voltaire xxi

8/20/2019 Voltaire XXI

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E D I T I O N D E L A P A C I F I C A T I O N

T H E W O R K S O F

VOLTAIRE A CONTEMPORARY VERSION

W ITH NOTES BY TOBIAS SMOLLETT, R EVISED AND MODERNIZED

NEW TRANSLATIONS BY W ILLIAM F. FLEMING, AND AN

INTRODUCTION BY OLIVER H. G. LEIGH

A CRITIQUE AND BIOGRAPHY

BY

T H E R T . H O N . J O H N M O R L E Y

F O R T Y - T H R E E V O L U M E S

ONE HUNDRED ANS SIXTY-EIGHT DESIGNS, COMPRISINGS REPRODUCTIONS

OF RARE OLD ENGRAVINGS, STEEL PLATES, PHOTOGRAVURES,

AND CURIOUS FAC-SIMILES

VOLUME XXI

AKRON, OHIO

THE WERNER COMPANY

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7(2T+) 0III9

harles gives his sister in marriage to the 2rince of 7esse ;

is besieged in /tralsund8 and escapes to /$eden9

/chemes of 6aron de *ort?8 his prime minister9 2lan

of a reconciliation $ith the c?ar8 and of a descent upon

+ngland9 harles besieges 4rederikshall8 in or$ay

is killed his character9 *ort? is beheaded9

I T7+ midst of these preparations8 the king gave

his only surviving sister8 =lrica +leonora8 in mar-

riage to 4rederick8 2rince of 7esse-assel9 The

Pueen do$ager8 grandmother of harles II9 and

of the princess8 then in the eightieth year of her

age8 did the honors of the table at this solemnity8

$hich $as celebrated on the Jth of (pril8 1H18 in

the palace of /tockholm8 $here she died soon after9

The marriage $as not honored $ith the presence

of the king8 $ho $as then employed in Mnishing


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A The 7istory

the fortiMcations of /tralsund8 a place of great im-

portance8 and threatened $ith a siege by the 'ings

of 2russia and Denmark9 evertheless he made

his brother-in-la$ generalissimo of all his forces

in /$eden9 This prince had served the /tates-*en-

eral in their $ars $ith the 4rench8 and $as

esteemed a good general a PualiMcation $hich

contributed not a little to procure him the sister

of harles II9 in marriage9

harles@s misfortunes no$ came as thick upon

him as his victories had formerly done9 In the

month of une8 1H18 the *erman troops of the

'ing of +ngland8 $ith those of Denmark8 invested

the strong to$n of .ismar8 $hile the combined

army of the Danes and /aFons8 amounting to

thirty-siF thousand men8 marched to$ards /tral-

sund8 to form the siege of that place9 The 'ings of

2russia and Denmark sunk Mve /$edish ships a

little oQ /tralsund9 The c?ar $as then in the 6altic8

$ith t$enty large ships of $ar8 and a hundred

and Mfty transports8 on board of $hich $ere thirty

thousand men9 7e threatened a descent upon

/$eden8 at one time approaching the coast of 7el-


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singborg8 and at another appearing before /tock-

holm89 (ll /$eden $as in arms upon the coasts8

and every moment eFpected an invasion9 (t the

same time the c?ar@s land forces drove the /$edes

from post to post8 until they had dispossessed them

of all the places they held in 4inland8 to$ards the

*ulf of 6othnia9 6ut 2eter pushed his conPuests

no farther9

(t the mouth of the Oder8 a river that divides

2omerania in t$o8 and after $ashing the $alls o"

of harles II9 H

/tettin falls into the 6altic8 lies the little isle of

=sedom8 a place of great importance on account

of its situation8 commanding the Oder both on the

right and left so that $hoever is master of the

island is like$ise master of the navigation of the

river9 The 'ing of 2russia had dislodged the

/$edes from this place8 and taken possession of it

as $ell as of /tettin8 $hich he kept sePuestered8 and

all8 as he pretended8 54or the sake of peace95 The

/$edes had retaken =sedom in >ay8 1H19 They


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had t$o forts in the island one of $hich $as the

fort of /uine8 upon a branch of the Oder8 that bore

the same name the other8 a place of greater conse-

Puence8 $as called 2ennamonder8 and situated

upon another branch of that river9 To defend these

t$o forts8 and indeed the $hole island8 there $ere

only t$o hundred and Mfty 2omeranians8 under the

command of an old /$edish oRcer8 called 'u?e-

/lerp8 a man $hose name deserves to be immor-

tali?ed9

On the Jth of (ugust8 the 'ing of 2russia sent

Mfteen hundred foot and eight hundred dragoons to

make a descent upon the island9 They came and

landed $ithout opposition near the fort of /uine8

$hich8 being the less important of the t$o8 the

/$edish commander abandoned to the enemy and

as he could not safely divide his men8 he retired

$ith his little company to the castle of 2enna-

monder8 determined to hold out to the last eF-

tremity9

There $as8 therefore8 a necessity of besieging it

in form for $hich purpose a train of artillery $as

embarked at /tettin8 and the 2russian troops $ere


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K The 7istory

reinforced $ith a thousand foot and four hundred

horse9 On the eighteenth the trenches $ere opened

in t$o places8 and the fort $as briskly battered $ith

cannon and mortars9 During the siege8 a /$edish

soldier8 $ho $as sent privately $ith a letter from

harles II9 found means to land on the island8

and to slip into the fort9 The letter he delivered

to the commander9 The purport $as as follo$s;

5Do not Mre till the enemy come to the brink of

the fosse9 Defend the place to the last eFtremity9 I

commend you to your good fortune9 harles95

/lerp having read the note8 resolved to obey8 and

to lay do$n his life8 as he $as ordered8 in the serv-

ice of his master9 On the t$enty-second at day-

break the assault $as made9 The besieged having

$ithheld their Mre till they sa$ the enemy on the

brink of the fosse8 killed an immense number of

them9 6ut the ditch $as full8 the breach large8 and

the assailants too numerous so that they entered

the castle at t$o diQerent places at once9 The com-

mander no$ thought of nothing but of selling his


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life dear8 and obeying his master@s orders9 7e

abandoned the breaches through $hich the enemy

entered intrenched his little company8 $ho had

all the courage and Mdelity to follo$ him8 behind a

bastion8 and posted them in such a manner that

they could not be surrounded9 The enemy came up

to him8 and $ere greatly surprised that he did not

ask for Puarter9 7e fought for a complete hour

and after having lost the half of his men8 $as at

last killed himself8 together $ith his lieutenant and

maor9 =pon this8 the surviving fe$8 amounting

to a hundred soldiers and one oRcer8 begged their

of harles II9 %

lives8 and $ere made prisoners of $ar9 harles@s

letter $as found in the commander@s pocket8 and

carried to the 'ing of 2russia9

(t the time that harles lost =sedom8 and the

neighboring isles8 $hich $ere Puickly taken8 $hile

.ismar $as ready to surrender8 and /$eden desti-

tute of a Seet8 $as daily threatened $ith an inva-

sion8 he himself $as in /tralsund8 besieged by an


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army of thirty-siF thousand men9

/tralsund8 a to$n famous over all +urope for the

siege $hich the 'ing of /$eden sustained there8

is the strongest place in 2omerania and is situated

bet$een the 6altic and the lake of 4ranken8 near

the straits of *ella9 It is inaccessible by land8

eFcept by a narro$ cause$ay8 defended by a citadel8

and by fortiMcations $hich $ere thought to be im-

pregnable9 There $as in it a garrison of about nine

thousand men8 and8 $hat $as more than all8 the

'ing of /$eden himself9 The 'ings of 2russia and

Denmark undertook the siege of this place8 $ith an

army of siF and thirty thousand men8 composed of

2russians8 Danes8 and /aFons9

The honor of besieging harles II9 $as so

po$erful a motive8 that they soon surmounted

every obstacle8 and opened the trenches in the

night bet$een the nineteenth and t$entieth of

October8 1H19 The 'ing of /$eden declared8 at

the beginning of the siege8 that for his o$n part8

he could not comprehend ho$ a place $ell fortiMed8

and provided $ith a suRcient garrison could pos-

sibly be taken9 ot but that in the course of his

past victories he had taken several places himself8


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but hardly ever by a regular siege9 The terror of

io The 7istory

his arms carried all before it9 6esides8 he never

udged of other people by himself but al$ays en-

tertained too lo$ an opinion of his enemies9 The

besiegers carried on their $orks $ith surprising

vigor and resolution8 and $ere greatly assisted by

a very singular accident9

It is $ell kno$n that the 6altic /ea neither ebbs

nor So$s9 The fortiMcations $hich covered the

to$n8 and $hich $ere defended on the $est by an

impassable morass8 and by the sea on the east8

seemed to be secure from any assault9 It had hith-

erto escaped the observation of every one8 that

$hen the $est $ind blo$s strong8 the $aves of the

6altic are driven back in such a manner as to leave

but three feet depth of $ater under the fortiMca-

tions8 $hich had al$ays been supposed to be

$ashed by a branch of the sea8 so deep as to be

utterly impassable9 ( soldier having fallen from

the top of the fortiMcations into the sea8 $as sur-


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prised to Mnd a bottom and thinking that this dis-

covery might make his fortune8 he deserted8 and

$ent to the Puarters of ount .ackerbarth8 the

/aFon general8 to inform him that the sea $as ford-

able8 and that he might easily penetrate to the /$e-

dish fortiMcations9 It $as not long before the 'ing

of 2russia availed himself of this piece of intelli-

gence9

eFt night about t$elve o@clock8 the $est $ind

still continuing to blo$8 &ieutenant-olonel 'op-

pen entered the $ater8 $ith eighteen hundred men9

(t the same time t$o thousand advanced upon the

cause$ay that led to the fort all the 2russian artil-

of harles II9 n

lery Mred8 and the Danes and 2russians gave an

alarm on the other side9

The /$edes thought they could easily repulse the

t$o thousand men $hom they sa$ advancing $ith

so much apparent rashness upon the cause$ay but

all of a sudden8 'oppen8 $ith his eighteen hundred


20/478

men entered the fort on the side to$ards the sea9

The /$edes8 surrounded and surprised8 could make

no resistance and the post $as carried after a ter-

rible slaughter9 /ome of the /$edes Sed to the

to$n the besiegers pursued them thither8 and en-

tered pell-mell along $ith the fugitives9 T$o oR-

cers and four /aFon soldiers $ere already on the

dra$bridge8 $hich the /$edes had ust time to

raise so that the men $ere taken8 and the to$n

saved for that time9

There $ere found in the fort t$enty-four pieces

of cannon8 $hich $ere immediately turned against

/tralsund9 The siege $as pushed $ith such vigor

and resolution as this success could not fail to in-

spire9 The to$n $as cannonaded and bombarded

$ithout intermission9

Opposite to /tralsund8 in the 6altic /ea8 lies the

isle of )iigen8 $hich serves as a bul$ark to that

place8 and into $hich the garrison and citi?ens

might have retired8 could they have found boats to

transport them thither9 This island $as of the great-

est importance to harles9 7e plainly perceived8 that

should it fall into the hands of the enemy8 he $ould

be immediately besieged both by sea and land8 and


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perhaps reduced to such great eFtremities8 that he

must either bury himself in the ruins of /tralsund8

or else become a prisoner to those very enemies

1G The 7istory

$hom he had so long despised8 and upon $hom he

had imposed the most severe and rigorous terms9

6ut not$ithstanding these gloomy prospects8 such

$as the $retched situation of his aQairs8 that he

had not been able to place a suRcient garrison in

)iigen8 $here8 in fact8 there $ere no more than

t$o thousand men9

7is enemies had been employed for three months

past in making all the necessary preparations for a

descent upon this island and having at last Mnished

a great number of boats8 the 2rince of (nhalt8

favored by the goodness of the $eather8 landed

t$elve thousand men upon )iigen8 on the Mfteenth

of ovember9 The king8 $ho seemed to be every-

$here present8 $as then in the island8 having lately

oined his t$o thousand men8 $ho $ere intrenched

near a small harbor8 three leagues from the place


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$here the enemy had landed9 7e put himself at

the head of this little troop8 and observing the most

profound silence8 advanced at midnight to$ards the

foe9 The 2rince of (nhalt had already intrenched

his forces8 a precaution $hich seemed altogether

unnecessary9 The inferior oRcers never dreamed

of being attacked the very Mrst night8 as they

imagined harles to be at /tralsund but the 2rince

of (nhalt8 $ho $ell kne$ $hat incredible things

harles $as capable of attempting8 had caused a

deep fosse to be sunk8 fenced $ith chevauF-de-frise

and indeed took all his measures $ith as much cir-

cumspection8 as if he had had a superior army to

contend $ith9

(t t$o in the morning8 harles reached the en-

emy@s camp8 $ithout making the least noise9 7is

of harles II9 13

soldiers said to each other8 5ome let us pull up the

chevauF-de-frise95 These $ords being overheard

by the sentinels8 the alarm $as instantly given in

the camp8 and the enemy stood to their arms9 The


23/478

king8 taking up the chevauF-de-frise8 perceived a

deep ditch before him9 5(h5 says he8 5is it pos-

sible! this is more than I eFpected95 7o$ever

this uneFpected event did not disconcert him9 7e

$as alike ignorant of the number of the enemy8 and

they of his9 The darkness of the night seemed to

favor the boldness of the attempt9 7e formed his

resolution in a moment8 and umped into the ditch8

accompanied by the bravest of his men8 and in-

stantly follo$ed by all the rest9 The chevauF-de-

frise8 $hich $ere presently plucked up8 the levelled

earth8 the trunks and branches of such trees as

they could Mnd8 and the bodies of the soldiers that

$ere killed by random shots8 served for fascines9

The king8 the generals8 and the bravest of the

oRcers and soldiers8 mounted upon the shoulders

of others8 as in an assault9 The Mght began in the

enemy@s camp9 The irresistible impetuosity of the

/$edes soon thre$ the Danes and 2russians into

confusion but the numbers $ere too unePually

matched9 (fter a sharp contest for a Puarter of an

hour8 the /$edes $ere repulsed8 and obliged to re-

pass the fosse9 The 2rince of (nhalt pursued them

into the plain8 little thinking it $as harles II9

that Sed before him9 The unhappy monarch rallied

his troops in the open Meld8 and the battle $as re-


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ne$ed $ith ePual fury on both sides9 *rothusen8

the king@s favorite8 and *eneral DardoQ8 fell dead

at his feet9 In the heat of the Mght harles passed

1J The 7istory

over the body of the latter8 $ho $as still breathing

and During8 $ho had accompanied him on his our-

ney from Turkey to /traslund8 $as killed before his

eyes9

In the midst of the fray8 a Danish lieutenant8

$hose name I have not been able to learn8 recog-

ni?ed the king and sei?ing his s$ord $ith one hand8

and $ith the other dragging him by the hair8 5/ur-

render yourself85 says he8 5or you are a dead man95

The king dre$ a pistol from his belt8 and8 $ith

his left hand8 Mred it at the oRcer $ho died of the

$ound the neFt morning9 The name of 'ing

harles8 $hich the Dane had pronounced8 imme-

diately dre$ a cro$d of the enemy together9 The

king $as surrounded8 and received a musket-ball

belo$ his left breast9 The $ound8 $hich he called

a contusion8 $as t$o Mngers deep9 harles $as on


25/478

foot8 and in the most imminent danger of either

being killed or taken prisoner9 (t that critical mo-

ment ount 2oniato$ski fought near his maesty@s

person9 7e had saved his life at 2oltava8 and had

no$ the good fortune to save it once more in the

battle of )iigen8 by putting him on his horse9

The /$edes retired to a part of the island called

(ltefahr8 $here there $as a fort8 of $hich they $ere

still masters9 4rom thence the king passed over to

/tralsund8 obliged to abandon his brave troops8 $ho

had so courageously assisted him in this daring en-

terprise8 and $ho8 t$o days after8 $ere all made

prisoners of $ar9

(mong the prisoners $as that unhappy 4rench

regiment8 composed of the shattered remains of the

battle of 7ochstadt8 $hich had entered into the

of harles II9 1

service of (ugustus8 and after$ards into that of

the 'ing of /$eden9 >ost of the soldiers $ere

no$ incorporated into a ne$ regiment8 commanded


26/478

by the 2rince of (nhalt@s son8 $ho $as their fourth

master9

The commander of this $andering regiment in

the isle of )iigen $as that same ount de 0ille-

longue8 $ho had so nobly eFposed his life at (drian-

ople to serve 'ing harles II9 7e $as taken

prisoner8 $ith his men8 and but poorly re$arded

in the sePuel for all his services8 labors8 and suQer-

ings9

(fter all these prodigies of valor8 $hich tended

only to $eaken his forces8 the king shut up in /tral-

sund $hich $as every moment in danger of being

stormed8 behaved in much the same manner as he

had done at 6ender9 =nappalled by so many sur-

rounding dangers8 he employed the day in making

ditches and intrenchments behind the $alls8 and by

night he sallied out upon the enemy9 >ean$hile

/tralsund@s $alls $ere breached; the bombs fell

thick as hail upon the houses8 and half the to$n

$as reduced to ashes9 The citi?ens $ere so far

from complaining8 that Mlled $ith the highest vener-

ation for their royal master8 $hose vigilance8 tem-

perance8 and courage8 they could not suRciently

admire8 they had all become soldiers under him9


27/478

They accompanied him in all his sallies8 and served

him in place of a second garrison9

One day as the king $as dictating some letters

to his secretary8 that $ere to be sent to /$eden8 a

bomb fell on the house8 pierced the roof8 and burst

near the royal apartment9 One half of the Soor

1 A The 7istory

$as shattered to pieces but the closet in $hich the

king $as8 being partly surrounded by a thick $all8

received no damage and $hat $as remarkably for-

tunate8 none of the splinters that Se$ about in the

air8 came in at the closet door8 $hich happened to

be open9 The report of the bomb8 and the crashing

noise it occasioned in the house8 $hich seemed

ready to tumble in on them8 made the secre-

tary drop his pen9 5.hat is the reason85 says the

king8 $ith great composure8 5that you do not

$rite!5 The poor secretary could only bring out

$ith a faltering voice; 5The bomb8 sir95 5.ell85

replies the king8 5and $hat has the bomb to do $ith

the letter I am dictating! *o on95


28/478

There $as8 at that time8 an ambassador of 4rance

shut up $ith harles in /tralsund9 This $as one

olbert8 ount de roissy8 a lieutenant-general in

the 4rench army8 brother to the >arPuis de Torcy8

the famous minister of state8 and a relation of the

celebrated olbert8 $hose name ought never to be

forgotten in 4rance9 To send a man on an embassy

to harles II9 or into trenches $as much the same9

The king $ould talk $ith roissy for hours to-

gether in places of the greatest danger8 $hile the

soldiers $ere falling on every side of them by the

Mre of the bombs and cannon harles8 in all ap-

pearance8 insensible of the risk he ran8 and the am-

bassador not choosing to give his maesty so much

as a hint that there $ere more proper places to talk

of business9 The minister eFerted his utmost

eQorts8 before the siege commenced8 to eQect an

accommodation bet$een the 'ings of /$eden and

2russia but the demands of the latter $ere too

of harles II9 1H

high8 and the former $ould make no concessions9


29/478

/o that the ount de roissy derived no other ad-

vantage from his embassy to harles II9 than the

pleasure of being intimately acPuainted $ith that

eFtraordinary man9 7e frePuently lay by his ma-

esty upon the same cloak and by sharing $ith him

in all his dangers and fatigues8 had acPuired a right

of talking to him $ith greater freedom9 harles

encouraged this boldness in those he loved and

$ould sometimes say to the ount de roissy8

50eni8 maledicamus de rege5 ; 5ome no$ let us

make a little free $ith the character of harles

II95 This account I had from the ambassador

himself9

roissy continued in the to$n till the thirteenth

of ovember8 $hen having obtained from the

enemy a passport for himself and his baggage8 he

took his leave of the king8 $ho still remained amidst

the ruins of /tralsund8 $ith a garrison diminished

by one-half8 but Mrmly resolved to stand an assault9

(nd t$o days after8 an assault $as actually made

upon the horn$ork9 T$ice did the enemy take it8

and t$ice $ere they repulsed9 In this rencounter the

king fought amidst his grenadiers but at last su-

perior numbers prevailed8 and the enemy remained


30/478

master of the place9 harles continued in the to$n

t$o days after this8 eFpecting every moment a gen-

eral assault9 On the t$enty-Mrst he stayed till mid-

night upon a little ravelin that $as entirely demol-

ished by the bombs and cannon-balls9 eFt day the

principal oRcers conured him to Puit a place $hich

he could no longer defend9 6ut to retreat had no$

become as dangerous as to stay9 The 6altic $as

0ol9 G1 G

1 K The 7istory

covered $ith )ussian and Danish ships9 There

$ere no vessels in the harbor of /tralsund8 but one

small bark $ith sails and oars9 The great danger

$hich rendered this retreat so glorious8 $as the

very thing that prompted harles to attempt it9 7e

embarked at midnight on the t$entieth of Decem-

ber8 1H18 accompanied by ten persons only9 They

$ere obliged to break the ice $ith $hich the $ater

of the harbor $as covered a hard and laborious

task8 $hich they $ere forced to continue for several

hours before the bark could sail freely9 The ene-


31/478

my@s admirals had strict orders not to allo$ harles

to escape from /tralsund but to take him8 dead or

alive9 7appily for him8 they $ere under the $ind

and could not come near him9 7e ran a still greater

risk in passing by a place called la 6abette8 in the

isle of )iigen8 $here the Danes had erected a bat-

tery of t$elve cannon8 from $hich they Mred upon

him9 The mariners spread every sail and plied

every oar in order to get clear of the enemy9 6ut

t$o men $ere killed at the king@s side by one can-

non-ball8 and the ship@s mast $as shattered by

another9 Through all these dangers8 ho$ever8 did

the king escape unhurt8 and at last came up $ith

t$o of his o$n ships that $ere cruising in the 6altic9

eFt day /tralsund $as surrendered8 and the garri-

son made prisoners of $ar9 harles landed at

Isted in /cania8 and forth$ith repaired to 'arls-

krona8 in a condition very diQerent from $hat he

$as in $hen about Mfteen years before he set sail

from that harbor in a ship of a hundred and t$enty

guns8 to give la$s to the orth9

(s he $as so near his capital8 it $as eFpected


32/478

of harles II9 1%

that after such a long absence8 he $ould pay it a

visit but he $as determined not to enter it again

till he had obtained some signal victory9 6esides8

he could not bear the thought of revisiting a peo-

ple by $hom he $as beloved8 and $hom neverthe-

less he $as obliged to oppress8 in order to enable

him to make head against his enemies9 7e $anted

only to see his sister8 $ith $hom he appointed an

intervie$ on the banks of the lake .ettern8 in Os-

trogothia9 Thither he rode post attended only by one

servant8 and after having spent a day $ith her re-

turned to 'arlskrona9

4rom this place8 $here he passed the $inter8

he issued orders for raising recruits through the

$hole kingdom9 7e thought that his subects $ere

born for no other purpose than to follo$ him to

the Meld of battle8 and he had actually accustomed

them to entertain the same opinion9 /ome $ere

enlisted $ho $ere not above Mfteen years of age9

In several villages there $ere none left but old men8

$omen8 and children and in many places the

$omen $ere obliged to plo$ the land alone9


33/478

It $as still more diRcult to procure a Seet9 In

order to supply that defect as $ell as possible8 com-

missions $ere granted to the o$ners of privateers8

$ho8 upon obtaining certain privileges unreason-

able in themselves8 and destructive to the commu-

nity8 ePuipped a fe$ ships and these poor eQorts

$ere the last that the declining state of /$eden $as

no$ capable of making9 To defray the eFpenses of

all these preparations8 there $as a necessity for en-

croaching upon the property of the subect and

every kind of eFtortion $as practised under the

Go The 7istory

specious name of taFes and duties9 /trict search $as

made into every house@8 and one-half of the provis-

ions that $ere found in them $as conveyed to the

king@s maga?ines9 (ll the iron in the kingdom $as

bought up for his use9 This the government paid

for in paper8 and sold it out for ready money9 (

taF $as laid on all such as had any miFture of silk

in their clothes8 or $ore peri$igs or gilded s$ords

and the duty of hearth-money $as immoderately

high9 The people8 oppressed $ith such a load of


34/478

taFes8 $ould have revolted under any other king

but the poorest peasant in /$eden kne$ that his

master led a life still more hard and frugal than

himself so that every one submitted cheerfully to

those hardships $hich the king $as the Mrst to

suQer9

(ll sense of private misfortunes $as s$allo$ed

up in the apprehension of public danger9 The

/$edes eFpected every moment to see their country

invaded by the )ussians8 the Danes8 the 2russians8

the /aFons8 and even by the +nglish and their fear

of this hostile visit $as so strong and prevalent8 that

those $ho had money or valuable eQects took care

to bury them in the earth9

(n +nglish Seet had already appeared in the 6al-

tic8 though its particular destination $as not

kno$n and the c?ar had given his $ord to the

'ing of Denmark8 that in the spring of 1H1A8 the

)ussians $ould oin the Danes8 in order to make a

descent upon /$eden9

6ut ho$ great $as the astonishment of all +u-

rope8 ever attentive to the fortune of harles II9

$hen8 instead of defending his o$n country8 $hich


35/478

of harles II9 G1

$as threatened $ith an invasion by so many

princes8 they sa$ him in the month of >arch8 1H1A8

passing over into or$ay8 $ith t$enty thousand

men9

4rom the time of 7annibal to that of harles

II9 the $orld had never seen any general8 $ho8

unable to make head against his enemies at home8

had boldly carried the $ar into the heart of their

o$n dominions9 The 2rince of 7esse8 his brother-

in-la$8 attended him in this eFpedition9

There is no travelling from /$eden to or$ay

but through the most dangerous by-$ays and $hen

these are passed8 one meets $ith so many Sashes

of8 $ater formed by the sea amongst the rocks8 that

there is a necessity for making bridges every day9

( handful of Danes might have stopped the prog-

ress of the $hole /$edish army but this sudden

invasion had not been foreseen9 +urope $as still

more astonished to see the c?ar8 amidst all these


36/478

mighty events8 remaining inactive8 and not making

a descent upon /$eden8 as had formerly been stipu-

lated bet$een him and his allies9

This inactivity $as o$ing to one of the greatest

and most diRcult schemes that ever $as formed

by the mind of man9

7enry de *ort?8 a native of 4ranconia8 and baron

of the empire8 having done several good oRces to

the 'ing of /$eden8 during that monarch@s abode

at 6ender8 had no$ become his favorite and Mrst

minister9

ever $as man at once so bold and so artful so

full of eFpedients amidst misfortunes so un-

bounded in his designs8 or so active in the prosecu@

GG The 7istory

tion of them9 o proect too great for his daring

genius to attempt no means too diRcult for his

sagacity and penetration to discover in pursuing

his favorite schemes he $as ePually prodigal of


37/478

presents and promises8 of oaths8 of truth8 and of

falsehood9

4rom /$eden he $ent to 4rance8 +ngland and

7olland8 to eFamine those secret springs $hich he

after$ards meant to put in motion9 7e $as capable

of thro$ing all +urope into combustion and his

inclination $as ePual to his po$er9 .hat his mas-

ter $as at the head of an army8 that $as de *ort?

in the cabinet by $hich means he had acPuired a

greater ascendency over harles II9 than any

minister before him had ever possessed9

harles8 $ho at t$enty years of age had pre-

scribed orders to ount 2iper8 $as no$ content to

receive instructions from 6aron de *ort?8 resigning

himself to the direction of that minister $ith so

much the less reserve8 as his misfortunes obliged

him to listen to the advice of others8 and as *ort?

never gave him any but such as $as suitable to his

undaunted courage9 7e observed8 that of all the

sovereigns united against /$eden8 *eorge8 +lector

of 7anover8 and 'ing of +ngland8 $as the prince

against $hom harles $as most highly incensed

because he $as the only one to $hom harles had

never done any inury and because *eorge had en-


38/478

gaged in the Puarrel under the preteFt of com-

promising matters8 but in reality $ith a vie$ of

preserving 6remen and 0erden8 to $hich he seemed

to have no other right than that of having bought

of harles II9 G3

them for a triSe from the 'ing of Denmark8 to

$hom8 after all8 they did not belong9

or $as it long ere de *ort? discovered that the

c?ar $as secretly dissatisMed $ith his allies8 $ho

had all conspired to hinder him from acPuiring any

possessions in *ermany8 $here that monarch8 al-

ready become too formidable8 $anted only to obtain

a footing9 .ismar8 the only to$n that still re-

mained to the /$edes on the frontiers of *ermany8

$as8 on the fourteenth of 4ebruary8 1H1A8 surren-

dered to the Danes and 2russians8 $ho $ould not

so much as allo$ the )ussian troops that $ere in

>ecklenburg8 to be present at the siege9 /uch re-

peated marks of ealousy for t$o years together8

had alienated the c?ar@s mind from the common

cause8 and perhaps prevented the ruin of /$eden9


39/478

There are many instances of several states in al-

liance being conPuered by a single po$er but

hardly any of a great empire subdued by several

allies9 If it should happen to be humbled by their

oint eQorts8 their intestine divisions soon allo$ it to

retrieve its former grandeur9

+ver since the year 1H1J8 the c?ar had had it in

his po$er to make a descent upon /$eden but

$hether it $as that he could not perfectly agree $ith

the 'ings of 2oland8 +ngland8 Denmark8 and 2rus-

sia8 allies ustly ealous of his gro$ing po$er8 or

that he did not as yet think his troops suRciently

disciplined to attack in their o$n territories a peo-

ple $hose very peasants had beaten the So$er of

the Danish forces8 he still put oQ th eFecution of

the enterprise9

6ut $hat had chieSy interrupted the progress of

GJ The 7istory

his arms $as the $ant of money9 The c?ar8 though

one of the most po$erful monarchs in the universe8


40/478

$as far from being one of the richest his revenues8

at that time8 not eFceeding t$enty-four millions of

livres9 7e had discovered indeed some mines of

gold8 silver8 copper8 and iron but the proMt aris-

ing from these $as still uncertain8 and the eFpense

of $orking them $as inconceivably great9 7e had

like$ise established an eFtensive commerce but

that in its infancy rather Mlled him $ith the agree-

able hopes of $hat it might one day prove8 than

$as really productive of any present advantage;

nor did the provinces $hich he had lately conPuered

increase his revenues8 in the same proportion as

they augmented his po$er and glory9 It rePuired

a long time to heal the $ounds of &ivonia8 a coun-

try eFtremely fertile8 but desolated by Mre8 s$ord8

and distemper8 and by a $ar of Mfteen years@ con-

tinuance8 destitute of inhabitants8 and as yet charge-

able to the conPueror9 7is Mnances $ere further

drained by the large Seets he maintained8 and by

the ne$ enterprises $hich he $as daily undertak-

ing9 7e had even been reduced to the $retched

eFpedient of raising the value of money8 a remedy

that can never cure the evils of state8 and is in a

particular manner preudicial to a country8 $hose

eFports fall short of its imports9


41/478

/uch $as the foundation upon $hich de *ort?

had built his scheme of a revolution9 7e ventured

to advise the 'ing of /$eden to purchase a peace

from the )ussian emperor at any price8 intimating

to him8 at the same time8 that the c?ar $as highly

incensed at the 'ings of 2oland and +ngland8 and

of harles II9 G

assuring him that he and 2eter (leFio$it?8 $hen

oined together8 $ould be able to strike terror into

the rest of +urope9

There $as no possibility of making a peace $ith

the c?ar8 $ithout giving up a great many of those

provinces $hich lie to the east and north of the

6altic /ea9 6ut *ort? entreated the king to con-

sider that by yielding up these provinces8 $hich

the c?ar already possessed8 and $hich harles at

present $as unable to recover8 he might have the

honor of restoring /tanislaus to the throne of 2o-

land8 of replacing the son of ames II9 on that of

+ngland8 and of re-establishing the Duke of 7oi-

stein in the peaceable possession of his dominions9


42/478

harles8 pleased $ith these mighty proects8 upon

$hich8 ho$ever8 he laid no great stress8 gave carte

blanche to his minister9 *ort? set out from /$eden8

furnished $ith full po$ers to act $ithout control8

and to treat as his master@s plenipotentiary $ith all

those princes $ith $hom he should think proper

to negotiate9 The Mrst step $as to sound the court

of >osco$8 $hich he did by means of a /cotchman8

called +rskine8 Mrst physician to the c?ar8 and

strongly attached to the pretender@s interest8 as in-

deed most of the /cots $ere8 eFcept such as sub-

sisted upon favors from the court of &ondon9

This physician represented to 2rince >en?ikoQ

the greatness and importance of the scheme8 $ith

all the $armth of a man $ho $as so much inter-

ested in its success9 2rince >en?ikoQ relished the

proposal8 and the c?ar approved of it9 Instead of

making a descent upon /$eden8 as had been stipu-

lated bet$een him and his allies8 he sent his troops

1A The 7istory


43/478

to $inter in >ecklenburg8 $hither he soon after re-

paired himself9 This he did under the specious pre-

teFt of terminating some disputes that had lately

arisen bet$een the duke and his nobility but in

reality $ith a vie$ to prosecute his favorite scheme

of obtaining a principality in *ermany8 and hoping

he should be able to persuade the Duke of >ecklen-

burg to sell him his sovereignty9

The allies $ere highly provoked at these proceed-

ings and the more so8 as they did not choose to

have such a formidable neighbor as 2eter (leFio-

$it?8 $ho8 could he once obtain any footing in *er-

many8 might one day be able to have himself elected

emperor8 to the great oppression of all the princes

of the empire9 6ut the more they $ere provoked8

the more $as the grand scheme of de *ort? for-

$arded9 This minister8 the better to conceal his

secret intrigues8 aQected to negotiate $ith the con-

federate princes8 $ho $ere like$ise amused $ith

vain hopes from the c?ar9

harles II9 and his brother-in-la$8 the 2rince

of 7esse8 $ere all this $hile in or$ay8 at the head

of t$enty thousand men9 The country $as defended

by no more than eleven thousand Danes8 divided


44/478

into several detached parties8 $ho $ere all put to

the s$ord by the king and the 2rince of 7esse9

harles advanced to$ards hristiania8 the capital

of the kingdom and fortune began once more to

smile upon him in this part of the globe9 6ut he

never took suRcient care to provide for the sub-

sistence of his troops9 ( Danish Seet and army

$ere coming to the relief of or$ay and harles

being in $ant of provisions8 $as obliged to return

of harles II9 GH

to /$eden8 there to a$ait the issue of his minister@s

mighty proects9

The eFecution of the scheme rePuired at once

inviolable secrecy8 and vast preparations8 t$o things

almost incompatible9 *ort? even ransacked the

(siatic seas for an assistance8 $hich8 ho$ever

odious in appearance8 $ould nevertheless have been

eFtremely proper for making a descent upon /cot-

land8 and for furnishing /$eden $ith ships8 men8

and money9


45/478

The pirates of all nations8 and especially those

of +ngland8 having entered into a mutual associa-

tion8 had long infested the seas of +urope and

(merica9 Driven at last from all their $onted

haunts8 and having no hopes of obtaining any Puar-

ter8 they had lately retired to the coasts of >ada-

gascar8 a large island to the east of (frica9 These

men $ere all of them desperadoes8 and most of

them famous for actions $hich $anted nothing but

ustice to render them truly heroic9 They $ere

endeavoring to Mnd out a prince that $ould receive

them under his protection but the la$s of nations

shut all the harbors in the $orld against them9

o sooner $ere they informed that harles II9

had returned to /$eden8 than they began to Satter

themselves $ith the agreeable hopes that that

prince passionately fond of $ar8 obliged at present

to be engaged in it8 and in great $ant as $ell of

ships as soldiers8 $ould be glad to make an agree-

ment $ith them upon reasonable terms9 .ith this

vie$ they sent a deputy to +urope on board of a

Dutch vessel8 to make a proposal to 6aron de

*ort?8 that if they $ere sure of meeting $ith a


46/478

GK The 7istory

favorable reception in the port of *ottenburg8 they

$ould instantly repair there $ith siFty ships loaded

$ith riches9

The baron prevailed upon the king to agree to

the proposal and neFt year romstrom and >en-

dal8 t$o /$edish gentlemen8 $ere sent to Mnish the

treaty $ith the corsairs of >adagascar9

6ut a more honorable and a more po$erful sup-

port $as soon after found in ardinal (lberoni8 a

man of eFtraordinary genius8 $ho governed /pain

long enough for his o$n glory but too short a

time for the grandeur and happiness of the king-

dom9

7e readily embraced the proposal of placing the

son of ames II9 on the throne of +ngland9 ever-

theless8 as he had but ust entered into the ministry8

and had the aQairs of /pain to regulate8 before he

could think of thro$ing other kingdoms into con-

fusion8 it $as not likely that he $ould be able for a


47/478

considerable time to put this grand machine in mo-

tion9 6ut in less than t$o years he changed the

face of aQairs in /pain8 restored that kingdom to

her former degree of credit8 among the other po$-

ers of +urope8 prevailed upon the Turks8 as is com-

monly supposed8 to attack the +mperor of *er-

many8 and attempted8 at one and the same time8

to deprive the Duke of Orleans of the regency of

4rance8 and 'ing *eorge of the cro$n of +ngland9

/o dangerous may one single man prove8 $hen he

is vested $ith absolute authority in a po$erful state8

and is endo$ed $ith courage and greatness of soul9

*ort? having thus scattered in the courts of >us-

covy and /pain the Mrst sparks of that Same $hich

of harles II9 G%

he intended to kindle8 $ent privately to 4rance8 and

from thence to 7olland8 $here he had an intervie$

$ith some of the pretender@s adherents9

7e informed himself more particularly of the

strength8 the number8 and disposition of the mal-


48/478

contents in +ngland8 of the money they could fur-

nish8 and the troops they could raise9 The

malcontents rePuired only a reinforcement of ten

thousand men8 $ith $hose assistance8 they said8

they should be fully able to eQectuate a revolution9

ount *yllenborg8 the /$edish ambassador in

+ngland8 being furnished $ith proper instructions

by 6aron de *ort?8 had several conferences at &on-

don8 $ith the chiefs of the disaQected party9 7e en-

couraged them $ith the most Sattering hopes of

success8 and readily promised them $hatever they

could $ish to obtain and they8 on their part8 $ere

so for$ard as to furnish considerable sums of

money8 $hich *ort? received in 7olland9 7e

treated about the purchase of some ships8 and

bought siF in 6ritain8 $ith all kinds of arms9

7e then sent several oRcers privately into

4rance8 and among others the hevalier de 4olard8

$ho having made thirty campaigns in the 4rench

armies8 $ithout any considerable addition to his

fortune8 had lately oQered his service to the 'ing

of /$eden8 not so much from any interested vie$s8

as from a desire of serving under a king of such

a glorious reputation9 4olard like$ise hoped to


49/478

recommend to that prince the improvements he had

made in the art of $ar $hich he had al$ays studied

as a philosopher and he has since published his

discoveries in his 5ommentary on 2olybius95

o The 7istory

harles II9 $ho had made $ar himself in a man-

ner entirely ne$8 and $as never guided by custom

in anything8 $as pleased $ith his notions and

resolved to employ him in his proected invasion

of /cotland9 The secret orders of 6aron de *ort?

$ere faithfully eFecuted in 4rance by the hevalier

de 4olard9 ( great number of 4rench8 and a still

greater number of Irish oRcers engaged in this

uncommon conspiracy8 $hich $as hatching at one

and the same time in +ngland8 4rance and >us-

covy8 and the branches of $hich $ere secretly

eFtended from one end of +urope to the other9

These preparations8 ho$ever great8 $ere only

a sample of $hat de *ort? intended to do though

it $as a matter of no small consePuence to have

thus set the scheme going9 6ut the point of the


50/478

greatest importance8 and $ithout $hich nothing

could succeed8 $as to bring about a peace bet$een

the c?ar and harles to accomplish $hich many

diRculties $ere to be removed9 6aron Osterman8

minister of state in >uscovy8 refused at Mrst to come

into de *ort?@s measures9 The former $as as cau-

tious and9 circumspect as the latter $as bold and

enterprising9 The one8 slo$ and regular in his poli-

tics8 $as for allo$ing everything time to ripen the

other of a daring genius8 and impatient spirit8 had

no sooner so$n the seed than he $as eFpecting to

reap the harvest9 Osterman fearing that the

emperor8 his master8 da??led $ith the splendor of

this enterprise8 $ould grant the /$edes a too ad-

vantageous peace8 delayed the conclusion of it by

a variety of obstacles and procrastinations9

7appily for 6aron de *ort?8 the c?ar himself

of harles II9 31

came to 7olland in the beginning of the year 1H1H9

7is intention $as to go from thence into 4rance9

7e $as desirous of seeing that famous nation8


51/478

$hich8 for more than a hundred years past8 had been

censured8 envied and imitated by all its neighbors9

7e $anted to gratify his insatiable curiosity of see-

ing and learning everything8 and8 at the same time8

to eFercise his politics9

*ort? had t$o intervie$s $ith him at The 7ague

and in these he made greater progress than he

could have done in siF months $ith the plenipo-

tentiaries9 +verything $ore a favorable aspect9 7is

mighty proects seemed to be covered under the

veil of impenetrable secrecy and he Sattered him-

self that +urope $ould kno$ them only by their

being carried into eFecution9 >ean$hile he talked

of nothing but peace at The 7ague8 he openly

declared that he $ould al$ays consider the 'ing

of +ngland as the paciMer of the orth and he

even pressed Lin appearance at leastN the holding

of a congress at 6runs$ick8 in $hich the arring

interests of /$eden and her enemies might be ami-

cably adusted9

These intrigues $ere Mrst discovered by the Duke

of Orleans8 regent of 4rance8 $ho had spies in

every part of +urope9 >en of this character8 $ho

make a trade of selling the secrets of their friends8


52/478

and get their livelihood by being informers8 and

frePuently by inventing and propagating the gross-

est lies and calumnies8 $ere so much increased in

4rance under his government8 that one-half of the

nation had become spies upon the other9 The Duke

of Orleans8 $ho $as connected $ith the 'ing of

3G The 7istory

+ngland by personal ties8 acPuainted him $ith the

secret plot that $as hatching against him9

(t the same time the Dutch8 $ho began to take

umbrage at the behavior of de *ort?8 communicated

their suspicions to the +nglish minister9 *ort?

and *yllenborg $ere prosecuting their schemes

$ith great vigor8 $hen they $ere both arrested8 the

one at Deventer8 in *uelderland8 and the other at

&ondon9

(s *yllenborg8 the /$edish ambassador8 had vio-

lated the la$ of nations by conspiring against the

prince to $hom he $as sent in a public character8

the +nglish made no scruple to violate the same


53/478

la$8 by arresting his person9 6ut all the $orld $as

surprised to see the /tates-*eneral imprison the

6aron de *ort?8 in order to gratify the 'ing of

+ngland8 an instance of complaisance hardly to be

paralleled in history9 They even appointed the

ount de .elderen to eFamine him9 This formality

$as only an aggravation of their former insult8

$hich being rendered entirely abortive8 produced

no other eQect than to cover them $ith confusion9

5Do you kno$ me!5 says *ort? to the ount de

.elderen9 5,es8 sir85 replies the Dutchman9

5.ell8 then85 says de *ort?8 5if you do kno$8 you

must be sensible that I $ill not speak one $ord

more than I please95 The eFamination $as carried

no further9 (ll the foreign ministers8 and especially

the >arPuis de >onteleon8 the /panish ambassador

in +ngland8 protested against the violence oQered

to the persons of *ort? and *yllenborg9 The Dutch

$ere ineFcusable9 They had not only violated a

most sacred la$8 by sei?ing the prime minister of

of harles II9 33

the 'ing of /$eden8 $ho had formed no plots


54/478

against them but they acted in direct opposition to

the spirit of that inestimable liberty $hich has

dra$n so many foreigners into their country8 and is

the foundation of all their greatness9

.ith regard to the 'ing of +ngland8 he had

acted consistently $ith the strictest principles of

ustice8 in imprisoning his enemy9 7e published in

his o$n vindication8 the letters of *ort? and *yllen-

borg8 $hich $ere found among the papers of the

latter9 The 'ing of /$eden $as in /cania8 $hen

he received these printed letters8 together $ith the

ne$s of the t$o ministers being imprisoned9 7e

asked $ith a smile8 if they had not like$ise printed

his letters and gave immediate orders for arresting

the +nglish resident at /tockholm8 $ith all his fam-

ily and domestics9 The Dutch resident $as forbid-

den the court8 and strictly $atched in all his mo-

tions9 harles8 mean$hile8 neither avo$ed nor

disclaimed the proceedings of de *ort?9 Too proud

to deny a scheme $hich he had once approved8 and

too $ise to ackno$ledge a plot $hich had thus been

stiSed in its birth8 he maintained a disdainful silence

to$ards +ngland and 7olland9

The c?ar took a very diQerent course9 (s his


55/478

name $as not eFpressly mentioned8 but only ob-

scurely hinted at in the papers of *ort? and *yllen-

borg8 he $rote a long letter to the 'ing of +ngland8

complimenting him upon the discovery of the plot8

and assuring him of the most inviolable friendship

and 'ing *eorge received his protestations $ithout

believing them8 though he thought it most prudent

in the present case to pretend that he did9 ( plot

0ol9 G1 3

3J The 7istory

contrived by private men is annihilated the moment

it is discovered but a conspiracy formed by kings8

the more it is kno$n the stronger it gro$s9

The c?ar arrived at 2aris in the month of >ay8

1H1H8 to vie$ the beauties of art and nature and

to visit the academies8 public libraries8 the cabinets

of the curiosi and the royal palaces8 $ere not the

only ends of his ourney9 7e made a proposal to

the Duke of Orleans for concluding a treaty8 $hich8

had it taken place8 $ould have completed the great-


56/478

ness of >uscovy9 7is design $as to compromise

matters $ith the 'ing of /$eden8 $ho $ould yield

to him some large provinces8 to deprive the Danes

of the empire of the 6altic /ea8 to $eaken the

+nglish by a civil $ar8 and to make all the trade

of the orth centre in )ussia9 7e had even some

thoughts of setting up /tanislaus afresh against (u-

gustus8 so that the Mre being every$here kindled8

he might have it in his po$er either to Puench or

blo$ it up8 as should be most conducive to his in-

terest9 .ith this vie$ he proposed to the )egent

of 4rance to act as mediator bet$een /$eden and

>uscovy8 and to make a league oQensive and de-

fensive $ith these t$o cro$ns8 and that of /pain9

This treaty8 seemingly so natural and so advanta-

geous to the several nations concerned8 and $hich

$ould have put the balance of po$er in +urope into

their hands8 $as nevertheless reected by the Duke

of Orleans9 ay8 at that very time8 he entered into

engagements of a Puite opposite nature9 7e made

a league $ith the +mperor of *ermany8 and $ith

*eorge8 king of +ngland9 The reasons of state had

so much altered the vie$s and inclinations of all


57/478

of harles II9 3

the princes of +urope8 that the c?ar $as ready to

declare against his old ally8 (ugustus8 and to es-

pouse the cause of harles8 his mortal enemy

$hile 4rance8 in order to oblige the *ermans and

the +nglish8 $as going to make $ar upon the

grandson of &ouis I09 after having so long sup-

ported him against these very enemies8 at a prodi-

gious eFpense of blood and treasure9 (ll that the

c?ar could obtain by these indirect measures $as

to prevail upon the regent to interpose his good

oRces to procure the release of *ort? and

*yllenborg9 7e returned to his o$n dominions

about the end of une8 after having sho$n the

4rench a sight they had never seen before8 an em-

peror travelling for instruction9 6ut the generality

of that people $ere only struck $ith his rude un-

polished manners8 the result of his bad education

$hile the legislator8 the great man8 and the creator

of a ne$ nation8 entirely escaped the notice of these

superMcial observers9

.hat the c?ar sought for in the Duke of Orleans8

he soon found in ardinal (lberoni8 $ho no$ gov-

erned the /panish councils $ith unlimited s$ay9


58/478

(lberoni desired nothing so much as the restora-

tion of the pretender9 This he did both as he $as

minister of /pain $hich had been so ill treated by

the +nglish as he $as a personal enemy to the

Duke of Orleans8 $ho $as leagued $ith +ngland

against /pain and8 in Mne8 as he $as a priest of

that church8 for the sake of $hich the pretender@s

father had so foolishly lost his cro$n9

The Duke of Ormond8 as much beloved in +ng-

land as the Duke of >arlborough $as admired8

3A The 7istory

had left his country at the accession of 'ing

*eorge8 and retired to >adrid9 This nobleman

$as no$ vested $ith full po$ers by the 'ing of

/pain and the pretender and8 accompanied by

one Irnegan8 another native of +ngland8 a man

of Mne address8 and an enterprising spirit8 he $ent

to meet the c?ar in his $ay to >itau in ourland9

7e demanded the 2rincess (nna 2etro$na8 the

c?ar@s daughter8 in marriage for the son of ames

II98 hoping that this alliance $ould the more strong-


59/478

ly attach the c?ar to the interests of that unhappy

prince9 6ut this proposal8 instead of for$arding8

retarded8 at least for some time8 the progress of the

negotiations9 6aron de *ort?8 among his other

proects8 had long set apart this princess for the

Duke of 7olstein8 to $hom8 in eQect8 she $as soon

after married9 The moment he $as informed of

the Duke of Ormond@s proposal8 he became ealous

of its success8 and employed every art to render

it abortive9 7e8 as $ell as ount *yllenborg8 $as

set at liberty in the month of (ugust8 the 'ing of

/$eden not even deigning to oQer the least apology

to the 'ing of +ngland8 nor to eFpress the slightest

disapprobation of his minister@s conduct9

(t the same time8 the +nglish resident and all

his family $ere released at /tockholm8 $here they

had been treated $ith much more severity than

*yllenborg had been at &ondon9

*ort?8 being no$ at liberty8 behaved like an im-

placable enemy8 prompted not only by the po$erful

motives by $hich he had been formerly actuated8

but instigated by a spirit of revenge8 on account of

his late imprisonment9 7e instantly posted a$ay


60/478

of harles II9 3H

to the c?ar8 and8 by his artful insinuations8 obtained

a greater ascendency over that prince than ever9 7e

assured him9 that in less than three months8 he

$ould8 in conunction $ith a single plenipotentiary

from )ussia8 remove every obstacle that retarded

the conclusion of a peace $ith /$eden9 Taking a

map in his hand8 $hich had been dra$n by the c?ar

himself8 and making a line from 0iborg8 all the

$ay to the fro?en sea8 running along the lake &a-

doga8 he undertook to persuade his master to give

up all the country lying to the east$ard of that line8

as $ell as arelia8 Ingria8 and &ivonia9 7e then

hinted at a proposal of marriage bet$een his c?arish

maesty@s daughter and the Duke of 7olstein8 Sat-

tering the c?ar $ith the agreeable hopes that the

duke might possibly be prevailed upon to yield him

his dominions for an ePuivalent8 by $hich acPuisi-

tion he $ould become a member of the empire8 and

that either himself or some of his descendants might

one day obtain the imperial cro$n9 6y these means

he gratiMed the ambitious vie$s of the )ussian

monarch8 and deprived the pretender of all hopes


61/478

of marrying the c?arinian princess8 at the same time

that he opened to him a more tempting proect in

+ngland8 and thus accomplished all his o$n pro-

ects at once9

The c?ar named the isle of (land for holding the

conference bet$een Osterman8 his minister of state8

and 6aron de *ort?9 7e desired the Duke of Or-

mond to return to /pain8 that he might not give too

great cause of oQence to the +nglish8 $ith $hom

he had no intention of coming to an open rupture8

till he should be ready to make the proected in-

3K The 7istory

vasion9 6ut Irnegan8 the duke@s conMdant8 $as al-

lo$ed to stay at /t9 2etersburg8 $here he lived $ith

so much privacy and caution8 that he never came

abroad in the daytime8 nor ever conversed $ith any

of the c?ar@s ministers eFcept in the disguise of a

peasant or Tartar9

Immediately after the Duke of Ormond@s de-

parture8 the c?ar acPuainted the 'ing of +ngland


62/478

$ith the high compliment he had paid him in dis-

missing the greatest man in the pretender@s faction

and 6aron de *ort? returned to /$eden8 Sushed

$ith hopes of success9

*ort? found his master at the head of thirty-Mve

thousand regular troops8 and all the coasts guarded

by the militia9 The king $anted nothing but

money9 6ut the public credit8 as $ell at home as

abroad8 $as entirely eFhausted9 4rance8 $hich had

furnished him $ith some supplies8 during the last

years of &ouis I09 refused to contribute any more

under the regency of the Duke of Orleans8 $ho

entertained vie$s very diQerent from those of &ouis9

/pain promised him some remittances but $as not

yet in a condition to aQord anything considerable9

De *ort? therefore carried a scheme into eFe-

cution $hich he had tried before his ourney to

4rance and 7olland9 This $as to give to copper

the value of silver so that a piece of the former

metal8 $hose intrinsic value $as only a halfpenny8

should8 $hen stamped $ith the king@s mark8 pass

for forty pence as the governors of besieged to$ns

frePuently pay the soldiers and citi?ens in leathern

money8 in eFpectation of being able one day to


63/478

reimburse them in real coin9 This Mctitious kind of

of harles II9 3%

money8 $hich o$es its birth to necessity8 and can

only be rendered current by its being punctually

paid in real specie8 is like bills of eFchange8 the

imaginary value of $hich may easily eFceed the

solid funds that are in a nation9

These eFpedients are of great use in a free coun-

try9 They have often saved a republic8 but seldom8

or never8 fail to ruin a monarchy for8 as the people

soon begin to gro$ suspicious8 the minister is

obliged to break his $ord; the ideal money multi-

plies apace; private men bury their money in the

earth and the $hole machine of government falls

into a confusion $hich is often productive of the

most pernicious consePuences8 as $as but too

plainly eFempliMed in the fate of /$eden9

(t Mrst the 6aron de *ort? issued his ne$ coin

$ith ePual discretion and reserve but8 by the

rapidity of a motion $hich he could not restrain8 he


64/478

$as soon hurried beyond the limits $hich he had

originally prescribed to himself9 (ll kinds of goods

and provisions having risen to an immoderate price8

he $as obliged to increase the Puantity of his cop-

per coin9 6ut the more it $as increased8 the less

$as its value and /$eden8 deluged8 as it $ere8 by

this false money8 set up a general cry against 6aron

de *ort?9 The people8 $ho al$ays regarded their

sovereign $ith a kind of veneration8 could not Mnd

in their hearts to hate him8 and therefore made the

$eight of their resentment fall on a minister8 $ho8

both as a foreigner and chief director of the

Mnances8 $as doubly eFposed to the public odium9

6ut $hat entirely completed his ruin $as a

taF he attempted to impose on the clergy9 The

JE The 7istory

clergy8 $ho are too apt to oin their o$n cause to

that of the /upreme 6eing8 called him an atheist8

because he demanded their money9 /ome of the

ne$ copper coin being stamped $ith the Mgures of

the heathen gods8 they thence took occasion to call


65/478

those pieces the gods of 6aron de *ort?9

To this public odium under $hich he labored8

$as added the ealousy of the ministers the more

implacable in their resentment as their po$er $as

the less9 The king@s sister8 and the prince her

husband8 dreaded him8 as a man attached from his

birth to the Duke of 7olstein8 and might one day

be able to place the cro$n of /$eden on his head9

In a $ord8 he had incurred the hatred of the $hole

nation8 harles alone eFcepted but this general

aversion served only to insure him the friendship

of the king8 $hose maFim it al$ays $as to be the

more inSeFible the more he $as contradicted9 (c-

cordingly8 he no$ relied upon the baron $ith an

almost implicit conMdence gave him absolute

po$er in the interior government of the kingdom

and committed to his care $hatever related to the

negotiations $ith the c?ar8 pressing him above all

things to hasten the conference that $as to be held

in the isle of (land9

(nd8 indeed8 *ort? had no sooner regulated the

Mnances La $ork $hich had hitherto detained him

at /tockholmN than he set out on his ourney for

the place appointed8 in order to Mnish $ith the c?ar@s


66/478

minister the grand scheme he had proected9

The preliminary articles of that alliance $hich

$as $holly to have changed the face of aQairs in

of harles II9 J1

+urope8 $ere found among de *ort?@s papers after

his death8 and $ere as follo$s;

The c?ar $as to keep the $hole of &ivonia8 and

part of Ingria and arelia to himself8 and to restore

the rest to /$eden9 7e $as to oin his eQorts $ith

those of harles II9 in order to restore /tanislaus

to the throne of 2oland8 and to enter that country

$ith eighty thousand )ussians8 to dethrone the very

king in $hose defence he had $aged a $ar of ten

years@ continuance9 7e $as to furnish the 'ing

of /$eden $ith a number of ships suRcient to

transport ten thousand /$edes to +ngland8 and

thirty thousand to *ermany9 The united forces of

2eter and harles $ere to attack the 'ing of +ng-

land in his *erman dominions8 especially in 6remen

and 0erden and $ere like$ise to be employed in


67/478

re-establishing the Duke of 7olstein8 and compel-

ling the 'ing of 2russia to agree to a treaty8 by

$hich he $ould have been deprived of part of those

territories $hich he had sei?ed9 4rom the time that

this alliance $as made8 harles assumed such lofty

airs8 as if his victorious troops8 reinforced by those

of the c?ar8 had already carried all his schemes into

eFecution9 7e rePuired the +mperor of *ermany8

in a peremptory manner8 to fulMl the treaty of

(ltranstadt9 6ut the court of 0ienna $ould hardly

deign to give an ans$er to the proposal of a prince

from $hom she had nothing to fear9

The 'ing of 2oland did not enoy the same tran-

Puillity but sa$ the clouds gathering all around

him9 The 2olish nobility had formed a confederacy

against him and8 ever since his restoration8 he had

been engaged perpetually either in $ars or treaties

JG The 7istory

$ith his subects9 The c?ar8 $ho had no$ become

a dangerous mediator8 had a hundred galleys near

Dant?ic8 and forty thousand men on the frontiers


68/478

of 2oland9 (ll the orth $as rilled $ith ealousy

and apprehension9 4lemming8 of all men in the

$orld the most apt to distrust8 and himself the most

to be distrusted8 $as the Mrst $ho suspected the

designs of the c?ar and the 'ing of /$eden in favor

of /tanislaus9 7e therefore resolved to have this

prince sei?ed in the duchy of DeuF-2onts8 as ames

/obieski had formerly been in /ilesia9 /aissan8 a

4renchman8 one of those restless and enterprising

spirits8 $ho $ander into foreign parts to try their

fortunes8 had lately brought a small number of his

countrymen8 bold and daring like himself8 into the

service of the 'ing of 2oland9 7e imparted a pro-

ect to 4lemming8 by $hich he undertook8 $ith the

assistance of thirty 4rench oRcers8 to sei?e /tan-

islaus in his o$n palace8 and carry him a prisoner

to Dresden9 The proect $as approved9 +nter-

prises of that nature $ere not then uncommon9

/ome of those desperate fello$s $ho are called

bravos in Italy8 had performed similar achieve-

ments in the >ilanese8 during the last $ar bet$een

4rance and *ermany; and8 even since that time8

several 4rench refugees in 7olland had ventured

to penetrate to 0ersailles8 in order to carry oQ the

dauphin8 and actually had sei?ed the person of the

Mrst ePuerry8 almost under the $indo$s of the castle


69/478

$here &ouis I09 resided9

(ccordingly8 /aissan disposed his men and post-

horses in the best manner he could contrive8 in

order to sei?e and carry oQ /tanislaus9 6ut the

of harles II9 J3

enterprise $as discovered the night before it $as

to have been carried into eFecution9 /everal of

the desperadoes saved themselves by Sight8 and the

rest $ere taken prisoners9 They had no right to

eFpect to be treated as prisoners of $ar8 but rather

as common robbers9 /tanislaus8 instead of punish-

ing them as their crime deserved8 contented himself

$ith reproaching them $ith their baseness8 and

even that he did $ith the greatest politeness and

humanity9 ay8 $hat is more8 he gave them money

to defray the eFpenses of their return to 2oland8

and8 by that act of generosity8 plainly sho$ed that

his rival (ugustus had but too much reason to fear

him9

>ean$hile harles set out on a second eFpe-


70/478

dition to or$ay8 in the month of October8 1H1K9

7e had taken all his measures $ith so much pru-

dence and precaution8 that he hoped he should be

able8 in the space of siF months8 to make himself

master of that kingdom9 7e rather chose to go

and conPuer rocks amidst ice and sno$8 in the

depth of $inter $hich kills the animals even in

/$eden $here the cold is less severe8 than to re-

cover his beautiful provinces in *ermany9 These

he eFpected he should soon be able to retake in

consePuence of his alliance $ith the c?ar and8 in

any event8 it $as a much more tempting obect

of ambition to $rest a kingdom from his victorious

foe9

(t the mouth of the river Tistendall8 near the

bay of Denmark8 and bet$een the to$ns of 6ahus

and (nslo8 stands 4rederikshall8 a place of great

strength and importance8 and considered as the key

JJ The 7istory

of the kingdom9 To this to$n harles laid siege8

in the month of December9 The soldiers8 benumbed


71/478

$ith cold8 $ere hardly able to break the ground

$hich $as so much hardened by the frost that it

$as almost as diRcult to pierce it8 as if they had

been opening trenches in a rock9 6ut nothing

could resist the resolution and perseverance of the

/$edes8 $hile they sa$ their king at their head8 and

sharing in all their labors9 ever8 indeed8 did

harles undergo greater fatigues9 7is constitution8

strengthened by eighteen years of severe labor8 $as

hardened to such a degree8 that he slept in the open

Meld in or$ay in the midst of $inter8 covered

only $ith a cloak8 and $ithout the least detriment

to his health9 /everal of the soldiers on duty

dropped dead $ith cold and though the rest $ere

almost fro?en to death8 yet as they sa$ their king

partaking in all their hardships8 they durst not utter

a single $ord of complaint9 7aving heard8 a little

before this eFpedition8 of a certain $oman in /cania8

called oan Dotter8 $ho had lived for several

months8 $ithout any other nourishment than $ater8

he8 $ho had all his life studied to inure himself to

the $orst eFtremes that human nature can support8

resolved to try ho$ long he could fast $ithout

fainting9 (ccordingly he fasted Mve $hole days8

$ithout either eating or drinking and8 on the morn-

ing of the siFth8 rode t$o leagues8 and then alighted


72/478

at the tent of the 2rince of 7esse8 his brother-in-

la$8 $here he ate heartily8 $ithout feeling the least

disorder8 either from his long fast of Mve days or

from the plentiful meal $hich no$ succeeded9

.ith such a body of iron8 inspired by a soul alike

of harles II9 J

enterprising and inSeFible in every condition8 he

could not fail to be formidable to all his neighbors9

The eleventh of December8 being /t9 (ndre$@s

day8 he $ent at nine in the evening to vie$ the

trenches and not Mnding the parallel so far ad-

vanced as he eFpected8 he could not help eFpressing

his surprise and displeasure9 >9 >egret8 a 4rench

engineer8 $ho conducted the siege8 assured him

that the place $ould be taken in eight days9 5.ell

$e shall see85 says the king8 and $ent on $ith the

engineer to survey the $orks9 7e stopped at a

place $here a branch of the trenches formed an

angle $ith the parallel9 7e kneeled on the inner

talus8 and resting his elbo$ on the parapet8 con-

tinued for some time to vie$ the men $ho $ere


73/478

carrying on the trenches by starlight9

ircumstances8 in their o$n nature trivial8 be-

come important $hen they relate to the death of

such a man as harles II9 I must8 therefore8 take

upon me to say8 that the $hole of the conversation8

reported by so many $riters to have passed bet$een

the king and >egret the engineer8 is absolutely

false9 The follo$ing account I can aRrm8 upon the

best authority8 to be the real truth of the matter9

The king stood $ith almost the half of his body

eFposed to a battery of cannon pointed directly

against the angle $here he $as9 7e $as attended

by t$o 4renchmen only one of $hom $as >9

/iPuier8 his aide-de-camp8 a man of courage and

conduct8 $ho had entered into his service in Turkey8

and $as particularly attached to the 2rince of

7esse the other $as this engineer9 The cannon

Mred upon them $ith grape-^hpt8 to $hich the king !

JA The 7istory

as he stood behind them8 $as most eFposed9 (


74/478

little behind them $as ount /ch$erin8 $ho com-

manded the trenches9 .hile /ch$erin $as giving

orders to ount 2osse8 a captain of the guards8 and

to one ulbert8 his aide-de-camp8 /iPuier and >e-

gret sa$ the king fall upon the parapet8 $ith a deep

sigh9 They ran to him but he $as already dead9

( ball of half a pound had struck him on the right

temple8 and made a hole suRcient to receive three

Mngers at once9 7is head reclined upon the para-

pet his left eye beaten in8 and the right one en-

tirely out of its socket9 Though he eFpired the

moment he received the $ound8 yet8 by a kind of

instinctive motion8 he had grasped the hilt of his

s$ord in his hand8 and still lay in that posture9 (t

sight of this shocking spectacle8 >egret8 a man of

singular turn of mind8 and of great indiQerence of

temper8 said8 5ome8 gentlemen8 the farce is ended8

let us no$ go to supper95 /iPuier ran immediately

and informed ount /ch$erin of $hat had hap-

pened9 They all agreed to conceal the ne$s of his

death from the soldiers8 till such time as the 2rince

of 7esse should be acPuainted $ith it9 The body

$as $rapped up in a gray cloak9 /iPuier put his hat

and $ig on the king@s head and in this condition

harles $as carried8 under the name of one aptain

arlsberg8 through the midst of his troops8 $ho


75/478

thus sa$ their dead king pass them $ithout ever

dreaming that it $as his maesty9

The prince gave instant orders that no one

should stir out of the camp8 and that all the passes

to /$eden should be strictly guarded8 that so he

might have time to take the necessary measures for

of harles II9 JH

placing the cro$n on his $ife@s head8 and to eFclude

the Duke of 7olstein8 $ho might lay claim to it9

Thus fell harles II9 'ing of /$eden8 at the

age of thirty-siF years and a half8 after having eF-

perienced all the grandeur of prosperity8 and all the

hardships of adversity8 $ithout being either soft-

ened by the one8 or the least disturbed by the other9

(lmost all his actions8 even those of his private

life8 border on the marvellous9 2erhaps he $as the

only man8 most certainly he $as the only king8 that

ever lived $ithout failings9 7e carried all the vir-

tues of the hero to such an eFcess as renders them

no less dangerous than the opposite vices9 7is reso-


76/478

lution8 hardened into obstinacy8 occasioned his mis-

fortunes in the =kraine8 and detained him Mve years

in Turkey9 7is liberality8 degenerating into pro-

fusion8 ruined /$eden9 7is courage8 pushed the

length of temerity8 $as the cause of his death9 (nd8

during the last years of his reign8 the means he

employed to support his authority8 diQered little

from tyranny9 7is great Pualities8 any one of $hich

$ould have been suRcient to immortali?e another

prince8 proved pernicious to his country9 7e never

$as the aggressor but8 in taking vengeance on

those $ho had inured him8 his resentment got the

better of his prudence9 7e $as the Mrst man $ho

ever aspired to the title of conPueror8 $ithout the

least desire of enlarging his dominions9 7is only

end in subduing kingdoms $as to have the pleasure

of giving them a$ay9 7is passion for glory8 for

$ar8 and revenge8 prevented him from being a good

politician a Puality8 $ithout $hich the $orld had

never before seen anyone a conPueror9 6efore a

JK The 7istory

battle8 and after a victory8 he $as modest and


77/478

humble and after a defeat8 Mrm and undaunted9

/evere to himself as $ell as to others8 he too little

regarded either his o$n life and labors8 or those

of his subects; an eFtraordinary rather than a

great man8 and more $orthy to be admired than

imitated9 4rom the history of his life ho$ever8 suc-

ceeding kings may learn that a Puiet and happy

government is inMnitely preferable to so much

glory9

harles II9 $as of tall stature and portly Mg-

ure he had a Mne forehead8 large blue eyes full of

s$eetness8 and a handsome nose9 6ut the lo$er

part of his face $as disagreeable8 and too often

disMgured by a frePuent laugh8 $hich scarcely

opened his lips and as to hair and beard8 he had

hardly any at all9 ( profound silence reigned at

his table9 ot$ithstanding the inSeFible obstinacy

of his temper8 he al$ays retained that bashfulness

$hich goes by the name of false modesty9 7e $as

but little PualiMed to make a Mgure in conversation8

because8 having addicted himself entirely to $ar

and action8 he $as utterly unacPuainted $ith the

pleasures of society9 Till the time of his residence

among the Turks8 $hich furnished him $ith a good

deal of leisure8 he had read nothing but 5aesar@s


78/478

ommentaries5 and the 57istory of (leFander95 It

is true he had $ritten some remarks on the art of

$ar8 and particularly on his o$n campaigns from

1HEE to 1HE%9 This he o$ned to the hevalier de

4olard8 but said that the manuscript had been lost

in the unfortunate battle of 2oltava9 /ome people

$ould make us believe that harles $as a good

of harles II J%

mathematician9 That he $as possessed of great

depth and penetration of thought8 cannot be denied

but the arguments they produce to prove his

kno$ledge of mathematics are by no means con-

clusive9 7e $anted to alter the method of counting

by tens8 and to substitute in its place the number

siFty-four8 because that number contains both a

sPuare and a cube8 and being divided by t$o is

reducible to a unit9 This8 if it proves anything8 only

sho$s that he al$ays delighted in $hat $as diRcult

and eFtraordinary9

.ith regard to his religion8 though the senti-

ments of a prince ought to have no inSuence on


79/478

other men8 and though the opinion of a monarch

so illiterate as harles8 is of little consePuence in

these matters8 yet in this8 as $ell as in other partic-

ulars8 $e must gratify the curiosity of mankind8 $ho

are anFious to kno$ $hatever relates to a prince of

his character9 I am informed8 by the gentleman

$ho has furnished me $ith the greatest part of the

materials $hich compose this history8 that harles

II9 $as a serious &utheran till the year 1HEH9

7appening then to be at &eipsic8 he there met

$ith the famous philosopher &eibnit?8 a man $ho

thought and spoke $ith ePual freedom8 and had

already instilled his notions into more princes than

one9 I cannot believe8 $hat is commonly reported8

that harles II9 conceived an indiQerence for

&utheranism from the conversation of this philos-

opher8 $ho never had the honor to talk $ith him

above a Puarter of an hour but I have been told by

>9 4abricius8 $ho lived $ith him in great famil-

iarity for seven years successively8 that having seen8

0ol9 G1

E The 7istory


80/478

during his abode among the Turks8 such an inMnite

variety of religions8 he became more laF in his prin-

ciples9 This fact is like$ise conMrmed by >otraye

in his voyages9 The same too is the opinion of the

ount de roissy8 $ho has often told me8 that of

all his old principles8 harles retained none but that

of absolute predestination8 a doctrine that favored

his courage8 and ustiMed his temerity9 The c?ar

$as of much the same $ay of thinking8 $ith regard

to fate and religion but talked of these subects

more frePuently8 as indeed he did of everything else8

$ith his favorites8 in a very familiar manner for

he had this advantage over harles8 that he $as

a good philosopher and an eloPuent speaker9

7ere I cannot help taking notice of a most un-

charitable suspicion8 too readily embraced by the

$eak and credulous8 and too industriously propa-

gated by the malicious and ill-natured8 to $it8 that

the death of princes is al$ays o$ing to poison or

assassination9 It $as then the current report in

*ermany8 that >9 /iPuier $as the man $ho killed

the 'ing of /$eden9 That brave oRcer $as long

grieved at this inurious aspersion; and8 as he $as

one day talking to me on the subect; 5I might

have killed the 'ing of /$eden85 said he8 5but8 had


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I been capable of forming such a barbarous reso-

lution8 so great $as my veneration for that illus-

trious hero8 that I could not have had the courage

to carry it into eFecution95

I kno$8 indeed8 that /iPuier himself gave occa-

sion to this heavy charge8 $hich8 even to this day8

voltaire xxi

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