Gustavus looked earnestly at his daughter, and was indeed apprehensive that the thunder of so many cannon might perhaps throw her into convulsions.  He had almost a mind to tell the captain to let them enter the fortress quietly, as common people might have done, without all this head-splitting racket.  But no; this would not do.

“Let them fire,” said he, waving his hand.  “Christina is a soldier’s daughter, and must learn to bear the noise of cannon.”

So the captain uttered the word of command, and immediately there was a terrible peal of thunder from the cannon, and such a gush of smoke that it enveloped the whole fortress in its volumes.  But, amid all the din and confusion, Christina was seen clapping her little hands, and laughing in an ecstasy of delight.  Probably nothing ever pleased her father so much as to see that his daughter promised to be fearless as himself.  He determined to educate her exactly as if she had been a boy, and to teach her all the knowledge needful to the ruler of a kingdom and the commander of an army.

But Gustavus should have remembered that Providence had created her to be a woman, and that it was not for him to make a man of her.

However, the king derived great happiness from his beloved Christina.  It must have been a pleasant sight to see the powerful monarch of Sweden playing in some magnificent hall of the palace with this merry little girl.  Then he forgot that the weight of a kingdom rested upon his shoulders.  He forgot that the wise Chancellor Oxenstiern was waiting to consult with him how to render Sweden the greatest nation of Europe.  He forgot that the Emperor of Germany and the King of France were plotting together how they might pull him down from his throne.

Yes; Gustavus forgot all the perils and cares and pompous irksomeness of a royal life, and was as happy, while playing with his child, as the humblest peasant in the realm of Sweden.  How gayly did they dance along the marble floor of the palace, this valiant king, with his upright, martial figure, his warworn visage, and commanding aspect, and the small, round form of Christina, with her rosy face of childish merriment!  Her little fingers were clasped in her father’s hand, which had held the leading-staff in many famous victories.  His crown and sceptre were her playthings.  She could disarm Gustavus of his sword, which was so terrible to the princes of Europe.

But alas! the king was not long permitted to enjoy Christina’s society.  When she was four years old, Gustavus was summoned to take command of the allied armies of Germany, which were fighting against the Emperor.  His greatest affliction was the necessity of parting with his child; but people in such high stations have but little opportunity for domestic happiness.  He called an assembly of the Senators of Sweden, and confided Christina to their care, saying that each one of them must be a father to her, if he himself should fall in battle.