The Milan exchange. (Milan, Gibson County, Tenn.) 1874-1978, 1876-07-13
A GREAT KINGS PERIL.

For upwards Of ten years the terrible
Thirty Years War had been raging il
Germany The fairest provinces Of tn,
Fatherland had been laid waste. Hun
dreds of thousands of poor people haC
miserably perished, and dismay anC
despair reigned throughout the land
until at length the great and good Gus
tavus Adolphus, who excelled equally
as q captain and statesman, was in
duced, principally by the advice of his
astute Chancellor, the celebrated Oxen
stern, to take his whole army and en-.
ter upon a life and death struggle witt
the lmperialists. 81
1t is impossible to describe the
boundless enthusiasm which the arriva
of Gustavus Adolphus, with his splen.
did army, at Sualsund, the great for
tress of Pomerania, excited in Ger
many. There was an instantaneous and
truly marvellous revulsion of feeling
among the people. Despair gave way
TO the most fervid hopefulness. The
belief that the accession of the Swedish
King TO the Reformed cause was equiv.
alent TO the utter and final discontinue
of the Imperialists was widely prevail
ent even in the ranks of the latter. And
yet, but for very singular concatena-
ton of romantic circumstances, the
brilliant career of the Swedish King,
who fell afterward SO glorious,y on the
bloody field of Lutzen, came near being
ended at the above mentioned Pomera-
nian fortress of Stralsund.
The life of Gustavus AdolphUs
abounded in romantic incidents, but the
strangest of these episodes was, per-
haps, the one which we are now going
TO relate to our readers.
We should premise, however, that
Gustavus Adolphus, as he appears in
history, is not the man he was in pri-
waite life. Especiallyin his earlier years,
he subjected himself frequently to the
reprOach that he was too fond of the
fair sex. He was even, and, there is
reason to believe, not uniustIy charged
with having overcome, in moments OF
irresistible passion, the scruples OF
women, of whom he was enamored, 1by
promises of marriage, which he after
ward broke as easily as he had rashly
made them. These blots in his earlier
Years, however, were obMerated by his
later career, which stands unrivaled in
the annals of the royalty of the seven
teenth century, and which excited the
admiration of his bitter adversaries.
1t was late in the evening of the day
on which GustaYuS Adolphus had land
ed with his army at Stralsund that he
and his Chancellor, OXenstiern, were
conVersiDg in one of the small rooms at
the house of DIR. Brauns, the Burgo-
master of the city, where the King had
established his headquarters.
"My good OXenstiern, :" said the King
to his Chancellor, ''this has been a great
day for us. / shall always look upon
IL as one of the most memorable in my
lifen
"Your Majesty, the extraordinayIe-
ception with which you have met here
seems to me an auspicious augJry of the
success of the nlomentous mission that
has brought you and your soldiers to
these shores. Such a scene as that
which the harbor presented at the arriv-
al of our fleet, and the frantic rejoic-
ings with which the countless multitude
that awaited yoH on the shore greeted
your coming, have perhaps never been
sades."
"God grant that success may crown
my efforts" said the King, profoundly
moved; "but, Oxenstiern, at times I
have vague misgiyings that Imay, after
all, fail. How terrible it would be if /
should not bring my brave army, the
flower of our country, back to Swe-
dent"
"Your Majesty" said Oxenstiern,
with that confident superiority which
made him one of the most convincing
and irresistible orators of his time,
''need not give way to doubts. For the
time being, there is absolutely nothing
to give us the slightest uneasiness. The
support which Cardinal Richelieu gives
us alone is worth couple of armies
Richelieu !" exclaimed the King.
"But is he really and sincerely with
Us ?r
ale is, sire"
cat times it seemed passing strange
to me" interrupted GuStavus Adolphus,
"that he, "a prelate of the ortlvciox
Church, should lend such active aid to
the dissenters in their hfe-and-death
struggle with the Imperialists.
q Your Majesty" interrupted the
Chancellor, "I know Richelieu. He is a
man of iron. He knows that the tri-
umph of the Court of Hapsburg would
be dangerous in the extreme for France,
and that outweighs with him all other
considerations. For the rest, the Mar
quis de Chavanis is here as special en-
voy of the King OF France. He will be
present at the banquet of the Burgo-
master and municipality tomorrow,
and on that occasion transmit to your
Majesty two letters-one from King
Louis the Thirteenth, and, what is more
important, another from Cardinal Richie
lieu"
Inc conversation was here broken
of, and the Chancellor retired. The
King opened his Testament in order to
read, as was his. habit, chapter in it
before going to bed, when there was q
soft rap at the door, and DIR. Brauns,
the Burgomaster of Stralsund, and host
of the King, entered the room, bowling
deeply.
fb;s Intrusion. All evening there has
been down stairs vailed lady, who re-
fsses TO give her name, but who seems
TO be of high descent. She is extreme
iy anxious 10 see your Majesty for few
minutes, as she alleges, on business Of