for him a great reputation; and the name of Wallenstein was in every one's lips. He was invited to Vienna by the Emperor Matthias, who created him a count, and bestowed other honours upon him. A second marriage, which he now contracted with a lady of rank and fortune, placed him high among the nobles of the empire. When the war with Bohemia broke out, Wallenstein declined an invitation from the Bohemians to make common cause with them, and devoted himself, heart and soul, to the interests of the emperor. On the overthrow of Frederick, Ferdinand amply repaid Wallenstein for his services, by allowing him to purchase many of the confiscated estates at a low price. These acquisitions, together with his former property, made Wallenstein's wealth absolutely enormous: To make his dignity correspond with his wealth, he was created by Ferdinand Count Palatine, and Duke of Friedland, with the right of issuing coin and granting patents of nobility. The most extravagant stories were current respecting his magnificent style of living. It was said, for instance, that his palace was built on the ruins of a hundred houses; that each horse in his stables had a rack and manger of polished steel; that the stalls were divided by intercolumniations of Bohemian marble; and that behind each horse was placed its picture, painted by the best Italian and German masters. His palace was more like the court of a sovereign than the residence of a subject; and to secure the patronage of Wallenstein was deemed the high road to fortune. Among other peculiarities of his character, it may be mentioned that he manifested an extraordinary antipathy to noise, insomuch that officers attending his levee used to silence the jingling of their spurs by tying them with silk twist before entering his presence; and that he was a firm believer in astrology, conceiving the presiding star of his own fortunes to be the planet Jupiter, and maintaining at his court a famous astrologer, whom he consulted on all occasions. Such was the man who came to the relief of the empire in the year 1625, when it was hard-pressed by the chiefs of the Union, and their ally the king of Denmark. He offered to raise an army of fifty thousand men at his own expense, provided that, when raised, they should be allowed to support themselves by pillaging the hostile provinces through which he should lead them. After some delay, the proposal was accepted; and in two months Wallenstein found himself at the head of thirty thousand men- -Germans, Frenchmen, Scotchmen, Irishmen, Cossacks, Croats, Poles, and Hungarians--all attracted to the imperial service by the fame of Wallenstein and the prospect of a rich booty.

Fortune now again declared for the emperor. The Protestant allies were quite unable to cope with two such armies as those of Wallenstein and Tilly; and after various defeats, the king of Denmark was obliged, in May 1629, to conclude a peace, and withdraw to his own dominions, leaving the Protestants of Ger

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many to their fate. The empire having thus been cleared of foreign troops, state after state submitted, paying the price of their past conduct by vast contributions for the support of the imperial troops. New titles and estates were conferred on the haughty soldier to whose energy the empire owed its deliverance. The subjugation of the Protestants was complete; and had Ferdinand chosen to act prudently and wisely, the wounds of war might have been healed, and Germany once more might have enjoyed peace. The religious bigotry of Ferdinand, however, would allow of no compromise for the sake of the general tranquillity. On the 6th of March 1629, he published an edict, called the Edict of Restitution, requiring the restoration to the church of all the ecclesiastical property which had been alienated to the Protestants, and authorising at the same time the use of stringent measures for the extirpation of Protestantism. The Catholic princes, generally, soon perceived the impolicy of such severities. They had another cause of complaint, likewise, in the licentiousness of the imperial army; which, instead of having been disbanded or diminished at the peace, was still in being, distributed over the empire-every regiment committing dreadful depredations and excesses alike on friend and foe, and proving an intolerable scourge to the locality where it chanced to be stationed. Moreover, the Catholic princes began to be jealous of the enormous influence of Wallenstein, whom they named an upstart and an ambitious schemer, and to demand his dismissal from the post of commander-in-chief. A powerful cabal was formed against him, consisting of the Duke of Bavaria, his political, and Tilly, his military rival; also the Catholic chiefs, who were suffering from the devastations of his army; and the priests and Jesuits, for whom he had always manifested a rooted dislike. Ferdinand was at length obliged to yield to the representations of this cabal, who told him that, unless. this insolent dictator were dismissed, the empire was ruined; and accordingly, in 1630, Wallenstein was deprived of his command. Proudly and silently the dismissed general retired to his Bohemian estates, to lead, as before, a life of princely magnificence, taking no concern in the affairs of the empire.

Such was the position of affairs in Germany when Gustavus Adolphus, king of Sweden, plunged into the struggle. Twelve years of "the thirty years' war" had already elapsed; Ferdinand and the Catholic party were victorious; and the Protestants of Germany lay at their feet crushed, timid, and apparently without hope. Gustavus appeared as their hero, their champion, and their deliverer.

INVASION OF GERMANY BY GUSTAVUS-HIS VICTORIES

AND DEATH.

Wallenstein had early discovered the secret intentions of the king of Sweden to take part in the struggle which was distract

ing Germany. "I beg you, sir," he wrote to one of his generals during the war with the king of Denmark, "to keep an eye upon the Swede, for he is a dangerous fellow. You must not trust Gustavus Adolphus, for every one says that he likes to lead people by the nose. I should wish to have the Swede for my friend, but that he should not be too strong; for love and power cannot agree." The motives which induced Gustavus to entertain the designs attributed to him were various. In the first place, he had been inevitably mixed up with German affairs during the progress of his Polish war. Again, he had a strong desire for the aggrandisement of Sweden; his favourite idea being, that the Swedish territories might be so extended as to make the Baltic but a Swedish lake. It is even hinted that he entertained the design of obtaining as much influence in Germany as possible, with the view to being elected emperor at some future period. Moreover, Gustavus was a little alarmed at the common bugbear of the age-the increasing power of Austria. Addressing this feeling in the mind of the Swedish monarch, Richelieu, then at the head of affairs in France, endeavoured to stimulate him to the contest; it being the interest no less of France than of Sweden that the power of the emperor should be curbed. But although all those reasons may have had their weight, it is not to be denied that the grand motives which animated Gustavus in the undertaking, were his attachment to the Protestant faith, and his desire to render assistance to millions of his fellow-men who were groaning under persecution. know," said he, discussing the propriety of engaging in the enterprise with his counsellors-"I know as well as any one person amongst my subjects the difficulty, the perils, the fatigues, and the duration of such an undertaking; yet neither the wealth of the house of Austria dismays me, nor her veteran forces. The imperial army subsists by rapine and military exactions; whereas, on the other hand, though the Swedish revenues are not considerable, yet they are paid with punctuality; and my soldiers are accustomed to temperance, frugality, and virtue. In the worst of cases, my retreat is secure, and my brave troops shall never want their daily subsistence, though it is transported to them from Sweden; and if it is the will of the Supreme Being that Gustavus should die in the defence of his country, he pays the tribute with thankful acquiescence. It is a king's duty and his religion both to obey the great Sovereign of kings without a murmur." It was in such a spirit that Gustavus, with no help from any other power, except, perhaps, some secret assurances from France, and without much encouragement even from those Protestant princes of Germany whose cause he was going to defend, resolved to invade Germany. The doctrine, it may here be observed, of the non-interference of one nation in the affairs of another, had not yet been recognised. Indeed that doctrine would have been totally out of place in the seventeenth century,

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it arose only in the eighteenth; and although it still exists with very beneficial effects in certain cases, it is evident that the doctrine is essentially temporary in its nature, and that, as we advance in civilisation, it will be either greatly modified, or entirely superseded by a nobler principle.

The latter part of the year 1629, and the commencement of 1630, were employed by the Swedish king in making preparations for his enterprise; and when all things had been arranged for his departure, as well as for the government of the country in his absence, he assembled the states, and took a solemn farewell of them. Bearing in his arms his daughter Christina, then only four years of age, he presented her to the assembled diet, and caused them to renew their oath of allegiance to her. His manner was so affectingly serious, that the whole assembly were dissolved in tears, and it was some time before he himself could

pronounce his farewell words. "No light or trivial cause," said he, "induces me to involve myself or you in this new and dangerous war. God is my witness that I have not sought the contest. But the emperor has supported my enemies, persecuted my friends and brethren, trampled my religion in the dust, and stretched his ambitious hand to grasp my crown. The oppressed states of Germany call loudly to us for aid, and, by the help of God, IT SHALL be afforded them." The brave and pious monarch then severally addressed the various orders of his people, and gave them his parting advice and blessing. "I feel a presentiment," he said, “that I shall die in defence of my country and religion. I commend you, then, to the protection of Heaven. Be just, be conscientious, act uprightly, and we shall meet again in eternity." With nobler sentiments a king never went to war. Having thus set his house in order, like a dying man, Gustavus left Sweden with a force of 15,000 men-an army not very formidable in numbers, but powerful from its valour, discipline, and unanimity, as well as from the dauntless spirit and military skill of him who commanded it. Conveyed by a fleet of transports, the Swedish troops landed, on the 24th of June 1630, on the isle of Rugen, in Pomerania. Gustavus himself was the first who sprung to land, where he knelt down, and thanked the Almighty for the safety of his army and fleet. Immediately afterwards he turned his attention to the performance of his great task. What was the degree of courage necessary to nerve him for entering on it, may be conceived from the fact, that the emperor had not less than 150,000 men on the field in various parts of Germany, independent of those in garrison; as well as from the fact, that the Protestant princes, from whom he might naturally have expected assistance, at first refused to cooperate with him. But the Snow King, as he was contemptuously called at Vienna, under the impression that he would speedily melt away, and be lost before the fiery powers of the south, knew neither fear nor hesitation. He overran Pomerania

without delay, and in doing so, exhibited a noble contrast to the conduct of the imperial generals. The Swedish soldier paid for all he required; no private property was molested on his march. The Imperialist garrisons fled before him on all sides; and it was not till he entered Brandenburg that an opponent worthy of his arms appeared on the scene. This adversary was Count Tilly, already mentioned, a man descended of a noble Flemish family, and who had long commanded the Bavarian armies without ever losing a decisive battle. Tilly was everyway a remarkable man. Stern, gloomy, and bigoted, yet loyal and trustworthy, his appearance was in unison with his character. Of low stature, thin, with hollow cheeks, a long nose, wrinkled forehead, large whiskers, and a pointed chin, formed the chief features in his terrible and vulture-like countenance; while his dress was of a fantastic Spanish order—a long red feather, which hung down his back, being the most notable point in it. Tilly was the first who pointed out to the emperor the truly dangerous character of Gustavus as an enemy. "This is a player," said the old marshal, "from whom we gain much if we merely lose nothing." With about 30,000 men, Tilly hurried to the scene of the Swedish king's successes. It was some time before they met, and in the interval the Imperialists attacked the strong and rich city of Magdeburg, which had declared for Gustavus. Before the latter could relieve it, the city was taken, and suffered the most deplorable fate, being given up by Tilly to the tender mercies of his brutal soldiery. "For four days," 66 says Schiller, a scene of carnage was carried on which history has no language, art no pencil, to portray. Neither the innocence of childhood, nor the helplessness of old age-neither youth, sex, rank, nor beautycould disarm the fury of the conquerors. The entire amount of the slaughter was calculated at 30,000." Harte's account of this famous siege is equally terrible. Now," ," he says, "began a massacre not to be paralleled in modern ages. The soldiers fired promiscuously in the streets, churches, and squares, upon persons of all ages, sex, and conditions, with the same fury as in the day of battle. The very best troops, the old Walloons, behaved the least like men; and, as there may be a justice sometimes in cruelty, spared not their own friends within the town—namely, the informers-in the general massacre. The Croatians exercised barbarities unknown to savages. The young men and the newraised soldiers were the only people who showed any visible signs of compassion. When the streets and public places were filled with dead bodies (and this scene may be considered as the very mildest part of their cruelty), the troops disbanded themselves, and began to enter the houses. Here began a more deliberate perpetration of murder; even the aged, the sick, and the young, found no mercy. Two soldiers held an infant by the legs, with the head downwards, and killed it with their swords. A young lady of quality was seized by an officer, but as he

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