And he did put his troops in motion: slowly,
Quite at his ease, and by the longest road
He traverses Bohemia; but ere ever
He hath once seen the enemy, faces round,
Breaks up the march, and takes to winter quarters.
WALLENSTEIN.
Of every necessary, every comfort.
The winter came. What thinks his Majesty
His troops are made of? An't we men? subjected
Like other men to wet, and cold, and all
The circumstances of necessity?
O miserable lot of the poor soldier!
Wherever he comes in, all flee before him,
And when he goes away, the general curse
Follows him on his rout. All must be seiz'd,
Nothing is given him. And compell'd to seize
From every man, he's every man's abhorrence.
Behold, here stand my Generals. Karaffa!
Count Deodate! Butler! Tell this man
How long the soldiers' pay is in arrears.
BUTLER.
WALLENSTEIN.
That constitutes the hireling's name and duties.
The soldier's pay is the soldier's covenant[1].
- ↑ The original is not translatable into English:
———Und sein sold
Muss dem soldaten werden, darnach heisst er.
