The Pappenheimers : a novel

Part II. (continued.)

|THE DESTRUCTION OF MAGDEBURG.

VOL An: B

CHAPTER VII.

On the 18th of May, the whole of the general officers were assembled by Tilly at Westerhausen; the cannon, which for two days had thundered incessantly against the town, ceased firing; and from the towers of Magdeburg, the defenders saw it moved away on the side opposite Sudenburg. A faint hope enlivened the citizens. There were assembled Pappenheim, Mannsfeld, Vanderneers, Schonburg, Gronsfeld, the Duke of Holstein, Erwitte, Piccolomini, and Isolani. Holk also was present. ‘Tilly presented this latter with his commission as Major-

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General of cavalry, and in the most flattering terms named him to the command of the cavalry with the Imperial army. Silent and stern, as on a trial for life and death, the warrior chiefs seated themselves at a long table, covered with cloth. At the top was the Generalissimo, on his right Mannsfeld, on his left Pappenheim, the others according to their individual pleasure.

“T have summoned you hither, my experienced comrades,” begun Tilly, “ you to whom the Emperor and the Catholic League have intrusted their armies, to seek your opinion and counsel. How things stand in Magdeburg, ye know. The heretics defend themselves valiantly, in expectation of Swedish relief; their walls are strong, and no breach is yet effected ; their garrison, though weak, is gallant. The citizens fight for their hearths and for their erroneous faith. ‘The Margrave of Brandenburg fights for liberty and. life; and Falkenberg is an experienced captain and a valiant man. Ourarmy, by God’s grace, want nothing ; the regiments are complete and in good heart ; provisions in abundance; a sufficient artillery batters the walls, which, however, may possibly long withstand its efforts. On the 6th of this month the Swedish King was at Potsdam, a fishing village between Spandau and Brandenburg. Should he hasten his march, he may be the day after to-morrow, if not indeed to-morrow, on the Elbe, may pass at some point, and offer us battle, or storm the Zoll redoubt, place bridges, and so enter Magdeburg. Shall we, in this case, await him as we are? Should we, when he is over the Elbe, with the town in his rear, venture a battle, or retreat in face of the enemy, should he have won the Zoll redoubt, and so have entered Magdeburg ; or should we, to escape all this, venture a storm, and see if God will give the city into our hand before the Swedes approach to its relief? I request hereupon your open opinions. Let each speak according to his best knowledge and conviction, and not be shy of expressing his views. We all know each other. Let the head consider not the heart; for did we yield to that, it would assuredly lead us to the storm.”

He ceased and looked round the assembly, as if he could already read their opinions in their countenances before they spoke them. No one of the generals was willing to take the lead in expressing his opinion. Much as Pappenheim desired it, he remained silent; he wished to reserve himself, and at the last confirm and carry away with his ardour the minds of waverers.

“ Begin, Colonel Isolani,” said Tilly, breaking silence; “‘ you are a foreigner, therefore the lead is yours.”

“T consider the storm the best and shortest way,” said the Croat leader; “’tis the easiest road to our object.”

“Trust you indeed,” interrupted Mannsfeld ; “truly in the storm itself you Croats have but little hard work; but when it has succeeded, so much the more.”

Isolani would have replied, but was prevented by Tilly, who turned to Holk and requested him to state his opinion.

“After the remark of the noble Count Mannsfeld,” said he, “I have no voice as a general of cavalry ; for were the cavalry obliged to dismount, it would do no credit to the twenty-five thousand infantry who are before Magdeburg. However, if you will dismount my Reiters, give them halberds, and put me at

THE PAPPENHEIMERS. yi their head, I will vote for the storm; if it succeeds, the Swede is baffled and retires; if it fails, it will then be time enough to raise the siege, and choose a field where we may fight our foe.”

Tilly smiled, and signed to Erwitte to speak. This leader agreed with Holk. Piccolomini, who had only lately joined Tilly, spoke a great many words to little direct purpose. The General of artillery, Schénburg, begged them to consider the cannon, which, should they raise the siege, might be lost. The Duke of Holstein and Mannsfeld agreed in opinion, that, as soon as the approach of the Swedes was certainly known, they should raise the siege, collect around them the troops at present scattered in Lower Saxony and Westphalia, and then give battle to the enemy.

Count Gronsfeld remarked, “that if they considered as nothing the thousands that an unsuccessful storm would cost, they ought to consider what might be the tone of the army after such a misfortune, and what might be the difficulty of raismg the siege with dispirited troops, in the face of an enterprising enemy.

Besides this,’’ he concluded, “I know the war and the army ; there is a band among us who feel no honour in belonging to the Emperor or the League; who prize the name of Pappenheimers more than that of ther Emperor. I mean those Walloon regiments, and that of the General himself, mostly raised in Liege, who have already fought under his victorious banners on the Ems; and the cuirassiers of the League, who, with him at their head, regard themselves as invincible, have also taken his name, as if Pappenheim was their prince. Even when not under his immediate command, your own regiment, Octavio Piccolomini, was, when in Italy, proud to be reckoned among the Pappenheimers, and it is an old Imperial corps; for, Field- Marshal,” and here he turned towards Pappenheim, “you have won a war-like fame, each one of us would gladly, proudly share ; and I myself am proud to act under your command; but the spirit that breathes in the regiments—Wangler, Savelli, Ghelen, Erwitte, Pappenheim, Bongart, and Don Balthasar, has borrowed its fire from the furies, and glorious as it shines in the battle, is yet ruinous to the land. The first will they be upon the walls, by Heaven! and that I will warrant with my life; but once they get inside, they will slay and burn, and Magdeburg becomes a_ thing that was. What will it profit you then, Lieutenant-General ? You gain a heap of rubbish and—”’ he stopped.

‘And what further?” suggested Tilly.

“ What I would say hardly befits the counsel ; it belongs rather to my inward judge,” replied Count Gronsfeld, “and therefore permit me to be silent.”

“Count Gronsfeld,” now begun Pappenheim, with apparent calmness, “‘ you have honoured my name in your speech, and I thank you. It rejoices me that the regiments I have led to victory, still think upon their chief when I am far from them. You have accused the Pappenheimers, as you call them, of loose discipline. When the trumpets blare, and the drums beat to arms, then look around you; and will you not find them, ranged in their ranks, resolute to follow you? In the fight, order must prevail. After the bloody strife, the soldier must have licence, his courage is thereby confirmed ;—he

B 3 who dares death, must be allowed to enjoy life. As, however, regards the present position of things,” continued he, after a pause, “I say, storm to-morrow. As to your cannons and royals, General Feldzugmeister, let them be taken away, in God’s name. Go with them to Wolfenbiittel, and there you are safe for the present; for with pike and musket in our hands, we need here only ladders and courage. In broad daylight, say the sixth hour, let the work begin. The more audacious, so much the more will it astonish ; and the foe will be most taken unawares, by what is most unusual. Therefore, let us not, as is the custom, announce our coming by the cannon’s thunder ; let the regiments burst suddenly from the trenches, and hurry on, regardless what may be before them, or fall beside them ; then fill up the ditches, place the ladders, and with the war-cry, ‘Jesus Maria!’ to the walls, drive all before them. Let the town be given up to the soldiers. Let the heretics be rooted out with fire and sword : and, should they repulse the storm, try it again at mid-day, and continue it in the evening, till perseverance conquers.

THE PAPPENHEIMERS. WA,

“ Should, however,” he continued calmly, “ Heaven have determined otherwise, and refuse to crown our courage with success, then let us still press the siege, until the Swedes approach the Elbe; and if then you feel compelled to shun a fight, place me at the head of the seven thousand cavalry of the army, and by Heaven you shall retreat i peace, wherever you will. Attack the enemy, and the Pappenheimers shall show you that they know how to deserve their leader’s name. But,’ continued he more vehemently, ‘now, to raise the siege; now, when we have not even seen the foe, with the river still between us, and the Zoll redoubt in our hands, were but cowardice. And I am bold enough to declare openly, that should this be done, I would, in the face of all Germany, protest against a resolve, which must dishonour the men I see around me.”

“You are off the smooth track, Field-Marshal,” interrupted Tilly here with dignity, “ your ardour urges you too far. I merely desired you to state your own opinion, not to pass a judgment upon that of others.” He paused for an instant, and then turning to the assembly: “ After iby THE PAPPENHEIMERS.

having attentively listened, and maturely weighed your expressed opinions, I have resolved to-morrow at the break of day, under the protection of the Most High and of his saints, to venture the storm. You, Count Mannsfeld, with the regiments Lichtenstein, Viermont, and Brener, will storm the Heideck; the regiment Goetz and my own will support the attack. You, Count Pappenheim, assault the new work, the Kroken Thor, and the great gates; the regiments Wangler, Savelli, and Gronsfeld to storm ; Ghelen and Wahl, to remain in support. General Piccolomini will attack the dam on the Werder, from the Red Horn; the regiments Comargo and Renach, will support in boats. You, General Holk, will cover the different attacks with your cavalry; watch the Ulrich and Schrotdorf Thor, and support the Duke of Holstein, who with his own and your infantry regiments, will assault the two demi-lunes before the said gates. The Commissary-General will see that a distribution of the best Rhenish wine is made to the army, that the soldier may march to his work in good heart. Let the colonels of regiments excite their battalions to a valorous attack, and promise them, in my name, the plunder of the city, within whose walls they will find the treasures of kingdoms. And now, go and arrange all things; may Ged grant victory to the right, and then it will be ours.”

When the generals had withdrawn, Pappenheim once more returned.

“ Lieutenant-General,” said he, ardently extending his hand to Tilly, ‘“‘ you see me to-morrow on the walls of Magdeburg, or never more.”

_ All arrangements for the storm were made upon the information which was daily received.

Pappenheim was too well acquainted with the situation and internal service of the city, not to take his measures in proportion. To him, the morning when the citizens and soldiers, after the night watch, should have partly left the walls and crept to their quarters, appeared the fittest time; and that the regiments destined for the storm, should take post in the trenches before daybreak; those for support, were to conceal themselves behind the ruins of the Neustadt.

La Croix was informed of all. His last discourse with the General, in which the latter had plainly signified to him, by his simile concerning the “remnants from his table,” that he deemed him unworthy of Anna, had cut him deeper than all; but keeping his interest ever in view, and willing to sacrifice even his revenge for this, he now determined to leave the town to its fate, and to give them no intimation of their threatened danger. However, in the evening a rumour spread in camp that the Swedes had that morning entered Burg. The removal of the cannon from many of the batteries seemed to confirm this, and even the crafty La Croix was deceived.

“ Should the town be relieved, it may possibly advantage thee to have warned them.” Such were his thoughts, and accordingly a report reached the Administrator, through him, that the Imperial army was held in readiness to march on the morrow, before break of day, and no assault was contemplated, and they might therefore give themselves up to repose without anxiety. This information, which reached the Administrator late in the evening, coupled with the movements in the camp, which had been noticed from the towers, caused the warning of

La Croix, which was understood in an opposite sense, to be believed. All measures of defence were adopted. The citizens repaired to the walls in a body, and Falkenberg was everywhere present to conduct the arrangements. The magistrates, however, doubted the truth of these reports, as La Croix’s warnings had been found incorrect more than once; and besides this, a trumpeter of Tilly’s, with a summons, had been waiting at the council-house since the day before for an answer.

CHAPTER VIII.

In the dwelling of Moritz Trausdorf the days had, until now, passed in quiet uniformity. Hedwig had every day become more attached to the quiet life of this estimable family; and if she could not realise her mental idea of love in Moritz Trausdorf, she could not help prizing the young man who only seemed to live for her. When he this day bid her farewell, to go to his post near the high gate, he took a more affectionate leave than usual of his parents ; and what until now he had never ventured, he embraced Hedwig warmly, and as she looked up to him, he pressed the first kiss upon her lips. She suffered it with a blush, and even herself felt more softly disposed this day than usual.

It was astarlight night, not a breeze stirring ; deep quiet seemed spread over all nature, and yet all was busy activity. In the camp at Fermersleben, and Rothensee Wood, but few eyes were closed. Here sat the wild companions at their revels, to enjoy, perhaps, the last drops of life. There were wild distorted faces round a drum, by the light of a pine-torch, while the dice rattled and fell to the luck of some, to the loss of others. He who won was pleased ; he who lost comforted himself with the hope of booty on the morrow, and borrowed money on the credit of the “ Magdeburg Bridal” (as the soldiers named beforehand the coming day) from his comrade, in order to try his fortune once more. In the solitary tent of the fieldchaplain, some few devout sinners knelt and confessed, whilst there were old veterans who sharpened their halberds and cleaned their muskets. But few slept, for the night was short, the coming day full of fate; and even before it dawned, they were already drawn up at their appointed posts. The officers had assembled in their colonels’ tents, to receive the necessary orders for the day. They also caroused, and seemed to wish to enjoy in full measure the last moments of life which they could certainly call their own.

Totally different was it in the town. In the houses all seemed as if dead. There was only to be heard the low murmuring of prayer of old people, women and children, who were left at home. Everywhere anxiety was impressed on every face ; each dreaded the coming morning. But rarely did a footstep sound upon the streets, and only here and there was heard the hooftread of a galloping horse. On the walls, however, there was more life, but not like that in the stirring camp.

Earnest, the anxious glance directed to the coming day, reposed citizens and soldiers silently behind the parapet; only a few spoke to each other. What, indeed, had they to communicate? There was too little to hope for, too much to dread. Here and there neighbours and friends had assembled together, and were speaking serious words, commending their famihes reciprocally to each other, if fate should strike them in the coming day, strengthening themselves in the trust that God would be favourable to the faithful. The soldiers, less happy than their brothers in the camp, pinched with want, indignant at the unfeeling conduct of the citizens, found in their honour and duty alone the spur to awaken their courage for the dawning day. Their leader went from post to post encouraging them; and Falkenberg, when he visited the posts, must, by his calmness, have given hope even to the timid.

The clocks of the cathedral chimed the hour of midnight. All was still. At times a loud cry of jubilee echoed over from the camp; such, however, they were accustomed to hear nightly. The day drew ever nearer, and with it the decisive hour, and yet stiller and stiller it became upon the walls and in the camp. Dawn now began to show itself in the east, and the tents showed like a waving sea. Objects became more and more distinct, till everything could be plainly discerned. The first beams of the sun greeted the young day. All was yet still in the camp. It was now past four o’clock, when, in the battery opposite the Heideck, movements were noticed.

Falkenberg, who was on the spot, observed that the enemy were removing their last guns. This confirmed him more in the belief that his King was approaching, and that the cautious Tilly was about to raise the siege. He hastened to the court-house, where the magistrates were assembled, to announce this, and to dispatch the trumpeter, already two days detained, with an answer to the camp. When it was five o'clock, and still no movement was visible in the enemy’s camp, the citizens gave themselves up to the belief that the danger for the day was over, and went home to get some rest. The few who remained behind, wearied with watching, slept carelessly on the ramparts, without a foreboding of their terrible awaking. Pappenheim, who had already in the past days pushed his trenches as far as the new work, had prepared all things in readiness for the storm during the night, and impatiently awaited the day; when an officer, it might be at the twelfth hour, summoned him to Olvenstadt, where Tilly had again assembled the generals in council. The resolve which had been adopted, perhaps rashly, had been shaken by the doubts of a successful issue, expressed later by Mannsfeld and Piccolomini; and, perhaps also only in case of the worst, to have done all that caution counselled, did Tilly once more desire the opinions of his captains; and he found them, now that all preparations had been made, more inclined to the storm than on the preceding day, for the courage and desire of combat among the soldiers had given full confidence to the leaders.

“ Lieutenant-General,” exclaimed Pappenheim, after Tilly had once more expressed his doubts, “if you will not venture the storm with an army of thirty thousand men, allow me at least to head my own regiment, and show you what boldness can do. When my standard waves upon the wall, then let the rest follow me. All is arranged ; my bands wait but the word forward ; and were I not to give it, but creep back into my entrenchments, [ do believe my name would never again be sounded by their lips.”

“Well then, my valiant comrade,” said Tilly, who seemed to have expected this, “ be it so. The first cannon-shot from the great battery, by Heideck, be the signal for attack, and Pappenheim the first upon the wall.”

“As God will,” replied he; “ and now, comrades, to the work.”

He returned from Olvenstadt without having seen Anna.

The clocks had not yet struck six, when the sentinels on Jacob’s Tower, and on the cathedral top announced that the enemy was in full movement, and advancing from the camp against the town, and posting himself behind the ruins of the Sudenburg and Neustadt, and in the trenches.

Falkenberg, with his accustomed coolness, merely said to this, “ Let them come,” and continued his address to the magistrates, exhorting them to a valiant resistance.

Six half royals thundered out from Pappenheim’s chief battery. He, to whom the expected signal from Tilly was too long delayed, sounded the note of death by his own command, and rushed forth from the trenches at the head of Don Balthasar’s dismounted cuirassiers, and the regiment of Savelli fell upon some fifteen soldiers who were in the Faussebraye, pushed irresistibly forward, and mounted the rampart, where he took by surprise the soldiers of the

THE PAPPENHEIMERS. Ds

Margrave, who were busied with their devotions. They retreated without resistance through a narrow wicket to the bulwark. Pappenheim followed, pushed in along with them, mastered the place, and advanced through the Faussebraye into the town.

Another attack, led by Gronsfeld, upon the great gates, was equally successful. He found the sentinels asleep, soon overpowered the few soldiers, and conquered the work. Now for the first time the alarm bell sounded, and announced its fearful fate to the town. <A band of Croats, who had crossed over a shallow part of the Elbe, find the Elbe-Thor open, press in and plunder the fishermen’s huts.

All seize their arms. Falkenberg draws together some companies of Lieutenant-Colonel Frost’s about him, collects the artizans, and the scattered soldiers, and advances towards the side of the new work. The victorious enemy here presses to meet him in the streets, and a murderous conflict begins. The Magdeburgers fight with desperation—for life and goods, for wife and children, for their faith—and it strengthens their courage.

Pappenheim sees his soldiers fly. They are driven under the wall, and hundreds of dead cover it. Once more fortune appears to smile upon the ill-fated city, and then hides her head with the dark veil of destiny. Five hundred cuirassiers have meanwhile entered over the wall where Pappenheim had smoothed the way. The Magdeburgers stagger. Falkenberg encourages them, and leads them once more against their steel-clad foes; he falls, pierced by a bullet, worthy of his King. Lieutenant-Colonel Frost also falls. Deprived of their leaders, deserted by the artizans, the soldiers lose courage, and draw back fighting. The enemy pursue the fugitives as far as the Lackenmacher Strasse ; here is found Colonel Uslar with the cavalry and reserve. ‘The beaten soldiers man themselves afresh, and the fight is renewed. In some houses over the high gate some of the fugitives have collected themselves, and defend themselves vigorously. Then Pappenheim shouts out the terrible order, “ Fire it,’ and the Walloons, Colonel Bredau at their head, toss the firebrands into the deserted houses; the wind carries the flames on its rushing wings over the once-flourishing city.

Uslar and his band are beaten back, then

Captain Smith, the last of their valiant leaders, collects such of the soldiers and citizens as he can still move to fight, and with the cry “ For our faith !” rushes on devoting himself to death, and a new and terrible contest begins; the enemy are again forced back over the Thranenbach, even to the walls; thence Pappenheim’s regiment rushes on them, and the little band, who had devoted themselves to death, with their leader, here found it. They fell. Not one fled. Meantime Mannsfeld had attacked the Heideck, and the Duke of Holstein the halfmoon, without success. The Administrator defended himself with desperation; on the side of the morass, also, Piccolomini failed to force an entrance; but what did it profit these brave men? Through the Kréken Thor, Pappenheim’s cuirassiers marched in with trumpets sounding. Resistance was no longer thought of. All fled, pursued by the foe, and the flames, which the north wind drove from street to street; every one sought his house once more to see his family and to die. The defenders of the Heideck, now attacked from the city side, gave in ; the Administrator was taken, VOL. II. c and at the Sudenburg Thor alone did the fight continue. Pappenheim halted on the wall by the high gate; from this point the soldiery poured in-a stream of wild fury over the town, where the cries of the murdered, the prayer for help of women and maidens, the cry of victory— “ Allis won! all is won!” resounded mingled through the streets; the fire raged; the smoke rose curling into the air; here and there still thundered a royal amidst the crack of musketry and the groans of dying men. Pappenheim stood motionless gazing upon the spectacle, then suddenly exclaimed :

“My work—my work!” but if there was any exultation in this word, it died in a shudder as it passed his lips. “ Faith, faith !” said he in hollow tones, staring gloomily into the flames; ‘‘strengthen me, for awful is the judgment which I execute in thy name; terrible were it, indeed, should I be called to a reckoning therefore. What means this look ?” said he, turning suddenly upon Hohendorf, who was regarding him with sympathising and compassionate looks. “Why look ye thus on me? as if these flames touched me; as if nwo

THE PAPPENHEIMERS. 7 these cries of wailing and lamentation echoed over me alone. I am but an instrument of the Lord, and whilst I bear the sword of the Church, I wrestle for the wreath, which death cannot rob me of—the wreath of immortality.”

“There you are right,’ said Hohendorf, well nigh with bitterness; “no one will ever call to mind Magdeburg’s destruction without also naming you ; history will record it, and—”

Here Gronsfeld approached.

“Now, Field-Marshal,” said he, “the Pappenheimers’ torch is alight. Shall not German magnanimity quench the fires kindled by the Walloons ?”

Pappenheim spoke not.

“My Lord Field-Marshal, this fine town is becoming a heap of ashes,” continued Gronsfeld.

“T can no longer command the flames or restrain the soldiers’ fury, once let loose,” answered Pappenheim, darkly.

“Then JI have done my duty, and have but to obey,” said Gronsfeld; and he returned to his regiment, which stood in array upon the wall.

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CHAPTER IX.

WHILE Pappenheim still gazed meditating over the burning city, Hohendorf followed with his eyes the flames, which just now reached the court-house, and an anxious thought of Hedwig struck him. La Croix had been going to and fro upon the walls, amusing himself by regarding the wounded and the dead; suddenly he cried out :

“Come here, Rittmeister, here lies an old acquaintance of yours, see.”

Hohendorf hastened to him. A young man whose heart had been pierced with a partizan, lay in his blood, his sinking eye occasionally looking up.

“Who is the man?” asked Hohendorf. “I know him not.”

“Moritz Trausdorf,” replied La Croix, “ who does you the pleasure to depart.” At these words, Hohendorf stooped over the wounded man.

“Call a surgeon,” he besought La Croix.

“Trouble in vain, Hohendorf,’ returned the latter.

“ Hohendorf,” cried the wounded man, as with his latest strength he raised his head, and regarded him fixedly with his glazing eye, “are you the noble friend of my betrothed ? Oh, rescue Hedwig! at the Broadway—the corner by the cathedral,’ gasped he. His head sunk back and his eyes closed.

“Stay by him, La Croix,” begged Hohendorf. He hastened to Pappenheim, and said eagerly :

“Until now duty has detained me with you, but now I may no longer tarry, for I know where to find her. Permit me to perform one work of mercy, and rescue Hedwig ?”

“Go !” said Pappenheim, scarcely heeding him.

Hohendorf mounted his horse, and forced the snorting animal over burning houses and through flames, closing his ears to many a cry of woe, and his eyes to the spectacle of inhuman fury around ; he pressed on with a loose rein to the Broadway ; pushed his way through ° the crowd of soldiers, and halted at the corner of the Stein-Strasse, before a house which seemed to be the right one. The fury of the soldiers had not yet penetrated to this, and there was still fighting at the Sudenburg Gate. He sprung from his horse, and an old maidservant fell upon her knees before him.

“Ts this Trausdorf’s house?” cried he hastily.

“Yes, Sir,” said she, trembling.

“Where is Hedwig,” exclaimed he.

“She has left the house with the old people. God only knows whither they have fled !”

“Then is she lost!” cried Hohendorf, bitterly ; “and I, miserable that I am, can do nought to save her !”

And now the savage bands poured in over the Broadway ; they were the Pappenheimers and Isolani’s Croats. They rushed together into the houses, and the cries for mercy began afresh. The fight at the Sudenburg was at an end, and now Mannsfeld’s bands rushed in from thence. Hohendorf dashed up to a crowd which was advancing with wild jubilee. It was a part of Pappenheim’s regiment.

“Who among you,” cried he, “ will volunteer to protect his General’s quarters ?—he shall not thereby lose his share of booty.” An ensign stepped forward; a sergeant and seven privates gathered round his colours—old grizzly warriors, who would have sacrificed blood and life for their commander, and why not booty also. They followed Hohendorf; advanced before Trausdorf’s house; planted their flag at the door; two pikemen kept watch, and the rest lay down in the entrances. The old woman brought wine and provisions in abundance.