nd then
level them off on the top by loose branches, and so make a road firm
enough for the army to march over.

Things went on in this way until, at last, the farther progress of King
Charles was arrested, and the tide of fortune was turned wholly against
him by a great battle which was fought at a place called Pultowa. This
battle, which, after so protracted a struggle, at length suddenly
terminated the contest between the king and the Czar, of course
attracted universal attention at the time, for Charles and Peter were
the greatest potentates and warriors of their age, and the struggle for
power which had so long been waged between them had been watched with
great interest, through all the stages of it, by the whole civilized
world. The battle of Pultowa was, in a word, one of those great final
conflicts by which, after a long struggle, the fate of an empire is
decided. It, of course, greatly attracted the attention of mankind,
and has since taken its place among the most renowned combats of
history.

Pultowa is a town situated in the heart of the Russian territories
three or four hundred miles north of the Black Sea. It stands on a
small river which flows to the southward and westward into the Dnieper.
It was at that time an important military station, as it contained
great arsenals where large stores of food and of ammunition were laid
up for the use of Peter's army. The King of Sweden determined to take
this town. His principal object in desiring to get possession of it
was to supply the wants of his army by the provisions that were stored
there. The place was strongly fortified, and it was defended by a
garrison; but the king thought that he should be able to take it, and
he accordingly advanced to the walls, invested the place closely on
every side, and commenced the siege.

The name of the general in command of the largest body of Russian
forces near the spot was Menzikoff, and as soon as the King of Sweden
had invested the place, Menzikoff began to advance toward it in order
to relieve it. Then followed a long series of manoeuvres and partial
combats between the two armies, the Swedes being occupied with the
double duty of attacking the town, and also of defending themselves
from Menzikoff; while Menzikoff, on the other hand, was intent, first
on harassing the Swedes and impeding as much as possible their siege
operations, and, secondly, on throwing succors into the town.

In this contest Menzikof