Page:Catholic Encyclopedia, volume 15.djvu/601

 WALLON

539

WALMESLEY

if necessary, into Italy. In August the princes of the empire were able to secure his dismissal ; Wallen- stein accepted his removal without resistance.

After tliis his life was main])' a series of intrigues. His character, which had never been noble, now gave way completely. He was perhaps more embittered over the loss of Mecklenburg than over the loss of the rank of commanding general. As early as the spring of 1631 he negotiated through Bohemian refugees with Gustavus Adolphus; which side began the negotiations is a disputed point. When, after the battle of Breitenfeld, Gusta\'us Adolphus continued his campaign and the emperor in October appealed again to Wallenstein, the latter was willing to Usten to him but did not come to terms until April, 1632. The conditions of the agreement were such as to inevitably lead to new disputes. Wallenstein received the right to fiU aU positions in the army, to negotiate with foreign governments, and troops not under his command were not to be permitted in the empire by the im- perial party. From the first his aim was, in co- operation with the emperor, to draw away Sa.xony from alliance with the Swedes, but he did not attain his object. On 25 May, 1632, he again took Prague, then opposed his army to that of Gustavus Adolphus before Nuremberg; in September the Swedish king attacked him but was driven back. In order to force Gustavus to retreat Wallenstein advanced toward Saxony. On reaching the boundary of Bavaria, Ma.ximihan of Bavai'ia and his troops turned back, a loss which weakened Wallenstein's strength. On 16 November a battle was fought with the Swedes at Liitzen in Saxony. Wallenstein was not defeated, but neither was he the victor; and he suffered such heavy losses that he ceased operations. He con- tinued the war by means of diplomacj', and made one truce after another with Saxony. He only con- sented at the last moment that Spanish troops should be permitted to enter the empire to rescue Breisach, which protected the I'pper Rhine from the enemy, and permitted Ratisbon, a most important point, to Fall into the hands of I3emhard of Weimar in No- vember, 1633.

During this entire period he fought but one battle him.sclf, that at Steinau in Silesia, where in October he defeated the Swedish troops. He grew more and more involved in negotiations which finally led him into treason against the emperor. Sometimes he was engaged in negotiations with the Swedes, sometimes with Saxony against Sweden and the Habsburgs, and finally even with France. At one time he desired, by combining with the estates of the empire, to estab- lish peace. Probably the impelling force was largely the desire for revenge. His inactivity and double dealing brought the emperor into a position which might easily have become dangerous. In addition the Spanish ambassador at Vienna urged his removal. During these later years the Jesuits were opposed to him, and the army fell away from him. Prague and Pilsen deserted him and went over without a struggle to the emiuTor as .soon as the latter took the first measures against Wallenstein. His fate was goon decided. He was murdered at Eger by two Protestant Scotch officers and one Catholic Irish officer, all belonging to his own army.

Wallenstein's imi)ortanee as a general is a matter of disj)ute. lie was boastful, fond of display, and haughty; his bearing was striking. His preference w:!S for great undertakings jilanned on a large scale, and he had an extraordinary power of attraction both for officers and common soldiers. He was undoubt- edly a skilful strategist, and when he ventured a battle he wiis cool and vigorous. On the other hand, he carried on war very slowly, was often WTong in his estimate of his opponents, and frequently made fatal mistakes. He lacked almost entirely the most

important quaUty of all great commanders, the will to undertake decisive battles. He was greatly in- fluenced in his conduct by astrology. He proved himself an excellent ruler of the states which he formed, especially in Friedland and the Silesian Duchy of Sagan. Like most great conquerors he took much pleasure in affairs of state, was a very skilful poUtical economist, and did much to improve the civihzation of his territories. In his plans for education he worked with the Jesuits, of whom he was a large benefactor. Measured by the standards of his era he was indifferent in religion. To carry on politics and war for reUgious ends was distasteful to him. He intentionally gave many important positions in his army to Protestants. He showed much skill in diplomatic negotiations but finally by their means brought about his own fall.

At present the Bibliography of Wallenstein embraces some 2000 titles. Lists of them may be found in the Mitteilungen des Vereins ftir Geschichte der Deutschen in Bdhmen, beginning with XVII (1879). A very copious biography has been lately written by Hallwich, Geschichte Wallensleins (1910), III reaches the year 1625.

M. Spahn.

Wallon, Henri-Alexandre, historian and states- man, b. at Valenciennes (Nord), in 1812; d. at Paris, in 1904. FeUow of history and professor at the Lyc^e Louis le Grand, he was appointed (1840) master of conferences at the Ecole Normale, and, in 1846, Guizot's assistant at the Sorbonne. His work, " L'es- clavage dans les colonies" (1847), caused him to enter public life; he became assistant deputy for Guadeloupe at the Constituent Assembly and representative for the Department of the Nord at the Legislative Assem- bly (1849). But he resigned in 18.50 .when the law restricting suffrage was passed. Professor of history at the Sorbonne, a member of the Academy of Inscrip- tions (1850), prior to becoming its permanent secre- tary, he was in 1871 deputy from the Nord to the National Assembly, where he sat on the Right Centre. On 24 May, 1873, he voted against Thiers and the Broglie ministry. The attempted restoration of the monarchy having failed, Wallon allied himself with his friends on the Left Centre and to him was due the amendment which brought about the passage of the constitutional laws; hence he was jestingly called the "Father of the Republic". Asministerof pubUc instruction in Buffet's cabinet (March, 1875-March, 1876) he favoured the vote which secured liberty of higher education (26 July, 1875). Appointed senator for life at the end of the same year he henceforth defended Catholic interests in the Senate on the various occasions when they were under dis- cussion. Hewasdean of the Paris Faculty of Letters for eleven years (187(5-87). Of his works the follow- ing may be mentioned: "Du monotheisme chez les races semitique" (18.59); "Jeanne d'Arc" (1860); "La vie de J(5sus et son nouvel hi.sforien" (1864), a critical examination of Kenan's works; "Vie de Notre Seigneur J(5sus Christ" (1805); "La Ter- reur" (1873); "Saint Louis et son temps" (1875); "Les r(^presentants du peuple en mission et la justice revolutionnaire en I'an 11" (1889-90), wherein he exposes the violence and arbitrariness of the Jacobin tribunals.

Georges Bertrin.

Walmesley, Charles, Bishop of Rama, Vicar Apostolic of the Western District, England, b. 13 Jan., 1722; d. at Bath, England, 25 Nov., 1797. He was the fifthsonof John Walmesley of West wood House, Wigan, Lancashire; was educated at the English Benedictine College of St. ( iregory at Douai (now Downside Abbey, Bath); and made his profession as a Benedictine monk at the Engli.sh Monastery of St . Edmund, Paris, in 1739. Later he took the degroe of D.D. at the Sorbonne. His scientific attainments soon brought him into notice as an astronomer and mathematician. He was