WALLENSTEIN WALLER. 



design of making himself king of Bohemia, by the 

 aid of the Protestants. That negotiations were 

 carried on between the parties, was no secret; but 

 that these related to the conclusion of a peace, and 

 not to Wallenstein's private advantage, is the con- 

 clusion to be drawn, at least from the documents 

 that have been made public (e. g. from the Von 

 Arnin archives*). What has been published in 

 justification of the subsequent steps of the emperor 

 against Wallenstein should not be unconditionally 

 received. After a truce of seven weeks, without 

 result, Wallenstein, during the rest of this cam- 

 paign, did nothing but surprise and capture a body 

 of Swedes (October 18, 1633), occupy several Si- 

 lesian towns, and make an incursion into Lusatia 

 and Brandenburg, as far as Berlin. Count Thum, 

 the instigator of the first insurrection of the Bohe- 

 mians, he set at liberty, loaded with gifts, and 

 charged with secret commissions to the Swedish 

 chancellor, which proceeding excited great indigna- 

 tion in Vienna. But the duke cared not for the 

 favour of a court whose ingratitude he had experi- 

 enced, and which he contemned. Meanwhile he 

 performed nothing decisive. Still less success 

 followed the expedition which he made, at the 

 request of the emperor, through Bohemia, into 

 the Upper Palatinate, to prevent the further 

 progress of Bernard of Weimar in Bavaria. With- 

 out risking a battle, Wallenstein, on the ap- 

 proach of the duke, retired to Bohemia, where he 

 took up his winter-quarters. This measure, which 

 was entirely against the will of the emperor, who 

 wished to spare, as much as possible, his hereditary 

 provinces, increased the suspicions of Wallenstein's 

 fidelity. His enemies at court, especially the Span- 

 ish party, accused him of treason. The plan of a 

 conspiracy, ascribed to him, was laid before the 

 emperor, the object of which was said to be, to 

 make himself independent sovereign of Bohemia, 

 by means of his devoted troops, and to maintain 

 possession of this country by the aid of the Swedes 

 and some Protestant German princes. Wallenstein 

 having at last submitted to a council of war assem- 

 bled at Pilsen, on Jan. 11, 1634, all his complaints 

 against the emperor, and having gained over part 

 of the generals to his purposes, the court of Vienna, 

 which had received information of the whole affair 

 from Octavio Piccolomini, began to realize the 

 urgency of the danger. Ferdinand II. therefore 

 issued an order (Feb. 18, 1634), depriving Wallen- 

 stein of the command of the army, and pronouncing 

 sentence of outlawry against him and two of his 

 generals, Illo and Trczka (pronounced Tertschka), 

 as traitors and rebels. The generals, whose fidelity 

 could be relied on, were commanded to seize Wal- 

 lenstein, dead or alive. He therefore proceeded to 

 Eger, in order, it was supposed, to be nearer the 

 frontiers and the Swedish troops. Nothing, indeed, 

 seemed to remain for him but to seize on some 

 fortified place, like Eger, and unite himself with 

 the enemy. His assassination, however, put a 

 sudden end to his projects; and, in all probability, 

 Germany was thereby preserved from a great catas- 

 trophe. Some officers of the garrison at Eger 

 (colonel Leslie, an Irish Catholic, to whom Wal- 

 lenstein had confided every thing ; Butler, the 

 commander of the fortress, and lieutenant-colonel 

 Gordon, both Scotch Protestants), as every mo- 

 ment of delay seemed to increase the danger, con- 



There bare ben lately printed 200 unpublished letters of 

 Wallenstein and others, of various dates, from 1627 to 1634. 



spired for Wallenstein's destruction. On Feb. 25, 

 1634, at an entertainment given by the conspirators 

 for this purpose, the most confidential friends of 

 Wallenstein (Illo, Will, Kinsky, Trczka, and his 

 aid, Neumann, captain of horse) were surprised and 

 murdered by Butler's dragoons, led by major Ger- 

 aldin. Devereux, an Irishman, at the head of six 

 halberdiers, was intrusted with the execution oi the 

 emperor's order on Wallenstein, who, surprised in 

 his bed-chamber, received in silence, with out- 

 stretched arms, the thrusts of the halberds in liis 

 breast, and expired without a groan. He was not 

 yet fifty-two years old. Not an arm was raised to 

 avenge his death ; and he was entombed, without 

 pomp, in the Carthusian monastery, founded by 

 himself, at Gitschin. He was mourned only by his 

 widow. His cold, imperious temper had prevented 

 him from gaining friends. The large sums of money 

 found in his possession fell into the hands of the 

 conspirators and their associates. All his papers 

 were seized ; but none have come to the public 

 knowledge, that prove his treachery. His exten- 

 sive possessions were confiscated by the Emperor, 

 and given, in part, to those who had assisted in his 

 destruction. Wallenstein was of a large, strong 

 frame ; his small, black eyes had a fire which all 

 could not endure ; his mien was always serious, 

 cold and repulsive; his activity was extraordinary. 

 Though his table was always richly filled, he was 

 himself moderate, and resisted all the allurements 

 of sense, seeking only the gratification of his ambi- 

 tion. He spent, however, a great deal in splendid 

 buildings, and in a numerous and stately household. 

 His own dress was generally marked by some sin- 

 gularity. He possessed much prudence, knowledge 

 of mankind, and cunning, especially the art of 

 fathoming the intentions of others and concealing 

 his own. Towards those who were dependent on 

 him, he was severe, and not unfrequently cruel. 

 He was lavish to those whom he wished to gain 

 over to his purposes, but possessed not the art of 

 winning the heart. With personal courage, he 

 united confidence in himself, and was not destitute 

 of military talents, though he cannot be compared 

 with the great tacticians who were opposed to him 

 (Gustavus Adolphus and Bernard of Weimar). All 

 his military undertakings were based on numerical 

 superiority of troops ; and his manner of waging 

 war showed rather policy than military ability. He 

 had no respect for religion, and was the professed 

 enemy of the clergy, who, on their part, hated him 

 in an equal degree. He was unable to rise above 

 the prejudices of his age. His usual companion, 

 who left him only a few moments before his death, 

 was the Italian astrologer Seni, who, as was sus- 

 pected, was bribed by the imperial court to mislead 

 him. The dramatic pieces of Schiller, Wallenstein 's 

 Lager, Die Piccolomini, and Wallenstein's Tod, are 

 among the finest productions of modern poetry. 

 Some of the personages (Thekla and Max) are the 

 mere creations of the poet's imagination. See 

 Thirty Years' War. 



WALLER, SIR WILLIAM, a military officer, 

 who distinguished himself in the civil wars between 

 Charles I. and the parliament, was born in 1597, 

 and was a connexion of the poet. He studied at 

 Oxford and Paris, and began his military career in 

 the service of the confederate princes against the 

 emperor, where he acquired the reputation of a 

 good soldier. Upon his return home, he received 

 the honour of knighthood, was elected a member 

 of the long parliament for Andover, and, having 



