of Ferdinand, already known through his "Catholic Reformation" of Styria, had from the first alienated the nobles of Upper and Lower Austria against their new sovereign. In Vienna, where Ferdinand took up his residence after the death of his cousin Matthew, the presence of the sovereign, and of an armed force, restricted the revolutionary movement within limits. At Linz, however, the capital of Upper Austria, the Estates openly opposed the new ruler, under the leadership of the Baron of Starhemberg and of Tschernembl, the latter of whom appears to have been a man of exceptional ability. They entered into an alliance with the Bohemians, and Starhemberg entreated Thurn to march into Austria, where he said "he would be received as a Messiah." Thurn entered Lower Austria in May, and the news of his approach caused a panic among the Catholics of Vienna, while it greatly raised the hopes of the Protestants, who were in sympathy with the Bohemians. On June 5, the leaders of the Austrian Protestants were received in audience by Ferdinand. They demanded the assurance of full religious liberty, a considerable increase of the power of the Estates, and the sovereign's sanction to the alliance with the Estates of Bohemia which they had already concluded. The interview was at first a very stormy one. It is said that at the moment when the Protestants had become most menacing towards Ferdinand, they were reduced to subserviency by the sudden appearance of Dampierre's regiment in the court of the palace (the "Burg"). The arrival of this small reinforcement marks a turning-point in the fortunes of the campaign. It intimidated the Protestants of Vienna, who, as the State trials afterwards revealed, had intended to open the gates to Thurn's army. When that general appeared before Vienna the following night (June 6), contrary to his expectation he found the gates closed, and the fortifications held by troops, while no insurrectionary movement in the town took place. Ill provided with artillery, Thurn felt unable to undertake a regular siege, and he only remained in the neighbourhood of the city up to June 15. His return to Bohemia was precipitated by the news that Mansfeld's army had been signally defeated by the Imperialists under Bouquoi, at the village of Zablati in Southern Bohemia. Even after Thurn's return, Bouquoi continued his victorious advance, and was already menacing Prague. A mutiny which broke out among the Bohemian
