blond hair and beard, sharp blue eyes, full lips, rosy cheeks and a
fine frame. He was fond of costly garments, and the styles of his
day were becoming to him. Gustavus was of an amiable and cheerful
disposition, although of a quick temper. He had a rare gift of winning
the goodwill and confidence of all classes by addressing everybody
according to their compass of intellect and conversation. He was fond
of music, and played and sang. The lute was his favorite instrument,
which he liked to play in his evenings of solitude. Gustavus possessed
a rare intellect and a remarkable memory. Well aware of his own
weakness to give way to his quick temper, he generally postponed
all decisive action in matters of importance until sure of his full
power of discernment. He was not a brilliant genius, but a typical
prince of the Renaissance epoch, never afraid of taking action in
instances without a precedence, or of the consequences of his actions.
His letters and addresses evince an unusual degree of common sense,
clothed in a language of manly vigor, terseness and humor, and are
fine specimens of the modern Swedish, such as it meets us in this its
period of rejuvenation, brought about by the spirit of the Reformation.
There is something in the oral and literary eloquence of Gustavus Vasa
which makes it easy to believe that he was a descendant of Birgitta.
Gustavus did not possess the fine erudition of his sons, who were
considered to be men of learning in their time, for he early left
his university studies for the court and the war; but he was able
to pass such good opinions upon subjects of art and science that he
astonished many who had made these a special study. He had the power of
recognizing people whose faces he once had noticed after ten to twenty
years of absence, and was also skilled in divining what character dwelt
behind every face. What he once heard he never forgot. Where he had
travelled once he could never mistake the road, and knew not only the
names of the villages but also the names of the peasants whom he had
met. His life was led by the unswaying principles of an earnest piety
and high morals. His nephew, Peter Brahe the Elder, who in a chronicle
has given the above picture of Gustavus Vasa, adds: “_In summa_, God
had bequeathed him, above others, with great ability, high intellect
and many princely virtues, so that he was well worthy of carrying
sceptre and crown. For he was not only sagacious and kind above others,
but also manly and able. He was sharp and just in passing sentences, in
many cases being charitable and merciful.”

The royal court was characterized by a joyous and elevated spirit.
Every day after dinner all the courtiers collected in the dancing hall.
The lady of ceremonies then entered with the ladies of the court, and
the royal musicians dispensed music for dancing. Every other or third
day the king went out hunting or horseback riding with the gentlemen
and ladies of his court. The youths of the nobility once a week held
exhibitions of fencing and other knightly sport, the king taking an
interested and active part. Those who excelled received prizes in the
form of rings of gold or chaplets of pearls and led the dance of the
evening.

Gustavus I. was three times married. His first consort was young
neurotic Catherine, princess of Saxony-Lauenburg, whom he married while
the “Revolt of the Bells” was going on in Dalecarlia, and who died four
years later, leaving him a son, Eric, of her own hysteric temperament.
Shortly after the death of Catherine, the king married a young lady
of the highest Swedish nobility, Margaret Leijonhufvud, with whom
he lived in a long and happy union, ended by her death in 1551, and
blessed by ten children, among whom the sons John, Magnus and Charles.
Lady Margaret had been in love with the oldest son of Christine
Gyllenstierna, Svante Sture, whom she renounced, and who married her
younger sister Martha. Queen Margaret was a tender and high-minded
woman, who won the love and absolute confidence of her royal consort,
on whose quick temper she exerted a quieting influence, comforting him
in hours of trouble and distress. She preserved as queen the plain and
severe habits of her youth, having a personal superintendence over
the dairies of the royal castles, especially those of Gripsholm and
Svartsjœ. She was interested in brewing, baking and other household
affairs, often making with her own hands the clothes of her children.
When the king referred to Queen Margaret, he always called her “our
dear mistress of the house.” The king remained a nobleman of his day
in the purple. Royal splendor was displayed on great occasions only.
Simplicity was the principle of every-day life. When entertaining his
friends, the king took great pains to please and arranged many details
himself. Upon one occasion of this kind at Gripsholm, Queen Margaret
carried in the sweetmeats and cookies, while the king served the wine
and asked his guests to be glad and make merry.

Queen Margaret was suddenly taken ill while partaking in a pleasure
trip on Lake Mælar, and died in 1551, after a touching farewell to her
consort. In the following year the king married the young Catherine
Stenbock, a daughter of Gustavus Stenbock, an intimate friend to the
king, and Lady Brita Leijonhufvud, a sister of Queen Margaret. In the
lives and fate of Catherine and Margaret there are several remarkable
coincidences. Like Queen Margaret, Catherine was secretly in love with
some one else when the royal proposal was made. Strange enough the
object of Catherine’s secret affection was, like Margaret’s, a son of
Christine Gyllenstierna, Gustavus Johnsson Tre Rosor. This young man
was the grandson of conceited Ture Jœnsson and the son of able John
Turesson, the second consort of Christine Gyllenstierna. The family
name was Tre Rosor, after the coat-of-arms, which consisted of three
roses. As her aunt Margaret must renounce the hero of her dreams, so
also Catherine. Like his half-brother, Svante Sture, Gustavus Tre Rosor
married the sister of his first love, and this marriage, like that of
Svante, turned out a happy one. There was a last coincidence in the
life of the two queens. When Margaret heard that the royal sponsor
was coming, she knew his errand and concealed herself in an oak chest
in a distant part of the castle of Ekeberg. Catherine, upon a similar
occasion, ran down in the gardens of Torpa and hid herself behind a
bush. The third marriage of the king was a happy one, in spite of the
great difference in years between the consorts. The clergy tried to
raise objections, holding that Gustavus and Catherine were too nearly
related to make the marriage a legal one. After some severe pressure
these objections were finally dropped.

Queen Catherine thus expressed the state of her feelings after her
marriage: “Gustavus is dear to me, but I shall never forget the Rose.”

The king gave scrupulous attention to the education of his children.
They were brought up in simplicity and sternness, but received a
manifold training and a great amount of instruction. While they were
studying at Upsala, hams and butter were sent them from the royal
estates to make part of their breakfasts and suppers. In spite of these
patriarchal endeavors, Eric and John grew up to be typical Renaissance
princes, fond of extravagance and luxury. The king wrote once to Duke
Magnus: “Our dear Lady Catherine sends thee five shirts which thou
must bear in mind to take good care of; _item_, to keep thy head clean
and not ride or run too much.” When his sons grew older, King Gustavus
used to admonish them orally before the hearth or at the table, or by
letters. His wise counsel recalls the terse and sharp advice of Havamal
in the Edda: “Ye shall weigh all matters carefully, perform them
quickly and stand by it, putting nothing off to the morrow; counsel
not followed up in due time is like clouds without rain in times of
dearth.” “To speak once and stand by it, is better than to talk one
hundred times.” “Surround ye ever with able men of pure living; one
shall believe of ye what one knows about them.” Duke Eric early caused
him trouble by stubbornness, defiance and vanity. Duke John, the
oldest child of Queen Margaret, long remained his favorite, but ended
by causing him grief through disobedience and secret conspiracy with
Eric. In his old age, King Gustavus suffered through failing health
and melancholy. He complained because the fate of his country seemed
uncertain on account of the unstability of his sons, and because his
old friends, like John Turesson and Christine Gyllenstierna, passed
away before him, leaving him alone in the world.

When King Gustavus felt that the end was drawing near, he sent word to
the four Estates or representative classes of the country, the nobles,
clergymen, burghers and yeomen, to meet him at Stockholm around the
Midsummer of 1560. He made known to the Estates his will, which his
sons pledged themselves by oath to fulfil. Eric should inherit the
crown, according to the will, but the three other sons were to receive
duchies which they should govern with a good deal of authority. It
became evident that the king had taken pains to provide liberally for
his sons. But it appears as if he intended to make them all responsible
in the maintenance of the work of their father, by distributing the
power between them.

When the Estates had collected in the hall of state the old monarch
entered with his sons. After greeting those present he delivered his
farewell address:

“I respect the power of God, which with me has reinstalled the ancient
royal line on the throne of Sweden. Ye have without doubt learned,
and those of you who are somewhat advanced in years have seen for
yourselves, how our dear fatherland, already for ages in distress and
misery through foreign lordship, at last suffered the same through
the grim despot King Christian, and how it pleased God to liberate us
from this tyranny through me. For this it behooves us, high and low,
master and servant, old and young, never to forget that same divine
help. For what of a man was I to set myself against a mighty king,
who not only ruled three kingdoms, but who also was related to the
powerful emperor Charles V. and the noble princes of Germany. But God
has performed the work, made me the worker of his miracle, and been my
help and comfort during a reign of forty years, the cares of which have
hastened me on with gray hairs to the grave. Forsooth, I could liken
myself to King David,” and the tears came to his eyes, “whom God from
a shepherd made to a reigning king over his people. I could not divine
that glory, when I in woods and desert fells must needs conceal myself
from the bloodthirsty swords of my enemies. Grace and blessing have
in a wide measure been granted both me and you through the knowledge
of God’s true Gospel, also in the shape of material abundance, which
is evident all through the land, thank the Lord. If during my reign
anything good has been accomplished, give ye God the glory of it. But
for what there has been of failure and fault, I beg you, as faithful
subjects, to forbear and forgive. God is my witness that it has not
been by meanness, but by human weakness, that I have not been able to
do better. My ambition has always been the improvement and welfare of
the people of my country. I know full well that I have been a severe
king in the eyes of many. Yet that day shall come when the children of
Sweden willingly would dig me up from under the sod if that they could.
My time soon is at an end. I need not in the stars or other signs
search for my last moment; my body is to me the trustworthy messenger
that I soon shall stand before the severe King of kings, to give
account for the glorious but earthly crown of Sweden which I have worn.”

The Estates listened with great emotion to the words of the old
monarch. After the king had ceased speaking and his will had been
sanctioned, Gustavus left the assembly supported by his sons and
nodding his farewell to those standing near. Three months later he was
taken ill, and September 29, 1560, the great liberator, revolutionist
and organizer of his country expired.

CHAPTER IX

_Reformation and Reaction--The Sons of Gustavus I._

Eric XIV. succeeded his father in 1560, commencing his reign under the
most brilliant of auspices. But the old King Gustavus had foreseen that
his sons would cause danger to the realm which he with infinite care
had built up. After his forty years’ work of construction followed
forty years of destruction which his elder sons brought to bear upon
it. Fortunately, that work was so solid that it withstood this bravely,
to rise rejuvenated when loving hands anew were laid to it.

King Eric was one of the most gifted monarchs of his time, handsome,
eloquent, learned, a fine linguist, a musician and artist. But
his sharp reason carried him to the excess of suspicion, his
artistic temperament into hysterics, and he was vain, overbearing,
quick-tempered, licentious and cruel. His leaning toward mysticism made
him devoted to astrology.

Eric’s first ambition was to reduce the power of the dukes, convoking a
Riksdag at Arboga, in 1561, where the “Arboga Articles” were formulated
for such purpose, the dukes being forced to acquiesce. In order to
reduce the distance between the dukes and the nobility, King Eric, at
his coronation--celebrated with a lavish display of pomp at Upsala
in June of the same year--instituted hereditary dignities of counts
and barons. Svante Sture, Peter Brahe the Elder and Gustavus Johnsson
Tre Rosor were created counts, the first and third one the sons of
Christine Gyllenstierna, Peter Brahe being a cousin of Gustavus Vasa.
Among the barons were Sten Leijonhufvud, Gustavus Stenbock, relatives
of the dukes, and Clas Kristersson Horn (of Aminne). Only small
fiefs were given with the new dignities, which were nothing but an
outward sign of the distinction existing between a higher aristocracy
already extant and the lower nobility. In order to strengthen his
connection with the nobles, Eric made the estate on which a noble
fixed his domicile exempt from _russtjenst_. He was jealous of his
power and dignity, for which reasons he held sharp supervision over
his officials. He instituted a supreme court, consisting of twelve
men of low birth, who every three years made a tour of the country to
hold court in the name of the king. These justices were the creatures
of Eric, and soon brought on themselves discredit and hatred through
their servile and cruel acts. Among these justices was Gœran Persson,
an able and powerful man, revengeful and cruel, who soon rose to be the
favorite and influential adviser of his master.

Eric was intent upon making a great match, wooing Elizabeth of England,
Mary Stuart of Scotland, Renata of Lothringia and Christine of Hesse,
with more or less success, overlooking Margaret of Valois, who was
anxious to marry him. His mistress, Carin Monsdotter, a child of the
people, but beautiful and of a noble character, for whom he had formed
a secret attachment, finally was made his queen.

The German Order which held Esthonia and Livonia suffered during this
period considerably through Russian invasions. The town of Reval,
with a large part of Esthonia, was ceded to Sweden in 1562, upon
the receipt of a loan, Eric immediately giving his attention to the
depressed and enslaved peasants of that section. Later the grandmaster
of the Order turned Livonia over to the king of Poland, who, in need
of money, placed seven castles of this province at the disposal of
John, duke of Finland. John had tendered a loan to the Polish king
and married his sister Catherine. Eric considered these negotiations
as harmful to his royal authority, and he asked his brother to give
account of them in person. John refused, making the royal emissaries
his prisoners. The Swedish Riksdag condemned John to death for high
treason, and an army was despatched to Finland, which carried back Duke
John and his consort as prisoners. John’s sentence was commuted to
imprisonment at Gripsholm, proud Catherine choosing to share the fate
of her husband (1563). The prison life of the ducal couple at Gripsholm
was not an unpleasant one. They enjoyed a great deal of liberty and
luxury at the splendid castle in Lake Mælar, King Eric sending his
brother a copy of Boccaccio’s “Decamerone” in German, to read for a
pastime. The duke read the work and translated it into Swedish. The
room called “king John’s prison,” which is still preserved with the
artistic decoration which Duke Charles later bestowed on it, served as
sleeping apartment for the prisoners, and there Catherine gave life
to two children, one of whom was to become the founder of the Polish
line of Vasa kings. It is said that Duke Magnus became a prey to the
disposition of insanity latent in his family, by being forced to
sign the death sentence of his brother John, King Eric being anxious
of having him share the responsibility. Magnus lived until quite an
advanced age, but was never cured of his mental ailment. Even in his
best hours he was not of very bright intellect. While sojourning at
the castle of Vadstena, by the Lake Vetter, he had the vision of a
mermaid, who coaxed him to follow her. The duke jumped from the window
of his apartment into the moat below. He did not sustain any serious
injury, but the incident made the unhappy prince famous in tradition
and song.

In May, 1560, a war commenced with Denmark which, with several
intermissions, lasted for seven years. It has been called The Seven
Years’ War of the North. About the same time that Eric became king
of Sweden, the young ambitious Frederic II. ascended the throne of
Denmark. In the days of Gustavus I., Christian III. had appropriated
the Swedish emblem of three crowns for the Danish seal of state, as
if by this proclaiming that the Union was considered still extant or
that it could be re-established at the opportune moment. King Gustavus
had protested, but with no result. When King Frederic kept up the
irritating fact of preserving the Swedish emblem, King Eric answered by
placing the emblems of Denmark and Norway in the Swedish seal of state.
This made things worse and served as a nominal cause for war. The
principal interest at stake was the supremacy in the Baltic provinces.
The diocese of Œsel, which had accepted a Danish protectorate, was
governed by a brother of the Danish king, who had entered into an
alliance with Poland against Sweden, Denmark also joining it.

In May, 1563, a Swedish fleet, commanded by Jacob Bagge, left Sweden
to bring Princess Christine of Hesse, the promised bride of King Eric.
A Danish fleet met them, at the island of Bornholm, and greeted the
Swedish ships with some shots from their sharply loaded cannon. The
Swedes returned the fire and a naval battle followed, which ended
in a defeat for the Danes, who lost their flagship. When Jacob Bagge
arrived in Rostock, where he was to meet the princess, her father was
found unwilling to let her sail on account of the insecurity brought
about by the commencing naval hostilities. This would under ordinary
circumstances have enraged the vain and sensitive king, but Eric forgot
his rage in his delight at the naval victory. Jacob Bagge was rewarded
with a triumphal entry into Stockholm upon his return. He entered
the city on foot with a golden chain round his neck, followed by his
sub-commanders and surrounded by the banners taken during the battle.
The prisoners followed, in chains and with shaved heads. The king’s
fool was dancing in front of them, playing on his fiddle. A Danish
herald soon afterward reached Stockholm, declaring war with great pomp
and ceremony on behalf of his royal master. The city of Lubeck sent a
messenger to Stockholm on a similar errand, but was not received by the
king. “Since he is sent by the mayor and council of his town and other
similar lard-mongers, let him be heard and answered by the mayor and
council of Stockholm,” was the royal order.

Jacob Bagge was ordered to sea with the Swedish fleet later in the
summer of the same year. He met the united fleets of Denmark and Lubeck
at the island of Œland, in the Baltic. A terrible battle ensued, which
lasted until the fleets were separated by the darkness of the night,
without victory being won by either side. Jacob Bagge started out
with his fleet again in the spring of the following year, commanding
a new flagship, “The Matchless,” which carried two hundred cannon,
most of them made out of church bells confiscated by Gustavus Vasa. A
new battle was delivered between the islands of Gothland and Œland.
The majority of the Swedish ships had by a gale been separated from
the admiral and his flagship, but Jacob Bagge fought valiantly for
a whole day, continuing the battle the next morning. A catastrophe
brought it to a close. “The Matchless” caught fire through some act of
negligence, a barrel of powder exploding between the decks. Jacob Bagge
then surrendered, and was taken on board one of the ships of Lubeck.
The enemies took possession of the “The Matchless” in order to plunder
it, but the immense ship exploded with a tremendous roar, sinking with
everybody who was on board. Jacob Bagge did not long remain in Danish
captivity. He returned, to be greeted with the greatest distinction,
and died as governor-general of Stockholm.

The war on land was at the beginning carried on only through mutual
invasions, both sides giving proofs of cruelty and vandalism. Elfsborg
surrendered to the Danes. A Swedish army, commanded by King Eric in
person, entered the province of Halland, pillaging and plundering
and laying siege to the town of Halmstad. King Eric suddenly raised
the siege, when news came that King Frederic was approaching with an
army. The Swedish troops scattered in various directions, one division
being met and defeated by the Danes. The whole of Northern Norway
was invaded by Swedish troops and temporarily subjugated. The entire
kingdom of Norway was very near being altogether absorbed by Sweden.
This would have been a happy solution of the Scandinavian question.
Norway would have become one in language with Sweden and would have
shared her glorious epoch of political grandeur which was to follow.
The best families of Norway would have been entered side by side with
the Swedish nobility at the knightly chapterhouse of Stockholm, and
the countries would have had their later democratic and cultural
development in common. But King Eric was too restless and undecided to
make any lasting conquest, or union, possible. When Claude Collard, a
young French nobleman, who was the conqueror of Northern Norway, was
taken by surprise and captured, King Eric, to avenge this, devastated
forty church parishes in Norway. The Danes invaded and plundered the
provinces of West Gothland and Smaland, while the Swedes pillaged
Bleking and Scania. The king had given orders that the population of a
whole district should be killed. He wrote later about the fulfilment
of this cruel command: “God granted luck, so that thousands of men
were killed on the road and in the woods.” The province of Scania
was devastated to a distance of one hundred miles from the Swedish
frontier. A new invasion into Halland was made, in 1565, when Duke
Charles, then fifteen years of age, commanded the artillery. The town
of Varberg was attacked, but valiantly defended by the Danes. The young
duke upon this occasion gave the first proof of his indomitable energy.
He led the attack and persuaded the Swedes, by word and action, not to
give it up. At last the walls were taken, the town being pillaged and
burned. All men who could carry arms were killed, except a force of
one hundred and fifty men of hired troops who entered Swedish service.
A young French captain, Pontus de la Gardie, of a noble family of
Languedoc, was among the latter. This man and his descendants were
destined to play an important part in Swedish history.

Clas Kristersson Horn was made commander of the Swedish navy after
Jacob Bagge, in which position he covered his name with glory. He won a
naval battle at Œland (in 1564) which lasted for two days. In the next
year he added several victorious battles to his record, among which
the principal ones were fought at Buchow, by the coast of Mecklenburg,
and at the island of Bornholm. When he went to sea in the spring of
1566 no enemy dared appear. The united fleets of Denmark and Lubeck at
last started out, but were defeated by Clas Horn at the island of Œland
after a vehement battle. The vanquished fleets were caught in a gale in
which sixteen ships perished with seven thousand men. Clas Horn with
his Swedish fleet was master of the sea. In the following year no fleet
appeared to meet his. The efforts of Gustavus I. to set the Swedish
fleet in good order thus proved to be of the greatest consequence.

The Danes were superior in the hostilities on land during the latter
part of the war, thanks principally to their eminent commander, Daniel
Rantzau. He made an unsuccessful attempt to recapture the town of
Varberg, but gained, at Axtorna, a battle over a superior Swedish army
(in 1565). When Rantzau saw the Swedes approaching for an attack, he
held prayer with his troops, whereupon he arranged them for resistance.
The Swedish infantry captured the Danish stronghold and artillery,
but the hired German troops of the Swedish wings turned into flight.
Rantzau made an attack upon the deserted infantry, and was victorious
when nightfall ended the battle. The Swedes lost thirty cannon, and
Nils Sture, the son of Count Svante Sture, was able to save the banner
of state only by severing it from the pole and hiding it on his person.
In the following year, Rantzau pillaged Smaland and West Gothland, and
in 1567 he penetrated as far as East Gothland, where he was very near
being caught in a trap by the Swedish troops. The interior struggle of
Sweden caused hostilities to cease for some time.

The sad fate of his brother Magnus also befell King Eric. Evidences
of approaching insanity were frequent and brought on horrible
consequences. By licentiousness, mysticism and astrological speculations
his mind became unsettled. It had been predicted that a blond man would
dethrone him. Eric at first made his brother John the subject of his
suspicions. After the duke’s imprisonment he suspected a rival in Nils
Sture, who also was a blond. Eric accused him of ill behavior in the
battle of Axtorna. The king’s court sentenced him to death, but Lord
Nils escaped with a contumelious entry of mockery into Stockholm, on a
miserable horse, and a crown of straw on his head. But frightened at
the indignation aroused by his shameful act the king tried to undo it,
and sent Lord Nils on an embassy to Lothringia, to bring the king’s
proposal to Princess Renata.

In the commencement of 1567, the king had several of the nobles
arrested, on the suspicion of conspiracy, and carried to the castle
of Upsala, where a Riksdag was convoked. Nils Sture arrived with the
consent and betrothal ring of Princess Renata, but was thrown into
prison. The king asked the Riksdag to pass a sentence of death upon the
accused nobles. When this was refused, he was seized by fear and rage.
Rushing into the prison of Nils Sture, he wounded him in the arm. Lord
Nils drew out the weapon, a dagger, kissing its handle and returning it
to the king, with a prayer for mercy, but was killed by the soldiers at
the command of the king. Eric’s disposition immediately was changed,
and he darted into Count Svante’s prison, begging forgiveness at his
feet. The aged Sture’s answer was that he would forgive all, granted
that no harm was done to his son. The king fled in despair from the
castle and town, followed by some of his soldiers, one of whom he
sent back with an order to kill all the nobles, “except Lord Sten.” As
there were two by that name, these were spared, but Count Svante and
his son Eric Sture, Abraham Stenbock and Ivar Ivarsson were killed. The
Riksdag was forced to pass sentence for high treason upon the murdered
men, at the instigation of Gœran Persson, whose perfidious advice
had continually inflamed the sickened brain of his master. King Eric
was for several days missing, and at last found wandering about in a
peasant’s garb. Cared for by Carin Monsdotter, he slowly regained his
reason, showing evidence of repentance by declaring the murdered nobles
innocent and promising to compensate their families. During this spell
he set free his brother John and dismissed Gœran Persson. But soon his
evil disposition returned, and the resolution of his brothers to free
the country from his rule must be acknowledged as a beneficent one. The
nobles were brought to revolt, when Eric, in July, 1568, proclaimed
Carin as his consort, and had her solemnly crowned Queen of Sweden. The
dukes John and Charles were at first unsuccessful in their efforts,
the king defeating their troops repeatedly. But in 1569 Stockholm was
captured, Gœran Persson killed and the king forced to abdicate. The
sentence passed upon Eric, by the Estates of the Riksdag, stipulated
that he should be “imprisoned, but sustained in a princely manner, for
the rest of his days.”

Eric was at first held imprisoned in his own apartments at the
royal castle, but was transferred to two of the vaults, called the
“apartments of Lord Eskil.” They had served as a treasury during the
reign of Gustavus I., but now stood empty. Queen Carin and her children
were his company. After an unsuccessful attempt at flight, one room
was taken away from him and the windows in the remaining one reduced
in size. The table of the royal prisoner was well provided for, but
he was unmercifully treated by his warders. The cruel Olof Stenbock
once deprived him of all his clothes. In a struggle which followed,
he shot Eric in the arm and let him remain senseless in his blood for
several hours. Some of the members of the former body-guard of Eric
once attempted, but in vain, to set free the unhappy prisoner. In
1569 Eric was removed to Abo in Finland, where he was locked up in a
secure prison. Two years later he was taken to Castellholm, in the
archipelago of Aland, for fear that the Russian czar would liberate him
by violence. Shortly afterward he was removed to the lovely castle of
Gripsholm, where he had spent some of the happiest days of his youth,
and where he once upon a time held his brother John imprisoned. At
Gripsholm there is a gloomy dungeon which is said to have served as
the prison of King Eric, but this is not authentic. Eric was treated
comparatively well while at Gripsholm, enjoying the company of his
family, a good table and plenty of servants. The recording books of the
castle from this period speak of “the court of King Eric.” King John
was, in the meantime, irritated by Russian hostilities and intrigues,
the old supporters of Eric joining in the latter. The appeals of Duke
Charles for the improvement of the condition of his poor imprisoned
brother roused the suspicion of the king, who fostered dark plots
against the prisoner. Eric was removed from Gripsholm and its pleasant
associations, separated from his family and put in hard prison at
Westeros. The warders received instructions to take his life if
necessary. The state council and the archbishop sanctioned this order
of the king. The last prison of the unhappy King Eric was Œrbyhus,
where he suddenly died, exactly at a time when King John’s fears of a
revolt had reached a climax. Rumors that Eric had been poisoned were
current, and Duke Charles also gave utterance of his belief that such
was the case. In spite of the wars, cruelty and evil deeds of King Eric
XIV., the Swedish people of his time had a good deal of devotion for
him and his faithful consort. The country enjoyed good years during his
reign and profited by the wise measures of his father.

Gustavus, the son of Eric XIV. and Carin Monsdotter, was born, in
1568, at Nykœping. When Queen Carin was separated from her imprisoned
consort, her children, Gustavus and Sigrid, followed her to Finland,
where she resided at Abo. In 1575 the young prince was harshly taken
away from his mother, at the command of the state council, and sent
to Prussia. The jealous and uneasy King John made him the subject of
cruel persecutions. In spite of these he received a fine education,
and is known to have embraced the Catholic religion. He was kindly
received by King Sigismund of Poland, his cousin, at whose coronation
in Cracow he is said to have been present, in the disguise of a beggar.
A relation of intimate friendship existed between the outlawed prince
and Emperor Rudolph of Austria, both of whom were devoted to the study
of alchemy. King John refused to listen to the appeals for grace and
support which Gustavus repeatedly made to him. Gustavus was not allowed
to see his mother until the year of 1596, when the two had a touching
meeting at Reval. He later made his home in Thorn, but left for Russia,
in 1600, upon an invitation from Czar Boris. He was received in Moscow
as a reigning prince; but when he refused to appear as a pretender to
the Swedish throne, he was imprisoned. At the fall of Boris, Gustavus
was set free, but again put in prison by Dimitri. At the fall of the
latter, in 1607, Gustavus once more regained his liberty, but died in
Casijn, in the same year. This unhappy Gustavus Ericsson Vasa was a man
of fine erudition and pure morals. He was a dreamer and of a sensitive
disposition, being an ardent Catholic and fondly devoted to the country
which had outlawed him.

Sigrid Vasa, the daughter of Eric XIV., was twice married to members
of the Swedish nobility. Ake Henricsson Tott, her son of the first
marriage, was a distinguished warrior in the times of Gustavus II.
Adolphus. Queen Carin died, in 1612, beloved and highly respected, at
the beautiful estate of Liuksiala in Finland, given her in fief by King
John.

_John III._ succeeded Eric, without sharing his power with his younger
brother Charles, as he had promised. John was as learned and highly
talented as Eric, and as vain, restless and unreliable. But while Eric
was a mystic and a sceptic by turns, John was a Catholic, or leaning
toward Catholicism, and a hypocrite who, under the pretence of meekness
and piety, tried to hide his vanity, bad temper and utter selfishness.
Like Gustavus I. and all his other sons, John was devoted to the
fine arts, particularly to architecture, with an ardor that reached
the vehemence of a passion. He planned a vast number of churches and
castles, which he completed, utterly regardless of cost. The Swedish
Castle Renaissance which was established by John and his brothers is
influenced by contemporary Flemish art, severe and majestic in outline,
graceful and profuse in interior decoration. Good specimens of it were
the earlier castles of Stockholm and Svartsjœ, the castle of Vadstena
remains so and, to a great extent, the beautiful and memorable castle
of Gripsholm.

At his coronation, John issued hereditary privileges to the nobility.
_Russtjenst_ became no longer essential. Legal offices were preserved
for the nobles, the king’s supreme court being abandoned. John’s
policy was to win the support of the aristocracy against Charles, who,
indignant and sulky, kept within his duchy, consisting of the provinces
of Sœdermanland and Vermland, with the town of Œrebro in addition.

In 1570, an unsatisfactory peace was made with Denmark, Sweden ceding
all the Norwegian and Danish territory in her possession, together
with the island of Gothland, and agreeing to pay something like one
hundred and fifty thousand dollars for the return of Elfsborg, held
by the Danes. A friendly relation to hostile Poland commenced with
John’s reign, but a long and bloody war with Russia began in 1570. The
Russians tried repeatedly, but in vain, to capture Reval, plundering
and killing the population of Esthonia, who remained faithful to
Swedish rule. Henric Horn and Clas Tott won laurels for their heroic
deeds, while the war was changed into more modern methods and to a
successful issue by the Swedish general Pontus de la Gardie, who
captured the provinces Keksholm and Ingermanland and the town of Narva.

John III. had set two goals for his ambition: to return the Swedish
church to Catholicism and to make his son Sigismund king of Poland.
The latter he reached at the death of King Stephan in 1589, Sigismund
succeeding him upon the throne. The former ambition John never
attained, after years of stubborn and unreasonable perseverance giving
up this pet idea. John made some attempts to bring order in the
confused conditions of the church, but left it in a worse state of
confusion than he found it. The crown and the aristocracy had deprived
the church of nearly all its property and withheld its income from
it. Archbishop Laurentius Petri complained of the miserable state of
things, the ministers often being useless wretches and the service in
some churches impossible to uphold for sheer lack of money. In 1572
the ecclesiastical matters were arranged at a meeting in Upsala, when
a new church law was introduced, demanding higher qualifications for
the ministers, who were to be elected by their congregations, and
enforcing a school law. Laurentius Petri died in 1573 and was succeeded
by Laurentius Petri Gothus. The new archbishop willingly subscribed
to a set of rules, laid before him by the king, which reintroduced
monasteries, worship of saints and the ceremonies of the Roman church.
Jesuits were invited to the country, but met with little encouragement
from the people. The very climax of John’s reactionary movements was
formed by the introduction of his ritual, Liturgia, which was nothing
else than an adaptation of the Catholic ritual. It was accepted by the
Riksdag of 1577, but Charles refused to accept it for his duchy. The
king had many conflicts with his brother, the latter always giving
in to his wishes, except on this point. Ministers and university
professors who refused to conform to the new ritual, or attacked it,
were sheltered by the duke and, in many instances, given high offices.
The king grew angry, but the duke remained firm and unyielding. When
Queen Catherine died, in 1583, John’s Catholic fervor suffered a
relapse, and ceased altogether after his marriage to young Protestant
Gunilla Bielke, in the following year. He stubbornly stuck to his
Liturgia for some time yet, but exiled the Jesuits, and dismissed with
contumely ministers who had joined the Roman Church. During the last
years of his reign, he said it was best to leave everybody a free
choice in religious matters, regretting his Liturgia--which he once
considered the gem of his own theological system--because it had caused
so much trouble and confusion.

Sweden suffered a great deal through the slack and unsteady government
of King John. He spent unreasonable sums on his court and his craze for
architectural marvels, while always short of funds for the necessities
of war and internal improvements. Commerce and industries suffered and
were brought to a standstill by dearth, hunger and pest. The population
decreased; the towns were made bankrupt and many farms abandoned. Bad
and greedy officials and the recommencing war with Russia increased the
evils. After unsuccessful attempts to have his son leave Poland, where
he had met with many difficulties, John entered into more intimate
relations with his brother, who came to wield a beneficial influence on
the government. John III. died 1592, malcontent and tired of life, his
death being little regretted by the people.

One of the most famous love episodes of Sweden dates from the reign
of John III. It has no bearing upon the affairs of state, but is not
devoid of value as an illustration of the history of civilization,
giving us a glimpse of the private life of the nobles of that period
and the standard of morals of their lives. The episode is told by
Countess Anne Banér in a manuscript by her hand with the title: “In
the following manner my blessed mother’s sister, Lady Sigrid Sture,
lady of Salestad and Geddeholm, related what took place when Lord Eric
Gustafson Stenbock carried away our blessed mother’s sister, Magdalen
Sture, from Hœrningsholm.”

The dowager-countess, Martha Sture, resided at the castle of
Hœrningsholm, enlarged to a four-story structure and fortified with
four corner towers by her consort. She was a sister of Queen Margaret,
the second queen of Gustavus I., and was married to the renounced lover
of that sister, Count Svante Sture. The countess was called “King
Martha,” partly because of her stern power and great authority, partly
because it was known to have been her ambition to see her husband’s
family grace the throne of a country which their forefathers had ruled
as uncrowned kings. She had lived to see her husband and two sons
killed by the insane Eric XIV., but she had yet two sons who would
carry high the glorious name, on which there was not a stain of any
kind. There were five daughters, Sigrid and Anne, married to members of
the influential Bielke family, and Magdalen, Margaret and Christine, as
yet unmarried. There was another young lady at Hœrningsholm, besides
the daughters, the little Princess Sigrid Vasa, the daughter of King
Eric XIV. and Carin Monsdotter, who had received a home with the stern
“King Martha” while her mother was following the tracks of the deposed
monarch from prison to prison.

Between Magdalen Sture and Lord Eric Stenbock a passionate love sprang
up. Lord Eric was a very fine young man, of an influential family and
the brother of the queen-dowager, Catherine, third consort of Gustavus
I. But, unfortunately, he was the nephew of Countess Martha, and, as
a cousin of Magdalen, considered to be too closely related to her to
make a marriage possible. Countess Martha was unwilling to listen
to any appeals, and she was strengthened in her resolution by the
old Archbishop Laurentius Petri, who still held the same opinions as
when he, once upon a time, refused to grant his consent to a marriage
between King Gustavus I. and young Lord Eric’s sister, because she was
a niece of Queen Margaret. The years passed by, but no change came in
the stubborn resistance of “King Martha.” Christmas eve of 1573, Lord
Eric visited Hœrningsholm to remain until New Year. He brought with
him costly presents which he offered as New Year’s gifts to Countess
Martha, her daughters, chaplain and servants. He left to return on Palm
Sunday with his sister Cecilia, the wife of Count Gustavus Tre Rosor.
One morning a few days later, Lady Sigrid Bielke, who was visiting
her mother, entered the so-called rotunda, a large room in one of
the towers which Countess Martha and her daughters used as sleeping
apartment. She was surprised to find her sister Magdalen kneeling and
in tears. Lady Sigrid greeted her: “God bless you, you have a good
deed in mind!” “God grant it were good,” answered Magdalen, rising.
“Certainly it is good to make one’s prayers amid tears,” Sigrid said.
Magdalen caught the hands of her sister and said: “My darling sister,
if all the rest forsake me, you will not turn away your faithful heart
from me.” Sigrid found the words and emotion of her sister strange,
but did not suspect anything. “Why do you use such words to me?” she
answered. “I do not believe that you are going to make an evil-doer
out of yourself; there are none in the Sture family who have carried
themselves in a way to make us turn our hearts away from them.” Tears
came again to the eyes of Magdalen, but Sigrid was called into an
interior room by her mother. Magdalen went to play with one of her
little nieces, when Lord Eric entered. “Dear lady,” he said, “would you
like to see the horse that I have given you? It is now waiting in the
court.” Magdalen rose and left, escorted by her cousin. They met two
of the women of the household, whom Eric commanded to follow them. A
horse and sleigh stood in the vaulted entrance. Magdalen was placed
between the two servants, while Eric took his position back of them
on the runners, holding the reins. In the castle court they met the
chaplain and several of the servants, who thought it a pleasure ride
and let them pass. When they rode down on the frozen lake, the two
servants in the sleigh grasped the importance of the situation for the
first time, and commenced praying Lady Magdalen to return. Lord Eric
silenced them by displaying his short musket. A few moments later they
were surrounded by a force of one hundred men on horseback, who formed
an escort. They were a loan to Lord Eric by Duke Charles.

The excitement at Hœrningsholm was great when the elopement was
discovered. Margaret Sture happened to look through the window at the
moment when the sleigh reached the lake. At her outcry Countess Martha
and Sigrid joined her. The old countess fainted on the stairs when
making for the court, and Sigrid was ordered to follow up the eloping
couple. Countess Cecilia found her aunt on the stairs and hastened
to assure her of the mortification that she felt at the daring and
unsuspected deed of her brother, also expressing some surprise at the
bad manner in which it was accepted. But then the old countess became
wroth, exclaiming: “Go to the devil, and may God punish both you and
your brother! And if you have any part in his scheme of robbing me of
my dear child, betake yourself after him, so that no shame or dishonor
may happen.” Countess Cecilia hastened to her sleigh and reached
Sværdsbro, where her brother was stopping, ahead of Sigrid.

When Lady Sigrid arrived at Sværdsbro, she was admitted through the
lines of soldiers only after some difficulty, finding tailors and
seamsters busy cutting and sewing precious stuffs for clothing for Lady
Magdalen and her servants, “for she left with uncovered head such as
she went and stood in her mother’s house.” Sigrid tried to persuade her
sister to return to her mother, who in her great sorrow was willing to
forgive all if she only came back. Magdalen sat silent for a long time.
Finally she said: “If you can vouchsafe me, that the lady, my mother,
will grant that we shall belong to each other, since I have so dearly
pledged myself to him, I shall return.” This Sigrid could not do, and
Magdalen added, weeping sorely: “The last complication is then as bad
as the first.” Lord Eric entered with his sister Cecilia. When Sigrid
asked where he intended to bring Magdalen, he answered: “To Visingsœ,
to the Countess Beatrix, my sister, where she shall remain until we
obtain the consent to marry of the lady, her mother.” It was arranged
that Cecilia should accompany Magdalen, and Sigrid try her best to win
her mother’s consent. Magdalen sent home to her mother a piece of horn
of the fabulous unicorn; “the only thing I have carried with me from
my father’s house,” she added. This horn, which really was taken from
the incisor of the narwhal, was in those days generally thought to be
authentic and of miraculous power.

Countess Martha was, in her grief and dismay, taken ill. She soon
gathered strength enough to write to King John, her nephew, pleading
her cause. King John at once took action in the matter, calling Lord
Eric to account, and issuing a command to all ministers of the kingdom,
prohibiting them to unite in marriage the two cousins. Eric Stenbock
was on his way to Stockholm when he received the order of the king.
Upon his arrival at the capital, he was imprisoned and deprived of all
his offices. But Lord Eric had powerful friends in Duke Charles and
the Stenbock family. As the king himself did not wish to be without
his service, he was soon set free and reinstalled in his offices. He
succeeded in obtaining the goodwill of the whole Sture family, but
“King Martha” remained irreconcilable. More than a year had passed
since the elopement. One day Lord Eric suddenly appeared at the castle
of Visingsœ. He made, with Magdalen and his aunt, Lady Anne, a journey
into the province of Halland, where a Danish minister joined the two
cousins in marriage. The wedding was celebrated at the home of Eric’s
father, Baron Gustavus Stenbock of Torpa. But Lady Magdalen was not
happy. She grieved because of her mother’s hostile attitude, and
continued to dress in black colors, as she had done ever since she left
her mother. Duke Charles, the queen-dowager, the royal princesses, and
all the members of the state council, yea, the king himself, wrote
letters to the indignant countess, whose ire was rather increased than
diminished thereby.

Finally, after another year and a half, “King Martha” gave in to
the tears and prayers of her daughters. Lady Magdalen returned to
Hœrningsholm after three years of absence. She was not allowed to come
up to the castle at first, but had to dwell in the building occupied by
the baths. As the winter was approaching, and Lady Magdalen was soon
to give life to a child, her brothers and sisters prevailed upon their
mother to receive Lord Eric and his wife at the castle. The event was
arranged in a conspicuous way. Countess Martha was seated in the place
of honor in the great hall of the castle, surrounded by her daughters
and sons-in-law, when Lord Eric entered with Magdalen. When the mother
saw her pale and thin features, she was moved to tears, exclaiming:
“Thou unhappy child!” Magdalen approached her on her knees, and the
countess embraced her, stammering her forgiveness between tears.
Magdalen remained at the castle, where she bore her husband a son, who
was called Gustavus. Lady Martha invited the king, the duke and the
princesses to be present at the baptism, at the same time granting
Magdalen an equal share of inheritance with the other daughters. Lady
Magdalen continued to dress in mourning as a self-imposed punishment
for her disobedience to her mother. One day she was preparing to leave
for a wedding, when her mother asked her the reason why she dressed
thus. When “King Martha” learned why, she took a costly cross of
diamonds intended for the bride and placed it on her daughter’s breast,
telling her to put aside her black dresses. From that day joy and
happiness seemed to return to Lady Magdalen, who commenced to put on
lighter colors and to wear diamonds. Of Magdalen Stenbock--a child of
these Stures, who so often had protected and preserved Sweden--Count
Magnus Stenbock was a lineal descendant, he who during the reign of
Charles XII. saved his country in the hour of its greatest peril and
distress.

_Sigismund_, the son and successor of John III., was not apt to become
more popular than his father. Born at the pleasant prison of Gripsholm,
which yet was a prison, he was of a cold, unsympathetic disposition,
a king of few words and hard to approach. At John’s death, Sigismund
was twenty-six years of age and had reigned several years in Poland.
Charles stepped to the front as the head of the government until
Sigismund’s arrival.

The Protestants, fearing the worst from their new Catholic king,
decided to take firm and early action. The duke ordered a Riksdag at
Upsala in February, 1593, the deliberations being held by the clergy
alone. The Liturgia was abolished with the majority of Catholic church
ceremonies, Luther’s catechisms, L. Petri’s ritual, church visitations,
etc., being reintroduced. Abraham Angermannus was elected archbishop,
and decision made for the re-establishment of the Upsala University.
The duke had not been present at the deliberations, and appeared
displeased because not consulted. He, who was secretly accused of being
a Calvinist, pointed out more Catholic ceremonies to be abolished,
whereupon the decisions won the sanction of the duke, the state council
and the bishops. By this act the Lutheran Church was re-established,
the Augsburgian Confession being laid down by the meeting as its
corner-stone. When this action had been taken, the chairman, Nicolaus
Bothniensis, a young Upsala professor, exclaimed: “Now Sweden has
become _one_ man, and we all have _one_ God.”

In August, 1593, King Sigismund arrived in Sweden, surrounded by
Jesuits and Polish nobles, and with a sum of money wherewith to pay
the expenses of a Catholic revival. To the demands made to sign the
decisions of the Upsala meeting he gave a flat refusal. The conditions
in Stockholm grew perilous, Jesuits and Lutheran ministers preaching
denouncements upon each other in the churches and conflicts between
the Polish troops and the populace taking place. In January, 1594,
Sigismund, accompanied by the state councillors and the members of
the Riksdag, came to Upsala for his father’s funeral and his own
coronation. Duke Charles arrived with 3,000 men, whom he quartered
in the neighborhood. He dismissed the papal legate, Malaspina, and
his Jesuits from the funeral procession, before it entered the
cathedral, and told the king, in behalf of all, that no coronation
would take place before the confessional liberty of the Lutheran Church
was confirmed. The Estates declared themselves ready to sacrifice
their lives for the pure faith. The king still refused his sanction,
whereupon the duke replied that the Riksdag would be dismissed within
twenty-four hours if he insisted. Sigismund gave in, upon the advice of
the Jesuits, who told him that pledges to Lutherans were not binding.
Sigismund was crowned and returned suddenly to Poland.

The king had left matters in an unsatisfactory condition, placing six
governors with great authority in various districts, but leaving the
government to be conducted by the duke and the state council in common.
This little pleased the energetic Charles, who soon called a Riksdag
at Sœderkœping, in 1595, forcing the councillors to sanction this act
and follow him to the Riksdag. In Finland, the governor, Clas Fleming,
had tried to have a peace agreement with Russia postponed as an excuse
to keep the navy and army at his disposal in the interest of the king.
At Sœderkœping, Charles had himself chosen regent, the last vestige of
Catholicism abolished, and the punishment of Fleming decided on. In
consequence, the Catholics were dealt with in a merciless way through
the instigation of the archbishop, whom the duke called an executioner
on account of his recklessness. The convent of Vadstena was closed, its
eleven nuns scattered and its property confiscated. In Finland a bloody
revolt against the oppression of Fleming cost 11,000 people their
lives. It was called the “War of Clubs,” on account of the rude weapons
used by the peasants. The state council refused to consent to Fleming’s
punishment, whereupon the duke suddenly resigned. But he convoked a
Riksdag at Arboga, in 1597, at which the councillors and nobles were
absent, also the burghers. The peasants and clergy were abundantly
represented and cheered the propositions of the duke to the echo. It
was then decided that the king should be asked to return, until which
event the duke was to remain regent, and that peace should be restored
in Finland. Fleming died in the meantime and was succeeded by Arvid
Stolarm, who also was one of the duke’s enemies. The Riksdag at Arboga
was the first in the deliberations of which the state council had not
taken a part. The councillors were disposed to punish the duke; but,
not agreeing as to means, they left the country to seek the king.

King Sigismund arrived in the summer of 1598 with an army of 5,000
Poles, gathering a good deal of strength by reinforcements from
Gothaland. The duke had his stronghold in Svealand, the Dalecarlians
rising to join him. The Uplanders warded off an attempt made by Stolarm
to land with his army; they were led by Nicolaus Bothniensis, the
Upsala professor, who called his exploit “a crusade.” The two princes
met in East Gothland, near Stegeborg. The duke and his peasant army
were surrounded by the king’s cavalry, and would have been doomed if
not for the outcry of one of the king’s followers that his subjects
would be killed on either side. The king gave order to stop the attack,
feeling pity at the sight. The duke was deeply moved by this act and
offered to leave the land with his family. But the deliberations which
followed were without result.

On the 25th of September a battle was fought at Stongebro, near
Linkœping, ending in the defeat of the royal army. An armistice
followed. The conditions of peace were that the king should remain
in Sweden, dismissing his foreign troops, and take charge of the
government. No one should be punished except five of the nobles,
to be placed before a jury of ambassadors. The king agreed to the
conditions, but soon left Sweden never to return. A meeting of nobles
and clergymen, in 1599, accepted him as reigning king if willing to
return within four months. In July, a Riksdag was called at Stockholm,
which declared Sigismund dethroned and his son Vladislav king if sent
to Sweden to be educated in the Lutheran faith. Sigismund took no heed
of these stipulations, planning to regain his throne by force.

Charles followed up the punishment with such unprecedented severity
that it has left a stain upon his memory. Three nobles were beheaded
after Kalmar was taken, and proceeding to Finland, the duke applied
capital punishment to a wide extent, in more than twenty cases at Abo
alone. At a Riksdag in Linkœping, in 1600, the duke appeared as an
accuser against the five imprisoned nobles and several others, eight
state councillors being among them. The accused, thirteen in number,
were sentenced to death for high treason, but the majority were
pardoned upon confession of guilt. The councillors Gustavus Banér, Eric
Sparre, Sten Banér and Ture Bielke were beheaded. They were all men
of learning and great ability, who had faithfully served their king.
During John’s reign they had already suffered years of imprisonment for
intrigues against a hereditary kingdom and a strong government.

_Charles IX._ was chosen king at the bloody Riksdag of Linkœping, and
his son Gustavus Adolphus heir-apparent. The hereditary rights of
Duke John, second son of John III., were acknowledged, and a duchy,
consisting of East Gothland and Leckœ Castle, granted him; but he was
passed over as too young and too closely related to Sigismund. Measures
to strengthen the financial administration and the army were passed.

Sigismund prepared, by alliances with Catholic powers, to gather
support, Charles turning to England and France for the same purpose. A
conflict was unavoidable, and Charles decided to invade the disputed
province of Livonia, which he captured, only to be ousted by the
Polish general, Zamoisky. The castle of Volmar was long and heroically
defended by the Swedes under Jacob de la Gardie, a son of General
Pontus, and Charles Gyllenhielm, an illegitimate son of Charles IX.
After their surrender the former received for five years a tolerable
treatment, the latter a most severe one for twelve years. After
attempts to place conditions on a better footing in Finland, where the
peasants had long suffered through aristocratic oppression, Charles
increased the army still further and invaded Livonia once more, in
1604. He met with a crushing defeat at Kerkholm, close by Riga, at the
hands of the Pole, Chodkiewitz, losing 9,000 men. But the Poles did not
understand how to use their victory, and the centre of the conflict
changed to Russia.

On Russian territory, the troops of Sigismund and Charles were to meet.
The line of Rurik became extinct in 1598, its last descendant, Dimitri,
being murdered. Great complications ensued with usurpers and two “false
Dimitris” in succession. Sigismund supported the false Dimitris in
order to gain ground and place the royal line of Vasa upon the throne
of Russia after that of Rurik. Charles sided with Vassili Schuisky
against the second false Dimitri. In 1607 an agreement was made that
Sweden, upon the receipt of the province of Kexholm, should send an
army to Russia to support Czar Vassili. In 1609, a small Swedish army,
consisting of Swedes, Finns and some hired troops, entered Russia,
under command of Jacob de la Gardie. It was received at Novgorod with
the blaze of cannon and tolling of church bells. A victory was won at
Tver over the pretender, but further progress was impeded by mutiny
among the hired troops, the stubborn Finns returning home. With his
1,200 faithful Swedes, reinforced by hired troops to 5,000, De la
Gardie made a daring march eastward to Moscow, scaring away the Polish
army, attacking it and making a triumphant entry into the Russian
capital. Sigismund was at Smolensk, and met De la Gardie at Klusina,
winning the battle on account of renewed mutiny of the hired troops in
the Swedish army. De la Gardie was given free leave with 400 men, upon
pledge not to support Czar Vassili, and later captured the promised
Kexholm, while Sigismund’s son Vladislav for a short time became czar
of Russia.

Although the short reign of Charles IX. was filled with continual
warfare, the king never for a moment lost interest in the peaceful
development of the country. He continued his father’s work in
furthering the mining industry, and tried to build up the commerce and
trade relations. He founded the city of Gothenburg, on the western
coast, in the island of Hising, opposite Elfsborg, also founding
the towns of Karlstad, Christinehamn, Mariestad and Philipstad. The
aristocracy looked upon his administration with coldness. It received
sanction of the privileges granted by John III., but nothing more,
except in return for additional _russtjenst_. The peasants were his
favorites and he was surnamed the “Peasant King.” To the Church,
Charles stood in a good relation, supporting its re-established
Reformation with his whole authority. Also the University had in him
a patron, although he severely criticised the too conservative spirit
in both, exchanging a series of pamphlets with the archbishop on
theological questions, firm in his Calvinistic tendencies. To make
the government stronger it was stipulated that four members of the
state council were always to hold the four principal offices, with the
titles of drotsete, kansler (chancellor), admiral and treasurer. The
greatest economy was enforced at court and throughout the whole system
of government, various minor country offices being established for the
enforcement of order, justice and economy. The king was liberal only
with severe orders and harsh words, the artistic tendencies of his
youth succumbing to the cruel necessities of his reign.

In private he was as severe as in public life. His first consort,
Maria of the Palatinate-Zweibrucken, had a quieting influence upon
him, but the second, Christine of Holstein, stern and sharp like the
king, strengthened the harshness and violence of his disposition.
During the last years of his reign, Charles gave his attention to
the critical European situation, desiring to join the Netherlands,
England, France and the Protestant German princes into an alliance
against the forming Catholic league. This man, so assured of his power
to reign and so unscrupulous as to his means, was very careful not to
do any act of importance without the sanction of his people, and for
a long time refused to be called king. In 1604 he agreed to accept
that name, but was in 1606 ready to cede it to Duke John. Still, after
his coronation he admitted the hereditary right of his nephew, who
was a good-natured man without the qualifications of a ruler. At the
Riksdag of Norrkœping, in 1604, the crown was made hereditary among
the descendants of Charles, also in the female line, provided that
the monarch confessed the Lutheran faith and had not accepted the
government of, or residence in, any other country.

The stress placed upon Charles was greater than his originally strong
health could carry. In 1609 he suffered a stroke of paralysis, which
deprived him of his full power of speech. He still stood firm at the
head of the government, with Prince Gustavus Adolphus, now sixteen
years of age, at his side, who took part in the affairs of State and
spoke for the paralytic king. The young and ambitious Christian IV.
of Denmark thought that the opportune moment was come to turn down
the rising power of Sweden. He declared war, in April, 1611, in spite
of the efforts made by King Charles to avoid the conflict, pointing
to Germany, where their joined forces would be needed. Christian
captured the town of Kalmar, while its castle withstood his attacks,
being handed over to him by treason. In his wrath and disgust, Charles
sent word to Christian to meet him in a duel face to face, which the
latter refused to do in a letter of abusive contempt. Gustavus Adolphus
had made a dash into Bleking, capturing the store of provisions at
Christianopel. In the autumn, the war came to a temporary standstill.

Charles started for Stockholm from Kalmar, but was taken ill during
the journey and died at Nykœping, October 11, 1611, surrounded by his
sons and councillors. To his death-bed came the news that Jacob de
la Gardie had captured the important city of Novgorod, and that the
Russians offered the crown to either of his sons, Gustavus Adolphus or
Charles Philip. With Charles died the only worthy son of Gustavus I.
Vasa. In strength of intellect and stern power, he stands first among
Swedish rulers. Devoted to the work of his great father, he educated
the Swedish people, through hardships and sacrifices, to its political
grandeur.

CHAPTER X

_Period of Political Grandeur--Gustavus II. Adolphus_

Gustavus II. Adolphus is the greatest figure of Swedish history,
revered and beloved as one of the noblest of heroes, a genius in whom
the qualities of the great statesman and warrior were blended with
the faith of a man ready to sacrifice his life for the loftiest of
causes--religious liberty. Gustavus Adolphus was, by his own triumphant
deeds and through his school of discipline, which turned out men
worthy to follow up his work, destined to bring his country up to the
fulfilment of its mission in the history of human progress, and to
open for it an era of glory and political grandeur which its limited
resources made it impossible to preserve, but which was fruitful of
results for its later cultural evolution.

The secret of Sweden’s success in solving the stupendous conflict
between Catholicism and Protestantism, between reaction and progress,
rested in the fact that this little country was eminently ready
to wage a war for religious liberty. It had been more perfectly
rejuvenated by the spirit of Protestantism than had, at the time, any
other country. The mediæval state, completed later in Sweden than on
the continent, also gave way there sooner and more completely than
elsewhere. The yeomanry, never fully suppressed, had preserved its old
spirit of independence, fostered and guided by patriotic leaders of
the nobility, with or without a crown. The population was suffering,
hungering, bleeding, but free, indomitable, and devoted to its once
more hereditary kings of Swedish birth and to their new faith, which
had made strong in them their old individuality of views and life.

When Gustavus Adolphus ascended the throne, the country was in the
greatest peril and distress, and had many a lesson to learn before
entering the universal conflict of the Thirty Years’ War.

Gustavus Adolphus was born, Dec. 9, 1594, at the castle of Stockholm.
When six years old, he followed his father to devastated Finland,
returning through Norrland, for the settlement and future of which
territory great plans were made. At ten, he was ordered to be present
at the deliberations of the state council; at thirteen, he received
petitions and complaints, rectifying wrongs and soothing suffering.
His father said of him, in speaking of the fulfilment of great works,
placing his hand on the curly blond head: “_Ille faciet._” The prince
received a severe and carefully supervised education, led by Johan
Skytte. He acquired knowledge of a considerable number of languages,
probably all in a mechanical way, except the Swedish and German, with
both of which he was made equally and thoroughly familiar, speaking
and writing the latter language with greater ease and perfection than
the emperor Ferdinand, or Maximilian of Bavaria. In the sciences of
economics and war he was well read, himself inaugurating novel theories
in both. In him the best traits of the Vasa dynasty were admirably
blended and enlarged. He possessed an acute intellect, far-reaching
views of almost prophetic discernment, a mastery and patience in
detail, and an indomitable strength of will. To the ceaseless and
painstaking care of the welfare of his subjects, characteristic of
his father and grandfather, were in him added a harmony of endowment
and a gentleness of disposition which made him their superior. In him
the turbulent blood of the Vasas was held in noble self-restraint.
After his rare outbursts of passion, he made good his faults in a most
royal manner. His youth was not without the temptations which beset
all richly endowed natures, but they were vanquished as he grew up to
the importance of his grand mission. He stood in the paternal attitude
to his people so becoming to his grandfather, but lacked the fiery
democratic tendencies and the sympathy for the untitled, unpretentious
and lowly, so strong in his stern father. To his relatives he was as
gentle as to his subjects, treating his resolute and ambitious mother,
Christine of Holstein-Gottorp, with love and respect; on her demand
sacrificing the love of his youth and intended bride, Ebba Brahe,
who became the consort of victorious Jacob de la Gardie. Also to his
brother Charles Philip he stood in an exemplary relation; but firmly
refused to grant him privileges for his duchy of Vermland which could
be injurious to the country at large.

Gustavus Adolphus was a man of commanding presence, tall and of a heavy
frame. The color of his face was clear and light, his eyes blue, his
hair and beard blond. Foreign contemporary authors called him “the
golden king of the North.” He carried his head high, and his open,
frank eye, and the clear voice of manly resonance, gave added charm to
his noble appearance. Gustavus Adolphus possessed a majestic dignity of
bearing coupled with the unfeigned kindness of a noble heart.

Charles IX. had left his son the Danish war as an inheritance. It was
carried on in the provinces of the frontiers, and consisted chiefly
in small conflicts, which caused fatigue and detriment without being
decisive. The Danes entered the interior of Smaland during the first
days of the year 1612. Gustavus Adolphus, in his turn, moved from the
fort of Ryssby into the province of Scania, destroying by fire the town
of Væ and several castles belonging to the wealthy nobility. During
a smaller conflict which then took place, Gustavus Adolphus was in
imminent danger of his life.

The Swedes had made a camp for themselves at the cemetery of Vittsjœ,
when suddenly surprised by a force of Danish cavalry. The Swedes fought
with determination, but found it necessary to leave their camp. They
took a firm stand on the frozen waters of the adjoining lake, but were
forced to leave that position also. A tumult ensued, during which the
ice gave way on the spot where the king found himself, for the moment,
alone and without an escort. Per Banér, a son of Gustavus Banér, who
was executed at Linkœping at the command of Charles IX., perceived
the king in the moment of greatest danger, and hastened with Thomas
Larsson, a trooper from Upland, to rescue him. When in safety, the king
at once unbuckled his silver belt, and, handing it to the trooper,
said: “I shall remember thee with a piece of bread, which neither thou
nor thy children shall ever find lacking.” Thomas Larsson received in
the following year a farm in the province of Westmanland, which has
remained in the possession of his descendants to this very day. Per
Banér received in fief the estates which had been in the possession of
his uncle, Sten Banér, also executed at Linkœping, and rose to the
dignity of a state councillor during the minority of Queen Christine.

It was the ambition of Christian IV. of Denmark to cut Sweden off from
any communication with the North Sea. As Bohuslæn and Halland both
were parts of the Danish dominion, there was only the small strip of
territory surrounding the mouth of the Gotha River to conquer. The
island of Hising constituted the larger part of it, and was the site
of the new town of Gothenburg, which was defended by the fortress of
Elfsborg. The town of New Lœdœse was situated on the opposite shore,
some few miles up the river, defended by the fort of Gullberg. The
Danish king approached Gullberg from Bohus, having with him a smaller
force, which he considered sufficient in numbers. Gullberg was only a
poor little nest, but it was valiantly defended by Morten Krakow and
his wife, the stanch Lady Emerentia Pauli. One day the Danes made a
violent attack. The ladders which they placed against the walls were
crushed by heavy beams which the Swedes let fall down on them. In spite
of this, the Danes succeeded in forcing the gates of the place. The
position was a critical one for the Swedes. The commander had met with
an accident and was unable to lead the defence. But Lady Emerentia
resolved to take the command. She gave orders to the wives of the
soldiers to fill up the vaulted passage of the gates with barrels,
washtubs, timber, etc. When the Danes stormed on in a compact body,
they were received by a downfall of scalding-hot lye, which the women
kept pouring down on them from behind their barricade. The daughter
of Lady Emerentia thus graphically describes the effect: “They lay in
the vault and around the gates like scalded hogs.” Lady Emerentia had
placed two pieces of artillery on the top of a small building fronting
the gates. They were loaded with broken horseshoes and the like and
sent out a disastrous fire. The few surviving Danes fled hurriedly for
their lives, leaving Lady Emerentia in proud possession of the fort. A
second attack which was made later on proved as futile as the first.
King Christian then gave command to abandon the plan of taking the
fort. The Danish army collected in a field in front of Gullberg. But
Lady Emerentia was vigilant. From the walls of the fort she espied a
man of prepossessing appearance who rode a white horse. “Shoot that
man!” was her immediate command to the nearest soldier. The shot took
effect, killing the white horse, whose brains and blood spattered the
king. For the man on horseback was King Christian. “That devilish crow
does never sleep!” exclaimed the king, referring to the commander.

King Christian turned on New Lœdœse, killing without mercy all the
male inhabitants of the town. West Gothland was invaded, the province
appearing to be an easy prey because the Swedish army, commanded by
Duke John, had just left it to march into Halland. But the bailiff of
Hœjentorp called on the peasants to rise, which caused the Danes to
recede. The Danes next made an attack on the fortress of Elfsborg,
commanded by Olof Strole. Elfsborg was defended with heroism, but when
fire threatened to destroy the towers, Olof Strole at last surrendered.
On account of their valiant conduct the commander and his men, who were
reduced to 200, were granted free passage with their music and banners.
The able Morten Krakow of Gullberg had been promoted to the fortress of
Vaxholm. His successor surrendered Gullberg to the Danes shortly after
the fall of Elfsborg. King Christian planned a series of invasions in
the year 1612, but, thanks to the vigilance of Gustavus Adolphus, he
failed to accomplish the desired effect.

Gustavus Adolphus wanted peace with Denmark, and such was made at
Knerœd in 1613, after a war of mutual invasions and without any
decisive battles or conquests of territory. The frontiers were to
remain the same as before the war; the Danish king was allowed to
keep the emblem of three crowns, but had to resign his claims upon
the Swedish crown. The fortress of Elfsborg remained in the hands
of the Danes for six years, until $1,000,000, an exorbitant sum in
those days, was paid for it. It cost the people of Sweden very dear
to pay this sum, sacrifices being made by the king and his friends
to contribute to it. But Elfsborg, the only approach to the North
Sea, was indispensable. It was returned in a miserable condition, and
Gothenburg, on the opposite side of Gotha River, destroyed. Gustavus
Adolphus ordered Gothenburg to be moved to its present site, on
the mainland, and endowed it with extensive commercial privileges,
encouraging Dutch merchants to settle there.

The war with Russia began once more in 1614. Gustavus Adolphus not
having been found willing to accept the crown for his brother Charles
Philip, the negotiations were dropped. Count de la Gardie resumed
control of the movements, although the king was present in person. The
Swedes won a great victory at Bronitz and captured the fortress of
Augdof. An attempt to take Pskof was unsuccessful, Evert Horn, the hero
of a hundred battles, losing his life; but the Russians were willing
to make peace. Through the honorable peace of Stolbova, in February,
1617, Russia gave up all claims on Esthonia and Livonia, and ceded to
Sweden Ingermanland and Kexholm. This cut off the Russians from the
Baltic, fixed the Swedish frontier on the lakes Ladoga and Peipus, and
left Sweden in peace with the mightiest of her enemies during almost a
century. The armistice with Poland ended in 1616, but after two years
of insignificant movements it was continued up to 1620.

Gustavus II. Adolphus with untiring energy continued the work of
building up the new state founded by Gustavus I. At the death of
his father, the royal youth had won everybody by his gentleness and
generosity. His first act was perhaps the wisest of all, in selecting
among the councillors the young, highly talented Axel Oxenstierna as
his chancellor. This couple have no peers in history, being united
by the firmest of friendships and rising simultaneously to the
highest ability of statesmanship, the gifts of the one wonderfully
supplementing those of the other. The chancellor was cooler and slower
than his royal friend. He placed supreme the duties to his country,
but was of very aristocratic tendencies, through his influence leading
the king still further away from the democratic principles of his
father. To the nobility were granted the old privileges, with others
in addition, which became menacing to the ancient freedom of the
peasantry. The management of internal affairs and all branches of
the administration were placed under various departments. They were
presided over by the high functionaries and their offices chiefly
filled by noblemen. A permanent supreme court was established in
Stockholm, with the Drotsete as president, in 1614. In 1623, a supreme
court for Finland was established and a governor-general for that
grandduchy appointed, who was also to be president of the court.
In 1630, a supreme court for the Baltic provinces was established
at Dorpat. The Riksdag, governed by the new rules of 1617, was to
convene yearly, and to consist of the four Estates of the kingdom: the
nobility, clergy, bourgeoisie and yeomanry, each divided into various
classes. These latter were as yet not quite distinct or organized,
except those of the nobility, who, in 1625, formed a knightly chapter,
the Riddarhus, which kept a register of the legitimate noble families
of Sweden and Finland and watched over the interests of its members.
The Estate of the nobility was divided in three classes, lords,
knights and squires. To the first belonged the holders of counties
and baronies, to the second those whose ancestors held the rank of
state councillors, and to the third the rest of the nobility. As each
class had one vote in the Riksdag, the supremacy of lords and knights,
called the “higher nobility,” was secure, when standing united, over
the more numerous third class, the “lower nobility.” The king appointed
the speaker of the nobility, the _landtmarskalk_, who also was the
president of their chapter. The Swedish church had its greatest
epoch during the period of political grandeur, being characterized
by a remarkable strength of faith and by a praiseworthy energy and
earnestness. The clergy, high and low, set beautiful examples of
piety, learning and patriotism. It was beloved by the people and spoke
in their behalf with authority and courage. Not able to win Gustavus
Adolphus over to more democratic views, it won his admiration, and he
surnamed the ministers “tribunes of the people.” The burghers, touched
by the patriotic spirit, developed great energy during this period,
trade and commerce having a devoted patron in the king, who, besides
the new Gothenburg, founded twelve other towns in Sweden and Finland.
The miners occupied of old an uncertain position between burghers and
yeomen. They were strengthened and encouraged by the personal interest
which the king took in the mining industry. He visited the mines
repeatedly, descending into the bowels of the earth to inspect the ore
and the new methods introduced from abroad by foreign miners. Among the
latter the immigrated Dutchman, Louis de Geer, exerted a beneficial
influence upon that industry. The factories producing clothing and
weapons for the army were also encouraged. The yeomen occupied a
difficult, almost desperate position between the increasing privileges
of the nobility and the increasing taxes of the crown. Their burdens
were doubled and their rights reduced; yet sustained by the church, and
believing in the lofty ideals of the king, they persevered, fulfilling
their duties with a high degree of patriotism.

No Swedish king has done so much for education as Gustavus Adolphus.
To the University of Upsala he donated 300 of his hereditary estates,
founding its library, improving its courses, banishing misrule, and
appointing his old teacher, John Skytte, its chancellor. He created the
German University of Dorpat in Esthonia, in 1632; later for some time
moved to Pernau. Colleges were established in the larger towns. The
king was, through his thorough studies of Swedish laws and conditions,
in a position to take an active part in the reforms which he
promulgated, never resting long in one place, but travelling from one
point to another, where his presence was most necessary; shaping plans
and reforms by his own judgment, to have them indorsed by the next
Riksdag, and then enforcing them himself. Especially the army passed
through an evolution, thanks to new methods, devised by the king, who
was to win his victories through the introduction of improved tactics
and divisions, by means of which the troops were easier to move and the
co-operation between the various weapons increased.

In 1618 the “Thirty Years’ War” began. The dethroned Frederic of the
Palatinate turned, among others, to Gustavus Adolphus for support,
which the latter was not able to give in a direct way. But he promised
to attack Poland as soon as the armistice was at an end, thereby making
it impossible for Sigismund to support Emperor Ferdinand with troops.
In 1621, Gustavus Adolphus commenced operations against Poland, taking
the command himself. Riga and Mitau were captured, the former important
commercial centre regaining its privileges, but sending representatives
to the Swedish Riksdag and accepting a Swedish governor. After having
conquered Livonia, Gustavus Adolphus entered Courland the following
year, when an armistice was agreed to. Gustavus followed the events
in Germany with increasing interest, forming the plan of an alliance
between the Protestant powers. Learning that the emperor was willing
to support Sigismund, Gustavus Adolphus offered to invade Silesia.
But as Christian IV. of Denmark was anxious to lead the Protestant
forces, Gustavus Adolphus quietly withdrew, resuming action against
Poland. After a victory at Wallhof, he entered Polish Prussia, where
he was dangerously wounded at Dirschau. The Poles were reinforced by
imperial troops, but suffered a defeat at Gurzo; the Swedish general,
Herman Wrangel, winning the day. When the considerable reinforcements
of 10,000 men joined the Poles, the Swedes receded in good order. A
smaller conflict occurred at Stuhm, famous because Gustavus Adolphus
was twice in danger of his life during the struggle, which otherwise
was of no importance. An imperial trooper caught him by the belt and
tried to drag the king with him. According to the report of Axel
Oxenstierna, the king loosened the belt and let it go. In so doing, he
also lost his hat, which was carried to Vienna and preserved as a token
of the “great victory.” Another trooper, shortly afterward, caught the
king by the arm, aiming at the head with his sword. In the critical
moment, Eric Soop, the colonel of a Swedish cavalry regiment, appeared,
killing the trooper with a pistol-shot. Gustavus Adolphus referred to
this struggle as the “hottest bath” that he was ever in.

In September, 1629, an armistice was agreed to, at Altmark, to
last for six years, during which period Sweden was to keep Livonia
and the Russian towns of Elbing, Braunsberg, Pillau and Memel. The
new acquisition of territory was small, but the revenue from these
commercial towns, and from Dantzic, Libau and Windau, was considerable,
and went to pay for the army expenses of the German campaign. The
new temporary possessions in Prussia were formed into a Swedish
governmental section, over which Axel Oxenstierna was appointed
governor-general.

What follows belongs to one of the most noted chapters of universal
history. The unbroken chain of Swedish victories, the noble character
of the king and the severe discipline upheld among his men, who
commenced and ended their battles with prayers and hymns, astounded
the world. The exalted nobility of Gustavus Adolphus appears to us
all the more striking, contrasted with the faithlessness, vanity and
cowardice of the contemporary reigning princes of Germany and Denmark.
His victories appear all the more remarkable because the greatest
warriors of the age--Tilly, Wallenstein and Pappenheim--were his
adversaries. He was received by the people of Germany as a liberator,
and his memory is blessed by every thinking German, who admits that
the Swedes, Gustavus Adolphus and Axel Oxenstierna, completed the work
which the Germans, Luther and Melanchthon, created. The loftiness of
the ideals which inspired Gustavus Adolphus have been doubted, but
not with justice. He was brought up in a severely Christian home and
the sincerity of his piety is unmistakable. His father’s clairvoyant
views upon the coming religious conflict were familiar to him since his
early youth, while he was, through his mother, related in blood to the
majority of Protestant princes. Thus apparently predestined, as the
greatest statesman and warrior of his age, to take up the cause of his
persecuted brethren, he did not do so before the ambitious Christian
IV. had utterly failed in his attempts and with contumely been forced
to retire. It is not probable that Gustavus Adolphus ever thought of
placing the crown of the Roman empire upon his head, but plausible to
suppose that he had in view the formation of a strong union of the
Protestant countries of Northern Europe.

Before leaving Sweden, Gustavus II. convoked the representatives of
his people, holding on his arm his little daughter Christine, four
years old, for whom he asked their pledge of allegiance. His farewell
speech was touching in its simplicity and the premonition of his tragic
end. Not for worldly glory, but to save his country from peril and his
brethren from distress, he undertook this risky war. “Generally,” he
said, “it happens thus that the vessel hauls water until it goes to
pieces. With me likewise, that I, who in so many perils for the weal
of my country have shed my blood, and yet until this day have been
spared through the grace of God, now at last must lose my life. For
that reason I will this time commend you, the collected Estates of the
realm, to the hand of God, the Supreme One, wishing that we, after this
our miserable and burdensome life, according to the will of God, may
meet again, to dwell in the celestial and infinite.” These words do not
resemble the terse, striking speeches of his grandfather, but they bear
the stamp of sincerity, and by them Gustavus Adolphus, his work and his
purpose, are judged by the Swedish people.

Midsummer Day, 1630, Gustavus Adolphus landed with his troops at the
island of Ruden, on the coast of Pomerania. Two days later he proceeded
to the larger island of Usedom. His troops consisted of 13,000 men.
Gustavus Adolphus was himself the first to land. He knelt on the shore
and prayed to God in a loud voice; his prayer moved those surrounding
him to tears. When the king noticed it he said: “Do not cry, but pray
to God with fervor. The more of prayer, the more of victory; the best
Christian is the best soldier.” Then he took hold of a spade and
commenced to assist personally in the work of building a camp. When
it grew dark, the heavens were illuminated by the fire of burning
villages, giving evidence of the manner in which the enemy conducted
his warfare.

The supercilious Wallenstein had been dismissed by the emperor at the
time when Gustavus Adolphus landed in Germany, but his wild hordes were
pillaging Pomerania. Yet Gustavus Adolphus had great difficulty in
persuading the old duke of Pomerania to accept the alliance he offered
him. But when this was done, it took the Swedes only a short time to
clear the duchy of its enemies. The young landgrave of Hesse and the
free city of Magdeburg were glad to accept an alliance with Gustavus
Adolphus. A treaty was made with France, which country promised to pay
subsidies to Sweden as long as the German war lasted. Tilly, who was in
command of the imperial troops, approached Magdeburg. Gustavus Adolphus
sent proper provisions to Magdeburg with an experienced commander, as
he could not go himself, because the elector of Saxony refused to let
him pass with his army through Saxon territory. Magdeburg was captured
by Tilly, who sacked and destroyed it by fire in a most barbarous way.

The discipline and moderation of the Swedish troops formed a great
contrast to the reckless behavior of the imperial army. The Swedes
left the peaceful inhabitants in undisturbed possession of their lives
and property; the strictest order was maintained within the army; each
regiment held morning and evening prayers in the open air; gambling,
carousing and plundering were sternly prohibited. For these reasons the
Swedish king and his army were received by the poor downtrodden people
as saviors and liberators. Gustavus Adolphus deeply mourned the fall of
Magdeburg, whose fate it had not been in his power to prevent. He took
a fortified position at Werben, where the river Havel is joined by the
Ube. Tilly entered Saxony with a hostile demeanor, not satisfied with
the lukewarm friendship of the elector. Burning villages marked the way
of his army. The poor elector, not knowing what to do, in his despair
turned to Gustavus Adolphus, whom he had treated so coldly and begged
him for help. The king at once was ready to forget past differences,
and, joining forces with the elector, he marched toward Leipsic.

Tilly, with 35,000 men, occupied an advantageous position near the
village of Breitenfeld, not far from Leipsic, at the summit of a long
ridge of sandy hills. The infantry and the greater part of the cavalry
were grouped in heavy divisions, forming one single line of battle with
artillery behind at the very top of the hills. Tilly himself commanded
the centre, while his able and fiery sub-commander, Pappenheim, had the
command of the left wing, being in hopes to encounter the Swedish king
personally. The Swedish army consisted of 22,000 men, who were joined
by 11,000 Saxons.

Early in the morning of September 7, 1631, the Swedes started toward
Breitenfeld. Tilly turned pale, it is said, when he saw the order and
firmness with which the Swedes marched up to take their positions on
the narrow slips of ground between the Lober brook and the reach of the
imperial cannon. The Swedes were arranged in a double line of battle,
infantry in the centre and cavalry on the wings. Between the squadrons
of cavalry divisions of musketeers were placed. The regimental
artillery was distributed over a number of places. The king commanded
the right wing in person, with John Banér as sub-commander. Teuffel led
the centre and Gustavus Horn the left wing. The king had no confidence
in the Saxons, for which reason he had arranged them by themselves at
some distance to the left of the Swedish army. When everything was
arranged, the king rode to the front. With his head uncovered, and
his sword pointing to the ground, he prayed: “Almighty God, thou who
holdest victory and defeat in the hollow of thy hand, turn thine eyes
unto us, thy servants, who have come hither from distant dwellings to
fight for liberty and truth, for thy holy Gospel. Give victory unto
us for the glory of thy hallowed name! Amen!” The prayer of the king
could be heard by almost every man of the army, and all were touched
and strengthened by his pious trust in a righteous cause. The Swedes of
the right wing were soon attacked by Pappenheim and his cavalry. But
the horses of the imperialists were frightened by the flashing fire of
the musketeers, and the attack failed to have an effect. It was ended
as quickly as it was begun. Pappenheim concluded to make an attempt
to surprise the Swedes from the left side. But the king divined his
plan. He ordered John Banér with the second line to make a movement by
which to turn at an angle with the first and face the attack from the
side. Pappenheim was surprised to find a new line facing him. A bloody
struggle ensued. Seven times his men made an inroad on the Swedish
line and were seven times repulsed, badly damaged by the fire of the
musketeers. The Swedes, in their turn, made an attack which scattered
Pappenheim’s forces from the field in wild flight.

Tilly had with his light cavalry attacked the left wing of the Swedes.
His men were mostly made up of Croats and other semi-barbarous people.
When repulsed by the Swedes they concentrated their forces to crush
the Saxons. These withstood the first assault, but the second routed
them completely. The imperialists then made a second attack upon the
left Swedish wing, made up of only 2,500 men. Gustavus Horn acted
with coolness and great presence of mind. He let the first line close
in on the second till it was able to take a firm stand against the
heavy force of the attacking enemy. The Swedes never for a moment lost
their position, in spite of the frightful onslaught. The king arrived
and remained for some time with the left wing. He ordered the Scotch
brigade of hired troops to support him. The Scotch had cannon hidden
behind their lines. These had a telling effect upon the attacking
imperialists, who were thrown back, suffering great losses. Everywhere
the battle was fought with frenzy, the clouds of dust and smoke
changing the day into night.

The king made sure that the left wing of the enemy’s army was engaged
in continued flight. Then he commenced an attack with his own right
wing upon the imperial artillery, which had kept up a steady fire
against the Swedish centre. Tilly’s cannon were captured at the first
attempt and turned on the imperial troops, causing consternation.
Horn opened an attack on his side and the king hastened to support
him with his troops. Tilly tried in vain to lead his troops into the
battle. Pappenheim had returned and gave brilliant proofs of personal
courage. The defeat of the imperial army was unavoidable; it scattered
in helpless confusion. Tilly lost his horse and was near being captured
himself. Four of his best infantry regiments took a stand and tried
to resist the conquering foe. These imperial soldiers, who never had
suffered a defeat, preferred death to surrender. Tilly fled at last,
followed by only 600 men. After five hours of fighting the Swedes had
won a glorious victory. They finished the day with prayer and remained
on the battlefield over night, arranged in order of battle. The
following morning they entered the deserted camp of the enemy where a
rich booty awaited them.

The progress of Gustavus Adolphus along the shores of the river Main to
the towns of Frankfort and Mayence was a march of triumph. In capturing
Mayence, the Swedes fought the Spanish allies of the emperor. The towns
surrendered to violence or by their own consent. Gustavus Adolphus made
their inhabitants pledge their fidelity to him and strengthened his
power with the rich resources of the Frankish country. Then he turned
against Maximilian of Bavaria. Tilly, who was to defend Bavaria, was
again encountered and defeated at Lech. He was carried from the battle
mortally wounded and died soon afterward. Gustavus Adolphus made his
triumphal entry into Munich, with Frederic of the Palatinate at his
side. The danger to the crown lands of the emperor was imminent.

Wallenstein was the most famous of German generals. Reticent and
secretive, he appeared to be unable to feel mercy. He was devoted to
the secret doctrines of astrology, which in him had taken the place
of religion. He cared naught for the cause of religious liberty or
the fall of the German empire, looking only for occasions to satisfy
his own ambition and the means of obtaining power and wealth. He had
served the emperor, who had raised him to the dignity of a duke of
Mecklenburg, but had been dismissed and deprived of his dignities
at the time of the arrival of Gustavus Adolphus on German soil. His
downfall was caused by complaints of his insolence and recklessness,
made by Maximilian of Bavaria and other German princes. Wallenstein
retired to Prague, at the castle of which town he surrounded himself
with princely luxury and comfort, scheming for revenge. His plan was
to join the enemies of the emperor. He approached Gustavus Adolphus
for such purpose, before the battle of Breitenfeld, and was delighted
to hear of the defeat of Tilly. Gustavus Adolphus seemed at first
inclined to take up relations with Wallenstein, but at the point where
an agreement was to be made he suddenly changed his attitude. The
king probably hesitated to accept the services of a man who had no
other aim than to satisfy his own ambition. The emperor was placed
in a bad predicament, at the second defeat of Tilly, for want of an
army to defend his lands and a commander to lead it. There was only
one way out of the difficulty, and that was to pacify the mortally
offended Wallenstein, and to persuade him to re-enter the service of
the emperor. The emperor resigned himself to accept this humiliating
condition, and Wallenstein agreed to resume command, but only at a
high price. The name of Wallenstein was enough to bring thousands
of warriors under the imperial banners, and Wallenstein was soon at
the head of an army of sufficient proportions. His doctrine was that
“the war should support itself,” according to which his soldiers were
allowed to sack and plunder at will the countries through which they
were passing. He cared naught for the recklessness of his subordinates,
if they only showed blind obedience to him.

Wallenstein expelled the Saxons who had invaded Bohemia. But he showed
disinclination to assist the elector of Bavaria, who was compelled to
leave his country. At Eger, Wallenstein was reinforced and marched on
Nuremberg with an army of 60,000, prepared to meet Gustavus Adolphus.
He was confident of his superior force. “Within four days,” he said,
“it shall become evident whether I or the Swedish king is the master of
Germany.” Gustavus Adolphus hastened to relieve Nuremberg, taking his
position in the immediate neighborhood of said town. He had only 18,000
men with him, but he surrounded this army with solid fortifications,
and Wallenstein dared not risk an attack, in spite of his superior
force. Wallenstein took his position at the summit of three steep
hills, surrounded by trenches and ramparts. His intention was to
cut off the Swedes from all sources of supplies and force them to
surrender by starvation. “I shall teach the Swedish king,” he said, “a
new method of warfare.”

For nine weeks the two armies were facing each other. The suffering
became great in both camps. The Swedes suffered most, although the
inhabitants of Nuremberg tried their utmost to supply them with food.
When the provisions were diminishing, the bonds of discipline were
loosened. Especially the Germans of the Swedish army made themselves
conspicuous by licentiousness and plunder. Gustavus Adolphus decided
to try an attack on Wallenstein’s camp, in order to put an end to the
critical state of things. He was so much more anxious to risk it, as
his army had been considerably reinforced and was almost equal to
Wallenstein’s in numbers. At noon, August 24, 1632, the Swedish army
made ready for battle. The attack was first made on Burgstall, the most
important one of the three hills occupied by the enemy. The battle was
a fierce and bloody one, the whole mountain being clothed in fire and
smoke. Several of the most distinguished of the Swedish officers were
killed or captured. A bullet passed through the boot of the king; an
officer was killed at his side. The Swedes were thrown back on one
hand, while on the other, Duke Bernhard of Weimar, one of the German
commanders of the king, succeeded in capturing one of the forts built
on the Burgstall. But as the day was over and the army exhausted,
the Swedes were not able to profit by their success. A heavy rain
commenced, continuing through the night. This made it impossible to
haul any cannon up to the captured fort, which was then abandoned. The
Swedish army returned to the camp. This unsuccessful attack cost the
Swedes almost 2,000 men. Gustavus Adolphus wrote in regard to it: “It
was too much to be considered a page’s trick, but too small to be of
real earnest.” Wallenstein wrote of it. “Never in my life have I seen a
more desperate fire, but I hope that the Swedes have lost their horns
in this conflict.”

The king broke camp a fortnight later, arranging his army into a line
of battle. For four hours he waited for Wallenstein to come forward,
but the latter did not risk an attack. Gustavus Adolphus intended
to enter Swabia, to complete the conquest of Southwestern Germany.
But Wallenstein, who soon afterward also broke camp, invaded Saxony.
This caused the king to change his plans. He was obliged to follow
Wallenstein in order to protect his ally and to avoid the danger of
being cut off from the connections with his own empire. Wallenstein
marked his way by cruel devastation, and the appeals of the unhappy
population persuaded the king to take an early decision.

The people of Saxony received Gustavus Adolphus with great enthusiasm,
of which they gave evidence in the most exultant manner. People were
seen kneeling everywhere on his way, imploringly stretching their hands
toward him. The king was not content with their exaggerated devotion.
“I fear that God is offended by their vain demonstrations of joy and
soon shall show them that the one whom they adore as a god is naught
but a weak and mortal man.”

Wallenstein was in the neighborhood of Leipsic, at the little town of
Lutzen. He had sent away Pappenheim, his best sub-commander, to Halle
with a considerable force. Gustavus Adolphus found this circumstance
favorable and decided on an attack.

It was the 6th of November, 1632. A heavy mist covered the spacious
fields around Leipsic. Wallenstein was, with the right wing of his
army, close on Lutzen, the little town being set on fire, in order not
to shield a clandestine attack. The flame of the conflagration appeared
dull but magnified through the mists of the early morning. In front of
the imperial army was the highway. Musketeers were stationed in and
above the ditches, which were made deeper and provided with ramparts.
The musketeers were so arranged that higher lines could shoot over the
heads of the lower ones. Behind them was another chain of musketeers.
The artillery was placed partly behind the musketeers, partly on the
sides of a hill where some windmills were situated. The cavalry was
placed on the wings, the infantry in the centre, both arranged in great
square divisions. A courier had been sent to recall Pappenheim, as the
army without his force counted only 18,000 men. The Swedish army was
20,000 strong and was arranged according to a plan similar to the one
followed at Breitenfeld. It was arranged in two lines. Musketeers were
interspersed among the cavalry. The regimental artillery was placed
before the front. The king commanded the right wing, Nils Brahe the
centre, Kniephausen the second line of the centre, and Duke Bernhard
the left wing.

The king, who for the time being had none of his best officers around
him, spent the night in a wagon, together with Duke Bernhard and
Kniephausen. He rose in the morning, dressed, without armor, in a
blouse and a gray coat, and mounted his usual white charger, without
having tasted food. He conducted in person the morning prayers of the
army, when Luther’s psalm, “Eine feste Burg ist unser Gott,” was sung.
After the song had ceased, the king made a short speech in Swedish,
which he repeated in German. He said: “There you have the enemy. He is
not now at the top of the hill or behind intrenchments, but in the
open field. You know well how eagerly he has sought to avoid a conflict
and that he is forced to fight because he cannot escape us. Fight,
then, my dear countrymen and friends, for God, your country and your
king. I will reward you all. But if you flinch, you know well that not
a man of you will ever see his country again.” Then the psalm, “Versage
nicht du Hæuflein klein,” the words of which were written in German by
Gustavus Adolphus himself, was sung. The king gave the sign of attack
by waving his sword over his head and cried: “Forward in God’s name;
Jesu, Jesu, Jesu, help us to-day to strive to the honor of thy holy
name!”

It was eleven o’clock, and the mists had, to a great extent, scattered.
The Swedish centre, with the battery behind, marched toward the
highway. The left wing made an attempt to penetrate between the burning
Lutzen and the batteries below the windmills. A terrible fire from
muskets and cannon met the attacking Swedes. Whole lines of infantry
were killed. The left wing suffered in particular. But when the Swedes
reached their destination, the centre moved on with great force,
cleaning the ditches of musketeers, capturing seven pieces of artillery
and making two of the great squares of imperial infantry retire from
their position. While fighting the third, the Swedes were surprised by
the reserve and cavalry forces of the enemy, and had to abandon what
they had taken, retiring into the open field.

The king had, in the meantime, with the cavalry of the right wing,
forced the ditches. When notified of the danger in which the centre
was placed, he hurried to assist his infantry. At the head of his
Smaland cavalry he moved on so quickly that he was separated from the
rest of his forces. The king was near-sighted and the mist once more
thickening. For these reasons he happened to ride close up to the
lines of the imperial cuirassiers. His horse was wounded, and the king
himself received a pistol shot in the arm. He turned to one of his
companions, Duke Frantz Albrecht, of Sachsen-Lauenburg, with a request
to be escorted out of the battle, but was at that instant wounded in
the back, immediately falling off his horse. Duke Frantz Albrecht, only
thinking of saving his own life, fled from the spot. But a German page,
eighteen years of age, who accompanied the king, jumped from his horse
and tried to assist the king in mounting it. Some imperial cavalrymen
passed by. They inquired for the name of the wounded lord. The page
tried to hide his identity, but Gustavus Adolphus answered: “I was once
the king of Sweden.” One of the imperialists attempted to drag the king
with him, but seeing some Swedish soldiers approaching, he sent in
leaving a bullet through the wounded hero’s brain.

The Swedes had been thrown back from the highway all over the line.
The white horse of the king, with empty saddle and stained with blood,
was seen galloping before the front. The message of mourning spread
with lightning rapidity through the army, causing universal sorrow
and anger. The ambition to avenge the death of the beloved king was
kindled in every breast. Duke Bernhard at once assumed supreme command
when notified of the catastrophe. The sagacious Kniephausen thought
the battle lost and considered it best to retire in good order. The
duke answered: “Here is not the question of retreat, but of revenge in
victory or death.” The Swedish line of battle soon moved forward once
more and with redoubled strength. The right wing, commanded by the
valiant Stolhandske, threw back the imperial troops who had caused
the fall of the king. Nils Brahe once more carried the troops of the
centre across the highway and captured for a second time the seven
pieces of artillery. The left wing, commanded by Duke Bernhard, also
moved forward victoriously, capturing the batteries at the windmill
and pointing the cannon toward the enemy. When simultaneously some
wagons loaded with powder for the imperial artillery exploded with a
tremendous roar, the whole army of Wallenstein was thrown into a state
of confusion. It was thought that the Swedes had made an attack from
the rear. The cavalry fled in great numbers with the cries: “We know
the king of Sweden! He is worst toward the end of the day.”

But now another cry was heard: “Pappenheim is coming! Pappenheim is
coming!” And so it was. Pappenheim arrived with his valiant cavalry at
this important juncture. “Where is the king of Sweden to be found?”
was his first question. When told that Gustavus Adolphus had been
seen leading the right wing, he hurried thither, not knowing the fate
that had befallen his royal enemy, and desirous of fighting him face
to face. The imperialists recommenced the battle with renewed vigor.
The scattered forces of cavalry and infantry were collected once more
and were joined by the fresh troops of Pappenheim. The attacking
Swedes met a stanch resistance. The latter were almost tired out, but
preserved their courage. A contemporary writer says that a battle was
never fought in a better way by troops who had for such a long stretch
been in the fire. The Swedish losses were exceedingly heavy. The royal
standard and several other banners were taken. The able Nils Brahe was
killed, and the division of which he was the head fell to the very last
man. But Pappenheim, who rushed forward blindly, in his eagerness to
meet the king of Sweden, was also killed, according to tradition, by a
bullet from Stolhandske. “Pappenheim has fallen! All is lost!” shouted
his men, and drew back discouraged. Wallenstein still thought there was
a chance to hold the field against the exhausted enemy.

Kniephausen had preserved the second line of battle in good order,
resolved to cover the retreat he thought unavoidable. He had sent
away smaller divisions to support the first line, but not in numbers
enough to disturb the order of his own troops. Now he commanded his
men to the front, to fill all the gaps of the first lines. When this
was done, the Swedes made a third attack. The evening sun pierced
through the mists for a moment, and Wallenstein in this light saw the
Swedish army approach in a mighty solid line as at the opening of the
battle. He was greatly surprised. This time the Swedes were resolved
to conquer or die. Soldiers were heard to promise each other to stand
by that resolution. For a third time the Swedes passed the highway and
recaptured, after a bloody struggle, the disputed cannon. The wings of
Wallenstein’s army were both in a state of dissolution. But his centre
preserved two divisions which offered a stubborn resistance until
sunset, when they were ordered to retreat. The Swedes had won the day,
but were too tired to pursue the enemy. Following their custom, they
rested over the night on the battlefield they had bought by their blood.

The loss of troops had been heavy on either side, amounting to about
6,000 men altogether, or about one-third of the whole number of men
engaged in the battle. The excitement was so great on both sides that
no prisoners were made. The corpse of Gustavus Adolphus, bruised and
mangled, was found during the night under a heap of dead soldiers. A
large monumental stone, with inscription, now marks the spot where the
hero king lost his life. The Gustavus Adolphus Society of Germany is a
living monument to his memory.

CHAPTER XI

_Period of Political Grandeur--Queen Christine_

Christine was six years old when she succeeded her father. Her armies
stood scattered through foreign lands, surrounded by enemies and
faithless allies. Her country was covered with glory, but in direst
distress. The most remarkable aspect of her father’s greatness now was
to become apparent. Gustavus Adolphus had left behind men whom he had
educated as statesmen, and generals capable of bringing his work to a
successful end. First among the former was the state chancellor, _Axel
Oxenstierna_, the friend and adviser of the hero king. He managed to
keep the Swedish allies together and to establish harmony and unity of
action between the Swedish commanders, supplying funds to carry on the
war and strengthening the government at home with his courage and his
wisdom. Oxenstierna was a statesman of considerable power before the
death of the king; after it he grows in grandeur to carry the burden
of unlimited responsibility placed on his shoulders. His coolness and
dignity were a source of constant irritation to Richelieu, who said
there was “something Gothic and a good deal of Finnish” about his
proceedings in diplomatic affairs, while Mazarin said that if all the
statesmen of his time were to be put aboard of one vessel, Oxenstierna
should be placed at the helm. The great chancellor always upheld the
dignity of his country. When French diplomatists forgot themselves thus
far as to use, in correspondence, their own language, instead of Latin,
the recognized language of diplomacy in that day, Axel Oxenstierna gave
instructions that they should be answered in Swedish.

After the death of Gustavus Adolphus, the war in Germany lost more
and more of its original aspect. The cause of Protestantism was
dropped out of sight for political interests. The battles of Sweden
were, to a great extent, and sometimes altogether, fought by foreign
troops; but Swedish were the generals and statesmen who led the
operations of the armies and the diplomatic deliberations. The success
of Sweden, at first, seemed to have passed away with her great hero
king. The imperialists won a great victory at Nœrdlingen in 1634.
The young archduke, Ferdinand, had succeeded Wallenstein as their
commander-general, the latter having been murdered at the request of
the emperor. Ferdinand marched on the town of Nœrdlingen with an army
of German and Spanish troops, the experienced Piccolomini being at
his side. Duke Bernhard, who with an army had been taking possession
of Franconia in his own personal interests, hastened to support
the town and was joined by Gustavus Horn, who, with another army,
had been stationed in Elsass. Count Horn gave the advice to await
reinforcements, but the excitable Duke Bernhard opened an attack on
the enemy, which necessitated an immediate battle. After eight hours
of hard fighting, the imperialists, who were 30,000 strong, entirely
routed the Swedish army of 18,000 men, not a single Swedish regiment
being among them. Horn was made a prisoner. Duke Bernhard, who soon
afterward with his troops entered French service, acknowledged his
fault, saying: “I was a fool, but Horn a wise man.” Sweden lost through
this terrible defeat an army and two able generals. The Swedish
conquests in South Germany were lost, and the German allies were
scattered, the elector of Saxony joining the cause of the emperor. The
armistice with Poland came to an end in 1635, and it was renewed for
twenty-six years, at the cost of the Prussian seaports, with their
lucrative revenues, which had paid for the expenses of the German war.
Oxenstierna returned to Sweden to gather means wherewith to continue
the war. The ordinary resources of Sweden were drained, and great
sacrifices were needed. The Riksdag declared itself willing to “risk
life, blood and means, until God grants a peace equal to the dignity of
Sweden.”

John Banér was the man who re-established the success of the Swedish
arms. He resembled Gustavus Adolphus in greatness of mind and ability
in war, paying back the execution of his father under Charles IX.,
by loyalty to the illustrious son of the latter. Banér was a typical
soldier of the Thirty Years’ War, amiable, but licentious, and cruel
to his enemies. An able tactician and strategist of inexhaustible
resources, he had distinguished himself in the Polish war and later
held many important commands. The death of Gustavus Adolphus stirred
this strong man to the very depths of his soul. He left his army in
Bavaria and arrived at Wolgast, resolved to leave the army. At the
sight of the body of his beloved king, he was overcome by a paroxysm of
grief. Axel Oxenstierna persuaded him to resume his command in order to
bring the work of their dead master to completion. He marched with his
army through Silesia to Bohemia, encamping before Prague. After the
battle of Nœrdlingen he retreated to Saxony, whose deceitful elector
he reproached with harsh words. Intrigues by the latter to bring the
German troops in Swedish service to mutiny were frustrated by Banér,
who had only 2,000 Swedes and Livonians with him. The Saxon army
followed Banér into Mecklenburg, but suffered a defeat at Dœmitz. Banér
marched eastward and joined the Swedish force, which met him, from
Prussia, commanded by Lennart Torstensson. The elector of Brandenburg
also declared war on Sweden, Banér answering by invading his country.
From the vicinity of Berlin, Banér continued his way through Saxony
back to Mecklenburg, his German troops marauding with such cruelty that
they were sharply remonstrated with by Banér, who said he found it
strange that God did not instantly punish them.

Banér was followed by the united armies of Austria and Saxony, but,
having received reinforcements of Swedish troops, he turned on his
tracks and met the enemy at Wittstock, in Brandenburg, September 24,
1636. The Swedish army consisted of 20,000 men, while the opposing
force was much larger and occupied a favorable position on a hill.
Banér won a glorious victory, thanks to a skilfully executed manœuvre.
It grew dark, and the right wing of the Swedes was leading an almost
forlorn hope against the overwhelming forces, when their left wing,
after a difficult roundabout move, attacked the enemy from behind. Of
the hostile armies every man was killed except a detachment less than
1,000 strong. The baggage, artillery and banners were taken, even the
table silver of the elector and the imperial generals falling into the
hands of the Swedes, who by this victory had regained their supremacy
on German soil.

Banér had commenced the siege of Leipsic, when, upon news of an
approaching army of the imperial allies, he was forced to undertake the
famous “Retreat from Torgau,” which made him more celebrated than any
of his great battles. He with his army was near being surrounded at
the river Oder, but saved himself through a series of movements of the
highest strategic skill. Cardinal Richelieu wrote that “this retreat,
by means of which Banér saved 14,000 men, less a few fugitives and
wounded, with cannon and baggage, against an army 60,000 strong, is to
be compared to the most glorious deeds in history.” The enemy prided
itself on having “caught Banér in a bag.” “Yes,” said Banér later,
“surely they had me there, but they forgot to tie the string around.”

In Pomerania, Banér received the reinforcements from Sweden which
he had awaited, and once more invaded Saxony, where he won a grand
victory at Chemnitz, in 1639. The Swedish army invaded Bohemia, cruelly
devastating the country. Banér made a daring attack upon Regensburg
in order to make the emperor and the whole German diet his prisoners.
Sudden thaws frustrated the plans, making it impossible for the Swedes
to cross the Danube. A superior force was sent to meet Banér, who saved
his army by another famous retreat back to Saxony. On the way Banér
was attacked by a fever and died at Halberstadt, in 1641. When the
imperialists learned of the death of the Swedish Leonidas, they thought
they could easily defeat his army. The Swedes saw the approaching enemy
and collected around the coffin of their dead hero, offering solemn
pledges to fight for the glory of his name. They then made a sudden
attack upon the imperial army, which suffered a thorough defeat at
Wolfenbuttel. John Banér, triumphant in death like his great master,
was buried in the Swedish Pantheon of the Riddarholm.

Banér had expressed the wish that Lennart Torstensson should succeed
him as commander-general of the Swedish armies. Lennart Torstensson was
a greater warrior even than John Banér; no Swedish general, Gustavus
Adolphus not excepted, ever reaching higher skill or perfection in the
science of war than this crippled hero. Torstensson was of a noble
although not influential family. He entered the service of Gustavus
Adolphus as a body page to the king, later distinguishing himself as an
artillery commander. Torstensson took an honorable part in the battle
of Breitenfeld, but made a prisoner at Nuremberg, he lost his health,
during one year’s captivity, in a miserable dungeon. During his later
brilliant career he suffered greatly from rheumatism, and was mostly
carried around in a litter throughout the battles which covered his
name with undying fame. He was a pious man of a gentle and cheerful
disposition, who tried his utmost to reintroduce among his troops the
excellent moral behavior and severe discipline which had been lost
after the death of Gustavus Adolphus.

Torstensson with rigor suppressed the intrigues against Sweden which
were secretly carried on within the army. Brandenburg received a new
elector in Frederic William, who, ambitious and far-seeing, entered an
alliance with the victorious power of the North. Torstensson now was
enabled to invade the imperial crown lands, commencing with Silesia;
but finding it necessary to force a battle he met the imperialists
at Breitenfeld. October 23, 1642, the second great victory of
Breitenfeld was won by Swedish arms. Archduke Leopold and Piccolomini
led the imperial army, the latter general fighting as a common
soldier to inspire courage by his example, but with no effect. The
Swedes captured the baggage, cannon and banners of the enemy, taking
5,000 prisoners and leaving as many dead imperialists on the field.
Torstensson conquered Leipsic on the following day.

Torstensson marched through Bohemia and Moravia with the rapidity which
characterized all his military movements, and penetrated to the very
gates of Vienna, the emperor with difficulty saving himself from being
made his prisoner. But suddenly he left and marched through Silesia
to North Germany. He had received an order from the state council to
attack Denmark. The great chancellor was out of patience with the
perfidy and intrigues of Christian IV., who stood in secret connection
with every one of Sweden’s enemies. No previous declaration of war was
made. Torstensson captured the Danish duchies of Schleswig and Holstein
before any one could prevent it, his army then taking possession of all
Jutland. Gustavus Horn invaded Scania, almost completely capturing the
whole province in spite of bands of freebooters among the peasants,
called _Snaphaner_.

Denmark was in danger of its very existence, but King Christian IV.
did not forget his old wish to destroy the town of Gothenburg, whose
growing prosperity caused him envy. He approached Gothenburg with
a fleet, and viewed the town from the overlooking mountain of the
Ramberg. His demands for a surrender were refused. Patriotic Louis de
Geer had ordered from Holland a fleet at his own expense, which was
to go to the support of Gothenburg. It did not arrive in time, but
King Christian left to meet it, and it later proved of great value in
the Swedish movements at sea, joining the Swedish fleet in the Sound.
The latter, consisting of twenty-two ships under the command of Clas
Fleming, sailed to the Danish waters, capturing the island of Femern,
supported by Torstensson. An invasion of the island of Funen was
planned, but could not be effected. A great naval battle between the
Swedish and Danish fleets was fought July 6th. It caused great loss on
either side, without being decisive. King Christian, who commanded his
naval forces, lost one eye and received over twenty different wounds.
The Swedes kept the place of battle, but sought the Bay of Skiel for
repairs, where they were hedged in by the Danish fleet. Clas Fleming
encouraged his followers to cut through the line, in which they were
successful. A month later he was killed by a shot from the coast of
Holstein, where the Danes had erected a fort. The Swedes avenged the
death of their valiant commander by destroying the fort and killing
its defenders. Fleming was succeeded by Charles Gustavus Wrangel, who
saved the fleet to Sweden, returning to Femern in the autumn, joined
by the Dutch fleet of Louis de Geer. The Danish fleet was met with
October 13th, and at once scattered. The swift-sailing Dutch ships went
in pursuit and destroyed all the seventeen Danish ships but two, which
brought the news of the disaster to Copenhagen.

King Christian, who had in vain expected support from the emperor,
found himself defeated on every point, and had no other choice than
to make peace. The treaty was signed August 13, 1645, at Brœmsebro,
Denmark ceding the provinces of Jemtland and Herjedal and the islands
of Gothland and Œsel. The province of Halland was to remain for thirty
years in the possession of Sweden, which country was exempt from duties
of toll for the traffic in the Sound. Denmark disavowed all claims of
supremacy over Holstein, the duke of said country two years later
formally placing himself under Swedish protection.

Lennart Torstensson had fulfilled his task in Denmark and returned
to Germany. At Jueterbogk, in Brandenburg, he met the imperial army,
which had been sent to cut off his retreat from Denmark, and entirely
routed it. After this victory Torstensson hastened to Bohemia, resolved
to “attack the emperor in his heart and force him to make peace.” At
Jankowitz, in Bohemia, Torstensson administered a new and crushing
defeat to the imperialists, in 1645. The emperor, who himself had
ordered his army to battle, had arrived in Prague to witness the defeat
of the Swedes, which the Holy Virgin had promised him in a dream. He
soon learned the news, which was quite different from that expected.
The imperial commander-general, five generals and eight colonels were
made prisoners by the Swedes, who captured the artillery and baggage of
the enemy. The health of Torstensson was at that moment so good that he
was able to lead the movements on horseback. He said that such a bloody
battle would not be seen for a long time.

Torstensson invaded Moravia, the fortresses surrendering and the
inhabitants fleeing in terror. For a second time he stood at the walls