and worship within their own walls, but were not permitted
to occupy the streets with their processions, performing the forms and
ceremonies of the Catholic church. The Catholics, encouraged by the
emperor, sent out a procession from the walls of the abbey, with
torches, banners, relics and all the pageants of Catholic worship. The
magistrates stopped the procession, took away their banners and sent
them back to the abbey, and then suffered the procession to proceed.
Soon after the friars got up another procession on a funeral occasion.
The magistrates, apprehensive that this was a trap to excite them to
some opposition which would render it plausible for the emperor to
interfere, suffered the procession to proceed unmolested. In a few days
the monks repeated the experiment. The populace had now become excited,
and there were threats of violence. The magistrates, fearful of the
consequences, did every thing in their power to soothe the people, and
urged them, by earnest proclamation, to abstain from all tumult. For
some time the procession, displaying all the hated pomp of papal
worship, paraded the streets undisturbed. But at length the populace
became ungovernable, attacked the monks, demolished their pageants and
pelted them with mire back into the convent.

This was enough. The emperor published the ban of the empire, and sent
the Duke of Bavaria with an army to execute the decree. Resistance was
hopeless. The troops took possession of the town, abolished the
Protestant religion, and delivered the churches to the Catholics.

The Protestants now saw that there was no hope for them but in union.
Thus driven together by an outward pressure which was every day growing
more menacing and severe, the chiefs of the Protestant party met at
Aschhausen and established a confederacy to continue for ten years. Thus
united, they drew up a list of grievances, and sent an embassy to
present their demands to the emperor. And now came a very serious turn
in the fortunes of Rhodolph. Notwithstanding the armistice which had
been concluded with the Turks by Rhodolph, a predatory warfare continued
to rage along the borders. Neither the emperor nor the sultan, had they
wished it, could prevent fiery spirits, garrisoned in fortresses
frowning at each other, from meeting occasionally in hostile encounter.
And both parties were willing that their soldiers should have enough to
do to keep up their courage and their warlike spirit. Aggression