CHAPTER XVII.

FERDINAND II.

From 1621 to 1629.

Pusillanimity of Frederic.—­Intreaties of the Citizens of Prague.—­Shameful Flight of Frederic.—­Vengeance Inflicted Upon Bohemia.—­Protestantism and Civil Freedom.—­Vast Power of the Emperor.—­Alarm of Europe.—­James I.—­Treaty of Marriage for the Prince of Wales.—­Cardinal Richelieu.—­New League of the Protestants.—­ Desolating War.—­Defeat of the King of Denmark.—­Energy of Wallenstein.—­Triumph of Ferdinand.—­New Acts of Intolerance.—­ Severities in Bohemia.—­Desolation of the Kingdom.—­Dissatisfaction of the Duke of Bavaria.—­Meeting of the Catholic Princes.—­The Emperor Humbled.

The citizens of Prague were indignant at the pusillanimity of Frederic.  In a body they repaired to the palace and tried to rouse his feeble spirits.  They urged him to adopt a manly resistance, and offered to mount the ramparts and beat off the foe until succor could arrive.  But Frederic told them that he had resolved to leave Prague, that he should escape during the darkness of the night, and advised them to capitulate on the most favorable terms they could obtain.  The inhabitants of the city were in despair.  They knew that they had nothing to hope from the clemency of the conqueror, and that there was no salvation for them from irretrievable ruin but in the most desperate warfare.  Even now, though the enemy was at their gates, their situation was by no means hopeless with a leader of any energy.

“We have still,” they urged, “sufficient strength to withstand a siege.  The city is not invested on every side, and reinforcements can enter by some of the gates.  We have ample means in the city to support all the troops which can be assembled within its walls.  The soldiers who have escaped from the disastrous battle need but to see the Bohemian banners again unfurled and to hear the blast of the bugle, to return to their ranks.  Eight thousand troops are within a few hours’ march of us.  There is another strong band in the rear of the enemy, prepared to cut off their communications.  Several strong fortresses, filled with arms and ammunition, are still in our possession, and the Bohemians, animated by the remembrance of the heroic deeds of their ancestors, are eager to retrieve their fortunes.”

Had Frederic possessed a tithe of the perseverance and energy of Ferdinand, with these resources he might soon have arrested the steps of the conqueror.  Never was the characteristic remark of Napoleon to Ney better verified, that “an army of deer led by a lion is better than an army of lions led by a deer.”  Frederic was panic-stricken for fear he might fall into the hands of Ferdinand, from whom he well knew that he was to expect no mercy.  With ignominious haste, abandoning every thing, even the coronation regalia, at midnight, surrounded by a few friends, he stole out at one of the gates of the city, and putting spurs to his horse, allowed himself no rest until he was safe within the walls of Berlin, two hundred miles from Prague.