Vasa, the son of Sir Erik and
Lady Cecilia Vasa, and destined to win future fame as one of the greatest
heroes of Sweden and the liberator of his native land.

At the age of six the boy was sent to be educated at the court of Sten
Sture, then the administrator and virtual king of Sweden. Here he was not
spoiled by indulgence, his mode of life and his food were alike simple
and homely, and he grew up with a cheerful spirit and a strong body, his
chief pleasure being that of hunting among the rocks and forests with his
companions, all of whom grew to love and admire him.

King Hans, when monarch of Sweden in 1499, on a visit to Sten Sture
noticed the boy playing about the hall and was much pleased by his fine
and glowing countenance. Patting him on the head, he said:

"You will certainly be a man in your day, if you live to see it."

He afterwards, thinking of the high descent of the boy and that he might
grow to be a future foe of Denmark, asked Sten Sture to let him take the
lad to Copenhagen and bring him up in his court. The wise Lord Sten
quickly fathomed the king's thoughts and answered that the boy was too
young to be taken from his parents. He soon after sent him to his father,
then in command at Aland.

"The young wolf has slipped out of my net," said King Hans in later
years, when he was told of the splendid development of the boy as he grew
to manhood.

At the age of twenty-four he left the academy at Upsala, where he had
been educated in the arts and sciences, and repaired to the court of Sten
Sture the Younger, where he was soon a general favorite, loved for his
amiable character and admired for his wit and vivacity. At that time the
war by which Christian II. made himself master of Denmark was going on
and young Vasa aided by his courage in winning victory on more than one
hard-fought field.

In 1518, during a negotiation between Sten Sture and Christian, then in
sore straits in his fleet, the latter agreed to go ashore to confer with
the Swedish leader if six gentlemen were sent on board his fleet as
hostages. This was done, but before the conference took place a favorable
change of wind changed the treacherous king's intention and he sailed off
for Denmark with his hostages, all of whom were imprisoned and held to
secure the neutrality of their relatives in Sweden.

Among these captives was young Gustavus Vasa, who, thus perfidiously
taken, was cruelly confined. Finally, at the request of Herr Eri