It was now Christian's turn. The pretext was of little
account: there was always cause enough. Gustav Adolf, whose father
was then on the throne of Sweden, said in after years that there was
no one he had such hearty admiration for and whose friend he would
like so well to be as Christian IV: "The mischief is that we are
neighbors." King Christian crossed over into Sweden and laid siege
to the strong fortress of Kalmar where he first saw actual war and
showed himself a doughty campaigner of intrepid courage. It came
near costing him his life when a cannoneer with whom he had often
talked on his rounds deserted to the enemy and picked the King out
as his especial target. Twice he killed an officer attending upon
him, but the King he never hit. It is almost a pleasure to record
that when he tried it again, in another fight, Christian caught him
and dealt with him as the traitor he was, though the rough justice
of those days is not pleasant to dwell on. The besieged tried to
create a diversion by sneaking into camp at night and burying wax
images of the King and his generals in the earth, where they were
afterwards found and spread consternation through the army; for such
things were believed to be wrought by witchcraft and to bring bad
luck to those whom they represented.
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