for its being strong enough to
bear the army.

King Charles heard this tidings with delight, clapping his hands
energetically and exclaiming:

"Now, Brother Frederick, we will converse with each other in good
Swedish."

Dahlberg, the quartermaster-general, testified to his confidence by
riding at the head of the column over the wide field of ice, the army
following in safety to the coast of Zealand. Meeting with no opposition,
Charles and his army were soon near Copenhagen, whose fortifications were
in bad condition, and the danger of losing his capital was so imminent
that Frederick was glad to accept the severe terms of peace which Charles
offered him. These included the surrender of half a dozen Danish
provinces to Sweden and the independence of the Duke of Holstein-Gottorp
from Danish control. Denmark had paid sorely for making a declaration of
war with no preparation to carry it out.

But Charles X. was so eager for war that in the end he lost most of what
he had gained. He was full of schemes of conquest in Germany, but feared
that Denmark might take advantage of his absence with his army to take
revenge for her losses. The fleets of Holland were threatening the coasts
of the Baltic Sea, and Charles sought to make a treaty with Denmark which
would close this sea to foreign ships. Denmark refused to enter such an
alliance and Charles thereupon determined to make a complete conquest of
that kingdom.

Breaking without warning the treaty of peace he had recently made, he
suddenly landed with an army on the coast of Zealand. By this unwarranted
and stealthy assault he filled the souls of the Danes with the courage of
despair, changed Holland from a secret to an open enemy, and lost the
most of his former gains.

The Danish people, threatened with the loss of their independence, flew
to arms, determined to defend their country to the last extremity.
Charles, his army being small, delayed his attack upon Copenhagen, which
might easily have been taken by an immediate assault. When he appeared
before it he found all its people converted into armed soldiers, while
King Frederick declared that he was ready to die in his capital like a
bird in its nest. Every soul in the city burned with patriotism, and
nobles, burghers, and laborers alike manned the walls, while even women
could be seen wielding spade and axe in the repair of the neglected
defences. When the siege began the citizens made several successful
sallies a