No More Learning

87
Gustavus Adolpbus never disquieted
himself about these base plots. Distrust
and suspicion had no access to this loyal
soul, and for a long time he had often said
to himself, with David, "I trust in God, I
fear nothing: what shall man do unto
me? "
Nothing could enervate his courage nor
disturb his serenity. He went on from
victory to victory. The greater part of
the Pomeranian youth gathered around
his triumphant standard, and the States,
happy to see the country delivered from
the insatiable avarice of Torquato Conti
and the excesses of the imperial troops,
unanimously voted him a voluntary con-
tribution. The moderation and humanity
of the Swedes gained for them the hearts
of the population, and they were received
every- where with joy. Toward the end of
the year 1630, a few months after his de-
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? 88 GusTAvus Adolphus.
parture from Sweden, Gustavus Adolphus
liad driven the imperials from the duchy
and commanded there as sovereign.
Notwithstanding his desire to penetrate
into Mecklenburg, he was forced simply to
surround it and to await the end of the
winter.
The emperor, after having made sport
of Gustavus Adolphus, calling him the
snow-king, destined to melt as he ap-
proached the south, began to perceive that
the Swedes were proof against all climates
and seasons, and that he would have to
assail them in earnest. He drew up an
army which he put under the command
of a companion of Wallenstein, General
Pappenheim, whose experience and valor
were equal. And the Catholic League,
alarmed at the rapid success of this most
terrible of all the champions of Protestant-
ism, had levied troops and placed at their
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? GusTAvus Adolphus. 89
head the vanquisher of Mansfeld and the
Danes, Tilly, a general who had never lost
a battle.
? Since the disgrace of Wallen stein tht? re
had been no lack of mercenary soldiers
in Germany, who would serve all parties
without distinction, according to the re-
ward offei^ed. If Gustavus had been rich
he could have taken into his ser\dce the
greater part of these, and thus enlarged
his army, which was too weak in numbers
to combat two armies at once. He had
to maintain himself in Pomerania as best
he could, and seek, before going farther,
increased aid, both as to men and money.
A letter addressed to his faithful chancel-
lor, Oxenstiern, December, 1630, reflects
the difficulty of his situation, and his un-
alterable faith in God:
"May God, into whose hands I confide
all, help us through this winter. The
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? 90 GusTAvus Adolphus.
summer will go better, thanks to your care
and foresight. I would describe to you
our position, but a saber-wound has stiff-
ened my hand. Let it suffice you to
know that the enemy has great advantages
for establishing winter-quarters, since the
w^hole of Germany is its prey. If I had
more troojDS with me on the banks of the
Oder I would advance. But if all things
do not go according to our desires, this is
no reason why we should be discouraged.
I recommend to your care, my family ; for
many reasons it is worthy of interest. The
mother has need of counsel ; the daughter,
a tender child, will be exposed to many
tribulations if she ever knows how to
reign, to many perils if others wish to
reign. I confide them both, their future,
my life, and all that I possess in this
world, into the sacred and powerful guar-
dianship of God, who has given me all
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? GusTAvus Adolphus. 91
things. I am persuaded that all which
may happen to me here on earth will al-
ways be that which is best for me; and
after this life, I hope to enjoy eternal peace
and joy. "
In suspending the course of his victories,
Gustavns Adolphus did not, however, re-
main inactive. He completed the con-
quest of Pomerania, in which two or three
fortresses had refused to surrender, and
advanced into Brandenburg, the key of
Mecklenburg. Whenever he encountered
the imperial troops he fought them, and
so well maintained his positions, that Tilly,
who h^d come hither to attack, drew back
upon the Elbe, without daring to defend
Frankfort-on-the-Oder, which the Swedes
took by assault, toward the middle of
winter, after a siege of three days.
About this time Gustavus Adolphus,
uncertain of the support of the Protestant
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? 92 GusTAvus Adolphus,
princes of Germany, who feared for Ms in-
fluence over their subjects, and looked upon
him as a rival more than a friend, decided
to accept of an alliance with France. The
treaty was concluded, January 16, 1631,
at Berwald in Brandenburg. Gustavus
engaged to hold in Germany an army of
thirty-six thousand men, destined to re-
establish the Germanic empire upon the
same footing as before the revolt of Bohe-
mia and the Edict of Restitution. France,
thereby hoping to put a boundary to the
ever-increasing ambition of Austria, and to
take from it the preponderance in Europe,
gave an annual subsidy, and, wlat was
worth more, the support of its name.
In the meantime, Tilly, ashamed of hav-
ing retreated from the Oder withom com-
bat, had gone to besiege Magdeburg, vhich
had already made common cause with
Sweden. Gustavus Adolphus was not far
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? GusTAVus Adolphus. 93
from this city, and longed to fly to its
rescue ; but his brother-in-law, the Elector
of Brandenburg, and also the Elector of
Saxony, ruled by selfish and jealous con-
siderations, remained deaf to all the repre-
sentations which he could make to them
in the name of the liberties of Germany,
of religion, and of humanity, and refused
him a passage through their States.
The King of Sweden hesitated to em-
ploy force with two Protestant princes, one
of whom, John George, Elector of Saxony,
had instituted the formation of a new
league in order to demand the revocation
of the Edict of Kestitution, and while
hesitating, Magdeburg, after a heroic resist-
ance, fell under the power of the number
of Tilly's men, re-inforced by Pappenheim's
troops, and aided by traitors. This city,
the richest of Germany, was delivered
over to pillage, and was inundated in the
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? 94
GusTAvus Adolphus.
FALL OF MAGDEBURG.
blood of its citizens.
The scenes of carnage
and barbarity enacted
there have acquired
in history a sad ce-
lebrity. Schiller says,
'^ Women were dishonored in the presence
of dying husbands and fathers, . . . fifty-
three young girls were beheaded in one
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? GusTAvus Adolphus. 95
church, whither they had fled for refuge.
The Croatians laughed aloud as they cast
little children into the midst of the flames,
even while they stretched out to them
their suppliant hands. The Walloons
made sport of thrusting through the body
nursino; babes, snatched from their moth-
er's arms ! Twenty women cast themselves
into the Elbe to escape the brutality of the
soldiers. "
An eye-witness reported that several
officers, horrified at the sight of so many
atrocities, went and besought Tilly to put
an end to them. He replied, "I have
promised three days for pillaging and slay-
ing. The soldiers must have some amuse-
ment after so many fatigues. " To crown
these horrors, weary of their own excesses,
the victors set fire to the houses, and, says
the same eye-witness, "twelve hours had
scarcely passed, when there remained no
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? 96 GusTAvus Adolphus.
more of the vast and opulent city than
two churches, a few huts, and smoldering
ashes. . . . More than six thousand dead
bodies were cast into the Elbe, and a still
larger number must have been devoured
by the flames ; for the total number of vic-
tims sacrificed was over thirty thousand. "
This frightful tragedy petrified with
fear the whole of Protestant Germany.
The Jesuits, always ready to profit by cir-
cumstances, tried to direct all the prejudice
of it against Gustavus Adolphus, whom
they accused of having abandoned Magde-
burg, and of having sacrificed an important
and devoted city to some special plan of
a campaign. They hoped thus to with-
draw from the King of Sweden the confi-
dence and esteem of the Protestants. But
Gustavus Adolphus had no difficulty in
disproving these accusations. The facts al-
ready mentioned sufficiently justified him.
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? GusTAvus Adolphus. 97
If the city was destroyed, the hinderances
and unjust distrusts of the Electors of
Brandenburg and Saxony were the princi-
pal causes.
The innocence of Gustavus Adolphus
shines out clearly in a letter sent to the
Elector of Saxony at the moment when the
city was threatened. " I see myself forced,"
wrote he, " to draw in my sails and to risk
myself no further. It would be against
aU military art, to put myself between two
undecided powers, or abandon the streams
by which my supplies arrive. However,
I wish to show my solicitude for Magde-
burg, and even at the sacrifice of my life,
I wish to do all in my power for her deliv-
erance. May God aid me by his grace,
in making my perseverance triumph over
you. I declare myself, before God and
before men, innocent of that which may
happen. I cast the responsibility upon
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? 98 GusTAvus Adolphus.
those who, when Christianity is in dan-
ger, have experienced no compunctions in
abandoning me. "
The terror which the ruin of Magde-
burg at first caused was not long in chang-
ing into a legitimate indignation. Exas-
perated by the ever-increasing rigors of the
emperor, whose band became daily more
cruel and oppressive, the Protestant princes
saw no other means of escaping their mis-
erable fate than by casting themselves into
the arms of Gustavus iVdolphus. Most of
them entered into an alliance with him.
But the Elector of Brandenburg persisted
in a neutrality too favorable to Austria to
be long tolerated. The King of Sweden,
after having exhausted all means of con-
ciliation, camped his army before Berlin,
declaring that the elector was no longer
any thing but an enemy to him. At the
sight of Swedish cannon, George William
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? GusTAYUs Adolphus. 99
consented to make a treaty with his broth-
er-in-law. He consented to all the condi-
tions that were proposed to him without
modification. Gustavus was allowed to
dispose of the fortresses as he wished, acd
received also a contribution in money.
During this time the hordes that had
destroyed Magdeburg invaded Hesse Cas-
sel and began similar works. The Thu-
ringian country was also devastated by
imperial troops, who seemed ever more and
more devoured by the thirst for plunder
and pleasure. Nothing could satiate so
many brutal passions. The people near
whom such soldiers were to pass were in
consternation.
Gustavus Adolphus, assured of the as-
sistance of Brandenburg, no longer hesi-
tated to advance. He rescued the Hessian
territory, and found, in the prince who
governed it, one of his best and most faith-
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? 100 GusTAvus Adolphus.
ful allies. Without risking a decisive bat-
tle with an enemy so superior in numbers,
he, nevertheless, remained master of the
ground.
Tilly, after having wasted his time and
forces before the Swedish camp, beat a
retreat, and directed himself toward the
territory of the Elector of Saxony, whose
attitude and levying of troops were dis-
approved of by Austria. Saxony was a
rich bait for the imperials.
Up to this
time, she had been spared on account of
the attachment of her prince to the house
of Austria, and of the need Ferdinand had
of retaining her on his side. And so it
was with the avidity of a bird of prey,
that Tilly and his bands lighted down on
the Saxons.
The frightened elector then sought a
refuge under the powerful wing of the
King of Sweden. He besought him to
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? GusTAVus Adolphus. 101
come to his aid. " I deplore," said Gus-
tavus Adolphus, "the fate of the elector,
liut he can accuse no one but himself for
it. If he had sooner placed confidence in
me, this thing would not have happened
and Magdeburg would not have fallen. I
am not now disposed to sacrifice the other
German States to succor him. I cannot
trust myself to a prince whose counselors
are all in league with the emperor, and
who will abandon me as soon as Austria
flatters hira, or as soon as the imj^erial
army shall have left his States. "
The marshal of the Elector of Arnheim,
an able and cunning man, had been charged
to make this delicate negotiation. He had
orders to succeed at whatever price, and
so, in spite of the severe and discouraging
response which had just been given him,
he redoubled his solicitations and obtained
his wish, but under the hardest conditions.
1.
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? 102 GusTAvus Adolphus.
The elector must deliver up the fortress of
Wittenberg, which would put Gustavus
in possession of the Elbe; he must ad-
vance three months' pay for the Swedish
soldiers; give over into his hands his coun-
selors, and send his eldest son to him as
a hostage. The elector granted all. Gus-
tavus Adolphus, who only wished to prove
his sincerity and the firmness of his resolu-
tions, then suddenly changed his language.
"Tell your master," said he to Arnheim,
" that his distrust of me when I wished to
succor Magdeburg liad awakened in me
distrust of him; that the confidence he
places in me to-day makes me forget the
past. I ask of him only one month's pay
for my troops, and I will soon make
amends to him for this little sacrifice. "
The two princes finally signed a treaty
of alliance and united their two armies.
On the morning of September 16, 1631,
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? Gustavus Addressing his Troops
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? GusTAvus Adolphus. 105
they found themselves face to face with
the imperial army, near Leipsic. It was
there that the two most illustrious generals
of Europe, Gustavus Adolphus and Tilly,
were to measure themselves in a battle
which should decide not only on which
side was the superiority, but the future of
Protestantism and Catholicism. To the
success of this day was attached much
more than a high military reputation ; the
very existence of the Reformation in Ger-
many depended ujDon it. Gustavus Adol-
phus well knew this, and he displayed, in
the disposition of his troops, all the re-
sources of his admirable genius.
He said to his army, "The right is on
your side. We battle not for the honors
of this world, but for the Word and glory
of God, for the true faith which alone
can save us, the faith which the Catholics
Lave cruelly oppressed, and which they
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? 106 GusTAvus Adolphus.
would gladly blot out of existence; Let
us not doubt that the Omnipotent One,
who has conducted us thus far, in a man-
ner so remarkable, through dangers of
every sort, will now give unto us his effi-
cient aid. . . . "
After this general address to the men,
he passed through the ranks, giving to
every soldier words of encouragement and
affection. Schiller has given of this battle,
as of the taking of Magdeburg, a descrip-
tion which has become celebrated :
"Two million men," says he, "might
have made this a more bloody day, but
not more decisive. . . . The resolution
which Tillv had never lacked until then
utterly failed him on that day. Without
being decided to make battle with the
king, he had not the firmness to avoid the
conflict, and Paj)penheim drew him into it
in spite of himself. . . . Never did so
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? GusTAvus Adolphus. 1()7
many dark presentiments show themselves
on his ordinarily tranquil brow ; the ghost
of Mao:debur2: seemed to have followed
him to the plains of Leipsic. A cannon-
ade of two hours opened the battle. A
west wind blew with violence, and drove
against the Swedes the powder-smoke and
clouds of dust from the newly worked
fields. Suddenly, Gustavus Adolphus made
a general movement of his troops north-
ward, and this maneuver was executed
with such rapidity that the enemy had no
time to prevent it.
"Finally, Tilly abandoned his positions
and attacked the Swedes; but being re-
ceived by the most violent fire, he wheeled
suddenly to the right, and fell upon the
Saxons, whom he put to flight. . . . Pap-
penheim attacked with his cavalry the
right wing of the Swedes, but without
any effect ; Gustavus Adolphus commanded
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? 108 GusTAvus Adolphus.
tbem in person. Seven times Pappenheini
returned to the charge; seven times was
he repulsed. He finally took to flight,
leaving the battle-field to the conqueror.
In the meantime, Tilly, after having routed
the remainder of the Saxons, threw him-
self with all his force against the left wing
of the Swedes. But Gnstavus Adolphus
had had the presence of mind to send three
regiments, in all haste, to re-inforce it, and
thus cover his own flank, exposed by the
flight of the Saxons. . . .
"Already the enemy had begun to fold
back upon itself, when the king himself
appeared to decide the victory. Scarcely
had he put to flight the left wing, than he
directed his army corps and that of Gen-
eral Teufel toward the heights on which
Tilly liad placed his artillery. He seized
them after a short struggle, and the enemy
had to endure the fire of their own cannon.
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? GusTAvus Adolphus. 109
Its flank, battered by the artillery, and
exposed, in front, to the impetuous charges
of the Swedes, the imperial army, called
the invincible, finally broke. Tilly was
obliged to order a retreat ; but this retreat
could only be made through the ranks of
the vanquished. Suddenly a general dis-
order seized the imperial army; it disband-
ed and fled. Four regiments alone, com-
posed of old soldiers, who had never turned
their back to an enemy, kept in order and
opposed a brazen wall to the redoubled
attacks of the Swedes. . . . Convinced of
the inutility of a longer resistance, and
reduced to six hundred men, they with-
drew from the battle field, which, from this
moment, was no longer disputed against
the Swedes ; their victory was complete. "
Gustavus Adolphus threw himself on
his knees, in the midst of the dead and
wounded, and, surrounded by his men,
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? 110 GusTAYus Adolphus.
poured forth aloud his gratitude to God,
in an ardent prayer, for his wonderful tri-
umph. Then, mounting his horse, and
passing from rank to rank, he thanked his
brave soldiers.
The same day he sent the news to his
chancellor and his kingdom, in these sim-
ple words : " Although we have to deplore
the loss of many brave men, we should be-
fore all and above all, thank God for his
divine protection ; for we were never in so
great danger. "
This never failing disposition to look
upon the bright side, keeps ever in our
view the Christian in the hero. This is
the secret of that continual joy which one
of his historians so much admires, and
which St. Paul recommends as one of the
most precious of faith's privileges, and as
the purest reflection of Christian charity.
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? CHAPTER V.
His sojourn at Frankfort -- His entrance into Nuremberg -- Bat-
tle of the Lech.
THE results of tlie victory at Leipsic
were immense. That day, Gustavus
Adolphus gathered the fruit of more than
a year's labors and fatigues, of many un-
important struggles, and of privations of
every kind. The reunited forces of the
Catholic League and of the emperor were
annihilated. Of a formidable army, there
remained no more than two thousand
combatants, and Tilly was disgraced and
discouraged by an irreparable misfortune.
" Gustavus," says Michelet, " could do
what he wished, could go whithersoever it
seemed to him good. " The Swedish tor-
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? 112 GusTAvus Adolphus.
rent had swept all the dikes which Austria
opposed to it, and nothing could longer
arrest it.
But the Swedish king showed his noble
character by acts still grander than his
victory. His first thought, after having
rendered thanks to God, was a thought
of reparation and justice. From Halle,
whither he had followed and dispersed the
remainder of the hostile army, he wrote
a letter, dated September 17, in which he
desired his chancellor to rejoin him, in
order to oversee the reparations which he
wished to have made to his despoiled breth-
ren in the faith. He maintained unrelaxed
discipline among his soldiers, as to order
and religious observances. Every morn-
ing, after prayer, they sang a hymn that
the king especially loved, and which ex-
presses in a simple, faithful manner the
condition of a Christian soul before God.
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? GusTAvus Adolpiius. 113
The following are a few of the stanzas,
with a loss of beauty in translating :
" O Eternal One, this morning, as dur-
ing my whole life, I wish to praise thee,
and to send up, even to thy throne, the
homage of a grateful heart.
" It is thou, O my God, who, during the
night just past, hast helped me by thy
grace, and preserved me from harm and
danger. I humbly pray thee to forgive
the sins which fill my days and merit thy
wrath.
" It is to God that I would leave the di-
rection of all my affairs ; for he alone can
accomplish all.
"It is he who blesses my actions, my
hopes, and gives me my success.