to the rescue of his sovereign. He defeated the German princes, drove the Danish king out of Germany, and conquered the countries as far as the Baltic, including Mecklenburg, which principality was ceded to him as a reward for these services. These brilliant victories filled him with pride, so that he carried himself very arrogantly before the other princes of the realm, at whose instigation he finally lost his position. He retired-to Prague, where he had built himself a beautiful palace, and there lived in princely magnificence.
The emperor, however, soon had cause to regret this ill-advised step. At the removal of their leader, the large armies of Wallenstein soon scattered, and when, soon after, the German princes, under the leadership of the Swedish king, Gustavus Adolphus, rose up against him, he was in no condition to cope with them, his best general, Tilly, sustaining a terrible defeat not far from Leipsic. The Saxons then invaded Bohemia, and obtained possession of Prague.
This proved a time of great rejoicing to the exiled Protestants, who returned to their native land in great numbers. The Utraquist Consistory was re-established, the Jesuits in their turn exiled, and the university restored to Protestant professors. The skulls of the martyrs of 1621, that were still bleaching in their iron cages, were taken down and buried with solemn ceremonies in the old Teyn church.
The Saxon conquest, however, did not prove an unmixed good; for the foreign soldiers were guilty of many acts of cruelty and violence, which were directed especially against the Catholics. The Elector of Saxony, John George himself, came into the country; but his coming was productive of more harm than good.
