against the clerical order; but he was mortified by a revolt of his favourite Dalecarlians, who were zealously attached to all ancient institutions, and were artfully inflamed by the suggestions of the bishops. Their rebellion, after repeated insurrections, was at length quelled by a strong hand, and the employment of many severities. An attempt of the deposed Christiern to recover his crown occasioned a temporary alarm, but terminated in his becoming a prisoner to his Danish successor, Frederic. At different periods, disputes arose between Gustavus and the kings of Denmark, who could not forget their title to the Swedish crown, and who, besides, had interfering claims with regard to several territories; but the Swedish king, by his spirit and prudence, was generally able to come off with the advantage. In 1532 the Lubeckers had a quarrel with Sweden, and, it is said, formed a conspiracy against the life of Gustavus, as well as a plan for overthrowing his government. A war succeeded, in which Denmark was the ally of Sweden; though, soon after, jealousies again prevailed between them. In 1542 Gustavus, in order to counterbalance the influence of the emperor Charles V. in the north, made an alliance with Francis I. of France, and it is chiefly from that time that Sweden began to rank as a power in Europe. In the same year he brought to effect his project of rendering the crown hereditary in his family, procuring from the states the nomination of his eldest son Eric as successor. The assembly also took an oath for the maintenance of the reformed religion, without toleration of any other throughout the kingdom; so that the change of religion was fully completed. The king thenceforth bent his attention upon the encouragement of learning, science, and commerce, and all the arts by which a country is rendered flourishing; and he settled large apannages upon his younger sons, to be holden under homage to the crown. He lived, however, to foresee the evils which might arise from rendering the younger branches of his family too independent, and he wished to give additional splendour and authority to the eldest by some potent matrimonial alliance. For this purpose, he caused proposals to be made to Elizabeth, first when princess, and then when queen of England; but while this affair was in agitation, he was attacked with a slow fever, under which he sunk in 1560, in the seventieth year of his age. Gustavus was thrice married: by his first consort, a daughter of the duke of Saxe-Lawenburg, he had his successor Eric; by his second, daughter of a Swedish noble, three sons and five daughters. As he had changed the national religion, depressed the clergy, and exalted the power of the crown at the expence of the nobles, many of his subjects regarded him with dislike; but posterity has justly ranked him among the greatest and best sovereigns of his age and country. Mod. Univers. Hist.-A. GUSTAVUS ADOLPHUS, king of Sweden, the hero of Europe during a short period, was the grandson of Gustavus Vasa, and son of Charles IX. He was born in 1594, and received an education equally fitted for the prince and the warrior. At an early age he commanded a body of troops in the war between his father and Christiern IV. of Denmark, and rendered himself conspicuous for enterprising valour. He succeeded to the crown in 1611; and such was the reputation he had already acquired for knowledge and abilities, that his mi nority was terminated at an age earlier than the law had prescribed, and the reins of government were committed to his hands. His choice of a prime-minister proved his judgment; it was that of the great chancellor Oxenstiern, one of the ablest men who has filled that post in any kingdom. Gustavus by his own autho rity assembled the states in the beginning of 1612, where he resumed all the crown grants, in order to enable him to carry on the war in which Sweden was involved with Denmark, Russia, and Poland. He began with employing his arms against the first power, whom, under the mediation of Great Britain, he brought to a treaty in 1613. Hostilities with Russia were terminated by the same mediation; and Gustavus had leisure to attend to affairs of domestic policy, among which were the establishment of a commercial society at Stockholm, the regulation of the university of Upsal, and the abridgment of processes at law. After the expiration of a truce with Poland, he renewed the war with vigour, and with a strong army, commanded by several distinguished officers, laid siege to Riga. The town surrendered in 1621, and a truce took place soon after. In 1625 the war was again renewed, and Gustavus entering Livonia, reduced almost the whole of that province, and then took possession of the principal places in Prussia. He invested Dantzic, defeated the Polish fleet which came to its succour, and would probably have brought it to surrender, had not a sudden flood in the Vistula obliged him to retreat. After various successes, he concluded in 1629 a truce with the Poles, by which he was left in possession of Memel, Pillau, Elbing, Brunsberg, and all his conquests in Livonia. Gustavus had now raised a high military reputation, had formed a powerful and well-disciplined army, and had brought his domestic affairs into perfect condition. By his valour he had not only repelled all attacks from the neighbouring powers, but had aggrandised himself at their expence. This success had inflamed his passion for glory and his love of conquest, and he eagerly panted after some greater enterprise than he had hitherto been engaged in. The emperor Ferdinand II. had given him offence by sending assistance to the king of Poland, and had also in other respects shewn a hostile disposition towards him. As a warm attachment to his religion also formed a conspicuous part of the king of Sweden's character, it may be supposed that he felt a real zeal for the protestant cause in Germany, which laboured under great depression since the peace which Christiern IV., who had acted as its head, had been compelled to make with the empire. These motives, added to the solicitations of the protestant league, and of other powers jealous of the overbearing sway of the house of Austria, induced him to entertain the hazardous project of invading the imperial dominions, and contending upon its own ground with a power then at the summit of military glory. He introduced his proposal to the Swedish national diet, where it was discussed with freedom, and some strong objections raised against it; but the king's ardour and eloquence overcame all opposition. Every aid that he desired was voted him, and an army of sixty thousand men, with a navy of seventy sail, were at his disposal. England and France both favoured his designs, though it was not till the second campaign that the latter power engaged to support a third of the expence of the war. The operations of Gustavus were preceded by a manifesto, in which he enumerated those injuries and provocations which had induced him to take up arms against the emperor; but it must be acknowledged that they appear insufficient to justify such a step, and are but a thin cover of his personal ambition. It was in June, 1630, that he embarked on this great enterprise. He made himself master of the isle of Usedom, and thence crossing over to Pomerania, obtained possession of the important town of Stettin, and of several other places in that duchy. Then entering Mecklenburg, he drove out the Imperialists from part of it, and proceeding to Frankfort on the Oder, carried it by storm, though defended by a numerous garrison. A diet was at this time held by the protestant princes at Leipsic, to which he sent deputies: and by the actual levy of contributions, and fear of more serious consequences, he induced the hesitating electors of Brandenburg and Saxony to form a treaty of alliance with him. Instead of being, as the emperor had termed him, a king of snow, who would melt away as he approached the south, he was rather a formidable avalanche, increasing in size and force as he rolled onwards. As he advanced into Saxony, the imperial general Tilly thought it necessary to check his progress. After some vain attempts to draw Gustavus from the advantageous post he occupied, Tilly made a furious attack upon his lines, but was repulsed. He, however, continued his attempts to bring on an engagement; and finding them fruitless, he burst like a torrent into Saxony, the elector of which had some time been doubting which of the two powers he should join, and was actually negociating with Austria. But this ill-judged measure necessarily threw him for protection into the arms of Sweden, and he consented to a very humiliating treaty with Gustavus. For the relief of Leipsic, invested by Tilly, an engagement was resolved upon, and on September 7, 1631, Gustavus led the united Swedish and Saxon army into the field. The king himself, distinguished by a green feather in his hat, led the charge against the bravest of the enemy The courage and discipline of the Swedes, though little seconded by the Saxons, were irresistible, and they obtained a complete victory. Its consequences were the subversion of all the emperor's measures, and a great accession to the renown of Gustavus, whom the Protestants now began to look upon as their great champion and deliverer. Some blame has been thrown upon him for not pursuing his blow, but suffering Tilly to recruit his army, while he penetrated into Franconia. He reduced many places in that part of Germany, and in the spring of 1632 prepared to enter Bavaria. For this purpose it was necessary to force a passage across the Lech, in face of Tilly's army. This he effected with great skill and vigour; Tilly received a mortal-wound in the action; his shattered troops were driven from post to post; and the surrender of the important city of Augsburg soon followed. From the inhabitants of this place Gustavus exacted an oath of fidelity, not only to himself as head of the protestant league, but to the crown of Sweden; a measure that was thought to disclose his ambitious designs, and which excited great suspicion and displeasure in the Germanic body. He next attempted to cross the Danube and gain possession of Ratisbon, and also laid siege to Ingoldstadt, but neither of these enterprises succeeded. He ravaged Bavaria, while in the mean time the Imperialists drove the Saxons out of Bohemia. After the death of Tilly, the celebrated Wallestein succeeded to the chief command of the emperor's troops; and by his influence, he had drawn together an army superior in numbers to that of Gustavus. With this, he advanced towards Nuremberg, where the latter was posted, and for some time they lay encamped opposite each other. At length, the king, having received a reinforcement, made an attack upon Wallestein's lines, but after a combat of several hours, was repulsed with considerable loss; and it is allowed that his conduct on this occasion displayed more rash impetuosity than judgment. He then led his army towards the Danube, while Wallestein marched into Misnia, with a view to oblige the elector of Saxony, who was again wavering, to quit the Swedish party. Gustavus followed him, and on the plain of Lutzen brought him to action on November 16, 1632. Here, while fighting at the head of a body of cavalry, he received a ball in his arm, which for a time he disregarded; at length, becoming faint with the pain, he turned about to retire, when he was charged by a squadron of imperial cuirassiers, and in the throng was dispatched with several wounds, and stript upon the field. This is the most probable account of his death; though the Swedish writers, unwilling to conceive that their hero could lose his life common manner, have asserted that he perished through treachery; and have charged the duke of Saxe-Lawenburg, who accompanied him, with the crime. But that a king who exposed himself like a soldier should meet a soldier's fate, is surely in no respect extraordinary. He sunk in the arms of victory; for after a very bloody action, the Swedes remained conquerors, and one of the most distinguished imperial generals, Pappenheim, was a victim to Gustavus had nearly completed his thirty-eighth year. By his queen, the daughter of Sigismund elector of Brandenburg, he left an only child, the celebrated Christina. He died the terror of Austria, the hope of the protestant religion, and the admiration of all EuFew sovereigns have possessed more of the qualities of a truly great prince. He was frank, accessible and generous, humane and just, a lover of learning, and himself learned, pious in an eminent degree, brave to excess, well versed in civil and political affairs, a master in the art of war, to which he contributed several inventions and improvements. That in his public conduct he was warped by ambition in a his manes. rope. and the desire of aggrandisement cannot be reasonably denied. He had also the failing of violence of temper; and in his military transactions his humanity occasionally gave way to vindictive resentment. He was sometimes too keen in his railleries, and was not free from weakness with respect to the fair sex. In person he was of a middle size and corpulent, but active, with 2, martial and majestic countenance, large but ageable features, and a familiar cheerful expression. He lived upon easy terms with his officers, who were of various nations, his camp being the most famous military school of his time. Many English and Scotch served under him, and brought to their own countries the discipline they had learned. He made his Swedes the best soldiers in Europe, and trained a set of generals who long maintained the national renown. Mod. Univers. Hist. Harte's Life of Gustav. Adolph.—Ạ. GUSTAVUS III., king of Sweden, son of Adolphus Frederic and Louisa Ulrica, sister of Frederic II. king of Prussia, was born on the 24th of January, 1746. He was educated under the care of the celebrated count Tessin, whose letters addressed to his pupil are well known; and he succeeded his father in 1771, being at that time at Paris, on his travels. At the period of his accession to the throne, the supreme authority, in consequence of abuses which had crept into the government, through the weakness of his predecessors, resided in a tumultuous assembly composed of the four orders, into which many nobles without property, tradesmen, and peasants, were admitted, most of whom were of course subject to all the corruption and influence to which needy and ignorant representatives are exposed. Although all statutes were signed by the king, and the ordinances of the senate were issued in his name, he did not, in either case, possess a negative; and to obviate the possibility of an attempt to exercise that power, it had been enacted in the diet of 1756, that to all affairs without exception, which had before required the sign-manual, his majesty's name might be affixed by a stamp whenever he should decline his signature at the first or second request. Agreeably to this resolution, the royal signature was actually engraved and applied to the ordinary dispatches of government, under the direction of the senate. In a word, the king enjoyed the mere name of royalty; he was only the ostensible instrument in the hands of one of the two great parties which divided and governed the kingdom, as either obtained the superior infiuence in the diet. No sooner had Gustavus as furnished with the raw materials, proper for the manufactories carried on in them; and before the end of the year his majesty had the satisfaction to see above one thousand two hundred persons employed in those of the capital. To encourage commerce and facilitate its progress, he formed a new institution called the College of Commerce; the small town of Marstrand, situated on the North Sea, was declared a free port; and an office of discount to promote the circulation of specie, and to give vigour to all commercial operations, was esta sumed the reins, than he resolved to emancipate himself and his country from this degraded state, or to perish in the attempt. The measures concerted for this purpose were so well combined, that the plan was carried into execution in the course of a few hours, and without the least bloodshed. This memorable revolution took place on the 19th of August, 1772; and an accurate and ample detail of the whole transaction has been given to the world by Mr. Sheridan, who at that time was secretary to the British envoy at Stockholm. By the new constitution, which the king then established at Stockholm. He introduced new and blished, he was to have power to convoke the states and to dissolve them whenever he should think proper; the army, fleet, and finances, as well as all employments both civil and military, were to be at his disposal: in case of an invasion, or of urgent necessity, he might impose taxes without waiting for the assembly of the states; the diet was not to deliberate on any subjects but such as might be proposed by the sovereign, and his majesty was not to carry on an offensive war without the consent of the states. When the states had ratified this new constitution, they met to form an address to his majesty; in which they expressed their gratitude for having delivered the kingdom, at the hazard of his life, from that state of anarchy and confusion into which it had fallen. On the 9th of September following, the king dissolved the diet, and announced a new one for the year 1778; after which he began to turn his attention to a reform in the administration of justice. Torture, that barbarous and detestable practice, of which so horrid a use had been made after the unsuccessful attempt to effect a revolution in 1756, was entirely abolished; and other regulations tending to correct various abuses in the provincial courts were adopted. The finances also were a particular object of his majesty's solicitude. He established a commission to regulate the revenues and the public expences; and he caused a plan to be drawn up for redeeming an enormous quantity of paper money, then in circulation, and for increasing that of specie. He sent corn to all the provinces; and, to remedy the scarcity which prevailed throughout the whole kingdom, permitted the free importation of grain. With the same benevolent view, he forbade the distillation of spirits; and made a great many new ordinances to encourage commerce and agriculture, as well as manufactures of every kind. In the year 1773, he established at Stockholm and at Gothenburg public work-shops, where the poor could gain a subsistence by their labour These shops were VOL. IV. salutary regulations in the army and navy; augmented the pay of his officers; and made such arrangements, that after a certain number of years' service the non-commissioned officers and soldiers should have bread secured to them for their old age. Nor did Gustavus forget those objects which seemed calculated to improve agriculture and to promote population. He caused letters to be written to the Swedish ministers resident at the different courts of Europe, desiring them to procure as accurate information as possible of the number of Swedes resident in foreign countries, as well as of the reasons which induced them to quit Sweden, and to make them advantageous offers, in case they were inclined to return. He assigned the town of Ekelstuna, not far from Stockholm, to a small colony, who, attracted by the advantages promised them, left Solingen, in the duchy of Berg, to settle in Sweden, where they established a manufactory of swords, sabres, and bayonets. Desirous to diffuse knowledge and learning among his subjects, Gustavus exerted himself with great zeal in giving every encouragement in his power to the arts and sciences, and to the belles-lettres. He began by procuring to the nation a good translation of the Bible. A society of clergymen, under the direction of the archbishop of Upsal, assisted by some professors of the oriental languages, law, and botany, together with Mr. Wargentin, secretary of the academy, were charged with this undertaking, which they successfully completed. Some men of letters also were selected to improve the elementary works employed in the education of the Swedish youth, and to form new ones. His majesty was often present at the meetings of the Academy of Sciences, and, under fictitious names, frequently sent them questions, the object of which was either some new discovery or some proposal relating to the happiness of the people. Gustavus made his respect for his ancestors conducive to the improvement of the arts. He erected a statue to 4 K perpetuate the remembrance of Gustavus Erickson or Vasa, the chief of his family; and he paid a similar homage to Gustavus Adolphus, whom he had taken for his model in the form of government established in 1772. But while eternising the memory of princes, he did not neglect that of illustrious philosophers; as is proved by the medal struck after the death of Linnæus, the idea of which was suggested by the king himself. The exchange, the operahouse, the palace of the duke of Sudermania, that of the princess Albertina, the edifice destined for public balls and concerts, the beautiful place of Gustavus Adolphus, and a magnificent stone bridge, built under his reign, afforded artists of every kind a favourable opportunity for the exercise of their talents, and contributed to the ornament of the capital. To unbend his mind after the fatigues of the cabinet, he courted the pleasures of society; and frequented the assemblies of the nobility and citizens, where he appeared as a plain individual, without the least pomp or parade. Being possessed of a lively imagination and an inventive genius, he was continually planning new fêtes, in which magnificence and good taste were combined. Besides splendid representations in the national opera-house, he gave at court balls, carousals, and tournaments, where nothing was spared that could add to their brilliancy. The first spectacle of this kind was exhibited at Eckholmund, in 1776, with extraordinary splendor. It was a tournament, followed by a carousal, in which the king, in the quality of a foreign knight, maintained this singular cause: "That love is more active and durable, on both sides, in the hearts of those who have long persisted in disowning its laws." His majesty gained the victory in the tournament, and his squire, major Monck, in the carousal. If Gustavus thus took a pleasure in causing money to circulate, he was, at the same time, desirous to repress the luxury gradually introduced into the kingdom, and which had been carried to an excessive degree, but particularly in the capital. Notwithstanding the regulations issued from time to time, nothing could put a stop to the inordinate expences occasioned by a fondness for dress. Gustavus had long had in view the establishment of a national costume, being convinced that simple clothing, without ornaments, would prove an obstacle to the continual changes occasioned by the introduction of foreign fashions. He proposed this measure to the senate, in 1778; and that body having approved of it, a circular letter on the subject, signed by the king, was a few days after transmitted to the governors of all the provinces. In this letter he declared that, on the 8th of April following, he would appear with his court and the senate in the new dress, and cause it to be adopted by the whole army. All the men, from the first senator to the humblest peasant, assumed the new costume, which they found more convenient and less expensive; but the case was different with the fair sex. This new dress made them lose so many advantages, that they could with difficulty be reconciled to it; and if they adopted it, the greater part of them soon laid it aside. As the period for opening the diet approached, Gustavus enjoyed the satisfaction of seeing the kingdom in a better situation than it was at his accession to the throne. The administration was well regulated, the army was in good order, the navy began to become respectable, and tranquillity seemed to prevail at home and peace abroad. To all these advantage3 might be added that of being on an amicable footing with the neighbouring powers. The preceding year, the king had paid a visit to the empress of Russia, at Petersburgh, to assure himself in person of the good disposition of that court. The empress received him in the most distinguished manner; and splendid fêtes were given, in rapid succession, to render his resid ence in the capital of Russia agreeable. The king returned to Stockholm towards the month of August, in a superb yacht which had been presented to him by the empress, together with other rich presents valued at forty thousand roubles. On the 30th of October, 1778, his majesty opened the diet by a speech; and two days after, the queen, Sophia Magdalena, daugh ter of Frederic V., king of Denmark, was delivered of a prince; who being the first immedi ate heir of the crown born in Sweden since Charles XII., this event was celebrated with great splendor. The states made a present to the young prince of three hundred thousand crowns, two-thirds only of which his majesty accepted; and he desired that the remainder might be applied to the purpose of easing the poorer parts of his subjects in the payment of their taxes. One of the most remarkable resolutions of this diet, and which will do lasting honour to the reign of Gustavus, was that for allowing the free exercise of religion to foreigners, settled, or who might settle, in Sweden, but under certain restrictions, which exist in all countries where toleration is established. In the year 1780, during the war between France, England, and America, Gustavus joined in the armed neutrality, and was one of its most active members. In consequence of this measure |