Page:Cassell's Illustrated History of England vol 5.djvu/614

600 Russia, who wished him employed at a distance, and especially in keeping back the French democrats whilst she carved up Poland, offered him both money and arms. But the empress was relieved of the high-minded Gustavus in a manner which she had by no means contemplated. He fell, on the 16th of March, in his own capital, by the hand of an assassin. Gustavus III. had, as we have formerly related, reduced his refractory nobles to obedience, and made a change in the constitution of Sweden, which rendered them his mortal enemies. Amongst these was one who did not belong to the higher nobility, but rather to the gentry, John James Ankerström. Ankerström was an officer in the army, and a member of the diet. When Gustavus, in 1789, suppressed the senate, and arrested many of the nobility, he was one who, in presence of the king, spoke violently against his proceedings. He was also accused of having spoken against the king previously, before an assembly of peasants, and had been, on that account, dismissed from the royal guards and confined in different fortresses, though the charges had not been proved against him. This had greatly embittered him, and he conceived the idea of murdering the king. At first, it would appear that he contemplated this deed alone, but afterwards had taken the counts Horn and Ribbing into his scheme. They tried first to seize the king at Geffia, when he convoked the diet in the present year. They were there prevented, and they next resolved to dispatch Gustavus at a masked ball in the theatre at Stockholm. Gustavus received various warnings of his danger, but he treated them with contempt, declaring that he could never believe any Swede capable of becoming an assassin. The very evening of the ball, whilst at supper, he received an anonymous letter, which strongly dissuaded him from going to the theatre, as there was a design to assassinate him.

1.Caricatta Pagoda: 2.Tinnan Village; 3.Chargnmanm Village; 4.Pagoda; 5.Maxwell; 6.Cornwallis; 7.Meadows: 8. English Batteries; 9. River 10.M. Tippoo's Camp (1792); 11.Eighteen Guns; 12.Ford; 13.Gate and Bridge; 14.Agra Village: 15, 16, Storming Parties; 17.Batteries; 18.Parallels 19. Wellesley's Attack; 20.English Camp; 21.Nizam; 22.To Mysore; 23.River; 24.To Agra; 25.To Pangalore; 25.Pagoda; 27.Ford; 28.River; 29.BalBaag; 30.Temples; 31.Avenue; 32.Hyder Ali's Palace; 33.Citadel; 34.Canal. He showed the letter to several of his friends, who implored him to take the advice, and stay away. It was in vain; he treated the letter as a contemptible hoax, and went in a domino dress. But scarcely had he entered the ball, leaning on the arm of Count Ersen, the master of the horse, which count Horn, behind whom followed Ankerström, accosted the king, saying, "Good day, fair mask!" This was the signal—Ankerström discharged a pistol, which wounded the king mortally in the thigh and loins. Gustavus, with the greatest presence of mind, ordered all the doors to be instantly closed, and all present to be unmasked. This was done, but no discovery was made; in fact, Ankerström had