VALLENSTEIN STILL A MYSTERY

Evening Star, Issue 21748, 16 June 1934, Page 3

VALLENSTEIN STILL A MYSTERY

A METEORIC CAREER Three hundred years have, passed since Captain Devereux, with his Irish dragoons, put an inglorious end to the spectacular career of Wallenstein, the greatest ,of politico-military adventurers, at Cheb (Eger),'the old frontier «ity of Bohemia, says the ‘ Christian Science Monitor.’

: By his own Czech countrymen the great general.of the Thirty Years’ War is remembered, with mixed feelings. Wallenstein, or more properly Albert Eusebius Wencelas of Waldstein, was a scion of an ancient Bohemian family, who deceived the fondest hopes of the Bohemian exiles after the fatal battle of the White Mountain. It was in his power to change the course of Bohemian history. Twice he was offered the Bohemian Crown. But his. restless ambition and the base ingratitude of his Habsburg lord prevented his attaining it. His plans - remain dark, even to the historians of to-day. To ally himself with the Swedes and join his fellow-countrymen in their struggle against the Habsburg tyranny for the independence of their country would have required more*. determination than was in his power. Bike Hamlet, he was for ever temporising and postponing the decisive action until it was too late. His belief in astrology and acting on celestial omens may hatfe been partly responsible for his failure Though he saved the House of Habshurg in their" greatest distress and repeatedly defeated Bethlen’s Hungarian army, allied with the Turks against Vienna, Emperor Ferdinand 11. humiliatqd him and produced his ultimate overthrow. The fortress of Cheb, where he sought refuge, was held by two Scottish officers, Colonel Gordon and Major Leslie. His Irish Colonel Butler also turned against him, while Bevereux, also an Ir.simian, was the assassin whose halberd dealt the fatal blow. r Wr.idstein is always thought of as a brilliant general, a sort of Napoleon of the seventeenth century, and much has been written about his strategic principles. A thorough investigation of his many-sided activities, however, shows that it would be erroneous to see in him only a restless Machiavellian military genius to whom hundreds, knowing his generosity, flocked from every part of Europe. They settled like locusts on the helpless countries which he occupied. . There are features in his make-up that command respect and ingratiate him to the present generation, especially his desire for permanent peace and the spirit of toleration which ruled in his vast possessions much to the dismay of many of his contemporaries. In fact, he proved a model ruler of his estates. At Jiciu, in North-east Bohemia, where he built for himself a beautiful residence, he was absorbed in the practical details of the management of his principality of Friedland. He encouraged industry, farming, and cattle-breeding, built schools, _ and emS’ d the best architects. His magni-' palace in Prague, with its charming loggia and spacious garden, is the first building in that type of baroque which later gave Prague its individual character. . , . Waldstein’s meteoric career and puzzling personality/ have particularly appealed to dramatists. Schiller’s masterpiece, which was translated into English by Samuel Taylor Coleridge, is the most memorable.

In Czech there is a historical novel by J. Durych, which has attracted considerable attention, especially in Germany. Professor Joseph Pekar, of the Prague University, the leading authority on Waldstein, has tried in a bulky moiograph to disentangle the intricate negotiations that are connected with his alleged conspiracy. On the 300th anniversary of Waklstein’s passing, last February 25, Professor Pekar inaugurated a cycle of lectures on the Waldstein period which, together with an interesting exhibition of Waldstein relics, brought many students of Bohemian and European history to this city.