The German Classics of the Nineteenth and Twentieth Centuries, Volume 03: Masterpieces of German Literature Translated into English. in Twenty Volumes
General
The German Classics of the Nineteenth and Twentieth Centuries, Volume 03: Masterpieces of German Literature Translated into English. in Twenty Volumes
German literature -- 19th century -- Translations into English; German literature -- 20th century -- Translations into English
The Swedish army was now reinforced by ten thousand Hessians, which
the Landgrave of Casse commanded. Gustavus Adolphus had already
invested Königstein; Kostheim and Flörsheim surrendered after a short
siege; he was in command of the Main; and transports were preparing
with all speed at Höchst to carry his troops across the Rhine. These
preparations filled the Elector of Mentz, Anselm Casimir, with
consternation; and he no longer doubted but that the storm of war
would next fall upon him. As a partisan of the Emperor, and one of the
most active members of the League, he could expect no better treatment
than his confederates, the Bishops of Würtzburg and Bamberg, had
already experienced. The situation of his territories upon the Rhine
made it necessary for the enemy to secure them, while their fertility
afforded an irresistible temptation to a necessitous army.
Miscalculating his own strength and that of his adversaries, the
Elector flattered himself that he was able to repel force by force,
and weary out the valor of the Swedes by the strength of his
fortresses. He ordered the fortifications of his capital to be
repaired with all diligence, provided it with every necessary for
sustaining a long siege, and received into the town a garrison of
2,000 Spaniards, under Don Philip de Sylva. To prevent the approach of
the Swedish transports, he endeavored to close the mouth of the Main
by driving piles and sinking large heaps of stones and vessels. He
himself, however, accompanied by the Bishop of Worms, and carrying
with him his most precious effects, took refuge in Cologne, and
abandoned his capital and territories to the rapacity of a tyrannical
garrison. But these preparations, which bespoke less of true courage
than of weak and overweening confidence, did not prevent the Swedes
from marching against Mentz and making serious preparations for an
attack upon the city. While one body of their troops poured into the
Rheingau, routed the Spaniards who remained there, and levied
contributions on the inhabitants, another laid the Roman Catholic
towns in Westerwald and Wetterau under similar contributions. The main
army had encamped at Cassel, opposite Mentz; and Bernhard, Duke of
Weimar, made himself master of the Mäusethurm and the Castle of
Ehrenfels, on the other side of the Rhine. Gustavus was now actively
preparing to cross the river and to blockade the town on the land
side, when the movements of Tilly in Franconia suddenly called him
from the siege, and obtained for the Elector a short repose.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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