of France, and a number of the German princes, with great secresy and expedition he raised a powerful army; and in the year 1552 he marched against Charles, who was at Inspruck, expecting no foe, and attacked and completely defeated him.

In this struggle the King of France, though a Roman Catholic prince, rendered great service to the Protestant cause; so much so that he received the title of "Protector of the German liberty, and avenger of the captive princes."

It was as a consequence of this battle that the treaty of Passau was concluded, which is considered the foundation of the religious liberty of the German Protestants.

By this treaty it was agreed that the contending parties should enjoy the free exercise of their religion, until a diet assembled, which was to be in six months, and that this religious liberty should continue always, if it should be found impossible to agree as to doctrines and worship.

The diet proposed was delayed by various circumstances until the year 1555, when it met at Augsburg.

On the 25th day of September it was enacted, "that the Protestants who followed the Confession of Augsburg should be for the future considered as entirely free from the jurisdiction of the Roman pontiff, and from the authority and superintendence of the bishops; that they were left at perfect liberty to enact laws for themselves relating to their religious sentiments, discipline, and worship; that all the inhabitants of the German empire should be allowed to judge for themselves in religious matters, and to join themselves to that Church whose doctrine and worship they thought the most pure and consonant with the spirit of true Christianity; and that

all those who should injure or prosecute any persons under religious pretenses, and on account of their opinions, should be declared and proceeded against as public enemies of the empire, invaders of its liberty, and disturbers of its peace.'

Thus in the year 1555 religious liberty became triumphant, and from this time we may date one of the signal victories of the great Reformation in Germany.

As we come to this successful result of the Reformers' labors, and look back and behold the struggles which their religious liberty has cost them, we rejoice at this day in one thing, they have never since given up the Bible. While we mourn over the present coldness of the national Church, and cannot deny the obscurity which has come upon those great doctrines for which Luther contended, yet the Germans still cling to the Bible. Their fathers suffered, and shed their blood for the right to read it, and they have never forgotten the lesson which they learned. Commencing with childhood, they teach their children to read, perhaps, more universally than any other nation of Europe; and there is no restriction to the word of God. All may read it, and multitudes do so; and multitudes who are the countrymen of Luther have been led to Christ, even in our own country, and are now faithful witnesses to the truth.

CHAPTER XVII.

GUSTAVUS ADOLPHUS.

THERE are some events subsequent to, yet so intimately connected with the Reformation in Germany, that they seem to form part of it.

Seventy-five years after the last-named Diet of Augsburg, notwithstanding the victory which the Reformation had achieved, and notwithstanding about seventy years' peaceable enjoyment of their religion, the Protestants of Germany seemed to have lost everything before the victorious and cruel Tilly except Magdeburg.

The next year that city also fell with horrible slaughter into the hands of the ferocious conqueror, now an old man of seventy years, who, when implored by his own officers to have mercy on the unresisting citizens, told them to return in an hour, and said coolly that "the soldier must have something for his labor and danger." In less than half an hour the work of blood was at its height. The furious soldiers spared neither age nor sex.

Three or four days after the carnage Tilly rode slowly through the city, gloating on the heaps of dead bodies with which the streets were covered.

Was the work of the Reformers then lost? Did Luther, Melancthon, Erasmus, and thousands of pious Christians live in vain for Germany? No; not if the great work had stopped where it then was, for great numbers had washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb, and were already safely home in heaven.

But a deliverer was at hand in this hour of extreme peril for the truth of God.

Gustavus Adolphus, the renowned King of Sweden, had been long watching the struggles of his suffering brethren with intense interest. He at last determined to leave his kingdom and march to their assistance.

Entering the Senate-house at Stockholm on the 20th of May, 1630, he bade farewell to his countrymen. He had already taken every precaution to

leave his kingdom in safety in case he should never return; and as he took his little daughter Christina in his arms, he made the nobles swear fidelity to her if he should perish. As he proceeded with his parting address, his emotion was so great that he was obliged to pause for some time, while the whole assembly was bathed in tears.

"It is not lightly," said he, "or without due deliberation, that I involve myself and you in this new and dangerous war. Almighty God is my witness that I fight not for my own pleasure. The emperor has offered me, in the person of my ambassador, the grossest insults; he has assisted my enemies, my friends and brethren he persecutes, tramples my religion in the dust, and stretches out his hand to seize my crown. The oppressed people of Germany urgently implore our aid, and, if it please God, they shall not be disappointed. I know the dangers to which my life will be exposed: these I have never shunned, nor do I hope eventually to escape them. It is true, that until the present hour the Almighty hath marvelously preserved me; but I shall die at last in defense of my native land. I commend you all to the protection of heaven. Be upright, be conscientious, walk unblamably, so shall we meet one another again in eternity. To you, my counselI first address myself. May God enlighten you, and fill you with wisdom, that you may ever advise that which conduces most to the welfare of my kingdom. You, brave nobles, I commend to the protection of God. Go forth and prove yourselves worthy descendants of those heroic Goths who laid ancient Rome in the dust. You, ministers of the Church, I exhort to unanimity and concord. Be yourselves ensamples of those virtues which ye preach, and

ors,

abuse not your dominion over the souls of my people. To you, deputies of the burgher and peasant orders, I wish the blessing of heaven, a joyful harvest to reward your toils, fullness to your barns, and abundance of all the good things of life. For all, absent as well as present, I offer my prayers to heaven. I now bid you affectionately farewell-farewell, perhaps forever!"

On the 24th of June, 1630, Gustavus landed at Usedom. His brave Swedes were the most formidable soldiers of the time, thoroughly disciplined, experienced in battle, and their hearts fired with the thought that they were fighting for God and their oppressed brethren.

As soon as they landed in Germany their king fell upon his knees and implored the help of God in his undertaking. His army consisted of only sixteen thousand men, and the Protestants hailed his arrival with great joy, and called him the "Lion of the North." But at Vienna they regarded him with contempt, and named him in derision the "Snow King," because they said he would melt away as he approached the south. It was soon to be decided which was right.

Gustavus Adolphus advanced to Berlin, where he made a treaty with George William, the elector, and eighteen thousand Saxons joined the Swedes. Thence he marched to Leipsic, where the Imperial and Swedish armies met. The difference between them was extremely striking, as is shown by the following description:

"In the camp of Gustavus religious service was regularly performed, sometimes to the army in general, on which occasions the king was always present; sometimes by the chaplain of each regiment to those more immediately intrusted to his charge. The kindness