of all this the
people were dismayed by terrible decrees of the Emperor, who now from
his secure position threw over the evangelicals, or compelled them by
force to return to his Church, in spite of the fruitless intercessions
of the Elector of Saxony. The Elector at last authorized the
publication of a defence of the Augsburg confession, against the
attacks of the Catholic theologians; this comprehensive work, called,
'The necessary Defence of the Apple of the Eye,' written in 1628,
called forth immediately a theological war; both opponents and allies
hastened in crowds to the field. 'Spectacles for the Evangelical Apple
of the Eye;' 'A sharp round Eye on the Romish Pope;' 'Who has struck
the Calf in the Eye? The Catholic Oculist or Coucher;' 'Venetian
Spectacles on Lutheran Nose,' &c. These are specimens of the defiant
titles of the most readable of the controversial writings. But this
literary strife was drowned in the burst of loud outcries against
Wallenstein, which pierced from Pomerania through all the German
States, on account of the battle near Stralsund, and his shameful
conduct towards the Pomeranian Duke and his country, and finally the
horrible ill treatment of the men and women of Pasewalk. Again these
lamentations changed into a shout of joy from all the Protestants.
Again hope and confidence revived; this time it was a man, whom the
nation, with the genuine German longing to love and honour, welcomed
with shouts of jubilee. What had been wanting to the Germans for a
century, came to them from the North, an idol and a hero. But he was a
foreigner.

Much of that halo of light still surrounds the figure of Gustavus
Adolphus, which distinguished him in the eyes of his cotemporaries so
immeasurably above all other generals and princes. It is not his
victories, nor his knightly death, nor the circumstance that he
appeared as the last help to a despairing people, which makes him
the one prominent figure in the long struggle. It was the magic
of his great nature, as he rode over the field of battle, firm,
self-contained, and as confident as unerring; from head to foot he was
dignity, decision, and nervous energy. If one examines more nearly, one
is astonished at the strong contrasts which combined in this character
to form an admirable unity. No General was more systematic, fertile in
plans, or greater in the science of war. Discipline in the army, order
in the commissariat, a firm basis, and secure lines of re