c and utterly defeated him. Tilly fled, and his
army was almost annihilated, the fugitives who escaped the Swedes
falling victims to the vengeance of the enraged Protestant peasantry.
Few men who had taken part in the sack of Magdeburg lived long to boast
of their achievement.

Gustavus swept victoriously through all the Rhineland. One Catholic
prince or bishop after another was defeated. The advance soon became
little more than a triumphal procession, city after city opening its
gates to welcome him. The Saxon army conquered Bohemia; Gustavus reached
Bavaria.

There on the southern bank of the River Lech the Bavarian army under
Tilly and Prince Maximilian was drawn to oppose the passage of the
Protestant troops. It seemed impossible to cross the broad and deep
stream in the face of such a force and such a general. Gustavus kept up
a tremendous cannonade for three days. He burned great fires along the
shore, that the smoke might conceal his movements. Tilly was struck down
by a cannon-ball, the whole Bavarian army fell into confusion, and the
Swedes rushed across the river almost unopposed. Maximilian fled with
his army; and Bavaria, which as yet had escaped the horrors of the war,
was in its turn plundered by an enemy.

The stars in their courses seemed indeed to fight for Wallenstein. From
the moment that he was deprived of his command, the triumphant cause of
the Emperor had fallen, fallen until now it lay in utter ruin. The
Saxons held Bohemia; all Western Germany was in Gustavus' hands; nothing
interposed between the conquerors and defenceless Austria--nothing but
Wallenstein.

Messenger after messenger sped from the Emperor to his offended general,
entreating him to reaccept his command. Wallenstein dallied, and
postponed his consent, until he had wrung from his despairing sovereign
such terms as never general secured before or since. Practically
Wallenstein became as exalted in authority as the Emperor himself, and
wholly independent of his former master. He was to carry on the war or
to make peace entirely as he saw fit, without interference of any sort.
Certain provinces of Austria were given him to hold as a guarantee of
the Emperor's good faith.

The mere raising of the great general's standard drew around him another
army of "Wallensteiners," with whom he marched against Gustavus. Two of
the ablest military leaders in history were thus pitted against each
other. There were clever marches and countermar