But the Grand Chancellor, Axel Oxenstiern, one of Sweden’s greatest statesmen, acted promptly.
“Let there be no talk between us,” he said, “of Venetian republics or of Polish kings. We have but one king--the daughter of the immortal Gustavus!”
Then up spoke one of the leading representatives of the peasant class, Lars Larsson, the deputy from the western fiords.
“Who is this daughter of Gustavus?” he demanded. “How do we know this is no trick of yours, Axel Oxenstiern? How do we know that King Gustavus has a daughter? We have never seen her.”
“You shall see her at once,” replied the Chancellor; and leaving the Hall for an instant, he returned speedily, leading a little girl by the hand. With a sudden movement he lifted her to the seat of the high silver throne that could only be occupied by the kings of Sweden.
Lars Larsson, the deputy, pressed close to the throne on which the small figure perched silent, yet with a defiant little look upon her face.
“She hath the face of the Grand Gustavus,” he said. “Look, brothers, the nose, the eyes, the very brows are his.”
“Aye,” said Oxenstiern; “and she is a soldier’s daughter. I myself did see her, when scarce three years old, clap her tiny hands and laugh aloud when the guns of Calmar fortress thundered a salute. ‘She must learn to bear it,’ said Gustavus our king; ‘she is a soldier’s daughter.’”
“Hail, Christina!” shouted the assembly, won by the proud bearing of the little girl and by her likeness to her valiant father. “We will have her and only her for our queen!”
“Better yet, brothers,” cried Lars Larsson, now her most loyal supporter; “she sits upon the throne of the kings; let her be proclaimed King of Sweden.”
And so it was done. And with their wavering loyalty kindled into a sudden flame, the States of Sweden “gave a mighty shout” and cried as one man, “Hail, Christina, King of Sweden!”
There was strong objection in Sweden to the rule of a woman; and the education of this little girl was rather that of a prince than of a princess. She was taught to ride and to shoot, to hunt and to fence, to undertake all of a boy’s exercises, and to endure all a boy’s privations. She could bring down a hare, at the first shot, from the back of a galloping horse; she could outride the most expert huntsman in her train.