Page:Blackwood's Magazine volume 024.djvu/561

 BLACKWOOD'S

EDINBURGH MAGAZINE.

No. CXLV.

NOVEMBER, 1828.

VOL. XXIV.

THE DUELLISTS.

A TALE OF THE " THIRTY YEARS WAR.

WHILE Lower Saxony was oppress- ed and exhausted by the Austrian and Bavarian troops in the Thirty Years' War, the circle of Upper Saxony had been preserved for a considerable pe- riod from military outrage by the cau- tious or timid policy of the Elector, John George. At length the advance of the savage Tilly into his states, in consequence of his refusal to re- cede from the treaty of Leipzic ; and the successive captures of Merse- burg, Naumberg, and other places of strength, compelled- the Saxon prince to relinquish his temporizing policy, and to embrace the proffered alliance and protection of Gustavus Adolphus. This unexpected accession of strength determined the Swedish monarch to abandon the defensive system he had for some time pursued, and to advance immediately upon Leipzic, which had also opened" its gates to the Catholic general. At this dreadful crisis, when intelligence of the rapid advance of Til- ly had spread consternation through- out the Electorate, and the dread of Austrian barbarity overbalanced the hope of deliverance by the Swedes, I had been officiating several months as curate in the populous village of B. in Upper Saxony. The atrocious cruelty of Tilly at Magdeburg was still fresh in our recollection, and the consterna- tion of the villagers impelled them to seek relief from incessant and devout attendance at church. The bells were tolled hourly, and fervent prayers for

VOL. XXIV.

divine assistance were succeeded by the sublime hymns of Luther, while around the portrait of the immortal Reformer, large tapers were constant- ly burning, as before the altar of a saint.

One day, while the congregation was singing with fervent devotion the fine hymn, beginning, " The Lord is a tower of strength," the church door was abruptly thrown open, and a dusty courier, in the Electoral uniform, rush- ed into the middle aisle. Immediate- ly the organ ceased the singers were mute, and every head was turned in. anxious anticipation of some moment- ous intelligence. The stranger ad- vanced rapidly to the altar, ascended the steps, waved his hat thrice above his head, and exclaimed in tones of loud and thrilling energy " Rejoice, my dear fellow Christians, rejoice ! The brave Lutherans have conquer- ed the battle of Leipzic is fought and won 7000 Imperialists lie dead on the field Tilly has fled and the great Gustavus Adolphus and his army have returned thanks to God Almighty on their knees."

At this joyful and unexpected in- telligence every knee was bent, and every lip moved in thanksgiving ; the pealing organ put forth all its volume, and the assembled tillagers concluded the hymn with streaming eyes and grateful hearts.

About three weeks after this happy day, I was sitting alone in my humble 3Z