No More Learning

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? DECISION OP CHARACTER. 53
GUSTAVUS THE THIRD OF SWEDEN.
USTAVUS, the young king of Sweden, was fixed
upon by Catherine the Second, Empress of Rus-
sia, as a proper consort for her grand-daughter,
the grand-duchess Alexandrina. She was just fifteen,
but with a mind and person which had outgrown her
years; she was tall and well-formed, with noble and
regular features, a profusion of beautiful hair, and eyes
that beamed with intelligence and sensibility. Her
governess, Mademoiselle Willanof, had educated her
in retirement, and with the most devoted care and
affection; and in person, manners, and mind, Alex-
andrina was at this time one of the most lovely and
accomplished princesses in Europe.
The young king of Sweden was about eighteen; he
was well-looking and well-bred, with a fine martial
presence, and frank, captivating manners; the young
pair had been allowed to suppose that they were in-
tended for each other, and they soon became mutually
and strongly attached; proposals of marriage were for-
mally made; the treaty drawn up; the day of betroth-
ment fixed, and a splendid fete prepared for the occasion.
The morning arrived, and Catherine had assembled
all her family and court in her presence-chamber;
Alexandrina, adorned in bridal pomp, stood at her side:
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? 54 DECISION OF CHARACTER.
all was in readiness; but the royal bridegroom appeared
not;--they waited--there was a chill and ominous
silence--the courtiers looked upon each other.
The articles of marriage had been carried to the
young king, for his signature. Perhaps Catherine
supposed that, in the hurry of the moment, he would
not pay particular attention to their tenor. She was
mistaken: the chancellor read them over quickly, as
if a mere matter of form; but the king, who listened,
became aware that certain articles were introduced,
which had not been previously agreed upon. By a
fundamental law of Sweden, the queen of that country
must profess the faith of the nation, and Alexandrina,
therefore, ought to have exchanged the Greek for the
Lutheran church. The Empress, not from principle,
but from pride and arbitrary power, was resolved that
her imperial grand-daughter should be made an
exception to this law; and had introduced into the
marriage treaty a clause to that purport. The king
expressed his disapprobation, and refused to sign the
contract. The ministers of Catherine, thunderstruck
by this resistance to the will of their despotic sove-
reign, under such circumstances, and on the part of a
mere boy, knew not what course to take; they nattered,
they implored him only to sign the paper, and leave
the matter to be arranged afterwards, promising that
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? DECISION OF CHARACTER. 55
his wishes should be acceded to in every thing. But
Gustavus was immoveable; and enraged at the at-
tempt to deceive him, he at length flung from them,
repeating, "Non---je ne veux pas! Je ne le puis pas!
Je ne signerai point! " and shut himself up in his own
apartment. It was some time before any one dared
to tell the Empress of this unexpected contretems: at
length, one of the courtiers approached, and whispered
it to her. She had sufficient power over herself to
utter a few words, dismissing her court, and then re-
tired to her cabinet. The King of Sweden returned
to his own country a few days after.
FREDERICK THE GREAT AND HIS NEPHEW.
REDERICK the Great was very fond of child-
ren, and his little nephews had free access to him.
The eldest, one day, playing at ball in the cabinet
where the king was writing, let the ball fall upon the
table; the king threw it upon the floor, and wrote on;
presently the ball again fell upon the table, and Frede-
rick threw it down once more, casting a serious look
upon the prince, who promised to be more careful.
But at last the ball fell upon the very paper upon
which the king was writing, and he, now rather angry,
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? 56 DECISION OF CHARACTER.
put it into his pocket. The little prince begged par-
don, and entreated to have his ball returned, but was
refused. He continued praying for it in a very piteous
manner, but to no purpose. At length, tired of ask-
ing, he placed himself before his majesty, and putting
his little hands to his sides, said, in a menacing tone,
"Do you choose, sire, to restore the ball, or not? "
The king laughed, took the ball from his pocket, and
gave it to the prince, saying, "Thou art a brave fellow:
Silesia will not be retaken whilst thou art alive. "
HENRY, DUKE OF GLOUCESTER, SON OF
CHARLES THE FIRST.
FTER sentence had been pronounced upon
Charles the First, such of his family as remained
in England were allowed access to him. They
were only the Princess Elizabeth and Henry Duke
of Gloucester, the latter of whom was but seven years
of age: the princess, only a few years older, showed
an advanced judgment, and that the calamities of her
family had made a deep impression upon her.
The king first gave his blessing to the princess, and
begged her not to forget to tell her brother James,
whenever she should see him again, that the last will
of his father was, that he should not content himself
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? DECISION OF CHARACTER. 57
with considering Charles merely as his elder brother,
but that he should obey him as his sovereign: that
they should all love one another, and forgive the
enemies of their father. Then the king said to her,
"My dear love, shall you forget this? " "No," said
she, "I shall never forget it while I live;" and shed-
ding a torrent of tears, she promised him to commit
to writing the details of their interview.
Then the king, taking the Duke of Gloucester upon
his knee, said, "My dear child, they are going to cut
thy father's head off. " Upon this, the child looked
very steadfastly upon him. "Mark, dear, what I say:
They will cut off my head, and perhaps make thee a
king! But mark what I say; thou must not be a king,
as long as thy brothers Charles and James are alive.
They will cut off thy brothers' heads when they can
catch them: and thy head, too, they will cut off at last.
Therefore, I charge thee, do not be made a king by
them. " The duke replied, "I will be torn in pieces
first! " So determined an answer, from one of such
tender years, filled the king's eyes with tears of joy
and emotion.
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? 58 DECISION OF CHARACTER.
ISABELLA, AFTERWARDS QUEEN OF CASTILE.
HEN the nobles of Castile, disgusted with the
misgovernment of their king, Henry the
Fourth, waited upon his sister Isabella, then
about eighteen, with an offer of the crown, she replied,
that it was not theirs to give; and that while her bro-
ther Henry existed, nothing should induce her to assume
a title which was his by the laws of God and man; at
the same time she claimed her right of succession, and
the title of Princess of Asturia, which belonged to her
as heiress to the throne. The chiefs were astonished
and disconcerted by a reply which left them without
an excuse for revolt, and having in vain endeavoured
to overcome her scruples, they concluded a treaty with
Henry.
EDWARD, PRINCE OF WALES, AFTERWARDS
EDWARD THE THIRD.
OON after the execution of his favourite, Hugh
De Spencer, the weak and incapable Edward the
Second was imprisoned by his rebellious barons,
and his eldest son, Edward, then twelve years of age,
was made guardian of the kingdom, and brought for-
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? DECISION OF CHARACTER. 59
ward on all occasions, to the great gratification of the
people, with whom he was very popular.
Hurried on from one new and dazzling scene to
another, and excited by the applause he was conti-
nually receiving, little time was left the young prince
to reflect upon the position in which he was placed, or
to give a thought to the condition of his unhappy
father. He did not, however, allow himself to be
entirely led away from his duty, but began to have a
perception of the real nature of the scenes he was
required to sanction.
The Parliament assembled at Westminster, the
Prince of Wales taking his place at the head of his
peers; and here the king's numerous acts of misgo-
vernment were recounted and denounced, and it was
unanimously agreed that he should be deposed, and
his eldest son elected king in his stead. The prince,
however, resolutely refused the crown, unless his
father chose voluntarily to resign it. This conduct
created some surprise and great confusion amongst the
barons, who were unprepared to meet, in one so
young, so much principle and determination. They
were obliged to adjourn, and their rebellious and
disloyal projects were, for that time, defeated.
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? 60 DECISION OF CHARACTER.
ALEXANDER THE THIRD OF SCOTLAND.
ARGARET, eldest daughter of Henry the
Third and Eleanor of Provence, was married,
when in her tenth year, to Alexander the
Third, the young King of Scotland, then about twelve
years old.
Henry endeavoured to persuade the young Alexan-
der to pay him homage for the realm of Scotland; but
the princely boy excused himself with good address
from the performance of this important ceremony, by
replying, that he came to York to be married, not to
discuss an affair, on which he, being a minor, could
determine nothing, without consulting the states of his
kingdom.
CATO THE YOUNGER AND THE DEPUTY.
HILE Cato the younger was yet a child, the
Italian allies demanded to be admitted citizens
of Rome. Popedius Silo, a man of great
name as a soldier, and powerful among his people, had
a friendship with Drusus, the uncle of Cato, and lodged
a long time in his house during this application. As he
was familiar with the children, he said to them one day,
"Come, my good children, desire your uncle to assist
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? DECISION OF CHARACTER.
61
us in our solicitation for the freedom. " Csepio smiled,
and readily gave his promise; but Cato gave no an-
swer. And as he was observed to look with a fixed
and unkind eye upon the strangers, Popedius con-
tinued, "And you, my little man, what do you say?
Will you not give your guests your interest with your
uncle, as well as your brother? " Cato still refusing
to answer, and appearing by his silence and his looks
inclined to deny the request, Popedius took him to the
window and threatened, if he would not promise, to
throw him out. This he did in a harsh tone, and at
the same time gave him several shakes, as if he was
going to let him fall. But as the child bore this a
long time without any marks of fear or concern,
Popedius set him down, and said softly to his friends,
"This child is the glory of Italy. I verily believe, if
he were a man, we should not get one vote among the
people. "
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? PATEIOTISM.
"There lives nor form nor feeling in my soul,
Unborrow'd from my country. "
Coleridge.
ATRIOTISM, or the love of country, was con-
sidered by the ancient Greeks and Romans as the
greatest of virtues; and every young person, on
first becoming acquainted with the classical historians,
feels his imagination warmed by the wonderful acts they
record of Courage, Fortitude, and Self-devotion.
In modern days, the sacrifice of a Leonidas, of a
Decius, of a Curtius, is seldom demanded, and the
principles of Christianity would condemn the acts of
a Marcus Brutus and of a Cato of Utica.
The love of country is still, however, a living and
active principle in the mind of a good man, and in the
hearts of the Great Ones of the world, to whom the
happiness of millions is entrusted, it should be care-
fully cultivated; nor are the personal sacrifices of their
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? PATRIOTISM.
63
time, their ease, and their private opinions, less merit-
orious, or less proofs of devotedness, than the more
brilliant acts recorded of the heroes of antiquity.
Alfred the Great, Queen Elizabeth, Henry the
Fourth of France, and the Empress-Queen Maria
Theresa, are all instances of sovereigns, who have
been imbued with an habitual feeling of kindness and
consideration for the welfare and happiness of their
subjects: a sentiment into which, perhaps, the love of
country may be resolved.
PETER THE GREAT, EMPEROR OF RUSSIA.
"Full of great aims, and bent on bold emprize;
The work, which long he in his breast had brew'd,
Now to perform he ardent did devise;
To wit, a barbarous world to civilize. " Thomson.
ETER the Great, on coming to the throne of
Russia, at the age of nineteen, found himself
sovereign of a people slavishly observant of
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? 64
PATRIOTISM.
ancient usages, most of them barbarous and stupid, but
so fondly cherished by the nation, that the task of re-
form appeared almost hopeless. He himself had been
brought up in the grossest ignorance; but his natural
powers were very great; he had an enterprizing, active
mind, and he was filled with the highest ambition of
a great monarch, that of improving his people and
their condition. A very gifted foreigner, named Le
Fort, chanced to enter his service, and soon obtained
his confidence; Le Fort showed him that there was
another mode of living and reigning than that which
was unhappily established in Russia: he explained to
him the advantages to a nation that are derived from
commerce; the superiority of a regular army over
undisciplined troops; the command of the sea that
England and Holland sustained by their navies. The
noble soul of Peter at once threw off the prejudices in
which he had been brought up: he felt he had to form
a nation and an empire; but he had no help around
him: other sovereigns have but to direct improvements;
Peter had himself to do all he wished to have done.
His first attempt was to teach the Russian soldiers the
military discipline then practised by the rest of Europe.
He enlisted as a common soldier in one of his own
regiments, procured German officers, and set the ex-
ample of learning the German exercise. His next
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? PATRIOTISM.
65
desire was that of forming a navy, and he spent many
months at Archangel, which was then the great re-
sort of foreign ships, that he might himself examine
the different methods in which they were built and
equipped.
His design was also to visit foreign countries, and
learn the arts he wished his subjects to practise, but
before he was at liberty to do this, he had to carry on
a war against the Turks: he conquered them, and
then set out upon his travels, in the train of his own
ambassadors.
He first visited Holland, and that he might perfect
himself in the knowledge of ship-building, he worked
as a common ship-carpenter at Saardan, where the
shed in which he worked and a boat of his making
are still preserved. He was astonished at the multi-
tude of workmen constantly employed; the order and
exactness observed in their various departments; the
great despatch with which they built and fitted out
vessels, and the incredible quantity of stores for the
ease and security of labour. Clad and fed like the
rest of the carpenters, the czar worked in the forges,
the rope-walks, and the mills. These occupations did
not prevent him from attending lectures on anatomy,
surgery, mechanics, and other branches of practical
philosophy cultivated in Holland. At his workshop
F
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? 66
PATRIOTISM.
at Saardan, he received the news of the division of
Poland, promised thirty thousand men to King Au-
gustus, and gave orders to his army assembled in the
Ukraine, against the Turks. From Amsterdam he
sailed to England, and he always declared, that he
had learned more during his visit to this country,
than any where else. The Dutch carpenters had
taught him the practical part of ship-building, but the
English instructed him in the fundamental principles
of the art: his attention was also directed to arith-
metic, watchmaking, hydraulics, and astronomy. Wish-
ing to introduce every species of knowledge within his
dominions, he sent into Russia a colony of between
six and seven hundred ingenious men, in the several
arts and professions.
After visiting Vienna, he returned to his own
country, where he carried into effect surprising reforms
in every branch of the Church and State. Aware,
likewise, that politeness and civilization cannot be in-
troduced or preserved without the intercourse of the
two sexes, he established assemblies, at which he him-
self appeared, and to which he invited ladies, who
dressed after the manner of the southern nations of
Europe.
Convinced that while the capital of the empire was
an inland city, Russia would never become a maritime
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? PATRIOTISM.
67
and commercial nation, he laid the foundations of the
important city of St. Petersburg, in a marshy spot of
ground, close to the Baltic Sea, where not a cottage
existed, and at a time when he was carrying on an
obstinate war with the neighbouring country, Sweden.
He worked with his own hands at the first house, and
himself drew the plan of a small fort, upon an island
facing the town. The Swedes looked with indifference
upon this establishment in a marsh, which large ships
could not approach; but they soon saw the fortifica-
tions advancing, a great city forming, and at length
the little island of Cronstadt become an impregnable
fortress, under the cannon of which the largest fleets
may ride in safety.
St. Petersburg gradually became a splendid city,
and Russia has, since the time of the patriotic and
persevering Peter, ranked among the other kingdoms
of Europe, both as to power and civilization.
THE EMPRESS-QUEEN MARIA-THERESA.
HE illustrious Maria Theresa had scarcely been
invested with the regal purple, when she found
! herself encompassed by enemies, each more eager than another to devour the possessions bequeathed to
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PATRIOTISM.
her by her ancestors. In this distressing situation, she
acted with becoming magnanimity, nor once betrayed
the weakness or the terrors of a woman. She quitted
Vienna, and threw herself into the arms of the Hun-
garians. Having assembled the four orders of the
state, with her eldest son, afterwards the Emperor
Joseph, in her arms, she addressed them in Latin, a
language which she perfectly understood; telling them
that, abandoned by her friends, persecuted by her ene-
mies, attacked by her nearest relations, she had no
resource left, but to stay in that kingdom, and commit
her person, her children, her sceptre, and her crown
to the care of her faithful subjects. The Palatines, at
once softened and inflamed by this pathetic speech,
drawing forth their sabres, exclaimed as one man,
"Moriamur pro regina nostra, Maria Theresa. "
Supplied with money from England, Holland, Flan-
ders, and Venice, but principally supported by her
own magnanimity, and the desperate ardour of her
troops, this great queen stood out against, and finally
triumphed over, the combination against her.
After the death of her consort, the Empress Maria
Theresa had never appeared either at court diversions
or in the theatre; when in the evening of the 19th
of February, 1768, whilst employed, in her dressing-gown, in her cabinet, she received information, by a
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? PATRIOTISM.
69
courier from Florence, of the birth of her grandson,
Francis. Without any attendants, she rushed through
the ante-room and the adjoining corridors to the
theatre, contiguous to the palace, burst open the door
of the imperial box, pushed through all the chamber-
lains, archdukes, and archduchesses, to the front of
the box, and enthusiastically cried out to the pit, in
the homely dialect of her people, "Der Leopold hat
ein Bueb'n! " Language is inadequate to express the
effect produced by these words. This mother of her
people was sure of the sympathy of her subjects, and
she could not rest till she had made them participators
in her happiness.
THE CITIZENS OF CALAIS.
FTER his great victory over the French at
Crecy, Edward the Third marched to Calais,
with the intention of besieging it, and finding it
too strong to be taken by storm, sat down before it,
determined to subdue it by famine.
John de Vienne, a valiant knight of Burgundy, was
the governor of Calais, and being supplied with every
thing necessary for defence, he encouraged the towns-
men to perform to the utmost their duty to their king
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? 70
PATRIOTISM.
and country; and to make the provisions that were in
the town last the longer, he turned seventeen hundred
old people, women, and children, out of it. When
Edward saw all these forlorn wretches thrust out at
the gates, he had compassion on them, gave them food
and money, and let them pass through his army in
safety. After the siege had lasted eleven months, the
garrison were in so much distress for want of food, that
they were reduced to eat horses, dogs, and cats, till even
these failed, and De Vienne found himself obliged to
capitulate: he offered to deliver to Edward the city,
with all the possessions and wealth of the inhabitants,
provided he allowed them to depart with life and
liberty. As Edward had long before expected to
ascend the throne of France, he was exasperated to
the last degree against these people, whose sole valour
had defeated his warmest hopes, and he was determined
to take an exemplary revenge. He answered by Sir
Walter Manny, that they all deserved capital punish-
ment, as obstinate traitors to him, their true and nota-
ble sovereign; that, however, in his wonted clemency,
he would pardon them, provided they would deliver
up to him six of their principal citizens, with ropes
about their necks, as victims of due atonement for
that spirit of rebellion with which they had inflamed
the common people.
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? PATRIOTISM.
71
When Sir Walter Manny had delivered his mes-
sage, consternation and dismay were impressed on
every face, and to a long and dead silence, sighs and
groans succeeded. At length, Eustace de St. Pierre,
one of the principal citizens, rose, and addressed the
assembly. "My friends and fellow-citizens, you see
the condition to which we are reduced: is there any
expedient by which we may avoid the desolation and
horrors of a sacked city? My friends, there is one.
Are there any here to whom virtue is dearer than life?
Let them offer themselves an oblation for the safety of
their people! "
He spake--but a universal silence followed: at
length he resumed: "It had been base in me, my
fellow-citizens, to promote a sacrifice in others, which
I was not willing to make in my own person; and
indeed the station I occupy gives me a right to be the
first in giving my life for your sakes. I give it freely,
I give it cheerfully: who comes next? " "Your son,"
exclaimed a youth, not yet come to maturity. "Ah,
my child," cried St. Pierre, "I am then twice sacrificed.
But no--I have rather begotten thee a second time.
Who next, my friends? this is the hour of heroes. "
"Your kinsman," cried John de Aire. "Your
kinsman," cried James Wissart. "Your kinsman,"
cried Peter Wissart. "Ah," exclaimed Sir Walter
Manny, "why was I not a citizen of Calais. "
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? 72
PATRIOTISM.
The sixth victim was still wanting, but was quickly
supplied by lot, from numbers who were now emulous
of following so noble an example. The keys of the
city were then delivered to Sir Walter: he took the
six prisoners into his custody, and led them into the
king's presence. Edward, who was highly incensed
at the length and difficulty of the siege, ordered them
to be led to execution; but Queen Philippa fell on
her knees before him, and besought him to spare them.
He granted the request of a wife whom he loved, and
to whom he was recently indebted for an important
victory over the Scots: she had the six brave citizens
conducted to her apartment, where she entertained
them honourably, and sent them back to the town,
bestowing on them many rich presents.
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? COURAGE.
"True nobility is exempt from fear. "--Shakspeare.
ERSONAL courage is truly a princely quality,
and I can scarcely note down all the instances
that occur to me, in which it has been exhibited,
even at an early age, by illustrious persons, both in
ancient and modern days.
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? 74 COURAGE.
LETTER FROM THE DUKE OF WELLINGTON
TO LADY SARAH NAPIER,
INFORMING HER OF A WOUND RECEIVED BY HER SON.
Gallegos, 29th Jan. 1812.
Mv dear Madam,
AM sorry to tell you that your son George was
again wounded in the right arm so badly last night,
in the storm of Ciudad Rodrigo, that it was neces-
sary to amputate it above the elbow. He, however, bore
the operation remarkably well, and I have seen him
this morning, free from pain and fever, and enjoying
highly his success before he had received his wound.
When he did receive it, he only desired I might be
informed that he had led his men to the top of the
breach before he fell. Having such sons, I am aware
that you expect to hear of those misfortunes, which I
have more than once had to communicate to you;
and notwithstanding your affection for them, you have
so just a notion of the value of the distinction they are
daily acquiring for themselves, by their gallantry and
good conduct, that their misfortunes do not make so
great an impression upon you. Under such circum-
stances, I perform the task which I have taken upon
myself with less reluctance, hoping at the same time,
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? COURAGE.
75
that this will be the last occasion on which I shall
have to address you upon such a subject; and that
your brave sons will be spared to you. Although the
last was the most serious, it was not the only wound
that George received during the siege of Ciudad Ro-
drigo; he was hit by the splinter of a shell in the
shoulder, on the 16th. Believe me, &c.
YOUNG NAPOLEON.
HERE was at Schoenbrun in 1816, a young lion,
which had been presented to the Emperor of
Austria, and which, being very young, was
nursed by two goats. The emperor, his two daughters,
and his grandson, the King of Rome, went one day to
see this lion, and the archduchess approaching very
near, one of the goats came forward in a menacing
attitude. Young Napoleon, seeing this, ran to the
goat, took hold of her horns, and said to his aunt,
"Vous pouvez vous approcher maintenant, ma tante:
je la retiens. " The emperor was extremely pleased
with the spirit of his grandson, and said, "That is well,
my boy: I see you choose the right way, where there
is danger. "
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? 7a
COURAGE.
CHRISTINA, QUEEN OF SWEDEN.
HRISTINA of Sweden, from her very infancy,
made excursions with her father, Gustavus Adol-
phus: before she was two years old, he carried
her to Calmar. The governor, fearing to terrify the
princess, desired to know if it was his majesty's pleasure
that the cannon of the fortress and garrison should
make the accustomed salutes. Gustavus at first hesi-
tated, but after a few moments' silence, "Let them
fire," said he; "she is the daughter of a soldier, and
it is proper the sound should be familiar to her. "
The child was so far from being frightened at this
military explosion, that she laughed, clapped her hands,
and by her gestures and joy, expressed a desire that
they would fire again. Gustavus observed with com-
placency these marks of natural intrepidity in his
daughter. From this time he always took her with
him when he reviewed his troops, and remarking the
pleasure she discovered at these martial appearances,
he once said to her, " We will go away now, but I pro-
mise you, that one day or other, I will carry you to a
field, where you shall see finer sights. " "To my mis-
fortune," says this princess in relating the fact, "death
prevented him from keeping his word, and me from
the happiness of serving an apprenticeship under so
complete a master. "
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