ERICKSON, better known as Gustavus Wasa, founder and first king of the dynasty of Wasa, was born in 1490, at the Castle of Lindholm, in Sweden. On reaching manhood, he found his country pining under the cruelty and tyranny of the Danes, and himself, from his connection with the old royal house, an object of peculiar suspicion. To save his life, he fled first to Lübeck, and afterwards to Dalecarlia, where he wrought for a time as a miner in the iron-works of Fahlum. Leaving the mines, he began a kind of vagabond life, wandering in the most remote and unknown parts of Sweden, till at length he came to Rattvik, where he formed the scheme of rescuing his country from the hated yoke of the stranger. Going about from house to house, he roused the peasants to a sense of their wrongs, and at length seduced them into open rebellion. In 1521 he had collected an army of 16,000 men, and taken the stronghold of Hestern. Town after town yielded on his advance, and Stockholm—thrice besiegéd in vain—at last fell into his hands, and the bloodthirsty Christian of Denmark was obliged to return in disgrace to his own kingdom. Gustavus was now solicited to accept the Swedish crown, but he steadfastly refused; and it was not till 1527 that he could be persuaded to mount the throne. He reigned with admirable success for more than thirty-three years, and his name is still held in reverence by his countrymen, in whose memories he holds much the same rank that Alfred does in that of every Englishman.

Gustavus Adolphus was the grandson of Gustavus Wasa, and was born Dec. 9, 1594. He was only seventeen years of age when he began to reign, but even at that early age gave indications of the great military talents which afterwards made him famous. He successfully repelled the attempt of his relation, Sigismund of Poland, upon the Swedish crown, and defeated his ally, the Czar of Russia. Through the mediation of England and Holland, peace was concluded on terms as honourable as they were advantageous to Gustavus. The Thirty Years' War was at this time devastating Germany. The atrocities committed by Tilly and the imperial troops upon the Protestants of Bohemia determined Gustavus to come to their rescue. His history from this time till his death on the bloody field of Lützen, Nov. 1, 1632, is the history of Europe. His success was unchecked by a single reverse of importance; and, at Leipzig, and afterwards at the Lech, he routed the elite of the imperial army, and finally slew Tilly himself. Even at Lützen, where he fell (not without suspicion of murder by the hand of a near relative of his own), the Swedes drove the Austrians in rout from the field, though commanded by Wallenstein, the greatest soldier of his day. Gustavus Adolphus is one of the most faultless names on the roll of kings. He was simple, wise, and brave. So long as he lived Sweden was the best governed kingdom in Europe. His military talents enabled him, while a mere youth, to beat the most skilful and practised veterans of the empire, such as Tilly, Pappenheim, and Wallenstein. In all his triumphs, however, his mind never lost its balance; nor was he ever hurried away, in the heat of passion, to the commission of any ungenerous or cruel deed. His clemency was that of a Christian, rather than a Protestant; and though he upheld and promoted the Reformed faith, he refused to steel his heart against such as preferred to walk in the old paths. His humanity was not that of the sects. The Germans, whom he had come over to assist, felt, but did not lament his death. He had helped them too effectively, and restored their fortunes only too successfully. They had already begun to feel themselves too much in his debt, and had latterly received him with cold unfriendliness. But long before the war came to a close they had reason bitterly to regret the untimely end of the champion of their faith. (For the details of Gustavus Adolphus' life, see SWEDEN. For Gustavus III. and Gustavus IV., also see that same article.)

GÜSTROW, a town of Northern Germany, grand duchy of Mecklenburg-Schwerin, on the left bank of the Nebel, 20 miles S. of Rostock. It is the capital of the circle of Wenden, or old duchy of Güstrow, and the seat of a court of chancery and several government boards. Its walls have been converted into promenades, and the old castle is now used as a house of correction. The cathedral and some of the churches are handsome buildings. Güstrow is a place of some commercial importance, having several breweries, distilleries, and factories of various kinds, and some trade in corn. Pop. 9100.