Page:History of the Thirty Years' War - Gindely - Volume 1.djvu/95

 forced the Royal Charter from Rudolph II., and demanded also an amnesty for their revolutionary acts, the desired paper was prepared and all the Catholic officials, except Slawata and Martinitz signed it, and they persisted in refusing their signatures. At this point Wenceslas von Budowec protested, in behalf of all the Protestants, against this conduct, and declared: “If ever in the future the Royal Patent should be violated, the Estates would be forced to the suspicion that these two men were the cause of such violation, and nothing should hinder them from defending with their lives their rights against all violation.” Then followed Paul von R&#771;ic&#771;anŘíčan [sic] with the reading of a declaration which he had drafted beforehand, closing with the words: “That Slawata and Martinitz are to be regarded as violators of the Royal Charter and enemies of the commonwealth, putting finally the question to his friends whether this were also their opinion. A unanimous cry affirmed the question, with which were mingled terms of regret that the “Long One” —that is, the Chancellor, who was then sojourning in Vienna—was not within their reach.

Thus were Slawata and Martinitz declared enemies of their country, and without the protection of its laws, and the execution of the sentence was not to be long delayed. In vain besought the chief Burggrave the exasperated Estates with tears in his eyes that they would still not do what might be followed by serious consequences. As most of those he saw were related to him, he entreated their aid by the ties of blood. Fels, however, seized him by the arm and bade him leave the place, if he would escape the fate of the condemned, and William von Lobko-