SWEDEN. as 



brave count Patkul to a death equally cruel and ignominious. He raised 

 Stanislaus to the crown of Poland in 1705; and his name carried with 

 it such terror, that he was courted by all the powers of Europe, and 

 among others by the duke of Marlborough in the name of queen Anne, 

 amidst the full career of her successes against France. His stubborn- 

 ness and implacable disposition, however, were such, that he cannot 

 be considered in a better light than that of an illustrious madman ; 

 for he lost, in the battle of Pultowa, 1709, which he fought in his 

 march to dethrone the czar, more than all he had gained by his vic- 

 tories. His brave army Avas ruined, and he was forced to take refuge 

 among the Turks at Bender. His actions there, in attempting to de- 

 fend himself with 300 Swedes against 30,000 Turks, prove him to 

 have been worse than frantic. The Turks found it, however, con^ 

 venient for their affairs to set him at liberty. But his misfortunes 

 dia not cure his military madness ; and after his return to his domi- 

 nions, he prosecuted his revenge against Denmark, till he was killed 

 by a cannon-shot, as it is generally said, at the siege of Fredericshall, 

 in Norway, belonging to the Danes, in 1718, when he was not more 

 than thirty-six years of age. It has been supposed that Charles was 

 not in reality killed by a shot from the walls of Fredericshall, but 

 that a pistol from one of those about him gave the decisive blow which 

 put an end to the life of this celebrated monarch. This opinion is 

 said to be very prevalent among the best informed persons in Sweden. 

 And it appears that the Swedes were tired of a prince under whom 

 they had lost their richest provinces, their bravest troops, and their 

 national riches ; and who yet, untamed by adversity, pursued an un- 

 successful and pernicious Avar, nor would ever have consented to 

 restore tranquillity to his country. 



Charles XII, was succeeded by his sister, the princess Ulrica 

 Eleanora, wife to the hereditary prince of Hesse. We have seen in 

 what manner the Swedes recovered their liberties ;. and given some 

 account of the capitulation signed by the queen and her husband. 

 Their first care Avas to make peace with Great Britain, which the late 

 king intended to have invaded. The Swedes then, to prevent far- 

 ther losses by the progress of the Russian, the Danish, the Saxon, 

 and other arms, made many and great sacrifices to obtain peace from 

 those powers. The French, however, about the year 1738, formed a 

 dangerous party in Sweden, under the name of the Hats, which not 

 only disturbed the internal quiet of the kingdom, but led it into a ru- 

 inous war with Russia. Their Swedish majesties having no children, 

 it was necessary to settle the succession ; especially as the duke of 

 Holstein was descended from the queen's eldest sister, and was at the 

 same time the presumptive heir to the empire of Russia. Four com- 

 petitors appeared ; the duke of Holstein-Gottorp, prince Frederic of 

 Hesse-Cassel (nephew to the king) the prince of Denmark, and the 

 duke of Deux-Points. The duke of Holstein would have carried the 

 election, had he not embraced the Greek religion, that he might 

 mount the throne of Russia. The czarina interposed, and offered to 

 restore all the conquests she had made from Sweden, excepting a 

 small district in Finland, if the Swedes would receive the duke of 

 Holstein's uncle, the bishop of Lubeck, as their hereditary prince and 

 successor to their crown. This was agreed to ; and a peace was 

 concluded at Abo, under the mediation of his Britannic majesty. 

 This peace was so firmly adhered to by the czarina, that his Danish 

 majesty thought proper to drop all his resentment, and forget the 



