He knows not how soon he may fall.
Instructive indeed is the apostrophe of Cardinal Wolsey, illustrated as
the truth he utters is by almost every page of history:
"This is the state of man; to-day he puts forth
The tender leaves of hope, to-morrow blossoms,
The third day comes a frost, a killing frost;
And when he thinks, good easy man, full surely
His greatness is a ripening--nips his root,
And then he falls as I do."
The fugitive emperor did not venture to stop for refreshment or repose
until he had reached the strong town of Villach in Carinthia, nearly one
hundred and fifty miles west of Innspruck. The troops of Maurice soon
entered the city which the emperor had abandoned, and the imperial
palace was surrendered to pillage. Heroic courage, indomitable
perseverance always commands respect. These are great and noble
qualities, though they may be exerted in a bad cause. The will of
Charles was unconquerable. In these hours of disaster, tortured with
pain, driven from his palace, deserted by his allies, impoverished, and
borne upon his litter in humiliating flight before his foes, he was just
as determined to enforce his plans as in the most brilliant hour of
victory.
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