Sidebilder
PDF
ePub

X.

.1552.

BOOK well as good intentions. The emperor himself, in the fulness of security, was so little moved by a memorial, in name of the ecclesiastical electors, admonishing him to be on his guard against Maurice, that he made light of this intelligence; and his answer to them abounds with declarations of his entire and confident reliance on the fidelity as well as attachment of that prince 1.

Maurice

takes the

field

At last Maurice's preparations were completed, and he had the satisfaction to find that his intrigues and designs against the were still unknown. But, though now ready to take the emperor. field, he did not lay aside the arts which he had hitherto

employed; and by one piece of craft more, he deceived his enemies a few days longer. He gave out, that he was about to begin that journey to Inspruck of which he had so often talked, and he took one of the ministers whom Granvelle had bribed to attend him thither. After travelling post a few stages, he pretended to be indisposed by the fatigue of the journey; and dispatching the suspected minister to make his apology to the emperor for this delay, and to assure him that he would be at Inspruck within a few days, he mounted on horseback, as March. 18. soon as this spy on his actions was gone, rode full speed towards Thuringia, joined his army, which amounted to twenty thousand foot, and five thousand horse, and put it immediately in motion'.

Publishes

his con

At the same time, he published a manifesto containing a manifesto his reasons for taking arms. These were three in numjustifying ber; that he might secure the Protestant religion, which was threatened with immediate destruction; that he might maintain the constitution and laws of the empire, and save Germany from being subjected to the dominion of an absolute monarch; that he might deliver the land

duct,

Melvil's Memoirs, fol. edit. p. 12.

h Sleid. 535.

Meiv. Mem. p. 13. These circumstances concerning the Saxon ministers whom Granvelle had bribed, are not mentioned by the German historians; but as Sir James Melvil received his information from the elector palatine, and as they are perfectly agreeable to the rust of Maurice's conduct, they may be considered as authentle.

X.

1554

grave of Hesse from the miseries of a long and unjust BOOK imprisonment. By the first, he roused all the favourers of the reformation, a party formidable by their zeal as well as numbers, and rendered desperate by oppression. By the second, he interested all the friends of liberty, Catholics no less than Protestants, and made it their interest to unite with him in asserting the rights and privileges common to both. The third, besides the glory which he acquired by his zeal to fulfil his engagements to the unhap py prisoner, was become a cause of general concern, not only from the compassion which the landgrave's sufferings excited, but from indignation at the injustice and rigour of the emperor's proceedings against him. Together with Maurice's manifesto, another appeared in the name of Albert marquis of Brandenburg Culmbach, who had joined him with a body of adventurers whom he had drawn together. The same grievances which Maurice had pointed out are mentioned in it, but with an excess of virulence and animosity suitable to the character of the prince in whose name it was published.

pow

The king of France added to these a manifesto in his He is own name; in which, after taking notice of the ancient erfully sup ported by alliance between the French and German nations, both the French king. descended from the same ancestors; and after mentioning the applications which, in consequence of this, some of the most illustrious among the German princes had made to him for his protection; he declared, that he now took arms to re-establish the ancient constitution of the empire, to deliver some of its princes from captivity, and to secure the privileges and independence of all the members of the Germanic body. In this manifesto, Henry assumed the extraordinary title of Protector of the liberties of Germany and of its captive princes; and there was engraved on it a cap, the ancient symbol of freedom, placed between two daggers, in order to intimate to the Germans, that this blessing was to be acquired and secured by force of arms *.

* Sleid. 549. Thuan. lib. v, 339. Mem. de fibier, ii, 371. VOL. VI.

[ocr errors]

BOOK

X.

1552.

in the field.

Maurice had now to act a part entirely new; but his flexible genius was capable of accommodating itself to The moment he took arms, he was as Maurice's every situation. operations bold and enterprising in the field, as he had been cautious and crafty in the cabinet. He advanced, by rapid. marches, towards the Upper Germany. All the towns in his way opened their gates to him. He reinstated the magistrates whom the emperor had deposed, and gave possession of the churches to the Protestant ministers whom he had ejected. He directed his march to Augsburg; and as the imperial garrison, which was too inconsiderable to think of defending it, retired immediately, April 1. he took possession of that great city, and made the same changes there as in the towns through which he had passed1.

The empe

ror's asto

and dis

tress.

No words can express the emperor's astonishment and nishment consternation at events so unexpected. He saw a great number of the German princes in arms against him, and the rest either ready to join them, or wishing success to their enterprise. He beheld a powerful monarch united with them in close league, seconding their operations in person at the head of a formidable army, while he, through negligence and credulity, which exposed him no less to scorn than to danger, had neither made, nor was in condition to make, any effectual provision, either for crushing his rebellious subjects, or resisting the invasion of the foreign enemy. Part of his Spanish troops had been ordered into Hungary against the Turks; the rest had marched back to Italy upon occasion of the war in the duchy of Parma. The bands of veteran Germans had been dismissed, because he was not able to pay them, or had entered into Maurice's service after the siege of Magdeburg; and he remained at Inspruck with a body of soldiers hardly strong enough to guard his own person. His treasury was as much exhausted as his army was reduced: he had received no remittances for some time from the New World; he had forfeited all credit with

Sleid. 555. Thuan. 342,

the merchants of Genoa and Venice, who refused to lend him money, though tempted by the offer of exorbitant. interest. Thus Charles, though undoubtedly the most. considerable potentate in Christendom, and capable of exerting the greatest strength, his power, notwithstanding the violent attack made upon it, being still unimpaired, found himself in a situation which rendered him unable to make such a sudden and vigorous effort as the juncture required, and was necessary to have saved him from the present danger.

BOOK

X.

1552.

gain time

In this situation, the emperor placed all his hopes on Endea negociating; the only resource of such as are conscious vours to of their own weakness. But thinking it inconsistent with by a nego his dignity to make the first advances to subjects who ciation. were in arms against him, he avoided that indecorum by employing the mediation of his brother Ferdinand. Maurice, confiding in his own talents to conduct any negociation in such a manner as to derive advantage from it, and hoping that, by the appearance of facility in hearkening to the first overture of accommodation, he might amuse the emperor, and tempt him to slacken the activity with which he was now preparing to defend himself, readily agreed to an interview with Ferdinand in the town of Lintz in Austria; and having left his army to proceed on its march, under the command of the duke of Mecklenburg, he repaired thither.

the French

Meanwhile, the king of France punctually fulfilled Progress of his engagements to his allies. He took the field early, army. with a numerous and well-appointed army, and marching directly into Lorrain, Toul and Verdun opened their gates at his approach. His forces appeared next before Metz; and that city, by a fraudulent stratagem of the constable Montmorency, who, having obtained permission to pass through it with a small guard, introduced as many troops as were sufficient to overpower the garrison, was likewise seized without bloodshed. Henry made his entry into all these towns with great pomp; he obliged the inhabitants to swear allegiance to him, and annexed

X.

1552.

BOCK those important conquests to the French monarchy. He left a strong garrison in Metz. From thence he advanced towards Alsace, in order to attempt new conquests, to which the success that had hitherto attended his arms invited him m

The nego

ciations be

emperor

and Mau

effect.

The conference at Lintz did not produce any accomtween the modation. Maurice, when he consented to it, seems to have had nothing in view but to amuse the emperor; for rice of no he made such demands, both in behalf of his confederates and their ally the French king, as he knew would not be accepted by a prince too haughty to submit at once to conditions dictated by an enemy. But however firmly Maurice adhered during the negociation to the interests of his associates, or how steadily soever he kept in view the objects which had induced him to take arms, he often professed a strong inclination to terminate the differences with the emperor in an amicable manner. Encouraged by this appearance of a pacific disposition, Ferdinand proposed a second interview at Passau on the twentysixth of May, and that a truce should commence on that day, and continue to the tenth of June, in order to give them leisure for adjusting all the points in dispute.

Maurice

towards

Upon this, Maurice rejoined his army on the ninth advances of May, which had now advanced to Gundelfingen. He Inspruck. put his troops in motion next morning; and as sixteen days yet remained for action before the commencement of the truce, he resolved, during that period, to venture upon an enterprise, the success of which would be so decisive, as to render the negociations at Passau extremely short, and entitle him to treat upon his own terms. He foresaw that the prospect of a cessation of arms, which was to take place so soon, together with the opinion of his earnestness to re-establish peace, with which he had artfully amused Ferdinand, could hardly fail of inspiring the emperor with such false hopes, that he would naturally become remiss, and relapse into some degree of that security which had already been so fatal to him. Relying

= Thuan. 349.

« ForrigeFortsett »