 Chapter 11 of Famous Men of Modern Times, this is a LibriVox recording. All LibriVox recordings are in the public domain. For more information or to volunteer, please visit LibriVox.org. Your reader is Alec Datesman. Famous Men of Modern Times by John H. Horan and A. B. Poland. Chapter 11, Henry of Navarre, 1553 to 1610. In the year 1569, the Catholics of France and the Hugennots, or French Protestants, were engaged in a bitter and bloody war. Although religion played a great part in the war, it was really more of a political than a religious struggle. In the early summer of that year, the Catholics won a great victory near the town of Zharnak. Among those who fell in the battle was the great Protestant leader, Louis, Prince of Khande. The remnant of the Protestant army lay in camp near the castle of Khandeak. They were sad and dispirited. Suddenly trumpets and drums were heard in the distance, and a sentry announced that a band of soldiers was approaching. It was soon learned that they were Hugennots, and the defeated Protestants were very glad to see them. They proved to be the escort of Jean Daubert, Queen of Bern, a little kingdom in the extreme southwest of France. The people over whom she ruled were Protestants, and as soon as she heard of the death of Khande, she hastened to the Protestant camp. The army was drawn up to receive her. Stepping forward and holding her son by the hand, she said, My friends, our cause has not died with the Prince of Khande. We have still left us brave captains. I offer to you as leader, Khande's nephew, my son, the Prince of Navarre. With loud shouts of, Long live Henry, the Prince of Navarre! The soldiers had once elected him as their commander-in-chief. Prince Henry was the son of Anthony of Bourbon and Queen Jean. He was born in 1553, and therefore was but sixteen years old when called to fill this high position. He was too young to lead the troops in battle, but he was ready to learn how to do so. The brave Admiral Colini agreed to instruct him and to command the Protestant forces until he was able to do so. Henry was a sturdy and well-grown lad. His life had been a simple one. His principal food had been the brown bread, the chestnuts, and such other plain fare, as was eaten by the peasant boys who lived among the mountains of his mother's kingdom. He would have been glad to go out to battle at once, but the wise Colini would not permit him. Henry was very fond of reading. His favorite books were those containing the stories of the great conquerors of former times. He also read, many times over, the story of the good night by-yard, the night without fear and without reproach, who had lived not very long before. When not yet twenty years old, Henry was married to Margaret of Valois, sister of the King of France. It was hoped that this marriage would bring peace to the country. It failed to do so, and the war went on for thirty years. Only a few days after the wedding bells had rung so joyously at Henry's marriage, a very sad event took place which filled Europe with horror. At about four o'clock, one August morning, in the year 1572, the great bell on the Palace of Justice awakened the people of Paris, and the soldiers of the Catholic Party began to attack the Huguenots. When news of this massacre reached other French cities, similar attacks were made, and a great many Protestants were slain. The number has been variously estimated. Some authorities stating that about a thousand in all were killed, others that the number reached a hundred thousand. This was called the Massacre of Saint Bartholomew, because it happened on Saint Bartholomew's day. The young Prince Henry was kept a prisoner in the King's Palace for nearly four years. Then he escaped, and again became the leader of the Huguenots. He was so anxious for the restoration of peace, that he sent to the Duke of Guise, who commanded the Catholic army, this challenge. I offer to end the quarrel. Either I will fight with you alone, or two on our side will fight with two on yours, or ten with ten, or whatever number you please, so as to stop the shedding of blood and the misery of the poor. But the Duke would not accept the challenge, and the war went on. Henry III, King of France, was a very weak and foolish man, so the Duke of Guise determined to dethrone him and make himself King. As soon as King Henry learned of this, he sent an assassin to murder the Duke. When he heard that Guise was dead, the King said to his mother, who was very ill, how do you feel? Better, she answered, so do I, said the King. This morning I have become King of France again. The King of Paris is dead. The friends of the murdered Duke at once took up arms against King Henry, and the Sorbonne, the great religious authority in Paris, declared that the people were no longer bound to obey him. Then Henry III turned for help to his cousin, Henry of Navarre. They agreed to fight side by side against those who had revolted, and many of the Catholics joined with the Huguenots in order to bring about peace. The rebels attacked King Henry near the city of Tours, but the Prince of Navarre marched to his aid, and the rebel leader left the field in great haste. As the rebels had failed to conquer the French King in battle, they determined to have him murdered. They found a man to carry out their plot. One morning he gained admission to the King's presence by saying that he desired to see him on important business. As soon as they were left alone, the murderer handed Henry a letter, and while the King was reading it, he drew a knife from his sleeve and plunged it into his body. A messenger was sent in haste to tell Henry of Navarre, as he entered the King's room the tears gushed from his eyes, and he kissed the dying man with a great tenderness. Many of the nobility of France had, by this time, come in to see their dying ruler. King Henry begged them to acknowledge Henry of Navarre as his lawful successor, and all present agreed to do so. So the Prince of Navarre became King of France, with the title of Henry IV. The rebels were not satisfied with this arrangement, since the law of the kingdom declared that no man could be king unless he were a Catholic. They demanded that Colonel de Bourbon, Henry's uncle, should be made king with the title of Charles I. Preparations were made for a great battle near the town of Arc. During the night, the forces of the new king had dug trenches and thrown up earthworks so as to give them a greater advantage over the enemy. Next morning, a rebel sentry, who had been captured during the night, was brought before him. As they talked together, the man said, we are about to attack you with 30,000 foot and 10,000 horse. Where are your forces? Oh, said the king, you do not see them all. You do not count the good God and the good right, but they are ever with me. A bloody battle followed in which the king gained a wonderful victory. Soon after this he was joined by a body of English and Scotch soldiers sent him by Queen Elizabeth of England, and his army was thus increased to over 10,000 men. One day a carrier pigeon flew into the camp. It brought a strip of paper enclosed in a quill. On the paper were written the words come, come, come. The king at once understood that he was needed at Paris for that city was now in the hands of the rebels. He therefore hastened to its relief. The king was not yet prepared to capture Paris, but he attacked many other cities and about 20 of them opened their gates and received him as their sovereign. Then followed the famous battle of Ivory in which the cannon, the colors and nearly all the supplies of the rebels fell into the king's hands. On the rebel side the loss and killed, wounded and captured was over 11,000, while the king lost about 500 men. Very soon after the battle of Ivory, Colonel de Bourbon died and about the same time the king laid siege to Paris which was still in the hands of the enemy. Before closing up all the avenues of approach to Paris he wrote a letter to the governor of the city in which he said, I am anxious for peace. I love my city of Paris. She is my eldest daughter and I wish to do her more favors than she asks. But it was all in vain and the siege went on. King Henry's army prevented the carrying of food into the city and the people soon began to suffer. Bread gave out and the people were glad to eat rats, cats, dogs, horses or anything else they could find to prevent starvation. King Henry allowed the women and children to leave the city. He even permitted supplies to pass through his lines to relieve the besieged saying as he did so, I do not wish to be king of the dead. But just as Paris was on the point of surrendering, the Duke of Parma, one of the ablest generals in the service of Philip II of Spain arrived before Paris with a large Spanish army and compelled Henry to raise the siege. The king now felt that the only way in which he could give peace to his people was by uniting himself with the Catholic church and this he determined to do. At eight o'clock on the morning of July 23rd, 1593, robed in white satin, he marched with a bodyguard of soldiers to the church of St. Dennis near Paris. At the door of the church he was met by a cardinal, an archbishop, nine bishops and a large number of clergy and monks. Who are you? asked the archbishop. The king, replied Henry, what do you wish was the archbishop's next inquiry? To this the king applied to be received into the Catholic church. Then the king knelt and declared his belief, after which the archbishop forgave and then formally received him. After this ceremony Henry was anointed at Charter and thus declared sovereign of the whole kingdom. Henry's great desire now was to make his people prosperous. He once said, I wish every peasant in France to have a fowl in the pot every Sunday. To avoid as far as possible all further wars of this religion he signed and published the famous edict of Nantes in 1595. The royal decree gave the Protestants equal rights with the Catholics. The government agreed to pay the salaries of their clergy as well as those of the Catholics. The Protestant children were allowed to enter the universities and colleges, their sick were received into the hospitals and two great religious parties of the nation were placed upon a common footing. The last years of King Henry IV were years of peace and prosperity. The farmers and trades people were happy. The heavy debt which had lain for so many years upon France was entirely removed and the taxes were reduced to a rate lower than ever before. In the midst of all this growing sense of security and comfort all France was suddenly shocked and distressed beyond measure. A madman by the name of Ravirac stabbed the king to the heart and the career of the noble and generous Henry of Navarre was at an end. End of Chapter 11 Read by Alec Datesman Brooklyn, New York Chapter 12 Of Famous Men of Modern Times This is a LibriVox recording. All LibriVox recordings are in the public domain. For more information or to volunteer please visit LibriVox.org Your reader is Alec Datesman Famous Men of Modern Times John H. Horan and A.B. Poland Chapter 12 Wallenstein 1583-1634 A bloody religious war broke out in Germany in 1618 and as it lasted until 1648 it is called the Thirty Years War. This war was one of the most dreadful that ever raged in Europe. It was a struggle between the Catholic and Protestant parties like that in France which we have read about in the story of Henry of Navarre. Many Catholics and Protestants opposed each other because they wished to defend their belief as well as to convert others to it. But many of the princes and nobles used the disturbed religious conditions to increase their power. Thus religion and politics were closely united and the lines were drawn between two great parties, the Catholic League and the Evangelical Union. Therefore, all through those Thirty Years the Catholics and the Protestants of Germany strove with all their might to overcome and destroy one another. Of course this great war required great leaders. The ablest general on the Catholic side was Albrecht von Wallenstein who was born in Bohemia in 1583. His parents were Protestants. They died while he was yet a child and he was brought up by an uncle who the uncle sent him for his early education to the Jesuit College at Olmutz and afterward to the universities of Bologna and Padua. While at the Jesuit College Wallenstein became a Catholic and this changed his whole career. Wallenstein inherited from his father a large estate and an immense sum of money. By his marriage with an aged widow his wealth was nearly doubled and when his uncle died and left him his property Wallenstein became one of the richest men of his day. His aged wife did not live long after their marriage and he took for his second wife a daughter of the Count of Harach. By this second marriage his wealth was again increased and through his wife's father he gained much influence and many friends at the court of Vienna. After completing his education he traveled through Italy, Spain, France and Holland. He served for a short time in Hungary in the former Rudolf who was then at war with the Turks but as yet he did not display any marked ability as a soldier. With the part of his wealth he purchased from the Emperor of Austria a vast territory in Bohemia and Moravia at the cost of over 7 million Florence. To this territory he gave the name of Freeland that is Land of Peace. The Emperor gave him the title of Duke of Freeland and he managed his Duchy wisely and well. He was so faithfully administered in the courts that all men had their rights and the farmers, minors and manufacturers were properly cared for. When the 30 years war broke out, Wallenstein raised a regiment of dragoons to aid the cause of the Emperor. He was also the means of saving the money in the Imperial treasury from falling into the hands of the enemy. As Wallenstein came more fully into notice his ambition steadily increased. In all that he did to his own advantage. After the war had been going on for some time the Emperor found himself sorely in need of a better army. Then Wallenstein called upon him and said my liege, you shall have such an army as you require. I myself will bear the expense of equipping it. I make, however, this condition that I shall have the right to compel the people in any part of the empire where my troops may be fighting to supply them with provisions. And to this condition the Emperor agreed. Wallenstein soon made for himself a reputation as a great commander. There were plenty of men in Germany who were ready to fight for pay and plunder. And he therefore soon raised a force of over 30,000 soldiers. He himself went with them to the front. During the first two years Wallenstein and his men were everywhere successful. But at length they met with a severe check. They had laid siege to a large commercial city called Straussund. This was one of the wealthiest ports on the Baltic. It exported a great deal of grain and other produce, and vessels flying its flag were seen in every harbor of Europe. Wallenstein determined to capture Straussund. His soldiers knew that if he succeeded they would get a vast amount of plunder and an abundance of provisions for their future use. Wallenstein had more in mind than that. He planned to turn the merchant vessels of Straussund into battleships and thus secure a fleet which would enable him to carry on the war by sea as well as by land. He would then attack the other great ports of Germany such as Lubeck, Hamburg and Bremen. All these ports had large fleets of merchant ships. He planned that after taking these he would make his navy the largest in the world. He even dreamed of capturing the ships of England, Sweden and the Netherlands and thus making himself master of the sea. It was with these thoughts in his mind that Wallenstein laid siege to the great port of Straussund. He swore that he would capture it even if he found it to be fastened to heaven with chains of gold. But Straussund was well supplied with provisions and for eleven weeks the brave citizens repelled his attacks. Wallenstein's men began to suffer for lack of food and at last the great commander was forced to abandon the siege. Every year a festival of rejoicing is still held in Straussund to commemorate the day on which Wallenstein and his starving army retreated, cold and angry, from before its walls. Wallenstein had won so many victories that some of those who fought on his side had become jealous of him. As soon therefore as he met with this great reverse at Straussund his enemies persuaded the emperor to take the command of the army away from him. They made the emperor believe that he was a very dangerous man and that with his Lord army which had grown very fond of him he meant to rule all Germany and lord it over every prince and Duke the emperor at once wrote him a letter ordering him to give up his command although greatly surprised Wallenstein took his dismissal in silence he bade farewell to his troops and went to live quietly in the capital of his duchy. Not long after Wallenstein had left the army the emperor found that he had made a mistake. Instead of hearing of victory after victory he now received news of one defeat after another. His second best general was fatally wounded and he had no one like Wallenstein to put in command of the army. After suffering a number of disastrous defeats the emperor sent to Wallenstein and begged him to take command once more he gave him permission to choose his own officers and to carry on the war just as he thought best. He also promised that in the future no one should interfere with him. On these terms Wallenstein again accepted the emperor's offer and was soon back in the field at the head of an army of 40,000 men. By this time however a greater general than even Wallenstein had become the leader of the Protestant forces. This was the famous Gustavus Adolphus, king of Sweden whose bravery had already been shown on many a bloody field. The two commanders and their armies met near a place called Lutsen in Saxony and there a fearful battle was fought. In this battle Gustavus lost his life but his army fought on nobly and won the day. Victory at Lutsen is always spoken of as the greatest victory of the 30 years war. When Wallenstein found that the Protestant army had won the battle in spite of the loss of its commander he became greatly troubled and scarcely knew what to do. He seemed afraid to meet such an army again. He doubtless saw that it was useless to continue the war and hoped that the emperor would make terms to the Protestants and so establish peace. Wallenstein's enemies again appeared with the emperor with the old story that he was simply fighting for himself and was determined to make himself ruler over the entire nation. Strange as it may seem the emperor again believed them. He went so far as to call Wallenstein a traitor and he caused them to be publicly disgraced and again removed from command. With a guard of about a thousand men and accompanied by several of his leading officers Wallenstein left the camp and once more started for his home. Those who accompanied him were his faithful friends but it was not so. Four of the men whom he thus trusted had already agreed to assassinate him. Having first murdered his real friends they hurried to the house where Wallenstein was staying broke into his room and killed him as he was retiring to rest. It is said that for this shocking crime the murderers were handsomely rewarded by the emperor. Wallenstein ranks as one of the world's greatest soldiers rather than as one of the heroes. His work was a hindrance rather than a help to human progress and this it is which so largely dims his fame. End of Chapter 12 Read by Alec Datesman, Brooklyn, New York Chapter 13 Of Famous Men of Modern Times This is a LibriVox recording All LibriVox recordings are in the public domain. For more information or to volunteer please visit LibriVox.org Your reader is Alec Datesman Famous Men of Modern Times by John H. Haran and A.B. Poland Chapter 13 Gustavus Adapus 1594-1632 In the year 1594 a child was born in the Royal Palace of Stockholm who was destined to have great influence upon the history of modern Europe. He was the son of Charles IX, King of Sweden, and was a grandson of the famous hero Gustavus Vassa. He was given the name of Gustavus Adapus. As soon as he was old enough to begin his education, he was provided with the best of teachers. He soon learned to speak Latin, Greek, German, Dutch, French and Italian, but before he was 18 his studies were brought to an end by the death of his father. He was at once King of Sweden. Gustavus had been carefully instructed in athletics, especially in riding, fencing and military drill. He was a boy of muscle as well as of mind and he soon proved the value of both. At the time of his father's death Sweden was at war with Denmark. The Danes had captured the two most important fortresses of Sweden. Gustavus was determined to win them back and he continued the war with great vigor. A few months after his accession the Danes sent a fleet of 36 ships against Stockholm. But Gustavus, marching night and day, led his army to a point from which he could attack the Danish fleet with advantage. A storm also hindered the Danes from landing and their returned home disappointed. When the king of Denmark heard of these rapid marches and found that he had no mere boy to contend with he consented to a treaty of peace by which Sweden regained one of her fortresses and was permitted to buy back the other. From 1614 to 1617 Gustavus was at war with Russia to recover the pay due to Swedish soldiers which his father had sent to Russia a few years before. In that war he took from Russia the two provinces of Karelia and Ingria. These provinces remained in the possession of Sweden for more than a hundred years serving as a great barrier between Russia and the Baltic Sea. Even the land on which St. Petersburg now stands of the Swedes and at the close of the war Gustavus declared the enemy cannot now launch a boat on the Baltic without our permission. When Gustavus came to the throne Sweden was at war also with Poland. The cause of the war was this. Charles IX the father of Gustavus was not the true heir to the Swedish crown it belonged by right to Sigismund king of Poland. Sigismund had tried to take the crown of Sweden from Charles and he now tried to take it from Gustavus but Gustavus won a great victory over Sigismund and forced him to abandon his claim to the throne and to make peace which was of great advantage to Sweden. Ten years before the birth of Gustavus a new star had suddenly appeared in the northern skies of Europe and people thought that wonders in the heavens had much to do with the events upon the earth. The new star rapidly became one of the brightest in the firmament. It could be seen by men with keen eyes even in the daytime but it soon began to lose its brilliancy and in about a year and a half it disappeared entirely. When Gustavus Adolphus startled Europe by his brilliant victories over Denmark Russia and Poland men began to believe that the wonderful star foreshadowed the wonderful boy king of Sweden. Some however began to speak of him as the snow king and declared that he would soon melt. Finally they came to think of him rather as one of the old Scandinavian war gods and they found that he was equal to greater tasks than those he had already accomplished. The empire of Germany was, at that time, divided against itself. The Thirty Years' War was raging. The grain fields were trampled down by marching troops. Towns were besieged and burned. Innocent people were destroyed by thousands. Two great generals Wallenstein and Tilly were filling the empire with horrors. In 1631 the city of Magdeburg was taken by Tilly. Its little garrison of 2400 men had made a noble defense but Tilly had no respect for their bravery. As soon as the city fell into his hands he put these brave soldiers to death and during the next two days his soldiers pillaged the city and slaughtered more than 20,000 of the inhabitants. All Europe was horrified. Gustavus Adolphus gathered an army of 13,000 chosen men and at once invaded Saxony. On the outskirts of the little town of Breitenfeld, not far from Leipzig, Gustavus met the inhuman Tilly and defeated him in battle. The people of Saxony were wild with delight. They gladly opened the gates of their cities to welcome the conqueror of the dreaded Tilly. Thousands flocked to the standard of Gustavus and his army was soon more than four times as large as when he had left Sweden. With this large body of fresh troops at his command, Gustavus determined to follow the German army which had retreated into Bavaria. Having overtaken the Germans he had once put his army into line and began the attack. In the desperate battle which ensued Tilly was mortally wounded and he died as he was being carried from the field. It was at this time that the emperor recalled Wallenstein and again placed him in command of the German army as we have read in the previous story. It was not long before Gustavus and Wallenstein found themselves face to face upon the field of combat. They met in battle near Lutsen in Saxony to which place Gustavus had returned on account of the large number of Saxons in his army. During the morning a thick fog hung over the field and the fighting did not begin until nearly noon. Then as the skies cleared the king and his army approached the German lines singing Luther's beautiful hymn A Mighty Fortress is Our God. As they ceased singing Gustavus waved his sword above his head and cried forward in God's name and the battle began. In one particular Gustavus was most imprudent. A wound received sometime before made it painful for him to wear a breast plate and so he let his troops into the engagement wearing a common writing coat. Early in the afternoon his arm was pierced by a ball from a pistol and this probably severed an artery. For a time he concealed his wound and continued to encourage his men but he grew faint from loss of blood and finally after the princes riding near him cousin lead me out of this tumult I am hurt. As they turned a musket ball struck the king in the back and he fell to the ground dying. Some of Wallenstein's men wrote up and inquired his name I am Sweden's king he replied I am sealing the religion and the liberty of the German nation with my blood. When the troops of Gustavus learned of his death they attacked the enemy with such fury that Wallenstein was quickly defeated and he won the battle although he lost his life. Suddenly the star in the north had become the most brilliant in the heavens and as suddenly its light was quenched the snow king had melted at last. But a great work had been done. Gustavus and his brave band of Swedes had inspired half a continent with hope and courage. His splendid victories also did much to crush the tyrannical power of Germany and the good which this great man accomplished has had much to do with the spreading of religious poverty over Europe. After the battle was over and just as Twilight was gathering the body of the hero was carried into the little church nearby and laid before the altar. The soldiers, still dressed in their armor, were the chief mourners and a village schoolmaster read the simple service for the dead. Next morning the body wasn't bombed and the soldiers carried it back to Stockholm. There it was laid to rest in the church of Ritterholm which contains the royal tombs and where many others of the greatest and best men of Sweden are buried. End of Chapter 13 Read by Alec Datesman Brooklyn, New York Cardinal Richelieu 1585-1642 While Valenstein on the one side and Gustavus Adolphus on the other were fighting the battles of the 30 years war in Germany, a similar religious war was going on in France. Louis XIII and his famous Prime Minister Richelieu were fighting with the Huguenots or Protestants of France. Louis sat on the throne but the real ruler of France was Cardinal Richelieu. The full name of the Cardinal was Armand Richelieu, Richelieu being the name of his father's estate upon which in 1585 Armand was born. When he was 22 he entered the ministry and soon became a bishop. His people were mostly poor and Richelieu felt that there was a grander career before him than to remain their bishop. He determined to make something of himself and to be the equal of any nobleman in the kingdom. There was only one way in which he could do this. That was by becoming a politician. His ambition was to become a leader of men. In Richelieu's time there was an assembly in France called the States General. It was composed of delegates who represented the nobles, the clergy and the commons, the three great classes into which the nation was divided. But the States General had no real power. It did not, like our Congress, make laws. It could only petition the king. The delegates presented addresses to his majesty, telling him of any trouble in the kingdom and begging him to remedy it. Richelieu, being a bishop, was a member of the States General, and although he was one of the youngest, perhaps the very youngest of the bishops, he got himself chosen as the orator who should deliver the address of the clergy. This gave him a good opportunity to win the favor of Louis XIII's mother, the famous Merida Medici, who was acting as regent of the kingdom until he became of age. The young orator could not say enough in her praise, and she naturally took a liking to him. About a year after his oration at the meeting of the States General, Richelieu was invited by the queen mother to become a member of the Council of State. He remained in the Council, however, only a short time, for a quarrel arose between the king and his mother, and Richelieu retired from office. Soon, however, the death of Louis, a favorite minister of Louis, gave him the opportunity to return to Paris. He again took a position under the king, and became the most valuable officer that Louis ever had. When Henry of Navarre granted the Huguenots the celebrated Edict of Nantes, the French people generally hoped that the religious troubles in France were forever ended. But unfortunately this was not the case. In 1621 some of the Huguenots held a great meeting at La Rochelle, which was their richest city, and there was a kind of declaration of independence. The king of France had several fortresses in that part of the country. One of these, called Saint Louis, commanded La Rochelle. King Louis considered that he had a right to maintain fortresses anywhere in France, but the Huguenots insisted that the fortress of Saint Louis should be demolished. The king, instead of pulling it down, made it stronger. The Huguenots then did a very unwise thing. In 1622 they rose in a general revolt and made an attack on some of the king's war vessels and captured them. Richelieu, however, managed to put down the revolt. Two years later the English made war upon France and again the Huguenots revolted. Richelieu then declared that their power must be destroyed. So with an army of 25,000 men he marched to La Rochelle and besieged it. The city was well protected. On the land side were vast swamps through which an army could neither march nor drag siege guns. An attack might have been made by sea, but at that time the king had no navy. To prevent food being taken into the city across the marches was easy, but the only way to prevent its going in by ships was to close the harbor. To do this a great stone dike a mile long was built across the channel that led to the city. Richelieu paid his men twice ordinary wages and in that way, although it was winter, he succeeded in getting the work done. The harbor was thus practically closed. Food soon became scarce and great suffering prevailed in La Rochelle. But no one thought of surrender. The women were just as determined to hold out as were the men. Months passed and still the siege went on. The starving citizens hoped every day to see an English fleet come to their aid, and an English fleet did come. When the English commander learned of the great dike that Richelieu had built, he was afraid to approach it lest his ships should be wrecked. He therefore sailed away without firing a gun. At the close of the summer the besieged were obliged to eat horses, dogs, and cats. It is said that they boiled the skins of these animals and even boiled old leather, trying to make it fit for food. In September a second English fleet attempted to enter the harbor, but by this time Richelieu had equipped a number of large war vessels and the English met with determined resistance. A storm damaged many of their vessels and the battered fleet was forced to sail back to England. By this time one half of the population had died and of those left few were strong enough to do military duty. At length, after a siege of fifteen months, La Rochelle surrendered and the king made a triumphal entry into the city. The fortifications were destroyed and the power of the Huguenot nobles was forever at an end. Richelieu compelled the nobles to admit that Louis was master of France. Many of them, however, were extremely angry at the loss of their power and conspiracies against the life of Richelieu were more than once formed. But he always managed to find out about them and to punish those engaged in them. Many of the conspirators were executed and thus Richelieu's power was actually increased instead of destroyed. It should be said that though Richelieu destroyed the fortresses of the Huguenots, he was not unfair to them about their religion. He was a god according to their own consciences, for he was wise enough to know that people cannot be forced to worship in ways they do not like. While Richelieu wished the king of France to be strong, he wished his neighbor, the emperor of Germany, to be weak. So in the same year in which he had broken down the power of the Protestant nobles, he actually gave help to the Protestant princes of Germany who were fighting against the emperor just as the Huguenots had fought Gustavus Adolphus to lead his army of Swedes against the emperor, but he paid large sums of money to him for the support of his troops. Thus the great victories of Gustavus Adolphus, which were so valuable to the German Protestants, were one in part by soldiers paid and fed by Richelieu and the king of France. Richelieu saw that if the emperor of Germany should overcome the Protestant princes and make himself head of the whole country and as absolute as Richelieu had been, Germany would be a more powerful country than France. Then Germany might take to herself some of the territory of France. Richelieu fought the Protestants in France to make France united and strong. He paid and fed the Protestant armies in Germany to keep Germany divided and weak. While Richelieu was prime minister of France, the English and Dutch were planting colonies in America and commerce in fish and furs which were brought from the new world to be profitable. Richelieu desired France to be the equal of England as a colonizing and commercial nation. He therefore gave a charter to the company of New France as Canada was often called. He granted the company the sole right to collect furs in America and the sole right to sell them in France. In return the company was required within 15 years to land at least 4,000 colonists in Canada. To protect trading vessels from the west of the seas, to defend the coast of France and to protect her colonies, Richelieu saw that a navy was required. He created the navy of France. When Louis XIII came to the throne the country had not a single warship. When he died the French navy consisted of 20 men of war and 80 smaller vessels. Long before Richelieu died he had accomplished the object of his life. He had made the king of France an absolute monarch and was the king. Valenstein had desired to accomplish the same thing in Germany but he had miserably failed. Charles I was attempting to make his power absolute in England but the English people rebelled against him. Many years after the death of Richelieu the Tsar Peter the Great visited Paris. As he stood before the splendid marble monument of Richelieu he exclaimed Thou great man I would have given thee one half of my own. Chapter 15 A famous men of modern times. This is a LibriVox recording. Our LibriVox recordings are in the public domain. For more information or to volunteer please visit LibriVox.org Famous men of modern times by John H. Horan and A.B. Poland. Chapter 15 1564-1642 Sometime in the year 1583 repairs were going on in the cathedral of an old Italian city called Pisa and accidentally a workman had set swinging a great lamp which was suspended from the high roof of the building. People came into the church and knelt for a few minutes to say their prayers and then went out without noticing that the lamp kept on swinging a young man about 18 years of age came into the church he noticed the swinging lamp and he also thought that it took just the same time to make each of its swings. With his right hand he clasped his left wrist he knew that the times between pulse beats are practically equal so feeling his pulse and watching the swinging lamp he was trying to measure the one by the other. The young man who noticed the swinging lamp was Galileo and he found that its motions were equal in duration. Before his time no pendulum had ever swung in a clock. No clock with a pendulum had been thought of but after Galileo published his great discovery that pendulums made their swings in equal periods of time a man named Huygens made a pendulum clock it was found that pendulums make each swing in a second and so at first clocks were made with pendulums which beat seconds. From Galileo's watching the swinging lamp all our clocks may fairly be said to have been invented. The father of Galileo hoped that his son would become a physician but the young man liked to study mathematics and his father permitted him to follow the bent of his genius. Not long after graduating from the university and when not quite twenty-five Galileo was made a professor of physics. He taught his classes about pumps and machinery, why smoke rises in the air, why birds, wings enable them to fly and why fishes fins send them through the water. Nobody in Europe at that time knew much about such matters. There were no steam engines, no railroad trains were in existence, no steamers were crossing the seas. People knew very little about such simple things as the falling of stones and feathers and pieces of iron and lead. Even learned men thought that two pounds of lead would fall twice as fast as one pound, one hundred pounds, one hundred times as fast, and so on. One day Galileo asked some of his friends to climb with him the leaning tower of Pisa. This tower is one of the famous buildings in Europe. The odd thing about it is that it does not stand up straight like the tower or spire of a church, but leans over as some of our trees do. Some of Galileo's friends stayed at the foot of the tower, some went to the top. Heavy and light things were carried up and dropped from the summit of the tower, and one pound of iron reached the ground at the same instant as did a piece that weighed ten pounds. While Galileo was professor the people of Europe who watched the heavens saw a new star in the sky. Have you seen the new star? What do you think it is? Were questions that everybody was asking. Some thought it was only a meteor, but Galileo said no, it must be a star, because a meteor would surely be moving, and that star seemed still. He gave three lectures upon it, and people went by hundreds to hear him. Galileo, like everybody else, could look at the star only with a naked eye. He tried to contrive something that would show both it and the other stars more plainly. He had seen spectacles. His grandfather wore a pair. He had somewhere read that if two eyeglasses are placed one above the other, things seen through them will appear nearer and larger. Some bright man in Holland fixed an eyeglass at one end of a tube and another like it at the other end, and so made the first telescope. Galileo had heard about this. He bought a piece of lead pipe and fixed a glass at either end. His telescope magnified only three times, but it made things look nearer and larger. He was as pleased with it as a child with a new toy. Wealthy and noble Venetians looked through it with wonder. Just as when you look through a microscope at the end of a needle, you are surprised to see how blunt it is. Then Galileo used stronger lenses. His second telescope magnified eight times and a third was made which magnified thirty times. He looked at the moon and he saw what no human being had ever seen before. There are mountains on the moon. He saw their bright tops and the shadows which they threw. Then he looked at the planet Venus. She no longer looked like the other stars, but sometimes she seemed to be round like the full moon, sometimes horned like the old and new moons. With his naked eye Galileo counted only six stars in the Pleiades. People long years before had seen seven and it was believed that one had been lost. Galileo looked one bright night and his telescope showed him forty. He looked at the Milky Way and found that its whiteness is the dim light of the stars so far away that they seem as small as the finest dust. He then made a fourth and larger telescope and turned it upon the farthest away of the known planets. Jupiter, like Venus, seemed no more a star. It was round like the moon at the full. But another and greater wonder appeared. Close to the edge of Jupiter's disc were three tiny stars. Two were seen on the planet and one on the west. They were Jupiter's moons. Galileo watched on another night and found that instead of three there were four. We now know that there are seven. He told the other professors in the university what he had seen and the news quickly spread. The newly found moons were called planets just as our own moon was and so it seemed that Galileo had made the number of planets eleven instead of seven. One of the professors was so angry that he would not even look through the telescope. Another man said, the head has only seven openings, two eyes, two ears, two nostrils and one mouth, and how can there be more than seven planets? Galileo had an old friend called Kepler, who was the greatest astronomer then living. Galileo wrote to him, oh, my dear Kepler, how I wish we could have one good laugh together. Why are you not here? What shouts of laughter we should have at our glorious folly? About sixty years before this Copernicus had printed a book in which he said that the earth was not still, as people thought, but that it was all the time moving round the sun. Galileo did not at first believe this and said in one of his letters that it was folly. Then he saw that it was probably true, and when he looked through his telescope at the planets he became certain of it. When people said that the system of Copernicus was contrary to the teaching of the scriptures, Galileo tried to explain the sense in which the passages in the Bible are to be taken. He was then accused of teaching what would do harm to religion and was summoned to Rome. His trial took place in 1616, and he promised his opinions concerning the Copernican system. But his enemies still pursued him, and in 1633 Galileo was again accused of heresy and of breaking the promise he had made in 1616. The main part of the charge was that Galileo had denied that God is a personal being, and that miracles are not miracles at all. As to breaking the promise he had made in 1616 Galileo admitted that he had felt proud of his arguments in favor of the Copernican system, and in one of his books he had made out rather a strong case for it. He denied, however, having expressly taught the Copernican system. Unfortunately Galileo did not tell the truth in thus denying what he had taught, and he was sentenced to an indefinite term of imprisonment. The imprisonment was not severe, although Galileo he was to return with an old friend and disciple, but at the end of six months he was permitted to return to his home near Florence. His friends were allowed to visit him, but he was not allowed to go outside the gate to visit them. This was sad for him, but sadder still was the loss of his sight, for his eyes had seen more of the glory of the heavens than all the millions of eyes that had ever looked at the stars since the world began. He died in 1642, and his body was interred in the Cathedral of Santa Croce. End of Chapter 15 Chapter Number 16 Of Famous Men of Modern Times This is a LibriVox recording. All LibriVox recordings are in the public domain. For more information or to volunteer please visit LibriVox.org This recording, by Paul Curran in the hills of Northern England Famous Men of Modern Times by John H. Hiram and A. B. Poland. Chapter 16 Oliver Cromwell 1599 to 1658 Oliver Cromwell was born in Huntingdon, England, four years before the death of Queen Elizabeth and the accession of King James I. His father was a gentleman farmer and cultivated his own land but he was in comfortable circumstances and able to take excellent care of his family. Oliver is described as being of a wayward and violent temper as a lad. He was cross and masterful but possessed a large quantity of mirthful energy which showed itself in various forms of mischief. It is said that when only a boy had dreamed that he would become the greatest man in England. A story is also told that once at school he took the part of King in a play and placed the crown upon his head himself instead of letting someone else crown him. At college he excelled in Latin and history especially in the study of the lives of the famous men of Greece and Rome. He was however more famed for his skill at football and other rough games than for the study of books. His schooling was given him by Dr. Thomas Beard a Puritan minister who resided in his native town and who seems to have taken a great interest in him as a boy. It was from his mother who is described as a woman of rare vigor and great decision of purpose that Cromwell derived his remarkable strength of character. At the age of 18 he left college on the account of the death of his father and returned home to look after the affairs of the family. At 21 years of age he was married to Elizabeth Bortier daughter of a London merchant who proved to be a most excellent wife. The esteem in which he was held in Huntingdon is shown by the fact that in the great parliament which drew up the petition of rights he sat as a member and represented his native town. He made his first speech at the House of Commons where so much of his future work was to be done on February 11th 1629 he was then 30 years of age. A gentleman who heard this first speech has thus described it I came into the House of Commons one morning and listened to a gentleman speaking whom I knew not. His dress was a plain cloth suit which shelled the cut with a country tailor. His linen was not very clean his hat was without a hat band his voice was sharp and his eloquence full of fervour. He was speaking on behalf of a servant who had been imprisoned for speaking against the Queen because she indulged in dancing. After King Charles dismissed that parliament he decided to manage the affairs of the nation without one and so for 11 years no other parliament was called. During this long interval Cromwell remained at home and worked upon his land. Wants of money at last forced King Charles to call a parliament and it assembled in 1640. In this parliament Cromwell sat as the member for Cambridge and took an active part in the business of the House. Troubles soon arose between the King and the Parliament on the question as to who possessed the right to levy taxes. Both parties claim this right and neither would yield. Then Parliament passed what was called the Great Remonstrance which was a complaint from the people of the wrongs they suffered under the rule of Charles. On leaving the House that day Cromwell said to a friend with whom he was walking if the remonstrance had been rejected I would have left England never to have set my foot upon her shores again. The King was so angry that he ordered the arrest of the five members who had taken the lead in the passing of the remonstrance but the House of Commons would not allow the arrests to be made. The next day King Charles brought 400 soldiers with him and demanded that the men be given up but the members would not yield and the King had to go away without them. It at once became evident that there would be war between the Parliament and the King and the whole land was filled with excitement and alarm. How Cromwell felt about this matter can be seen from a few words in a letter written at this time. He said, the King's heart has been hardened he will not listen to reason the sword must be drawn I feel myself urged to carry forward this work the whole nation quickly became divided into two parties the Friends of the King were called Royalists or Cavaliers those of Parliament were called Roundheads Cromwell's own uncle and cousin were staunch Friends of King Charles and at once entered his army Cromwell raised two companies of volunteers he distinguished himself by his strict discipline although up to the time when the war broke out he had not had much experience in military affairs he was then 43 years old he soon became known as a great leader and soldier and his successes as a soldier gave him a high place in the affairs of the nation the adherents of Parliament had on their side the navy and they also had more money than King Charles had but Charles had a fine body of cavalry and many of the rich men of England sent him money to carry on the war at the opening of the war the army of Charles had the advantage Cromwell saw that the forces of the Parliament would soon be beaten unless they could get soldiers who were interested in the cause for which they were fighting and such men he at once began to gather about him a large number of soldiers who fought under Cromwell were Puritans the Puritans were people who objected to many of the forms and ceremonies of the Church of England many of them laid great stress on the importance of sober and righteous living when in camp they read the Bible and sang Psalms they often recited Bible verses and sang Psalms as they went into battle the first battle of the war was fought at Edge Hill the greatest loss in any single engagement was at the battle of Marston Moor where the King's army left 40,000 slain upon the field in this battle the soldiers under the command of Cromwell really won the victory from that time he rolled rapidly until he became commander in chief he is said to have been victorious in every battle he fought Oliver received while in the army the name of Ironsides and a little later this same title was given to his men because the royalish troops had found it impossible to break Cromwell's lines but it must not be thought that Cromwell was a man devoid of tender feeling shortly before the battle of Marston Moor his eldest son was killed Cromwell felt his loss most keenly and was heard to say it went to my heart like a dagger indeed it did over 60 other battles were fought and finally the cause of the King was wrecked at the great battle of Naseby in 1645 but instead of admitting that he was beaten and agreeing to meet the demands of the people Charles fled to Scotland and tried to induce the Scots to give him aid this turned Cromwell against the King and convinced him that only through the death of Charles was it possible to secure the liberties of the English people in June 1647 the King was seized by one of Cromwell's soldiers and placed in custody of the army the commons resented this action and resolved to make terms with the King whereupon the army leaders sent Colonel Pride with a body of soldiers to purge the commons of members who favoured making terms with the King the remaining members soon afterwards passed a resolution that the King should be brought to justice and voted to form a special high court of justice the King protested that the court was illegal and refused to make any plea he was condemned by the court and was beheaded on January 30th 1649 in 1653 Cromwell decided to dissolve Parliament a body of soldiers drove the members out and Cromwell himself took possession of the speakers mace Oliver Cromwell was now the most powerful man in England and the army over which he still presided offered to make him King one of his daughters pleaded so earnestly with him that he refused to accept the crown or to take the title of King England was declared to be no longer a monarchy but a commonwealth and under this new form of government Oliver Cromwell was made ruler with the title of protector in the summer of 1658 he was taken ill with chills and fever and on September 3rd of that year he died Oliver Cromwell had grave faults and he was by no means an easy man to deal with he made many blunders some of which were serious ones but he proved himself equal to the task he had undertaken end of chapter 16 chapter 17 of famous men of modern times this is a LibriVox recording all LibriVox recordings are in the public domain for more information or to volunteer please visit LibriVox.org famous men of modern times by John H. Herron and A.B. Poland chapter 17 Louis XIV 1638 to 1715 after the death of Richelieu in 1832 Louis XIII king of France followed the advice of his great prime minister and called Cardinal Mazarin to fill his place but Louis XIII lived only six months after Richelieu passed away he died in 1643 and his son Louis XIV succeeded him as king Louis XIV had the longest and most brilliant reign in the history of France and the French people have always called him the Grand Monarch he was born in 1638 and became king when he was but five years old his mother governed the kingdom as regent until he was 13 but Mazarin was retained in office and quickly became the real ruler of France Mazarin was a great statesman but he was determined to have his own way many of the things he did cost a great deal of money and so he made the people of France pay very heavy taxes and this caused them to dislike him exceedingly finally they became so discontented that they began a revolt known as the War of the Frandes which means the War of the Sling the name was given to ridicule the revolting party who were chiefly peasants and who were too poor to buy proper arms they were compared to the disorderly boys of Paris who sometimes fought with slings and the name arose in that way this war lasted four years and at its close Mazarin was dismissed but he was soon put into office again and had even more power than before as a boy Louis the 14th was more fond of military exercises than of study he took great delight in handling swords and beating drums the boys belonging to some of the noble families of France were the playmates of the young king and he formed them into a company of soldiers and spent some time every day in drilling them in 1651 when he reached the age of 13 he took the government into his own hands but Mazarin remained prime minister one of the first things Louis did after declaring himself king was to go with General Turin into the south of France upon a military expedition he was greatly pleased with life in the army and came back to Paris enthusiastic about military tactics General Turin said the young king when I make war you must lead my troops I deeply thank you Sire for your good opinion of me replied the famous general I should be glad indeed to have command of your majesty's army in any war in which you may be engaged well general said Louis I feel sure that I shall have lots of wars and you must be ready to help me years afterwards Louis's words came true he carried on many wars and in some of them Turin won fame as one of the greatest commanders of his time Louis saw that Mazarin was managing the affairs of the nation with great skill so he allowed himself to do as he thought best while his majesty devoted himself to a life of pleasure but in 1661 when Louis was 23 Mazarin died the day after Mazarin's death the officers of the government assembled at the palace all eager to know which of them was to be the new prime minister to whom shall we speak in the future about the business of the kingdom asked one of them to me answered the king hereafter I shall be my own prime minister after thus taking matters into his own hands he reigned for more than 50 years he placed in control of the different departments of his government the best men he could find and one of his officers the famous Colbert managed the money matters in the kingdom in such a manner as to make his name illustrious for all time he made the taxes less burdensome to the people and at the same time he so fostered the industries of the kingdom that the revenue was greatly increased Louis improved the condition of the French people he encouraged manufacturers he even established some factories at the expense of the government so that during his reign France became famous for her woolens and carpets, her silks and tapestries Louis also founded schools and colleges he improved the country roads he began the great canal which connects the Mediterranean with the bay of Biscay he did all in his power in the welfare of the kingdom at Versailles a few miles from Paris he built the largest and most magnificent palace in France he adorned it with lovely paintings and statues and surrounded it with lovely gardens there he lived in great splendor and gathered about him a large company of talented men and beautiful women the Louvre the Trianon and some other of the most beautiful buildings for which Paris is still noted and also built during his reign in 1685 Louis revoked the famous Edict of Nantes under which Henry of Navarre had granted religious liberty to the French people in consequence over 300,000 Protestants left France they carried with them their tools and their trades and moved into other countries more than 40,000 of them settled in England where they were received with open arms in his later life he had the fondness for war as in his youth and during nearly 15 years he was engaged in wars with various European nations his army was large and thoroughly disciplined he had also a navy which made France powerful on the ocean he used to say with great pride I can fight the world equally well on the sea or on the land wars were fought with Spain Holland, England, Germany and other nations that was one these successes delighted the French people and they almost adored their grand monarch Louis XIV became almost as much the terror of Europe as Napoleon about a hundred years later and then the decline began among the men who helped to break down the military glory of Louis XIV was Prince Eugene of Savoy Prince Eugene was born in Paris in 1663 as soon as he was old enough for military service he asked King Louis to make him an officer in the French army Louis was not friendly to Eugene's mother and the request of the young prince was refused indignant at this Eugene left France but he was determined to be a soldier somewhere he was 22 years old when the Turks laid siege to Vienna and he was among the soldiers who helped to drive them back his bravery brought him into notice and he rapidly rose from rank to rank at 21 he was a colonel at 22 a major general and at 24 a lieutenant general after serving in numerous battles against the Turks Prince Eugene was sent in command of an Austrian force into northern Italy where Louis XIV was threatening the province of Savoy Eugene now had one of the great satisfactions of his life when Louis had refused him a commission in the French army he had said that he would never again enter France except as a conqueror after several victories in Italy he marched into France captured several towns and returned to Italy laden with great plunder thus making good his word but the most important thing achieved by Eugene and his allies during this war with Louis was the capture of a strongly fortified town called Castle this town stood near the borders of France and Italy and commanded the easiest and most frequently traveled past between the two countries when the town was taken Eugene had to surrender that its fortifications should be destroyed and never rebuilt yet this did not prevent Louis XIV from making other attempts to capture northern Italy and Prince Eugene afterwards served in two other long wars that were successfully fought in its defense Louis continued fighting against Italy, Bavaria and the Netherlands and kept all Europe in a state of turmoil then came the great battle of Blenheim in 1704 Louis had made himself so obnoxious and had become so dreaded that a great league of European nations was formed against him in the battle of Blenheim the English under the Duke of Marlborough united their forces with those of the Austrians under Prince Eugene the defeat of Louis XIV on this occasion was one of the most disastrous ever suffered by the French and it greatly encouraged those who were defending the liberties of Europe Louis's power in Bavaria and Holland was shattered and his armies were never again so much of a terror as they had been Louis did not however give up at once fighting continued for about ten years longer but there were no further victories for France when the war was ended in 1713 by the peace of Eutect the French were obliged to give up to the British, Acadia the Hudson's Bay territory and Newfoundland Austria also was given possession of some of the territory which had been held by France a year later in 1714 by the Treaty of Rustat it was agreed that all the different nations which had been engaged in the war should have just what belonged to them before the war began the glory of France and her grand monarch had departed he lived only a little more than two years after peace was proclaimed he died on September 1st, 1715 at the age of 77 having reigned 72 years end of chapter 17 Chapter 18 of Famous Men of Modern Times this is a LibriVox recording all LibriVox recordings are in the public domain for more information auto-volunteer please visit LibriVox.org Recording by Philippa Jevons Famous Men of Modern Times by John H. Haran and A. B. Poland Chapter 18 Sir Isaac Newton 1642 to 1727 in 1642 the very year in which the great civil war broke out between Charles I of England and his parliament a wonderful man was born named Isaac Newton as an infant he was so feeble that none of his family expected that he would live if he had been a Spartan baby he would, according to Spartan law certainly have been put to death but by extra care on his mother's part his life was saved and he grew into a lad with more than the ordinary powers of strength and endurance he was born in Woolsthorpe in Lincolnshire just one year after the death of Galileo to whom he may be said to have born a strong mental likeness when he first entered school he did not seem to be a very bright lad but this was because he was not really trying to do his best one day a boy who ranked above him in his class struck him a severe blow this proved to be one of the best things that ever happened to young Newton for feeling that he was no match for the other lad with his fists he determined to get even with him by beating him in the work of the class this he soon did and then he rose higher and higher until he stood above all the other boys in the school he spent most of his play hours in making mechanical toys he watched some workmen put a windmill near his school and then made a working model of it and fixed it on the roof of the house in which he lived he constructed a clock which was worked by a stream of water falling upon a small water wheel he also built a carriage and fitted it with levers so that he could sit in it and move himself from place to place this was perhaps the first velocipede ever constructed in Newton's day the winter days were short and it often happened that he had to go to school in the dark so he made for himself a paper lantern to give him light on his early journeys and this was soon copied by the other boys in the yard of the house in which his parents lived he traced on a wall by means of fixed pins the movements of the sun clocks were then very expensive and the contrivance which received the name of Isaac's Dial was a standard of the time to the country people of the neighbourhood when he was fourteen his stepfather died and his mother thought it best for Isaac to work upon a farm which belonged to the family so he left school but he had no love for plowing and reaping or for attending to horses cows and pigs the sheep went astray while he was thinking out some problem in algebra or geometry and the cattle got into the standing crops and munched the milky wheat ears of the moon or wondering what made the earth go round the sun his mother soon saw that Isaac would never make a farmer he was therefore sent back to school and fitted to enter college he was the most wonderful mathematician that ever graduated from the University of Cambridge and when only twenty-seven he was made professor of mathematics in the college in which he had studied he rose to eminence in the university and through the influence of some of its leaders he was appointed warden of the Mint in sixteen ninety-five and was promoted to the Master's ship four years later he then moved to London and went to live in a little house near Leicester Square his salary enabled him to devote himself to his favourite studies and this he proceeded to do one of the first important discoveries he made was about light before his time everyone thought that light was made up of all rays, bright but without any colour Isaac made an experiment which any boy can repeat he bored a small hole through the shutter of a window so as to only allow a delicate pencil of light to enter the room this made a round spot of white or colourless light on the wall opposite the window and he set out to examine this spot and see what it could teach him when he put a glass prism into the pathway of the ray he found that the colourless spot disappeared instead of it he saw on the wall above where the circular spot had been a beautiful band of light in which several colours were blended at the top end this band was blue at the bottom it was red in the middle it was yellow Newton had thus discovered that a ray of white light is made up of coloured rays his next experiment was with soap bubbles he found that when blown very thin the colours of the light could be more plainly discerned and he was soon able to count seven distinct tints violet, indigo, blue green, yellow, orange and red these are the seven colours seen in the rainbow but the greatest of Newton's discoveries was that which is now spoken of as the law of gravitation everybody knew long before Newton was born that apples fell from trees to the ground but no one seems to have asked the question why they never moved the other way all boys know that a ball thrown up into the air will come down again but no one before Newton lived had tried to find out why this was so at first he seems to have thought that only things that were near to the earth would fall to its surface but when he thought how the raindrops fell from the clouds he saw that his theory was not true then he thought of the moon going round the earth and wondered how it kept just so high up in the sky and why it did not fall like the raindrops this was a new puzzle and he set to work to solve it about two hundred years before Isaac Newton was born a great Polish astronomer named Copernicus had written a book in which he had said that people were wrong who believed that the sun goes round the earth Copernicus insisted that the earth moves round the sun at the first people made fun of this idea but by Newton's day they had begun to believe it Isaac began to wonder if this theory might not help him to solve his problem one of the favourite games of the boys of that day was to throw stones with a sling doubtless Isaac had himself used one many times in his play now that he was grown up and wondered how he had whirled the stones round and round at a high rate of speed and yet they never left the sling until he let go one of the strings Isaac knew that the moon goes whirling round the earth at the rate of fifty thousand miles every day and that the earth whirls round the sun at the rate of about one thousand miles a minute certainly thought Newton the moon goes round the earth and the earth goes round the sun just as a stone is whirled round in a sling but there must be something stronger than a chord to keep them in their places after thinking about the matter for a long time he said the moon is drawn towards the earth by a very powerful force but she does not come nearer to the earth or fall upon it any more than the stone in the sling falls upon the hand of the slinger because like the stone she is in rapid motion the earth is drawn towards the sun the same wonderful force that draws the moon towards the earth yet the earth does not fall upon the sun because it is all the while whirling forward at the rate of a thousand miles a minute Newton saw that the force which brings the stone and the apple down to the ground is the very same that draws the moon towards the earth and the earth towards the sun he called this force gravity or force of weight then his great mind went on thinking beyond the moon and the earth to the far away stars he soon learned that the same force which keeps the moon and the earth in their orbit keeps all the stars of the sky in their courses for his great discoveries he was highly honoured by the learned men of his day he was made a member of the royal society a society established for the purpose of gathering up and treasuring all forms of valuable knowledge the royal society aided him in publishing his books of which he wrote twelve the most important of these is called the Prinkipia in 1705 he was knighted by Queen Anne and when he died in 1727 his body lay in state for a whole week in the Jerusalem Chamber and was then buried with great pomp in Westminster Abbey End of Chapter 18 Chapter 19 of Famous Men of Modern Times This is a LibriVox recording All LibriVox recordings are in the public domain For more information or to volunteer please visit LibriVox.org Recording by Rhonda Fetterman Famous Men of Modern Times by John H. Haran and A.B. Poland Chapter 19 William III King of England 1650-1702 The story of King William's life is an interesting one He was born in Holland in 1650 and was a Prince of the Distinguished House of Orange which for many years had been prominent in the history of the Netherlands William was carefully educated he showed so much ability that when he was only 22 years old he was chosen Statholder or President of the Netherlands In 1672 Louis XIV with an army of 125,000 men under the command of Turen and Condé invaded the Netherlands England united her forces with France and lent her fleet to crush the power of the Dutch town after town was taken by the French and the Dutch were in a terrible plight Young as he was, William carried on the war like an experienced general His army had reverses at first but his belief in the final triumph of the Dutch never left him Once a despondent official said to him Do you not see that the country is lost? Lost replied William No, it is not lost I shall never see it lost In this spirit of confidence he fought his enemies never despairing, never acknowledging defeat After many successes the French were about to seize the city of Amsterdam William ordered the dikes to be cut and the waters of the North Sea spread over the lowlands The growing crops were ruined but the flood checked the invading army When in 1674 peace was made with England New York, which was originally a Dutch settlement and was called New Amsterdam, was seated to Great Britain It was renamed New York in honor of James, Duke of York to whom his brother Charles II had in 1664 granted all the land between the Connecticut and the Delaware France inflicted great disasters upon the Netherlands and actually secured part of her territory but Louis was at length forced to withdraw from the country The Dutch under the heroic leadership of their young stat holder maintained their independence On the death of King Charles II in 1685 the Duke of York came to the English throne under the title of James II He, however, aroused very great dissatisfaction in England by some of his acts and in June 1688 a letter was sent to William of Orange inviting him and his wife Mary who was a daughter of James II to become sovereigns of England This letter was signed by seven leading men of both the great political parties in England It assured William that it was the universal wish of the English nation that he should become its ruler The invitation was accepted The Netherlands glad to have their honored stat holder on the English throne furnished him with an army of about 13,000 men and a fleet of more than 600 ships and with these forces he reached England in November 1688 William landed his army in March to Exeter where the citizens welcomed him in a very enthusiastic manner Thousands of the nobles Gentry and common people flocked to his standard His army rapidly increased Everywhere in England there was great rejoicing at his arrival King James gathered a strong force mostly from Scotland and Ireland and marched to Salisbury to check the revolt But William met him bravely and the King's army fell back in disorder and many of the officers and men deserted James gave up the struggle and despair and hastened to London There he learned that his daughter Anne had left his palace to join the revoltors God help me, cried the King for my own children have forsaken me His spirit was utterly broken and he prepared for a rapid journey to France He knew that the throne was lost to him and he resolved to flee from England and cast himself upon the hospitality of his cousin, the French King Louis XIV Leaving the palace that night and in disguise he threw the seals of state into the Thames and then took a boat to a ship which was lying some distance down the river James hoped to sail on this ship to France but his escape was prevented by a fisherman who thought him a suspicious character and was brought back to London William and Mary with the army that supported them came to London There was a wonderful demonstration of joy by the people of the metropolis and the Queen was greeted with acclamation A committee of parliament drew up a declaration of rights which was presented to William and Mary It was declared what the rights of Englishmen are stated that no sovereign could interfere with those rights and express the resolve of both houses of parliament to maintain them It seemed like a second Magna Carta William and Mary both signed it and they were then in February 1689 declared King and Queen of England This change in the rulers the abdication of King James and the coming of William and Mary is called the Revolution of 1688 As has been said it was easily accomplished in England but in Ireland there was decided opposition to it London Derry and Ennis Killen were the only Irish towns that declared for William and Mary The other towns were strongly in favour of James Finally James came from France to Ireland collected an army and began a war on those who supported the new sovereigns He received assistance from Louis XIV of France Those who fought for James were called Jacobites and the others were called Orangemen The war in Ireland lasted but a few months For at the Battle of the Boine on July 12th 1690 James's army was defeated and all resistance in Ireland came to an end William was then formally recognised as King of Great Britain England had declared war on France and it became necessary for William to visit the European continent He there made alliances with Austria, Spain and other nations While he was absent from England Mary ruled the kingdom and ruled it well William was engaged for some years in the contest on the continent He won many great battles but he also suffered disastrous defeats While he was in Europe another attempt was made by James to invade England and regain the throne Louis XIV again provided James with soldiers and warships and an expedition sailed for England James was confident of success and all associated with him thought it would be an easy matter to accomplish the undertaking Near the coast of Normandy the invading fleet came upon the combined English and Dutch fleet and off the Cape of La Hogue a furious battle took place The English and Dutch gained a brilliant victory and James sailed back to France and never again made a movement to recover the English throne While England and France were fighting in Europe the colonies of the two countries were fighting in America The war is known in American history as King William's War The reign of William and Mary is of great interest to us in the United States Those sovereigns were not accepted by the people of England until they had signed the Declaration of Rights and the very first act passed by parliament during their reign was one which made the declaration a part of the laws of the land That declaration secured their rights not only to the subjects who lived in the mother country but also to those in the colonies One of its provisions was that the right of the subjects to petition the King George III spurned the petitions of the colonists and otherwise violated the rights claimed in the Declaration just as James II had done What the American colonists did therefore when they fought the battles of the Revolution was very similar to what the people of England had done a hundred years before when they dethroned James and offered the crown The English Revolution of 1688 and the American Revolution had exactly the same purpose End of Chapter 19 Recording by Rhonda Fetterman Famous Man of Modern Times by John H. Herron and A. B. Poland Chapter 20 Zobiecki Zobiecki 1624-1696 The Poles first appeared in history in the 5th century under the name of Poliani There appears to have been a definitely organized Kingdom of Poland as early as the 10th century but the country did not rise in too much prominence until the 14th century and it attained its greatest splendor in the 17th The name Poland is derived from a word meaning Plains For many centuries great herds of cattle, horses and swine have been raised within its territory and serials, hemp, timber, honey and wax have been produced in large quantities Numerous mines of salt and a few of iron, copper and silver have been worked at different periods but they are not of much value After passing through a vast number of changes Poland became in 1572 an elective monarchy and this principle became one of the chief causes of the national downfall The nation consisted of but two classes the nobles who owned the soil and the serfs who cultivated it There was no third state At the time of which we write the Turks were at the height of their power in southeastern Europe Their flag still waved as it had done for 150 years over Belgrade and Belgrade was the gateway to Hungary Their fleet swept the Mediterranean They captured the island of Crete from the powerful state of Venice and they fortified the Dardanelles so that no ships could enter the Black Sea without their permission Poland being famous for its wheat and cattle the Turks greatly desired to possess it They therefore invaded Poland with a large army but the Poles met them bravely and in a great battle in which Zobiewski served as commander-in-chief of the Polish forces succeeded in beating them back Just at that time the king of Poland died quite suddenly and the died assembled to select a successor Zobiewski entered the hall where the died was in session with the name of a French prince Then one of the nobles was heard to say Let a pole rule Poland Zobiewski was at once proposed an elected, hardly a dissension voice John Zobiewski was born in 1624 at Olesko in Galicia His father was castling or keeper of the castle Krakow John received an excellent education both at home and in foreign countries and this was a great advantage to him when he was elevated to throne Poland was at a time one of the most powerful countries of Europe It was stronger by father in Russia and gave promise of a still greater future A hundred years before this the Turks had threatened Vienna and they now determined to conquer all Austria In 1683 they gathered a vice army and marched a second time against Vienna It was at a time not only the principal city of Austria but the capital of the German empire The emperor then ruling over Germany was Leopold the first He was the crown of Charlie Mein but he was not worthy to do so As soon as he heard that the Turks were marching toward Vienna he fled from the city and many of the nobles and wealthy people followed his example Count Stahenberg, who was in command of the garrison, stated his post and did everything possible to prevent the city from falling to the hands of the enemy The fortifications needed repair not only the men but the women aided in the work the women mixed mortar and even carried stone while the men built up the walls One day as the people of Vienna were looking eastward they saw columns of smoke ascending crops were burning and houses and villages were in flames They told them only too plainly that the Turks were approaching and at sunrise on the 14th of July 1683 they appeared before the city walls Their camp made a semicircle or crescent reaching more than half around the city as in Athens during the terrible siege by the Spartans in the Peloponnesian war so now in Vienna the plague broke out This was because the people who had rushed into the city from the country were huddled so closely together the amount of sickness was terrible then a fire broke out and as there were no fire engines or other appliances reached to fire the flames a great many houses were burned and hundreds of families were rendered homeless things looked very discouraging but just when they were at war help came John Zobiecki, king of Poland was marching to the relief of the beleaguered city he had 65,000 people he had 65,000 men in his army and John George the lector of Saxony had joined him with 13,000 more before beginning the attack of the Turks Zobiecki made a speech to his men in which he said not Vienna alone but Christendom looks to you today not for a earthly sovereign do you fight you are soldiers of the king of kings the battle cry was Zobiecki's own name it was well known to the Turks for they had met him before and thousands of Turks fled before hundreds of his Poles his very name seemed to fill them with dread large numbers of the Turkish soldiers stood their ground however and fought desperately but they could not withstand the furious charge of the Poles Zobiecki himself went into the battle singing the words of the sound beginning not unto us oh lord not unto us but unto thy name give glory for thy mercy and for thy truth's sake six of the sultan's pashas or generals were killed and the grand vizier prime minister of Turkey abandoned his splendid green silk tent that was embroidered with gold and silver and fled for his life the whole muslin army was routed and the conqueror and his troops entered the city and triumph and great service of thanksgiving was held in the cathedral and one of the priests preached the sermon from the text there was a man sent from God whose name was John never again did the Turks attack Vienna city after city was lost to their empire and all hungry was finally won back from them since Zobiecki's great victory the power of the Turks has steadily waned rather than increased they have been slowly pushed toward until there is now little of value left to them in Europe but Constantinople the reign of John Zobiecki was the most brilliant in Polish history but the constant dissensions and the unending turbulence of the Polish nobles frustrated all his efforts to strengthen the kingdom and prepared the way for its final dismemberment and ruin the hero of Poland has not like Hercules or Pesillas given his name to a great constellation but in the brightest part of the Milky Way hangs a gleaming expense of stardust known as Zobiecki's Child so that until the stars forget to shine of man to watch them the name of the great Polish hero will never be forgotten End of Chapter 20 Chapter 21 of famous men of modern times this is a LibriVox recording all LibriVox recordings are in the public domain for more information or to volunteer please visit LibriVox.org recording by Ronda Fetterman Famous Men of Modern Times by John H. Harron and A.B. Poland Chapter 21 Peter the Great 1672-1725 in the history of Russia there is no name more famous than that of Peter the Great at his time the Russians were far behind the other nations of Europe in knowledge of the arts and the comforts of life Peter devoted a large part of his reign to improving the condition of his country and his people he made Russia prosperous, powerful and respected he was born in 1672 and was the son of the emperor Alexis when only ten years old he came to the throne of Ivan who was almost an idiot the boys were proclaimed joint emperors of Russia but their sister Sophia who was many years older than they acted as regent Sophia determined to make herself Empress and leagued herself with Galitsyn the prime minister with that end in view Madam said Galitsyn we need fear nothing from Ivan but Peter alarms me he has a thirst for knowledge that cannot be quenched he wishes to know everything it was as the ministers said Peter had a remarkable desire for knowledge and he learned many useful things when he was about 17 years of age he was informed that his sister Sophia and Prince Galitsyn intended to murder him Peter at once banished Galitsyn to the icy region of Archangel to find his sister in a convent he thus became at about 18 years of age the active ruler of Russia for Ivan could take no share in the government Peter listened to others before taking important action he valued particularly the advice of a brilliant Swiss named Lefort to whom he gave a high position in his court Lefort urged that the army should be made larger and be better drilled and equipped the young emperor accepted this advice he appointed Lefort to be commander of one division of his army and directed him to equip and drill it in the very best manner Peter himself served for a few months under the command of Lefort as a common soldier he performed all his duties with the greatest faithfulness he became a subordinate officer and then rose gradually through every grade until he reached the rank of general under Lefort's direction the army was made a splendid body of fighting men one day in the early part of his reign Peter noticed on the river which flows through Moscow a small boat with a keel he inquired what the keel was for and was greatly interested to learn that it was to enable the boat to sail against the wind the boat had been built for Peter's father by a Dutchman and this man was at once instructed to put it into first-rate order this being done the Dutchman gave Peter some lessons in sailing so that the young Tsar became quite an expert sailor Russia at that time had only one seaport it was Archangel on the White Sea so to Archangel the Tsar went and made it his home for several months all there he made the acquaintance of a Dutch captain named Much and from him he learned all about ships and their management he began as a cabin boy and worked up through every department of seafaring life until he was fitted to be a naval commander Peter felt that he must have a navy and must be at its head so he thought he ought to know about the building of ships as well as their management he therefore determined to go to Holland putting the affairs of his empire in charge of three nobles he left Russia with Lefort and some other companions and went to Amsterdam the most important city of the Netherlands after visiting Amsterdam and examining its shipping and its docks he went to a little town called Zandam nearby and there he became a workman in a yard where ships were built for the famous Dutch East India Company he lived in a little cottage near the yard and cooked his own food after working some time in Zandam he spent four or five months as a shipwright near London because some things connected with shipbuilding could be better learned in England than in the Netherlands when by taking lessons in both countries he had thoroughly mastered the art he returned to his own country he now began the building of the Russian Navy at a place in southern Russia on the Verona river the vessels built were small gun boats while they were being built someone said to Peter of what use will your vessels be to you you have no good sea port my vessel shall make ports for themselves replied Peter and before long they did so the first port captured was a Zaf at the mouth of the Don it was taken from the Turks the Russian fleet sailed down the river and made the attack by sea while 12,000 troops attacked by land Peter himself was sometimes with the army on land sometimes on board one of his vessels the capture of the Zaf gave Russia a port on the black sea but this was only the beginning a greater work was done in the north at the mouth of the Neva when Peter came to the throne Sweden was the great military and naval power of northern Europe the Swedes were masters of the Baltic sea and of the Gulf of Finland Peter said that the Swedes were the oppressors of Russia and that he would free the land from their presence when in the Netherlands he had lived near Amsterdam it was a great sea port near the mouth of a river the land upon which it stood was swampy and its dwellings its warehouses and its magnificent churches and public buildings rested on piles the River Neva flowed into the Gulf of Finland Peter determined to build a Russian Amsterdam on its swampy banks the king of Sweden the famous Charles XII claimed the province at the mouth of the River Neva in spite of this Peter laid the foundations of his new city and called it St. Petersburg when the king of Sweden heard what was going on he said to put those houses into a blaze the Swedish fortresses guarded the province and the mouth of the river whoever held them would control the commerce of St. Petersburg the Swedish king was astonished soon after hearing that the foundations of St. Petersburg had been laid to learn that Peter's new army and navy had captured his two fortresses and that the province at the mount of the Neva was in his hands soon afterward with a well-drilled army Charles laid siege to Poltava, a small fortified town of the Russians Peter marched against him both sovereigns commanded their armies in person Charles had been wounded in his heel and had to be carried into battle on a litter during the battle a cannonball killed one of the bearers and shattered the litter whereupon the king is said to have murdered some of the men to carry him upon their pikes Peter, like Charles was in the hottest of the fire his clothes were shot through in several places one ball going through his hat after desperate fighting on both sides the Swedes gave way they left more than half their number dead or wounded upon the field only a few hundred men escaped with the king who, it is said taken off the field in a carriage drawn by twelve horses the victory at Poltava was followed by naval successes in the Gulf of Finland Abo, then the capital of Finland and Helsingfors which is the present capital were both captured and the Russians became masters of the Gulf Peter was determined that his people should become a commercial nation he urged them to engage in foreign trade and encouraged foreigners to bring their merchandise to Russia's new ports less than six months after the first stone of St. Petersburg was laid a large ship under Dutch colors ascended the Neva and anchored off the city site Peter himself went on board to welcome the strangers the skipper was invited to dine at the house of one of the nobles Peter and several officers of his government bought the entire cargo and when the ship sailed from St. Petersburg the captain received a present of about two hundred dollars and each of his crew a smaller sum of money as a premium for having brought the first foreign vessel into the new port Peter encouraged his people in the different parts of Russia to carry on commerce with one another and he made it easy for them to do so he improved the roads aided in providing boats for navigating the rivers and undertook the gigantic work of the seas the Baltic the black and the Caspian seas by canals toward the close of his reign Peter visited the town of Zandam in Holland where he had learned the trade of shipbuilding there he found some of his old companions and was delighted to hear them salute him as Peter Bass the name by which they had known him nearly twenty years before he went to the little cottage in which he had lived and was still carefully preserved in one room are to be seen the little oak table and three chairs which were there when Peter occupied it over the chimney piece is an inscription which every boy who is making his way up in the world might well take for his motto to a great man nothing is little Peter went to see an old friend kissed the blacksmith who was at work in his smithy the czar took the job from him he blew the bellows heated the piece of iron and beat it out with a great hammer into the required shape though he was the ruler of millions of people he was proud of being a workman and of being able to do things for himself no sovereign ever more truly deserved the title great than did Peter he found his empire feeble and left it with a well-drilled army and a large navy he found it without commerce he secured for it ports to which foreign ships might bring merchandise and he dug canals so that the different parts of the country might easily carry on trade with one another thus he was in the best sense great because he made his country great and provided for his people new and better ways of living end of chapter 21 recording by Rhonda Fetterman chapter 22 of Famous Men of Modern Times this is a LibriVox recording all LibriVox recordings are in the public domain for more information or to volunteer please visit LibriVox.org your reader is Alec Datesman Famous Men of Modern Times by John H. Horan and A. B. Poland chapter 22 Charles XII of Sweden 1682 to 1718 in the year 1697 a strange coronation service took place in the city of Stockholm a boy of only 15 years of age was crowned king of Sweden and took the title of Charles XII he was born in 1682 when he was only 3 or 4 years old the queen went into the nursery to take him to church but he refused to get down from the high chair in which he was perched because he had promised his nurse that he would not leave his seat until she had given him permission he was taught German as well as Swedish as soon as he could speak and history, geography, and arithmetic seemed like play to him when only 4 years old he was put a stride of horse and at 8 he was a good rider at 11 he killed his first bear and before he was 12 he shot a stag at a distance of 90 yards as soon as he began to wear the crown he became very pompous and arrogant no one was allowed to find fault with anything that he did about a year after Charles was made king two princesses were brought to Stockholm to spend the winter in the hope that he would marry one of them but Charles did not marry either of them in fact he was never really in love with anybody or with anything but war one day when he was out on a bear hunt news was brought to him that the kings of Denmark and Poland and Peter the Great of Russia had formed a combination against him and proposed to capture Sweden and divide it amongst themselves he gathered an army placed himself at its head sailed for Denmark and soon forced the Nains to sue for peace he then marched against the Russians the Russians were five times as many as the Swedes but Charles said with my brave boys in blue behind me I am afraid of nothing on the March 400 Swedes were attacked by 6,000 Russians but the Swedes had beaten them off Peter the Great and his men ran away as soon as the Swedes approached but Charles followed them and a great battle was fought in a driving snowstorm Charles lost one of his boots in a bog and a bullet was flattened against his clothing but by nightfall the Swedes had won a complete victory Charles was then only 18 years of age the next summer the young warrior marched against the united armies of Poland after a fight which lasted all day Charles was again victorious among the ladies of Poland was the beautiful Marie Aurora she wrote a letter to Charles asking that she might see him in the hope of ending the war but Charles made no reply then Aurora traveled to the Swedish camp although it was in the depth of winter but the king refused to see her the lady however was not discouraged one day she saw him riding toward her Charles at once got out of her carriage and knelt before him in the muddy road Charles raised his hat and made a low bow but without stopping he put spurs to his horse and went off at a gallop in about three weeks both the capitals of Poland Warsaw and Krakow were in his hands Charles at once found work for his army elsewhere Saxony which then belonged to his great enemy Augustus was invaded and captured and Charles remained in possession of it for more than a year while Charles was busy with Saxony Peter the Great attacked his provinces on the Baltic he took possession of the principal ports and found on Swedish territory his new capital St. Petersburg in the defense of his territories Charles engaged in several fierce battles with the Russians and finally defeated them the Russians retreated and burned all the bridges behind them he next determined to go to the Sukhor of the Cossacks of the Ukraine remember the cold was so intense that the Baltic sea was frozen over and many of the birds fell dead from the trees the Swedes were poorly clothed and they suffered greatly from the cold over three thousand were frozen to death and many others were frostbitten Charles had lost twenty thousand out of an army of forty one thousand yet he would not give up the struggle but determined to lay siege to the fortress of Poltava after this time Charles had seemed to live his life but one day a bullet struck his foot some of the small bones were broken and the flesh had to be cut open to remove the splinters Charles watched the operation without flinching but the wound gave him trouble and he had to be carried about in a litter as we have read in the story of Peter the Great the boys in blue did wonders but the struggle was really hopeless they were utterly defeated and Charles barely escaped with his life he left his army and took refuge with the Turks and in the Turkish town of Bender seven hundred miles from Sweden he lived for several years the Sultan of Turkey treated him kindly and in Bender Charles built for himself a stone house with walls like those of a fort the Sultan also gave him a bodyguard of Janissaires these men became very fond of him and when they found what a strong will he had they called him iron head some of them said would only give us such a ruler we could conquer the world Peter the Great had seized certain Turkish ports on the Black Sea as well as the Swedish ports of the Baltic so Charles proposed to the Sultan that the Turks and Swedes should unite to their forces against Russia to this the Sultan agreed and in 1710 war was declared and an army of two hundred thousand men marched against the Russians Peter had only about forty thousand and he was very anxious for peace he sent a wagon load of money to the Turkish commander and persuaded him to sign a treaty Charles was not with the Turkish army when this was done but he arrived immediately afterwards he was terribly disappointed and more so when the Sultan wrote him a letter advising him to return to Sweden Charles refused to go this made the Sultan angry and he sent orders to seize Charles and take him a library dead away from Bender Charles sent word back he attempted to do this he would fight and so an attack was made upon him in the house which he had built as a defense some of the Turkish soldiers refused to fight against him and thirty of them were drowned in the river Dniper by the Sultan's orders fifty of the soldiers who were friendly to him tried to persuade Charles to put himself into their hands and when they failed they said oh iron head Allah has made thee mad twelve thousand Turks then attacked Charles in his quarters he fought bravely for his life but was finally captured and turned over to the Turkish commander he looked very unlike a king his clothes were torn to rags and his face was so blackened with powder and smeared with blood but he could scarcely be recognized when the people in Sweden heard of his capture some were greatly delighted at the king's bravery but the wisest men in the kingdom felt grieved and all over Europe it was said that Charles had gone mad some of the people in Sweden now said that unless Charles returned to Sweden they must have another ruler and a letter was sent to him imploring him to come home this caused him at last to leave Turkey and at midnight of November 11th 1714 he entered the fortified town of Strausund which belonged to Sweden his people were overjoyed at his return but were disappointed that he did not cross the Baltic and come into Sweden itself the neighboring powers were glad to have him stay in Strausund six of them, Russia Russia, Poland, Saxony Denmark and Hanover had declared war against Sweden and they thought they could capture king Charles quite easily while he was in Strausund they besieged the town but Charles defended it bravely to encourage his men he went to the most dangerous places he even took his meals within range of the enemy's guns he slept on the ground with a stone for his pillow and shared all the hardships of the siege equally with the common soldiers but in spite of all his bravery Charles saw that Strausund must surrender he therefore crossed the Baltic in a boat and made his home in the city of Lund in Sweden poor Sweden was almost ruined and its future looked very dark indeed it seemed as though Charles could not see in what a wretched state his kingdom was everyone else knew that Sweden must have peace while she had lost in battle or by disease almost one fourth of all her men most of the fisheries were abandoned because the fishermen had been taken to man the fleet a large part of the farms were cultivated by women and boys there was a great scarcity of meat, butter and tallow and as tallow was used for making candles the people were unable to work in the mornings or evenings because no candles could be bought the king shared the poverty of his people there was no silver on his table all his dishes were of pewter he slept on a straw mattress with his cloak spread over him his passion for war was as strong as ever and finally he determined to invade Norway which then belonged to Denmark he attacked the Norwegian fortress called Frederiksten trenches were dug within gunshot of the fortress one morning as he was looking over the top of one of the trenches he was struck by a bullet and instantly killed Charles was a brave man he was not a good ruler he had a great fondness for fighting and a strange power of making others fond of it his people loved him and they continued to honor him he brought his country to the verge of ruin more than 150,000 men perished in his wars and he left Sweden poor of both in territory and in wealth than it was when his reign began End of chapter 22 read by