He was short in stature and remarkable
for his ugliness as well as his bravery. Lean and spare in figure,
he had hollow cheeks, a long nose, a broad wrinkled forehead, heavy
moustaches, and a sharp pointed chin. He had from his boyhood been
fighting against the Protestants. He had learned the art of war under
the cruel and pitiless Spanish general Alva in the Netherlands, of
which country he was a native, and had afterwards fought against
them in Bavaria, in Bohemia, and the Palatinate, and had served in
Hungary against the Turks.
Until he met Gustavus at Breitenfeld he had never known a reverse.
A bigoted Catholic, he had never hesitated at any act of cruelty
which might benefit the cause for which he fought, or strike terror
into the Protestants; and the singularity of his costume and the
ugliness of his appearance heightened the terror which his deeds
inspired among them. When not in armour his costume was modelled
upon that of the Duke of Alva, consisting of a slashed doublet of
green silk, with an enormously wide-brimmed and high conical hat
adorned with a large red ostrich feather. In his girdle he carried
a long dagger and a Toledo sword of immense length. His personal
bravery was famous, and never did he fight more gallantly than when
he led his veterans to the attack of the Swedes.
For twenty minutes a furious hand to hand conflict raged, and
the result was still uncertain when a shot from a falconet struck
Tilly on the knee and shattered the bone, and the old general fell
insensible to the ground.
Pages:
187
188
189
190
191
192
193
194
195
196
197
198
199
200
201
202
203
204
205
206
207
208
209
210
211