f
Ferdinand and Maximilian. On the 20th of March, 1619, the despairing
spirit of the emperor passed away to the tribunal of the "King of kings
and the Lord of lords."

CHAPTER XVI.

FERDINAND II.

From 1619 to 1621.

Possessions of the Emperor.--Power of the Protestants of
Bohemia.--General Spirit of Insurrection.--Anxiety of Ferdinand.--
Insurrection led by Count Thurn.--Unpopularity of the Emperor.--
Affecting Declaration of the Emperor.--Insurrection in Vienna.--The
Arrival of Succor.--Ferdinand seeks the imperial Throne.--Repudiated by
Bohemia.--The Palatinate.--Frederic offered the Crown of Bohemia.--
Frederic crowned.--Revolt in Hungary.--Desperate Condition of the
Emperor.--Catholic League.--The Calvinists and the Puritans.--Duplicity
of the Emperor.--Foreign Combinations.--Truce between the Catholics and
the Protestants.--The Attack upon Bohemia.--Battle of the White
Mountain.

Ferdinand, who now ascended the throne by right of the coronation he had
already received, was in the prime of life, being but forty-one years of
age, and was in possession of a rare accumulation of dignities. He was
Archduke of Austria, King of Hungary and of Bohemia, Duke of Styria,
Carinthia and Carniola, and held joint possession, with his two
brothers, of the spacious territory of the Tyrol. Thus all these
wide-spread and powerful territories, with different languages,
different laws, and diverse manners and customs, were united under the
Austrian monarchy, which was now undeniably one of the leading powers of
Europe. In addition to all these titles and possessions, he was a
prominent candidate for the imperial crown of Germany. To secure this
additional dignity he could rely upon his own family influence, which
was very powerful, and also upon the aid of the Spanish monarchy. When
we contemplate his accession in this light, he appears as one of the
most powerful monarchs who ever ascended a throne.

But there is another side to the picture. The spirit of rebellion
against his authority had spread through nearly all his territories, and
he had neither State nor kingdom where his power seemed stable. In
whatever direction he turned his eyes, he saw either the gleam of
hostile arms or the people in a tumult just ready to combine against
him.

The Protestants of Bohemia had much to encourage them. All the kingdom,
excepting one fortress, was in their possession. All the Protestants of
the German empire had espoused th