deserving the highest praise. Count Thurn 
 was liberated in conformity with the terms of a re- 
 gular capitulation, which could not be violated with- 
 out a direct breach of faith and honour. That Wal- 
 lenstein carried religious toleration far beyond the 
 spirit of his age, may be safely granted j but of the
 
 LIFE OF WALLENSTEIN. 337 
 
 astrological superstition here mentioned, we find no 
 evidence whatever. 
 
 How far he amused himself with astrology, or with 
 what faith he consulted the stars, it is impossible to 
 say : on two occasions only do we find the subject 
 alluded to : once, when he applied for the horoscope 
 of Gustavus Adolphus ; and again, when he pointed 
 out to the imperial messengers, who notified to him 
 his dismissal from the command of the army, the 
 domineering influence exercised by the star of Maxi- 
 milian, over the star of Ferdinand ; an influence that 
 might have been discovered without the aid of the 
 planets. In his letters, Wallenstein is the reverse 
 of a vague and dreaming astrologer : he is clear and 
 direct : we always find him calculating the march of 
 events with great ability, and never depending, like 
 so many of his feeble imitators, on his fortunes or his 
 star. Whatever his faults may have been, he was 
 evidently, if we judge him by the letters he writes, 
 — by the orders and directions he gives, — a clear and 
 high-minded man, endowed with an observant and 
 vigorous understanding, always bold, open and direct 
 in his proceedings. 
 
 But the writers who have handed his actions and 
 character down to us, were the reverse of all this ; or, 
 they were intimidated by the power of his enemies. 
 Unable, or not daring, to represent him as a great 
 man, they endeavoured to reduce him to the level 
 of their own conceptions ; and failed even in this 
 attempt ; for the giant-shadow projects at every 
 point, beyond the frame within which they would 
 repress it. But it projects as an imperfect portraiture 
 
 Y
 
 338 LIFE OF WALLENSTEIN. 
 
 only : the greatness of the outline remains ; while 
 the true lineaments of character, are injured and ob- 
 scured, by the efforts of ignorance and malevolence. 
 The official statements, published by the Court of 
 Vienna, which guided so many historians, and Schiller 
 among the rest, make Wallenstein speak and act like 
 one removed, a few degrees only, above mental infir- 
 mity ; and as the world were not likely to believe this 
 of the intellectual Duke of Friedland, it became 
 necessary to represent him, as influenced in his con- 
 duct, and hurried along the path of folly, by astro- 
 logy and superstition. 
 
 This extraordinary man was denied even the usual 
 appeal to posterity ; for, as all parties were hostile to 
 him, none would furnish the unbiassed evidence on 
 which posterity can alone form an impartial judgment. 
 He had been the open and most formidable enemy 
 of the Protestants, and could expect little favour at 
 their hands. The Catholics, who condemned and 
 slew him as a traitor, were not likely to be more 
 friendly ; if they slew him justly, their hatred was 
 just ; if unjustly, — it was probably greater ; because 
 men too generally end by hating those whom they 
 begin by injuring. 
 
 In this respect, the fortunes of Napoleon, contrast 
 singularly with those of the Duke of Friedland ; and, 
 owing to very different reasons, posterity will find it 
 as difficult to form a just estimate of the one, as of 
 the other. 
 
 Wallenstein incurred the hatred of the two parties 
 into which the Christian world of his day was divided ; 
 and as these were, in so far religious parties, that
 
 LIFE OF WALLENSTEIN. 339 
 
 religious differences had occasioned the breach be- 
 tween them, — they added, to their other causes of 
 hostility against the Duke of Friedland, all the bit- 
 terness for which religious animosities are supposed 
 to be distinguished. 
 
 Napoleon, as General, Consul and Emperor, 
 fought, successively, against the different powers of 
 Europe; and the victories he achieved over one na- 
 tion, proved frequently very agreeable to those who 
 were neutral for the moment, and in no immediate 
 expectation of being defeated in their turn ; so that 
 when he became the enemy of all, he had already 
 acquired a reputation which few ventured to arraign. 
 Liberality, too, was the fashion of the age ; and it was 
 deemed as liberal to praise the talents of an adversary, 
 as illiberal to question them. Napoleon was also, 
 from his position, the enemy of established govern- 
 ments ; the ally and idol therefore of all, who, with- 
 out fixed principles, and at a period of universal 
 excitement, were eager for change : and this, by a 
 strange inconsistency, rendered the pretended advo- 
 cates of liberty and popular rights, the upholders of a 
 military despot, whose only known sentiment was a 
 deadly hatred of freedom and of liberal institutions. 
 A proof, perhaps, that men hated the powers above 
 them, more than they loved the freedom of which 
 they spoke. 
 
 At a time, when the pen was already in every 
 hand, the absolute ruler of mighty empires, the dis- 
 penser of crowns, duchies, titles, pensions and deco- 
 rations, was sure to be lauded in strains far surpass- 
 ing, in loudness and extent of circulation, any which 
 
 Y 2
 
 340 LIFE OF WALLENSTEIN. 
 
 the seventeenth century could send forth in the odd 
 volumes that issued, in slow succession, from its tardy- 
 presses. In Catholic countries, none dared defend 
 the fame of the Duke of Friedland ; in Protestant 
 countries few were interested in doing so : but 
 nations, empires and individuals, are interested in 
 upholding the fame of Napoleon. Those who hum- 
 bled themselves to the very dust before him, must 
 maintain his claim to greatness, to save themselves 
 from disgrace and ridicule : those whom he vanquish- 
 ed, must follow a similar course, to lessen the shame 
 of their defeats: and those who conquered him, — and 
 all claim a share in the honour, — are, of course, will- 
 ing enough to represent him as a giant, in order to 
 enhance the merit of their victories. And, if pos- 
 terity judge of Napoleon, by the histories, yet written 
 of him and his time, they will believe this poor, weak 
 and vain toy of fortune, to have been a man of the 
 highest genius and intellect ; even as the last two 
 centuries believed Wallenstein to have been a super- 
 stitious astrologer, — a sanguinary tyrant, — and a 
 traitor to his sovereign and his country. 
 
 In regard to the military orders issued by the Em- 
 peror, as Wallenstein had full power, by the terms 
 on which he resumed the command, to resist them, — 
 it is more than probable that he acted wisely in some- 
 times availing himself of the privilege. 
 
 The charge of treason brought against him, has 
 never been substantiated by a shadow of proof ; and 
 wanting that proof, we are, injustice, bound to acquit 
 the accused, however inexplicable some parts of his 
 conduct may appear. The constant negotiations
 
 LIFE OF WALLENSTEIN. 3hl 
 
 carried on during the first months of the Silesian 
 campaign, — the total absence of all military energy 
 and enterprise, — more than injured Wallenstein's 
 reputation as a soldier. It was thought strange, that 
 the adversary of Gustavus, should allow himself to 
 be arrested by Arnheim and the Saxons : and the 
 reports, so universally circulated, of his intention to 
 fall off' from the Emperor, naturally augmented the 
 suspicions thus excited. 
 
 Arnheim's extraordinary communication to Oxen- 
 stiern, — the statements contained in the letters of the 
 Saxon general, — as well as those contained in the 
 letters of Prince Francis Albert, — -Kinsky's myste- 
 rious correspondence with Feuquires, are all unex- 
 plained circumstances, detrimental to the fair fame of 
 the Duke of Friedland ; but they do not constitute 
 proofs of treason ; for we do not know that any of 
 these persons had authority to make the proposals in 
 question, or had grounds for the statements contained 
 in their letters : not a single line of Wallenstein's own 
 writing has ever been produced against him. 
 
 From the general tenor of his letters, we know, 
 that he was a decided enemy of Sweden ; and Riche- 
 lieu's Memoirs inform us, that he entertained feelings 
 equally hostile towards France. May we not, there- 
 fore, suppose, that he was honestly striving to unite 
 the different powers of Germany, in order to clear 
 the empire of foreign influence and foreign armies ; 
 so that a peace might be concluded between the Ca- 
 tholics and Protestants, without being first purchased 
 from strangers, at the enormous price which they 
 ultimately exacted for their interference in the war ?
 
 342 LIFE OF WALLENSTEIN. 
 
 Such a plan was worthy of the genius and patriotism 
 of Friedland, and accords far more with his known 
 words and actions, than any that has yet been ascribed 
 to him. 
 
 There are probably many men who would be ready 
 to strike for crowns and sceptres, if the brilliant 
 baubles could be gained by direct and open violence ; 
 but who would scorn to connect themselves with the 
 bravos, stabbers, gamblers, trading patriots, in- 
 triguers, adventurers and other mean tools that trea- 
 son employs in working out its dark and unworthy 
 projects. Pride alone will keep men of high charac- 
 ter virtuous, and the Duke of Friedland was the 
 proudest of the proud : whether he would have seized 
 a crown, by open force, we cannot say ; but we may 
 safely assert, that he never could have been a con- 
 spirator. It is now evident, that Wallenstein fell a 
 victim to some dark plot, the thread of which has not 
 yet been discovered, though its machinations are 
 amply attested by the letters of the Italian faction, 
 and by those of the Elector of Bavaria. Maximilian, 
 Piccolomini, Diodati, Grana, Galasso, and others, 
 worked skilfully on the jealous fears of the Emperor, 
 and hurried him into measures, of which he so far 
 repented as to declare, some years afterwards, that 
 Wallenstein was less guilty than his enemies had 
 represented. 
 
 The combination of Pilsen was, no doubt, repre- 
 hensible, and would now be criminal ; but it was less 
 so at a period when the just principles of subordina- 
 tion were almost unknown ; and the Court of Vienna, 
 so far from looking upon the transaction as a serious
 
 LIFE OF WALLENSTEIN. 343 
 
 offence, thought it advisable to give a false account 
 of the proceeding, when they brought it forward as a 
 treasonable charge. It is said, in the imperial state- 
 ment, that the paper signed by the officers, had been 
 fraudulently substituted for the one which contained 
 the resolutions actually agreed upon, and that the 
 clause, contained in the first, — suppressed paper, — 
 by which the officers bound themselves to remain, 
 faithful to the Emperor, had been purposely omitted 
 in the second paper, to which the signatures were 
 obtained. These imperial assertions bear falsehood on 
 their very face: no man would think himself bound 
 by a signature out of which he had been defrauded ; 
 nor did any of the officers tried, allege, in their de- 
 fence, that so mean a deception had been practised 
 upon them. 
 
 But allowing that precedent, and the opinions of the 
 time, palliated, in some degree, this military combina- 
 tion, it must still be a question whether Wallenstein 
 really intended to resign the command of the army 
 when he called the officers together : whether the most 
 ambitious of men was willing to descend from dicta- 
 torial power, to the retirement of private life, at the 
 very moment when France was tendering crowns, 
 armies and millions for his acceptance. History is 
 bound to acquit the Duke of Friedland of treason ; for 
 all the power and influence of the Court of Vienna, 
 failed to make out a case against him. From beyond 
 the grave the mighty spirit of the man, still overaw^ed 
 his enemies, and confounded their counsels : it was 
 in vain that bribes and tortures were employed to 
 prove him guilty j these criminal efforts only re-
 
 344 LIFE OF WALLENSTEIN. 
 
 coiled upon their authors, and laid bare to the world 
 the full infamy of their conduct. But the guilt of 
 one party, cannot establish the innocence of another ; 
 and strongly as this presumptive evidence tells in 
 Wallenstein's favour, the suspicions caused by his 
 eccentric conduct still remain. What were the plans 
 engendered in that lofty and aspiring mind, — what 
 the hopes cherished in that ambitious and not ignoble 
 heart, — are questions never likely to be answered ! — 
 Oxenstiern declared, even in the last years of his life, 
 that he never could comprehend the object Wallen- 
 stein really had in view : and as the ablest and best 
 informed man of the time failed to unravel the secret, 
 it will be in vain that we attempt to fathom a mys- 
 tery, over which the gloom of two centuries has now 
 been gathered. 
 
 If we, too often, see the best and most generous 
 qualities of our nature, crushed beneath the chilling 
 influence of adversity, so we expect on the other hand, 
 to find them called forth and cherished by the genial 
 sunshine of power and prosperity. We naturally feel 
 disposed to combine the idea of high qualities with 
 high station ; and the want of noble and generous 
 feeling, which in the humbler ranks of life, is but an 
 absence of virtue, augments to criminality, in propor- 
 tion as we ascend in the scale of society j and we can 
 only fancy such deficiency to exist upon a throne, 
 when the crovvned occupant is composed of the mean- 
 est materials of which human nature is ever put toge- 
 ther. Ferdinand II. was such an occupant of a throne. 
 In the hour of danger, and when pressed by the vic- 
 torious arms of the Swedes, he conferred almost
 
 LIFE OF WALLENSTEIN. 345 
 
 dictatorial power on the man from whose aid he alone 
 expected safety. But no sooner was the first peril 
 over, than the imagination of the terrified sovereign, 
 magnified into treason and rebellion, the exercise of 
 the power which he had before delegated. In his base 
 and unkingly fear, — to acquit him even of envy and 
 avarice, — he condemned without a trial or hearing ; 
 and not only handed over the man, who had twice 
 saved the monarchy, to the halberds of hired assassins, 
 but rendered himself an active party to the crime by 
 the treachery of his conduct. In order to deceive his 
 intended victim, and to render the blow more cer- 
 tain, he remained in constant and confidential cor- 
 respondence with Wallenstein, for twenty days after 
 the betrayed General had been outlawed as a rebel. 
 True it is, that he afterwards caused three thousand 
 masses to be said for the souls of the slain : and cour- 
 tiers and confessors may, by such means, have silenced 
 the feeble voice of the royal conscience. But the 
 voice of history will not be so silenced ; and the name 
 of Ferdinand II. will be handed down to latest pos- 
 terity, as the name of a sovereign in whose callous 
 heart, not even imperial sway could raise one spark 
 of noble fire ; who, while crawling in the dust before 
 images and reliques, remained deaf to the duties of 
 Christianity ; and repaid the greatest services ever 
 rendered to a prince, by one of the foulest deeds of 
 treason and of murder recorded in the dark annals of 
 human crime.
 
 \
 
 LIFE OF WALLENSTEIN. 347 
 
 TERMINATION OF THE WAR. 
 
 Having gone through the principal events that dis- 
 tinguished the first part of the Thirty years' War, it 
 will not, perhaps, be unacceptable to the reader, if we 
 close our history with a brief sketch of the last half 
 of the long and desolating conflict. 
 
 With Wallenstein and Gustavus, all unity of ac- 
 tion, and greatness of object, disappeared from the 
 scene of strife. Sieges were carried on, and battles 
 fought, in every part of Germany ; but they no longer 
 formed connecting-links in well-combined plans of 
 military operation ; and were little better than isolated 
 acts of useless destruction. Brilliant valour, and 
 talents of the highest order, were frequently displayed 
 in the field ; but the state of weakness and exhaus- 
 tion, to which the nations were rapidly sinking down, 
 soon tended to render profitless, the most extensive 
 victories. 
 
 Want of union among the Protestants, prevented 
 them from deriving all the benefit, which they had 
 at first anticipated, from Wallenstein's death. The 
 King of Hungary assumed the command of the army, 
 and by the aid of money, which was plentifully distri- 
 buted, the soldiers were, without difficulty, kept in 
 obedience ; not the slightest attempt was any where 
 made, to resist the Emperor's orders. On the other
 
 ♦31-8 LIFE OF WALLENSTEIN. 
 
 hand, Bernhard of Weimar, and Field-Marshal Horn, 
 were masters of Bavaria. In July 1634, they gained 
 a complete victory at Landshut, over General Altrin- 
 ger, who was slain in the action. This man, who had 
 taken an active share in the Italian conspiracy against 
 Wallenstein, fell, as a traitor should fall ; for wounded 
 in the field, he was trampled to death by his fugitive 
 troops. Though Gallass and Piccoloraini, the prin- 
 cipal partners in his guilt, did not meet so early and 
 striking a punishment j they lived but to see that 
 victory had, for ever, abandoned their dishonoured 
 crests : disgrace and discomfiture settled on their 
 standards, and we have only to mention them, in this 
 brief sketch, as fugitives from almost every field in 
 which they ventured to face brave and open foes. 
 
 The Swedes, who had so long been victorious, were, 
 in their turn, destined to taste the bitterness of de- 
 feat. Fifteen thousand Spaniards, under the Cardinal 
 Infant, son of Philip III, entered Germany, and in 
 conjunction with the imperial army, under the King 
 of Hungary, laid siege to Ndrdlingen. Field-Mar- 
 shal Horn, and Bernhard of Weimar, hurried to the 
 relief of the place. Owing to the superiority of the 
 enemy, who was besides strongly intrenched, the 
 Swedish commanders had no intention to hazard a 
 battle, before the arrival of the Rhin-graff Count 
 Otho, with another division of the army, which was 
 already close at hand j but the impetuosity of the 
 Duke of Weimar lost every thing. Horn had suc- 
 ceeded in carrying a hill, called the Amsberg, a 
 strong point, which placed him in communication 
 with the town, and almost secured the victory.
 
 LIFE OF WALLENSTEIN. SVJ 
 
 Bernhard, thinking that so favourable an opening 
 should not be neglected, hurried on to the attack of 
 another post. It was taken and retaken ; both armies 
 were gradually, and without method, drawn into the 
 combat, which, after eight hours* duration, ended in 
 the complete defeat of the Swedes. Horn was made 
 prisoner ; and Bernhard escaped on a borrowed 
 horse. Cratz, the third in command, and one of the 
 most eccentric men of genius of a period so fertile in 
 such men, refused to leave the field. It was a prin- 
 ciple with him, that a soldier should never fly from 
 a field of battle ; and though he had deserted from 
 the Imperialists, owing to a quarrel with Wallenstein, 
 and well knew the fate that awaited him if taken, he 
 continued to walk quietly up and down the ground, 
 after the action was over : he remained long unno- 
 ticed in the confusion, till recognised and secured by 
 some of the Croats, who had formerly served under 
 him. He afterwards suffered as a deserter ; but 
 Schiller, who, in the first edition of the Thirty years* 
 War, calls him a cowardly old man, does him great 
 injustice ; for he was as much distinguished by 
 bravery, as by talents. 
 
 The defeat of Nordlingen, almost ruined the Swe- 
 dish cause in Germany ; the spell of invincibility was 
 gone, and the effects of the panic far surpassed those 
 which the sword had prod.uced. Strong fortresses 
 were abandoned, before the enemy came in sight j 
 provinces were evacuated, and armies, that had been 
 deemed almost unconquerable, deserted their chiefs, 
 and broke into bands of lawless robbers, who pillaged 
 their way in every direction. Bavaria, Suabia and 
 
 <l4
 
 350 LIFE OF WALLENSTEIN. 
 
 Franconia were lost ; and it was only behind the 
 Rhine, that the scattered fugitives could again be 
 brought into something like order. 
 
 The battle of Nordlingen, caused to Oxenstiern the 
 second sleepless night which he had experienced in his 
 life; and it certainly required all his ability, to stem 
 the torrent of misfortune, which followed the disas- 
 trous event. The Emperor refused to grant the 
 Swedes, any other terms of peace, than permission 
 to retire from the empire. The Elector of Saxony, 
 forgetful of what was due to his religion, and forgetful 
 of all that Sweden haddoneforhis country, concluded, 
 at Prague, a separate peace with the Emperor ; and 
 soon afterwards joined the Imperialists against his 
 former allies. The fortunes of the Protestants, would 
 have sunk beneath this additional blow, had not 
 France come to their aid. Richelieu had before only 
 nourished the war by means of subsidies, and had, at 
 one time, become nearly as jealous of the Swedes as 
 of the Austrians ; but no sooner was their power 
 broken, than the crafty priest took an active share in 
 the contest. 
 
 The French were not, at first, very successful in 
 the field : their army was completely defeated at 
 Diittlingen by John de Werth ; but their movements 
 obtained breathing time for the Swedes, who turned 
 it to admirable account. General Banner again ren- 
 dered their arms triumphant in the north : after 
 some minor victories, he defeated the combined 
 Saxon and imperial armies, in the great and decisive 
 battle of Witstoch, fought on the 4th of October 
 163G. Under this commander, we again find British
 
 LIFE OF WALLENSTEIN. 351 
 
 names in their proper places. At Witstoch, a Colonel 
 Leslie commanded the centre of the army, and Colo- 
 nel King the infantry of right wing ; while Colonel 
 Ruthven, at the head of a separate corps, had, shortly 
 before, gained a decisive victory at Domitz. 
 
 The battle of Witstoch threw Saxony and Bohemia 
 open to the victorious army ; which, like a stream of 
 destroying lava, poured itself over both countries. 
 First, the Saxons had to pay for the ingratitude of 
 their Sovereign towards Sweden, and a heavy penalty 
 it proved ; for the generous and humane discipline 
 which Gustavus had maintained, no longer existed, 
 and the whole Electorate, was placed at the mercy of 
 the enraged soldiery. From Saxony, the torrent of 
 desolation rolled on, into Bohemia. " The unhappy 
 kingdom," says Carnova in his history of the country, 
 " resembled a sea of fire : from the hills, you saw, 
 ascending in every direction, flames that were con- 
 suming the dwellings of peaceful inhabitants, the 
 temples of religion, and the monuments of antiquity ; 
 while cliffs and mountains re-echoed with the lamen- 
 tations of ruined and houseless fugitives." The recol- 
 lection of these terrible visitations, that resembled 
 more the inroads of the Huns, than the expeditions 
 of Christian armies, is preserved, to this day, among 
 the Saxon and Bohemian peasantry, in a song, called 
 the " Song of the Swedes." 
 
 On the Rhine also, the Protestant arms proved 
 successful. Bernhard of Weimar had ably atoned 
 for his former rashness ; and with an army, raised 
 principally by means of French subsidies, captured 
 the important fortress of Breisach, after successively
 
 352 LIFE OF WALLENSTEIN. 
 
 defeating three armies that advanced to its relief. 
 So great was the fame of this chivalrous Prince, that 
 France and Sweden were both beginning to be jealous 
 of his growing power when he died, not without sus- 
 picions of having been poisoned, on the 18th July, 
 1639, in the thirty-fifth year of his age. 
 
 Two years afterwards, the Swedes lost, in Banner, 
 their third great general ; for a great general he was, 
 notwithstanding his many personal faults. Eighty 
 thousand men are said to have fallen in the various 
 battles which he fought during his short command ; 
 and 600 flags and standards, captured and sent to 
 Stockholm, attested the splendour of his victories. 
 But the conquerors were too much enfeebled, to profit 
 by their success. Sweden thinly peopled, — poor in 
 money, — and exhausted by so many Polish and Ger- 
 man campaigns, was no longer equal to any great 
 continued effort ; and Germany could not, after 
 having been, for more than twenty years, ravaged 
 alike by friends and foes, furnish the means of sup- 
 porting vigorous and systematic military operations. 
 After all Banner*s victories, the Swedes were again 
 on the eve of being driven out of the empire, when 
 the voice of the nation and the army, forced Len- 
 nard Torstensohn to rise from a bed of sickness, in 
 order to place himself at the head of the troops. 
 
 This celebrated person had, like Plorn and Ban- 
 ner, been trained to war in the school of Gustavus 
 Adolphus ; and, like the other great generals of that 
 school, was distinguished for letters as well as arms. 
 All these men were models of commanders ; and were 
 as superior to the mere martinet_soldiers of the sue-
 
 LIFE OF WALLENSTEIN. 353 
 
 ceeding century, as to the revolutionary bravoes who, 
 in our own age, rose to notoriety, by aid of the ruth- 
 less conscriptions, which placed a boundless supply 
 of human materiel, constantly at their disposal. The 
 Swedish generals have left proofs, that they looked 
 deeply into the means and object of their profession, 
   — that they knew how to combine movements, and to 
 calculate the power of arms. These men never cast 
 the reins of command blindly to fortune ; they effect- 
 ed great things with, comparatively, small means, and 
 remained victorious, in every fair field, in which they 
 were engaged. As leaders of armies, they have not 
 been surpassed in modern war ; and it may fairly be 
 doubted, whether Torstensohn has yet been equalled. 
 Banner sullied his high military fame, by excess and 
 intemperance ; but Torstensohn, though inferior to 
 Horn in active humanity, — for it was said of Horn, 
 that he knew how to disarm even war of its terrors, 
 — surpassed Banner in moderation of conduct, as 
 much as he surpassed both, by the splendour of his 
 success. His actions border almost on the incredi- 
 ble ; and his operations seemed to have wings, at 
 the very time, when he was himself, chained to a 
 couch of sickness by lameness and suffering. From 
 the shores of the Baltic, he penetrated into the very 
 heart of the Austrian dominions. Near Leipzig, 
 he entirely defeated the imperial and Saxon armies, 
 with which the Archduke Leopold, and Piccolomini, 
 attempted to arrest his progress. Having then cap- 
 tured Olmiitz, and reduced all Moravia, he suddenly 
 left the province, traversed Germany by marches that 
 completely concealed the object of his expedition.
 
 354 ' LIFE OF WALLENSTEIN. 
 
 and appeared unexpectedly in Holstein and Jutland ; 
 and overran both duchies before the astonished Danes 
 were in any degree prepared for resistance. 
 
 The hope of profiting, by the state of feebleness 
 to which Sweden was reduced, had again awakened 
 the ambition of Christian IV. ; promises on the part 
 of the Emperor, were not wanting ; and the Protes- 
 tant King of Denmark, was about to join the Ca- 
 tholic League, when the ability of Oxenstiern disco- 
 vered the intrigue, and enabled the Swedes to crush 
 this new enemy, before he could become formidable. 
 On one side, the victorous invasion of Schonen, by 
 Field-Marshal Horn, and on the other, the occupa- 
 tion of Jutland and Holstein, soon forced the Danes 
 to sue for peace ; and in 164-5, the treaty of Brem- 
 sebroe, already put an end to this short-lived war. 
 
 The Emperor tried, indeed, to aid his new ally ; 
 and sent Gallass with an army in pursuit of Tor- 
 stensohn. But the Italian was a more skilful con- 
 triver of conspiracies, than commander of armies. 
 Unable to join the Danes before their defeat near 
 Kiel, and not daring alone to face the Swedes, he 
 shut himself up in an intrenched camp near Bernburg, 
 Here Torstensohn cut off his communication ; and 
 the Austrians, reduced to extremity by famine, tried 
 to effect a retreat ; but their cavalry were overtaken 
 and defeated at Jutterbock, and the infantry obliged 
 to lay down their arms near Magdeburg. Gallass 
 returned almost alone, from this inglorious expedi- 
 tion ; adding to the fame, of having aided in the mur- 
 der of his former commander, that of having com- 
 pletely ruined the army intrusted to his own leading.
 
 LIFE OF WALLENSTEIN. 353 
 
 The peace of Bremsebroe, again gave Torstensohn 
 free hands against the Austrians; and, as Olmiitz had 
 been besieged during his absence, this indefatigable 
 commander, who, as well as Bajazet, deserved the 
 name of Ilderi?)!, or " The Lightning," hurried from 
 the very shores of the Belt to its relief. In Saxony, 
 he forced the Elector to conclude a final truce with 
 Sweden : and on his march through Bohemia, defeat- 
 ed, at Jankowitz, the last army which the Emperor 
 was able to bring into the field. Ferdinand III. who, 
 in 1637, had succeeded his father on the imperial 
 throne, was with the army, though he took no share 
 in the battle. Trusting to a superiority of numbers, 
 and urged on, it is said, by a dream in which he had 
 received from the Virgin a promise of victory ; he 
 overruled the advice of the brave and experienced 
 General Hatzfeld, and forced him to meet the Swedes. 
 But instead of joining manfully in the combat, he re- 
 mained in a church, at a distance from the scene, and 
 within hearing of the very guns that, in his cause, 
 and by his orders, were dealing frightful death, and 
 more frightful mutilation around, contented himself 
 with praying to various saints for the success of his 
 arms. 
 
 The sound of distant artillery, when every shot 
 tolls, perhaps, the knell of parting man, falls with 
 a strange, wild, heart-chilling effect upon the ear. 
 Presence in the fray changes, of course, this sensa- 
 tion, according to the character of the individual ; 
 but far beyond sight and range, — when the feelings 
 and imagination of the listener are alone engaged, — ^ 
 the mere sound is awful in the extreme. Each hoi- 
 
 z 2
 
 356 LIFE OF WALLENSTEIN. 
 
 low and successive roar strikes heavily upon the heart, 
 and for the instant, checks its very action, but only 
 to make it throb with redoubled violence, during every 
 brief interval of appalling silence. The very aspect 
 of men, is unearthly at such a moment : the still, 
 motionless, intense anxiety which marks every atti- 
 tude and countenance, is absolutely painful to behold ; 
 and almost resembles the fancied effect of magic. 
 But the spell is soon broken ; the material particles 
 of human composition resume their sway ; and the 
 death-bearing thunder is listened to with a degree of 
 indifference, that, to say the very least, shows com- 
 pletely how men are, or how readily they become, the 
 children of mere habit. 
 
 Ferdinand, unmoved by the melancholy sound, 
 which told that thousands were falling for his sake, 
 remained piously on his knees till the battle was lost ; 
 and then hurried to Vienna with the best speed in his 
 power. The army which he abandoned, was almost 
 entirely destroyed ; and General Hatzfeld himself, 
 with a great part of the infantry, were taken prisoners. 
 In the accounts of this battle, is mentioned the last of 
 the British officers who acted so brilliant a part du- 
 ring the Thirty years' War. The remnants of the 
 British regiments who had been so distinguished un- 
 der Gustavus, had mostly fallen at Nordlingen ; but 
 many of their officers still held commands in different 
 corps ; and at Jankowitz, Colonel Robert Douglas, 
 a Scottish officer, commanded the left wing of Tor- 
 stensohn's army, and led the charge of cavalry, — 
 celebrated in military history as the first charge en 
 muraiUe, ever executed against a formed body of in- 
 
 I
 
 LIFE OF WALLENSTEIN. 3^7 
 
 fantry, — which, on this occasion, decided the fate of 
 the day. Profiting by his splendid success, Torsten- 
 sohn subdued all Bohemia, relieved Olmiitz, advan- 
 ced to the very bridge of Vienna ; and captured the 
 fort by which it was defended. The tide of war had, 
 at last, rolled back into its original channel, and the 
 imperial capital was awakened out of its long repose, 
 by the sound of Swedish artillery, fired from the very 
 spot, whence, seven and twenty years before, the Bo- 
 hemian insurgents had first pointed their vengeful 
 guns. 
 
 But the Danube, and its fortified islands, which 
 had formerly arrested the progress of Count Thurn, 
 and of Bethlem Gabor, now arrested, in like manner, 
 the progress of Torstensohn. The means for an im- 
 mediate passage of the river were wanting ; and the 
 resources of Sweden, and of the Protestant party 
 generally, were far too much exhausted to admit of 
 their giving effect to such distant and continued ope- 
 rations. From France no support was to be expected. 
 The French arms had been unsuccessful ; Conde had 
 been defeated at Freyberg, and Turenne at Mergen- 
 theim. And Ragotzky, Prince of Transylvania, act- 
 ing the same part which Bethlem Gabor had acted 
 at the commencement of the war, made peace, and 
 forsook the Swedes, as soon as he had plundered the 
 country under the protection of their army. These 
 adverse circumstances, and his inability to reduce 
 Briin, which was ably defended by a gallant French- 
 man, Louis de Suches, obliged Torstensohn to retire 
 into Silesia, leaving, as usual, the strongholds which 
 he had taken, to fall successively into the hands of
 
 358 LIFE OF WALLENSTEIN. 
 
 the pursuing enemy. In the following year, 1646, 
 ill health forced this extraordinary man, — of whom 
 it was said that he saw with the eyes of Argus, and 
 fought with the arm of Briareus, — to resign the com- 
 mand : he died five years afterwards, at Stockholm. 
 Gustavus Wrangel succeeded him at the head of the 
 army. 
 
 In conjunction with Turenne, this commander 
 had already subdued Bavaria, even to the shores of 
 the Izar ; while General Konigsmark, with another 
 Swedish army, had taken Prague by surprise, when 
 their further progress was arrested by the news that 
 peace had been signed on the 24th October 1648. 
 
 Ever since the year 1643, negotiations had been 
 soins: on at Miinster and Osnabriick. At Osna- 
 briick, between the Emperor and Catholics on one 
 side, and the Swedes and Protestants on the other : — 
 at Miinster again, between France and the German 
 empire. But at the very time when Europe was 
 suffering in all her states, and when Germany was 
 bleeding at every pore ; ministers and diplomatists 
 contrived to delay, for five years, the conclusion of 
 the good work. Instead of adopting, at once, the 
 wise and Christian proposal of Pope Urban VIII, 
 and commencing by a general armistice, the opera- 
 tions in the field were, at the instigation of France, 
 allowed to continue ; so that the demands of the 
 parties, rose and fell exactly in proportion to the 
 success of their arms. Nine months elapsed before 
 the ambassadors were assembled ; it then took six- 
 teen months more, blood flowing all the time, be- 
 fore these men of etiquette could arrange about titles.
 
 LIFE OF WALLENSTEIN. 359 
 
 precedence and ceremonies. When at last the giant 
 work was completed, for a giant work it certainly was, 
 to reconcile so many jarring and conflicting interests, 
 it still required two years of doubt and uncertainty 
 before the conditions were fulfilled on all sides ; the 
 restored fortresses and provinces evacuated, the in- 
 demnities paid and the troops disbanded. 
 
 The peace of Miinster gave Europe the form which 
 it retained, with slight variations, down to the break- 
 ing out of the French Revolution. Religious free- 
 dom was granted to the Protestants, and they retain- 
 ed all the church property which they had acquired 
 previous to the year 1624. Sweden obtained the 
 duchy of Pomerania and the island of Rugen, the 
 towns of Rostock and Wismar, the bishoprics of Bre- 
 men and Verden, and 5,000,000 of crowns. France, 
 which had done least, got the largest share of the 
 spoil : it obtained, besides, the whole of Alsace, the 
 recognition of the important, and formerly captured 
 towns, of Metz, Toul, Pigneral and Verdun. Swit- 
 zerland and the Netherlands were declared indepen- 
 dent of Germany ; which thus lost its two principal 
 bulwarks towards the west. 
 
 But whatever may have been the merits of the 
 peace of Miinster, abstractedly considered, it was cer- 
 tainly the greatest blessing, which, by any sacrifice, 
 could then have been purchased for Germany. — 
 Thirty years of war, carried on, not with the surplus 
 population and resources of the country, but with its 
 very capital and substance, had brought the empire 
 to the verge of ruin and barbarism ; and the pictures 
 of desolation handed down to us by writers and
 
 360 LIFE OF WALLENSTEIN. 
 
 chroniclers of the period, are absolutely frightful to 
 contemplate. 
 
 Of all the commanders who appeared during the 
 war, Gustavus Adolphus was alone able to preserve, 
 in his army, a strict and humane system of discipline. 
 In most armies, the mercenary soldiers, irregularly 
 paid and worse supplied, were obliged to tear, by 
 force, from the citizens and peasants, the means of 
 subsistence. The country people resisted, wherever 
 they were strongest ; acts of violence followed ; the 
 peasantry slew, and in Catholic countries, tortured 
 straggling soldiers, and attacked even small detached 
 parties. The military avenged their comrades ; ne- 
 glecting too often to distinguish between the innocent 
 and the guilty ; till ruin and devastation, tracked at 
 last, the progress of every march. 
 
 The war was carried on without plan or system. 
 Expeditions were undertaken, apparently with no 
 other view than to desolate hostile provinces ; and in 
 the end, provisions and winter quarters, formed the 
 principal objects of the summer campaigns. Want, 
 sickness, distress, and the total absence of discipline, 
 by which these evils were fearfully augmented, when 
 notcreated, destroyed far more troops than the sword; 
 and entire armies were swept away, before they had 
 even seen an enemy. Soldiers left the ranks singly, 
 or in bands, as it suited them, and generally took to 
 plundering: in 1642, the whole of Marshal Gue- 
 briant's array, dispersed itself and broke into robber 
 hordes, that committed the most fearful depredations. 
 
 The enormities charged against the French troops 
 of the period, are equal to those charged even against
 
 LIFE OF WALLENSTEIN. 36l 
 
 the Croats : but it must be recollected that Guebriant's 
 army was, in fact, the remains of the army which had 
 been raised by the Duke of Weimar ; and was com- 
 posed of adventurers from all countries. It must also 
 be observed, that the French soldiers, of the early part 
 of the seventeenth century, were in a great propor- 
 tion vagrants and vagabonds, taken up, as bad sub- 
 jects by the police, and sent to the army, either be- 
 cause troops were wanted, or because the individuals 
 pressed, could give no satisfactory account of them- 
 selves. These men resembled in nothing the French 
 soldiers of Louis XIV. and his successors ; still less 
 did they resemble the soldiers of the empire, and least 
 of all, the soldiers of the republic. The imperial and 
 republican soldiers were the best men that France 
 could produce: it was their gallantry and intelligence 
 which made the reputation of their leaders ; and 
 atoned, on countless occasions, for the ignorance and 
 incapacity of theircrowned and laurelled chief. Some- 
 times these gallant soldiers did even more, and made 
 up, by humanity and good conduct, for a system of 
 war introduced by unprincipled governments and 
 commanders, and naturally fraught, with every species 
 of crime and disorder. 
 
 Whether arts, sciences, learning and civilisation, 
 lost or gained by the Thirty years* War, is a ques- 
 tion not very easily decided ; though historians mostly 
 assert, that Europe was thrown back for a century 
 by its ruinous consequences. In many parts of Ger- 
 many learning was, no doubt, retarded ; in others it 
 was altogether swept away, along with the whole of 
 the population. An entire generation, who would
 
 362 LIFE OF WALLENSTEIN. 
 
 not, in general, prove the best citizens, also grew up, 
 amid scenes of strife, licentiousness and the uncer- 
 tainty of the-morrovv. But the amount of knowledge 
 existing, could not be destroyed ; and thousands of 
 learned, able, and industrious Germans, emigrated, 
 and carried along with them, into other and less en- 
 lightened countries, the arts and knowledge for 
 which their own was already distinguished. The 
 Danes, Swedes, Poles, and Scots, who fought in Ger- 
 many, there came in contact with a state of civilisa- 
 tion, superior to what existed in their own countries : 
 and along with much unworthy spoil, some fair and 
 honourable booty, would, at least, be carried home 
 by the military adventurers. As good sometimes 
 results from evil, the unworthy plunder may at times 
 have produced beneficial effects. The Swedes, in 
 imitation of Maximilian, who had sent the Heidel- 
 berg library to Rome, sent libraries, paintings, sta- 
 tues and works of art to Sweden, where, owing to the 
 scarcity of such treasures, they could hardly fail to 
 create some taste for learning, literature and refine- 
 ment. 
 
 It was to the pressure and hardness of the times, 
 however, that Europe owed the progress which it 
 made : the iron time, forced upon men an excess of 
 mental exertion, that produced far nobler fruit, than 
 any likely to have arisen during the calm reign of 
 ordinary peace. And the young Germany which 
 grew up, from beneath the ruins of the Thirty years* 
 War, was already many generations in advance of 
 the Germany that witnessed the first outbreaking of 
 the great Bohemian volcano.
 
 LIFE OF WALLENSTEIN. 363 
 
 But whatever advantages Europe may have gained 
 by the contest, Germany purchased its share of the 
 benefit, at a fearful price. Law, justice, equity, — in 
 many places all the decencies of life, — had entirely 
 vanished from a land, in which force alone, wielded 
 the arbitrary sceptre of command. The country is 
 said to have lost twelve millions of inhabitants by 
 the contest ; and the population, which amounted to 
 sixteen millions, when the troubles first broke out, 
 counted hardly more than four millions when the war 
 closed. Though this statement may, perhaps, be ex- 
 aggerated, it seems pretty well ascertained, that the 
 population of the Duchy of Wirtenberg, was reduced, 
 from half a million to 48,000 : that of Bohemia, had 
 already been reduced from three millions to 890,000 
 before the death of Ferdinand II. : Saxony and 
 Brunswick suffered in the same proportion. 
 
 In the Electorate of Hesse, seventeen towns, forty- 
 seven castles, and three hundred villages had been 
 burned to the ground. In the Duchy of Wirten- 
 berg, eight towns, forty-five villages, thirty-six thou- 
 sand houses had been laid in ashes, and seventy thou- 
 sand hearth fires completely extinguished : seven 
 churches and four hundred and forty-four houses had 
 been burned at Eichsted. Many towns that had 
 escaped destruction, were almost depopulated : three 
 hundred houses stood empty at Nordheim ; more 
 than two hundred had been pulled down at Got- 
 tingen, merely to serve for fuel. The wealthy city 
 of Augsburg, which contained 80,000 inhabitants 
 before the war, had only 18,000 left when it closed : 
 this town, like many others, has never recovered its
 
 364 LIFE OF WALLENSTEIN. 
 
 former prosperity. No less than thirty thousand 
 villages and hamlets are said to have been destroyed : 
 — in many others, the population had entirely died 
 out, and the unburied corpses, of the last victims of 
 violence or disease, were left exposed about the streets 
 or fields, to be mangled and torn to pieces by birds 
 and beasts of prey. 
 
 In the last campaign of the war, the French and 
 Swedes, burned no less than a hundred villages in 
 Bavaria alone ; and the skulls of St Cosmas and St 
 Damianus, had to be sent from Bremen to Miinich, 
 in order to console Maximilian for the ruin he had 
 brought over his beautiful country. But, even these 
 pitiable relics failed to allay the fears of the unhappy 
 Elector : the share which he had taken in bringing 
 about this desolating contest, pressed heavily on the 
 latter years of his life. In vain he prayed and fasted : 
 in vain he scourged himself with frightful severity : 
 the dreaded future was constantly before his sight, 
 and the once valiant soldier and ambitious prince, 
 died at last, a trembling and despairing bigot. 
 
 The crimes and cruelties of which the troops were 
 frequently guilty, would appear almost incredible, 
 were they not attested in a manner to render doubt 
 altogether impossible. But independent of private 
 accounts, we have various reports from the authorities 
 of towns, villages and provinces, complaining of the 
 atrocities committed by the lawless soldiery. Peace- 
 ful peasants were hunted, for mere sport, like the 
 beasts of the forest ; citizens were nailed up against 
 doors and walls, and fired at like targets : while 
 horsemen and Croats tried their skill in striking oflT
 
 LIFE OF WALLENSTEIN. 365 
 
 the heads of young children at a blow. Ears and 
 noses were cut off, eyes were scooped out, and the 
 most horrible tortures contrived to extract money 
 from the sufferers, or to make them disclose where 
 property was concealed. Women were exposed to 
 every species of indignity ; they were collected in 
 bands, and driven, like slaves, into the camps of 
 the ruffian soldiery ; and men had to fly from their 
 homes, to escape witnessing the dishonour, to which 
 their wives and daughters were subjected. 
 
 Houses and villages were burned, out of mere wan- 
 tonness, and the wretched inhabitants, too often, 
 forced into the flames, to be consumed along with 
 their dwellings. Amid these scenes of horror, intem- 
 perance, dissipation and profligacy, were carried to 
 the highest pitch. Intoxication frequently prevented 
 the Austrian General Goltz from giving out the 
 countersign ; and General Banner was, on one occa- 
 sion, so drunk for four days together, that he could 
 not receive the French ambassador, Beauregard, who 
 had an important message to deliver. " Such was 
 the state of triumphant crime," says a writer of the 
 period, " that many driven to despair, denied even 
 the existence of a Deity ; declaring, that if there were 
 a God in heaven, he would not fail to destroy, with 
 thunder and lightning, a world of such sin and wick- 
 edness." 
 
 The peasants, expelled from their homes, enlisted 
 with the oppressors, in order to inflict upon others 
 the sufferings which they had themselves been made 
 to endure. The fields were allowed to run waste, 
 and the absence of industry on one side, added to
 
 366 LIFE OF WALLENSTEIN. 
 
 destruction on the other, soon produced famine, 
 which, as usual, brought infectious and pestilential 
 diseases in its train. In 1635, there were not hands 
 enough left at Schvveidnitz to bury the dead ; and 
 the town of Ohlau had lost its last citizen. Want 
 augmented crime, even where an increase was thought 
 impossible. In many places hunger had overcome 
 all repugnance to human flesh, and the tales of canni- 
 balism handed down to us, are of far too horrible a 
 nature to be here repeated. 
 
 The cup of human suffering was full, even to over- 
 flowing, and the very aspect of the land, was under- 
 going a rapid change. Forests sprung up, during 
 the contest, and covered entire districts, which had 
 been in full cultivation before the war ; and wolves, 
 and other beasts of prey, took possession of the de- 
 serted haunts of men. This was particularly the case 
 in Brunswick, Brandenburg, and Pomerania, where 
 heaps of ashes, in the midst of wildernesses, served, 
 long afterwards, to mark the spots where peace and 
 civilisation had once flourished. In many parts of the 
 country, the ruins of castles, and stately edifices, still 
 attest the fury with which the war was carried on ; and 
 on such spots, tradition generally points out the sur- 
 rounding forests, as occupying the sites of fertile 
 fields, from whence the lordly owners of the man- 
 sions, derived food and subsistence, for themselves 
 and their numerous retainers. 
 
 Not all the memorable events of our time, — neither 
 the oppression exercised by foreign armies, — nor the 
 shock of contending myriads, that so often encounter- 
 ed on the German soil, have yet been able to eradi-
 
 LIFE OF WALLENSTEIN. 367 
 
 cate from among the German peasantry, the tradi- 
 tions of what their fathers, and their fatherland suf- 
 fered, during the long contest for religious freedom. 
 Legends and traditions still record, in most parts of 
 the country, the wild events of that disastrous period. 
 But tradition, though constant in her affections, is 
 capricious in bestowing them ; and it is often difficult 
 to account, ibr her singular fancies. 
 
 At Stralsund, and along the shores of the Baltic, 
 Wallenstein still holds possession of the ground ; and 
 Tilly, and Pappenheim, are but too fatally remem- 
 bered at Magdeburg. Near Britenfeldt, the country 
 people have raised a monument to the " Great 
 King,'* as Gustavus is called in Germany ; and, till 
 within these five or six years, they usually assembled 
 there, on the anniversary of the battle, to return 
 thanks for the victory, which liberated their country, 
 and gave freedom to their religion. Along the 
 Rhine, and the Maine, the Swedes appear to less 
 advantage ; and are rarely mentioned, except in 
 connection with deeds of violence and plunder. At 
 Hanau, we meet our stern countryman, Ramsay, 
 who, after the battle of Nordlingen, successfully 
 defended that town, for nine months, against the 
 Imperialists. At Wiirtsburg, Gustavus shares tra- 
 dition's tale with Frederick Barbarossa, the most 
 illustrious of the Swabian Emperors ; and, at Nuren- 
 berg, he shines in full glory by the side of Albert 
 Diirer, the painter. But on the adjoining hills, where 
 Wallenstein held his camp, an ancient knight, — the 
 original possessor of the ruin that crowns the principal 
 eminence, — has resumed his rightful sway, and com- 
 
 t 
 
 \
 
 368 LIFE OF WALLENSTEIN. 
 
 pletely expelled the redoubted Duke of Friedland 
 from his domain : and the leader of mighty armies, 
 has there yielded to the adventurous owner of a rob- 
 ber castle. In the Upper Palatinate, Wallenstein re- 
 appears in all his terrors ; and at Eger, he forms, of 
 course, the subject of every tale. At Liitzen, again, 
 where Gustavus died, and Wallenstein fought — 
 where Napoleon achieved one of his last triumphs — 
 all have given way to the fame of some nameless war- 
 riors, who, near the same field, gained a battle over 
 the Hungarians and Slavonians, in the thirteenth 
 century. And the spot, — marked only by a rude 
 stone, surrounded with a few trees, — where fell the 
 " foremost man " of all this modern world, is merely 
 pointed to, as a place, " where somebody was killed." 
 
 THE END. 
 
 James Walker, Printer, 
 0. James's Court, lyawnmarket, 
 Edinburgh. 
 
 //
 
 p 
 
 A\^ 
 
 THE LIBRARY 
 
 UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA 
 
 Santa Barbara 
 
 STACK COLLECTION 
 
 THIS BOOK IS DUE ON THE LAST DATE 
 STAMPED BELOW. 
 
 10m-6,'62(C9724s4)'176D
 
 CitJ^^