States of his widely extended Austrian domains--to his own subjects. A
general assembly was convened at Lintz. Matthias proposed his plans,
urging the impolicy of allowing the Turks to retain the conquered
provinces, and to remain in the ascendency in Transylvania. But here
again Matthias was disappointed. The Bohemian Protestants were indignant
in view of some restrictions upon their worship, imposed by the emperor
to please the Catholics. The Hungarians, weary of the miseries of war,
were disposed on any terms to seek peace with the Turks. The Austrians
had already expended an immense amount of blood and money on the
battle-fields of Hungary, and urged the emperor to send an ambassador to
treat for peace. Matthias was excessively annoyed in being thus thwarted
in all his plans.

Just at this time a Turkish envoy arrived at Vienna, proposing a truce
for twenty years. The Turks had never before condescended to send an
embassage to a Christian power. This afforded Matthias an honorable
pretext for abandoning his warlike plan, and the truce was agreed to.

The incessant conflict between the Catholics and Protestants allowed
Germany no repose. A sincere toleration, such as existed during the
reign of Maximilian I., established fraternal feelings between the
contending parties. But it required ages of suffering and peculiar
combination of circumstances, to lead the king and the nobles to a
cordial consent to that toleration. But the bigotry of Rhodolph and the
trickery of Matthias, had so exasperated the parties, and rendered them
so suspicious of each other, that the emperor, even had he been so
disposed, could not, but by very slow and gradual steps, have secured
reconciliation. Rhodolph had put what was called the ban of the empire
upon the Protestant city of Aix-la-Chapelle, removing the Protestants
from the magistracy, and banishing their chiefs from the city. When
Rhodolph was sinking into disgrace and had lost his power, the
Protestants, being in the majority, took up arms, reflected their
magistracy, and expelled the Jesuits from the city. The Catholics now
appealed to Matthias, and he insanely revived the ban against the
Protestants, and commissioned Albert, Archduke of Cologne, a bigoted
Catholic, to march with an army to Aix-la-Chapelle and enforce its
execution.

Opposite Cologne, on the Rhine, the Protestants, in the days of bitter
persecution, had established the town of Mulheim. Several of the
neighboring