A RESCUED PARTY 249

his own account, and without the knowledge of the diet;
but Charles refused to give audience to any of his agents,
and would not even see the beautiful Countess of Konigs-
mark, who is, you know, herself a Swede, and whom Augus-
tus sent, thinking that her blandishments might win over
the young king. It was useless. Charles maintained the
ground that he took up from the first—namely, that he
would treat with the diet, but would have nothing what-
ever to say to Augustus. So the diet sent an embassy of
four senators. Instead of receiving them with every pomp
and ceremony, as they expected, the king met them on
horseback. He demanded that, as a first condition, they
should dethrone Augustus. Parties in the diet were pretty
equally divided; but the proposal was rejected, for even
those most hostile to Augustus resented the proposal that
we, a free and unconquered people, should be ordered by
a foreign prince to change our king. So nothing came
of it.

“The Swedish army advanced a certain distance into
Poland, and there were a great number of skirmishes, but
there has been no serious fighting, nor is there much
chance of any until the snow has gone and the country
dried up in the spring. At present Augustus is quarrelling
with the diet, who still set themselves against the importa-
tion of more Saxon troops. But doubtless before the
campaign begins in earnest he will have settled matters
with the senators, and will have his own way in that
respect. There is, however, little chance of the diet
agreeing to call out the whole forces of the country, and
the next battle will, like the last, be between the Swedes
and the Saxons, who may have with them perhaps a few
thousand Poles belonging to the king’s party.”

“You don’t belong to the king’s party, count?”

“No; I, like the majority of our nobles, have no inter-
est whatever in the war, for we were never consulted before