instant; but, Dahlberg persisting in his opinion, Charles
overruled the objections of the commanders. On the night of the 5th of
February the transit began, the cavalry leading the way through the
snow-covered ice, which quickly thawed beneath the horses' hoofs so that
the infantry which followed after had to wade through half an ell of
sludge, fearing every moment lest the rotting ice should break beneath
their feet. At three o'clock in the afternoon, Dahlberg leading the way,
the army reached Grimsted in Laaland without losing a man On the 8th of
February Charles reached Falster. On the 11th he stood safely on the
soil of Sjaelland (Zealand). Not without reason did the medal struck to
commemorate "the glorious transit of the Baltic Sea" bear the haughty
inscription: _Natura hoc debuit uni._ An exploit unique in history had
been achieved. The crushing effect of this unheard-of achievement on the
Danish government found expression in the treaties of Taastrup (Feb. 18)
and Roskilde (Feb. 26, 1658), whereby Denmark sacrificed nearly half her
territory to save the rest (see DENMARK: _History_). But even this was
not enough for the conqueror. Military ambition and greed of conquest
moved Charles X. to what, divested of all its pomp and circumstance, was
an outrageous act of political brigandage. At a council held at Gottorp
(July 7), Charles X. resolved to wipe from the map of Europe an
inconvenient rival, and without any warning, in defiance of all
international equity, let loose his veterans upon Denmark a second time.
For the details of this second struggle, with the concomitant diplomatic
intervention of the western powers, see DENMARK: _History_, and SWEDEN:
_History_. Only after great hesitation would Charles X. consent to
reopen negotiations with Denmark direct, at the same time proposing to
exercise pressure upon the enemy by a simultaneous winter campaign in
Norway. Such an enterprise necessitated fresh subsidies from his already
impoverished people, and obliged him in December 1659 to cross over to
Sweden to meet the estates, whom he had summoned to Gothenburg. The
lower estates murmured at the imposition of fresh burdens; and Charles
had need of all his adroitness to persuade them that his demands were
reasonable and necessary. At the very beginning of the _Riksdag_, in
January 1660, it was noticed that the king was ill; but he spared
himself as little in the council-chamber as in the battle-field, till
death sudde