226 Wallenstein
Breuner’s message made no difference to his intentions, ‘which I have
previously set out to you and my field marshal Count Piccolomini’ and
which he was to endeavour ‘to effect safely in the one way or the other,
and as soon as possible’.^13
Those two, however, were taking no risks. They had been wary of
mounting an attack on Pilsen while Wallenstein was still there, and even
though they knew of his flight and his destination on the Wednesday
afternoon it was not until Friday 24 February, the day upon which
Wallenstein eventually reached Eger, that Piccolomini and his 3000
cavalry arrived in Pilsen. Even then they made no attempt at pursuit,
relying on Gordon to close Eger’s gates to prevent Wallenstein from occu-
pying the town. Hence they expected him to pass it by, escaping from
Bohemia into safer territory where he could join up with the Saxons or
Swedes. Gallas was greatly angered to learn later that Wallenstein had
been admitted to Eger, which presented the threat that he might hold
it as a bridgehead in Bohemia until the enemy advanced to his assist-
ance. There was little that Gallas could do about it other than send out
light cavalry to harass any approaching reinforcements, apologetically
reporting to the emperor that nothing could be undertaken against Eger
without artillery, ‘and in the present bad weather it is not possible to
move up a single gun’.^14
On the morning of the last day of the journey to Eger a large part
of Wallenstein’s original escort, 500 cavalry from the regiment of
Duke Heinrich Julius of Saxe-Lauenburg, yet another brother of Franz
Albrecht, suddenly rode off in response to an order sent by their colonel.
Butler could have done likewise but chose to stay, sitting part of the
way with Wallenstein, according to Taafe’s account, and receiving flat-
tering offers for the future from him as a reward for his loyalty. Before
reaching Eger Wallenstein sent for Major Walter Leslie, another Scot and
second-in-command of Gordon’s garrison regiment. He too, so he said,
was invited to travel and talk with Wallenstein so that the latter could
attempt to win him over to his plans, but both of these reports are sus-
pect in view of the two officers’ parts in Wallenstein’s murder, and their
subsequent efforts to maximise their rewards from the emperor.
The same problem applies to all accounts of the remaining days of
Wallenstein’s life, as apart from peripheral details the only sources for
the events in Eger are Butler, Gordon and Leslie, together perhaps with
Macdaniel, one of Butler’s officers. Leslie’s written account appears
to be his own, Gordon’s was edited and amended by someone, prob-
ably Piccolomini, while Butler’s depends mainly on a letter written by
Taafe nineteen years later.^ There are also references in the Itinerarium