The Catholic lords were instantly seized,
dragged to the window and thrust out. Almost incredible as it may seem,
the water and the mud of the moat so broke their fall, that neither of
them was killed. They all recovered from the effects of their fall.
Having performed this deed, Count Thurn and his companions returned to
the delegates, informed them of what they had done, and urged them that
the only hope of safety now, for any Protestant, was for all to unite in
open and desperate resistance. Then mounting his horse, and protected by
a strong body-guard, he rode through the streets of Prague, stopping at
every corner to harangue the Protestant populace. The city was thronged
on the occasion by Protestants from all parts of the kingdom.
"I do not," he exclaimed, "propose myself as your chief, but as your
companion, in that peril which will lead us to happy freedom or to
glorious death. The die is thrown. It is too late to recall what is
past. Your safety depends alone on unanimity and courage, and if you
hesitate to burst asunder your chains, you have no alternative but to
perish by the hands of the executioner."
He was everywhere greeted with shouts of enthusiasm, and the whole
Protestant population were united as one man in the cause.
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