logy was his passion,
and the planetary conjunctions seemed then to be in favor of submission.
The man was superstitious, with all his clear-sighted ability, and
permitted himself to be governed by influences which have long since
lost their force upon men's minds.

"I do not complain against or reproach the emperor," he said to the
imperial deputies; "the stars have already indicated to me that the
spirit of the Elector of Bavaria holds sway in the imperial councils.
But his majesty, in dismissing his troops, is rejecting the most
precious jewel of his crown."

The event which we have described took place in September, 1630.
Wallenstein, having paid off and dispersed his great army to the four
winds, retired to his duchy of Friedland, and took up his residence at
Gitschen, which had been much enlarged and beautified by his orders.
Here he quietly waited and observed the progress of events.

He had much of interest to observe. The effort of Ferdinand and his
advisers to drive Protestantism out of Germany had produced an effect
which none of them anticipated. The war, which had seemed at an end, was
quickly afoot again, with a new leader of the Protestant cause, new
armies, and new fortunes. Gustavus Adolphus, King of Sweden, had come to
the rescue of his threatened fellow-believers, and before the army of
Wallenstein had been dissolved the work of the peace-makers was set
aside, and the horrors of war returned.

The dismissed general had now left Gitschen for Bohemia, where he dwelt
upon his estates in a style of regal luxury, and in apparent disregard
of the doings of emperors and kings. His palace in Prague was royal in
its adornments, and while his enemies were congratulating themselves on
having forced him into retirement, he had Italian artists at work
painting on the walls of this palace his figure in the character of a
conqueror, his triumphal car drawn by four milk-white steeds, while a
star shone above his laurel-crowned head. Sixty pages, of noble birth,
richly attired in blue and gold velvet, waited upon him, while some of
his officers and chamberlains had served the emperor in the same rank.
In his magnificent stables were three hundred horses of choice breeds,
while the daily gathering of distinguished men in his halls was not
surpassed by the assemblies of the emperor himself.

Yet in his demeanor there was nothing to show that he entertained a
shadow of his former ambition. He affected the utmost eas