feated by the Imperial general Bucquoi. A few days
later, however, Count Thurn, marching through Moravia and Upper Austria,
laid siege to Vienna. Ferdinand's own subjects were estranged from him,
and the cry of the Protestant army, `Equal rights for all Christian
churches,' was approved by the whole population--for even in Austria
itself there were a very large number of Protestants. Ferdinand had but
a few soldiers, the population of the city were hostile, and had Thurn
only entered the town he could have seized the emperor without any
resistance.

"Thurn hesitated, and endeavoured instead to obtain the conditions of
toleration which the Protestants required; and sixteen Austrian barons
in the city were in the act of insisting upon Ferdinand signing these
when the head of the relieving army entered the city. Thurn retired
hastily. The Catholic princes and representatives met at Frankfort and
elected Ferdinand Emperor of Germany. He at once entered into a strict
agreement with Maximilian of Bavaria to crush Protestantism throughout
Germany. The Bohemians, however, in concert with Bethlem Gabor, king
of Hungary, again besieged Vienna; but as the winter set in they were
obliged to retire. From that moment the Protestant cause was lost;
Saxony and Hesse-Darmstadt left the Union and joined Ferdinand. Denmark,
which had promised its assistance to the Protestants, was persuaded to
remain quiet. Sweden was engaged in a war with the Poles.

"The Protestant army was assembled at Ulm; the army of the League, under
the order of Maximilian of Bavaria, was at Donauworth. Maximilian worked
upon the fears of the Protestant princes, who, frightened at the contest
they had undertaken, agreed to a peace, by which they bound themselves
to offer no aid to Frederick V.

"The Imperial forces then marched to Bohemia and attacked Frederick's
army outside Prague, and in less than an hour completely defeated it.
Frederick escaped with his family to Holland. Ferdinand then took steps
to carry out his oath. The religious freedom granted by Mathias was
abolished. In Bohemia, Moravia, Silesia, and Austria proper. Many of the
promoters of the rebellion were punished in life and property. The year
following all members of the Calvinistic sect were forced to leave their
country, a few months afterwards the Lutherans were also expelled, and
in 1627 the exercise of all religious forms except those of the Catholic
Church was forbidden; 200 of the noble,