This act of force produced an impression, and the new taxes demanded at the next Riksdag were granted without opposition. But the queen felt that the discontent was only subdued, not suppressed, and, having no further means to keep up a luxurious court, she did the wisest act of her reign, that of resigning, at Upsala, in June, 1654, Charles Gustavus being crowned the same day. The scene of her abdication was very impressive, Queen Christine carrying herself with noble and lofty dignity, an inheritance from her father which she made use of when she saw fit. Leaving the crown and the royal emblems, one by one, to the Riksdrotset, she descended the throne, from the lowest steps of which she spoke an eloquent and touching farewell to the four Estates of the Riksdag. She suddenly left the country after having secured for herself a princely income. At Innsbruck, the daughter of Gustavus Adolphus joined the Catholic church, thereby, and by her fame as a learned woman, creating a sensation. She died in Rome in 1689, after having made two unsuccessful attempts to regain her Swedish throne, and one equally unsuccessful to succeed the last king of the Polish line of the Vasa dynasty, and was buried in the church of St. Peter. Among the many learned men who at one time surrounded Christine were Vossius, Heinsius, Salmasius, Huet, Freinshemius, Loccenius, Meibom, Bœclerus, Ravius, Schefferus, and others. The greatest of them all, the philosopher Cartesius (René Descartes), died in Stockholm, in 1650. After the love-story of Gustavus Adolphus had come to an end, he long felt a disinclination to marry. His sister Catherine is said to have tried to rouse him to the necessity of choosing a consort. His answer was always: “Never mind, dear sister, you shall yourself bring up a son to inherit the crown and continue my work.” This son of Catherine became Queen Christine’s successor. CHAPTER XII _Period of Political Grandeur--Charles X. and Charles XI._