CHARLES XII.

CHARLES XII., King of Sweden, was in many respects the modern counterpart, as he was the professed admirer and imitator, of Alexander the Great. Had his success continued after he had reached manhood in the same proportion as marked his youth, he would have revolutionized Europe. But instead of antagonizing a Darius, it was his destiny to be opposed to Peter the Great, who knew how to make a great defeat a stepping-stone to a greater victory. Charles XII. was born at Stockholm, June 27, 1682. his father's death, in 1697, the government was placed in the hands of the queen-dowager and five senators until the young Charles should reach the age of eighteen. But when he reached the age of fifteen the Senate decreed that he had then attained his majority, and he was declared King. He divided his time between gymnastic exercises and boyish study of the history of Alexander the Great, and showed little interest in affairs of State.

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Presuming on his youth, three powerful sovereigns conspired to overthrow his kingdom. These were Frederick IV., King of Denmark; Augustus II., King of Poland; and Peter the Great, Czar of all the Russias. Charles greatly surprised his nobles by the manner in which he faced these difficulties. He renounced all court pleasures, banished all luxuries from his table, assumed the dress of a common soldier, a suit of blue cloth with copper buttons, and gave his attention entirely to military duties. The first attack was made by Frederick

of Denmark, who invaded Holstein. Charles at once led his army into the very heart of Denmark, while he also received substantial aid from William III., of England; a combined fleet of English and Dutch vessels drove the Danish fleet into the harbor of Copenhagen and bombarded the city. The Swedish army was so victorious that the Danish monarch made peace in 1700.

Riga, then a Swedish town, had been blockaded by the King of Poland, and Charles was just on the point of marching against him, when news was brought that Peter the Great was besieging Narva with an army of more than 50,000 men, but utterly untrained recruits. Charles, with only 10,000 men, attacked them in their entrenched camp and defeated the more numerous force with the loss of only two thousand. Peter, who was bringing up reinforcements, now retreated, his troops were dispersed, and Charles pursued his conquests into Poland and raised the siege of Riga. Not content with this advantage he proceeded to dethrone Augustus and place Stanislaus on the vacant throne. Nor did he rest until he had overrun Saxony, the hereditary dominions of Augustus, and had broken on the wheel Patkul, the Russian ambassador, whom he charged with treason to Sweden, as having been born in his dominions.

Charles now prepared a new expedition against the Czar of Russia. Twice he had driven the Russians out of Poland, pursuing them and winning several victories. In January, 1708, braving the horrors of a Russian winter, he invaded that empire, surprised and almost captured the Czar, crossed the Beresina and won a battle at Smolensko. Peter sued for peace; but the Swedish King replied that only in Moscow itself would he treat with the Czar. However, he wasted much time in marching in other directions. Finally Charles besieged the Russian fortress Pultowa, until Peter came to its rescue with a large army. In the famous battle which ensued on July 8, 1709, Charles was entirely defeated. Fleeing with a small troop into Turkish territory, he was most hospitably received by the Sultan, who appointed him a body-guard.

Charles entrenched himself near Bender, on the Dniester, with 1,800 men, and endeavored, if possible, to gain the help