He urged that the peace of France and of Europe required
that the Protestant heresy should be utterly effaced; and he provoked
the resentment of the court by showing how much aid the Protestants in
Europe had ever received from the Palatinate family. Here again he was
completely successful, and the young king, Louis XIII., who was
controlled by his bigoted yet powerful minister, the Duke of Luines,
cordially espoused his cause.
Spain, intolerant, despotic, hating Protestantism with perfect hatred,
was eager with its aid. A well furnished army of twenty-four thousand
men was sent from the Netherlands, and also a large sum of money was
placed in the treasury of Ferdinand. Even the British monarch,
notwithstanding the clamors of the nation, was maneuvered into
neutrality. And most surprising of all, Ferdinand was successful in
securing a truce with Gabriel Bethlehem, which, though it conferred
peace upon Hungary, deprived the Bohemians of their powerful support.
The Protestants were strong in their combination; but still it was a
power of fearful strength now arrayed against them. It was evident that
Europe was on the eve of a long and terrible struggle. The two forces
began to assemble.
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