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 WALLENSTEIN deposition. Gallas was made provisional com- mander-iii-chief, and letters patent were is- sued releasing all officers from obedience to Wallenstein. The proceedings were conducted with the utmost despatch and with perfect secrecy, and Gallas, Piccolomini, Aldringer, Colloredo, and the other leading officers were won over. On Feb. 19 Wallenstein issued orders to the heads of regiments to assemble at Prague, where he hoped to meet Arnim. But the commander at Prague, who had been secretly instructed by Gallas and Aldringer, published the news of Wallenstein's dismissal, and the garrison remained loyal. Other gar- risons did the same. All at once Wallenstein perceived that the army upon which he relied had failed him, and his plans had been thwart- ed. It was no longer a question of might with him, but of life and death. He set out for Eger, Feb. 22, accompanied by only a few troops and a few firm adherents, Terzky (or Trzka), How (or Illo), Kinsky, and Neumann. On the road he met Butler, colonel of a regi- ment of dragoons, and ordered him to join the party. Butler, already in communication with Piccolomini, obeyed reluctantly. Wallenstein reached Eger on Feb. 24. That same evening he informed Leslie, one of the officers of the garrison there, of his intention to remain and await the arrival of Bernhard of Weimar. The next morning Gordon, the commanding officer, Leslie, and Butler were invited by Ilow and Terzky to a conference, in which they were formally summoned to take sides with Wal- lenstein. They were in great perplexity. Les- lie and Gordon, Protestants and Scotchmen, felt themselves nevertheless bound by their oath to the emperor ; Butler was an Irish Cath- olic and opposed to Wallenstein. The three held a secret meeting. They could not flee without being derelict to their duty, they could not hope to make Wallenstein a captive ; every moment was precious, for Bernhard, who had been informed by Ilow of Wallenstein's flight and extremity, was on the way. In the heat of discussion Leslie uttered the decisive words : "Let us kill the traitors!" The resolve was promptly executed. Ilow, Terzky, Neumann, and Kinsky were invited by Gordon to a ban- quet that evening in the citadel. During the banquet the doors were thrown open, a com- pany of Butler's Irish dragoons armed with skenes were let in, and in a few moments the guests were massacred. An Irish captain, Dev- ereux, taking a few soldiers with him, pro- ceeded to the house where Wallenstein lodged, and burst into his apartments. Wallenstein, who had undressed for the night, was standing by the window. Devereux exclaimed, " Scoun- drel and traitor!" and without a word Wallen- stein opened his arms and received the fatal thrust of his halberd. The conduct of Wallen- stein has always been one of the vexed ques- tions of German history. Forster, especially in his " Wallenstein before the Tribunal of the World" (1844), endeavored to establish the WALLER 437 general's innocence. Upon the strength of his investigations, Count Waldstein-Wartenburg began a suit for the recovery of the estates which were confiscated at the general's death, but the claim was not sustained. Kanke has treated the question almost exhaustively, and in a spirit of perfect impartiality. Wallen- stein left a widow and one daughter, a girl of ten years, who married Count Kaunitz. F. Forster has edited Wallenstein's Briefe (3 vols., Berlin, 1828-'9). See also Hurter, GeschicJite Wallensteins (Schaffhausen, 1855), and Wallen- steins tier letzte Lebemjahre (Vienna, 1862); Ranke, GescMchte Wallensteins (Leipsic, 1869); Hart's edition of Schiller's " Wallenstein " (New York, 1875) ; andGindely, Neues uber Wallen- stein (1875-'6). ^ WALLER, a S. E. county of Texas, formed since the census of 1870 ; area, about 350 sq. m. It is bounded W. by the Brazos river. The surface is level or slightly undulating, and the soil is productive. It is traversed by the Houston and Texas Central railroad. Capital, Hempstead. WALLER, Edmund, an English poet, born at Coleshill, Hertfordshire, March 3, 1605, died at Beaconsfield, Buckinghamshire, Oct. 21, 1687. He was educated at Eton and Cam- bridge, and when only 18 years old was elected to parliament, of which he was a member for most of his life except between 1643 and 1661, holding a seat at the time of his death. In 1630 he married Miss Anna Banks, a London heiress. After the battle of Edgehill (1642) Waller was one of the commissioners who negotiated with the king at Oxford. On the exposure soon after of what is known as Wal- ler's plot, understood to have been a design to seize the government and capture the leaders of the parliamentary party, he made a confes- sion on the strength of which three of his as- sociates were hanged ; but he belittled his own share in the plot, begged piteously before par- liament for his life, and was let off with a fine of 10,000 and imprisonment for a year. He then went to France, but was permitted to return in 1653. The first edition of his poems appeared in 1645. In 1655 he addressed to Cromwell a poem entitled "A Panegyric to my Lord Protector, of the present Greatness and joint Interest of his Highness and this Nation." This was followed by a poem "On a War with Spain." On the death of Crom- well Waller wrote a poem bewailing that event, which in his works is immediately followed by a congratulatory ode to Charles II. He became a favorite in court and parliament, and was noted for his wit. A new edition of his poems appeared in 1664, and in 1690 a supple- mentary volume was published. WALLER, Sir William, an English general, born in 1597, died at Osterley Park, Middlesex, Sept. 19, 1668. He was educated at Oxford and at Paris, was knighted by Charles I., and in 1640 entered parliament. When hostilities broke out, having acquired military experience