in which were several strong fortresses.
In the confusion which reigned as to the succession, after the
extinction of the ancient house of Rurik, there was a capital chance
of fishing in troubled waters. A strong party in Russia desired to
elect a Swedish prince as sovereign, and actually sent an embassy to
Stockholm to offer the throne to Charles Philip, a younger brother of
Gustavus. But the king did not favor this plan. For four years he
continued the war and secured important advantages. But what was more
valuable than territorial gains, he acquired a wide experience in
strategy and the conduct of campaigns, a habit of dealing promptly
with large questions, and a sharpened judgment of men. In February,
1617, the treaty of peace was signed, Russia ceding to Sweden a large
territory on the east of the Baltic. Gustavus was now in a position to
prosecute with greater energy the war with Poland. Sigismund III., of
Poland, was the only son of King John III., of Sweden, and was,
therefore, as a scion of the ancient royal house, the legitimate heir
to the Swedish throne. But in the first place he was a Catholic; and
in the second place, the house of Vasa, had by force of arms and with
the support of the people, successfully asserted its right to the
crown which Gustavus I. had won.

After repeated extensions of the armistice which by common consent
prevailed, the King of Sweden resumed hostilities in July, 1621; and
the war raged with varying success until September, 1629, when another
armistice was concluded for six years. The chief result of this
exhausting warfare was the stipulation which was agreed to, that
liberty of conscience should be granted to Protestants and Catholics,
and that the commerce between Poland and Sweden was declared free.

The renown of these wars, two of which had been brought to a
triumphant issue, spread far over Europe; and the Protestant princes
of Germany became aware that there was a great military captain of
their own faith in the Scandinavian North. They were at that time
sorely oppressed, the success of the imperial arms, under Tilly and
Wallenstein, seeming to threaten the very existence of the Reformed
Faith. The Emperor Ferdinand II. was carrying everything with a high
hand after the defeat of King Christian IV. of Denmark, who, with more
courage than success, had undertaken to champion the Protestant cause.
It was in this desperate strait that all eyes turned toward the young
King of