WALLENSTEIN RESTORED TO POWER. 103 A. D. was no longer secure in his capital: the freedom of Germany Ch.9 was secured. Gustavus was everywhere hailed as a deliverer; and astonishment at his genius was only equalled by admira- 1632. tion of his virtues. He rapidly regained all that the Protestants had lost; and the fruits of twelve years of war were snatched from the Emperor. Tilly was soon after killed; and all things indicated the complete triumph of the Protestants. of Fer It was now the turn of Ferdinand to tremble. The only Danger person who could save him was dismissed and disgraced. dinand. Tilly was dead. Munich and Prague were in the hands of the Protestants; while the King of Sweden traversed Germany as a conqueror, lawgiver, 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 Vienna. None came to the assistance of the Emperor in the hour of peril. On all sides he was surrounded by hostile armies; while his own forces were dispirited and treacherous. Wallen stein. From this hopeless state he was rescued by the man whom Recallof he had injured; but not until he had himself solicited 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, humiliate his Sovereign, and at the same time obtain all the power his ambition craved. He declined entering the 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 approval. He demanded, in short, sovereign authority; and with such humiliating terms the Emperor, in his necessities, was obliged to comply. No sooner did he raise his standard, than it was resorted to by the unprincipled, the rapacious, and the needy, from all 104 A.D. DEATH OF GUSTAVUS ADOLPHUS. Ch. 9. parts of the empire. But Wallenstein now resolved to pursue his own selfish interests, and directed all his aims to 1632. independent sovereignty. When his forces were united with those of Maximilian, he found himself at the head of sixty thousand men. Then really commenced the severity of the contest, for Wallenstein was now stronger than Gustavus. Nevertheless, the heroic Swede offered to give his rival battle at Nuremburg, which was declined. He then attacked his camp, but was repulsed with loss. At last the two generals met on the plains of Lutzen, in Saxony. During the whole course of the war two such leaders had not been pitted against each other; nor had so much been staked on the Death of chance of a battle. Victory declared for the troops of Gustavus; but the heroic leader himself was killed, in the fullness of his glory. This was on the 6th of November, 1632. Gustavus. According to Schiller, Gustavus died fortunately for his fame, and for the welfare of Germany; since it was supposed that he aspired to the Imperial throne. Had he attained that end, the liberties of the German nation would have been overturned, and civil war would have increased in horrors. We should be sorry to believe that he was actuated by any other motive than a generous desire to rescue the Protestants from annihilation, and a wish to preserve the balance of power. But Providence rescued him from a great temptation; and rewarded him with the affection of posterity. Inaction After the battle of Lutzen we almost lose sight of Wallenstein, of Wal- who gained no victories commensurate with his reputation and abilities. He continued inactive in Bohemia, while all Europe was awaiting exploits which should efface the remembrance of his defeat. He exhausted the Imperial provinces by enormous contributions, and his whole conduct seems singular and treacherous. His enemies at the Imperial court now renewed their intrigues, and his conduct was reviewed with the most malicious criticism. But he possessed too great power to be openly assailed by the Emperor, and measures were concerted to remove him by treachery. Wallenstein obtained notice of the lenstein. ASSASSINATION OF WALLENSTEIN. 105 designs against him, and resolved on an open revolt. But he Ch. 9. was now too late; his own generals, on whom he counted, A. D. deserted him, so soon as the Emperor dared to deprive him of 1634 his command; and he was at length removed by assassination, just at the moment when he deemed himself secure. to 1648. tinues. The death of Wallenstein, in 1634, did not terminate the war. It raged fourteen years longer, with various success, and involved the other European powers. France was then go- The war verned by Cardinal Richelieu, who, notwithstanding his con Catholicism, lent assistance to the Protestants, with a view of reducing the power of Austria. Indeed, the war had destroyed the sentiments which produced it, for political motives had become stronger than religious. Oxenstiern and Richelieu became the master spirits of the contest, and, in the recesses of their cabinets, regulated the campaigns of their generals. Battles were lost and won on both sides, and innumerable intrigues were plotted by interested statesmen. West phalia. After all parties had exhausted their resources, and Germany had been deluged with the blood of Spaniards, Hollanders, Frenchmen, and Swedes, besides that of her own sons, the peace of Westphalia was concluded (1648), -the most im- Peace of portant treaty in the history of Europe. All the princes and states of the empire were reëstablished in the lands, rights, and prerogatives which they enjoyed before the troubles in Bohemia, in 1618. The religious liberties of the Lutherans and Calvinists were guaranteed, and it was stipulated that the Imperial Chamber should consist of twenty-four Protestant members and twenty-six Catholic, and that the Emperor should receive six Protestants into the Aulic Council, the highest judicial tribunal in the empire. This peace may be regarded as the foundation of the whole system of modern European politics, of all modern treaties, of what is called the freedom of Germany, and of the balance of power among all the countries of Western Europe. Yet let it not be forgotten that, although this long war was ended. by one of the most glorious treaties of modern times, and 106 A. D. PEACE OF WESTPHALIA. Ch. 9. although it resulted in the religious liberties of Germany, its immediate effects were most disastrous and melancholy. 1648. Expeditions were carried on, apparently with no other view than to desolate. Disease and famine committed greater ra of the war. vages than the sword itself. It is said that twelve millions of Results people vanished from the land. In all the campaigns the greatest and most unnecessary enormities were inflicted. The fields were allowed to run to waste. Forests sprang up in places previously under cultivation. Vice was carried to its utmost excess. "And such was the state of triumphant crime that men, in despair, denied the existence of a deity, declaring that, if there were a God in heaven, he would not fail to destroy, with thunder and lightning, a world of such sin and shame." REFERENCES. -Schiller's "History of the Thirty Years' War;" Kohlrausch's "History of Germany;" see also a history of Germany in Dr. Lardner's "Cyclopædia ;" "History of Sweden;" Michell's "Life of Wallenstein ;" Von Raumur's "History;" Plank "On the Political Consequences of the Reformation;" and Coleridge's "Wallenstein." The "History of Schiller" is exceedingly interesting and beautiful. FRANCE UNDER LOUIS XIII. 107 CHAPTER X. THE REIGN OF LOUIS XIII., AND THE ADMINISTRATIONS A. D. WHILE Germany was rent with civil commotions, and the Ch.10 power of the emperors was limited by the stand taken against it by the Protestant princes, France was ruled with an iron 1610 hand, and a foundation was laid for the despotism of Louis to XIV. The energetic genius of Cardinal Richelieu, during the 1614. whole period of the thirty years' war, affected the councils of all the different courts of Europe. He was indisputably the greatest statesman of his age and nation. To him France is chiefly indebted for the ascendency she enjoyed in the seventeenth century. of Mary When Henry IV. died, (1610) he left his kingdom to his son Louis XIII., a child nine years of age. The first thing to be done was the appointment of a regent. The Parliament of Paris, in whom this right seems to have been vested, nominated the Queen mother, Mary de Medici; and the young King, in a Rebed of justice, the greatest of the royal prerogatives,-con-gency firmed the appointment. This regency was anything but fa- de vorable to the interests of the kingdom. The policy of the Medici. late King was disregarded, and a new course of measures was adopted. Sully, through whose councils the reign of Henry IV. had been so beneficent, was dismissed. The Queen regent had no sympathy with his views. The greedy courtiers obtained from a lavish Monarch the treasures which the wise care of Henry had amassed, and which she thoughtlessly bestowed in order to secure their fidelity. These nobles carried off, in offices, grants, and various sorts of plunder, twenty millions of livres. The Prince of Condé received, in six years, no less |