rulers were not on friendly terms. King George immediately sent a small army under the command of his son Victorin, himself promising to follow as soon as a larger army could be collected. The nobles responded to his call to send their quota of troops, so that in a few days the king followed with a force of 20,000. Victorin’s small force had been defeated; but when the rebels heard of the large army coming to the aid of the emperor, they became alarmed, and agreed to treat for peace.
The emperor was so grateful for his deliverance that he granted the Bohemian king a number of substantial favors, of which the most valuable at this time was his promise to intercede in his behalf at the Papal court. The two rulers then took leave of each other with many expressions of good-will. At the parting, the emperor was so deeply moved that he fell upon the neck of King George and wept.
True to his promise, Frederick immediately sent letters to Rome, telling the Pope of his deliverance, and begging him to be lenient in his treatment of a ruler to whom he was bound by so great a debt of gratitude.
When the Pope received the letter of the emperor, he broke forth in woeful lamentations. In his reply to Frederick he said:
“And thou, although thou didst bear thy fate manfully, hadst no hopes of deliverance except from the King of Bohemia! Was there no one but him to tame the mad Viennese, and help thee to regain thy liberty? Therefore thou dost beseech us that, though he be a heretic, we should refrain from punishing him according to the law? O unhappy age! O wretched Ger-
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