The Thirty Years' War - James Aitken Wylie

Magdeburg's heroic defense and tragic fall, let us
look at the man who was destined to be the chief
actor in the scenes of carnage about to ensue.
.Count von Tilly was born in Liege, of a noble
family. He received his military education in the
Netherlands, then the most famous school for
generals. By nature cold, of gloomy disposition,
and cherishing an austere but sincere bigotry, he
had served with equal zeal and ability in almost all
the wars of the period against Protestantism. His
sword had been drawn on the bloody fields of the
Low Countries; he had combated against the
Protestant armies in Hungary and Bohemia, and
when the wars came to an end in these countries,
because there were no more Protestants to slay, he
had been appointed to lead the armies of the
League. When Wallenstein was dismissed he was
made generalissimo of the Emperor Ferdinand, and
it is in this capacity that we now find him before
the walls of Magdeburg. Schiller has drawn his
personal appearance with the power of a master.
"His strange and terrific aspect," says he, "was in
unison with his character. Of low stature, thin, with
hollow cheeks, a long nose, a broad and wrinkled
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