It was the ambition of Christian IV. of Denmark to cut Sweden off from any communication with the North Sea. As Bohuslæn and Halland both were parts of the Danish dominion, there was only the small strip of territory surrounding the mouth of the Gotha River to conquer. The island of Hising constituted the larger part of it, and was the site of the new town of Gothenburg, which was defended by the fortress of Elfsborg. The town of New Lœdœse was situated on the opposite shore, some few miles up the river, defended by the fort of Gullberg. The Danish king approached Gullberg from Bohus, having with him a smaller force, which he considered sufficient in numbers. Gullberg was only a poor little nest, but it was valiantly defended by Morten Krakow and his wife, the stanch Lady Emerentia Pauli. One day the Danes made a violent attack. The ladders which they placed against the walls were crushed by heavy beams which the Swedes let fall down on them. In spite of this, the Danes succeeded in forcing the gates of the place. The position was a critical one for the Swedes. The commander had met with an accident and was unable to lead the defence. But Lady Emerentia resolved to take the command. She gave orders to the wives of the soldiers to fill up the vaulted passage of the gates with barrels, washtubs, timber, etc. When the Danes stormed on in a compact body, they were received by a downfall of scalding-hot lye, which the women kept pouring down on them from behind their barricade. The daughter of Lady Emerentia thus graphically describes the effect: “They lay in the vault and around the gates like scalded hogs.” Lady Emerentia had placed two pieces of artillery on the top of a small building fronting the gates. They were loaded with broken horseshoes and the like and sent out a disastrous fire. The few surviving Danes fled hurriedly for their lives, leaving Lady Emerentia in proud possession of the fort. A second attack which was made later on proved as futile as the first. King Christian then gave command to abandon the plan of taking the fort. The Danish army collected in a field in front of Gullberg. But Lady Emerentia was vigilant. From the walls of the fort she espied a man of prepossessing appearance who rode a white horse. “Shoot that man!” was her immediate command to the nearest soldier. The shot took effect, killing the white horse, whose brains and blood spattered the king. For the man on horseback was King Christian. “That devilish crow does never sleep!” exclaimed the king, referring to the commander.