that

crossing the Weser, got possession of Stein-
brück; George immediately marched upon
city, and having dislodged the enemy, recovered
Lilienburg, Schladen, Hessendam, and Wester-
burg, and obliged them to retire upon Wolfen-
büttel. He then commenced the blockade of
that capital. His army was numerous, and
well disciplined, and when the blockade was
converted into a siege, he had every prospect
of carrying the place in a very short time; but
when the enemy found he could not prevail by
open hostilities and honourable war, he had
recourse to secret intrigue and private assassi-
nation.

A Catholic monk found means to insinuate himself into the good graces of several of the leaders of the Protestant army, and during a feast given by General Bannier, he contrived to mix poison with the wine which was drank at table. Duke George was one of the guests, and partook of the poisoned cup, but though not of sufficient quantity to prove fatal at the time, it had a visible effect upon his constitution, and his health began to decline. The fatigue which it was necessary to undergo, during this second blockade of Wolfenbüttel,

BOOK X.

A.D. 1640.

BOOK X.

A.D. 1641.

Death of

George:

aggravated his complaints, and confined him to his couch, and as success began to attend his operations, his friends saw with regret that his end was approaching. He lingered indeed for several months, but on the 9th of April, 1641, Duke he breathed his last, at his quarters in the

Private annals of
Duke George:

camp, in the 59th year of his age. His remains were conveyed to Celle, where his tomb of black marble is still to be seen in the high choir of the principal church.

When William the Younger was on his death bed, he called his seven sons around him, and in the presence of their sorrowing mother, exacted from them a promise, that they would not divide the states of Luneburg. He pointed out, from the history of their own family, the ruin which such a division would produce, and exhorted them, as they valued their respectability and importance in the empire, to submit to the rule of the elder brother during his life. The princes, moved by the advice of their respected father, took an oath to abide by his council; and to obviate all disputes about their future succession, they further agreed, that only one of their number should be allowed to marry. They drew lots, to ascertain which of

them it should be, and as it was in favour of George, he selected a Princess of Hesse Darmstadt,-Anne Eleanor, the daughter of the Landgrave Louis V., and they were married on the 14th of December, 1617. By this princess, he left four sons, and four daughters.

Ernest, the elder brother of Duke George, in terms of the agreement made with his family, succeeded his father in 1592. He had studied with his brother Augustus, at the University of Wittemberg, and was distinguished for his learning; but he died, as we have stated, in 1611, and was succeeded in the government by his next brother, Christian.

BOOK X.

tian:

A.D. 1641.
His family:

Ernest:

This prince, in the chronicles of his time, His brother Chrishas often been confounded with the gallant young Duke of Brunswick Wolfenbüttel ;— they were of the same name, Dukes of Brunswick, &c., and also bishops; the one of Minden, and the other of Halberstadt; but they were of very different characters: the one preferring the peace and happiness of his subjects to the perils of war, resided quietly in his castle at Celle, and mingled but little in the turmoil that surrounded him; while the other, from earliest infancy, delighted in war, and died a victim to