ONE of the northern states of Europe, now occupies the whole of the north-western corner of that portion of the globe, lying between the gulf of Bothnia and the Atlantic. Before the treaty concluded in 1829, between Sweden and Russia, the Swedish territory extended over a considerable tract of country on the east of the gulf of Bothnia; but by that treaty the whole of these provinces were ceded to Russia. But on the other hand, Sweden, by a treaty signed at Kiel in January 1814, compelled Denmark to cede Norway to her; in return for which Denmark received Pomerania. Thus enlarged, Sweden possesses nearly the whole Scandinavian peninsula. Her territories are bounded on all sides by the sea, except the north-east, where they are bounded by the rivers Torne and Tana. They extend from 55° 20' to 71° of North latitude, and from 5° to 31° of East longitude. Their greatest length is 1180 English miles, their greatest breadth 500, and they embrace an area of 349,000 square miles, which is about one-tenth of the surface of Europe. She has now also the greatest extent of sea coast of any European power. But Sweden proper, apart from Norway, includes only an area of 195,000 square miles; and as the latter country is described in a separate article, our observations here shall be confined to the former. The following shows the present divisions of Sweden.

Stockholm, ### Sweden

| Division | Extent in German sq. miles | Arable Land in Tunnas | Population in 1805 | |-------------------|----------------------------|-----------------------|-------------------| | Stockholm (city) | | | | | Stockholm (prov.) | 123 | 71,016 | 72,651 | | Upsala | 106.5 | 82,564 | 84,141 | | Sodermanland | 135.3 | 54,011 | 98,761 | | East Gothland | 205 | 104,061 | 162,859 | | Gothland | 49.2 | 39,044 | 32,988 | | Calmar | 196.8 | 66,121 | 136,296 | | Blekinge | 57.2 | 21,715 | 67,200 | | Jonkopings | 200.9 | 53,684 | 117,381 | | Cronoberg | 164 | 37,695 | 89,631 | | Christianstad | 102.5 | 89,344 | 120,547 | | Malmohus | 82 | 222,609 | 149,892 | | Holland | 92.9 | 43,983 | 73,594 | | Gotheborg | 86.1 | 42,458 | 119,514 | | Elfsborg | 241.9 | 73,808 | 156,271 | | Skaraborg | 155.8 | 143,192 | 138,410 | | Orebro | 176.3 | 46,223 | 100,428 | | Carlstad | 299.3 | 82,473 | 140,100 | | Westmanland | 131.2 | 55,515 | 84,808 | | Kopparberg | 590.4 | 51,547 | 124,816 | | Geffleborg | 365.8 | 28,872 | 80,083 | | West Norland | 1,148 | 35,500 | 89,974 | | West Bothnia | 4059 | 20,560 | 76,151 | | Lakes | 8,963 | 1,445,395 | 2,424,874 |

(A) 9,143 equal to 195,000 square English miles.

Population in 1818: 2,615,400 Population of Norway (in 1803): 910,000

The only colonial territory belonging to Sweden is the island of St Bartholomew, in the West Indies.

Sweden is diversified in a most picturesque manner, with extensive lakes, large rivers, winding streams, cataracts, gloomy forests, fertile vales, and stupendous rocks. But the most striking feature in the appearance of the country is the vast forests that cover its surface.

"If the reader, says Dr Clarke*, casts his eyes upon the map of Sweden, and imagine the gulf of Bothnia to be surrounded by one unbroken forest, as ancient as the world, consisting principally of pine trees, with a few mingling birch and juniper trees, he will have a general and tolerably correct idea of the real appearance of the country. The population is yet small, because the whole country is covered with wood. The only region with which Sweden can properly be compared is North America; a land of wood and iron, with very few inhabitants."

eans remarkable for the fertility of its soil, as appears from the above table. The land capable of tillage, it will be seen, amounts only to about 1,800,000 acres, or one acre in sixty of the whole surface of the country. But a great extent of land besides this ministers to the support of man, by affording pasture for cattle and sheep; and probably much of what is now covered with wood is capable of cultivation if cleared.

The principal mountains belonging to Sweden are those of the elevated chain which divides it from Norway, and which branch off in a south-easterly direction. One of the highest of these is Snucku.

The chief rivers are the Gotha connecting Lake We. Riverner with the Categat; the Motala, forming the outlet of Lake Weter; the Dahl rising in the Norwegian mountains, and flowing through Dalecarlia into the gulf of Bothnia, and the Tornea forming the north-eastern boundary, and emptying itself into the gulf of Bothnia at the town of the same name.

There are a vast number of lakes in all the provinces of Sweden. The most remarkable are Wener, Weter, and Maela, on the banks of which last stands the city of Stockholm.

The climate and seasons of Sweden nearly resemble those of the same latitudes in Russia. The winters are in most places extremely severe, and the summers short and sudden. The gulf of Bothnia is generally frozen over during winter, so as to admit of travellers passing over into Finland, and East Bothnia. The summer, though

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(A) The map of Sweden is united with that of Denmark and Norway, in Plate CLXX. The square German mile used in this table is equal to 21\(\frac{4}{5}\) square English miles. The tunna of land is equal to \(\frac{1}{4}\) English acres nearly. The table is taken from Crome's View of the Powers of Europe, published in German at Leipzig, in 1818. though short, is generally hot, and seldom cloudy or inconstant. In the higher latitudes the sun of course is seen in the middle of summer for several days together, and the nights of winter are proportionally long. See Lapland.

Much of the natural history of Sweden has been already given under the article Lapland. In the more southern provinces there are found in the forests the bear, lynx, wolf, beaver, otter, glutton, and flying squirrel. The Swedish horses are commonly small, but spirited, and are considered as superior to those of Germany for cavalry. The cattle and sheep are also small; goats are scarce, but swine are very numerous. Seals are found in the gulf of Bothnia; and the lakes and rivers of Sweden produce pike that are remarkably large, and which are salted and pickled for exportation. The forests produce a great variety of game, especially the large black cock, called in Scotland the cock of the forest. Among the reptiles the rana bombina, and the coluber chersina, are considered as almost peculiar to Sweden.

The chief vegetable productions of Sweden are its immense forests of pine and fir trees, though the country is not destitute of a great variety of shrubs and plants common to it with Denmark and Russia.

The principal riches of the natural history of Sweden are to be found in the mineral kingdom. It produces crystals, amethysts, topazes, porphyry, lapis lazuli, agate, cornelian, marble, and other fossils. The wealth of the country, however, arises chiefly from her mines of silver, copper, lead, and iron. According to Dr Thomson, who travelled in 1812, there were in Sweden 176 iron mines, which yielded annually about 1,200,000 hundred weights of metal. The annual produce of copper is about 1000 tons. The mines employ about 50,000 persons, exclusive of the artists who afterwards work up the metal into various manufactured articles.

There are likewise in Sweden some silver mines, of which that of Sahlberg is the richest, as well as the most ancient. It existed so early as 1188, and during the whole of the 14th century, it yielded 24,000 marks of silver per annum. In the 15th century the quantity was diminished to 20,000. In the reign of Charles X., it gave only 2000; and it furnishes at present still less, the ore yielding only one ounce of pure metal per quintal. The chief gallery, where the purest silver was obtained, having fallen in, is not yet cleared, notwithstanding their incessant labour. They are also digging pits in a perpendicular direction, in order to arrive at the principal vein, which extends itself from the north to the south-east. Formerly lead employed in separating the metal was imported from England; but the mine furnishes at present a sufficient quantity for the purpose.

The most remarkable mineral waters in Sweden are those of Medewi in East Gothland.

The early history of Sweden is not less involved in fable than that of most other nations. Some historians have pretended to give regular catalogues of the princes who reigned in Sweden in very early times; but they differ so much that no credit can be given to them. All indeed agree that ancient Scandinavia was first governed by judges elected for a certain time by the voice of the people. Among these temporary princes the country was divided, until, in the year of the world 2054, according to some, or 1931, according to others, Eric, or, if we believe Puffendorf, Sueco, was raised to the supreme power, with the prerogatives of all the Swedes, temporary magistrates united in his person for life, or until his conduct should merit deposition.

From this very early period till the year 1366 of the Anno 1366 Christian era, the histories of Sweden present us with nothing but what is common to all nations in their early periods, viz. the endless combats of barbarians, tending to no other purpose than the effusion of blood. At the time just mentioned, however, Albert of Mecklenburg, having concluded a peace between Sweden and Mecklenburg, which had been at violent war for some time before, was proclaimed king of Sweden. The peace was of short duration, being broken in 1368; on which Albert entered into an offensive and defensive league with the earl of Holstein, the Jutland nobility, the dukes of Sleswick, Mecklenburg, and the Hanse-towns, against the kings of Denmark and Norway. Albert proved War with very successful against Waldemar king of Denmark at that time, driving him entirely out of his dominions; but he himself was defeated by the king of Norway, who laid siege to his capital. Soon after this, a new treaty was concluded, by which Albert was allowed to enjoy the crown of Sweden in peace. Having formed a design however of rendering himself absolute, he so displeased his subjects that Margaret of Norway was proclaimed queen of Sweden by the malecontents. A war immediately ensued, in which Albert was defeated and taken prisoner; but as the princes of Mecklenburg and the earls of Holstein, and the Hanse-towns, entered into a league in his favour, the war raged with more fury than ever.

At length, in 1394, the contending parties were reconciled. Albert was set at liberty, on condition that he should in three years give up to Margaret all pretensions to the city of Stockholm; and the Hanse-towns engaged to pay the sum of 60,000 marks of silver if Albert should break that treaty. Not long after this, Eric the son of Albert died; and he, having no other child, did not think it worth his while to contend for the kingdom of Sweden; he therefore acquiesced in the pretensions of Margaret, and passed the remainder of his days at Mecklenburg.

Margaret died in 1415, and was succeeded by Eric Margaret of Pomerania. This prince's reign was cruel and oppressive. The consequence of this was a revolt; and a cruel governor of Finland, having joined the malecontents, was declared commander in chief of their army. Eric was now formally deposed: Canutson was chosen regent; but beginning to oppress the people, and aspiring openly to the crown, the Swedes and Danes revolted; in consequence of which a revolution took place, and Christopher duke of Bavaria, nephew to Eric, was chosen king of Denmark, Sweden, and Norway, in 1442.

On the accession of the new prince, complaints against Charles Canutson were brought from all quarters; but through the interest of his friends, he escaped punishment; and in 1448, Christopher having died after a tyrannical reign of about five years, he was raised to the throne to which he had so long aspired. The kingdoms of Denmark and Norway however refused allegiance to him; on which a war immediately commenced. In 1454 peace was concluded, and Denmark for the present freed from the Swedish yoke. Nor did Canutson long enjoy even the crown of Sweden. Having quarrelled with the magistrates Sweden. magistrates and the archbishop of Upsal, the latter formed such a strong party that the king could not resist him. Canutson died in 1470 after a long and turbulent reign.

The Swedish affairs continued to be involved in dreadful confusion till the year 1520, when a great revolution was effected by Gustavus Ericson, a nobleman of the first rank, who restored the kingdom to its liberty, and laid the foundation of its future grandeur. The occasion of this great revolution was as follows: In 1518, Christiern king of Denmark invaded Sweden, with a design to subdue the whole country; but being defeated with great loss by young Steen Sture, at that time regent, he set sail for Denmark. But meeting with contrary winds, he made several descents on the Swedish coast, which he ravaged with all the fury of an incensed barbarian. The inhabitants, however, bravely defended themselves, and Christiern was reduced to the utmost distress; one half of his forces having perished with hunger, and the rest being in the most imminent danger by the approach of a rigorous winter. He then thought of a stratagem, which had almost proved fatal to the regent; for having invited him to a conference, at which he designed either to assassinate or take him prisoner, Sture was about to comply, had not the senate, who suspected the plot, interposed and prevented him. Christiern then offered to go in person to Stockholm in order to confer with Sture, on condition that six hostages should be sent in his room. This was accordingly done; but the wind happening then to prove favourable, he set sail for Denmark with the hostages, of whom Gustavus Ericson was one. Next year he returned; and having drawn Sture into an ambush, the regent received a wound of which he died some time after. The kingdom being thus left without a head, matters soon came to the most desperate crisis. The army disbanded itself; and the senate, instead of taking proper measures to oppose the enemy, spent their time in idle debates. Christiern in the mean time advanced into the heart of the kingdom, destroying everything with fire and sword; but on his arrival at Stragnez, he granted a suspension of arms, on condition that they would elect him king. This they accordingly did; and Christiern proved one of the most bloody tyrants that ever sat on the throne of any kingdom. Immediately after his coronation, he gave grand entertainments for three days; during which time he projected the diabolical design of exterminating at once all the Swedish nobility, and thus for ever preventing the people from revolting, by depriving them of their proper leaders. As the tyrant had signed articles, by which he promised indemnity to all who had borne arms against him, it became necessary to invent some cause of offence against those whom he intended to destroy. To accomplish his purpose, Gustavus Trolle, formerly archbishop of Upsal, but who had been degraded from that dignity, in an oration before his majesty, lamented the demolition of Steka, his place of residence, and the losses sustained by the see of Upsal, amounting to near a million of money. He then proceeded in a bitter accusation against the widow and the son-in-law of Sture the late regent, comprehending in the same accusation about 15 of the principal nobility, the whole senate, and the burghers of Stockholm. In consequence of this, about 65 of the principal nobility and people of first rank in Sweden were hanged as traitors. Innumerable other cruelties were committed; part of which are owned by the Danish historians, and minutely related by those of Sweden.

At last he departed for Denmark, ordering gibbets to be erected, and causing the peasants to be hanged on them for the slightest offences.

This monstrous cruelty, instead of securing him on the throne, exasperated the whole nation against him. It has already been mentioned, that Gustavus Ericson, or, as he is commonly called, Gustavus Vasa, was among the number of the hostages whom Christiern had perditionously carried to Denmark in 1519. Large promises had been made in order to reconcile him to Christiern, and all means had been employed, but in vain. Secret orders were given to strangle him in prison; but the officer to whom the assassination was committed demonstrated to the king about the consequences of it, and prevailed on him to change the sentence of death into close confinement in the castle of Copenhagen. Some of the hostages perished in consequence of the rigorous treatment they met with; but Gustavus withstood all hardships. At last one Banner, a Danish nobleman, prevailed on the king to put him into his hands, in order to try whether or not he could prevail on him to change his sentiments. The king, however, told Banner, that he must pay 6000 crowns if the prisoner should make his escape. Banner generously consented; and having brought the noble prisoner to his fortress of Calo in Jutland, soon allowed him all the liberty he could desire, and otherwise heaped favours on him. All this, however, could not extinguish his remembrance of the cruelties of Christiern, and the desire he had of being serviceable to his country. He therefore determined to make his escape; and the liberty he enjoyed soon put him in a capacity of effecting it. Having one day mounted his horse, under pretence of hunting as usual in the forest, when he got at a proper distance, he changed his dress to the habit of a peasant; and quitting his horse, travelled for two days on foot through by-paths, and over mountains almost impassable, arriving on the third at Flensburg. Here no one was admitted without a passport; and Gustavus dreaded presenting himself to the governor or the officer on guard, for fear of being discovered. Gustavus hired himself to a cattle merchant; and in this disguise escaped out of the Danish territories, and arrived at Lubeck.

Banner was no sooner acquainted with his escape, than he set out after him with the utmost diligence, found him at Lubeck, and reproached him with great warmth as ungrateful and treacherous; but he was soon appeased by the arguments urged by Gustavus, and especially by a promise of indemnifying him in the loss of his ransom. On this Banner returned, giving out that he could not find his prisoner. Christiern was enraged at his escape, apprehending that he might reverse all his designs in Sweden; and gave orders to Otho his general to make the strictest search, and leave no means untried to arrest him. Gustavus applied to the regency for a ship to convey him to Sweden, where he hoped he should be able to form a party against the Danes. He likewise endeavoured to draw the regency of Lubeck into his measures; and reasoned with so much zeal and ability, that Nicholas Gemins, first consul, was entirely regained; but the regency could never be prevailed on to declare for a party without friends, arms, money, or credit. Before his departure, however, the consul gave him him assurances, that if he could raise a force sufficient to make head against the enemy in the field, he might depend on the services of the republic, and that the regency would immediately declare for him. Gustavus desired to be landed at Stockholm; but the captain of the ship, either having secret orders to the contrary, or business elsewhere, steered a different course, and put him on shore near Calmar; a city then garrisoned by the troops of Christiana widow of the regent. In fact, the governor held this place for his own purposes, and only waited to make the best terms he could with the Danes. When Gustavus arrived, he made himself known to him and the principal officers of the garrison, who were mostly Germans, and his fellow-soldiers in the late administrator's army; but the mercenary band, seeing him without troops and without attendants, regarded him as a desperate person devoted to destruction, refused to embrace his proposals, and even threatened to kill or betray him, if he did not instantly quit the city.

Disappointed in his expectations, Gustavus departed; and his arrival being now publicly known, he was again forced to have recourse to his peasant's disguise to conceal him from the Danish emissaries dispersed over the country to search for him. In a waggon loaded with hay he passed through the Danish army, and at last repaired to an old family castle in Sodermania. Hence he wrote to his friends, intimating his return to Sweden, and beseeching them to assemble all their forces in order to break through the enemy's army into Stockholm, at that time besieged; but they refused to embark in so hazardous and desperate an attempt.

Gustavus next applied himself to the peasants; but they answered, that they enjoyed salt and herrings under the government of the king of Denmark; and that any attempts to bring about a revolution would be attended with certain ruin, without the prospect of bettering their condition; for peasants they were, and peasants they should remain, whoever was king. At length, after several attempts to throw himself into Stockholm, after that city was surrendered to the king, after the horrid massacre of the senate, and after running a thousand dangers, and undergoing hardships and fatigues scarcely to be supported by human nature, he formed the resolution of trying the courage and affection of the Dalecarlians. While he was in the deepest obscurity, and plunged in almost insurmountable adversity, he never relinquished his designs nor his hopes. The news of the massacre had, however, nearly sunk him into despondency, as by it he lost all his friends, relations, and connections, and indeed almost every prospect of safety to himself or deliverance to his country. This suggested the thought of going to Dalecarlia, where he might live with more security in the high mountains and thick woods of that country, if he should fail in the attempt of exciting the inhabitants to revolt.

Attended by a peasant, to whom he was known, he travelled in disguise through Sodermanin, Nerica, and Westermania, and, after a laborious and painful journey, arrived in the mountains of Dalecarlia. Scarcely had he finished his journey, when he found himself deserted by his companion and guide, who carried off with him all the money which he had provided for his subsistence. Thus forlorn and destitute, he entered among the miners, without relinquishing his hopes of one day ascending the throne of Sweden. His whole object for the present was to live concealed, and gain a maintenance, till fortune should effect something in his favour: nor was it long before this happened. A wanderer in the mines perceived, under the habit of a peasant and servant, that the collar of his shirt was embroidered. This circumstance excited curiosity; and the graces of his person and conversation, which had something in them to attract the notice of the meanest of the vulgar, afforded room for suspicion that he was some person of quality in disguise, forced by the tyranny of the government to seek shelter in these remote parts. The story came to the ears of a neighbouring gentleman, who immediately went to the mines to offer his protection to the unfortunate stranger; and was astonished on recognizing the features of Gustavus, to whom he had been known at the university of Upsal. Touched with compassion at the deplorable situation of so distinguished a nobleman, he could scarcely refrain from tears. At night he sent for Gustavus, made him an offer of his house, and gave him the strongest assurances of his friendship and protection. He told him, he would there meet with better accommodations, and as much security as in the mines; and that, should he chance to be discovered, he would, with all his friends and vassals, take arms in his defence.

This offer was embraced by Gustavus with joy, and he remained for some time at his friend's house; but finding it impossible to induce him to take part in his designs, he quitted him, and fled to one Peterson, a gentleman whom he had formerly known in the service. This man received Gustavus with all the appearance of kindness; and on the very first proposal, offered to raise his vassals. He even named the lords and peasants whom he pretended to have engaged in his service; but in a few days, he went secretly to a Danish officer, and gave him information of what had passed. The officer immediately caused the house to be surrounded with soldiers, in such a manner that it seemed impossible for Gustavus to escape. Being warned, by Peterson's wife of the treachery of her husband, he, narrow-eyed by her direction, contrived to flee to the house of a clergyman, her friend, by whom he was received with all the respect due to his birth and merit; and lest the domestic who conducted him should follow the treacherous example of his master, he removed him to the church, and conducted him to a small closet, of which he kept the key. Having lived for some time in this manner, Gustavus began to consult with his friend concerning the most proper method of putting their schemes in execution. The priest advised him to apply directly to the peasants themselves; told him that it would be proper to spread a report, that the Danes were to enter Dalecarlia in order to establish new taxes by force of arms; and as the annual feast of all the neighbouring villages was to be held in a few days, he could not have a more favourable opportunity: he also promised to engage the principal persons of the diocese in his interest.

In compliance with this advice, Gustavus set out for His estate Mora, where the feast was to be held. He found the peasants already informed of his designs, and impatient to see him. Being already prepossessed in his favour, they were soon excited to an enthusiasm in his cause, etc. Sweden. and instantly resolved to throw off the Danish yoke.

In this design they were more confirmed by their superstition; some of their old men having observed that the wind had blown from the north while Gustavus was speaking, which among them was reckoned an infallible omen of success. Gustavus did not allow their ardour to cool, but instantly led them against the governor's castle: which he took by assault, and put the garrison to the sword. This inconsiderable enterprise was attended with the most happy consequences.

Great numbers of the peasants flocked to his standard; some of the gentry openly espoused his cause, and others supplied him with money. Christiern was soon informed of what had passed; but despising such an inconsiderable enemy, he sent only a slender detachment to assist his adherents in Dalecarlia. Gustavus advanced with 5000 men, and defeated a body of Danes; but he was strenuously opposed by the archbishop of Upsal, who raised numerous forces for Christiern. The fortune of Gustavus, however, still prevailed, and the archbishop was defeated with great loss. Gustavus then laid siege to Stockholm; but his force being unequal to such an undertaking, he was forced to abandon it with loss.

This check did not prove in any considerable degree detrimental to the affairs of Gustavus; the peasants from all parts of the kingdom flocked to his camp, and he was joined by a reinforcement from Lubeck. Christiern, unable to suppress the revolt, wreaked his vengeance on the mother and sisters of Gustavus, whom he put to death. His barbarities served only to make his enemies more resolute. Gustavus having assembled the states at Wadstena, he was unanimously chosen regent, the diet taking an oath of fidelity to him, and promising to assist him to the utmost. Having thus obtained the sanction of legal authority, he pursued his advantages against the Danes. A body of troops appointed to throw succours into Stockholm were cut in pieces; and the regiment sending some troops into Finland, struck the Danes there with such terror, that the archbishop of Upsal, together with the Danish governors, fled to Denmark. Christiern then sent express orders to all his governors and officers in Finland and Sweden to massacre the Swedish gentry without distinction. The Swedes made reprisals by massacring all the Danes they could find; so that the whole country was filled with slaughter.

In the mean time Gustavus had laid siege to the towns of Calmar, Abo, and Stockholm; but Norby found means to oblige him to raise them with loss. Gustavus, in revenge, laid siege to the capital a third time, and applied to the regency of Lubeck for a squadron of ships and other succours for carrying on the siege. This was granted on condition that Gustavus should oblige himself, in the name of the states, to pay 60,000 merks of silver as the expense of the armament; that, until the kingdom should be in a condition to pay that sum, the Lubeck merchants trading to Sweden should be exempted from all duties on imports or exports; that all other nations should be prohibited from trading with Sweden, and that such traffic should be deemed illicit; that Gustavus should neither conclude a peace, nor even agree to a truce, with Denmark, without the concurrence of the regency of Lubeck; and that if the republic should be attacked by Christiern, he should enter Denmark at the head of 20,000 men. On these hard terms Gustavus obtained assistance from the regency of Lubeck; nor did his dear-bought allies prove very faithful. They did not indeed go over to the enemy; but in a sea-fight, where the Danes were entirely in the power of their enemies, they suffered them to escape, when their whole force might have been entirely destroyed. This treachery had nearly ruined the affairs of Gustavus; for Norby was now making preparations effectually to relieve Stockholm; in which he would probably have succeeded: but at this critical period news arrived that the Danes had unanimously revolted, and driven Christiern from the throne; and that the king had retired into Germany, in hopes of being restored by the arms of his brother-in-law the emperor. On hearing this news, Norby retired with his whole fleet to the island of Gothland, leaving but a slender garrison in Calmar. Gustavus did not fail to improve this opportunity to his own advantage, and quickly made himself master of Calmar. Mean time Stockholm continued closely invested; but Gustavus thought proper to protract the siege till he should get himself elected king. Having for this purpose called a general diet, he first filled up the vacancy in the senate occasioned by the massacres of Christiern. Gustavus had the address to get such nominated as were in his interest. The assembly was no sooner met, than a speech was made, containing the highest encomiums on Gustavus, setting forth in the strongest light the many eminent services he had done for his country, and concluded that the states would show themselves equally ungrateful and blind to their own interest if they did not immediately elect him king. This proposal was acceded to by such tumultuous acclamations that it was impossible to collect the votes; so that Gustavus himself acknowledged, that their affection exceeded his merit, and was more agreeable to him than the effects of their gratitude. He was urged to have the ceremony of his coronation immediately performed; but this he delayed, in consequence of some designs which he had formed to reduce the exorbitant power of the clergy. Gustavus had himself embraced the doctrines of the reformed religion, and did all in his power to establish the reformation in his new kingdom. His design could not fail to raise against him the enmity of the clergy, and of all the more superstitious part of his subjects. Accordingly, the first years of his reign were embittered by internal disturbances and revolts, which were aided and fomented by the deposed Christiern, who was at one time very near regaining possession of the Swedish dominions.

Christiern having established a powerful interest in Norway, once more made an attempt to recover his kingdoms, and was joined by the Dalecarlians; but being defeated by the Swedish forces, he was forced to return to Norway, where, being obliged to capitulate with the Danish generals, he was kept prisoner all his life.

In 1542, Gustavus having happily extricated himself out of all his troubles, prevailed on the states to make the crown hereditary in his family; after which he applied himself to the encouragement of learning and commerce. A treaty was set on foot for a marriage between his eldest son Eric and Elizabeth queen of England; but this negotiation failed of success.

Gustavus Vasa died in 1560, and was succeeded by his his son Eric XIV. The new king was possessed of all the exterior ornaments which gave an air of dignity to the person; but he had neither the prudence nor the penetration of his father. He created the first nobility that were ever known in Sweden; but this he had no sooner done than he quarrelled with them, by passing some act, which they thought derogatory to their honour and dignity. The whole course of his reign was disturbed by wars with Denmark, and disputes with his own subjects. In the former he was unfortunate, and towards the latter he behaved with the greatest cruelty. At last, he is said to have become mad. He afterwards recovered his senses, but was soon dethroned by his brothers; of whom Duke John succeeded him in the kingdom.

This revolution took place in the year 1568, but with no great advantage to Sweden. Disputes about religion between the king and his brothers, and wars with Russia, threw matters into the utmost confusion. At last Prince Sigismund, the king's son, was chosen king of Poland, which proved the source of much trouble to the kingdom. In 1590 King John died; and as Sigismund was at a distance, everything fell into the utmost confusion: the treasury was plundered, and the royal wardrobe quite spoiled, before even Duke Charles could come to Stockholm to take on himself the administration until King Sigismund should return. This, however, was far from being the greatest disaster which befell the nation at this time. It was known that the king had embraced the Popish religion, and it was with good reason suspected that he would attempt to restore it upon his arrival in Sweden. Sigismund was also obliged, on leaving Poland, to promise that he would stay no longer in Sweden than was necessary to regulate his affairs. These circumstances served to alienate the minds of the Swedes from their sovereign even before they saw him; and the universal dissatisfaction was increased, by seeing him attended on his arrival in Sweden in 1593, by the pope's nuncio, to whom he made a present of 30,000 ducats to defray the expenses of his journey to Sweden.

What the people had foreseen was too well verified: the king refused to confirm the Protestants in their religious privileges, and showed such partiality on all occasions to the Papists, that a party was formed against him; at the head of which was Duke Charles his uncle. Remonstrances, accompanied with threats, took place on both sides. Sigismund was apparently reconciled to his brother, and promised to comply with the inclinations of the people, though without any inclination to perform what he had promised. The agreement, indeed, was scarcely made, before Sigismund conceived the horrid design of murdering his uncle at the Italian comedy acted the night after his coronation. The duke, however, having notice of the plot, found means to avoid it. This enraged the king so much, that he had resolved to accomplish his designs by force; and therefore commanded a Polish army to march towards the frontiers of Sweden, where they committed all the ravages that could be expected from an enraged and cruel enemy. Complaints were made by the Protestant clergy to the senate; but no other reply was made them, than that they should abstain from those bitter invectives and reproaches, which had provoked the Catholics, till the king's departure; at which time they would be at more liberty.

In 1593 Sigismund set sail for Dantzig, leaving the administration in the hands of Duke Charles. The consequence of this was, that the dissensions which had already taken place being continually increased by the obstinacy of the king, Duke Charles assumed the sovereign power; and in 1624 Sigismund was formally deposed, Sigismund and his uncle Charles IX raised to the throne. He pro-deposed, a wise and brave prince, restoring the tranquillity of the kingdom, and carrying on a war with vigour against Poland and Denmark. He died in 1611, leaving the kingdom to his son, the celebrated Gustavus Adolphus.

Though Charles IX, by his wise and vigorous conduct had in a great measure retrieved the affairs of Sweden, they were still in a very bad situation. The finances of the kingdom were entirely drained by a series of wars and revolutions; powerful armies were preparing in Adolphus, Denmark, Poland, and Russia, while not only the Swedish troops were inferior in number to their enemies, but the government was destitute of resources for their payment.

Though the Swedish laws required that the prince should have attained his 18th year before he was of age, yet such striking marks of the great qualities of Gustavus appeared, that he was allowed by the states to take on him the administration even before this early period. His first act was to resume all the crown-grants, that while might be the better able to carry on the wars in which yet a military, with persons of merit. At the head of domestic and foreign affairs was placed Chancellor Oxenstierna, a person every way equal to the important trust, and the choosing of whom impressed Europe with the highest opinion of the young monarch's penetration and capacity.

Soon after his accession, Gustavus received an embassy from James I. of Britain, exhorting him to make peace with his neighbours. This was seconded by another from Holland. But as the king perceived that the Danish monarch intended to take every opportunity of crushing him, he resolved to act with such vigour, as might convince him that he was not easily to be overcome. Accordingly he invaded Denmark with three different armies at once; and though the enemy's superiority at sea gave them great advantages, and the number of the king's enemies distracted his attention, he carried on the war with such spirit, that in 1613 peace was concluded on good terms. This war being finished, the king applied himself to civil polity, and made some reformations in the laws of Sweden. In 1615, hostilities were commenced against Russia, on account of the refusal of that court to restore some money which had been formerly lent them. The king entered Ingria, took Russia in Kexholm by storm, and was laying siege to Plescov, when, by the mediation of James I., peace was concluded, on condition of the Russians repaying the money, and yielding to Sweden some part of their territory. In this and the former war, notwithstanding the shortness of their duration, Gustavus learned the rudiments of Extraordinary military art for which he soon became so famous. He may be said, indeed, to have taken every opportunity of improving with a quickness of understanding seeming only more than human. In one campaign, he not only learned, but improved all the military maxims of La Gardie, a celebrated general, brought the Swedish army to a more steady and regular discipline, and formed an invincible invincible body of Finanders, who had afterwards a very considerable share in the victories of Sweden.

Peace was no sooner concluded with Russia, than Gustavus was crowned with great solemnity at Upsal. Soon after this he ordered his general La Gardie to acquaint the Polish commander Codekowitz, that as the truce between the two kingdoms, which had been concluded for two years, was now expired, he desired to be certainly informed whether he was to expect peace or war from his master. In the mean time, having borrowed money of the Dutch for the redemption of a town from Denmark, he had an interview on the frontiers with Christiern the king of that country. At this interview, the two monarchs conceived the utmost esteem and friendship for each other; and Gustavus obtained a promise, that Christiern would not assist Sigismund in any design he might have against Sweden. In the mean time, receiving no satisfactory answer from Poland, Gustavus began to prepare for war. Sigismund entered into a negociation, and made some pretended concessions, with a view to seize Gustavus by treachery; but the latter having intimation of his design, the whole negociation was changed into reproaches and threats on the part of Gustavus.

Immediately after this, Gustavus made a tour in disguise through Germany, and married Eleonora the daughter of the elector of Brandenburg. He then resolved to enter heartily into a war with Poland; and with this view set sail for Riga with a great fleet, which carried 20,000 men. The place was well fortified, and defended by a body of veterans enthusiastically attached to Sigismund; but after a vigorous siege, the garrison being reduced to extremity, were obliged to capitulate, and were treated with great clemency.

After the reduction of Riga, the Swedish monarch entered Courland, where he reduced Mittau; but ceded it again on the conclusion of a truce for one year. Sigismund, however, no sooner had time to recover himself, than he began to form new enterprises against the Swedes in Prussia; but Gustavus setting sail with his whole fleet for Dantzie, where the king of Poland then resided, so defeated his measures, that he was obliged to prolong the truce for another year. Sigismund, however, was not yet apprised of his danger, and refused to listen to any terms of accommodation: on which Gustavus entering Livonia, defeated the Polish general, and took Derpt, Hockenhausen, and several other places of less importance; after which, entering Lithuania, he took the city of Birsen.

Notwithstanding this success, Gustavus proposed peace on the same equitable terms as before; but Sigismund was still infatuated with the hopes that, by means of the emperor of Germany, he should be able to conquer Sweden. Gustavus finding him inflexible, resolved to push his good fortune. His generals Horn and Thurn defeated the Poles in Semigallia. Gustavus himself with 150 ships set sail for Prussia, where he landed at Pillaw. This place was immediately delivered up to him; as were several other places. Sigismund, alarmed at the great progress of Gustavus, sent a body of forces to oppose him, and to prevent Dantzie from falling into his hands. In this he was attended with as little success as before; and in May 1627, Gustavus arrived with fresh forces before Dantzie, which he would probably have carried, had he not been wounded in the belly by a cannon-shot. The States of Holland sent ambassadors to mediate a peace between the two crowns; but Sigismund, depending on the assistance of the emperor of Germany and king of Spain, determined to hearken to no terms, and resolved to make a winter campaign. Gustavus, however, was so well intrenched, and all his forts were so strongly garrisoned, that the utmost efforts of the Poles were to no purpose. The city of Dantzie in the mean time made such a desperate resistance as greatly irritated Gustavus. In a sea engagement the Swedish fleet defeated that of the enemy; after which Gustavus, having blocked up the harbour with his fleet, pushed his advances on the land side with incredible vigour. He made a surprising march over a morass 15 miles broad, assisted by bridges of a peculiar construction, over which he carried a species of light cannon invented by himself. By this unexpected manoeuvre he got the command of the city in such a manner, that the garrison were on the point of surrendering, when, by a sudden swell of the Vistula, the Swedish works were ruined, and the king was obliged to raise the siege. In other respects, however, the affairs of Gustavus went on with their usual good fortune. His general Wrangel defeated the Poles before Brodnitz. At Stum the king gained another and more considerable victory in person. The emperor had sent 5000 foot and 2000 horse under Arnhem, who joined the main army commanded by the Polish general Conicopski, in order to attack the Swedish army encamped at Quidzin. The enemy were so much superior in number, that the friends of Gustavus warmly dissuaded him from attacking them. But the king being determined, the engagement began. The Swedish cavalry charged with such impetuosity, contrary to their sovereign's express order, that they were almost surrounded by the enemy; but Gustavus, coming up to their assistance, pushed the enemy's infantry with so much vigour, that they gave way, and retreated to a bridge that had been thrown over the Werder. But here they were disappointed; for the Swedes had already taken possession of the bridge. On this a new action ensued more bloody than the former, in which the king was exposed to great danger, and thrice narrowly escaped being taken prisoner; but at last the Poles were totally defeated, with immense loss. The slaughter of the German auxiliaries was so great, that Arnhem scarcely carried off one half of the troops which he brought into the field. This defeat did not hinder the Polish general from attempting the siege of Stum; but here again he was attended by his usual bad fortune. Arnhem was recalled, and succeeded by Henry of Saxe Lawenburg and Philip Count Mansfeldt. The change of general officers, however, produced no good consequences to the Poles; a famine and plague raged in their camp, so that they were at last obliged to consent to a truce for six years, to expire in the month of June 1633. Gustavus kept the port and citadel of Memel, the harbour of Pillau, the town of Elbing, Brunsberg, and all that he had conquered in Livonia.

Gustavus having thus brought the war with Poland to an honourable conclusion, began to think of rescuing the conduct of the emperor in assisting his enemies and oppressing the Protestant states. Before embarking in such an important undertaking, it was necessary that he should consult the diet. In this the propriety of engaging ging in a war with Germany was warmly debated; but, after much altercation, Gustavus in a very noble speech determined the matter, and set forth in such strong terms the virtuous motives by which he was actuated, that the whole assembly wept, and every thing was granted which he could require.

It was not difficult for Gustavus to begin his expedition. His troops amounted to 60,000 men, hardened by a succession of severe campaigns in Russia, Finland, Livonia, and Prussia. His fleet exceeded 70 sail, carrying from 20 to 40 guns, and manned with 6000 seamen. Embarking his troops, he landed at Usedom on the 24th of June 1630, the Imperialists having evacuated all the fortresses which they possessed there; and the isle of Rugen had been before reduced by General Lesly, in order to secure a retreat if fortune should prove unfavourable. Passing the frith, Gustavus stormed Wolgast and another strong fortress in the neighbourhood, leaving a garrison for the defence of these conquests. He then proceeded to Stettin; which consented to receive a Swedish garrison, and the king persuaded the duke of Pomerania to enter into an alliance with him. In consequence of this the Swedish troops were received into several towns of Pomerania; and the most bitter enmity took place between the Imperialists and Pomeranians.

These successes of Gustavus struck the empire with consternation; for being already overwhelmed with civil dissensions, they were in no condition to resist so impetuous an enemy. At last Count Tilly was invested with the dignity of veldt marischal. In the mean time the king being reinforced by a considerable body of troops in Finland and Livonia under the conduct of Gustavus Horn, defeated the Imperialists before Griftenhagen; taking the place soon after by assault. By this and some other conquests he opened a passage into Lusatia and Silesia; but in the mean time Count Tilly cut off 2000 Swedes at New Brandenburg. This advantage, however, was soon overbalanced by the conquest of Franckfort on the Oder, which Gustavus took by assault, making the whole garrison prisoners. Thus he commanded the rivers Elbe and Oder on both sides, and had a fair passage not only to the countries already mentioned, but also to Saxony and the hereditary dominions of the house of Austria. Soon after this, Gustavus laid siege to Landsberg, which he took by assault.

About this time the Protestant princes held a diet at Leipsic; to which Gustavus sent deputies, and conducted his negotiations with such address, as tended greatly to promote his interests. Immediately after this he reduced Gripwald, and with it all Pomerania. Then marching to Gustrow, he restored the dukes of Mecklenburg to their dominions.

All this time Count Tilly was employed in the siege of Magdeburg; but now, being alarmed at the repeated successes of the Swedes, he left Pappenheim with part of the army before that city, while he marched with the rest into Thuringia, to attack the landgrave of Hesse Cassel and the elector of Saxony. After a most obstinate defence, Magdeburg fell into the hands of Pappenheim, who committed there all imaginable cruelties. Gustavus formed a plan of recovering the city; but was obliged to abandon it, by Pappenheim's throwing himself into the place with his whole army, and by the progress which Tilly was making in Thuringia. Relinquishing this enterprise, therefore, he ordered an attack on Havelsburg; which was done with such resolution, that the place was forced in a few hours, and all the garrison made prisoners. Werben was next obliged to submit after an obstinate conflict, in which many died, and fell on both sides.—These successes obliged Count Tilly to attempt in person to check the progress of the Swedes. He detached the vanguard of his army, composed of the defeated flower of the Imperial cavalry, within a few miles of the Swedish camp. An action ensued, in which Bern-Sweden the Imperial general was defeated and killed, with 1500 of his men. Gustavus, after this advantage, placed himself in a situation so much superior to his enemies, that Count Tilly was fired with indignation, and marched up to the Swedish lines to give him battle. Gustavus kept within his works, and Tilly attacked his camp, though almost impregnable fortified, keeping up a most terrible fire from a battery of 32 pieces of cannon; which, however, produced no other effect, than obliging the Swedish monarch to draw up his army behind the walls of Werben. Tilly had placed his chief hopes in being able to spike the enemy's cannon, or set fire to their camp; after which he proposed making his grand attack. With this view he bribed some prisoners; but they betrayed him, and told his design to Gustavus. The king ordered fires to be lighted in different parts of his camp, and his soldiers to imitate the noise of a tumultuous disorderly rabble. This had the desired effect. The count led his army to the breach made by the cannon; where he was received with such a volley of grape shot as cut off the first line, and put the whole body in disorder, so that they could never be brought back to the charge. In this confusion the Imperial army was attacked, and after an obstinate conflict obliged to quit the field.

Soon after this action the queen arrived at the camp with a reinforcement of 8000 men; at the same time a treaty was concluded with Charles I. of England, by which that monarch allowed the marquis of Hamilton to British sol-raise 6000 men for the service of Gustavus. These auxiliaries were to be conducted to the main army by a body of 4000 Swedes; and were in every thing to obey the king while he was personally present, but in his absence were to be subject to the orders of the marquis. With these troops the king had resolved to make a diversion in Bremen; but the marquis finding it impossible to effect a junction with the Swedish army, resolved, without debarking his troops, to steer his course for the Oder, and land at Usedom. Gustavus was very much displeased at finding his project thus disconcerted; but, making the best of the present circumstances, he commanded the British troops to act on the Oder instead of the Weser. The number of this little army was magnified exceedingly by report, insomuch that Count Tilly had some thoughts of marching against them with his whole force; but on the departure of the marquis for Silesia, he reinforced the army in that country with a large detachment, which was thought to contribute not a little to the defeat he soon after received.

Since the late action Gustavus had kept within his intrenchments, where his army was well provided with everything. Tilly made several attempts to surprise or draw him to an engagement; but finding all his endeavours fruitless, he marched into Saxony, and laid siege Sweden, to Leipzig. This precipitate measure proved highly advantageous to the Swedish monarch. A treaty offensive and defensive was immediately concluded with Gustavus; and the elector willingly promised every thing that was required of him. Tilly, in the mean time, carried fire and sword into the electorate. At the head of an army of 44,000 veterans, he summoned the city of Leipzig to surrender; denouncing the same vengeance against it as had been executed on Magdeburg, in case of a refusal. By this the governor was so much intimidated, that he instantly submitted; and also surrendered the castle of Passenberg, which was in a condition to have stood out till the arrival of the Swedish army. The elector, enraged at the loss of these valuable places, ordered his army to join the Swedes with all expedition, and pressed the king so warmly to engage, that at last he yielded to his desire. On the 7th of September 1631, Gustavus led out his army in the finest order, the Swedes forming one column on the right, and the Saxons another on the left; each amounting to 15,000 men. Tilly drew up his men in one vast column, probably with a view of surrounding the flanks of the king's army. Gustavus led on his troops against that wing of the Imperialists commanded by Pappenheim, whom he drove back to a considerable distance. General Banner in the mean time cut in pieces the troops of Holstein, and mortally wounded the duke who commanded them. Pappenheim led on his troops seven times to the charge, but was as often repulsed by the Swedes. Tilly all this while was engaged with the Saxons; but having at last driven them off the field, the whole strength of the Imperial army was turned against the Swedish left wing. The Swedes sustained the attack with the greatest firmness, until the king detached the centre to assist them. The imperialists then were no longer able to stand their ground; but gave way everywhere except in the centre, which was composed of 18 regiments of veterans accustomed to victory, and deemed invincible. They made incredible efforts to maintain their reputation; and, though swept off in great numbers by the Swedish artillery, never shrunk or fell into confusion. Four regiments, after their officers had been killed, formed themselves, and retired to the skirt of a wood. Tilly retired at the head of 600 men, and escaped by the coming on of the night. Seven thousand Imperialists lay dead on the field of battle; 4000 were taken prisoners; a fine train of artillery was lost, with upwards of 100 standards, ensigns, and other military trophies.

Gustavus now determined to penetrate into Franconia, where he reduced several places, especially the fortress of Workburg. Tilly having collected his scattered troops, which formed an army still superior in number to that of Gustavus, marched to the relief of this place, but came too late. He then directed his march towards Rottenberg, where four regiments were cut in pieces by a Swedish detachment. After this the king reduced Hanau, Frankfort on the Maine, and Mentz; destroying a body of Spaniards, who had attempted to obstruct his passage.

The court of Vienna was now thrown into the utmost confusion; and sent everywhere begging assistance, and soliciting the Catholic princes to arm in defence of their religion. The emperor was most embarrassed in finding out a general capable of opposing Gustavus in the field; for the late misfortunes of Count Tilly had entirely sunk his reputation. Wallenstein, an old experienced officer, was selected; but as he had formerly been disgraced, it was apprehended that he would not accept of the command of which he had once been deprived. This objection, however, was got over; and Wallenstein not only accepted of the command, but, at his own expense, augmented the army to 40,000 men.

During the whole winter the Swedish army kept the field; and before the approach of summer had reduced a great number of places, while the landgrave William made great progress in Westphalia. Gustavus Horn was repulsed before Bamberg; but soon had his revenge, by entirely destroying two regiments of Imperialists. To prevent the troops from being affected by the loss before Bamberg the king resolved to give battle to Tilly, who was marching into Bavaria to prevent the Swedes from gaining a footing in that electorate. He pursued the Imperial general through a vast tract of country, defeated his rear-guard, and, having reduced a variety of towns and fortresses on the Danube, penetrated as far as Ulm. Advancing to the river Leck, Count Tilly posted himself in a wood on the opposite side, to dispute his passage. Gustavus endeavoured to dislodge him by a regular fire from 70 pieces of cannon. The slaughter was dreadful; and Tilly himself, being wounded by a cannon ball in the knee, died a few days before he was to have been superseded by Wallenstein. The following night the Imperial army evacuated the post. Gustavus immediately crossed the river, and seized the towns of Rain and Newburg, which the enemy had abandoned, and Augsburg next submitted.

From Augsburg the Swedes advanced towards Ratisbon; but were disappointed in their design of getting possession of that city, as the Bavarians had thrown a numerous garrison into the place.—In the mean time, ambassadors arrived from Denmark, offering the mediation of that crown for obtaining a lasting peace between the contending parties. This negociation, however, failed of success, as the ambassadors had not been instructed to offer terms favourable to the Protestants. Gustavus now resolving to retort, on themselves the cruelties which the Bavarians had inflicted on the Protestants, laid the towns of Morzbourg, Friesengen, and Landshut, in ashes. The inhabitants of Munich saved themselves by submission; Gustavus also defeated the forces of the elector, who had been joined by a considerable body of militia.

While Gustavus was thus employed, Wallenstein had assembled a vast army. He was strongly solicited by the elector of Bavaria to come to his assistance; but, in revenge of the elector's having formerly obtained the command for Count Tilly in preference to himself, he drew off towards Bohemia to encounter the Saxons. Arnhaim, who commanded the Saxon forces in that place, was an enemy to Gustavus, who had formerly rallied him for his cowardice. He therefore permitted Wallenstein to gain an easy victory, in hopes that his troops, the elector of Saxony, a prince entirely devoted to his pleasures, might be induced to relinquish the friendship of such a restless and warlike ally as Gustavus; and indeed he used all the eloquence of which he was master to detach him from the Swedish cause. Several advantages in the mean time, were gained by the Imperialists. Pappenheim defeated the archbishop of Bremen's cavalry at Werden; and three Swedish regiments were Sweden.

were cut off near Kadingen. Pappenheim, however, was forced to retire, and withdraw his forces from Stade; of which the Swedes took possession. Wallenstein and the elector of Bavaria, who had now joined their forces, threatened Gustavus with greatly superior numbers. At last, however, the king, being reinforced with 15,000 men, no longer declined the engagement; but Wallenstein was too wise to trust the fate of the empire to a single battle against such an enemy as the king of Sweden. Gustavus attacked his camp, but was repulsed with the loss of 2000 men. Several other misfortunes happened to the Swedes; and at last, after various manoeuvres, Wallenstein bent his course towards Misnia, in order to oblige the elector of Saxony to declare against the Swedes, and to draw them out of Bavaria. Gustavus, notwithstanding the inconstancy of Augustus, immediately set out to assist him. With incredible diligence he marched to Misnia, where the Imperialists were assembling their whole strength. Hearing that the enemy were encamped at Wesenfels, and that Pappenheim had been detached with a strong corps, Gustavus resolved to engage them before they could effect a junction. With this view he marched to Letzten, where he attacked Wallenstein with incredible fury. The Swedish infantry broke the Imperialists in spite of their utmost efforts, and took all their artillery. The cavalry not being able to pass the river so expeditiously as the king thought necessary, he led the way, attended only by a single regiment and the duke of Saxe Lauenburg. Here, after charging impetuously, he was killed. The news of his death was in an instant spread over both armies. The courage of the Imperialists revived, and they now made themselves sure of victory. But the Swedes, eager to revenge the death of their beloved monarch, charged with such fury that nothing could resist them. The Imperialists were defeated a second time, just as Pappenheim, with his fresh corps, came up to their assistance. On this the battle was renewed, but the Swedes were still irresistible. Pappenheim was mortally wounded, and his army finally routed, with the loss of 9000 killed in the field and in the pursuit.

This victory proved more unfortunate to Sweden than the greatest defeat. The crown devolved on Christina the daughter of Gustavus, an infant of six years old; the nation was engaged in an expensive foreign war, without any person equal to the arduous task of commanding the armies, or regulating domestic affairs, as Gustavus had done. Christina was immediately proclaimed queen. The regency devolved on the grand bailiff, the marischal, the high admiral, the chancellor, and the treasurer of the crown. Oxenstiern was invested with the chief management of affairs, and conducted himself with the greatest prudence. The reign and character of Christina have been fully detailed under the article CHRISTINA, to which we may refer our readers.

From the treaty of Westphalia, Sweden enjoyed some years of repose. Charles Gustavus, Count Palatine, having gained the favour of Christina, was appointed generalissimo of the forces, and heir-apparent to the crown. A marriage was proposed between them; but the queen would never listen to this or any other proposal of the kind. In 1650, the ceremony of the queen's coronation was performed; but in four years after she resigned the crown in favour of Gustavus. (See the article CHRISTINA).

Vol. XX. Part I.

The new king found himself involved in considerable difficulties on his accession to the throne. The treasury was quite exhausted; great part of the revenue was pointed for the support of Christina's household; the Swedes people were oppressed with taxes; and the nation having been disarmed for several years, began to lose its reputation among foreigners. To remedy these evils, Charles proposed to resume all the crown lands which had been alienated by grants to favourites during the late reign; to repeal a duty which had been laid on salt; to put the kingdom in a posture of defence; and to enter on a war with some neighbouring state. Under a pretence that War with Poland resolved on, several embassies were sent from Poland to Stockholm; but some point of ceremony always disappointed them of an audience of the king; so that they were obliged to return without their errand. As soon as matters were in readiness, General Wittenberg made an irruption into Poland from the side of Pomerania. The Poles opposed him with an army of 15,000 men; but instead of fighting, they began to negotiate, and in a short time entirely dispersed. Charles himself soon followed with a powerful army, and pursued his march without obstruction, all the cities throwing open their gates to him as he approached. As he advanced to Cracow, Casimir resolved to make one effort to save his capital. His army amounted only to 10,000 men; and these were defeated, unfortunately such as had never stood fire. After a feeble resistance, they fled with precipitation, having lost 1000 men killed and taken prisoners. A few days after this Charles defeated the Poles a second time, about eight leagues from Cracow; on which Casimir fled with his family to Oppeln in Silesia. The capital was then invested; and though defended with the utmost valour, was in a short time obliged to capitulate. Thus in less than three months Charles apparently became master of Poland; but it was soon evident that the Poles had no intention of abandoning their former sovereign.

In 1656, a war took place with the elector of Brandenburg. While Charles was employed in the conquest of Poland, that prince had invaded Royal and Ducal Prussia, and reduced the most considerable towns with little opposition. The king of Sweden took umbrage at his progress; and having marched against him, defeated his forces in several slight encounters, and obliged him to acknowledge himself a vassal of Sweden. These rapid conquests alarmed all Europe; and the different powers sought for means of driving the Swedes out of Poland, which they had so unexpectedly and unjustly seized. The Poles were no sooner assured that they should be assisted, than they everywhere revolted and massacred the Swedes. Casimir returned from Silesia; and those very troops and generals who had before submitted to Charles without opposition, now ranged themselves under the banners of his antagonist. Charles immediately marched from Prussia to chastise the insolence of the Poles, and totally defeated a body of 12,000 men. This did not hinder all the Poles incorporate with his troops to desert; which considerably reduced his army; and the campaign being performed in the depth of winter, he was at last obliged to retreat to Prussia. In his march he was harassed by the Poles; and a body of 4000 Swedes was surprised and defeated by them at Warka. This loss, however, was soon after recompensed. recompensed by a complete victory gained by Adolphus the king's brother and General Wrangel. In the mean time the king was taking measures for laying siege to Dantzig; but was prevented by the Dutch, who threatened to oppose him, unless a proper regard was paid to their interest. Charles accordingly granted them advantageous terms; and afterwards gained over the elector of Brandenburg, by ceding to him the sovereignty of Prussia, that he might be at liberty to turn his whole strength against Poland.

By the treaty just concluded with the elector, the latter was to assist Charles in his war with Poland; but the elector had so procrastinated matters, that the Poles, having obtained assistance from the Tartars, had reduced the city of Warsaw. The two princes, however, now marched in concert against their enemies, who were encamped in a strong situation in the neighbourhood of the city above mentioned, their camp being fronted by the Vistula. The Poles were driven from their entrenchments with prodigious slaughter. The Poles and Tartars then laboured to break the alliance; with which view they entered Ducal Prussia, and defeated the electoral army, taking many prisoners. The Swedes soon had their revenge. General Steinbock attacked the same Polish army at Philippowa, and overthrew it with such slaughter as obliged the Poles for that season to quit the field. A more formidable enemy than the Poles now began to make their appearance. The Russians invaded the provinces of Carelia, Ingermania, and Livonia; while the elector of Brandenburg, began to waver in his fidelity. To preserve this only ally at such a critical juncture, Charles was obliged to give him more advantageous terms than those already mentioned; while the Russians were repulsed in the provinces of Carelia and Ingermania. But in Livonia they had better success. See Russia. For seven months, however, they battered the walls of Riga, without venturing to pass the ditch or storm the practicable breaches.

Charles, notwithstanding the number of his enemies, was now become so formidable by the valour and discipline of his troops, that whole armies often fled on his approach. At last, in 1657, the Poles, finding they could not resist him in the field, contented themselves with harassing the Swedes on their march, and cutting off the foragers and convoys. This proved much more destructive to the Swedes than their former method; so that Charles was obliged to enter into an alliance with Ragotski prince of Transylvania, by assigning him certain provinces in his neighbourhood, in order to furnish himself with irregular troops, who might fight the Poles in their own way. This, however, proved of no real advantage; for the confederates, after wasting a whole campaign in Lithuania, were obliged to return without accomplishing more than the reduction of a single fortress; on which Charles returned with the Swedish army to Prussia.

Leopold, the young king of Hungary, having long beheld the Swedes with a jealous eye, now resolved to declare for Poland. The more effectually to curb the ambition of the Swedish monarch, he solicited the king of Denmark to come to a rupture with him. This was instantly complied with, and the Danes invaded Bremen. Charles hastened to oppose this new enemy; which gave such offence to Ragotski, that he neglected to take the proper measures for his own defence in the absence of the Swedes, and suffered his army to be destroyed by the Poles and Tartars. At the same time the Turks invaded Transylvania, under pretence that Ragotski, being a vassal of the Grand Signior, had no right to invade Poland without his leave. Ragotski opposed them in the field; where he was defeated and killed, leaving Charles destitute of the only ally on whom he could depend.

The king, however, not dismayed by this misfortune, traversed Pomerania and the duchy of Mecklenburg; after which he attacked Holstein, while General Wrangel with another corps entered the duchy of Bremen. The latter executed his measures with the utmost vigour. In 15 days he retook all the towns which the enemy had reduced; defeated and drove the Danish army out of the country, killing 3000 of their best soldiers. In Holstein the king reduced several fortresses, laid Itzehoe in ashes, defeated a body of Danes, and laid siege to Frederic Udda, into which the Danes had thrown a strong garrison. The conduct of this siege he left to Wrangel, he himself retiring to Wismar in order to observe the situation of affairs in Poland; but no sooner was he gone than Wrangel attacked the place with such fury, that he became master of it in two hours. In the province of Halland the Swedes were defeated; but the enemy derived no advantage from their victory: at sea the fleets met, and maintained an engagement for two days, without any considerable advantage on either side. In Poland affairs were not better conducted. The house of Austria had now declared for Casimir; a German army entered Poland, and reduced Cracow, though not without great loss to themselves.

The king of Sweden was now surrounded by enemies. The elector of Brandenburg had declared against him; and he had besides to engage the armies of Austria, Poland, Russia, and Denmark. In this dangerous situation he resolved to attack Denmark, so as to oblige that power to come to a speedy accommodation. His designs were forwarded by a very early frost, which enabled him to transport his troops without shipping. Having passed over on the ice to the island of Funen, he cut in pieces a body of 4000 Danish soldiers and 500 peasants. The whole island was reduced in a few days; after which he passed to Langland, then to Laaland, after that to Falstre, and lastly to Zealand. The Danes were terrified at this unexpected invasion, and were giving themselves up to despair, when Charles offered to conclude a peace on equitable terms. The king of Denmark gladly consented; intending to renew the war as soon as he thought it could be done with safety.

Charles was no sooner retired, than the king of Denmark began to act secretly against him; on which, resolving to anticipate him in his designs, he appeared unexpectedly with a fleet before Copenhagen. The Swedish monarch laid siege to the capital, but with so little prudence that he made no progress, and was at length compelled to turn the siege into a blockade, which continued to the end of the war. Charles X died of an epidemic fever, and was succeeded by his son Charles XI.

The new king Charles XI, was a minor at the time of his father's death; and as the kingdom was involved in a dangerous war with so many enemies, the regency determined to conclude a peace, if it could be obtained. on reasonable terms. A treaty was accordingly concluded at Olivia; by which Casimir renounced his pretensions to the crown of Poland, and that republic gave up all pretensions to Livonia. Bornholm and Drontheim were ceded to Denmark; and an equivalent in Schonen remained with Sweden. During the minority of the king, nothing remarkable occurs in the history of Sweden. In 1672 he entered into alliance with Louis XIV, which two years after involved him in a war with the elector of Brandenburg. At first the Swedes carried all before them. Almost all the towns in Brandenburg were reduced, when the elector arrived with an army to the relief of his distressed subjects. He took several towns, defeated the Swedes in a general engagement, and soon after forced them to abandon all their conquests. In conjunction with the Danes, he then invaded the Swedish dominions; many places of importance were reduced; and, in 1676, Sweden received a most destructive blow by the defeat of her fleet in an engagement with the combined fleets of Denmark and Holland. Soon after this the king took the government into his own hands, and in some degree restored the fortune of Sweden; but though matters went on in a more prosperous way where the king commanded in person, the same losses and disgrace attended the Swedish arms in every other quarter. In 1678, the Swedish fleet was defeated in two engagements. At Landskrona a most obstinate battle was fought from ten in the morning till six at night; when both parties were obliged, by fatigue, to retire to their respective camps. At Oldevald in Norway, the Swedes were defeated; and the Danes laid desolate the islands of Oeland, Smaland, Uppland, and Kungo; while the electoral troops and Imperialists reduced Count Konigsmark to the utmost distress in the neighbourhood of Stralsund.

In this deplorable situation of affairs Count Konigsmark found an opportunity of attacking his enemies to such advantage, that he obtained a complete victory; after which he ravaged the duchy of Mecklenburg. Notwithstanding this success, he could not prevent the elector from reducing Stralsund; after which he was obliged to evacuate Pomerania; and, to complete his distress, the fleet which transported the Swedish army from Pomerania was wrecked on the coast of Bornholm.

In this unprosperous situation of affairs a peace was concluded at St Germain's between France and her enemies, by which the Swedes and Danes were left to decide their quarrel by themselves. Denmark was by no means a match for Sweden, even in the distressed situation to which she was reduced; and therefore a treaty was concluded, on terms much more favourable to Sweden than could have been expected; and the peace was confirmed by a marriage between Charles and Ulrica Eleonora, daughter to the king of Denmark. From this time the Swedish monarch applied himself to the reformation of the state; and by artfully managing the disputes between the nobility and peasants, he obtained a decree empowering him to alter the constitution as he pleased. The proceedings of the king after this decree were such as to exasperate the nobility, and produce violent commotions. See PATKUL.

On the 15th of April 1697, died Charles XI, leaving his crown to his son, the celebrated Charles XII, at that time a minor. On his accession he found himself Sweden under the tuition of his grandmother Eleonora, who had governed the kingdom during the minority of the late king. Though Charles was at that time only 15 years old, he showed a desire of taking the government succeeded into his own hands. His counsellors, Count Piper and by his son Axel Sparre, signified his desire to the queen-regent. They were by her referred to the states; and there all were unanimous: so that the queen, finding that opposition would be vain, resigned her power with a good grace; and Charles was invested with absolute authority, in three days after he had expressed his desire of reigning alone. He was scarcely seated on the throne when a powerful combination was formed against him. Augustus king of Poland formed designs on Livonia; the king of Denmark revived the disputes he had with the duke of Holstein, as a prelude to a war with Sweden; Peter the Great of Russia began to form designs on Ingria, formerly a province of Russia. In 1699 the king of Denmark marched an army into Holstein. Charles sent a considerable body of troops to the duke's assistance; but before their arrival the Danes had ravaged Holstein, taken the castle of Gottorp, and laid close siege to Tonningen. Here the king of Denmark commanded in person; and was assisted by the troops of Saxony, Brandenburg, Wolfenbuttle, and Hesse Cassel. England and Holland, as guarantees of the last treaty with Denmark, in concert with Sweden, joined Charles against this confederacy, and sent fleets to the Baltic. They proposed a termination of the war on equitable terms; but these were haughtily refused by the Danish monarch, who despised the youth and inexperience of Charles, and relied too much on the alliance he had formed with Saxony, Brandenburg, Poland, and Russia. Tonningen, however, resisted all his efforts; and when they ordered the place to be stormed, he had the mortification to see his troops driven headlong from the walls by a handful of Swedes.

In the year 1700, Charles, having entrusted the affairs of the nation with a council chosen out of the senate, set out on the 8th May from his capital, to which he never afterwards returned. He embarked at Carls-the fleet of crown, and defeated the fleet of the allies. Having made the allies a descent on the island of Zealand, he defeated a body of cavalry that opposed his march, and then proceeded to invest Copenhagen by sea and land. The king of Denmark then saw the necessity of either having his capital destroyed, or of doing justice to the duke of Holstein. He chose the latter; and a treaty was concluded on the same terms as formerly. Charles, being thus made at liberty to turn his arms against the other princes who had conspired his destruction, resolved to lead his army against Augustus king of Poland. On the road, however, he received intelligence that the tsar of Russia was against the Russian, on his march to oppose him, and had laid siege to Narva with an army of 100,000 men. The contest that ensued between Charles and Peter, with the celebrated battles of Narva and Poltava, have been already related under Russia, so that we shall here confine ourselves chiefly to those events in which Peter the Great was not immediately concerned.

The tsar Peter was the chief support of Augustus, and he took the most active measures to oppose the progress of the Swedish monarch. His want of success, and the subsequent In 1701, as early as the season permitted, Charles, having received a reinforcement from Sweden, took the field, and appeared suddenly on the banks of the Duna, along which the Saxon army was posted to receive him. The king of Poland being at that time sick, the army was commanded by Ferdinand duke of Courland, Marshal Stanislaus, and General Paykel, all officers of valour and experience. They had fortified certain islands in the mouth of the river, and taken every other precaution against an attack; the soldiers were hardy, well disciplined, and nearly equal to the Swedes in numbers; yet Charles, having passed the river in boats with high sides, to screen the men from the fire of the enemy, attacked them with such fury, that they were entirely defeated with great loss.

This victory was followed by the surrender of all the towns and fortresses in the duchy of Courland. Charles then passed into Lithuania, where every town opened its gates to him. At Birsen, an army of 20,000 Russians retired with the utmost precipitation on the news of his approach. Here Charles, perceiving that the kingdom of Poland was greatly disaffected to Augustus, began to project the scheme of dethroning him by means of his own subjects. This scheme he executed with more policy than he ever showed on any other occasion.

Augustus, in the mean time, finding his scheme of peace frustrated, had recourse to the senate; but met with such a rough answer from them, that he determined to apply to Charles. To him therefore he sent his chamberlain; but a passport being forgotten, the ambassador was arrested. Charles continued his march to Warsaw, which surrendered on the first summons; but the citadel held out for some days. Augustus, finding at last that no dependence was to be placed on the Poles, determined to trust his fortune wholly to the Saxon army and the nobility of the palatinate of Cracow, who offered to support him to the utmost of their power. The Saxon army was now advanced to the frontiers, and Augustus immediately put himself at its head. Being joined by the nobility of Cracow, he found his forces to amount to 30,000 men, all brave and well disciplined. With these he marched in quest of his enemy; who did not decline the combat, though he had with him only 12,000 men. Though the Saxons were strongly posted, having their front covered by a morass, besides being fortified with pallisadoes and chevaux de frise, they were attacked with irresistible impetuosity, and entirely defeated.

This victory was followed by the loss of Cracow: after which Charles set out in pursuit of the flying army, with a design of preventing them from re-assembling; but his horse falling under him, he had the misfortune to break his thigh, by which he was confined six weeks; and thus Augustus obtained some respite. He improved this interval. Having convoked a diet first at Marienburg, and then at Lublin, he obtained the following resolutions; that an army of 50,000 men should be raised by the republic for the service of the prince; that six weeks should be allowed the Swedes to determine whether they were for war or peace; and that the same time should be granted to the turbulent and discontented nobles of Poland to make their concessions. To counteract the effects of these resolutions, Charles assembled another diet at Warsaw; and while the two assemblies disputed concerning their rights and privileges, he recovered from his wound, received a strong reinforcement from Pomerania, and utterly defeated and dispersed the remains of the Saxon army.

The ill fortune of Augustus continued still to prevail. In 1704 he was formally deposed by the diet, and the crown conferred by Charles on Stanislaus Leszczinsky palatine of Posmania. Augustus, however, did not yet tamely give up his kingdom. His adherents daily skirmished with the Swedes; and Augustus himself, being reinforced by 9000 Russians, retook Warsaw, and was near surprising the new king, who lived in perfect security in the city while Charles fought in his cause; the Count Horn, with 1500 Swedes, vigorously defended the citadel; but at last, finding it no longer tenable, he was obliged to surrender at discretion. The reduction of Warsaw was among the last advantages gained by Augustus in the course of this war. His troops were now composed of Saxon recruits and undisciplined Poles, who had no attachment to his person, and were ready on all occasions to forsake him. Charles and Stanislaus advanced with the victorious army; the Saxons fled before them, and the towns several miles round sent him their submissions. The Poles and Saxons were under the command of Schullemburg, a most sagacious and experienced general, who used every expedient to check the progress of the Swedes. With all his conduct and caution he found himself outwitted, and Charles in the neighbourhood of his camp ready to fall on him, while he thought him at 50 leagues distance. The Swedish monarch attacked him with a superior army, but entirely composed of horse. Schullemburg had posted his men in such a manner as rendered it impossible to surround them. His first rank being armed with pikes and fusées, presented a kind of rampart of bayonets; the second line stooping over the first who kneeled, fired over their heads, while the third rank, who stood upon their feet, kept up an incessant fire, by which the Swedish horse were exceedingly galled and put in disorder. Charles lost the opportunity of cutting off the whole Saxon army, by omitting to order his men to dismount. This was almost the first time that infantry had been regularly opposed to cavalry, and the superiority of the former was evident. After the engagement had continued about three hours, the Saxons retreated in good order; treat which no enemy had ever done before in any engagement with Charles. The Swedes pursued their enemies towards the Oder, and forced them to retreat through thick woods, almost impervious even to infantry. The Swedish horse, however, pushed their way, and at last inclosed Schullemburg between a wood and the river, where Charles had no doubt of obliging him to surrender at discretion, or die sword in hand, as having neither boats nor bridges; but the genius of Schullemburg supplied every defect. In the night he ordered planks and floats of trees to be fastened together; on which he carried over his troops, while the Swedes were employed in dislodging 300 men, whom he had placed in a windmill, for the purpose of defending his flank and keeping the enemy in play. Charles spoke of this retreat with admiration, and said he had been conquered by Schullemburg.

No material advantage, however, resulted from this to Augustus; who was again obliged to leave Poland, and fortify fortify the capital of his hereditary dominions, which he expected every moment to see invested. In the meantime the Russians having recovered their spirits, attacked the Swedes in Livonia with the utmost fury. Narva, Dorpt, and several other towns, were taken, and the inhabitants and garrisons treated with great barbarity. Soon after, an army of 100,000 Russians entered Poland. Sixty thousand Cossacks under Mazepa entered the country at the same time, and ravaged everything with the fury of barbarians. Schullenberg, too, perhaps more formidable than either, advanced with 14,000 Saxons and 70,000 Russians, disciplined in Germany, and reputed excellent soldiers. Could numbers have determined the event of war, the Swedes must certainly have been at this time overpowered. Instead of this, however, Charles seemed to triumph over his enemies with more ease the more numerous they were. The Russians were defeated so fast, that they were all dispersed before one party had notice of the misfortunes of another. The defeating an army of 40,000 men scarcely obstructed the march of the Swedes, while their astonished enemies looked on these actions as the effects of witchcraft, and imagined that the king of Sweden had dealings with infernal spirits. With these apprehensions they fled beyond the Dniepr, leaving the unhappy Augustus to his fate. Schullenberg, with all his skill and experience, succeeded no better. The Swedish general Renschild engaged and defeated him in half an hour, though the Swedes were vastly inferior in number, and their enemies posted in a most advantageous situation. Nothing could be more complete than this victory. This extraordinary victory, indeed, is said to have been owing to a panic which seized the troops of Schullenberg; but it was regarded with admiration, and thought to make the renown of Renschild equal to that of his sovereign. Charles himself was jealous, and could not help exclaiming, "Surely Renschild will not compare himself with me!"

Soon after this victory, which was gained on the 12th of February, 1706, Charles entered Saxony at the head of 24,000 men. The diet at Ratisbon declared him an enemy to the empire if he crossed the Oder. But to this declaration no regard was paid. Charles pursued his march; while Augustus was reduced to the condition of a vagrant in Poland, where he possessed not a single town except Cracow. Into this city he threw himself with a few Saxon, Polish, and Russian regiments, and began to erect some fortifications for its defence; but the approach of the Swedish general Meyerfeldt, and the news of the invasion of Saxony, disconcerted all his measures, and threw him into despair. The Russians indeed were his faithful allies; but he dreaded them almost as much as the Swedes; so that he was reduced to the necessity of writing a letter to Charles with his own hand, begging for peace on whatever terms he thought proper to grant. However, as he was then at the mercy of the Russians, this transaction was concealed with the greatest care. His emissaries were introduced to the Swedish court in the night-time; and being presented to Charles, received the following answer: That King Augustus should for ever renounce the crown of Poland, acknowledge Stanislaus, and promise never to reascend the throne, should an opportunity offer; that he should release the princes Sobieski, and all the Swedish prisoners made in the course of the war; surrender Palkul, at that time resident at his court as ambassador for the tsar of Russia, and stop proceedings against all who had passed from his into the Swedish service. These articles, Charles wrote with his own hand, and delivered to Count Piper, ordering him to finish them with the Saxon ambassadors.

After his defeat at Poltava by the Russians, Charles fled in a mean calash, attended by a little troop invisibly attached to his person, some on foot, and some on horseback. They were obliged to cross a sandy desert, where neither herb nor tree was to be seen, and where the burning heat and want of water were more intolerable than the extremities of cold they had formerly suffered. The whole had almost perished for want of water, when a spring was fortunately discovered in Turkey; after which they reached Otchakoff, a town in the Turkish dominions, the bashaw of which supplied the defeat king with every necessary. It was some time, however, before boats could be got ready for transporting the whole of the king's attendants; by which accident 500 Swedes and Cossacks fell into the hands of the enemy. This loss affected him more than all his other misfortunes. He shed tears at seeing, across the river Bog, the greater part of his few remaining friends carried into captivity, without having it in his power to assist them. The bashaw waited on him to apologise for the delay, and was severely reprimanded by Charles, as if he had been his own subject.

The king remained but a few days at Otchakoff, when the serasquier of Bender sent an aga to compliment him on his arrival in the Turkish dominions, and invite him to that city. Here he was treated with kindly hospitality: the Turks practised to its full extent their generous maxim of regarding as sacred the persons of unfortunate princes who had taken shelter in their dominions: and perhaps regarded him, notwithstanding his Russia misfortunes, as an ally that might be useful to themselves against the Russians. Everyone, indeed, regarded him in his distress. The French king offered him a safe passage from the Levant to Marseilles, from whence he might easily return to his own dominions. But Charles was too obstinate to receive advice. Puffed up with the notion of imitating Alexander the Great, he disdained to return except at the head of a numerous army; and he yet expected, by means of the Turks, to dethrone his adversary the tsar. Negotiations for this purpose were carried on in the Turkish divan; and it was proposed to escort Charles with a numerous army to the frontiers of Poland: but the revolution which took place there, put an end to all such projects. Augustus thought himself no longer bound to observe the treaty which he had made, than while Charles was at hand to compel him. After the battle of Poltava, he entered Poland, and took every measure, in concert with the tsar, for the recovery of his kingdom. Stanislaus was not able to stand before such enemies, but was obliged to leave his dominions and fly to Bender, in the disguise of a Swedish officer, in order to share the fortune of Charles.—It was not in Poland alone that the Swedish affairs began to suffer in consequence of the defeat at Poltava. The Danes invaded the province of Schonen with an army of 13,000 foot and 2,500 horse. Only 13,000 Swedish forces remained to defend all the territories possessed by Charles in Germany; and of these only a small part was allotted for the defence of Schonen. The regency of Sweden, however, exerted themselves to the utmost to repel this ungenerous invasion; and having collected an army of 12,000 militia and 8,000 regulars, dispatched them under General Steenbock into Schonen. Some Saxon troops were incorporated in this army; and among these a prodigious desertion took place, which the general found it impossible to prevent; and thus the Danes gained several advantages, and at last took Christianstadt. Their insolence on this success was so great, that the Swedes demanded to be instantly led against them. Here the good fortune of Sweden seemed once more to revive. The Danes were driven from a very strong situation, with the loss of 8,000 killed and taken prisoners, besides a vast number wounded. The king received the intelligence of this victory with the greatest exultation; and could not help exclaiming, "My brave Swedes, should it please God that I once more join you, we shall conquer them all!"

In the mean time, Charles, by means of his agents the count Poniatoffski and the sieur Nengebar, used his utmost efforts to procure a rupture between the Porte and Russia. For a long time the money bestowed by Peter on the vizirs and janissaries prevailed; but at last, in 1711, the grand signior, influenced by his mother, who was strongly in the interest of Charles, and had been used to call him her lion, determined to support his quarrel with Peter. He therefore gave orders to the vizir to fall on the Russians with an army of 200,000 men. The vizir promised obedience; but at the same time professed his ignorance in the art of war, and dislike to the present expedition. The khan of Crim Tartary, who had been gained over by the reputation and presents of the king of Sweden, had orders to take the field with 40,000 of his men, and had the liberty of assembling his army at Bender, that Charles might see that the war was undertaken on his account. See Russia, No. 119.

The treaty of the Pruth was most violently opposed by Count Poniatofski and the khan of Tartary. The former had made the king acquainted with the situation of both armies; on which he instantly set out from Bender, filled with the hopes of fighting the Russians, and taking ample vengeance. Having ridden 50 leagues post, he arrived at the camp just as the tsar was drawing off his half-famished troops. He alighted at Poniatofski's tent; and being informed of particulars, instantly flew into a rage to the vizir, whom he loaded with reproaches, and accused of treachery. Recollecting himself, however, he proposed a method by which the fault might be remedied; but finding his proposal rejected, he posted back to Bender, after having by the grossest insults showed his contempt of the vizir.

The violent behaviour of Charles did not promote his interest. The vizir perceived that his stay in Turkey might prove fatal to himself; and therefore determined to get him out of the country as soon as possible. Succeeding vizirs adopted the same plan; and at last the grand signior himself wrote a letter to Charles, in which he desired him to depart by next winter, promising to supply him with a sufficient guard, with money, and every thing else necessary for his journey. Charles gave an evasive answer, and determined to procrastinate his journey, as well to gratify his own stubborn temper, as because he discovered a correspondence between Augustus and the khan of Tartary, the object of which, he had reason to believe, was to betray him to the Saxons. When he was again pressed to fix the day of his departure, he replied, that he could not think of going before his debts were paid. Being asked how much was necessary for this purpose, he replied 1,000 purses (A). Twelve hundred purses were instantly sent to the serasquier at Bender, with orders to deliver them to the king of Sweden, but not before he should have begun his journey. By fair promises, Charles persuaded him to part with the money; after which, instead of setting out, he squandered away his treasure in presents and gratifications, and then demanded 1,000 purses more before he would set out. The serasquier was astonished at this behaviour. He shed tears; and turning to the king, told him, that his head would be the forfeit of having obliged him with the money. The grand signior, on being acquainted with the shameful behaviour of Charles, flew into a rage, and called an extraordinary divan, where he himself spoke, a thing very unusual for the Turkish monarchs. It was unanimously agreed that such a troublesome guest ought to be removed by force, should other means fail. Positive orders were therefore sent to Charles to depart; and, in case of refusal, to attack him in his quarters. Nothing could equal his obstinacy on this occasion: in spite of the menaces of his enemies, in spite of the intreacies of his friends, he persisted in his resolution; and at last determined to resist, with 300 Swedes, being all the attendants he had, an army of 20,000 janissaries well armed and furnished with cannon. At length he was attacked in good earnest; though it must be owned, that even in this extremity, the Turks showed their regard to him, and were tender of his life, which the king did not return at all in a similar manner. Most of the Swedes surrendered at once, perhaps as thinking it the only method of saving the king's life. This misconduct, however, had a quite contrary effect. Charles became the more obstinate, the more desperate his affairs seemed to be. With 40 menial servants only, and the generals Hord and Dardorff, he determined to defend himself to the last extremity. Seeing his soldiers lay down their arms, he told the generals, "We must now defend the house. Come, (adds he with a smile), let us fight pro aris et focis." The house had been already forced by the Tartars, all but a hall which was near the door, and where his domestics had assembled. Charles forced his way through the janissaries, attended by the generals Hord and Dardorff, joined his people, and then barricaded the door. The moment he entered, the enemy who were in the house, threw down their booty, and endeavoured to escape at the windows. Charles pursued them from room to room with much bloodshed, and cleared the house in a few minutes. He then fired furiously from the windows, killed 200 of the Turks in a quarter of an hour, so that the bashaw who commanded them was at length forced to set the house on fire.

(A) Each purse contained 30 sequins. This was done by arrows with lighted matches shot into the roof; but Charles, instead of quitting it, gave orders for extinguishing the fire, in which he himself assisted with great diligence. All efforts, however, were vain: the roof fell in; and Charles, with his few faithful companions, was ready to be buried in the ruins. In this extremity one called out, that there was a necessity for surrendering. "What a strange fellow! (cries the king), who would rather be a prisoner with the Turks than mix his ashes with those of his sovereign." Another had the presence of mind to cry out, that the chancery was but 50 paces off, had a stone roof, and was proof against fire. Pleased with the thoughts of again coming to blows, the king exclaimed, "A true Swede! Let us take all the powder and ball we can carry." He then put himself at the head of his troops, and sallied out with such fury, that the Turks retreated 50 paces; but falling down in the hurry, they rushed in upon him, and carried him by the legs and arms to the bashaw's tent.

This extraordinary adventure, which savours not a little of insanity, happened on the 12th of February 1713. He was now kept prisoner with all his retinue; and in this situation he was visited by the unfortunate Stanislaus.

Charles at last seemed inclined to submit to his fate, and began seriously to think of returning to his kingdom, now reduced to the most deplorable situation. His habitation was now fixed at Demotica, a small town about six leagues from Adrianople. Here he was allowed provisions for his own table and those of his retinue; but only 25 crowns a-day in money, instead of 500 which he had received at Bender. During his residence here he received a deputation from Hesse Cassel, soliciting his consent to the marriage of the landgrave with Eleonora, princess royal of Sweden; to which he readily agreed: a deputation was also sent him by the regency of Sweden, requesting that he would prepare for returning to his own dominions, which were ready to sink under a ruinous war in his absence.

On the 14th of October 1714, Charles set out for Sweden. All the princes through whose territories he was to pass, had given orders for his entertainment in the most magnificent manner; but the king, perceiving that these compliments only rendered his imprisonment and other misfortunes more conspicuous, suddenly dismissed his Turkish attendants, and assembling his own people, bid them take no care about him, but make the best of their way to Stralsund. After this he set out post, in the habit of a German officer, attended only by Colonel During. Keeping the lye-roads through Hungary, Moravia, Austria, Bavaria, Wurtemberg, the Palatinate, Westphalia, and Mecklenburgh, he arrived on the 21st of November at midnight before the gates of Stralsund. Being unknown, he was admitted with difficulty; but being soon recognised by the governor, the greatest tokens of joy were shown all over the town. In the midst of the tumult Charles went to bed.

Sweden was now in the greatest distress. On the news of the defeat at Pultava, the Danes had invaded Schonen, but were defeated by General Steenbock. This victory, however, did not put an end to the war. On the contrary, the kings of Denmark and Poland, with the tsar of Russia, entered into stricter bonds of amity than ever. They dreaded the return of Charles to his own dominions, and apprehended that numberless victories would soon efface the remembrance of Pultava. They determined, therefore, to make the best use of their time; and perhaps Charles never took a more imprudent resolution than obstinately to remain so long in the Turkish dominions. The return of Charles seemed to give new life to the whole nation. Though the number of inhabitants was visibly diminished, the levies he had ordered were completed in a few weeks: but the hands left to cultivate the earth consisted of the infirm, aged, and decrepid; so that a famine was threatened in consequence of the military rage which had seized all the youth of the kingdom.

The presence of Charles did not now produce those consequences which the allies had feared. The kingdom was too much reduced to furnish the necessary supplies of men and money; and though the king's courage and military skill were not in the least diminished, the efforts he made, instead of restoring Sweden to its splendour, served more completely to ruin it. In 1715, Prussia declared against him, on account of his demanding back the town of Stetin, which that monarch had seized. To complete his embarrassment, the elector of Hanover, George I. of Britain, also became his enemy. The forces of Denmark, Prussia, Saxony, and Hanover, joined to invest Wismar, while a body of 36,000 men formed the siege of Stralsund; at the same time that the tsar, with a fleet of 20 large ships of war, and 150 transports, carrying 30,000 men, threw every part of the Swedish coast into the greatest consternation. The heroism of Charles could not prevail against so many enemies; yet he was still so much dreaded, that the prince of Anhalt, with 12,000 brave troops, did not think himself a match for this furious enemy when at the head of only 2000, till he had entrenched his army behind a ditch, defended by chevaux de frize. It appeared, indeed, that his precaution was not unnecessary: for in the night Charles with his men clambered up the ditch, and attacked the enemy in his usual manner. Numbers, however, at last prevailed; and Charles was obliged to retire, after having seen his favourite Grotthusen, General Dardorff and During, the companions of his exile, killed by his side, he himself being wounded in the breast.

This rash attempt was made in order to save Rugen, whence the town of Stralsund was supplied with provisions. The place was well fortified, and garrisoned with 9000 men, with Charles himself at their head; but nothing could resist the efforts of the enemy. By the 17th of December it was proposed to give the assailant. The attack on the horn-work was desperate: the enemy was twice repulsed; but at last, by dint of numbers, effected a lodgment. The next day, Charles headed a sally, in which he dealt terrible destruction among the besiegers, but was at length overpowered and obliged to retreat into the town. At last his officers, apprehending that he must either fall into the hands of the enemy, or be buried in the ruins of the place, intreated him to retire. A retreat, however, was now almost as dangerous as to remain in the town, on account of the fleets of the enemy with which the sea was covered; and it is thought that this very circumstance induced the king to consent to it. Setting out, the king, therefore, therefore, in a small boat with sails and oars, he passed all the enemy's ships and batteries, and arrived safe at Ystedt in Schonen.

To revenge himself for these losses, Charles invaded Norway with an army of 25,000 men. The Danes were everywhere defeated and pursued with that vigour for which the king of Sweden was so remarkable; but strong reinforcements arriving from Denmark, and provisions failing, he was at last obliged to retire. Soon after this the Swedes lost Wismar; but when everything seemed hopeless, Baron Goertz the chief minister and favourite of Charles contrived to set on foot a treaty with the tsar of Russia, by which the most formidable of all Charles's enemies was taken off. The minister found means to work on the inflexible temper of Charles, by representing to him that the cession of certain provinces to Peter would induce him to assist him in his projects of again dethroning Augustus, and of replacing James on the throne of Britain; which last scheme he had projected out of revenge for the elector of Hanover having seized on the duchies of Bremen and Verdena. In consequence of the conferences between the tsar and Gaertz, the former engaged to send into Poland an army of 80,000 men, in order to dethrone that prince whom he had so long defended. He engaged also to furnish ships for transporting 30,000 Swedes to Germany and 10,000 into Denmark. This treaty, however, was not ratified; and the king's death, which happened in 1718, put a final stop to all the great prospects of Sweden.

The king had resolved on the conquest of Norway before he dethroned Augustus; and as no difficulties ever deterred him, he marched his army into that cold and barren country in the month of October, when the ground was covered with frost and snow. With 18,000 men he formed the siege of Fredericksball, though the severity of the frost rendered it almost impossible to break ground. Charles resolved to form trenches; and his soldiers cheerfully obeyed, digging into the ground with the same labour as if they had been piercing a rock. On the 11th of December the king visited the trenches in the midst of a terrible fire from the enemy, imagining that his men might be animated by his presence. He took his post in the most dangerous station he could choose, standing on a gabion and leaning with his arm over the parapet, while the enemy were firing chain shot at the very spot where he stood. He was intreated to change his station; but he remained obstinate. At last he was seen to fall on the parapet with a deep groan, and soon afterwards expired, having been mortally wounded, as is supposed, by a cannon ball.

Charles XII. was succeeded by his sister the princess Ulrica Eleonora, wife to the hereditary prince of Hesse. On this occasion the states took care to make a previous stipulation for the preservation of their liberties, and obliged the princess to sign a paper to this purpose before entering on the government. Their first care was to make a peace with Great Britain, which the late king intended to have invaded. The Swedes then, to prevent their farther losses by the progress of the Russian, the Danish, the Saxon, and other arms, made many great sacrifices to obtain peace from those powers. The French, however, about the year 1738, formed a dangerous party in the kingdom, which not only broke its internal quiet, but led it into a ruinous war with Russia, by which it lost the province of Finland. Their Swedish majesties having no children, it was necessary to settle the succession; especially as the duke of Holstein was descended from the queen's eldest sister, and was, at the same time, the presumptive heir to the empire of Russia. Four competitors appeared; the duke of Holstein Gottorp, Prince Frederic of Hesse-Cassel nephew to the king, the prince of Denmark, and the duke of Deux-Ponts. The duke of Holstein would have carried the election, had he not embraced the Greek religion, that he might mount the throne of Russia. The tsarina interposed, and offered to restore all the conquests she had made from Sweden, excepting a small district in Finland, if the Swedes would receive the duke of Holstein's uncle, Adolphus Frederic bishop of Lubeck, as their hereditary prince and successor to their crown. This was agreed to; and a peace concluded at Abo, under the mediation of his Britannic majesty. This peace was so firmly adhered to by the empress of Russia, that his Danish majesty thought proper to drop all resentment for the indignity done his son. The prince-successor married the princess Ulrica, third sister to the king of Prussia; and in 1751 entered into the possession of his new dignity, which proved to him a crown of thorns. The French had acquired vast influence in all the deliberations of the Swedish senate, who of late had been little better than pensioners to that crown. The intrigues of the senators forced Adolphus to take part in the war against Prussia; but as that war was disagreeable not only to the people, but also to the king of Sweden, the nation never made to mean an appearance; and on Russia's making peace with the king of Prussia, the Swedes likewise made peace. Adolphus died spirited in 1771, after a turbulent reign of twenty years; and was succeeded by his son Gustavus. The most remarkable transaction of this reign is the revolution which took place in the government in the year 1772, by which the king, from being the most limited became one of the most despotic monarchs in Europe. Ever since the death of Charles XII. the whole power of the kingdom had been lodged in the states; and this power they had much abused. Gustavus therefore determined either to seize on that power of which they made such a bad use, or perish in the attempt. The revolution was effected in the following manner. On the morning of the 10th of August 1772, a considerable number of officers, as well as other persons known to be attached to the royal cause, had been summoned to attend his majesty. Before tea he was on horseback, and visited the regiment of artillery. As he passed through the streets he was more than usually courteous to all he met, bowing familiarly to the lowest of the people. On the king's return to his palace, the detachment which was to mount guard that day being drawn up together with that which was to be relieved, his majesty retired with the officers into the guard-room. He then addressed them with all that eloquence of which he is said to have been a perfect master; and after insinuating to them that his life was in danger, he exposed to them in the strongest colours the wretched state of the kingdom, the shackles in which it was held by means of foreign gold, and the dissensions and troubles arising from the same cause which had distracted the diet during the course of four- teen months. He assured them that his only design was to put an end to these disorders; to banish corruption, restore true liberty, and revive the ancient lustre of the Swedish name, which had been long tarnished by a venality as notorious as it was disgraceful. Then assuring them in the strongest terms that he disclaimed for ever all absolute power, or what the Swedes call sovereignty, he concluded with these words: "I am obliged to defend my own liberty and that of the kingdom, against the aristocracy which reigns. Will you be faithful to me, as your forefathers were to Gustavus Vasa and Gustavus Adolphus? I will then risk my life for your welfare and that of my country."

The officers, most of them young men, of whose attachment the king had been long secure, who did not thoroughly perhaps see into nature of his majesty's request, were allowed no time to reflect, immediately consented to every thing, and took an oath of fidelity to him.

Only three refused. One of these, Frederic Cederstrom, captain of a company of the guards, alleged he had already, and very lately, taken an oath to be faithful to the states, and consequently could not take that which his majesty then exacted of him. The king, looking at him sternly, answered, "Think of what you are doing." "I do," (replied Cederstrom); and what I think to day, I shall think to-morrow: and were I capable of breaking the oath by which I am already bound to the states, I should be likewise capable of breaking that which your majesty now requires me to take."

The king then ordered Cederstrom to deliver up his sword, and put him in arrest.

His majesty, however, apprehensive of the impression which the proper and resolute conduct of Cederstrom might make on the minds of the other officers, shortly afterwards softened his tone; and again addressing himself to Cederstrom, told him, that as a proof of the opinion he entertained of him, and the confidence he placed in him, he would return him his sword without insisting on his taking the oath, and would only desire his attendance that day. Cederstrom continued firm; he answered, that his majesty could place no confidence in him that day, and that he begged to be excused from the service.

While the king was shut up with the officers, Senator Ralling, to whom the command of the troops in the town had been given two days before, came to the door of the guard-room, and was told that he could not be admitted. The senator insisted on being present at the distribution of the orders, and sent to the king to desire it; but was answered, he must go to the senate, where his majesty would speak to him.

The officers then received their orders from the king; the first of which was, that the two regiments of guards and of artillery should be immediately assembled, and that a detachment of 36 grenadiers should be posted at the door of the council-chamber to prevent any of the senators from coming out.

But before the orders could be carried into execution, it was necessary that the king should address himself to the soldiers: men wholly unacquainted with his designs, and accustomed to pay obedience only to the orders of the senate, whom they had been taught to hold in the highest reverence.

Vol. XX. Part I.

As his majesty, followed by the officers, was advancing from the guard room to the parade for this purpose, some of them more cautious, or perhaps more timid than the rest, became, on a short reflection, apprehensive of the consequences of the measure in which they were engaged: they began to express their fears to the king, that unless some persons of greater weight and influence than themselves were to take a part in the same cause, he could scarcely hope to succeed in his enterprise. The king stopped a while, and appeared to hesitate. A sergeant of the guards overheard their discourse, and cried aloud—"It shall succeed—Long live Gustavus!" His majesty immediately said, "Then I will venture;"—and stepping forward to the soldiers, he addressed them in terms nearly similar to those which he had expressed to the officers, and with the same success. They answered him with loud acclamations: one voice only said, No; but it was not attended to.

In the mean time some of the king's emissaries had spread a report about the town that the king was arrested. This drew the populace to the palace in great numbers, where they arrived as his majesty had concluded his harangue to the guards. They testified by reiterated shouts their joy at seeing him safe; a joy which promised the happiest conclusion to the business of the day.

The senators were now immediately secured. They had from the window of the council-chamber beheld what was going forward on the parade before the palace; and, at a loss to know the meaning of the shouts they heard, were coming down to inquire into the cause whole of them, when 32 grenadiers, with their bayonets fixed, informed them it was his majesty's pleasure they should continue where they were. They began to talk in a high tone, but were answered only by having the door shut and locked on them.

The moment the secret committee heard that the senate was arrested, they separated of themselves, each individual providing for his own safety. The king then mounting his horse, followed by his officers with their swords drawn, a large body of soldiers, and numbers of the populace, went to the other quarters of the town where the soldiers he had ordered to be assembled were posted. He found them all equally willing to support his cause, and to take to him an oath of fidelity. As he passed through the streets, he declared to the people, that he only meant to defend them, and save his country; and that if they would not confide in him, he would lay down his sceptre, and surrender up his kingdom. So much was the king beloved, that the people (some of whom even fell down on their knees) with tears in their eyes implored his majesty not to abandon them.

The king proceeded in his course, and in less than an hour made himself master of all the military force in Stockholm. In the mean time the heralds, by proclamation in the several quarters of the city, summoned an assembly of the States for the ensuing morning, and declared all members traitors to their country who should not appear. Thither his majesty repaired in all the pomp of royalty, surrounded by his guards, and holding in his hand the silver sceptre of Gustavus Adolphus. In a very forcible speech, he lamented the unhappy state to which the country was reduced by the conduct of a party. party ready to sacrifice everything to its ambition, and reproached the states with adapting their actions to the views of foreign courts, from which they received the wages of perfidy. "If any one dare contradict this, let him rise and speak."—Conviction, or fear, kept the assembly silent, and the secretary read the new form of government, which the king submitted to the approbation of the states. It consisted of fifty-seven articles; of which the five following were the chief.

1. The king has the entire power of convoking and dissolving the assembly of the states as often as he thinks proper. 2. His majesty alone has the command of the army, fleet, and finances, and the disposal of all offices civil and military. 3. In case of an invasion, or of any pressing necessity, the king may impose taxes, without waiting for the assembly of the states. 4. The diet can deliberate on no other subjects than those proposed by the king. 5. The king shall not carry on an offensive war without the consent of the states. When all the articles were gone through, the king demanded if the states approved of them, and was answered by a general acclamation. He then dismissed all the senators from their employments, adding, that in a few days he would appoint others; and concluded this extraordinary scene by drawing out of his pocket a small book of psalms, from which, after taking off the crown, he gave out Te Deum. All the members very devoutly added their voices to his, and the hall resounded with thanksgiving.

The power thus obtained was employed by the king for the good of his subjects. He took care that the law should be administered with impartiality to the richest noble and the poorest peasant, making a severe example of such judges as were proved to have made justice venal. He gave particular attention and encouragement to commerce, was a liberal and enlightened patron of learning and science, and laboured strenuously to introduce into his kingdom the most valuable improvements in agriculture that had been made in foreign countries.

But while thus active in promoting the arts of peace, he was not inattentive to those of war. The fleet, which he found decayed and feeble, he in a few years restored to a respectable footing, and, besides changing the regulations of the navy, he raised a new corps of sailors, and formed them to the service by continual exercise. The army, which, as well as the navy, had been neglected during the aristocracy, was next to be reformed. The king began by giving cloaks, tents, and new arms to all the regiments. Afterwards, under the direction of Field Marshal Count de Hessenstein, a new exercise was introduced, and several camps were formed, in which the soldiery were manoeuvred by the king himself. The sale of military offices, which had been permitted for many years, was entirely suppressed; and the king provided not only for the re-establishment of discipline and good order in the army, but for the future welfare of the individuals which composed it. These warlike preparations were necessary to a plan which he had formed for entirely abolishing the power of the aristocracy, and freeing Sweden from the factions which had long been formed in it by the court of St Petersburgh. The change which he had introduced was very inimical to the intrigues of that court; and the Russian ambassador exerted himself openly to bring about a rupture between the king and the discontented nobles. Gustavus ordered him to quit the kingdom in eight days, and immediately prepared for war with Russia. To this apparently rash enterprise he was incited by the Ottoman Porte, at that time unable to oppose the armies of the two empires; and his own ambition, together with the internal state of his kingdom, powerfully concurred to make him lend every assistance to his ancient ally. It is needless for us to enter into a detail of the particulars of that war, the principal circumstances of which have already been noticed under Russia, No. 157. Suffice it to say, that neither Gustavus Adolphus nor Charles XII. gave greater proofs of undaunted courage and military conduct in their long and bloody wars than were given by Gustavus the III. from the end of the year 1687 to 1792, when peace was restored between the courts of St Petersburgh and Stockholm. When the court of Copenhagen was compelled, by the means of England and Prussia, to withdraw its troops from the territories of Sweden, the king attacked Russia with such vigour both by sea and land, displayed such address in retrieving his affairs when apparently reduced to the last extremity, and renewed his attacks with such pertinacious courage, that the empress lowered the haughtiness of her tone, and was glad to treat with Gustavus as an equal and independent sovereign.

Sweden now enjoyed peace, but the nobles continued discontented, and a conspiracy was planned against Gustavus under his own roof. He had entered into the alliance that was formed against the revolutionary government of France; and to raise an army, which he was to lead in person to co-operate with the emperor and the king of Prussia, he was obliged to negotiate large loans, and to impose on his subjects heavy taxes. The nobles took advantage of that circumstance to prejudice the minds of many of the people against the sovereign who had laboured so long for their good. On the 16th of March 1792 he received an anonymous letter, warning him of his immediate danger from a plot that was laid to take away his life, requesting him to remain at home, and avoid balls for a year; and assuring him that, if he should go to the masquerade for which he was preparing, he would be assassinated that very night. The king read the note with contempt, and at a late hour entered the ball-room. After some time he sat down in a box with the comte d'Essen, and observed that he was not deceived in his contempt for the letter, since, had there been any design against his life, no time could be more favourable than that moment. He then mingled, without apprehension, among the crowd; and just as he was preparing to retire in company with the Prussian ambassador, he was surrounded by several persons in masks, one of whom fired a pistol at the back of the king, and lodged the contents in his body. A scene of dreadful confusion immediately ensued. The conspirators, amidst the general tumult and alarm, had time to retire to other parts of the room; but one of them had previously dropped his pistols and a dagger close by the wounded king. A general order was given to all the company to unmask, and the doors were immediately closed; but no person appeared with any particular distinguishing marks of guilt. The king was immediately conveyed to his apartment; and the surgeon, after extracting a ball and some slugs, gave favourable hopes of his recovery.

The favourable reports of his medical attendants soon appeared to be fallacious, and on the 28th of March a mortification mortification was found to have taken place. He expired on the following day, and on opening his body there were found within the ribs a square piece of lead and two rusty nails.

The king had by his will appointed a council of regency; but convinced by recent experience how little dependence was to be placed on the attachment of his nobles, and aware of the necessity of a vigorous government in times of such difficulty and danger, he appointed his brother, the duke of Sodermania, sole regent, till his son, then a minor, should attain the age of 18 years. In his dying moments he desired that all the conspirators, except the perpetrator of his murder, might be pardoned.

The young king, who was about 14 at his father's death, was proclaimed by the name of Gustavus IV. The regent soon took the most vigorous and active measures to apprehend and punish the projectors and perpetrators of the murder of his brother. A nobleman of the name of Ankerstrom confessed himself the assassin, and gloried in the action, which he called liberating his country from a monster and a tyrant. He was executed in a most cruel manner on the 17th of May. Two other noblemen, and two officers, also suffered death; but the rest of the conspirators were either pardoned, or punished only by fine and imprisonment.

From the accession of Gustavus IV. till the revolution which has been recently effected in Sweden, few transactions of any importance have occurred. Soon after the king had taken on himself the administration of affairs, he engaged warmly in the war against France, and till the time of his deposition, continued a most faithful ally of Britain. The efforts of the Swedish monarch towards humbling the power of Bonaparte, have been already noticed under the articles BRITAIN and FRANCE; and the war with Russia, in which his alliance with Britain had involved him, has been sufficiently touched in the article RUSSIA. This prince seems to have been endowed with great and amiable qualities, but he was certainly rash and imprudent, and perhaps in some degree tinctured with insanity. He thus materially injured his kingdom, and alienated the affections of his principal nobles, especially of his uncle the duke of Sodermania.

In the beginning of March 1809, the plan which appears to have been concerted between the duke of Sodermania and the principal nobility, was carried into effect. The king was arrested; the duke assumed the reins of government, and issued a proclamation, announcing that under existing circumstances, the king was incapable of conducting the affairs of the nation.

Gustavus, now in close custody, was easily prevailed upon to abdicate the government. The diet was assembled; the duke of Sodermania was declared king of Sweden, under the title of Charles XIII.; Prince Augustenberg was chosen crown prince; and various changes were introduced into the constitution, confirming the powers of the diet, and doing away what the prevailing party held to be encroachments of the crown, during the late and preceding reigns. The people, wearied or disgusted by the late king's folly and rashness, readily acquiesced in all the alterations. Peace was then made with Russia, a measure become absolutely necessary, as the military force of the kingdom was completely broken, and no means existed to check the progress of the enemy. By this peace Sweden lost Finland, a country of peculiar importance to her on account of the supplies of grain she was accustomed to draw from it; but in the treaty she reserved the right of importing a certain quantity of grain yearly, duty free. Swedish Finland with Lapland, now annexed to Russia, was estimated to contain about 120,000 square English miles, with 895,000 inhabitants. Peace was also concluded with France (6th January 1810), who gave up Pomerania.

Sweden was now enjoying tranquillity, when the sudden and unexpected death of the crown prince (Augustenberg) in April 1810, became a new source of perplexity. The duke of Sodermania was old and in a feeble state of health, and as there was no person within the kingdom who had any title by blood to the throne, it was necessary for the security of the new order of things to choose a successor. The threatening position which the acquisition of Finland gave to Russia, induced the noblemen who in concert with the court took a lead in this business, to look out for some man of military talents. It so happened that Bernadotte, prince of Ponte Corvo, who had lately commanded in the north of Germany, had gained the peculiar esteem of the Swedish officers and soldiers he had made prisoners in Gustavus's ill concerted operations in Pomerania, by his liberal and kind treatment. He was besides highly respected for his military skill; and had been still further raised in general estimation, in consequence of Napoleon having removed him from his command for his lenity and humanity in exercising his power. Some of the Swedish officers, to whom his character was known, first conceived the idea of offering him the succession to the crown. The scheme was for some time kept extremely private; but received so much countenance from the most considerable men, that it was at length opened to Bernadotte himself in Paris. He received it as might be expected; and his friends redoubled their intrigues. The prince of Denmark had been proposed, but the ancient enmity against that country was an invincible obstacle to his success. At length, when every thing was prepared, the diet was called, and Bernadotte was elected crown prince, with acclamations, by all the four orders, on the 21st of July. Of all the changes in the fortune and station of individuals which arose out of the French revolution, this is perhaps the most singular. Bonaparte seized the royal power and dignity for himself, and by force of arms he compelled some of the weaker states to accept his relations and followers as kings. But it does not appear that he was ever consulted as to Bernadotte's elevation, or had the smallest influence in it, except that the example given in his own person and that of his followers, had contributed to destroy some of the old illusions as to birth and hereditary honours, and had prepared men's minds for great innovations. It was thus that the son of a French peasant was raised to the Swedish throne, by the spontaneous choice of a body of nobles, proud of their birth and ancestry.

The appearance of Bernadotte in the Swedish capital was followed by numerous feasts and spectacles. He received congratulations from all the public bodies; and though not immediately called to the throne, was, from the king's infirmities, entrusted with the entire conduct of the government. One of his first acts was to recommend to the diet the introduction of a conscription law. law like that of France, a measure which certainly hazarded his popularity. It passed however; and on this occasion he prevailed with the nobles, to make a voluntary surrender of their ancient privilege of exemption from military service, and from taxation. Pressed by France and Russia, Sweden in November 1810, professed her adherence to the continental system, and declared war against Britain. The war, however, was only nominal, and the British cruisers returned in most cases their captures untouched. This state of things continued till Bonaparte was preparing for his great Russian campaign, when the Swedish government, solicited by both parties, and tempted by great offers, at length signed treaties of alliance with Russia and Britain in 1812 and 1813. By these treaties, the two powers mentioned engaged to assist the king in conquering Norway from Denmark. The French, for the purpose of intimidation, had previously seized Pomerania. Bernadotte carried over an army of 30,000 Swedes to Germany in 1813, and being joined by several large bodies of Prussian and German troops, he was encountered by Marshal Ney between Berlin and Leipsic on the 6th September, and after an obstinate engagement, drove back the French army with the loss of 16,000 men. In the battle of Leipsic also, fought the 18th October, he bore a conspicuous share. After the victory, he continued to act against Marshal Davoust's corps, and against the Danes, till he made the latter to capitulate. He lost no time in improving this advantage; and by a treaty concluded at Kiel on the 14th January 1814, compelled Denmark to cede Norway, giving her the trifling possession of Pomerania in return. He now advanced to the Rhine; but satisfied with reducing Napoleon's power, and, from views of interest, most probably adverse to ruining him, he was thought to be rather dilatory in pushing his advantages. The success of the allies at length left him at liberty to secure Norway, the prize for which he had fought. As the Norwegians announced their intention to resist, he crossed the frontier with an army in July, and, by judicious manoeuvres, which placed the Norwegian force in his power, he obliged them to capitulate, and obtained possession of the country almost without bloodshed; Norway preserving its ancient constitution, and having states of its own. On the death of Charles XIII. in 1818, Bernadotte mounted the throne; and, being on good terms with most of the surrounding powers, has every chance to preserve his situation, and transmit the crown to his posterity.

We have seen, that from the reign of Charles XII. to the revolution under Gustavus III. in 1772, the government of Sweden was a limited monarchy, and that since that time, till the accession of the present king (Charles XIII.) the power of the monarchs was absolute. In 1811, however, the power of the diet was re-established by new regulations. The four estates of nobles, clergy, burghers, and peasants, sit in separate houses, and meet necessarily at the end of five years, or oftener, if convoked by the king. The consent of three of these houses, with that of the king, gives a proposition the form of law. No taxes can be raised without the authority of the diet; and the persons of the members are inviolable during the session. The session lasts three months or longer. The law declares the press to be free; but this provision has not been enforced. The nobles consist of about 1200 families, the heads of which sit in the diet. (See James's Travels, 1817.)

The revenue of Sweden and Norway united, is estimated at no more than 1,500,000 sterling since the peace in 1815. The debt of Sweden in 1816 was 19,209,611 dollars banco, or about 1,480,000l.; and Norway also owes a considerable sum.

The army, which amounted to 53,560 men in 1817, is chiefly supported by lands which are assigned to the soldiers to cultivate. The navy is stated to consist of 20 ships of the line, and 16 frigates. The conscription places all the young men from 20 to 25, who are estimated to amount to 80,000, at the disposal of the government for military duty.

Christianity was introduced into Sweden in the 9th century. Their religion is Lutheran, which was propagated among them by Gustavus Vasa about the year 1523. The Swedes are surprisingly uniform and unremitting in religious matters; and have such an aversion to Popery, that if a Roman Catholic priest be discovered in the country, he is treated with the greatest indignity. The archbishop of Upsal had a revenue of 400l. a-year, and bad under him 13 suffragans with moderate stipends. No clergyman had the least direction in the affairs of state. Their morals, and the sanctity of their lives, were such as to endear them to the people. Their churches are neat, and often ornamented. A body of ecclesiastical laws and canons direct their religious economy. A conversion to Popery, or a long continuance under excommunication, which cannot pass without the king's permission, was punishment and exile.

The language of Sweden is a dialect of the Gothic, and nearly allied to those of Denmark, Norway, and Iceland. In the two grand divisions of the Gothic, consisting of the German and Scandinavian dialects, the latter is distinguished by greater brevity and force of expression. In the south of Sweden, which contains the chief mass of population, some German and French words have been adopted; while the Dalecarlian, in the north-west, is esteemed a peculiar dialect, perhaps only because it contains more of the ancient terms and idioms.

In the antiquity of literature, Sweden cannot pretend to vie with Denmark, Norway, or Iceland; the most nearly native chronicle, or perhaps literary composition, being not more ancient than the 14th century. In return, while the Danes seem occupied with internal policy and public regulation, the Swedes have, in modern times, borne the palm of genius in many departments of literature and philosophy.

But Swedish literature can scarcely be said to have dawned till the middle of the 17th century, when Queen Christina, finding the country immersed in ignorance, invited Grotius, Descartes, and other celebrated men, who though they did not reside long in the kingdom, sowed the seed of letters, which gradually began to prosper in the wise and beneficent reign of Charles XI. In the succeeding or 18th century, the name of Linne alone might distinguish the national literature; and it is joined in natural history with those of Scheele, Bergman, Tilas, Wallerius, Quist, Cronstedt, and others. In history, Dalin and Lagerbring have distinguished themselves by a precision and force, which the Danes seem to sacrifice to antiquarian discussions. Sweden also boasts of native poets and orators; and the progress of the sciences... The Swedes, since the days of Charles XII., have been at incredible pains to correct the barrenness of their country, by encouraging agriculture. Wheat is raised only in the southern provinces; rye, oats, barley, and potatoes, are raised in the rest of the kingdom. The whole annual produce of grain, however, was estimated to amount only to 5,700,000 spans, or 1,482,000 quarters in 1810; a quantity not sufficient for the consumption of the country. Potatoes are in general use. The farms are commonly small, and the return of the crops is computed to be 5 for 1. For some years previous to 1812, there had been a progressive rise of prices, and agriculture had considerably improved. But since this period a revolution seems to have taken place. The common people know, as yet, little of the cultivation of apricots, peaches, nectarines, pine-apples, and other high-flavoured fruits; but melons are brought to the greatest perfection in dry seasons.

The Swedish commonalty subsists by agriculture, mining, hunting, grazing, and fishing. Their materials for traffic are the bulky and useful commodities of masts, beams, and other kinds of timber for shipping; tar, pitch, bark of trees, potash, wooden utensils, hides, flax, hemp, peltry, furs, copper, lead, iron, cordage, and fish.

Even the manufacturing of iron was introduced into Sweden so late as the 16th century; for till then they sold their own crude ore to the Hanse towns, and bought it back again manufactured into utensils. About the middle of the 17th century they set up some manufactures of glass, starch, tin, woollen, silk, soap, leather-dressing, and saw mills. Bookselling was at that time unknown in Sweden. They have since had sugar making, tobacco plantations, and manufactures of sail cloth, cotton, fustian, and other stuffs; also of linen, alum, brimstone, paper-mills, and gunpowder-mills. The iron mine of Dannemora is said to yield 60lbs. of metal in 100lbs. of ore, and others about 30lbs. The iron extracted from this is known in Europe by the name of Oregrund, which name is derived from a seaport on the Baltic. A large portion of it is employed by different nations for making the best steel. The wood of Sweden is highly valued for some purposes; and Norway has a very considerable trade in timber of various kinds. The Swedes have also foundries for cannon, manufactories for fire-arms and anchors, armories, wire and flatting mills, also mills for fulling, and for boring and stamping; and of late they have built many ships for sale.

According to the tables drawn up by Mr Coxe, the Swedish exports amounted, about 30 years ago, to 1,368,830l. while the imports amounted to 1,008,391l. In 1816 the exports were stated to be about seven millions of dollars (exclusive of Norway), and the imports twenty millions. This real or supposed inequality, accompanied by considerable commercial distress, created a great alarm in the country, and led the government to issue edicts of the nature of somptuary laws. Wine, rum, and various manufactured articles were prohibited to be imported; and injunctions were issued to the people to lay aside the use of costly articles and every thing considered a luxury. We know not what the result has been, but the indubitable tendency of such measures is to increase the evils they are meant to cure. The imports are chiefly corn, hemp, tobacco, sugar, coffee, drugs, silk, wine, and brandy.

The Swedish peasants seem to be a heavy plodding race of men, strong and hardy, but without any other of the ambition than that of subsisting themselves and their families as well as they can: they are honest, simple, and hospitable; and the mercantile classes are much of the same cast; but great application and perseverance is discovered among them all. The principal nobility and gentry of Sweden are naturally brave, polite, and hospitable; they have high and warm notions of honour, and are jealous of their national interests. The dress of the common people is almost the same with that of Denmark; the better sort are infatuated with French modes and fashions. The common diversions of the Swedes are skating, running races in sledges, and sailing in yachts upon the ice. The women go to plough, thresh out the corn, row upon the water, serve the bricklayers, carry burdens, and do all the common drudgeries in husbandry.