After-
ward he conspired against the emperor,
who caused his assassination in 1634.
ward he conspired against the emperor,
who caused his assassination in 1634.
Abelous - Gustavus Adolphus - Hero of the Reformation
Let not
your courage fail you.
" Your cause is the cause of God ! ac-
complish your mission, place yourselves in
the hands of God, and you shall fear no
danger. He will find another Gideon to
defend the people and the Word of God.
"We hope that at the name of Jesus,
the violence and snares of the wicked will
turn against them. They will thus become
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? GusTAvus Adolphus. 171
an object to be despised. God is with us,
we are with bim ; victory belongs to us. "
It was the 6th of November, 1632. A
thick fog covered the plain on which the
bloody struggle was to take place. Even
the troops nearest the foe were unable
to see them. The singing of psalms,
now and then broken in upon by Wallen-
stein's cannon, announcing the near attack,
was all that could be heard. Gustavus
Adolphus, while awaiting the rising of the
sun, placed his army in battle-array, and
gave the ancient word of command, " God
is with us. " He was mounted and with-
out armor. The need of protecting his
body from the shot of the enemy was
pressed upon him, above all, on such a day
as was now expected. He replied, "The
Eternal One is my armor. " He then passed
along his lines in order to encourage his
men. At first he addressed himself to the
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? 172 GusTAVus Adolphus.
Swedes. " My dear compatriots and friends,''
said he, " the day has arrived on which you
are to show what you have already learned
in war. You have before you the enemy
which we have so long sought, and he is
no longer sheltered behind formidable in-
trenchments or high mountains. He is in
the plain which lies open before us. It is
not willingly, nor because he is sure of
victory, that he accepts battle to-day, you
well know. It is because it is impossible
longer to avoid meeting us and our arms.
So, hold yourselves ready; conduct your-
selves as worthy soldiers; fight valiantly
for your God, your country, and your
king. "
Then he passed to the left wing of the
army, formed of the German allies, and
said to them, " My brothers and loyal com-
rades, I beseech you, in the name of a
Christian conscience and of your honor, to
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? GusTAVus Adolphus. 173
do your duty to-day, as you have done
heretofore. A year ago, and not far from
here, you fought the old Tilly and his
hosts. I trust that the enemy that is now
before you will share no better fate than
he and they. March with courage ! you
will fight not under my orders, but with
me and by my side. I myself will show
you the way. I am ready to risk my life
and to shed my blood with you. Follow
me, have confidence in God, and bear away
a victory whose fruits you and your pos-
terity will gather forever. Kemember that
if you are defeated, your religion and your
liberty are at an end. "
The soldiers replied with shouts of joy
and enthusiasm to the words of their chief.
The king, far from sympathizing with their
transports, was graver than was his wont,
and seemed even sad. He had taken every
measure as a man preparing to die. He
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? 174 GusTAVTJs Adolphus.
had designated the duke, Bernard de
Weimar, to take command in his place if
he should fall during the battle. The sad-
ness of his face was only an index of the
solemn thoughts that agitated him within,
and of the last regrets for the lawful affec-
tions of earth, before yielding himself up
to God without reserve and forever.
Toward eleven o'clock the fog was dis-
sipated ; the sun brilliantly illuminated the
field of Lutzen. When the two armies
came in sight Gustavus Adolphus once
more inclined his head and prayed men-
tally, with an astonishing fervor. Then
raising his eyes toward heaven, clasping
his hands upon the hilt of his sword, he
cried aloud, " Jesus ! Jesus ! be thou my
help this day, while I battle for the glory
of thy sacred name. " He then brandished
his sword above his head and added, " For-
ward now, in the name of the Lord ! "
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? ? D 1
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? GusTAvus Adolphus. 177
The king was surrounded by Francis Al-
bert, Duke of Lauenburg, by the Marshal
of the palace of Breitsheim, by his page,
Leubelfingen, by several officers, and by
two servants.
The cannonadins: bes^an on both sides,
and the Swedish troops threw themselves
upon the enemy. Several bullets fell near
the king, but did not prevent him from
placing himself at the right wing of his
army, by passing along the road from
Lutzen to Leipsic, back of which were the
Austrians. They had dug trenches from
which they hurled a murderous fire against
the Swedes, without being in turn exposed
to the fire of the other army. Gustavus
had commanded his infantry to cross these
ditches, and as they did not advance fast
enough to suit him, he descended from his
horse and went with them to set them an
example and give them a renewed ardor.
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? 178 GusTAvus Adolphus.
The soldiers begged him to remount, which
he did, and then hastened to the head of
the cavalry. The trenches were passed.
The left wing of the enemy were dispersed
by the Fins, whom the king commanded in
person. At this moment he learned that
his infantry were giving way and he flew
to their relief
Schiller says, "His proud courser bears
him like an arrow over beyond the trenches.
But the passage is more difficult for the
squadrons that would accompany him, and
a few cavalry, among whom are Count
Francis Albert, are alone sufficiently well
mounted to keep with him. He pushes
directly for the point where his infantry
seem hardest assailed, and while he essays
to find a weak point in the enemy's line to
which he may direct his attack, his natural
short-sightedness takes him too near the
enemy. An imperial officer remarking that
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? GusTAvus Adolphus.
179
the Swedes make open patli for him to
let him pass first, shows him, by point-
ing the finger, to a musketeer and says,
' Put that one out of the way, for he is a
great personage among them. ' The soldier
obeys, and his ball fractm^es the arm of the
king. At this moment the regiment comes
up. At the sight of his blood, and on
GUSTAVUS "WOUNDED.
hearing repeated cries of ^The king is
wounded ! The king has received a shot ! '
the brave men are seized with fright, and
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? 180 GusTAvus Adolphus.
there threatens a general panic. 'It is
nothing ; follow me ! ' cries the king, col-
lecting all his forces. But soon overcome
with pain, and ready to faint, he tells the
Duke of Lauenburg, in French, that no one
else might comprehend him, to take him
quietly outside of the* combat. The duke
obeys, and in order to spare the Swedes
the sight of their wounded king he takes
the longest road, to the right wing of his
army. On the wa}^ he receives another
wound in his back, that takes from him his
remaining strength. ^I have enough, my
brother,' says he, in a dying voice, 'leave
me and save your life. ' Scarcely has he
uttered these words when he falls from his
horse, and, struck by several shots more,
abandoned by friends, he draws his last
breath in the hands of the Croatians. *
* His young page, Leubelfingen, alone remained by
the king, and was pierced iTirough by a sword, but lie
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? GusTAVus Adolphus. 181
" In an instant the Swedisli army knows
that it is without a chief, but this frightful
intelligence, far from diminishing its cour-
age, raises it even to madness. Life has
no more value to these brave legions, since
the most glorious and most useful one
among them all has come to his end ; death
has no more terrors, since it has taken the
most precious life of all. "
" Like furious lions the Upland, the Fin-
land regiments, the Ostrogoths and the
Visigoths, hurl themselves upon the left
wing of the enemy and cut it in pieces.
" At the same time, the Duke Bernard
de Weimar, according to the wish of the
king, takes the command of the army. . . .
He throws himself upon the right wing of
the enemy and soon seizes their artillery.
lived a few days after the battle, and it was he that re-
lated of the last moments of Gustavus Adolphus. A
large stone was rolled to the spot on which he fell, and
is known to this day as the Rock of the Swedes.
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? 182 GusTAvus Adolphus.
Nothiug can withstand tlie impetuosity of
the Swedes. "
Wallenstein, seeing his troops giving
way every- where without being able to
bring them back into line, hoped no longer
for success, and was preparing to retreat,
when Pappenheim arrived with eight regi-
ments to his support. The battle began
anew. Pappenheim longing to measure
himself with Gustavus Adolphus, and igno-
rant of his death, swept through the con-
fusion and threw himself upon the right
wing of the Swedish army, but being
immediately wounded, was forced to with-
draw, and with him disappeared all hope
of success for the imperials, who profiting
by the night fled away, leaving the Swedes
masters of the battle-field, and possessors
of their artillery and baggage.
Pappenheim died the day after the bat-
tle, and Wallenstein abandoned Saxony to
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? GusTAvus Adolpiius. 183
the conquerors, who finally retook all the
strong places occupied by the Austrians.
He gained one unimportant victory over
the Swedes, at Steinau, owing to their
small force and inefficient general.
After-
ward he conspired against the emperor,
who caused his assassination in 1634.
The victory of Lutzen was a cause of
more grief than joy to the Swedes. Their
beloved king was dead. Nothing could
compensate for this irreparable loss. The
army wept for him as for a father, and all
the Protestants of Europe felt that their
most cherished hopes were buried with
him in his grave.
Gustavus Adolphus was scarcely forty
years of age. What would he have done
had he lived ? . . . Did he aspire, as some
have pretended, to the imperial ^crown?
and did death alone prevent him from tar-
nishing his glory by overturning his ambi-
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? 184 GusTAvus Adolphus.
tious projects? We cannot say. But his
life was wholly exempt from all such evi-
dence, and to his latest breath he remained
faithful to his sacred mission. He battled
for the Gospel and for liberty.
God has caused the seed which his serv-
ant watered with his blood to germinate
and ripen. Truth is immortal, and its
enemies even, in the hands of Providence,
are often the instruments employed in
promoting its eternal and inevitable tri-
umph. Who would have thought, when
this hero of the North fell, this most
formidable and marked defender of the
Reformation, that, instead of its being the
exploits of his valiant successors, it should
be the work of two cardinals that should
give to Germany that religious independ-
ence which she had sought for thirty
years, and that should determine the fut-
ure of European Protestantism ! When
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? GusTAVus Adolphus. 185
Gustavus Adolphus was besought to save
his life, he replied, " God, the all-powerful,
livesP The unexpected closing of this
long and cruel war, the way in which was
accomplished the work of the great King
of Sweden, has well justified this wise re-
ply, which many other events of history
have confirmed, and in which it has been
plainly seen that human combinations,
calculations, and foresight avail but little,
while they have shown forth more strik-
ingly the irresistible and consoling power
of the Master of the Universe.
Few men have left to posterity a mem-
ory more admirable than that of Gustavus
Adolphus. Even his enemies can but ren-
der him justice. "He is the greatest king
in the world," said the Pope. Around his
name cluster the most solid, as well as the
most brilliant qualities. We have seen
his profound faith, his inflexible justice,
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? 186 GusTAYUs Adolphus.
his unchangeable goodness, his courage --
sometimes a little rash -- and his touching
tenderness for his family: all the virtues
of the man and the hero, united to a mili-
tary genius which has been equaled but
never surpassed.
He completely transformed the art of
war. According to Michelet he made war
upon this, then new, principle, "That that
v^hich is mio^htiest in war is not the swift-
ness of the Turk, the tempest of cavalry,
nor heavy coats of mail, nor even the walls
and strong fortifications of Holland -- but
human walls; firm infantry on the plain,
and the breasts of men. " And, far from
forming the solid square as the Spaniards,
or placing rank against rank, which, when
once broken, become ever more and more
mixed and confused, he arranged his men
in simple file with a space behind them,
saying, " If the cavalry break your line, let
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? GusTAvus Adolphus. 187
them pass, and re-form in double-quick. "
This wonderful confidence in moral force
had its effect. The beautiful Swedish tac-
tics attracted the brave so powerfully that
many left lucrative employments to take
part in this hazardous style of war, who
had no taste for ramparts and fortifications.
And there was still one thing more admira-
ble -- the discipline which Gustavus Adol-
phus introduced into his army ; it was his
military code, a clief-d^ oeuvre of the kind,
in which the severity of the law had the
love of justice and the fear of God for its
base. He said, " One may be a bold fight-
er, but not a good soldier, without being a
Christian. "
Gustavus Adolphus was not only a great
general and a remarkable Christian, but
he was also an administrator of the first
order, and proved that he was not less capa-
ble of directing a State than of command-
12
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? 188 GusTAvus Adolphus.
ing an army. Under his reign Sweden
underwent several important and salutary
reforms. While he carried on war he took
care of his kingdom, ameliorating the
condition of his people wherever that it
was possible. He made a criminal code;
he established new tribunals and watched
carefully over the jurisprudence of his
country. He rendered commerce prosper-
ous by favoring the establishment of many
industrial associations, and by drawing
into his country skillful workmen from
foreign countries. By wise ordinances he
also facilitated the sale of merchandise,
and it is to him that Sweden owes her
first manufactories of arms and of paper,
her tanneries, and the vocations of weaving
wool and silk. He regulated the govern-
ment of the provinces, and required an
exact account of the expenses and revenues
of the kingdom. He particularly encour-
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? GusTAVus Adolphus. 189
aged instruction in all the different classes
of society. He assured to all professors a
good salary, and demanded of them guar-
anties of capability and morality. He
purged the universities of those of whom he
said, "They knew neither how to respect
themselves nor to fulfill their mission. "
He gave aid to poor but intelligent
and industrious students. He founded
the University of Dorpat, and handsomely
donated to that of Upsal from his family
estate.
He spread intellectual light among the
people by organizing superior primary
schools. Finally he was on the eve of
proposing to give to Sweden a constitution
which should bring about a much more
liberal government, when he was snatched
away from life and from the affections of
his people.
" He was of sanguine temperament," says
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? 190 GusTAvus Adolphus.
Michelet, " and he sometimes had moments
of anger, which were short and generally
finished by a laugh. He was too rash in
exposing himself in battle as a soldier.
These faults excepted -- the only ones with
which he is reproached -- one could have
believed him superior to our common
human nature. " His death, however, as
he foresaw, put him on a level with other
men, and furnished a memorable example
of earthly glory.
The Fins found and took the corpse of
their king. He was under a heap of slain,
and so trampled by the feet of horsemen
that it was difficult to recognize him.
He was at first carried to the village of
Meuchen, where it was necessary to bury
the intestines. After that the body was
placed in a coffin made by the teacher of
the village school, who was also a joiner.
A funeral service was held, at which pre-
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? GusTAvus Adolphus. 191
sided this same school-master. A Swedish
officer also pronounced a short discourse.
The next day the mortal remains of the
hero were taken to Weissenfels, where an
apothecary was charged with the embalm-
ing; he reported nine wounds upon the
body.
The following summer the army moved
from Saxony toward the Baltic. Every-
where the cortege passed the liveliest grief
was evinced. Protestant Germany w^ould
not now be consoled for the loss of her
liberator. From Wolgast in Pomerania
the army set out for Sweden, accompanied
by the Queen Maria Eleonore, whose grief
w^as inconsolable, and by a deputation from
the Senate. " The sea-passage was prosper-
ous," says a biographer of Gustavus Adol-
phus, "and the fleet arrived, August 8,
at Nykoeping. As it approached the
Swedish coast the sky became covered
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? 192 GusTAvus Adolphus.
with clouds, whicli soon poured out an
abundant rain. It seemed that Sweden
would receive the remains of the greatest
and dearest of her sons only as clothed in
mourning and in tears. "
Out of regard for the queen, who did
not wish to be separated from the remains
of her husband, and who desired to keep
them until she could repose with him in
the same tomb, the solemn funeral rites
were delayed until June 21, 1634. They
were then celebrated with all possible
pomp, and in the midst of universal grief.
The coffin was placed in the church of
Ridarholm, which Gustavus Adolphus had
himself chosen as a place of burial. A
splendid mausoleum had been erected to
him, which remains to this day. Upon
seven faces of the monument are engraven
brief sentences expressing the exploits or
soul-qualities of Gustavus Adolphus. Be-
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? GusTAvus Adolphus. 193
neath the cross whicli surmounts it a
pelican is represented as nourishing her
young with her own blood. A striking
emblem, well expressing the most salient
trait of the Swedish hero's character, and
furnishing, as it were, a resume of his
whole life, which was one act of long and
bloody devotion to the interests of others.
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? 68 64
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your courage fail you.
" Your cause is the cause of God ! ac-
complish your mission, place yourselves in
the hands of God, and you shall fear no
danger. He will find another Gideon to
defend the people and the Word of God.
"We hope that at the name of Jesus,
the violence and snares of the wicked will
turn against them. They will thus become
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? GusTAvus Adolphus. 171
an object to be despised. God is with us,
we are with bim ; victory belongs to us. "
It was the 6th of November, 1632. A
thick fog covered the plain on which the
bloody struggle was to take place. Even
the troops nearest the foe were unable
to see them. The singing of psalms,
now and then broken in upon by Wallen-
stein's cannon, announcing the near attack,
was all that could be heard. Gustavus
Adolphus, while awaiting the rising of the
sun, placed his army in battle-array, and
gave the ancient word of command, " God
is with us. " He was mounted and with-
out armor. The need of protecting his
body from the shot of the enemy was
pressed upon him, above all, on such a day
as was now expected. He replied, "The
Eternal One is my armor. " He then passed
along his lines in order to encourage his
men. At first he addressed himself to the
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? 172 GusTAVus Adolphus.
Swedes. " My dear compatriots and friends,''
said he, " the day has arrived on which you
are to show what you have already learned
in war. You have before you the enemy
which we have so long sought, and he is
no longer sheltered behind formidable in-
trenchments or high mountains. He is in
the plain which lies open before us. It is
not willingly, nor because he is sure of
victory, that he accepts battle to-day, you
well know. It is because it is impossible
longer to avoid meeting us and our arms.
So, hold yourselves ready; conduct your-
selves as worthy soldiers; fight valiantly
for your God, your country, and your
king. "
Then he passed to the left wing of the
army, formed of the German allies, and
said to them, " My brothers and loyal com-
rades, I beseech you, in the name of a
Christian conscience and of your honor, to
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? GusTAVus Adolphus. 173
do your duty to-day, as you have done
heretofore. A year ago, and not far from
here, you fought the old Tilly and his
hosts. I trust that the enemy that is now
before you will share no better fate than
he and they. March with courage ! you
will fight not under my orders, but with
me and by my side. I myself will show
you the way. I am ready to risk my life
and to shed my blood with you. Follow
me, have confidence in God, and bear away
a victory whose fruits you and your pos-
terity will gather forever. Kemember that
if you are defeated, your religion and your
liberty are at an end. "
The soldiers replied with shouts of joy
and enthusiasm to the words of their chief.
The king, far from sympathizing with their
transports, was graver than was his wont,
and seemed even sad. He had taken every
measure as a man preparing to die. He
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? 174 GusTAVTJs Adolphus.
had designated the duke, Bernard de
Weimar, to take command in his place if
he should fall during the battle. The sad-
ness of his face was only an index of the
solemn thoughts that agitated him within,
and of the last regrets for the lawful affec-
tions of earth, before yielding himself up
to God without reserve and forever.
Toward eleven o'clock the fog was dis-
sipated ; the sun brilliantly illuminated the
field of Lutzen. When the two armies
came in sight Gustavus Adolphus once
more inclined his head and prayed men-
tally, with an astonishing fervor. Then
raising his eyes toward heaven, clasping
his hands upon the hilt of his sword, he
cried aloud, " Jesus ! Jesus ! be thou my
help this day, while I battle for the glory
of thy sacred name. " He then brandished
his sword above his head and added, " For-
ward now, in the name of the Lord ! "
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? ? D 1
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? GusTAvus Adolphus. 177
The king was surrounded by Francis Al-
bert, Duke of Lauenburg, by the Marshal
of the palace of Breitsheim, by his page,
Leubelfingen, by several officers, and by
two servants.
The cannonadins: bes^an on both sides,
and the Swedish troops threw themselves
upon the enemy. Several bullets fell near
the king, but did not prevent him from
placing himself at the right wing of his
army, by passing along the road from
Lutzen to Leipsic, back of which were the
Austrians. They had dug trenches from
which they hurled a murderous fire against
the Swedes, without being in turn exposed
to the fire of the other army. Gustavus
had commanded his infantry to cross these
ditches, and as they did not advance fast
enough to suit him, he descended from his
horse and went with them to set them an
example and give them a renewed ardor.
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? 178 GusTAvus Adolphus.
The soldiers begged him to remount, which
he did, and then hastened to the head of
the cavalry. The trenches were passed.
The left wing of the enemy were dispersed
by the Fins, whom the king commanded in
person. At this moment he learned that
his infantry were giving way and he flew
to their relief
Schiller says, "His proud courser bears
him like an arrow over beyond the trenches.
But the passage is more difficult for the
squadrons that would accompany him, and
a few cavalry, among whom are Count
Francis Albert, are alone sufficiently well
mounted to keep with him. He pushes
directly for the point where his infantry
seem hardest assailed, and while he essays
to find a weak point in the enemy's line to
which he may direct his attack, his natural
short-sightedness takes him too near the
enemy. An imperial officer remarking that
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? GusTAvus Adolphus.
179
the Swedes make open patli for him to
let him pass first, shows him, by point-
ing the finger, to a musketeer and says,
' Put that one out of the way, for he is a
great personage among them. ' The soldier
obeys, and his ball fractm^es the arm of the
king. At this moment the regiment comes
up. At the sight of his blood, and on
GUSTAVUS "WOUNDED.
hearing repeated cries of ^The king is
wounded ! The king has received a shot ! '
the brave men are seized with fright, and
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? 180 GusTAvus Adolphus.
there threatens a general panic. 'It is
nothing ; follow me ! ' cries the king, col-
lecting all his forces. But soon overcome
with pain, and ready to faint, he tells the
Duke of Lauenburg, in French, that no one
else might comprehend him, to take him
quietly outside of the* combat. The duke
obeys, and in order to spare the Swedes
the sight of their wounded king he takes
the longest road, to the right wing of his
army. On the wa}^ he receives another
wound in his back, that takes from him his
remaining strength. ^I have enough, my
brother,' says he, in a dying voice, 'leave
me and save your life. ' Scarcely has he
uttered these words when he falls from his
horse, and, struck by several shots more,
abandoned by friends, he draws his last
breath in the hands of the Croatians. *
* His young page, Leubelfingen, alone remained by
the king, and was pierced iTirough by a sword, but lie
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? GusTAVus Adolphus. 181
" In an instant the Swedisli army knows
that it is without a chief, but this frightful
intelligence, far from diminishing its cour-
age, raises it even to madness. Life has
no more value to these brave legions, since
the most glorious and most useful one
among them all has come to his end ; death
has no more terrors, since it has taken the
most precious life of all. "
" Like furious lions the Upland, the Fin-
land regiments, the Ostrogoths and the
Visigoths, hurl themselves upon the left
wing of the enemy and cut it in pieces.
" At the same time, the Duke Bernard
de Weimar, according to the wish of the
king, takes the command of the army. . . .
He throws himself upon the right wing of
the enemy and soon seizes their artillery.
lived a few days after the battle, and it was he that re-
lated of the last moments of Gustavus Adolphus. A
large stone was rolled to the spot on which he fell, and
is known to this day as the Rock of the Swedes.
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? 182 GusTAvus Adolphus.
Nothiug can withstand tlie impetuosity of
the Swedes. "
Wallenstein, seeing his troops giving
way every- where without being able to
bring them back into line, hoped no longer
for success, and was preparing to retreat,
when Pappenheim arrived with eight regi-
ments to his support. The battle began
anew. Pappenheim longing to measure
himself with Gustavus Adolphus, and igno-
rant of his death, swept through the con-
fusion and threw himself upon the right
wing of the Swedish army, but being
immediately wounded, was forced to with-
draw, and with him disappeared all hope
of success for the imperials, who profiting
by the night fled away, leaving the Swedes
masters of the battle-field, and possessors
of their artillery and baggage.
Pappenheim died the day after the bat-
tle, and Wallenstein abandoned Saxony to
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? GusTAvus Adolpiius. 183
the conquerors, who finally retook all the
strong places occupied by the Austrians.
He gained one unimportant victory over
the Swedes, at Steinau, owing to their
small force and inefficient general.
After-
ward he conspired against the emperor,
who caused his assassination in 1634.
The victory of Lutzen was a cause of
more grief than joy to the Swedes. Their
beloved king was dead. Nothing could
compensate for this irreparable loss. The
army wept for him as for a father, and all
the Protestants of Europe felt that their
most cherished hopes were buried with
him in his grave.
Gustavus Adolphus was scarcely forty
years of age. What would he have done
had he lived ? . . . Did he aspire, as some
have pretended, to the imperial ^crown?
and did death alone prevent him from tar-
nishing his glory by overturning his ambi-
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? 184 GusTAvus Adolphus.
tious projects? We cannot say. But his
life was wholly exempt from all such evi-
dence, and to his latest breath he remained
faithful to his sacred mission. He battled
for the Gospel and for liberty.
God has caused the seed which his serv-
ant watered with his blood to germinate
and ripen. Truth is immortal, and its
enemies even, in the hands of Providence,
are often the instruments employed in
promoting its eternal and inevitable tri-
umph. Who would have thought, when
this hero of the North fell, this most
formidable and marked defender of the
Reformation, that, instead of its being the
exploits of his valiant successors, it should
be the work of two cardinals that should
give to Germany that religious independ-
ence which she had sought for thirty
years, and that should determine the fut-
ure of European Protestantism ! When
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? GusTAVus Adolphus. 185
Gustavus Adolphus was besought to save
his life, he replied, " God, the all-powerful,
livesP The unexpected closing of this
long and cruel war, the way in which was
accomplished the work of the great King
of Sweden, has well justified this wise re-
ply, which many other events of history
have confirmed, and in which it has been
plainly seen that human combinations,
calculations, and foresight avail but little,
while they have shown forth more strik-
ingly the irresistible and consoling power
of the Master of the Universe.
Few men have left to posterity a mem-
ory more admirable than that of Gustavus
Adolphus. Even his enemies can but ren-
der him justice. "He is the greatest king
in the world," said the Pope. Around his
name cluster the most solid, as well as the
most brilliant qualities. We have seen
his profound faith, his inflexible justice,
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? 186 GusTAYUs Adolphus.
his unchangeable goodness, his courage --
sometimes a little rash -- and his touching
tenderness for his family: all the virtues
of the man and the hero, united to a mili-
tary genius which has been equaled but
never surpassed.
He completely transformed the art of
war. According to Michelet he made war
upon this, then new, principle, "That that
v^hich is mio^htiest in war is not the swift-
ness of the Turk, the tempest of cavalry,
nor heavy coats of mail, nor even the walls
and strong fortifications of Holland -- but
human walls; firm infantry on the plain,
and the breasts of men. " And, far from
forming the solid square as the Spaniards,
or placing rank against rank, which, when
once broken, become ever more and more
mixed and confused, he arranged his men
in simple file with a space behind them,
saying, " If the cavalry break your line, let
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? GusTAvus Adolphus. 187
them pass, and re-form in double-quick. "
This wonderful confidence in moral force
had its effect. The beautiful Swedish tac-
tics attracted the brave so powerfully that
many left lucrative employments to take
part in this hazardous style of war, who
had no taste for ramparts and fortifications.
And there was still one thing more admira-
ble -- the discipline which Gustavus Adol-
phus introduced into his army ; it was his
military code, a clief-d^ oeuvre of the kind,
in which the severity of the law had the
love of justice and the fear of God for its
base. He said, " One may be a bold fight-
er, but not a good soldier, without being a
Christian. "
Gustavus Adolphus was not only a great
general and a remarkable Christian, but
he was also an administrator of the first
order, and proved that he was not less capa-
ble of directing a State than of command-
12
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? 188 GusTAvus Adolphus.
ing an army. Under his reign Sweden
underwent several important and salutary
reforms. While he carried on war he took
care of his kingdom, ameliorating the
condition of his people wherever that it
was possible. He made a criminal code;
he established new tribunals and watched
carefully over the jurisprudence of his
country. He rendered commerce prosper-
ous by favoring the establishment of many
industrial associations, and by drawing
into his country skillful workmen from
foreign countries. By wise ordinances he
also facilitated the sale of merchandise,
and it is to him that Sweden owes her
first manufactories of arms and of paper,
her tanneries, and the vocations of weaving
wool and silk. He regulated the govern-
ment of the provinces, and required an
exact account of the expenses and revenues
of the kingdom. He particularly encour-
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? GusTAVus Adolphus. 189
aged instruction in all the different classes
of society. He assured to all professors a
good salary, and demanded of them guar-
anties of capability and morality. He
purged the universities of those of whom he
said, "They knew neither how to respect
themselves nor to fulfill their mission. "
He gave aid to poor but intelligent
and industrious students. He founded
the University of Dorpat, and handsomely
donated to that of Upsal from his family
estate.
He spread intellectual light among the
people by organizing superior primary
schools. Finally he was on the eve of
proposing to give to Sweden a constitution
which should bring about a much more
liberal government, when he was snatched
away from life and from the affections of
his people.
" He was of sanguine temperament," says
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? 190 GusTAvus Adolphus.
Michelet, " and he sometimes had moments
of anger, which were short and generally
finished by a laugh. He was too rash in
exposing himself in battle as a soldier.
These faults excepted -- the only ones with
which he is reproached -- one could have
believed him superior to our common
human nature. " His death, however, as
he foresaw, put him on a level with other
men, and furnished a memorable example
of earthly glory.
The Fins found and took the corpse of
their king. He was under a heap of slain,
and so trampled by the feet of horsemen
that it was difficult to recognize him.
He was at first carried to the village of
Meuchen, where it was necessary to bury
the intestines. After that the body was
placed in a coffin made by the teacher of
the village school, who was also a joiner.
A funeral service was held, at which pre-
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? GusTAvus Adolphus. 191
sided this same school-master. A Swedish
officer also pronounced a short discourse.
The next day the mortal remains of the
hero were taken to Weissenfels, where an
apothecary was charged with the embalm-
ing; he reported nine wounds upon the
body.
The following summer the army moved
from Saxony toward the Baltic. Every-
where the cortege passed the liveliest grief
was evinced. Protestant Germany w^ould
not now be consoled for the loss of her
liberator. From Wolgast in Pomerania
the army set out for Sweden, accompanied
by the Queen Maria Eleonore, whose grief
w^as inconsolable, and by a deputation from
the Senate. " The sea-passage was prosper-
ous," says a biographer of Gustavus Adol-
phus, "and the fleet arrived, August 8,
at Nykoeping. As it approached the
Swedish coast the sky became covered
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? 192 GusTAvus Adolphus.
with clouds, whicli soon poured out an
abundant rain. It seemed that Sweden
would receive the remains of the greatest
and dearest of her sons only as clothed in
mourning and in tears. "
Out of regard for the queen, who did
not wish to be separated from the remains
of her husband, and who desired to keep
them until she could repose with him in
the same tomb, the solemn funeral rites
were delayed until June 21, 1634. They
were then celebrated with all possible
pomp, and in the midst of universal grief.
The coffin was placed in the church of
Ridarholm, which Gustavus Adolphus had
himself chosen as a place of burial. A
splendid mausoleum had been erected to
him, which remains to this day. Upon
seven faces of the monument are engraven
brief sentences expressing the exploits or
soul-qualities of Gustavus Adolphus. Be-
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? GusTAvus Adolphus. 193
neath the cross whicli surmounts it a
pelican is represented as nourishing her
young with her own blood. A striking
emblem, well expressing the most salient
trait of the Swedish hero's character, and
furnishing, as it were, a resume of his
whole life, which was one act of long and
bloody devotion to the interests of others.
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? 68 64
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