Telegram-herald., 1889-10-05
SWEDEN'S NAPOLEON.
King Charles XII and His Many
Great Battles
yh~ Last 0f The Military Chiefs Of ssedss
Recognizes by ths Outer Wsrid-A
Nm Who @0sl5 Rather Figbt
1a<E Live in Esse


ordsr and good nature IN Stockholm, thai
Sweden lad once been = land of military
g-ory, where the conclusions OF peace ha1
- Be followed b. the s0dic2tion Of the Queen
Who dared . cal truce Yet % u .
Statues of nearly al the Swedish Kings
stand IN the streets of Stockholm from
Guslayus N&ss 70 yesterdays descendant
CT Bernzdctte.
have been looking AZ some of these,
writes Gath" il the Cincinnati Enquirer,
and the last Of the military cnlefs of Sweden
whom the outer world reeogulzes was
Charles XII. Charles XII las been known
chiefly u the world through NoltSlre > sie
Of hiEa and Or J0hnson's poem about AIM
lie holrishec Ia that middle period of his
tory which almost ooscures its heroes lie
died IN l7l3 less than two hundred years
ago. al the age u thirty-six
His father was peaceful man, who left
hin rich and had him wel educated. The
military nature Of the Vasa family, how
ever, broke out in hin, ana, beng pat upon
the throne at the early age Of fifteen, be be-
gan 10 hunt the larger wild beasts n the
woods.
4 HIS sisters realm having been invaded
by the Russians, Danes, Saxons and Poles.
who had been brought together by Swsd-
ish renegade, Charles went 10 war =; the
early age Of eighteen; In the attack upon
Copenhagen, which commenced the contest,
he Jumped into the water and wsded ashore
ahead OF any body.
THIS taste OF war now became his appe-
ti1e. he began 10 live upon frugal soldiers
I fare aud sleep upon the ground.
/ He was the first important soldier who
cut his hair close and wore little hat; his
- a.
enormous. He cared little about odds in
battle, and began 20 beat the Russians in
100, and beat the Poles and Saxons also;
and though they sent him fine women 20
lead him Of from war, be would have moth
ing TO do with them. de broke his leg at
Cracow. but continued 10 fight.
! 1t is supposed that he gave too much time
TO Poland and Saxony, and thus allowed
Russia TO come forward with her vast re-
serve strength, and learn the art of war,
her soldiers being licked with q knout 10
make them fight
He gave the German Protestants their
many churches back again, which had been
taken away from them by the Austrlans,
and became a friend of the Duke Of Mari
borough; and as the precursor OF Napoleon
by one hundred years, Charles irgaded
Russia in 1907 with -, 600 men,
Napoleon, who came after him, had 10000
men.
| Their fates were the same.
| The swamps and barrenness Of the coun-
try, in spite Of his victories, used Charles
/ up Failing TO reach Moscow, the Russians
| forced him to fight and at last beat him.
| He retreated into Turkey and attempted
TO make that country fight with Russia.
Peter the Great at that juncture married
his mistress, a strong character, and she
| with her Jewels bribed the Turkish Genera,
| 10 let her husband and his army escape from
| the Crimea. That sacrifice Of woman's
| jewels was as eficacious as the sacrifice Of
the jewels Of Isabella Of Spain. II caused
the rise OF Russia.
| Charles galloped into the Russian camp
and found the Gar escaped. he implored
the Turks to go to war and put him in COM
mand, or Russia would overwhelm them
| all.
The Russians now began to occupy the
countries the Swedes had control of along
the Baltic, while Charles still remained in
| Turkey. The Turks were bribed TO seize
the person of Charles, and he fought like a
tiger in 1713, and was captured with his
eye-lashes burned of and blood everywhere
upon him.
"A
Germany he came to his own dominiOns in
17l4 at Stralsund, which was Immediately
invested by the Russians, Prussians, Danes
and Saxons, and he stood the siege for a
year. Finally the English joined the league
against him under George |.
Charles had Minister from Germany by
the name of Baron Gortz. sort of Bismarck
in his time, who had designed TO invade En-
gland and detach Russia. The Swedes did
not like the prospect OF the coalition that
was coming, and Charles XII. was assassi-
mated, it IS believed, by his own people.
They found IN his pocket when he was
dead a miniature Of Gustavus Adolphus, his
ancestor, and prayer book. They buried
him in a church where Gustavus Adolphus
lies, and put upon the walls the trophies
Of his many battles
Baron Gortz was beheaded for having
sustained Charles XII, and Sweden be-
gan to sink out of the rank Of frst-class
kingdoms. Charles was handsome man,
with no vices, except obstinacy and auster-
( itV.