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
Wallenstein, less occupied with the interests of his master than with
the furtherance of his own plans, now purposed to carry the war into
Saxony, and by ravaging his territories, compel the Elector to enter
into a private treaty with the Emperor, or rather with himself. But
however little accustomed he was to make his will bend to
circumstances, he now perceived the necessity of postponing his
favorite scheme, for a time, to a more pressing emergency. While he
was driving the Saxons from Bohemia, Gustavus Adolphus had been
gaining the victories, already detailed, on the Rhine and the Danube,
and carried the war through Franconia and Swabia to the frontiers of
Bavaria. Maximilian, defeated on the Lech and deprived by death of
Count Tilly, his best support, urgently solicited the Emperor to send
with all speed the Duke of Friedland to his assistance from Bohemia,
and, by the defence of Bavaria, to avert the danger from Austria
itself. He also made the same request to Wallenstein, and entreated
him, till he could himself come with the main force, to dispatch in
the meantime a few regiments to his aid. Ferdinand seconded the
request with all his influence, and one messenger after another was
sent to Wallenstein, urging him to move toward the Danube.
It now appeared how completely the Emperor had sacrificed his
authority in surrendering to another the supreme command of his
troops. Indifferent to Maximilian's entreaties, and deaf to the
Emperor's repeated commands, Wallenstein remained inactive in Bohemia
and abandoned the Elector to his fate. The remembrance of the evil
service which Maximilian had rendered him with the Emperor, at the
Diet at Ratisbon, was deeply engraved on the implacable mind of the
duke, and the Elector's late attempts to prevent his reinstatement
were no secret to him. The moment of revenging this affront had now
arrived, and Maximilian was doomed to pay dearly for his folly in
provoking the most revengeful of men. Wallenstein maintained that
Bohemia ought not to be left exposed, and that Austria could not be
better protected than by allowing the Swedish army to waste its
strength before the Bavarian fortress. Thus, by the arm of the Swedes,
he chastised his enemy; and, while one place after another fell into
their hands, he allowed the Elector vainly to await his arrival in
Ratisbon. It was only when the complete subjugation of Bohemia left
him without excuse and the conquests of Gustavus Adolphus in Bavaria
threatened Austria itself, that he yielded to the pressing entreaties
of the Elector and the Emperor and determined to effect the
long-expected union with the former; an event, which, according to the
general anticipation of the Roman Catholics, would decide the fate of
the campaign.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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