The home journal. (Winchester, Tenn.) 1858-188?, 1876-08-10
A GREAT KINGS PERIL


For upwards OF ten years the terrible
thirty years war had been raging in
Germany. The iairest provinces of the
iathcrland mad been laid waste. Hun.
drcds of thousands of poor people had
miserably pcrished, and dismay and
despair reigned throughout the land,
until at length the great and rood Gus.
tavus AdolphuG, who eXcclled equally
as u captain and statesman, was in
duced, principally by the advice of his
astute chancellor, the celebrated Oxen
stern, to take his Whole army and enter
upon life and Geath strugglc with the
imperialists,
1t Is impossible to describe the bound
less tnthusiams which the arrival Of
Gustavus AdoIphus, with his splendid
army, at Stralsund, the great fortress Of
Pomerania, excited in Germany. There
was an instantaneous and truly mar
velous revulsion of feeling among the
people. Despair gave way to the most
icrvid hopcfulness The belief that the
accession of the Swedish king of the re-
formed cause was equivalent to the
utter and final discontinue of the i'm
perialsts was widely prevalent even in
the ranks of the latter. And yet, but
for very singular concatenation Of
romantic circun stan cs, the brilliant
career of the Swedish king, who fell
alterward so gloriousy y on the bloody
field of Lutzcn, came near being ended
at the above mentioned Fomcranian
fortress of Stralsund.
The life of Gustavlls Adolphus
abounded in romantic incidents, but the
strangesJ Of these episodes was, perhaps,
the one which we are now going to re.
late to our readers.
We should promise, however that
Gustavus Adol phus, as he appears in
history, is not the man he was in private
life Especially in his earlier years, he
subjected himself frequently to the re-
proach that he was too fond of the fair
sex. He was ever, and there is reason
to believe, not unjustly charged with
having overcome, in moments Of irresis-
tible passion, the scrupcs of women, of
whom he was enamored, by promises of
marriage, which he afterwards broke as
easily as he had raShly made them.
These blots in his earlier year, however,
were obIiterated by his later career,
which stands unrvalcd in the annals OF
the royalty of the seventeenth century,
and which excited the admiration of his
bitter advcrsaries.
1t was late in the evening of the day
on which Gustayus Adol phus had landed
with his army at Stralsund that he and
his chancellor, Oxcnstern, were convers-
ing in one of the small rooms at the
house of DR.. Brauns, the burgomaster
of the city, where the king had cstab-
lished his headquarters.
:" My good Oxenstiern." said the king
to his chancellor, "this has been Il great
day for us. shall always look upon it
as one of the most memorable in my
life."
" Your majesty, the extraordinary re-
ception with which you have met here
seems to me an suspicious augury of the
success of the momentOus mission that
has brought you and your soldiers to
these shores. Such scene as that
which the harbOr presented at the arriv-
al of our fleet, and the frantic rejoc-
ings with which the countless multitude
that awaited you on the shore greeted
your coming, have perhaps never been
witnessed since the time of the cru
sades."
Good grant that success may crown
my efforts" said the king, profoundly
moved; "but, Oxenstiern at times |
have vague msgivings that | may, after
all, fail. How terrible it would be if |
should not bring my brave army, the
flower of the country, back to Swe-
den !"
"Your majesty" said Oxcnstcrn,
with that confident superiority which
made him one of the most convincing
and irresistible orators of his time,
"nced not give way to doubts. For the
time being, there is absolutely nothing
TO give us the slightest uneasiness. The
support which Cardinal Richeleu gives
us alone is worth couple of armies"
Richelieu!" exclaimed the king
But is he really and sincerely with
us?"
"He is, sire"
"At times it seemed passing strange
to me-" interrupted Gustavus Adolf
phus, "that he, prelate of the Ortho.
dox church, should lend such active aid
to the dissenters in their liie-and-death
struggle with the imperialists."
Your majesty" interrupted the
chancellor, 4" / know Richelieu. lie is a
man of iron. He knows that the tri-
umph of the court of Hapsburg would
be dangerous in che extreme for France,
and that outweighs with him all other
considerations. For the rest the Mar
quis de Chavanis is here as special envoy
of the king of France. lie will he pres
ent at the banquet of the burgonaster
and municipality tomorrow, and on
that occasion transmit to your majesty
Two letters-one from King Louis the
Thirteenth, and, what Is more impOr-
ant, another from Cardinal Richeljeu,n