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[Illustration: _The Great Elector in his tenth year_]
_Life Stories for Young People_
THE YOUTH OF THE
GREAT ELECTOR
_Translated from the German of
Ferdinand Schmidt_
BY
GEORGE P. UPTON
_Translator of "Memories," "Immensee," etc._
WITH THREE ILLUSTRATIONS
[Illustration: A · C · M^cCLURG]
CHICAGO
A. C. McCLURG & CO.
1909
Copyright
A. C. McClurg & Co.
1909
Published August 21, 1909
THE UNIVERSITY PRESS, CAMBRIDGE, U.S.A.
Translator's Preface
The story of Frederick William, "The Great Elector," as he is known in
history, begins with his birth and closes with his accession to power
upon the death of his father. It is the story of his youth only, but in
the youth we find all the attributes which made him so great as an
Elector and as a man. Its scenes are laid in the period of the terrible
and devastating Thirty Years' War, which had not yet come to a close
when Frederick William became Elector of Brandenburg. Its characters,
Ferdinand the Second, Frederick the Fifth, Christian of Denmark,
Gustavus Adolphus, Wallenstein, Tilly, Maximilian of Bavaria, the
Swedish Chancellor Oxenstjern, Count von Mansfeld, the Empress
Elizabeth, the Elector of Brandenburg, his high-minded wife, and his
great son, are world-famous. Its progress throws a strong light upon
that memorable war of faiths, which lasted more than a generation, and
which was characterized by bitter enmity and cruel atrocities on both
sides, as has usually been the case in every religious struggle. It is a
terrible picture of those days when Catholics and Protestants were
struggling for the supremacy, but its dark and repellent details are
rendered more endurable by the knowledge in this twentieth century that
such wars and such cruelties in the name of religion are not likely to
occur again. The world has advanced; freedom of thought and of
conscience is everywhere recognized and conceded. Sects may still
disagree in doctrine, but the old deadly hatreds are extinguished. The
central figure in this stirring drama is Frederick William, who, as the
curtain falls, enters upon his career as the Great Elector.
G. P. U.
Chicago, July 1, 1909.
Contents
Chapter Page
I In the Elector's Castle 11
II An Unquiet Night 20
III In November of the Same Year 29
IV Two Princesses 31
V The Battle 38
VI Baron and Chancellor 44
VII The Departure 51
VIII The Sixteenth of February 55
IX The Runaway 58
X The Hunting-Castle 63
XI The Stag Hunt 67
XII A Retrospect 75
XIII The Imperial Soldiers 84
XIV The Restitutions Edict 87
XV Colonel von Burgsdorf 91
XVI Gustavus Adolphus 98
XVII In a Garden House at Berlin 102
XVIII At Walgast 108
XIX In Holland 111
XX In the Park 116
XXI Sweden's Revenge 124
XXII The Prince's Flight 126
XXIII The Message 131
XXIV Mother and Son 135
XXV The Great Elector 137
Appendix 144
Illustrations
Page
The Great Elector in his tenth year _Frontispiece_
In the dark days 78
Soldiers at the time of the Thirty Years' War 84
The Youth of the Great Elector
Chapter I
In the Elector's Castle
All golden flashes the princely crown, symbol of the highest earthly
power, yet terrible, often crushing, is its burden. This was the
experience of George William, Elector of Brandenburg, who ascended the
throne of his father in 1619. The political sky was thick with gathering
clouds, which now and then threatened to let loose the Thirty Years'
War. Hardly a ray of sunlight shone upon this sovereign during his
twenty-one years' reign.
It was the year 1619. All were rejoicing in the Elector's castle at
Cologne, and the Electoress was the most joyous of all. Good news had
come. The Protestant Bohemians had renounced allegiance to Catholic
Ferdinand the Second and chosen the Elector Frederick the Fifth of the
Palatinate as their King. Frederick was the brother of the Electoress.
She already saw the crown gleaming upon Frederick's head, its rays being
reflected upon hers also. She had received a letter from her brother, in
which he wrote: "Thankfully and with joyful tears the Bohemians have
elected me their King. How can I disappoint them? At first I hesitated.
But my high-minded consort said to me: 'Will you refuse the outstretched
hand of a King's daughter?[1] Do you fear to mount a throne voluntarily
offered you? I would rather eat bread at a King's table than carouse at
an Elector's table.' This decided me, and I communicated to the
deputation my decision to accept the crown of Bohemia."
The reader is already acquainted with the effect of this news upon the
Electoress. Before replying to her brother's letter, however, she
decided to consult her two chief advisers. She could not speak with the
Elector, as he was absent on a visit to Prussia, whither he had been
called by important affairs of State. These two distinguished statesmen,
Count Adam Schwarzenberg and Chancellor Pruckmann, were summoned at once
to the castle.
Before they arrive, let us glance at the audience chamber where the
interview is to take place. The walls are hung with damask tapestries
and topped with broad, gilded cornices. The doors and windows are of
white and gold, and gilded figures gleam on the ceiling. By the marble
fireplace stand an antique vase of green porphyry and the candelabra,
shaped like antique incense-burners, of gold bronze. The tables are of
gray Silesian marble and rest upon feet of ebony, richly bronzed. The
chairs have luxuriously cushioned seats and elegantly upholstered backs
and their woodwork is elaborately carved.
The Electoress entered this room about four o'clock, accompanied by her
brother-in-law, Margrave Sigismund. She wore a flowered silk dress with
Brussels lace at the neck and upon the sleeves, and a diamond ornament
flashed upon her breast. Margrave Sigismund, a young man of mild and
genial appearance, was Governor of Brandenburg, but only so in name; the
real representative of the Elector was the Minister, Count
Schwarzenberg. The Electoress seated herself and the Margrave stood by
her side, leaning against a marble table. At a signal to the
halberdiers, standing by the door, Chancellor Pruckmann, a small, spare,
elderly man, entered, bowed deferentially and approached the Electoress.
The latter, holding her brother's letter in her hand, acquainted him
with what had occurred. As she continued speaking his countenance beamed
with satisfaction. At last, he raised his hand, looked up and exclaimed:
"Praise God for the victory our Protestant Church has won."
"But can it hold what it has secured without a struggle?" said the
Electoress.
"God, who has helped us now, will help us again," he answered.
"Certainly, if those who are attached to our side do all in their power
also," replied the Electoress. "But how do matters stand in our country?
You know we can do nothing without its approval. My brother asks in this
letter whether he can surely depend upon us for money or for troops if
necessary. You certainly understand the importance of the question."
The Chancellor looked thoughtful. "It must be acknowledged," he said,
"we cannot return an absolutely definite answer. Alas! the unfortunate
divisions in our own church! On the one hand, Lutherans! On the other,
Reformers! But we may yet accomplish in State affairs much that seems
impossible if only we begin aright. Much depends upon him out there
[pointing to the antechamber]. He enjoys the confidence of our gracious
Elector--if he--"
"He is a Catholic," suddenly interposed the Margrave. "You know that
well enough. He has betrayed the confidence of my brother."
Pruckmann signified assent.
The Electoress replied: "Dear brother-in-law, perhaps you are going too
far. Schwarzenberg has administered the affairs of the country for years
with great wisdom."
"Only the more completely to deceive," said the Margrave.
"Again, you are going too far," said the Electoress, "but we will hear
what he himself has to say."
Schwarzenberg entered. He was a man of tall, commanding figure. The
pallor of his sunken cheeks and high forehead spoke of physical
weakness, the fire in his large black eyes of abundant mental strength.
Upon his dark cloak he wore the insignia of the Grand Master of the
Knights of St. John. His sword also indicated that he belonged to the
order. It was long and broad, while that worn by the Chancellor was
short and narrow.
The Electoress communicated to him the contents of her brother's letter.
He listened to her with a gravity which showed he was deeply interested.
At last he said: "Bohemia is a volcano which has been emitting fire and
flame these two hundred years, thereby causing widespread devastation.
One of its eruptions once swept across the frontier of Brandenburg. The
gallant Bernese quenched it with their blood."
Thereupon Margrave Sigismund answered: "But who aroused the Bohemians'
wrath at that time? Who took from them their noblest man, the pious
Huss? While he lived peace prevailed in the land. It was his shameful
death and the attacks upon his followers that kindled Bohemian fury."
Schwarzenberg doubtless thought to himself that his death was the
outcome of his heresy, but he made no allusion to Huss and his times. He
replied: "They are behaving now in Bohemia as they did then. The
twenty-third of May of last year, when at Prague they insolently
rejected the counsels of the Emperor, was a ruinous day for that
country. They have severed not only the ties which bound them to their
lawful Prince, but those which bound them to the Mother Church. How can
such things happen without producing bitter strife?"
"Other consequences than you expect may happen," replied the Margrave.
"You are an able man, Schwarzenberg; and yet it will be difficult even
for you to prove that the Bohemians are in the wrong. Was not the right
of public service and open confession of faith granted to the
Protestants in 1555? Has that agreement been kept? You well know where
the fire against Protestantism was kindled and where the sign was given
that faith need not be kept with heretics. The madness began in foreign
countries, in Spain, in France, in the Netherlands. In the space of
thirty years over 900,000 Protestant Christians of every condition and
age were persecuted."
"My dear brother-in-law," said the Electoress, "you are certainly going
far away from the subject."
"I think not," answered the Margrave. "It is the same condition of
things now. Herr Minister, I ask you this. Did not Protestant doctrine
spread all over Bohemia under the mild and benignant rule of Maximilian
the Second?"
"That it spread under the rule of the Emperor? Yes! That Maximilian was
mild and benignant? No! I call him weak and indifferent as to the
Catholic religion, otherwise he would not have left his successor so
difficult a task."
"Why this discussion?" interrupted the Electoress. "Let us take up the
matter in hand."
"Gracious sister-in-law, grant me a few minutes and you will understand
how deeply I have this matter at heart," replied the Margrave. He
resumed: "Herr Minister, I would recall to you the son of Maximilian the
Second, the Emperor Rudolph the Second. In a letter to the Bohemians he
promised them the right of free worship. That promise is well known
under the name of 'His Majesty's Letter.' Can you deny this?"
"No," replied Schwarzenberg, "but the fact must be taken into account
that this letter was extorted from the Emperor by force."
"Then, you mean that it has no value?"
"Not any," replied Schwarzenberg, calmly. Surprise was manifest upon the
countenances of the Electoress, the Margrave, and the Chancellor.
"Truly," said the Margrave, "that is a convenient arrangement! Promise
anything and whenever the most solemn promises are made then break them.
You mean to say that if the promiser is weak, physically or mentally,
and force is applied, his promise is of no account. This infernal method
was also followed by the Emperor Matthias and the late Emperor
Ferdinand. Whom can the Bohemians trust? Tell me, Herr Minister, is it
not notorious that the Emperor has declared he will get the Bohemians
back into the Catholic faith, if not by kindness, then by force?"
"I have heard so, and I think he is sufficiently strong and determined
to carry out his purpose," replied Schwarzenberg.
"Let this discussion be ended," said the Electoress. "Herr Minister,
what would you advise my brother to do if he were standing here before
you and asked, 'Shall I accept the crown of Bohemia?'"
Schwarzenberg replied: "I would implore him to decline it. A terrible
struggle confronts your princely brother if he places Bohemia's crown
upon his head. He is a mild, peace-loving man and not capable of
bringing that struggle to a favorable close. Once it breaks out, it will
spread devastation far and wide, the end of which who can foresee?"
The Electoress had heard enough. "I thank you, Schwarzenberg," she said,
at the same time giving him permission to retire. But when the door
closed, she said: "Now I know where I am. Schwarzenberg has greatly
weakened my confidence."
The Margrave and the Chancellor plucked up courage to address the
Electoress once more. "Has the Protestant Union then been established
for naught? Shall the princes who established it abandon it?"
"God forbid," replied the Electoress; "but look you. There stands
opposed to the Protestant Union a union of Catholic princes.
Schwarzenberg spoke of a bitter struggle which must ensue if my brother
accepts the crown of Bohemia. Schwarzenberg's religious convictions may
be opposed to ours but you will not deny that he has very clear eyes."
Yes, clear eyes had Schwarzenberg. He saw in the events occurring in
Bohemia the beginning of a mighty struggle. That it would last thirty
years neither he nor any other could know, but he had the presentiment
that he should not live to see its close.