The Swedish Revolution Under Gustavus Vasa Part 7

The contagion spread like wildfire through the town, and every other citizen began to preach. Churches, monasteries, and chapels were filled from morn till eve, and pulpits resounded with doctrines of the most inflammatory kind. All government was set at naught, and every effort to stay the tempest merely added to its force. Finally these fanatics made war upon the altars, throwing down statues and pictures, and piling the fragments in huge heaps about the town. They dashed about like maniacs, a witness writes, not knowing what they did. How far their madness would have led them, it is idle to conceive. Gustavus returned to Stockholm while the delirium was at fever heat, and his presence in an instant checked its course. He called the leaders of the riot before him, and demanded sharply if this raving lunacy seemed to them religion.

They mumbled some incoherent answer, and, the fury having spent its force, most of them were reprimanded and discharged. Melchior with one or two others was kept in jail awhile, and then sent back to Holland, with orders not to return to Sweden on pain of death. Some ten years later Melchior was executed along with Knipperdolling for sharing in the famous riot of the Anabaptist sect in Munster.[105]

The hurricane had swept past Stockholm and was gone, but evils of every kind existed to attest its force. Among the greatest sufferers from this fanaticism were the partisans of Luther. Their att.i.tude to the rioters had at first been doubtful, and the condemnation heaped on Melchior and Knipperdolling fell partially on them. People in general could not distinguish between fanatics and Luther. They were all deemed heretics, and Gustavus was roundly cursed for neglecting the religion of his fathers. To soothe the people Gustavus planned a journey through the realm, intending to set forth before the autumn closed. This journey he was forced by stress of circ.u.mstances to postpone. He therefore turned to other methods to effect his end. The strongest feature of the Lutheran doctrine was that it purported to be based upon the Word of G.o.d. To such a pretension no one but an unbeliever could object.

Lutheranism was opposed on the ground of its presumed basis in the idiosyncrasies of men. Gustavus, confident that this idea was false, resolved to put the question to a test. Accordingly, among matters to be discussed at the Cabinet meeting in October, we find a proposition that all priests be ordered to confine their teaching to the Word of G.o.d. The fate of this sound measure is not known. It appears nowhere in the list of subjects on which the Cabinet took a vote. A fair conclusion is that the question was too broad to be determined at the time, and therefore was omitted from the calendar by consent of all.[106]

Gustavus was determined, however, that the matter should not drop.

Convinced that any discord inside the Church would be a benefit to the crown, he resolved to hold a theological disputation, and selected a champion from the two chief factions, with orders to appear at Christmas in Upsala and defend the doctrines of his party in open court. The Lutheran gladiator of course was Petri, his opponent being one Peder Galle, a learned canon of Upsala. The main points that were discussed are these: man's justification; free will; forgiveness of sins; invocation and worship of saints; purgatory; celebration of vigils and ma.s.ses for the dead; chanting of the service; good works, and rewards; papal and monastic indulgences; sacraments; predestination; excommunication; pilgrimages. The battle on these questions was fought, December 27, in the Chapter-house at Upsala; and the chronicle tells us, somewhat unnecessarily, that the fight was hot. Each party was struggling for the very kernel of his faith. If the Bible were acknowledged to be our sole authority in religious things, the whole fabric of the papal Church was wrong. On the other hand, if power were granted to the Fathers to establish doctrines and methods supplementary to the Bible, the Lutherans had no right to disobey. As Gustavus was arbiter of the battle, there could be no doubt of the result. Petri is a.s.serted to have come off victor, on the ground that his citations were all from Holy Writ.[107]

Flattered by this great victory, the Lutherans grew bold. Though not so turbulent as before the riot, they showed much indiscretion, and Gustavus often found it necessary to interfere. What annoyed him chiefly was their bravado in alluding to the popes and bishops. The hierarchy of Romanism was fixed so firmly in people's hearts that every effort to dislodge it caused a jar. Especially in the rural districts was it necessary not to give alarm. A single deed or word might work an injury which many months of argument could not efface. It is not strange, therefore, that the king was troubled when Petri, in February, 1525, violated every rule of Church propriety by being married publicly in Stockholm. The marriage fell like a thunderclap upon the Church. Brask apparently could not believe his ears. He dashed off a letter to another prelate to inquire whether the report was true, and finding that it was, wrote to the archbishop as well as to the king, denouncing the whole affair. "Though the ceremony has been performed," he argued, "the marriage is invalid, for such was the decree made by the sixth Council of the Church." In his letter to the king, Brask used these words: "Your Majesty must be aware that much talk has been occasioned by the marriage in your capital of Olaus Petri, a Christian priest. At a future day, should the marriage result in children, there will be much trouble, for the law declares that children of a priest shall stand, in matters of inheritance, on a par with b.a.s.t.a.r.ds.... Even in the Grecian Church, where persons who are married may be ordained on certain terms, those already priests have never been allowed to marry. Petri's ceremony is not a lawful marriage, and places him under the ban, according to the doctrines of the Church. For G.o.d's sake, therefore, act in this matter as a Christian prince should do." On receiving this letter, Gustavus, who had been in Upsala when the act occurred, called for the offending preacher and asked him what excuse he offered for violating the ancient customs of the Church. To this the culprit answered that he was ready to defend his conduct in open court, and prove that the laws of G.o.d should not be sacrificed to the laws of men. The king then wrote to Brask and a.s.sured him that if Petri should be shown to have done wrong, he should be punished. The king's own prejudices are manifest in the words with which his letter closed. "As to your a.s.sertion," he said, "that Petri's act has placed him under the ban, it would seem surprising if that should be the effect of marriage,--a ceremony that G.o.d does not forbid,--and yet that for debauchery and other sins which are forbidden, one should not fall beneath the ban.... In making this charge concerning Petri, you appear elated at the opportunity thus given you to censure me." This last insinuation the bishop strenuously denied. "G.o.d knows," he wrote the king, "that I have acted for your welfare in this matter, as well as for my own. What joy I or any other could feel in my present age and infirmity, I leave to G.o.d. Petri has sent me an apology for his act. It is full of words, but void of sense. I shall see to it, however, that it gets an answer."[108]

These stormy scenes within the Church were but the echo of what was going on outside. As the autumn advanced it became each day more clear that Fredrik had victimized the king at Malmo. The Swedish army had retired from Gotland, and Norby with his horde of pirates remained _in statu quo_. Brask, who had the interests of Sweden constantly at heart, was the first person to suspect foul play. So early as December 9 he told a friend his fears had been aroused. Gustavus, if he had suspicions, kept them dark. He opened correspondence with Norby, hoping to inveigle him into a conference in Stockholm. Norby, however, knew the trick himself. The weather was such, he answered, that he could not come. Some few weeks later Gustavus wrote to Mehlen that the promises made to him at Malmo had not been fulfilled. He also sent his messengers to Denmark denouncing Norby's course. But all this time his communications with Norby were filled with warm a.s.surance of respect.[109]

The truth was, Norby cherished a project far more ambitious than either Fredrik or Gustavus could suppose. In January, 1524, the brave Christina, widow of the young Sten Sture, had returned to Sweden after her long captivity in Denmark. The same ambitious spirit that had filled her breast in earlier days was with her still, and she longed to see upon her son's head the crown that but for his early death would have been worn by her husband. This son, a mere boy of twelve, had recently returned from Dantzic, whither he had been sent as exile four years before by Christiern. He had disembarked at Kalmar, and still remained there under custody of Mehlen. In this state of affairs the piratical Norby conceived the project of marrying Christina, and then of conjuring with the name of Sture to drive Gustavus out of Sweden. To this bold scheme Christina apparently gave her consent. At all events, the news of her projected marriage was spread abroad, and nothing was done on her part to deny it.[110]

Norby's chief anxiety was to get possession of the boy. Mehlen had shown reluctance to give him to Christina, and one might readily conclude his purpose was to hand him over to the king. Such a purpose, however, Mehlen seems never to have entertained. He preferred to watch developments, and at the proper moment resign his charge to the party that should make the highest bid. The truth is, Mehlen had fallen into disrepute. His pusillanimous conduct in the siege of Visby had gradually dawned upon the king, and ere the close of 1524 report was spread that Mehlen had incurred his monarch's wrath. Though summoned to Stockholm in January to the marriage of the monarch's sister, he did not venture to appear, but wrote a letter to Gustavus begging for a continuance of favor at the court. The answer that came back was characteristic of the king. Stripped of all its verbiage, it was an a.s.surance that the general report was wrong. Mehlen might still bask in the smiles of royalty, and must pay no heed to public slander. In confirmation of these sentiments Gustavus induced the Cabinet to enclose a letter. "Dear brother," the Cabinet lovingly began, "we hear a rumor is abroad that you have grown distasteful to the king, and you are said to shun his presence in fear of danger to your life. We declare before Almighty G.o.d we never heard the monarch speak one word in your disfavor, though we can well believe there may be slanderers who would rejoice to see such discord spread. We doubt not you will stamp out such discord with your utmost power.

Therefore we beg you pay no heed to evil messengers, but come here at the earliest opportunity to the king." This urgent exhortation meeting with no response, some three weeks later the monarch wrote again, still with a show of friendship, but insisting on the immediate presence of the erstwhile favorite in Stockholm. So imperative an order Mehlen dared not disobey. Proceeding at once to Stockholm, he appeared before the king, and soon discovered that his worst suspicions were not far from true. The a.s.surances of his monarch's favor had been a blind to decoy the officer away from Kalmar. On the 12th of March Gustavus removed him from the post, and appointed another officer, Nils Eriksson, in his stead. Antic.i.p.ating that the change might cause some friction, the monarch sent off a whole batch of letters in explanation of his act. One of these letters, though a trifle lengthy, is perhaps worth quoting. It is addressed to the fief of Kalmar, and runs in this wise: "Dear friends, we thank you warmly for the devotion and allegiance which you, as true and loyal subjects, have exhibited toward us as well as toward the kingdom of your fathers. You will remember that last summer, when we despatched our fleet to Gotland to besiege Norby in the castle and town of Visby, and when he found that he could expect no aid from Christiern, he sent his amba.s.sadors to take oath of allegiance to Fredrik, King of Denmark. His purpose, which we clearly saw, was simply to cause dissension between the kingdoms, thus giving Christiern opportunity to come forward and seize the reins once more. It appearing to us and to our Cabinet unwise to permit a new war at that time to spring up between the kingdoms, we proceeded with delegates from our Cabinet to a congress of the realms at Malmo. There we made a permanent alliance with each other and the Hanseatic Towns against King Christiern. We agreed, moreover, that our respective claims to Gotland should be left to arbitration. When, now, Norby saw that the dissension which he had longed for was not likely to ensue, he disregarded every oath that he had made to Fredrik, and continued in his old allegiance to King Christiern. He also feigned a willingness to come to terms with us, if we would protect his interests in this kingdom. This he offered, as we have now found out, in hope of causing discord between us and the Hanseatic Towns. He has, too, spread a rumor among the Danes and Germans that we had entered into an alliance with him against them. Of any such alliance we a.s.sure you we are ignorant. Now, as to Mehlen, we are told he does not wholly please you. We have therefore recalled him from his post, and made Nils Eriksson commander of Kalmar Castle and governor of the town and fief. We beg you be submissive and pay to him all rents and taxes which fall due until we find an opportunity to visit you in person. He will govern you, by G.o.d's help, according to Saint Erik's law and the good old customs of your fathers. If any among you are found encouraging dissension or engaged in plots, we pray you all be zealous in aiding Eriksson to bring them to destruction." Along with this letter Gustavus sent one to the burghers in the town of Kalmar. It appears they had protested against the taxes imposed on them by Mehlen. There can be little doubt these taxes were imposed by order of the king. As matters stood, however, it seemed poor policy to claim them. These are the monarch's words: "Some of your fellow-townsmen have let us understand that taxes have been laid on you for which you are in no wise liable. We have already written you that you are to be free therefrom; but that letter, we now are told, has never reached you. G.o.d knows we grieve extremely that any such burden should have been imposed against our wish and orders, and we hereby notify you that we shall not claim these taxes laid on you by Mehlen." Simultaneously with this doc.u.ment others of like tenor were despatched to other persons to allay their wrath.[111]

These summary proceedings of Gustavus made Mehlen more ready to accept proposals from the other side; and he was further impelled in that direction by recent plots among the Dalesmen. The insurrection under Sunnanvader, which the monarch had fancied he could extinguish by a generous supply of salt, had not yet yielded to the treatment. Indeed, according to the best reports, the malady had spread. How serious the insurrection was, appears from the frequency of the monarch's exhortations. All through the winter he was writing to the people, condoling with them for the exorbitant price of food, and attributing all their evils to the continuance of wars in Europe. The Cabinet also addressed the Dalesmen, urging them not to ally themselves with Sunnanvader, who was disgruntled, so they heard, because he had not been given the bishopric of Vesters. In one of his appeals Gustavus warned the rebels to be still, lest Christiern might be encouraged to return.

The spectre of their gory tyrant seems not, however, to have haunted them, and in February we find that Knut, the deposed dean of Vesters, had joined their ranks. To him Gustavus wrote a note, a.s.suring him that the archbishopric would have been conferred upon him had he but done his duty. Knut, apparently, did no great benefit to his brother's cause.

Only a few days after he arrived, his leader wrote archly to a person who had loaned him funds, that he could stay no longer in the land, for certain peasants were already on his track, intending to capture him and take him to the king. If these suspicions were correct, it was probably as well for him that he escaped. Some two weeks later these two scoundrels were both in Norway, waiting for a more auspicious moment to return.[112]

Whether their movements were in any way inspired by Norby, is not clear.

One thing, however, is very sure. Whomever Norby thought could be of service, he did not hesitate to use. In the previous summer, even while truckling with Fredrik, he had been in steady communication with Christiern, who was Fredrik's bitter foe. And now, though every one believed him to have broken with Fredrik, there was a story afloat that Fredrik's hand was really behind the pirate's opposition to Gustavus. No one could place the slightest confidence in what he said. In January he started a rumor that he was ready to give up Gotland, provided the king would grant him a like domain in Finland; but soon it turned out that the whole project was a ruse. In February he had so far befogged the intellect of Fredrik as to induce that monarch to request of Gustavus a full pardon for all of Norby's doings. It need scarce be added, this ridiculous proposal met with no success; and Fredrik, almost as soon as it was sent, had cause to rue it, for Norby toward the close of winter sent an army into Bleking,--a province ceded to Fredrik by the Congress of Malmo,--and there spread ruin far and wide.[113]

The relations of Fredrik to Sweden at this juncture are very strange.

Though nominally at peace, the two nations were utterly distrustful of each other, and at frequent intervals tried in secret to cut each other's throats. Their only bond of union was their common abhorrence of the tyrant Christiern; and whenever Fredrik fancied that danger averted, he spared no effort to humiliate his rival beyond the strait. One instance of his treachery was noticed in the comfort given to Knut and Sunnanvader when they fled to Norway. The treaty of Malmo had stated with sufficient clearness that all fugitives from one country to the other should be returned; and Fredrik, as king of Norway, was bound to see to it that the treaty was observed. It cannot be stated positively that he encouraged the fugitives himself, but it is very certain that his officers in Norway did, and that he made no effort to restrain them.[114]

The share Christina had in this conspiracy is likewise doubtful. So early as February Gustavus suspected her, and ordered one of his officers to keep spies upon her track. As a result one of her servants was detected in treacherous proceedings and arrested. It appears, however, that she did not merit all the king's severity; for Brask in April wrote a friend, that the monarch was treating her with undue harshness. She was widely popular, and Gustavus would have been more wise had his hostility to her been less open. "Nescit regnare qui nescit dissimulare," wrote the wily bishop. Christina was not, at any rate, on the best of terms with Mehlen, for her boy was kept in Kalmar till the castle pa.s.sed from Mehlen's hands.[115]

This last result was not effected till a long time after Mehlen had been deposed. Before leaving Kalmar he had intrusted matters to his brother, with orders not to yield the castle to any but himself. As soon, therefore, as the new officer approached to take his fief, the reply was given him that the castle would not be yielded till Mehlen should return. After some three weeks spent in futile negotiation, Gustavus wrung from Mehlen a letter directed to his brother, instructing him to yield. This the monarch sent to Kalmar, April 8, along with a letter of his own. Convinced that the whole delay on the part of Mehlen was to use up time, he instructed his messenger to warn the occupants that if the castle were not surrendered by the 1st of May, he would make them smart for it. In his letter, however, Gustavus used more gentle language. "We have kept your brother here," he wrote, "in order to protect him from the populace, whose mouths are full of scandal about our relations to him. From your letter it appears you thought we held him in confinement.... We are minded to treat him well and kindly, unless we shall be forced by you to treat him otherwise. We warn you, however, we shall deal with Kalmar in the way that we deem best, for the town and castle belong to G.o.d, to us, and to the Swedish crown.... Our counsel is that you obey our mandate, and the earlier you do so the better it will be for you." Accompanying this letter was a pa.s.sport, similar to one drawn up for Mehlen, to take his brother from the realm. He was not, however, to be allured by pa.s.sports or even terrified by threats. The castle continued firm, and Gustavus began to levy forces to besiege it.[116]

While these forces were being gathered, Gustavus renewed his efforts to gain favor through the land. This he soon discovered to be no easy task.

Surrounded by conspirators on every hand, he could not turn without confronting some new rumor. Stories of the most contradictory nature were set afloat each day. At one time the report was spread through Dalarne that he had cast Christina into jail. After that it was rumored that he was sending despatches frequently to Gotland, from which some persons caught the notion he was in secret league with Norby. This notion was so baleful that Gustavus felt it best to answer it. "No one need think," he said, "we attach the slightest importance to anything that Norby says. As he asked us for a hearing, we have promised to let him have it. He used smooth words to us, and we have given him smooth answers in return.... As to these slanderous stories," continued Gustavus, in writing to an officer, "you are aware we cannot close men's mouths. We believe our actions toward our people will bear examination before both G.o.d and man." Such an examination he proposed to make, and on the 25th of March he sent out notice of a general diet to be held in the early part of May. This notice contained among other things these startling words: "If it shall happen that the Cabinet and people then a.s.sembled believe the present evils are in any respect the outcome of our methods of government, we shall lay it before them to determine whether they wish us to continue in the government or not. It was at their request and exhortation that we a.s.sumed the reins at Strengnas, and whatever their judgment now may be, it shall be followed." In addition to this notice, sent to all portions of the land, Gustavus wrote to the people of Mora that he had heard of a complaint from them that the kingdom was going to pieces and that he was causing it. He a.s.sured them that the rumor was untrue, and that he was doing all he could to hold the realm together. When these a.s.surances reached Dalarne, the poor peasants of that district were already starving. Half mad with hunger, they called a ma.s.s meeting of their little parishes, and drew up a heart-rending though unfair statement of their wrongs. A copy of these grievances they despatched at once to Stockholm. It charged the king with appointing German and Danish officers to the highest positions in the state, and with quartering foreign soldiers in the towns and villages till the inhabitants were constrained to flee. He had further, they a.s.serted, laid taxes on the monasteries and churches, and on the priests and monks; he had seized jewels consecrated to G.o.d's service; he had robbed the churches of all their Swedish money, and subst.i.tuted "klippings," which he then had repudiated; and he had seized the t.i.thes.

Finally they charged him with imprisoning Christina and her boy. The letter ended with a warning that unless he at once drove out all foreigners, released Christina with the others whom he had in prison, and took some measures to better trade, they would renounce allegiance to him. Gustavus received this doc.u.ment while the diet was in session.

His answer to the people of Dalarne contained these words: "We cannot believe this letter was issued by your consent. Rather, we think, it was inspired by certain wiseacres among you hoodwinked by Sunnanvader and the like. That the purpose of these men is to bring back Christiern we have definite proofs, not only within the kingdom but without. Ever since Sunnanvader went among you, letters and messengers have been pa.s.sing between Dalarne and Norby, the meaning of all which is that Norby is to attack the government on one side and Dalarne on the other, and that we are to be dragged down from the throne, which is then to be handed over to Norby for the benefit of Christiern." This letter reflected in some degree the spirit of the diet. The main object for which it had been called was to spread an impression that the king was acting as representative of his people. It was not asked to legislate, and it did not do so. Gustavus, however, went through the farce which he had promised, and asked the delegates if they wished him to resign the crown. Of course the answer was a shower of plaudits upon the king. As Gustavus modestly puts it, "The Cabinet and people over all the land besought us not to resign, but govern them hereafter as heretofore; and they promised obedience as in the past, swearing by hand and mouth to risk in our service their lives and everything they had." With this seductive ceremony the diet was dismissed.[117]

Ere the diet had come together, Norby had made a second irruption into Fredrik's territory in the south of Sweden. Toward the end of March he had sailed from Gotland with twelve men-of-war, had captured a couple of the strongest fortresses in Bleking, and had enlisted many inhabitants of that province in the cause of Christiern. Fredrik was by this time fully alive to the error he had made in relying for a moment on the promises of Norby. His anxiety was increased still further when the news was brought him that Christiern's brother-in-law, the emperor, had defeated the king of France, and was coming with all his forces to the relief of Christiern. One drop of comfort was granted him when he heard that a fleet from Lubeck had sailed to Gotland in Norby's absence, and on May 13 had seized the town of Visby. In spite of this disaster, Norby's hopes ran high. He sent letters every day to Christiern, telling him that Denmark as well as Sweden was overrun with rebels, and that he now had a chance of restoration such as he had never had before. But Norby's hopes were at the very highest when the bubble burst. The emperor proved too busy with his own affairs to send his army to the North, and Christiern could not raise the armament requisite for a foreign war. Gustavus, moreover, sent his troops to drive back the invader, and the Danish n.o.bility enlisted in behalf of Fredrik. The result was that ere the close of May the pirate was routed in two important battles. Gustavus literally hugged himself for joy, and sent off a letter of congratulation to the army that had won the day. "My good men," he began, "you may rest a.s.sured that if Norby shall escape you and come this way, he will meet with a reception that will cause him little joy. From his a.s.sertion that he expected aid from us, you will perceive he sought to foster discord between your realm and us.... We had already ordered our men in Vestergotland to go to your relief as soon as you should need them, which now, thank G.o.d, we trust will never be." The monarch's congratulation was a little premature. Norby's force was scattered, but it was not lost. Retiring with his stragglers to one of the Danish strongholds, he ensconced himself within, and there remained,--a constant menace to the neighborhood. Late in June the pirate, reduced to the utmost extremity, opened negotiations with Fredrik. That monarch, still in dread of Christiern, readily complied.

Norby proceeded to Copenhagen, where it was finally arranged that he should yield the castle of Visby, which the Lubeck army had been besieging ever since the town of Visby fell; and that in return the pirate should be granted the whole province of Bleking with all its strongholds, to hold as a fief of Denmark. Norby was then conveyed to Denmark, and before the first of August these terms were carried out.

Visby pa.s.sed into the hands of Lubeck, and the pirate returned to Bleking to guard his fief.[118]

Gustavus, it need scarce be said, was vexed. The congress which was to have been held in Lubeck to discuss his claim to Gotland had been indefinitely postponed. In place thereof, the island had been seized by Lubeck, and Bleking--another of the disputed territories--had been conferred upon a bitter foe. What most irritated him was the close proximity of Norby's fief to Sweden. He was at a loss, moreover, to understand the king of Denmark's motives. "It may be," he suggested in a letter of July 9, "that Fredrik's purpose was to secure Gotland, and then deal with Norby as he pleased. However this may be, we must keep watch on every side." The same day he wrote to another person, "We are in no wise pleased to have Norby for a neighbor, since we have noticed that he always seeks to do us harm." Still, Gustavus believed in making a virtue of necessity, and a few days later wrote: "We are glad that hostilities between Fredrik and Norby are at an end, and that the kingdom is once more on the road to peace and quiet."[119]

This letter was written by Gustavus in his camp at Kalmar. The castle there was still in the hands of Mehlen's brother, though it had been under siege about two months. Early in June Gustavus, unwilling to shed more blood, had ordered Mehlen to proceed to Kalmar and bid the castle yield. The confidence with which the monarch even yet regarded Mehlen is astounding, and the issue proved at once the monarch's folly. On reaching Kalmar, Mehlen, after a conference with Eriksson, was allowed to enter the castle to persuade his men to yield. The following day, the portcullis was lowered and Mehlen came out upon the bridge. But while he pretended to be crossing, a portion of the garrison dashed out of the castle and ma.s.sacred a number of the people, all unsuspecting, in the town. The alarm was then given to the royal guard, and Mehlen's soldiers, finding themselves outnumbered, retired across the bridge.

Five days later, Mehlen, with his wife and brother, scaled the castle wall and sailed for Germany, leaving his wretched soldiers to withstand the siege. If ever there was a cowardly, bustling, impotent, insignificant adventurer, Berent von Mehlen was that man. During his two years' stay in Sweden he had dabbled in every project that arose, and he had accomplished absolutely nothing. He had been the hero of a six months' bloodless siege, that left matters precisely as they had begun; and he had set on foot a conspiracy that had no object and that ended in the air. It is a pleasure to dismiss him from our thoughts. His subsequent career in Germany was of a piece with his career in Sweden.

He scurried about from one court to another, endeavoring to raise an army with which to conquer Sweden. But nothing came of any of his projects, and after a short period oblivion settled on his name.[120]

Gustavus now learned definitely that Norby, ever since his fleet left Gotland, had been in secret conspiracy with Mehlen. He determined, therefore, that, since the pirate had gained a foothold on the mainland, Kalmar must be secured at any risk. So he collected men from every quarter and sent them down to Kalmar to reinforce the town. Some few weeks later, as the castle had not yielded, he proceeded to the town himself. The burghers, hoping the conflict would now be ended, welcomed him with joy. But the garrison still believed in Mehlen, and confidently awaited his return with aid. Gustavus sent an envoy to the castle, to persuade the garrison to yield. The answer was, the garrison would not be yielded till every one of them was dead. But one course, therefore, was open to the monarch,--the castle must be stormed. This, with the guns which he possessed, demanded almost more than human strength. The castle was surrounded on all sides by a moat, beyond which rose a perpendicular wall of masonry twenty feet in height. This rampart was washed on three sides by the sea, and on the other was protected by a broad deep dike and then an outer wall. From within, the rampart was guarded by eight huge towers that stood out from the castle-walls, and the four corners of the ramparts were further strengthened by four more towers with apertures for crossbows, cannon, and muskets. Such was the fortress that Gustavus, late in July, resolved to storm. He began by throwing up a line of earthworks, behind which he placed his heavy guns, hoping to batter down the towers and ramparts, while his pikemen and halberdiers were scaling the unprotected parts. But his men at first were lukewarm. The task seemed herculean, and every effort to ascend the ramparts met with certain death. Those in the castle fought like maniacs, the men with guns and crossbows, and the women firing stones.

Gustavus, it is reported, stormed and swore, and finally put on his armor, declaring that he would either have the castle or die within its walls. His enthusiasm spread among his men, and they shouted they would do their best, though every man of them should fall. The effect was visible at once. Each charge left the ramparts weaker than before; and when night closed in, there was not a tower or rampart whole. The next morning, when Gustavus turned his culverins again upon the wall, the flag of truce was raised. The garrison hoped that if they sued before the ramparts actually fell, they might be granted favorable terms. But the monarch, who had now lost nearly half his men, demanded an unconditional surrender. As Norby had been conquered, and no signs of Mehlen's succor had appeared, the garrison, after much palaver, threw themselves upon the mercy of the king. The castle, on the 20th of July, pa.s.sed into the monarch's hands once more, and a large portion of the rebel garrison was put to death. With this scene the conspiracy of Norby, Mehlen, and their adherents was at an end.[121]

FOOTNOTES:

[105] Svart, _Gust. I.'s kron._, pp. 96-98.

[106] Svart, _Gust. I.'s kron._, pp. 98-99; and _Kon. Gust. den Forstes registrat._, vol. i. p. 254.

[107] Svart, _Gust. I.'s kron._, pp. 99-100.

[108] Svart, _Gust. I.'s kron._, p. 99; _Handl. ror. Skand. hist._, vol.

xiv. pp. 33-41 and vol. xviii. pp. 265-266 and 273-276; and _Kon. Gust.

den Forstes registrat._, vol. ii. pp. 83-86 and 272-276.

[109] _Handl. ror. Skand. hist._, vol. xiii. pp. 107-110; and _Kon.

Gust. den Forstes registrat._, vol. i. pp. 281-284 and vol. ii. pp. 12 and 19.

[110] _Christ. II.'s arkiv_, vol. ii. p. 781 and vol. iv. p. 1530; _Handl. ror. Skand. hist._, vol. xiv. pp. 30-33, 41-44 and 61-65, and vol. xvii. pp. 182 and 188-189; and _Kon. Gust. den Forstes registrat._, vol. ii. pp. 24-26. Some modern writers, unwilling to believe Christina base enough to marry Norby, regard the whole story of her consent as false. It seems impossible, however, that a false rumor should have been so generally believed by those who knew her. The more natural a.s.sumption is that her ambition caused her to accept the advances of her suitor even if she did not positively yield to his request.

[111] Rensel, _Berattelse_, pp. 42-43; _Christ. II.'s arkiv_, vol. iv.

pp. 1520-1521 and 1527-1533; _Handl. ror. Skand. hist._, vol. xiv. pp.

61-65; and _Kon. Gust. den Forstes registrat._, vol. i. pp. 283-284 and vol. ii. pp. 7-9, 23-24 and 36-42.

[112] Svart, _Gust. I.'s kron._, p. 86; _Dipl. Dal._, vol. ii. pp.

39-47; _Handl. ror. Skand. hist._, vol. xxiii. pp. 28-34; and _Kon.

Gust. den Forstes registrat._, vol. ii. pp. 3-5, 10-12, 13-14 and 20-21.

[113] _Christ. II.'s arkiv_, vol. iv. pp. 1531-1532; _Handl. ror. Skand.

hist._, vol. xiii. pp. 124-127; and _Kon. Gust. den Forstes registrat._, vol. ii. pp. 28-29.

[114] _Christ. II.'s arkiv_, vol. iv. pp. 1485-1486; _Handl. ror. Skand.

hist._, vol. xxiii. pp. 65-67; _Kon. Gust. den Forstes registrat._, vol.

ii. pp. 33-34, 46 and 49-50; and _Saml. til det Norske Folks Sprog og Hist._, vol. i. pp. 482-484.

[115] _Christ. II.'s arkiv_, vol. iv. p. 1530; _Handl. ror. Skand.

hist._, vol. xiv. p. 64 and vol. xviii. pp. 269-270 and 276-277; and _Kon. Gust. den Forstes registrat._, vol. ii. pp. 24-25.

[116] _Handl. ror. Skand. hist._, vol. xiv. p. 45; and _Kon. Gust. den Forstes registrat._, vol. ii. pp. 72-80, 91-93, 106-107 and 113.

[117] _Alla riksdag. och mot. bes.l.u.th_, vol. i. pp. 36-37; _Christ.

II.'s arkiv_, vol. iv. pp. 1482-1487 and 1496-1497; _Dipl. Dal._, vol.

ii. pp. 50-51 and 63-64; _Handl. ror. Skand. hist._, vol. xiv. pp. 41-44 and 60-61 and vol. xxiii. pp. 77-81; _Kon. Gust. den Forstes registrat._, vol. ii. pp. 42-48, 52-57, and 110-118; and _Svenska riksdagsakt._, vol. i. pp. 32-39.

[118] _Diar. Minor. Visbyens._, p. 39; Rensel, _Berattelse_, p. 44; Svart, _Gust. I.'s kron._, pp. 83-84; _Christ. II.'s arkiv_, vol. i. pp.

7-36; _Handl. ror. Skand. hist._, vol. xiv. pp. 55-57 and 72-73; and _Kon. Gust. den Forstes registrat._, vol. ii. pp. 59-60, 89-93, 97-102, 119-120, 146-147, 167-168 and 170.

[119] _Kon. Gust. den Forstes registrat._, vol. ii. pp. 170-176.

[120] Rensel, _Berattelse_, pp. 43-45; Svart, _Gust. I.'s kron._, pp.

86-89; _Handl. ror. Skand. hist._, vol. xiv. pp. 61-65; and _Kon. Gust.

den Forstes registrat._, vol. ii. pp. 143-144 and 160-161.