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004 - Part 4 · History of the Thirty Years War

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Speaker 1: Part four of the History of the Thirty Years War,
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Speaker 1: Volume three by Friedrich Schuller, translated by Reverend A. J. W. Morrison.
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Speaker 1: This LibriVox recording is in the public domain. The moment
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Speaker 1: had at last arrived when more than ordinary satisfaction was
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Speaker 1: to be done to the wounded pride of the Duke
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Speaker 1: of Friedland. Fate itself had been his avenger, and an
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Speaker 1: unbroken chain of disasters which had assailed Austria from the
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Speaker 1: day of his dismissal, had rung from the Emperor the
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Speaker 1: humiliating confession that with this general he had lost his
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Speaker 1: right arm. Every defeat of his troops opened afresh. This wound,
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Speaker 1: every town which he lost, revived in the mind of
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Speaker 1: the deceived monarch the memory of his own weakness and ingratitude.
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Speaker 1: It would have been well for him if in the
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Speaker 1: offended general he had only lost a leader of his
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Speaker 1: troops and a defender of his dominions. But he was
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Speaker 1: destined to find in him an enemy, and the most
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Speaker 1: dangerous of all, since he was the least armed against
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Speaker 1: the stroke of treason, removed from the theater of war,
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Speaker 1: and condemned to irksome in action, While his rivals gathered
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Speaker 1: laurels on the field of glory. The haughty Duke had
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Speaker 1: beheld these changes of fortune with affected composure, and concealed
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Speaker 1: under a glittering and theatrical pomp, The dark designs of
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Speaker 1: his restless genius torn by burning passions within, while all
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Speaker 1: without bespoke calmness and indifference. He brooded over projects of
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Speaker 1: ambition and revenge, and slowly but surely advanced towards his end.
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Speaker 1: All that he owed to the Emperor was effaced from
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Speaker 1: his mind. What he himself had done for the Emperor
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Speaker 1: was imprinted in burning characters in his memory to his
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Speaker 1: insatiable thirst for power. The Emperor's ingratitude is welcome, as
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Speaker 1: it seemed to tear in pieces the record of past favors,
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Speaker 1: to absolve him from every obligation towards his former benefactor.
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Speaker 1: In the disguise of a righteous retaliation, the projects dictated
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Speaker 1: by his ambition now appeared to him just and pure
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Speaker 1: in proportion. As the external circle of his operations was narrowed,
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Speaker 1: the world of hope expanded before him, and his dreamy
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Speaker 1: imagination reveled in boundless projects which, in any mind but
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Speaker 1: such as his madness alone, could have given birth to
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Speaker 1: his services, had raised him to the proudest height which
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Speaker 1: it was possible for a man. By his own efforts
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Speaker 1: to attain fortune, had denied him nothing which the subject
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Speaker 1: and the citizen could lawfully enjoy. Till the moment of
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Speaker 1: his dismissal, his demands had met with no refusal, his
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Speaker 1: ambition had met with no check. But the blow which,
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Speaker 1: at the diet of ratisbond humbled him, showed him the
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Speaker 1: difference between original and deputed power, the distance between the
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Speaker 1: subject and his sovereign roused from the intoxication of his
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Speaker 1: own greatness. By this sudden reverse of fortune, he compared
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Speaker 1: the authority which he had possessed with that which had
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Speaker 1: deprived him of it, and his ambition marked the steps
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Speaker 1: which it had yet to surmount upon the latter of fortune.
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Speaker 1: From the moment he had so bitterly experienced the weight
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Speaker 1: of sovereign power, his efforts were directed to attain it
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Speaker 1: for himself. The wrong which he himself had suffered made
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Speaker 1: him a robber. Had he not been outraged by injustice,
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Speaker 1: he might have obediently moved in his orbit round the
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Speaker 1: majesty of the throne. Satisfied with the glory of being
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Speaker 1: the brightest of its satellites. It was only when violently
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Speaker 1: forced from its sphere, that his wandering star threw in
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Speaker 1: disorder the system to which it belonged, and came in
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Speaker 1: destructive collision with its son. Gustavus Adolphus had overrun the
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Speaker 1: north of Germany. One place after another was lost, and
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Speaker 1: at Leipzig the flower of the Austrian army had fallen.
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Speaker 1: The intelligence of this defeat soon reached the ears of Wallenstein, who,
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Speaker 1: in the retired obscurity of a private station in Prague,
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Speaker 1: contemplated from a calm distance to tumult of war. The news,
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Speaker 1: which filled the breasts of the Roman Catholics with dismay,
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Speaker 1: announced to him the return of greatness and fortune for
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Speaker 1: him was Gustavus Adolphus. Labouring scarce, had the king begun
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Speaker 1: to gain reputation by his exploits, when Wallenstein lost not
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Speaker 1: a moment to court his friendship and to make common
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Speaker 1: cause with this successful enemy of Austria. The banished Count Thurne,
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Speaker 1: who had long entered the service of Sweden, undertook to
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Speaker 1: convey Wallenstein's congratulations to the King and to invite him
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Speaker 1: to a close alliance with the Duke, Wallenstein required fifteen
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Speaker 1: thousand men from the king, and with these and the
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Speaker 1: troops he himself engaged to raise, he undertook to conquer
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Speaker 1: Bohemia and Moravia, to surprise Vienna and drive his master,
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Speaker 1: the emperor before him, into Italy. Welcome as was this
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Speaker 1: unexpected proposition, its extravagant promises were naturally calculated to excite suspicion.
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Speaker 1: Gostavis Adolphus was too good a judge of merit to
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Speaker 1: reject with coldness the offers of one who might be
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Speaker 1: so important a friend. But when Wallenstein, encouraged by the
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Speaker 1: favorable reception of his first message, renewed it after the
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Speaker 1: Battle of Breitenfeld and pressed for decisive answer, the prudent
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Speaker 1: monarch hesitated to trust his reputation to the chimerical projects
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Speaker 1: of so daring an adventurer, and to commit so large
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Speaker 1: a force to the honesty of a man who felt
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Speaker 1: no shame in openly avowing himself a traitor. He excused
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Speaker 1: himself therefore, on the plea of the weakness of his army, which,
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Speaker 1: if diminished by so large contingent, would certainly suffer in
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Speaker 1: its march through the Empire, and thus, perhaps by excess
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Speaker 1: of caution, lost an opportunity of putting an immediate end
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Speaker 1: to the war. He afterwards endeavored to renew the negotiation,
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Speaker 1: but the favorable moment was passed, and Wallenstein's offended pride
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Speaker 1: and never forgave the first neglect. But the King's hesitation
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Speaker 1: perhaps only accelerated the breach which their characters made inevitable.
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Speaker 1: Sooner or later. Both framed by nature to give laws,
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Speaker 1: not to receive them, they could not long have cooperated
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Speaker 1: in an enterprise which eminently demanded mutual submission and sacrifices.
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Speaker 1: Wallenstein was nothing where he was not everything. He must
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Speaker 1: either act with unlimited power or not at all. So cordially, too,
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Speaker 1: did Gustavus dislike control that he'd almost renounce his advantageous
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Speaker 1: alliance with France because it threatened to fetter his own
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Speaker 1: independent judgment. Wallenstein was lost to a party if he
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Speaker 1: could not lead. The latter was, if possible, still less
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Speaker 1: disposed to obey the instructions of another. If the pretensions
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Speaker 1: of arrival would be so irksome to the Duke of
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Speaker 1: Friedland in the conduct of combined operations in the division
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Speaker 1: of the spoil, they would be insupportable. The proud monarch
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Speaker 1: might condescend to accept the assistance of a rebellious subject against
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Speaker 1: the emperor, and to reward his valuable service with regal munificence.
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Speaker 1: But he never could so far lose sight of his
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Speaker 1: own dignity and the majesty of royalty as to bestow
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Speaker 1: the recompense which the extravagant ambition of Wallenstein demanded, and
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Speaker 1: requite an act of treason, however useful, with a crown
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Speaker 1: in him. Therefore, even if all Europe should tacitly acquiesce,
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Speaker 1: Wallenstein had reason to expect the most decided and formidable
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Speaker 1: opponent to his views on the Bohemian crown, and in
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Speaker 1: all Europe he was the only one who could enforce
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Speaker 1: his opposition. Constituted dictator in Germany by Wallenstein himself, he
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Speaker 1: might turn his army against him and consider himself bound
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Speaker 1: by no obligations to one who was himself a traitor.
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Speaker 1: There was no room for Wallenstein under such an ally,
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Speaker 1: and it was apparently this conviction, and not any supposed
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Speaker 1: designs upon the Imperial throne, that he alluded to, when,
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Speaker 1: after the death of the King of Sweden, he exclaimed,
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Speaker 1: it is well for him and me that he is gone.
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Speaker 1: The German Empire does not require two such leaders. His
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Speaker 1: first scheme of revenge on the House of Austria had
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Speaker 1: indeed failed, but the purpose itself remained unalterable. The choice
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Speaker 1: of means alone was changed. What he had failed in
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Speaker 1: affecting with the King of Sweden, he hoped to obtain
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Speaker 1: with less difficulty and more advantage from the Elector of Saxony. Him.
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Speaker 1: He was ascertain of being able to bend to his views,
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Speaker 1: as he had always been doubtful of Gustavus Adolphus, Having
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Speaker 1: always maintained a good understanding with his old friend Ahnheim,
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Speaker 1: he now made use of him to bring about an
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Speaker 1: alliance with Saxony, by which he hoped to render himself
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Speaker 1: equally formidable to the Emperor and the King of Sweden.
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Speaker 1: He had reason to expect that a scheme, which, if successful,
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Speaker 1: would deprive the Swedish monarch of his influence in Germany,
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Speaker 1: would be welcomed by the Elector of Saxony, who he
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Speaker 1: knew was jealous of the power and offended at the
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Speaker 1: lofty pretensions of gustave Us at office. Yet he succeeded
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Speaker 1: in separating Saxony from the Swedish alliance, and in establishing
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Speaker 1: conjointly with that power a third party in the Empire,
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Speaker 1: the fate of the war would be placed in his hand,
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Speaker 1: and by this single step he would succeed in gratifying
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Speaker 1: his revenge against the Emperor, revenging the neglect of the
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Speaker 1: Swedish monarch, and on the ruin of both, raising the
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Speaker 1: edifice of his own greatness. But whatever course he might
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Speaker 1: follow in the prosecution of his designs, he could not
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Speaker 1: carry them into effect without an army entirely devoted to him.
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Speaker 1: Such a force could not be secretly raised without its
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Speaker 1: coming to the knowledge of the Imperial court, where it
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Speaker 1: would naturally excite suspicion and thus frustrate his design At
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Speaker 1: a very outset from the army. Too, the rebellious purposes
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Speaker 1: for which it was destined must be concealed till the
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Speaker 1: very moment of execution, since it could scarcely be expected
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Speaker 1: that they would at once be prepared to listen to
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Speaker 1: the voice of a trader and and serve against their
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Speaker 1: legitimate sovereign. Wallenstein therefore must raise it publicly and in
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Speaker 1: the name of the Emperor, and be placed at its
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Speaker 1: head with unlimited authority by the Emperor himself. But how
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Speaker 1: could this be accomplished otherwise than by his being appointed
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Speaker 1: to the command of the army and entrusted with full
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Speaker 1: powers to conduct the war. Yet neither his pride nor
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Speaker 1: his interests permitted him to sue in person for this post,
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Speaker 1: and as a supplicant, to accept from the favor of
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Speaker 1: an emperor a limited power, when an unlimited authority might
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Speaker 1: be extorted from his fears, in order to make himself
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Speaker 1: the master of the terms on which he would resume
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Speaker 1: the command of the army, his course was to wait
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Speaker 1: until the post should be forced upon him. This was
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Speaker 1: the advice he received from Ahnheim, and this the end
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Speaker 1: for which he laboured with profound policy and restless activity.
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Speaker 1: Convinced that extreme necessity would alone conquer the Emperor's irresolution
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Speaker 1: and render powerless the opposition of his bitter enemies Bavaria
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Speaker 1: and Spain, He henceforth occupied himself in promoting the success
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Speaker 1: of the enemy and in increasing the embarrassments of his master.
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Speaker 1: It was apparently by his instigation and advice that the Saxons,
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Speaker 1: when on the route to Lusatia and Silesia had turned
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Speaker 1: their march towards Bohemia and overrun that defenseless kingdom, where
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Speaker 1: their rapid conquest was partly the result of his measures.
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Speaker 1: By the fears which he had effected to entertain, he
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Speaker 1: paralyzed every effort at resistance, and his precipitate retreat caused
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Speaker 1: the delivery of the capital to the enemy. At a
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Speaker 1: conference with the Saxon General which was held at Coonnitz
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Speaker 1: under the pretext of negotiating for a peace, the seal
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Speaker 1: was put to the conspiracy, and the conquest of Bohemia
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Speaker 1: was the first fruits of this mutual understanding. While Wallenstein
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Speaker 1: was thus personally endeavoring to heighten the perplexities of Austria,
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Speaker 1: and while the rapid movements of the Swedes upon the
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Speaker 1: Rhine of sfectually promoted his designs, his friends and bribed
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Speaker 1: adherents in Vienna uttered loud complaints of the public calamities,
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Speaker 1: and represented the dismissal of the General as the sole
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Speaker 1: cause of all these misfortunes. Had Wallenstein commanded matters would
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Speaker 1: never have come to this, exclaimed a thousand voices. While
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Speaker 1: their opinions found supporters even in the Emperor's Privy Council.
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Speaker 1: Their repeated remonstrances were not needed to convince the embarrassed
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Speaker 1: Emperor of his general's merits and of his own error.
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Speaker 1: His dependence on Bavaria and the League had soon become insupportable.
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Speaker 1: But hitherto this dependence permitted him not to show his
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Speaker 1: distrust or irritate the Elector by the recall of Wallenstein.
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Speaker 1: But now his necessities grew every day more pressing, and
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Speaker 1: the weakness of Bavaria more apparent. He could no longer
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Speaker 1: hesitate to listen to the friends of the Duke and
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Speaker 1: to consider their overtures for his restoration to command. The
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Speaker 1: immense riches Wereallenstein possessed, the universal reputation he enjoyed, the
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Speaker 1: rapidity with which six years before he had assembled an
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Speaker 1: army of forty thousand men, the little expense at which
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Speaker 1: he had maintained this formidable force, the actions he had
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Speaker 1: performed at its head, and lastly, the zeal and fidelity
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Speaker 1: he had displayed for his master's honor still lived in
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Speaker 1: the Emperor's recollection and made Wallenstein seem to be the
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Speaker 1: ablest instrument to restore the balance between the belligerent powers
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Speaker 1: to save Austria and preserve the Catholic religion. However sensibly
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Speaker 1: the imperial pride might feel the humiliation in being forced
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Speaker 1: to make so unequivocal an admission of past errors and
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Speaker 1: present necessity. However painful it was to descend to humble
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Speaker 1: entreaties from the height of imperial command, however doubtful the
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Speaker 1: fidelity is so deeply injured and implacable a character. However,
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Speaker 1: loudly and urgently the Spanish Minister and the Elector of
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Speaker 1: Bavaria protested against this step. The immediate pressure of necessity
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Speaker 1: finally overcame every other consideration, and the friends of the
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Speaker 1: Duke were empowered to consult him on the subject and
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Speaker 1: to hold out the prospect of his restoration. Informed of
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Speaker 1: all that was transacted in the Emperor's cabinet, to his advantage,
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Speaker 1: Wallenstein possessed sufficient self command to conceal his inward triumph
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Speaker 1: and to assume the mask of indifference. The moment of
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Speaker 1: vengeance was at last come, and his proud heart exulted
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Speaker 1: in the prospect of repaying with interest the injuries of
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Speaker 1: the Emperor. With artful eloquence, he expatiated upon the happy
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Speaker 1: tranquility of a private station, which had blessed him since
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Speaker 1: his retirement from a political stage. Too long, he said,
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Speaker 1: had he tasted the pleasures of ease and independence, to
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Speaker 1: sacrifice to the vain phantom of glory, the uncertain favor
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Speaker 1: of princes. All his desire of power and distinction were extinct.
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Speaker 1: Tranquility and repose were now the sole object of his wishing,
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Speaker 1: the better to conceal his real impatience, he declined the
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Speaker 1: Emperor's invitation to the court, but at the same time,
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Speaker 1: to facilitate in the negotiations came to Zenaeum in Moravia.
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Speaker 1: At first, it was proposed to limit the authority to
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Speaker 1: be entrusted to him by the presence of a superior
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Speaker 1: in order, by this expedient to silence the objections of
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Speaker 1: the Elector of Bavaria. The imperial deputies Questenberg and Wurtemburg, who,
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Speaker 1: as old friends of the Duke, had been employed in
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Speaker 1: this delicate mission, were instructed to propose that the King
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Speaker 1: of Hungary should remain with the army and learn the
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Speaker 1: art of war under Wallenstein. But the very mention of
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Speaker 1: his name threatened to put a period to the whole negotiation. No,
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Speaker 1: never exclaimed Wallenstein. Will I submit to a colleague in
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Speaker 1: my office? No, not even if or God himself with
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Speaker 1: whom I should have to share my command. But even
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Speaker 1: when this obnoxious point was given up, Prince Eggenburg, the
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Speaker 1: Emperor's minister and favorite, he who had always been the
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Speaker 1: steady friend and zealous champion of Wallenstein, and was therefore
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Speaker 1: expressly sent to him, exhausted his eloquence in vain to
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Speaker 1: overcome the pretend and reluctance of the Duke. The Emperor,
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Speaker 1: he admitted, had in Wallenstein thrown away the most costly
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Speaker 1: jewel in his crown, but unwillingly and compulsorily, only had
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Speaker 1: he taken the step which he had since deeply repented of.
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Speaker 1: While his esteem for the Duke had remained unaltered, his
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Speaker 1: favor for him undiminished. Of these sentiments, he now gave
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Speaker 1: the most decisive proof by reposing unlimited confidence in his
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Speaker 1: fidelity and capacity to repair the mistakes of his predecessors
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Speaker 1: and to change the whole aspect of affairs. It would
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Speaker 1: be great and noble to sacrifice his just indignation to
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Speaker 1: the good of his country. Dignified and worthy of him
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Speaker 1: to refute the evil calumny of his enemies, by the
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Speaker 1: double warmth of his zeal. The victory over himself concluded,
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Speaker 1: the Prince would crown his other unparalleled services to the
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Speaker 1: Empire and render him the greatest man of his age.
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Speaker 1: These humiliating confessions and flattering assurances seemed at last to
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Speaker 1: disarm the anger of the Duke, but not before he
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Speaker 1: had disburdened his heart of his reproaches against the Emperor.
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Speaker 1: Pompously dwelt upon his own services, and humbled to the
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Speaker 1: utmost the monarch who solicited his assistance. Did he condescend
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Speaker 1: to listen to the attractive proposals of the Minister, as
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Speaker 1: if he yielded entirely to the force of their arguments.
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Speaker 1: He condescended with a haughty reluctance to that which was
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Speaker 1: the most ardent wish of his heart, and deigned to
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Speaker 1: favor the ambassadors with a ray of hope. But far
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Speaker 1: from putting an end to the Emperor's embarrassments by giving
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Speaker 1: at once a full and unconditional consent, he only acceded
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Speaker 1: to a part of his demands, that he might exalt
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Speaker 1: the value of that which still remained and was of
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Speaker 1: most importance He accepted the command, but only for three months,
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Speaker 1: merely for the purpose of raising, but not of leading
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Speaker 1: an army. He wished only to show his power and
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Speaker 1: ability in his organization, and to display it before the
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Speaker 1: eyes of the Emperor the greatness of that assistance which
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Speaker 1: he still retained in his hands. Convinced that an army
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Speaker 1: raised by his name alone, would, if deprived of its creator,
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Speaker 1: soon sink again into nothing, he intended it to serve
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Speaker 1: only as a decoy to draw more important concessions from
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Speaker 1: his master. And yet Ferdinand congratulated himself even in having
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Speaker 1: gained so much as he had. Wallenstein did not long
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Speaker 1: delay to fulfill those promises which all Germany regarded as chimerical,
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Speaker 1: and which Gustavus Adolphus had considered as extravagant. But the
18:41
Speaker 1: foundation for the present enterprise had been long laid, and
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Speaker 1: he now only put in motion the machinery which many
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Speaker 1: years have been prepared for the purpose. Scarcely had the
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Speaker 1: news spread of Wallenstein's levies, when from every quarter of
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Speaker 1: the Austrian monarchy, crowds of soldiers repaired to try their
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Speaker 1: fortunes under this experienced general. Many who had before fought
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Speaker 1: under his standards had been admiring eyewitnesses of his great actions,
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Speaker 1: and experienced his magnanimity, came forward from their retirement to
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Speaker 1: share with him a second time both booty and glory.
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Speaker 1: The greatness of the pay he promised attracted thousands, and
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Speaker 1: the plentiful supplies the soldier was likely to enjoy at
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Speaker 1: the cost of the peasant, was to the latter an
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Speaker 1: irresistible inducement to embrace the military life at once, rather
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Speaker 1: than be the victim of its oppression. All the Austrian
19:33
Speaker 1: provinces were compelled to assist in the equipment. No class
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Speaker 1: was exempt from taxation, no dignity or privilege from capitation.
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Speaker 1: The Spanish court, as well as the King of Hungary,
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Speaker 1: agreed to contribute a considerable sum. The ministers made large presents,
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Speaker 1: while Wallenstein himself advanced two hundred thousand dollars from his
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Speaker 1: own income to hasten the armament. The poorer officers he
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Speaker 1: supported out of his own revenue, and by his own example.
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Speaker 1: By brilliant promotions and still more brilliant promises, he induced
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Speaker 1: all who were able to raise troops at their own expense.
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Speaker 1: Whoever raised the corps at his own cost was to
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Speaker 1: be its commander. In the appointment of officers, religion made
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Speaker 1: no difference. Riches, bravery, and experience were more regarded than creed.
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Speaker 1: By this uniform treatment of different religious sects, and still
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Speaker 1: more by his express declaration that his present levy had
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Speaker 1: nothing to do with religion, the Protestant subjects of the
20:33
Speaker 1: Empire were tranquilized and reconciled to bear their share of
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Speaker 1: the public burdens. The Duke, at the same time did
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Speaker 1: not omit to treat in his own name with foreign
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Speaker 1: states for men and money. He prevailed on the Duke
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Speaker 1: of Lorraine a second time to espouse the cause of
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Speaker 1: the Emperor. Poland was urged to supply and with Cossacks
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Speaker 1: and Italy with warlike necessaries. Before the three months were expired.
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Speaker 1: The army which was assembled in Moravia amounted to no
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Speaker 1: less than forty thousand men, chiefly drawn from the unconquered
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Speaker 1: parts of Bohemia, from Moravia, Silesia and the German provinces
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Speaker 1: of the House of Austria. What to everyone had appeared impracticable, Wallenstein,
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Speaker 1: to the astonishment of all Europe, had in a short
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Speaker 1: time effected the charm of his name. His treasures, and
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Speaker 1: his genius had assembled thousands in arms, where before Austria
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Speaker 1: had only looked for hundreds. Furnished even to superfluity, with
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Speaker 1: all necessaries, commanded by experienced officers, and inflamed by enthusiasm
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Speaker 1: which assured itself of victory, this newly created army only
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Speaker 1: awaited the signal of their leader to show themselves, by
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Speaker 1: the bravery of their deeds, worthy of his choice. The
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Speaker 1: Duke had fulfilled his promise, and the troops were ready
21:49
Speaker 1: to take the field. He then retired and left of
21:52
Speaker 1: the Emperor to choose a commander. But it would have
21:55
Speaker 1: been as easy to raise a second army like the
21:57
Speaker 1: first as to find any other command for it than Wallenstein.
22:02
Speaker 1: This promising army, the last hope of the Emperor, was
22:05
Speaker 1: nothing but an illusion. As soon as the charm was dissolved,
22:08
Speaker 1: which had called it into existence by Wallenstein had been raised,
22:12
Speaker 1: and without him it sank, like a creation of magic,
22:15
Speaker 1: into its original nothingness. Its officers were either bound to
22:20
Speaker 1: him as his debtors or as his creditors. Closely connected
22:23
Speaker 1: with his interests and the preservation of his power. The
22:27
Speaker 1: regiments he had entrusted to his own relations creatures and favorites.
22:31
Speaker 1: He and he alone could discharge to the troops the
22:34
Speaker 1: extravagant promises by which they had been lured into his service.
22:38
Speaker 1: His pledged word was the only security on which their
22:41
Speaker 1: bold expectations rested, a blind reliance on his omnipotence, the
22:46
Speaker 1: only tie which linked together in one common life and soul,
22:50
Speaker 1: the various impulses of their zeal. There was an end
22:53
Speaker 1: of the good fortune of each individual if he retired,
22:56
Speaker 1: who alone was the voucher of its fulfillment. However, little
23:00
Speaker 1: Wallenstein was serious in his refusal. He successfully employed this
23:04
Speaker 1: means to terrify the Emperor into consenting to his extravagant conditions.
23:10
Speaker 1: The progress of the enemy every day increased the pressure
23:12
Speaker 1: of the Emperor's difficulties, while the remedy was also close
23:16
Speaker 1: at hand. A word from him might terminate the general embarrassment.
23:21
Speaker 1: Prince Eginburgh at length received orders for the third and
23:24
Speaker 1: last time, at any cost and sacrifice, to induce his
23:28
Speaker 1: friend Wallenstein to accept the command. He found him at
23:32
Speaker 1: the name in Moravia, pompously surrounded by the troops, the
23:36
Speaker 1: possession of which he made the Emperor so earnestly to
23:39
Speaker 1: long for as a suppliant. Did the haughty subject receive
23:44
Speaker 1: the deputy of his sovereign He never could trust, he said,
23:48
Speaker 1: to a restoration to command, which he owed to the
23:51
Speaker 1: emperor's necessities and not to his sense of justice. He
23:55
Speaker 1: was now courted because the danger had reached its height,
23:59
Speaker 1: and safety was hoped for from his arm only. But
24:02
Speaker 1: his successful services would soon cause the servant to be forgotten,
24:06
Speaker 1: and the return of security would bring back renewed in gratitude.
24:11
Speaker 1: If he deceived the expectations formed of him, his long
24:14
Speaker 1: earned renown would be forfeited. Even if he fulfilled them,
24:17
Speaker 1: his repose and happiness must be sacrificed. Soon would envy
24:22
Speaker 1: be excited anew, and the dependent monarch would not hesitate
24:26
Speaker 1: a second time to make an offering of convenience to
24:29
Speaker 1: a servant whom he could now dispense with better for
24:33
Speaker 1: him at once and voluntarily to resign a post from
24:36
Speaker 1: which sooner or later the intrigues of his enemies would
24:39
Speaker 1: expel him. Security and content were to be found in
24:42
Speaker 1: the bosom of private life, and nothing but the wish
24:45
Speaker 1: to oblige the Emperor had induced him reluctantly enough to
24:48
Speaker 1: relinquish for a time his blistful repose. Tired of this
24:52
Speaker 1: long farce, the minister at last assumed a serious tone
24:56
Speaker 1: and threatened the obstinate Duke with the Emperor's resentment if
24:59
Speaker 1: he pursued. Existed in his refusal low enough had the
25:03
Speaker 1: imperial dignity, he added, stooped already, and yet, instead of
25:07
Speaker 1: exciting his magnanimity, by its condescension, had only flattered his
25:11
Speaker 1: pride and increased his obstinacy. If this sacrifice had been
25:15
Speaker 1: made in vain, he would not answer, but that the
25:17
Speaker 1: suppliant might be converted into the sovereign, and that the
25:21
Speaker 1: monarch might not avenge his injured dignity on his rebellious subject.
25:25
Speaker 1: However greatly Ferdinand may have aired, the Emperor at least
25:28
Speaker 1: had a claim to obedience. The man might be mistaken,
25:32
Speaker 1: but the monarch could not confess his error. If the
25:35
Speaker 1: Duke of Friedland had suffered by an unjust decree, he
25:38
Speaker 1: might yet be recompensed for all his losses. The wound
25:41
Speaker 1: which it had himself inflicted the hand of majesty might heal.
25:45
Speaker 1: If he asked security for his person and his dignities,
25:48
Speaker 1: the Emperor's equity would refuse him no reasonable demand. Majesty contemned,
25:54
Speaker 1: admitted not of any atonement. Disobedience to its commands canceled
25:58
Speaker 1: the most brilliant services. The Emperor required his services, and
26:03
Speaker 1: as Emperor, he demanded them. Whatever price Wallenstein might set
26:07
Speaker 1: upon them, the Emperor would readily agree to, but he
26:10
Speaker 1: demanded obedience or the weight of his indignation could crush
26:13
Speaker 1: the refractory servant. Wallenstein, whose extensive possessions within the Austrian
26:19
Speaker 1: monarchy were momentarily exposed to the power of the Emperor,
26:23
Speaker 1: was keenly sensible that this was no idle threat. Yet
26:26
Speaker 1: it was not fear that at last overcame his effected reluctance.
26:30
Speaker 1: This imperious tone of itself was to his mind a
26:34
Speaker 1: plain proof of the weakness and despair which dictated it.
26:37
Speaker 1: While the Emperor's readiness to yield all his demands convinced
26:41
Speaker 1: him that he had attained the summit of his wishes,
26:44
Speaker 1: he now made a show of yielding to the persuasions
26:47
Speaker 1: of Eginburgh, and left him in order to write down
26:50
Speaker 1: the conditions on which he accepted the command. Not without
26:54
Speaker 1: apprehension did the minister receive the writings in which the
26:57
Speaker 1: proudest of subjects have prescribed laws of the proudest of sovereigns. But,
27:02
Speaker 1: however little confidence he had in the moderation of his friend,
27:05
Speaker 1: the extravagant contents of his writing surpassed even his worst expectations.
27:12
Speaker 1: Wallenstein required the uncontrolled command over all the German armies
27:16
Speaker 1: of Austria and Spain, with unlimited powers to reward and punish.
27:21
Speaker 1: Neither the King of Hungary nor the Emperor himself were
27:24
Speaker 1: to appear in the army, still less to exercise any
27:27
Speaker 1: act of authority over it. No commission in the army,
27:31
Speaker 1: no pension or letter of grace was to be granted
27:34
Speaker 1: by the Emperor without Wallenstein's approval. All the conquests and
27:38
Speaker 1: confiscations that should take place were to be placed entirely
27:42
Speaker 1: at Wallenstein's disposal, to the exclusion of every other tribunal
27:47
Speaker 1: for his ordinary pay. An imperial hereditary estate was to
27:51
Speaker 1: be assigned him with another of the conquered estates within
27:54
Speaker 1: the Empire for his extraordinary expenses. Every Austrian province was
27:59
Speaker 1: to be open to him if he required it in
28:02
Speaker 1: case of retreat. He further demanded the assurance of the
28:06
Speaker 1: possession of the Duchy of Meckleburgh, in the event of
28:09
Speaker 1: a future peace, and a formal and timely intimation if
28:13
Speaker 1: it should be deemed necessary a second time to deprive
28:16
Speaker 1: him of the command in Vain. The Minister entreated him
28:19
Speaker 1: to moderate his demands, which, if granted, would deprive the
28:23
Speaker 1: Emperor of all authority over his own troops and make
28:26
Speaker 1: him absolutely dependent on his general. The value placed on
28:30
Speaker 1: his services had been too plainly manifested to prevent him
28:33
Speaker 1: dictating a price at which they were to be purchased.
28:36
Speaker 1: If the pressure of circumstances compelled the Emperor to grant
28:39
Speaker 1: these demands, it was more than a mere feeling of
28:42
Speaker 1: haughtiness and desire of revenge which induced the Duke to
28:45
Speaker 1: make them. His plans of rebellion were formed to their success.
28:50
Speaker 1: Every one of the conditions for which Wallenstein stipulated in
28:53
Speaker 1: this treaty with the Court was indispensable. Those plans require
28:58
Speaker 1: that the Emperor should be deprived of all author ardy
29:00
Speaker 1: in Germany and be placed at the mercy of his general,
29:03
Speaker 1: and this object would be obtained the moment Ferdinand subscribed
29:07
Speaker 1: to the required conditions. The use which Wallenstein intended to
29:11
Speaker 1: make of his army widely different, indeed, from that for
29:14
Speaker 1: which he was entrusted to him, brooked not of a
29:17
Speaker 1: divided power, and still less of an authority superior to
29:20
Speaker 1: his own. To be the sole master of the will
29:23
Speaker 1: of his troops, he must also be the sole master
29:26
Speaker 1: of their destinies. Insensibly to supplant his sovereign and to
29:30
Speaker 1: transfer permanently to his own person the rights of sovereignty
29:34
Speaker 1: which were only lent to him for a time by
29:36
Speaker 1: a higher authority, he must cautiously keep the latter out
29:40
Speaker 1: of view of the army. Hence his obstinate refusal to
29:44
Speaker 1: allow any prince of the House of Austria to be
29:46
Speaker 1: present with the army. The liberty of free disposal of
29:50
Speaker 1: all the conquered and confiscated estates in the Empire would
29:53
Speaker 1: also afford him fearful means of purchasing dependence and instruments
29:58
Speaker 1: of his plans, and of acting the dictator in Germany,
30:01
Speaker 1: more absolutely than ever any emperor did in time of peace.
30:05
Speaker 1: By the right to use any of the Austrian provinces
30:08
Speaker 1: as a place of refuge in case of need, he
30:11
Speaker 1: had full power to hold the emperory prisoner by means
30:14
Speaker 1: of his own forces and within his own dominions, to
30:18
Speaker 1: exhaust the strengthen resources of these countries, and to undermine
30:21
Speaker 1: the power of Austria and its very foundation. Whatever might
30:25
Speaker 1: be the issue, he had equally secured his own advantage
30:29
Speaker 1: by the conditions he had extorted from the Emperor. If
30:32
Speaker 1: circumstances proved favorable to his daring project, this treaty with
30:36
Speaker 1: the Emperor facilitated its execution. If, on the contrary of
30:41
Speaker 1: course of things ran counter to it, it would at
30:43
Speaker 1: least afford him a brilliant compensation for the failure of
30:46
Speaker 1: his plans. But how could he consider an agreement valid
30:50
Speaker 1: which was extorted from his sovereign and based upon treason.
30:54
Speaker 1: How could he hope to bind the Emperor by a
30:56
Speaker 1: written agreement in the face of a law which condemned
30:59
Speaker 1: to death everyone who should have the presumption to impose
31:02
Speaker 1: conditions upon him. But this criminal was the most indispensable
31:07
Speaker 1: man in the Empire, and Ferdinand, well practiced in dissimulation,
31:12
Speaker 1: granted him, for the present all he required. At last,
31:16
Speaker 1: then the Imperial Army had found a commander in chief
31:19
Speaker 1: worthy of the name. Every other authority in the army,
31:23
Speaker 1: even that of the Emperor himself ceased. From the moment
31:26
Speaker 1: Wallenstein assumed the commander's baton, and every act was invalid
31:31
Speaker 1: which did not proceed from him. From the banks of
31:34
Speaker 1: the Danube to those of the Vizir and the oder
31:38
Speaker 1: was felt the life giving dawning of this new star.
31:41
Speaker 1: A new spirit seemed to inspire the troops of the Emperor,
31:44
Speaker 1: A new epoch of the war began. The Papists form
31:48
Speaker 1: fresh hopes. The Protestant beholds with anxiety the changed course
31:52
Speaker 1: of affairs. The greater the price at which the services
31:56
Speaker 1: of the new general had been purchased, the greater justly,
31:59
Speaker 1: or the expect from those which the court of the
32:01
Speaker 1: Emperor entertained. But the Duke was in no hurry to
32:05
Speaker 1: fulfill these expectations. Already in the vicinity of Bohemia and
32:10
Speaker 1: at the head of a formidable force, he had but
32:13
Speaker 1: to show himself there in order to overpower the exhausted
32:16
Speaker 1: force of the Saxons, and brilliantly to commence his new
32:19
Speaker 1: career by the reconquests of that kingdom. But contented with
32:24
Speaker 1: harassing his enemy with indecisive skirmishes of his croats, he
32:28
Speaker 1: abandoned the best part of that kingdom to be plundered,
32:31
Speaker 1: and moved calmly forward in pursuit of his own selfish plans.
32:36
Speaker 1: His design was not to conquer the Saxons, but to
32:39
Speaker 1: unite with him. Exclusively occupied with this important object, he
32:43
Speaker 1: remained inactive in the hope of securing more surely by
32:47
Speaker 1: means of negotiation. He left no expedient untried to detach
32:51
Speaker 1: this prince from the Swedish alliance, and Ferdinand himself, ever
32:55
Speaker 1: inclined to an accommodation with this prince, approved of this proceeding.
33:00
Speaker 1: But the great debt which Saxony owed to Sweden was
33:04
Speaker 1: as yet too fresh remembered to allow any such act
33:07
Speaker 1: of perfidy. And even had the elector been disposed to
33:10
Speaker 1: yield to the temptation, the equivocal character of Wallenstein and
33:15
Speaker 1: the bad character of Austrian policy precluded any reliance in
33:19
Speaker 1: the integrity of its promises. Notorious already as a treacherous statesman,
33:24
Speaker 1: he met not with faith upon the very occasion when
33:27
Speaker 1: perhaps he intended to act honestly, and moreover, was denied
33:31
Speaker 1: by circumstances the opportunity of proving the sincerity of his
33:35
Speaker 1: intentions by the disclosure of his real motives. He therefore
33:40
Speaker 1: unwillingly resolved to extort by force of arms what he
33:43
Speaker 1: could not obtain by negotiation. Suddenly assembling his troops, he
33:48
Speaker 1: appeared before Prague, ere the Saxons had time to advance
33:51
Speaker 1: to its relief. After a short resistance, the treachery of
33:55
Speaker 1: some Capuchins opened the gates to one of his regiments,
33:58
Speaker 1: and the garrison, who had taken refuge in the citadel
34:01
Speaker 1: soon laid down their arms upon disgraceful conditions. Master of
34:05
Speaker 1: the Capitol, he had hoped to carry on more successfully
34:09
Speaker 1: his negotiations at the Saxon court, but even while he
34:12
Speaker 1: was renewing his proposals to Ahnheim, he did not hesitate
34:16
Speaker 1: to give them weight By striking a decisive blow. He
34:20
Speaker 1: hastened to seize the narrow passes between Osig and Pirna,
34:24
Speaker 1: with a view of cutting off the retreat of the
34:25
Speaker 1: Saxons into their own country, But the rapidity of Ahnheim's
34:30
Speaker 1: operations fortunately extricated them from the danger. After the treat
34:34
Speaker 1: of this general Egra and Lotemeritz, the last strongholds of
34:38
Speaker 1: the Saxons surrendered to the conqueror, and the whole kingdom
34:42
Speaker 1: was restored to its legitimate sovereign in less time than
34:45
Speaker 1: it had been lost. End of Part four,