Gustav halted long enough to drill his men and
give them time to temper their arrows and spears, then he fell upon
Westeras and beat the Danes there. The peasant mob scattered too
soon to loot the town, and the King's men came back with a sudden
rush. Only Gustav's valor and presence of mind saved the day that
had been won once from being lost again.
When it was seen that the Danes were not invincible, the whole
country rose, took the scattered castles, and put their defenders to
the sword. Gustav bore the rising on his shoulders from first to
last. He was everywhere, ordering and leading. His fiery eloquence
won over the timorous; his irresistible advance swept every obstacle
aside. In May he took Upsala; by midsummer he was besieging
Stockholm itself. Most of the other cities were in his hands. The
Hanse towns had found out what this Gustav could do at home. They
sang his praise, but as for backing him with their purse, that was
another matter. They refused to lend Gustav two siege-guns when he
lay before Stockholm, though he offered to pledge a castle for each.
He had no money. Happily his enemy, Christian, was even worse off.
Neither pledges nor promises could get him the money he needed. His
chief men were fighting among themselves and made peace only to turn
upon him.
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