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 also joined the League, although it was contrary to the wishes of his nobles.

The League of Protestant princes, seeing these preparations, also began to collect troops to prevent Maximilian from invading Bohemia. But at the critical moment, the Spanish army, greatly re-enforced, threatened to invade the territory of the princes of the League from the Netherlands, which so alarmed them that they entered into a truce with Maximilian in such a way that Bohemia was not taken into consideration at all, and thus that prince was free to go on with his preparations for the intended invasion.

By the treacherous act of the princes of the Protestant League, Bohemia was left entirely alone, forsaken by all from whom she had reason to expect sympathy and assistance. This in itself was a grievous misfortune; but a still greater one was the fact that Frederick proved to be totally unfit for the position to which he had been chosen. He not only possessed no political insight, but knew not how to adapt himself to circumstances. Upon his arrival in the country he offended many of his best friends by a foolish partiality towards the Moravian Brethren, since their inclination to Calvinism was more in harmony with his own views than the creed of the Evangelicals. Much to the disgust of the people of Prague, he ordered all pictures, relics, and ornaments, to be removed from the cathedral, so that that magnificent church was transformed into a “meeting-house,” with walls as bare as those of a barn. The queen also caused not a little scandal by appearing with her court ladies at public receptions in gowns whose make was not regarded decent by the Bohemian ladies. The chief cause for