Some idea of the state of things may be gathered from the instance of Augsburg, which during its siege by the Imperialists was reduced from 70,000 to 10,000 inhabitants.

What happened to the great commercial city of the Fuggers was taking place on a scale greater or less, according to the district, all over German territory.

We read of towns and villages that were pillaged more than a dozen times in a year.

This terrific depopulation of the country, the reader may well understand, had vast results on its civilization.

The whole great structure of Mediaeval and Renaissance Germany--its literature, art, and social life--was in ruins.