He decided early to lighten the gloom of his theme
by introducing the love episode of Max and Thekla. He modified also
his view of the nature of Wallenstein's guilt. Gradually the material
grew upon him. What he had planned as a Prologue became the one-act
play, _Wallenstein's Camp_, which, when it was produced in October,
1798, at the reopening of the Weimar Theatre, was preceded by 138
lines of Dedication, since printed as the _Prologue_. Already Schiller
had foreseen the development into more than five acts, and accordingly
_The Piccolomini_ appeared separately, January 30, 1799, and the whole
series in order about the middle of April, upon the completion of
_Wallenstein's Death_.

_Wallenstein_ is a trilogy, but in name rather than in real connection
and relation of parts. _Wallenstein's Camp_ is a picture of masses,
introducing only common soldiers and none of the chief personages of
the other parts of the composition. Its purpose is to present
something of the tremendous background of the action proper and to
give a realizing sense of the influence upon Wallenstein's career of
the soldiery with which he operated--as Schiller expressed it in a
line of his Prologue: "His camp alone explains to us his crime." By
this he meant that, on the one hand, the blind confidence of the
troops in the luck and the destiny of their leader made him arrogant
and reckless, and, on the other hand, perhaps, that the mercenary
character of these soldiers of fortune forced Wallenstein to steps
which his calm judgment would have condemned.

In a succession of eleven scenes of very unequal length the various
arms of the service are introduced, together with camp followers and a
Capuchin preacher; in reminiscences the earlier features of the great
war and some feats of the general are recalled; in discussions the
character of Wallenstein and of his leading officers is sketched;
finally the report of the recent demand of the Emperor, that
Wallenstein detach 8,000 men to escort the Cardinal Infant to the
Netherlands, reveals the opposition of the army to such an order and
its unconditional loyalty to Wallenstein.

The second and third parts of the trilogy, _The Piccolomini_ and
_Wallenstein's Death_, constitute, in fact, one ten-act play, which
requires two evenings for presentation. So slight is the organic
division between the two plays that, as first presented, in the fall
of 1798 and the spring of 1799, _The Piccolomini_ included the