rough so many ages, had
transmitted to them.

As the house of Austria, throughout all her extensive dominions, had
ever made religion the pretence for her usurpations, she now met with
resistance from a like principle; and the Catholic religion, as usual,
had ranged itself on the side of monarchy; the Protestant, on that of
liberty. The states of Bohemia, having taken arms against the emperor
Matthias, continued their revolt against his successor, Ferdinand, and
claimed the observance of all the edicts enacted in favor of the new
religion, together with the restoration of their ancient laws and
constitution. The neighboring principalities, Silesia, Moravia, Lusatia,
Austria, even the kingdom of Hungary, took part in the quarrel; and
throughout all these populous and martial provinces, the spirit of
discord and civil war had universally diffused itself.[*]

{1619.} Ferdinand II., who possessed more vigor and greater abilities,
though not more lenity and moderation, than are usual with the Austrian
princes, strongly armed himself for the recovery of his authority; and
besides employing the assistance of his subjects, who professed the
ancient religion, he engaged on his side a powerful alliance of the
neighboring potentates. All the Catholic princes of the empire had
embraced his defence; even Saxony, the most powerful of the Protestant:
Poland had declared itself in his favor;[**] and, above all, the Spanish
monarch, deeming his own interest closely connected with that of the
younger branch of his family, prepared powerful succors from Italy, and
from the Low Countries; and he also advanced large sums for the support
of Ferdinand and of the Catholic religion.

* Rushworth, vol. i. p. 7, 8.

** Rushworth, vol. i p. 13,14.

The states of Bohemia, alarmed at these mighty preparations, began also
to solicit foreign assistance; and, together with that support which
they obtained from the evangelical union in Germany, they endeavored
to establish connections with greater princes. They cast their eyes on
Frederic, elector palatine. They considered that, besides commanding no
despicable force of his own, he was son-in-law to the king of England,
and nephew to Prince Maurice, whose authority was become almost absolute
in the United Provinces. They hoped that these princes, moved by the
connections of blood, as well as by the tie of their common religion,
would interest themselves in all the fortunes of Frederic, an