--Cardinal Richelieu.--New League of the Protestants.--
Desolating War.--Defeat of the King of Denmark.--Energy of
Wallenstein.--Triumph of Ferdinand.--New Acts of Intolerance.--
Severities in Bohemia.--Desolation of the Kingdom.--Dissatisfaction of
the Duke of Bavaria.--Meeting of the Catholic Princes.--The Emperor
Humbled.
The citizens of Prague were indignant at the pusillanimity of Frederic.
In a body they repaired to the palace and tried to rouse his feeble
spirits. They urged him to adopt a manly resistance, and offered to
mount the ramparts and beat off the foe until succor could arrive. But
Frederic told them that he had resolved to leave Prague, that he should
escape during the darkness of the night, and advised them to capitulate
on the most favorable terms they could obtain. The inhabitants of the
city were in despair. They knew that they had nothing to hope from the
clemency of the conqueror, and that there was no salvation for them from
irretrievable ruin but in the most desperate warfare. Even now, though
the enemy was at their gates, their situation was by no means hopeless
with a leader of any energy.
"We have still," they urged, "sufficient strength to withstand a siege.
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