CHAPTER XXIV.

SWEDEN FROM 1697 TO 1771.

Charles XII. better known than other Swedish kings to foreigners-The Regency appointed by Charles XI.-The Estates set it aside and allow Charles XII., at the age of fifteen, to rule-His absolute power-His character-His bringing up-Dangerous pursuits-His enemies plot against him-He leaves his sports and turns in earnest to work-Carries the war into Denmark-Attacks Copenhagen-Shows wonderful military skill-Danish king forced to make peace-Charles relieves Riga -Defeats the Russians-Takes more prisoners than he can keep-New victories in Poland-Charles regulates Polish affairs, humbles King Augustus, opens a court in Saxony-Czar Peter begins to build his capital on Swedish ground-Marvellous advance of Swedes-Their daring, their sufferings-Mazeppa-Czar advances-Charles wounded— Defeat and capture of the Swedish army-Flight of Charles to Turkey-Troubles at home during his absence-No generals but Stenbock to defend Sweden-His "wooden shoes"-Charles in Turkey-Troubles of Czar-Catherine saves the Russian army-Charles plots, and feigns illness-At last escapes and returns to his dominions-Defends Stralsund -Remains at Lund-Görtz-His measures--Denmark saved by thaw -Charles attacks Norway-Is killed-The suspicion of murder-Love of people for him-His merits-His place of burial-Question of succession How settled-His sister Ulrika proclaimed-Her submission to nobles-Resigns supreme power to her husband-Frederick I.-His weak rule-His little power-Factions-"Hats and Caps "-Swedes go to war with Russia-Their defeat-Adolph Frederick of Slesvig-Gottorp succeeds-A mere puppet-Humiliation-Sarcastic remark of king's brother-in-law, Frederick II. of Prussia-Wishes to abdicate-Dies in the midst of party troubles.

PART I.

THE SWEDISH CONQUEROR.

Charles XII., 1697-1718.-CHARLES XII. of Sweden is better known to the people of foreign countries than almost any other Swedish monarch, because the wonderful exploits of his life have been made the subject of many special works by writers

in almost every European tongue. His father, Charles XI., left at his death full directions for the appointment of a regency to rule the kingdom until the young king reached the age of eighteen; but the National Estates of Sweden did not like the idea of again placing the supreme power in the hands of regents, and in the diet which met soon afterwards they declared Charles XII. to be no longer a minor. The young king, who was at the time only fifteen, at once called upon the different orders of the state to do him homage, and went through a simple form of coronation, in which he with his own hands placed the crown on his head, without, however, having tendered the oath of fidelity to his people which was usual in these cases. A mere lad thus became the absolute and sole master of the fate of his people and kingdom, and before long he gave evidence of a self-willed obstinacy and independence of character which did not promise well for the quiet and comfort of his subjects. Without consulting the opinions or wishes of the Council of State, he managed the affairs of the government as he thought best, and would listen to no one but his own special favourite, Karl Piper.

Charles XII. was not wanting in good sense and upright feelings, and by his mother, Ulrika Eleanora, the "Fred Kulla" of Denmark, he had been trained to observe all the practices of religion and to show deference towards the opinions of his elders, but after her death very little was done for him beyond giving him masters in various branches of learning. Thus at the time he became king, although well-informed for his age, he was wholly unsuited from want of proper training to perform the duties entrusted to him. He had soon squandered all the money collected by his father, plunging with childish eagerness into every kind of daring amusement that he could devise, and risking his life in break-neck rides, mock fights, bear-hunts, and other dangerous sports. Neighbouring princes who heard of these pursuits, and thought that there could be nothing to fear from a king whose time and strength were wasted on such occupations, began to scheme against him, and soon a secret plot was formed between his cousin, Frederick IV. of Denmark, the Czar Peter the Great, and Augustus King of Poland, to recover some of the lands conquered by Charles's prede

cessors. Early in the year 1700 the Polish king invaded Livonia, while the Danes attacked the lands of Charles's brotherin-law, the Duke of Holstein-Gottorp, and after taking Gottorp laid siege to Tonningen.

Charles begins life in earnest.-The Swedish king, who was only eighteen at the time, showed no surprise or alarm at finding himself thus made the object of attack by his supposed friends and allies. Leaving the sports in which he had seemed to take so much delight, but which he never again resumed, he turned to meet the danger which beset him, and sending an army of Swedes and Luneburgers to relieve Tonningen, he applied for ships to William of Orange, King of England, and with a united fleet of Swedish, Dutch, and English vessels, proceeded to bombard Copenhagen. Seeing that little progress was made in this undertaking, he determined to attack the city by land as well as by sea, and taking the command himself, he effected a landing at the little village of Humlebek, where he made all the necessary arrangements for encamping his troops with as much order and quickness as if he had been long experienced in the art of warfare. By the strict discipline which he maintained in his army, he won the good-will of the Sjæland peasants, who in those times were not accustomed to great men willing to pay for what they had the power of taking from them by force. Wonderful tales of the coolness and daring of the young Swedish hero were long current amongst the country people; and it was related of him, that when he was bringing his troops to Humlebek, in his impatience to land he sprang from the boat, and waded through the water which came nearly up to his waist, till he reached the shore, when, springing first to land, he waved his sword over his head, and cried out joyously as he heard the enemy's balls whistling through the air, "This is the very best music I have ever heard, and I shall never care for any other as long as I live!"

When King Frederick learnt that his Swedish cousin in person was attacking his capital on land, and that a fleet was threatening it from without, he at once made peace with the Holstein-Gottorp prince, and agreed to the terms proposed by Charles. As soon as this matter was settled, the Swedish king crossed the Baltic to the relief of Riga, which was being in

vested by a combined army of Poles, Russians, and Saxons; and having driven off the assailants and relieved the garrison, which, under the command of the Swedish general, Dahlberg, had made a gallant and nearly desperate defence, he advanced towards Narva in Ingermanland. This place, which belonged to Sweden, was being besieged by 60,000 Russians, under the command of the Duc de Croy. With perfect indifference to the numbers of the enemy, Charles advanced against them with only 8,000 men, whom he led to the attack by seemingly impassable tracks and through well-defended passes, and, storming their entrenchments, he thoroughly routed the Russians, 18,000 of whom were drowned in the Narva, and so many made prisoners that the Swedes were forced, after disarming them, to let them disperse in whichever direction they liked. This victory, which was unparalleled of its kind in history, spread the fame of the young king over all Europe; but it may be said to have been attended by evil rather than good to himself; for while his vanity and self-will increased with the adulation everywhere paid to his military skill, he was led on to pursue a course of wild and aimless invasion of neighbouring lands which led to his own later misfortunes and nearly ruined his kingdom.

Charles keeps Court in Saxony.-In the following year Charles advanced into Poland, took Warsaw by storm, and in the battles of Klissov and Pultusk so completely humbled Augustus, the Saxon king of the Poles, that he had to give up the Polish crown and retire into his own dominions of Saxony. At the diet of Warsaw in 1704 the young Vojvod of Posen, Stanislaus Leczinsky, was, through Charles's influence, proclaimed king; and, after several brilliant victories in Silesia and Saxony, Augustus was forced to sue for peace and to accept the terms offered him by the young Swedish monarch, which included the surrender of the Livonian noble, Baron Patkul. This man, who had been outlawed by Charles XI. on account of his numerous attempts to free his country from the power of Sweden, had never slackened his efforts to injure that kingdom during the years in which he had found a safe retreat at the court of Augustus; and by the command of Charles XII. he was now made to expiate these offences by a cruel death.

The Swedish king, after humbling Augustus and taking vengeance on his father's old foe, spent a year in visiting and entertaining the crowd of foreign princes who thronged to his little court in Saxony and sought his friendship and alliance; and so great was Charles's influence that the German emperor, Joseph I., at his request granted liberty of conscience to all the Protestants in his Silesian territories. During the six years that Charles remained in Poland the Russians, under their Czar, Peter the Great, had been busy in securing their footing in Ingermanland and Livonia, the control of which was essential to the success of the schemes which that prince had in view for carrying the Russian boundaries to the shores of the Baltic. To prevent the possibility of his people ever giving up these lands, Peter took the extraordinary resolution of building his new capital on the banks of the Neva, which was still included in the old Swedish province of Ingermanland. Thousands of Russian peasants and Swedish prisoners of war fell victims to the severity of the labours they were forced to undergo in draining the swampy ground on which the future St. Petersburg was raised. The few Swedish commanders who had been left to defend the frontiers could effect very little against the overwhelming numbers of the Russians; but Charles XII., instead of coming to their aid after he had secured peace with Poland and Saxony, attempted to change the course of the war by plunging into the heart of his enemy's country and attacking their capital, Moscow. This policy, which was not regulated by any proper plan, did not prove as successful as in the case of Denmark; and, finding that the Czar seemed in no way affected by his movements, he determined to throw himself into the Ukraine, because a Hetman, or chief of the Ukranian Cossacks, called Ivan Mazeppa, had offered to help him with 30,000 men against Peter.

PART II.

CHARLES IN TURKEY.

Troubles and defeat of Charles.-The Swedes drove the Russians before them wherever they appeared, and let nothing