to a propofal of which nature the States had the bafenefs to give their approbation *.John contented himfelf with ceding to his brother Charles three provinces, as prefcribed.by his father’s will, but exacted from the inhabitants an acknowledgement of him asthe only fovereign of Sweden .
This prince was almoft continually at war with the Danes and Mufcovites, with vari-ous fuccefs. The following incident is highly worthy of relation. In 1573, fix hun-dred horfe and a hundred foot belonging to the Swedes under the command of GeneralAckcfon, being abandoned by the Livonians their allies near Revel, defended themfelvesfo vigoroufly againft fixteen thoufand Mufcovites by whom they were furrounded, thatthey killed feven thoufand of them and put the others to flight, making booty of theirbaggage. John, up to 1583, the period of the death of Catherine Jagellon, daughter of Sigifmund I., afliduoufly attempted at different times to re-eftablifh the Roman Catho-lic religion, but never with fuccefs ; he even reforted to violent meafures, fuch as rarelyindeed avail in matters of faith. Hisfon Sigifmund, Prince Royal of Sweden , obtainedby the credit of Anne, Queen dowager of Poland , the fifler of his mother, the crown ofthat kingdom in 1587. Religious difputes (till continued : Duke Charles being fteadilyattached to the creed of Augfbourg, the eftablifhed faith of the nation, a great coolnefsbetween the two brothers arofe in confequence ; but in 1 589 they were reconciled, andthe fucceeding year Duke Charles was nominated Governor of all Sweden . .
John died in 1592 : he was an ordinary charafter, deftit’ te of great vices as well asof any fplendid virtues. The death of his brother Eric will oe an immortal flam on hismemory ; the welfare of the ftate muft in vain be pleaded in excufe for fratricide, themore fo from the ufage in fimilar cafes of confounding the welfare of the individualwith that of the ftate. His fecret cabals to promote the Roman faith, did injury to theworfhip he fought to eftablifh, and the afcendancy over him which he fuffered his firftwife to affiime, does no credit either to his firmnefs or his character: the fway of womanis mild, but unlefs it infpire to glory and virtue, Kings fhould refill it in common withall men.
Sigifmund, King of Poland, by the death of his father inherited the throne of Sweden :he delayed repairing to his new kingdom for fome time : Duke Charles his uncle, whoa£ted in the interim as adminiftrator of the kingdom, applied himfelf feduloufly to root-ing up all traces of the Catholic religion. Sigifmund, on his arrival in Sweden , endea-voured to re-eftablifh it, but met with ftrong oppofition: he remained but a fhort timein this kingdom, his uncle Charles being named by the Senate adminiftrator in his ab-fence. The Duke, defirous of rendering himfelf popular, difiniffed all fuch from theiremployments as profefled the Roman faith ; among the reft Eric Brahe, Governor ofthe caftle of Stockholm . In 1595, notwithftanding the King’s prohibition, the Dukeconvoked the States . At their feflions it was again decreed that the creed of Augf-bourg ihouldbe the only religion tolerated in the country; that the Romilh priefts fhouldquit the kingdom within fix weeks, that Catholics fhould not be allowed to make openprofeftion of their religion, and be deemed incapable of holding any appointment. More-over the Duke, in conjunftion with the Senate, was appointed Governor of Sweden .In 1597, Sigifmund, jealous of a meafure which tended to deprive him of all authority,found means to difturb the harmony fubfifting between his uncle and the Senate , parties
* Among the mannfcripU of Hii Majefty at Drottningholm , the original approval of the States is to befern.
3 q a were