A Modern History, From the Time of Luther to the Fall of Napoleon: For the Use of Schools and CollegesLord, John
History
A Modern History, From the Time of Luther to the Fall of Napoleon: For the Use of Schools and Colleges
Lord, John
Europe -- History; History, Modern
It was now the turn of Ferdinand to tremble. The only person who could
save him was dismissed and disgraced. Tilly was dead. Munich and
Prague were in the hands of the Protestants, while the king of Sweden
traversed Germany as a conqueror, law giver, and judge. No fortress
was inaccessible; no river checked his victorious career. The Swedish
standards were planted in Bavaria, Bohemia, the Palatinate, Saxony,
and along the banks of the Rhine. Meanwhile the Turks were preparing
to attack Hungary, and a dangerous insurrection threatened his own
capital. None came to his assistance in the hour of peril. On all
sides, he was surrounded by hostile armies, while his own forces were
dispirited and treacherous.
[Sidenote: Wallenstein Reinstated in Power.]
From such a hopeless state he was rescued by the man whom he had
injured, but not until he had himself to beg his assistance.
Wallenstein was in retirement, and secretly rejoiced in the victories
of the Swedish king, knowing full well that the emperor would soon be
compelled to summon him again to command his armies. Now he could
dictate his terms. Now he could humiliate his sovereign, and at the
same time obtain all the power his ambition craved. He declined
entering his service unless he had the unlimited command of all the
armies of Austria and Spain. No commission in the army was to be
granted by the emperor, without his own approval. He demanded the
ordinary pay, and an imperial hereditary estate. In short, he demanded
sovereign authority; and with such humiliating terms the emperor, in
his necessities, was obliged to comply.
[Sidenote: Death of Gustavus Adolphus.]
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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