"It is for your sake, for the defence of the gospel, that I have left my peaceful native land and have come to these disturbed countries. It is for this cause I have sacrificed the resources of my poor subjects, their blood, exposed my life and renounced domestic happiness. I shall do all that the grace of God will give me strength to do. On your side, learn to suffer for a short time if it is necessary for our holy cause. Remain faithful to it. God will bless you. He will increase your city and make it prosperous, and your renown will spread everywhere. Let us together praise, magnify and glorify God here on earth, and in heaven forever."
After dinner the king left the city amid the enthusiastic admiration of the people. His pictures were scattered throughout the country, poems were written wherein he was likened to Moses, to Joshua, to Gideon, to David, and even to Judas Maccabeus, the deliverer of his nation, showing, at least, that the people knew well their Bible history.
The signal for Gustavus to leave that part of the country was the sudden advance of Tilly against Gustavus Horn, one of the Swedish generals. Tilly compelled General Horn to evacuate the bishopric of Bamberg. Gustavus pursued the Imperialists into Bavaria, forced the passage of the Danube at Donauwörth, where Tilly's forces retreated under a galling artillery fire from the Swedish batteries. The conquest of Donauwörth made the king controller of the Danube, and only the small River Lech kept him from the States of Maximilian, who seems to have been about all that was left of the Catholic League.
The Lech is usually a small stream, but the melting snow in the Tyrol mountains had made it a raging torrent. Tilly's forces were in a strongly fortified camp protected by this roaring current, so that the position was impregnable. The armies were within speaking distance of each other. As the king rode along the bank he called to the sentinel on the opposite side, "Good morning, sir. Where is old Tilly?" "Praise God, he is in his quarters at Main," said the man, then added, "Where is the king, comrade?" "He is in his quarters, too," said Gustavus. "What! you don't mean to say he has got any quarters, do you?" "Oh, yes. Come over here yourself and you shall have excellent quarters."
It was just that spirit of humor which endeared Gustavus to his polyglot army. Gustavus rode up and down the bank reconnoitering. He soon observed that the side on which his army was located was considerably higher than the other side, so he arranged three batteries with seventy-two field pieces, keeping up a ruinous cross fire on the Bavarians. While this was going on the king's army built a bridge across the Lech. They kept the Bavarians very busy on account of the destructive fire of the artillery, and they made a great smoke with wet straw and wet wood so that their work was concealed for some time from General Tilly. Gustavus fired over sixty guns with his own hands and seemed to be everywhere among his men cheering and directing them. General Tilly, though a much older man, would not leave the opposite bank of the river; no danger from that cross fire could drive him from his post, and there he was mortally wounded and carried from the field. The Bavarians gave way and the dying Tilly advised Maximilian to retreat. So before a single one of Gustavus' army had crossed the river Maximilian broke camp and retreated to Neuburg and to Ingolstadt.
When Gustavus arrived in their vacated camp he said, "Had I been a Bavarian, though a cannon ball had carried away my beard and chin, never would I have abandoned a position like this and laid open my territory to my enemies." Gustavus could now have gone through Bavaria, but he greatly desired to relieve Augsburg, whose very name is dear to the Protestant world. He entered Augsburg on April 14th, 1632, and found every Protestant church closed. He found that the Edict of Restitution had here been enforced with great severity, its administration had been entrusted to a most bigoted Catholic, and the Protestants had been outraged in their feelings in the birthplace of their confession of faith. The King expelled the Bavarian soldiers and put Protestant magistrates in command of the city.
Then Gustavus, his staff and leading officers, went to Saint Ann's Church, which with many others he restored to the Protestant faith. His chaplain, Dr. Fabricus, preached from Ps. 12:5—"For the oppression of the poor, for the sighing of the needy, now will I arise, saith the Lord. I will set him in safety from him that puffeth at him." The citizens were filled with emotion as they sang again the songs of Zion. Dr. Fabricus gave thanks for their great deliverance, and the whole congregation chanted the words of the psalms—"Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all His benefits." "The Lord executeth righteousness and judgment for all that are oppressed."
The citizens spent several days in rejoicing, but Gustavus felt that he must follow up the pursuit of the Bavarian army, and did not stay longer to assist in celebrating their deliverance.
CHAPTER XI.
GUSTAVUS IN GERMANY.—CONCLUDED.
Gustavus seemed to have had all Catholic Europe to fight. While on the Rhine he wrote home: "We have unexpectedly fallen into collision with the arms of the Spaniards," who were in the pay of Maximilian of Bavaria and not that of Spain. He wonders if he shall be obliged to declare war against Spain. He fervently hoped not, as he has just heard that Richelieu is sending a large force of soldiers to help Austria, but he urges them at home to look to the sea coast, particularly Gottenburg. At the Council of State held at Menz, December 31st, 1631, the king had said: "The king of Denmark has publicly spoken of the Spanish designs, and that Farensbach had come to Dunkirk and offered, if he could get ships, to take Gottenburg." The Swedish cabinet sent a military force for the protection of that city.