had his share of the soldier's booty; the worst thieves
were the best bees.

The paymasters were always deeply hated, because they generally gave
the regiments short pay and bad coin; they and other commissaries of
the sovereign were exposed to much insult when they came to the camp.
The worst things are related of the Commanders-in-chief, above all,
that they received more pay than they distributed to the soldiers;
still worse were the Generals. Frequently open mutiny broke out, and
then the mutineers placed a Colonel or Captain in the middle of them,
and chose him for their leader. The same thing took place in Hungary.
Indeed it happened, during the armistice preceding the Westphalian
peace, that in a Bavarian dragoon regiment, a corporal of the garrison
of Hilperstein nominated himself Colonel of the regiment, and by the
help of his comrades drove away the officers; the regiment was
surrounded by loyal soldiers, the new Colonel with eighteen of the
ringleaders were executed, the muskets were taken from the regiment, it
was resworn and formed anew as a cavalry regiment. The arrears of pay
were the usual cause of mutiny. In the year 1620, the regiment of Count
Mansfeld mutinied. He began to pay, but meanwhile leaving his tent,
struck down two of the soldiers with his own hands, severely wounding
them; he then mounted his horse, sprang into the midst of the
mutineers, and shot many of them. He alone with three captains subdued
the insolence of six hundred men, after having slain eleven, and
severely wounded six-and-twenty. If it was difficult to secure
obedience to military commands whilst the banner was waving, still
greater was the burst of resentment when it was furled and the regiment
was disbanded. Then the provost, the prostitutes, and the soldiers'
sons hid themselves; the Captain, Lieutenant, and other commanders were
obliged to submit to abusive language and challenges, and to hear
themselves thus accosted: "Ha, you fellow, you have been my commander,
now you are not a jot better than I; a pound of your hair is of no more
importance to me than a pound of cotton; out with you, let's have a
scuffle!" Whenever punishment was administered, the commanders were in
danger from the revenge of the culprit or his friends. The disbanded
soldiers quarrelled amongst each other, as they did with their
officers, and sometimes there were as many as a hundred parties in one
place engaged in duelling. The most wanton death-blows