George, Landgrave of Hesse Darmstadt, professed great friendship for the king, but secretly kept up a continued intercourse with the Emperor. On one occasion, when an unusual number of traitors happened to be among his guests, Gustavus said to George of Hesse Darmstadt: "If the Emperor does not care for me I shall not care for him. You may inform him of this, for I know you are well disposed towards his majesty." The landgrave was greatly confused by this unexpected thrust and stammered some excuse, but Gustavus continued: "He who receives $30,000.00 a year has indeed a reason to be the Emperor's friend. Were I to make such a present to anyone he must have well deserved it. It would be easy for me to enter into negotiations did I not consider the danger to those who have assisted me in this war for the restoration of the true religion." That which the friends of Gustavus most feared was assassination. He suddenly awoke one night and found an armed man who proved to be a Catholic priest of Antwerp in his room. Jesuits were sent through the country to circulate calumnies against him. In Menz public prayer was offered for him, and at the same time an assassin was paid to take his life. At Vienna on two successive days all Catholics were urged to pray for the successful execution of a project which God and one man knew, and on which the welfare of the Roman Church depended. Gustavus well knew of all these things, but he declared that he could not live shut up in a box, and he urged that when he should be called to his account God would raise up another leader, that it was the cause and not the individual that God was leading to victory. The entire Catholic world was now clamoring that Richelieu was misrepresenting France by being the friend of Gustavus, an enemy of the Catholic Church. Richelieu tried to persuade the Catholic League to complete neutrality, and leave Ferdinand and Gustavus to fight it out, Richelieu's sole object being to limit the ruling house of Austria.