rs.

Whereupon Brandenburg, Electorship and all Titles with it, came to Otto,
third son of Kaiser Ludwig, who is happily the last of these Bavarian
Electors. They were an unlucky set of Sovereigns, not hitherto without
desert; and the unlucky Country suffered much under them. By far the
unluckiest, and by far the worst, was this Otto; a dissolute, drinking,
entirely worthless Herr; under whom, for eight years, confusion went
worse confounded; as if plain chaos were coming; and Brandenburg and
Otto grew tired of each other to the last degree.

In which state of matters, A.D. 1373, Kaiser Karl offered Otto a trifle
of ready money to take himself away. Otto accepted greedily; sold
his Electorate and big Mark of Brandenburg to Kaiser Karl for an old
song,--200,000 thalers (about 30,000 pounds, and only half of it ever
paid); [Michaelis, i. 283.]--withdrew to his Schloss of Wolfstein in
Bavaria; and there, on the strength of that or other sums, "rolled deep
as possible in every sort of debauchery." And so in few years puddled
himself to death; foully ending the Bavarian set of Kurfursts. They
had lasted fifty years; with endless trouble to the Country and to
themselves; and with such mutual profit as we have seen.

Chapter XIII. -- LUXEMBURG KURFURSTS IN BRANDENBURG.

If Brandenburg suffered much under the Bavarian Kurfursts for Fifty
years, it was worse, and approached to the state of worst, under the
Luxemburgers, who lasted for some Forty more. Ninety years of anarchy in
all; which at length brought it to great need of help from the Fates!--

Karl IV. made his eldest Boy Wenzel, still only about twelve, Elector
of Brandenburg; [1373 (born 1361).] Wenzel shall be Kaiser and King of
Bohemia, one day, thinks Karl;--which actually came to pass, and little
to Wenzel's profit, by and by. In the mean while Karl accompanied him to
Brandenburg; which country Karl liked much at the money, and indeed ever
after, in his old days, he seemed rather to busy himself with it. He
assembled some kind of STANDE (States) twice over; got the Country
"incorporated with Bohemia" by them, and made tight and handy so far.
Brandenburg shall rest from its woes, and be a silent portion of Bohemia
henceforth, thinks Karl,--if the Heavens so please. Karl, a futile
Kaiser, would fain have done something to "encourage trade" in
Brandenburg; though one sees not what it was he did, if anything. He
built the Schloss of Tangermunde, and oftenest li