he barbarous notions and customs
of the country, more than this grant to Wallenstein. And, with all his
heroism and success, he cannot now be viewed in any other light than
as a licensed robber. He was virtually at the head of a troop of
banditti, who fought for the sake of plunder, and who would join any
side which would present the greatest hopes of gain. The genius of
Schiller, both in his dramas and histories, has immortalized the name
of this unprincipled hero, and has excited a strange interest in his
person, his family, and his fortunes. He is represented as "born to
command. His acute eye distinguished at a glance, from among the
multitude, such as were competent, and he assigned to each his proper
place. His praise, from being rarely bestowed, animated and brought
into full operation every faculty; while his steady, reserved, and
earnest demeanor secured obedience and discipline. His very appearance
excited awe and reverence; his figure was proud, lofty, and warlike,
while his bright, piercing eye expressed profundity of thought,
combined with gravity and mystery. His favorite study was that of the
stars, and his most intimate friend was an Italian astrologer. He had
a fondness for pomp and extravagance. He maintained sixty pages; his
ante-chamber was guarded by fifty life-guards, and his table never
consisted of less than one hundred covers. Six barons and as many
knights were in constant attendance on his person. He never smiled,
and the coldness of his temperament was proof against sensual
seductions. Ever occupied with grand schemes, he despised those
amusements in which so many waste their lives. Terror was the talisman
with which he worked: extreme in his punishments as in his rewards, he
knew how to keep alive the zeal of his followers, while no general of
ancient or modern times could boast of being obeyed with equal
alacrity. Submission to his will was more prized by him than bravery,
and he kept up the obedience of his troops by capricious orders. He
was a man of large stature, thin, of a sallow complexion, with short,
red hair, and small, sparkling eyes. A gloomy and forbidding
seriousness sat upon his brow, and his munificent presents alone
retained the trembling crowd of his dependants."

Such was this enterprising nobleman, to whom the emperor Ferdinand
committed so great authority. And the success of Wallenstein
apparently justified the course of the emperor. The greater his
extortions, and the