Cornell University Library DL 617.B63 Aniong the Goths and Vandals 3 1924 028 515 686 DATE DUE \ 1" •p-rTTT riKi^ lUl'. V i ^ 13 CAYLOBO 1 PRINTeo IN t be small enough. Those I saw might have belonged to the establishment of Noah; and horses, harness, and liveries were in admirable keeping. There is much comfort about country houses. They are chiefly of wood, and the thickness of the walls helps to keep them cool in summer, while the peculiar stove fitted into each room allows the temperature to be easily regulated during the protracted winter ; and then there is that simple and genial , hospitahty which is never stinted — such indeed is the pressure employed to make one eat, that you fancy yourself in the presence of Dean Swift's Mrs. Bickerstajff. In connexion with eating is a habit, trying to the head of a stranger, of drinking a glass of white brandy — an indigenous concoction — before sitting down to each of the principal meals. It is supposed to assist Country Gentlemen. 15 the appetite, and I cannot say it seriously interfered ■with mine. The furnishings are scanty in com- parison with our home fashion, and the polished or painted floors, clean and tidy-looking though they he, seem in Englishmen's eyes a poor substitute for rich and sumptuous carpeting. Nevertheless, one is quickly reconciled, and a feeling of cheerfulness restored by the very general custom of filling the panels of the salons with mirrors from top to bottom— " in which he of Gath, Goliath, might have seen his giant bulk Towering, crest and all !" Between the members of families and servants the relations are very much of the primitive sort. The familiarity would shock the grandeur of our modern establishments, yet there is nothing vulgar or offen- sive about it. It displays itself in an interest in the affairs and belongings of those they serve, so that, during a friendly discussion on home topics, one need feel no surprise if the table-maid should correct some statement of fact, or express opinions at variance with the general view. This free and easy footing reminded me of early, or rather traditional, associations. An old aunt— God bless her!— whose 16 Among the Goths and Vandals. recollections count from the last century, makes us laugh stiU, as she retails some of her stories, whose attractions fail not, despite the repetitions of three- score years. Here is one of them, which may be taken as a sample of the stock: — ^Mrs. Mackenzie kept a good table and was hospitably intent ; John, the butler, of an inquiring turn of mind, had passed his best years in the service. There was a lively dinner party one day, and gossip and anecdote were unusually interesting. In the middle of a good story, John's exertions were suspended, and no heed was paid to the injunction to remove the dishes. The historian proceeded, the butler stood still. The commands of the hostess were repeated iu vain; when she surveyed her trusty man-servant he was devouring the narrative, ears and mouth wide open. " For God's sake change the dishes," she cried, in desperation, " and I promise to finish the story to you to-morrow." John accepted the compromise, resumed his wonted alacrity, and no doubt had the conditions honourably fulfilled. Many Patrons are engaged in commercial pursuits, and divide the year between town and country. In town life they do not present the same amiable domestic picture. Eestaurants and cabarets havej^ Landscape Gardening is little attended to. 17 irresistible fascinations, and although it may be the tongue of scandal only, it is asserted that while husbands are faring sumptuously, wives and children at home have to be content oftentimes with the modest contributions of herrings and potatoes. Social arrangements of another kind receive legal sanction in the marriage of widowers with the sisters of deceased wives. I did not hear that this was attended with the evil consequences which those pre- dict by whom its introduction into our code is denounced ; at all events, sisters-in-law have not been extinguished, but are found, flourishing as ever, in usual variety. We miss about country houses fine parks, well- mown lawns, and evergreens of luxuriant growth, and such small consideration is given to landscape gardening that, where nature has been niggard, efforts are rarely made to supply deficiencies. To every residence there is the inevitable avenue of Hme trees, trained after Dutch fashion. The lime is not a native of the country, Dutchmen having introduced specimens, and taught the Swedes how to plant and prune them. It is to be regretted that more desire has not been evidenced to profit by the taste and superior knowledge of the Dutch in the treatment 3 18 Among the Goths and Vandals. of forest trees. There is singularly little planting going on, and where forests and large tracts have been cleared and not appropriated, too seldom the case, to cultivation, IsTature's stores, and not the nurseryman's, are relied upon for the production of a second crop. In plantations of minor extent, small attention is paid to thinning, and each tree struggles with its neighbour for ascendancy and breathing room. Birch is the species which thrives in all parts of Sweden, and in colder regions as weU, No tree is more useful. It supplies the best sort of firewood. Various domestic articles are made of it. It is ex- tensively used in building, and in many districts where winter provender is scarce, the leaves, stored in autumn, are given as favourite articles of food to horses and sheep. The birch grows on the shores of the Frozen Ocean. Greenland and Iceland can boast of no other tree, and it flourishes in Siberia and Kamschatka. In a much more limited extent the oak is likewise indigenous, and many splendid specimens remain, but the Swedish kind has not the highest repute as timber. The Supply is also less extensive than formerly. When the nation was constructing its navy, the demand became very great, and a panic arose lest a scarcity should be produced; The Castle of Sko-Kloster. 19 whereupon a decree was promulgated that no oaks should thenceforward be cut down, under a considerable penalty, without the royal assent first asked and ob- tained. The statute has never been repealed, but is now honoured more in the breach than in the obser- vance.* One of the finest private residences is the Castle of Sko-Kloster, in the neighbourhood of the university town of Upsala. It stands on the site of what was once an abbey, founded in the 13th century " for an abbess and twelve chaste virgins," which the profane reforms of Gustavus "Wasa subsequently disestablished and disendowed. An imposing edifice, , with octagon towers capped by minarets, has risen in its place, and long sheltered the present noble owners, who are the representatives of the famous Danish astronomer, Tycho Brahe. Among other interesting memorials in the castle, are portraits of the Scotch companions -in -arms of Field-Marshal Wrangel — a former proprietor, one of the most cele- brated generals of the Thirty Years' War — including the Euthvens, the Douglases, and the Drummonds. The climate of Sweden is an enemy to horticulture. * The tree of trees, however, is the pine (the Scots fir, as we popularly call it), which combines shelter with profit, audornanient with the most extensive utility. 2— a 20 Among the Goths and Vandals. and the rich only can cultivate the taste successfully, although among all there is a natural love of flowers. Of late years, owing to improved systems of commu- nication, locomotion has increased, and other countries have heen more generally visited. Profiting by the forward state of horticulture there, wealthy country gentlemen have been erecting conservatories as well as hot-houses on the most approved principles, so that Epiphytes and rare exotics may be seen flourish- ing, where outside, the thermometer stands some degrees below zero. It has long been a favourite pastime of the well-to-do Northman to force in native fashion, early vegetables j and if he has not, unmind- ful of expense, several specimens for his Easter dinner, as choice companions of his salmon and lamb, friends wont find him pleasant company ! The "Bonde" has the place of our ancient yeoman — ^hard headed and hard working — the director of his small establishment, and the real embodiment of Swedish agricultural prosperity. He makes an excel- lent salesman, and struggles to have the best of every bargain. When he goes to market he leaves behind, like our own farmers, some part of his truthfulness. There the ages of his horses never exceed eight ; their tempers are always of the sweetest, be they as savage The Peasant Proprietors. 21 as Bucephalus. His cows have not been known to miss calf, and the pedigrees of his bulls are lost among the popular herds of Schleswig Holstein. Until two years ago, when a Eeform bill reduced the ■ number, one of the houses of Parliament, called the House of the Peasants, was exclusively composed of this class. The Sondes exist in great numbers, and, unlike the Patrons, represent riches beyond what their deportment and style of living would denote. There is another difference in this, that their small possessions are preserved for generations in unbroken descent, younger sons being drafted into the Church, Commerce, and Army of the country. As applied to them, the truth of the French proverb is well exem- plified — " Aiderf-toi, le ciel t'aidera." In the district of Dalarne the "hereditary principle" is especially powerful among the same class. The province is a very poor one, where seasons are ex- tremely precarious, and harvests in consequence often complete failures, but no circumstances diminish attachments to the soil. There the land is so sub- divided by the progress of succession, that a man has to count his estate, not by acres, but by feet, and a peasant proprietor must be in sore distress ere he 22 Among the Goths and Vandals. consents to sell the. heritage of his forefathers, even to a member of his own family. More extended inter- course with their countrymen has partially broken up clannish prejudices, but formerly no stranger was per- mitted to form matrimonial alliances among them, and aspiring youths, whose intentions were either declared or suspected, were compelled, by force of cudgels, to beat hasty retreats. The dress of these curious people is thus accurately described by Mr. Marryat :* — It "consists of sheepskin jackets with goat's hair ; the women wear red bodices and white sleeves, petticoats of dingy blue, yellow spencers, red caps with yeUow hoods ; the men have a long dark coat, yeUow leather vest and breeches, the latter cut down very low in front, long lambswool stockings with the fluff outside, buckles to their shoes, of which the heel is placed in the centre ; blue ribbons with red bobs dangle jauntily from their knees." The men are tall and powerfully built, and the women so pretty and attractive that one can readily understand the anxiety of the tribe to keep their fair sisters at home. Those of us who have seen the picture of the interior of a cottage in Dalecarlia, by that charming Swedish artist Amalia Landegren, have a truthful representation of what * " One Year in Sweden." A Leading Member. 23 humble life is there. The remark that she has gained the especial object of art by " the expression of the poetry of reality" is strictly correct. I spent a vastly entertaining afternoon at the house of a Bonde who was perhaps the best specimen of the class I could have seen. His patrimonial acres, in- creased by a valuable inheritance at a later period, would have given him rank among " Patrons," but he steadily refused such social promotion. He had been a " parliament man" and vice-president of the Cham- ber of Peasants. EecoUections of these days were his fondest themes, and among the class in which he was born he placed his pleasantest associations. His poorer neighbours regarded him as an oracle by whom all their grievances and disputes were deter- mined. He permitted no appeal from his decisions, and if their language was never judicial, and always rather roughly interpolated, it was none the less adapted, on that account, for the cases which called it forth. My visit was on his name-day, which, and not the birthday, is made the occasion of social reunions, and troops of friends arrived to offer con- gratulations. The feast of good things was profuse, without the least attempt at display. No menial hands waited upon the guests, but our comfortable- 24 Among the Goths and Vandals. looking hostess and lier pretty daughters moved about among us, anticipating and gratifying every want. When we had finished eating, each guest^ approaching our entertainers, shook them warmly by the hand, (according to custom in all ranks;, and thanked them " for meat." I learned that it would be an intolerable ' specimen of bad manners if, on the next meeting, no matter how long the interval, they omitted to return thanks for the hospitality of "the last occasion."* We of course drank the health of the old member of parliament, who made a humorous acknowledgment, and, as it so happened that his Christian name and mine were the same — a bond of union being thus created — ^he called attention to this circumstance in most hospitable fashion. Then, pointing towards me, and raising his voice, he exclaimed in the only English words he owned — " Gr — d d — ^n !" His son, a very fine fellow, who had studied farming in the Lothians, and spoke our language perfectly, hurried to my side, to apologize, and proceeded to explain to the head of the feast the mess into which his literary pretensions had brought him. The latter was profuse in lamentations. * In Swedish, " tak for sist.^' A " Name-day" Party. 25 and immensely relieved when he found that no of- fence was taken. He had heard that it was a favourite national expression, and could not imagine that so terrible a meaning belonged to it. The episode, when interpreted, undoubtedly increased the prevailing hila- rity, and Heathcote's was affected in an especial degree . Next morning all was repeated for his wife's benefit, and formed a standing joke during the remainder of my sejour* One word in the interests of the wives of Bondes. They are patterns of thrift and sobriety. Their horizon does not extend beyond the kitchen and cowhouse, but the comforts of men and beasts are carefully ministered to by them. They care little for holiday making ; in this respect, their greatest recrea- tion and most coveted luxury being a quiet gossip on Sunday afternoon over a friendly cup of cofiee with some neighbouring matron of the same degree. Then all parish events, recent and prospective, receive * It was here that I was enrolled as a hippophagist. A few weeks previously a young horse, in good condition, had received a fatal accident, and an end having been put to his sufferings, the flesh was appropriated for the benefit of the household. It was presented in thin slices, and I thought an excellent specimen of " cold meat." On discovering what it really was, my enthusiasm waned. So much for prejudice. Horseflesh is highly esteemed, and it is solely on account of the cost that it is not in general use. 26 Among the Goths and Vandals. impartial discussion. Outside it, the triumplis and reverses of the world are in their estimation matters of indifference. With them everything is of the parish, parochial. We have no class to correspond with " Torpors." If their condition is superior to that of serfs, it is chiefly from the voluntary nature of the service. They are squatted all over the country in tumble- down looking cottages, struggling, not always suc- cessfully, for the necessaries of life, the living oc- cupants, of various qualities, so huddled together as to remind one of that melancholy collection exhi- bited in the streets of London, called " The Happy Family." Each estate has its own supply, and the larger Bondes also bring the services of Torpors into requisition. The institution of torporism is popular amongst the employers of labour, inasmuch as it does not necessitate cash payments. According to the extent and value of the land in occupation, the Torpor undertakes to perform a certain weekly amount of work, thus making, in point of fact, all operations on his own account subservient to the convenience of his chief. The estate upon which such service is required, is often distant from the poor man's dwelling, and a daily walk of six or eight The Agricultural Labourer. 27 miles creates a deal of tear and wear. The position, it has been remarked, is nominally a voluntary one, but then he must have a home of some kind, however mean, and to obtain it, cannot escape from customary conditions. The advantages of the system are un- doubtedly on the side of employers. The Torpor has not always an assured term of occupancy. The caprice of landowners, or failing health, may break his home up on brief notice. Even if he had the means, there is not therefore the inducement, to improve the small holding he possesses, and as a rule, most things about it bear the mark of poverty. His land is no exception, — " 'Tis an unweeded garden, That grows to seed — things rank and gross in nature." There remain the classes of servants hired by a term, and the occasional daily labourer, whose remuneration is fixed very much on the plan we have long adopted. The wages of agricultural labour are low. In the case of farm servants, their rations closely resemble those in Scotland, except that rye, in place of oat- meal, is the staple article ; but the money payments for the year do not exceed the value of five pounds, and money and rations included, the remuneration is under twenty -four pounds. Butcher meat is a luxury 28 Among the Goths and Vandals. rare]y attained, except at Christmas-time ; and when indulged in, pork, beyond all comparison, is the popular sort. Their ordinary daily bread consists of rye baked into cakes, and potatoes, occasionally savoured by a Norwegian herring or Swedish stromming. In some districts, and especially in seasons of scarcity produced by late or deficient harvests, the bill of fare is less inviting. An old English writer,* referring to what was true then, as it is now, says, " The extreme or most northerly parts lying betvdxt the Arctick circle, and the pole Arctick, enjoy neither a temperate ayre, nor yet a fruitful soile, and since by reason of the faint heat of the sun, corne will not always there ripen well, therefore the wise Creator of all things hath furnished those countries with great variety of wild beastes, and divers rivers, lakes and gulfes, furnished with variety of wholesome fishes for the sustaining of the inhabitants thereof." This provision is not always enough, and for centuries the poor have been in the habit, when the supply of grain failed, of making bread from the bark of fir and pine trees. The same writer remarks on this with a complacency * " A Short Survey of Sweden." London, 1639. Bothy Life^ or Old Systems of Culture. 29 surely meant to be cynical, for he adds, " that sort of sustenance is esteemed very wholesome, and agreeing well with their stomachs, and free from any maligne quality" ! Bothy life, always fruitful of evil, prevails in inglorious freedom, and single men are haunted by that constant desire for change which effectually checks the growth of solid and enduring relations between master and servant. Feeing- markets, as in Scotland, do not count among minor institutions, but at each term the same sort of holiday-making is observed, where drunkenness and debauchery hold a sway that is supreme. Every engagement, whether original or renewed, to be binding, has to be ratified by the payment of a few dollars to the servant, and these defray the charges of this periodical saturnalia. Among the class of agricultural servants the type of intelligence is unquestionably low, and speaking generally, there is little in their occupation to give impulse to it. The system of culture pursued unde- viatingly for generations — the implements in use, of the form the Egyptians might have used — separate effectually all idea of novelty from the occupation, and reduce it to the dullest routine. This is to be regretted on aU accounts. We have seen at home 80 Among the Goths and Vandals. that in the adoption of scientific culture, and the introduction of improved machines and implements, favourable influences have been wrought on servants and labourers. In the one case, they have been eager to learn what are the stimulating properties of artificial manures, and in the other, their attention has been attracted to the ingenuity exhibited, thus exciting a desire to study and master methods which have made them practically successful. Women are much employed in out of door work, as well as in attending to live stock, horses excepted. In " An Account of Sweden" I have seen, published in 1717, a lamentable narrative is given of the treatment of the class, but things have changed for the better since then, although the remuneration they receive is very meagre — often not exceeding sixpence a day. "The women," says our author, "are very fruit- ful, and seldom fail of a numerous issue. They are nowhere made greater drudges than here, the meaner sort being, besides the ordinary offices of their sex, put to plough and thrash, or row in boats, and bear burdens at the building of houses and on other occasions." Heathcote had several in his em- ployment, and in the intercourse between them and the lower creation a pleasant and friendly familiarity Low Rates of Wages — Love of Strong Drinks. 3 1 existed, which was often amusing to behold. He narrated that how, having been to the cowhouse one winter's day, he noticed a woman feeding the fowls '(which for the sake of warmth are located there), with small pieces of paper. " They are very fond of them, Patron," quoth she, " but alas ! they can have no more, for what I give them now is the last of my Norse Bible !" There is still a large preponderance of females in the population — 1059 to 1000 — which is much greater than in most countries, and is said to be traced to the decimating influence of the wars of the 17th and 18th centuries. The occasional labourer, in the longest day seldom earns above a couple of shillings, and during winter, in most rural districts, his wages do not exceed a shilling of our money. Few of the class can resist the temptation of ardent spirits,- and a Swede sober and a Swede drunk, would seem to belong to separate races. In his former condition he is aU politeness and amiability. He makes profound obeisances, and if there are favours looming, addresses his chief as " dear, sweet little Patron," though the latter should be six foot high, and a fit subject for " banting;" but when the " wine is in," and his will thwarted, all self- command is put aside, and his language becomes 32 Among the Goths and Vandals. violent and offensive — jou are consigned to the most unpopular of regions, and to the curses of a " thou- sand devils." Gnashing of teeth, stamping of feet, and a hundred wild gesticulations make a fitting set- off to words which proclaim what an unruly member the tongue of man is. As a rule, however, there is much native politeness among the very lowest classes, which strangers do not connect with the character of the Northman. The respectful recognition by the men, the graceful curtsey of the women, are rarely omitted, and the bestowal on children of the smallest coin of the realm — about half a farthing — is sufficient to make them raise your hand to their lips, and im- print on it a kiss of thanks. Teetotal societies have been diligent in Sweden as elsewhere to reclaim; often with depressing results. Sheep stray from the fold, and occasionally owe their safety to the tender mercies of some passing Sama- ritan. A few years ago the Medical Faculty of Stockholm suggested a novel prescription for habitual drunkards, and commenced its practice in the cases of some criminal patients, whose craving for spirits had been overpowering. Every article of food was impregnated with the favourite brandy. The water given to drink was mixed with it, so that in hunger The Working Classes are very handy. 33 or thirst the flavour was ever present. In a few- days the old craving disappeared, followed by a sense of intolerable loathing. The Doctors were congra- tulating themselves on their success, but did so prematurely. Patients had renounced brandy, but their condition became deplorable, and insanity either followed or was imminent. The same treatment, with similar results, has been tried in France ; if, however, it is to receive applause, that the Swedes, as the earliest experimenters, are entitled to claim. Provincial distinctions are remarkable among the common people. In dress, manner, speech, and occasionally in physiognomy, these are observable. The Dalcarl is as unintelligible in Stockholm as a Highlander, speaking Gaelic, would be in London. You meet with the " burr " of Northumberland, and the inhabitants of another province, in their treat- ment of aspirates, might have drawn their first breath within sound of Bow bells. The rank and file of the old Swedish armies made first-rate campaigners. They had a versatility which enabled them to turn their hands to every sort of work. This capacity is equally observable now. On numerous homesteads the same man is masonj carpenter, blacksmith, millwright, cart and plough 3 34 Among the Goths and Vandals. wrigM. His attainments keep tailor's bills within the smallest limits, and he is his own shoemaker. It frequently happens that the scanty furniture of the labourer's cottage has been made by himself, and hence the trifling means required for house- hold plenishing. There was shown at Amsterdam the other day, at the Dutch International Ex- hibition, a collection of cottage furniture made by a Swedish boor during his leisure hours in winter evenings which was described as "truly marvellous in its cheapness." From the excellence of the work and the cheapness of labour, the Swedes might give commercial importance to this de- partment. Until recently the rights of the serving-man were seriously invaded in a way strangely incon- sistent with the boasted freedom of the nation. The law permitted a master for a trivial offence to kick ignominiously, or brutally horsewhip or cudgel, the person of his servant. It took such partial account of things as practically to lend its sanction to the theory that the employer must be right, nor was retaliation permitted. And so really the liberty of the subject to a numerous class, was of the sort en- joyed in former days by the coloured population of The Hours of Labour are unduly strained. 35 the Soutlierii States of America and tte West Indies. While the service lasted servants were regarded as the property of masters. May a man not do what he likes with his own? Any remonstrance would have been answered in the sense of a familiar doggrel — " Things have come to a pretty pass, If a rdan mayn't wallop his own jackass." But this piece of Vandalism has passed away, and the impartiality of the law is vindicated ; So that now when any patron or other employer of labour chooses to have recourse to such acts of personal violence, all protection is withdrawn, and he subjects himself to fine or imprisonment. Employers commit a great mistake in straining the hours of labour, which during summer are from ^ive in the morning till eight in the evening, with short intervals of rest. It is a fallacy to imagine that by this unnatural extension a greater amount of work is performed than by the reasonable limitation we adopt. Physical endurance is not equal to sus- tained exertion of such length, and the conse- quence is often slovenly performance. During seed time and harvest, Sunday is not always a day of rest, and farm servants have to be tempted by 3—3 36 Among the Goths and Vandals. lucre and brandy to hasten ordinary operations.* The shortness of the seasons, and their capriciousness, find excuses for the reproaches of conscience, should these ever threaten to be troublesome. It is entirely a flight of imagination to talk of spring as a season, in our sense of it, for, as an English author says, it is nothing more than the term allotted to the death and obsequies of the dear old Winter. The poet's lines are attractive, but lack reality — " ! 'tis the touch of fairy hand That wakes the spring of northern land." "With respect to "seasons" generally, the truth Has more nearly in the witty speech of a French ambas- sador, that " there were only nine months of winter — all the rest were summer !" My visit was during an interesting period, the whole establishment being in full activity, harvest and seed tiihe competing in the race. As the sow- ing — of rye especially — and wheat, was pushed on, the seed of the previous spring and autumn was * It is surprising that no mules are used in Sweden. Their keep is much less costly than that of horses, and they would be peculiarly fitted for work in forests and rough ground, while their superior speed gives them great advantages over oxen. The Potato Blights. 37 being cut down and garnered. Rye, oats (the ^ black oat), barley, and wheat, of cereals, and in respect of breadth, in the order given, peas and beans, and less generally flax, are all extensively cultivated. Black oats reach our shores in considerable quan- tities, and help to feed our faithful allies, the cab horses of London, Other grain exports are small in proportion. The potato disease, of an equally fatal type, first ap- peared about the same time as in England, and this ever-popular esculent has since proved an anxious as well as uncertain crop. Everybody claims an in- terest in it, and in the time of scarcity its absence was lamented by the man whom starvation stared in the face hardly less than by the ban vivant who taxed his artistic intellect in vain for a fitting substitute. Besides being in universal use as an article of daily food, the potato is in extensive demand for the purposes of brandy distillation. Turnip husbandry is little practised. The lateness of the cereal seed time throws turnip sowing too far into the season, and the plant suffers from the ravages of the same small black-fly, in enormous swarms, we find so formidable an assailant. Rape gets on well, and one regrets that so little com- 38 Among the Goths and Vandals. paratively is cultivated. Mangold too grows luxuriantly ; but were there no otlier reason, the difficulty of storing root crops of the larger de- scription would make their culture on a grand scale impracticable. In most gardens the " Swedish turnip" is to be seen, although its use is limited to mankind, and bovine palates have no opportunity of appreciating its acknowledged worth. As a substitute for this description of food, work oxen and milch cows are freely supplied with hay and oat straw ; the latter being sprinkled over with oat or rye-meal, coarsely ground, to which are occa- sionally added moderate allowances »of oil and rape cake, I was delighted with the country, and with the industrious deportment of the people ; but I saw it under a genial sun, when it was clothed and verdant. "While thus praising my experience one day, I could not help contrasting to Heathcote, and condoling with him upon, the state of things during these many months, when snow, some feet deep, covers the , earth, and the thermometer marks, not occasionally, but often, several degrees below zero. He assured me that my sympathy was totally unnecessary. " Why," said he, " winter is par excellence the season Winter — a Busy Season. 39 of active occupation and greatest enjoyment. It is tlien we thrasli our grain^ and carry our cattle and pigs to market ; that my wife is made happy by the sale of her cheese and butter — paraphernalia from which my rights are conventionally dissociated — that our supplies of firewood for the following year are provided, and that our ice-houses are filled with specimens as thick and clear as those which attract attention in London shop windows, and are said to come all the way from Lake Wenham.* It is in winter that I, snow-shoe provided, follow the elk, and that old Bruin is surprised in his lair, that my table is best furnished from that fine lake with fish of ample variety, caught, it is true, in pot-hunting fashion, but in this instance I look to the end, not the means. It is then we have our sledging excursions that combine business with pleasure ;t * Much that is called Lake Wenham ice comes from Scandinavian territory. A few years ago a company purchased a lake not far from the Gulf of Christiania, in connexion with an ice trade. lu blocks each weighing from three to five hundredweight, of two to three feet in thickness, they are shipped for export, and in properly con- structed cellars may be preserved for so long a period that a large proportion of the ice now (1869) sold in London actually arrived in 1866. By far the largest trade is with England, for of the total exported in 1865 of 45,593 tons, we received 44,055 tons. t The American poet Poe has a delightful little poem on bells, 40 Among the Goths and Vandals. that I teach my boys your Scotch, game of curling ; make them experts in skating, and that our neigh' hours and ourselves principally exchange those social civilities which I have not become misanthropist enough to despise." " But the cold," I said, " must be dreadful ; and I have heard that toes and fingers get cruelly frostbit, and noses have been known to fall ofi"." He put his thumb to the point of his, and gravely inquired whether the whole did not still remain ! the opening stanzas referring to sledges. It is, as James Hannay says ofhis poems generally, " carved like a cameo :" — " Hear the sledges with the bells, Silver bells ! What a world of merriment their melody foretells, How they tinkle, tinkle, tinkle. In the icy air of night ! While the stars that oversprinkle All the heavens, seem to twinkle With a crystalline delight ; Keeping time, time, time, In a sort of Eunic rhyme. To the tintinnabulation that so musically wells From the bells, bells, bells, bells. Bells, bells, bells — From the jingling and the tinkling of the bells." CHAPTER III. PARISHES EDUCATION PARISH NOTABLES THE POOR AND AFFLICTED. ,W7, IVISION by parishes dates from the period when Gustavus Wasa established the Reformed Lutheran church, and overthrew the authority of the See of Rome. To keep Popery in perpetual banishment, severe penal enactments were passed, and it was not until the year 1860 that the portion of those laws which prohibited secession from Lutheranism was formally repealed. The present number of parishes is 2500, and nearly 4000 clergymen belong to them. The superior clergy are comfortably provided for, but the co- ministers, as the junior priests or curates are called, receive miserable stipends, with glebes not better either in extent or appointments, than the holdings of 42 Among the Goths aud Vandals. tenants among us whose rent is twenty pounds a year. In a country where riches are so much con- sidered, this poverty of income unduly detracts from that respect and authority which the ministers of religion, to make their labours effective, ought always to possess. An archbishop, with a title borrowed from the famous cathedral town of Upsala, and twelve bishops, constitute the hierarchy. A question naturally occurs, Are the clergy thus composed an effectively working body ? It may be answered affirmatively, although perhaps one would not say that they were hard working. They have of course an acquaintance with their parishioners, but generally the intercourse is more official than personal, so to speak. Once a year a formal visitation of families takes place — a " catechising," as the Scotch call it, differing from the latter in this respect, that whereas Presbytery on these occasions objects to mix up spiritual affairs with affairs temporal, Lutheran pastors have to make an impartial distribution. Unless the establishment be considerable, half a dozen families or more are summoned to the homestead of some neighbouring landowner, and proceedings com- mence by a census-taking of all residents, collected by the schoolmaster, who is also the vicar's secretary joro A Pastoral Visitation. 43 hac vice. Cases of scandal are inquired into, and the cliurcli communicates its censures. Loving couples averse, too often on family grounds, from delay, are united in the holiest of bonds. Few christenings take place, for children are scarcely brought into the world before they are carried off to church by atten- tive godfathers and godmothers, and poor mothers make haste to follow, on account of a common super- stition that "Trolle," — a striking resemblance of Eobin Groodfellow— is especially dangerous to women- kind who quit their houses at such seasons before setting out to offer thanks in public. Having disposed of business in the departments named, the priest proceeds to test the Biblical knowledge of his flock in detail. A small urchin of ten may be heard correcting the answers of his grandfather, and the fallacy of a wife's belief receives reproof from the lips of her more orthodox husband. Each person is invited to read a few verses, and if statistics were to speak truly, they would record the numerous failures that occur. An address of en- couragement brings the meeting to an end, and the parson adjourns to the Patron's table to discuss the good things of this Hfe, and, in another sense, the weather and the crops. It m^qicq unjust not to 44 Among the Goths and Vandals. record that, in seasons of calamity, either from scarcity or pestilence, many of the clergy have set the brightest examples by hastening to relieve dis- tress, putting no value on their lives where they could minister to the necessities of others. This was most conspicuous during the fearful prevalence of cholera some years ago. To mark royal and national appreciation, the King conferred the order of " Wasa" on several clergymen, among others my valued friend Herr Lohmann, the contract-priest of Sponga, a poet of repute, a ripe and varied scholar and most amiable man. The Established Church is all-power- ful. Eoman Catholics do not number more than three or four thousand, and Jews, principally of Ger- man extraction, are even less numerous. It is only recently that those unreasonable penalties attached to religious dissent have been removed, although toleration is still limited, for Lutherans alone can hold ofi&ce in the state. The quasi form of dissent which has acquired most important dimensions, is that re- presented by " Eeaders." They profess to have re- vived the primitive form of Lutheranism^ and restrict themselves to the reading and interpretation of the Scriptures.* The established clergy do not favour this * Chambers' Encyclopsedia. " Revivalism" seeks a Footing. 45 kind of evangelizing. In spiritual affairs, by the favour of the state, they have long been the only authorized teachers, and movements which do not emanate from the church are regarded with jealousy, or as encroach- ments upon professional privileges.* In some parishes " revivalism," attended by the excitement with which we are familiar, has made its appear- ance. The efforts of men influenced by honest and earnest convictions ought not to be lightly re- garded, but meetings of this kind do not necessarily yield the real comforts of religion. There are many weU meaning people, poorly educated and naturally superstitious, who, ceasing to conform to a sober and unostentatious profession, are carried into * The Canons of the Church sound, now-a-days, absurdly tyran- nical. These are specimens : " If any Swedish subject change his reli- gion he shall be banished the kingdom, and lose all right of inheri- tance, both for himself and his descendants." " If any bring into the country teachers of another religion, he shall be fined and banished." " Strangers of a different religion shall have no public exercise of it, and the children shall be baptized by Lutheran ministers and educated in that religion, otherwise they shall not have the privilege of Swedish subjects." Then there is a canon with respect to religious observances, which, if enforced now, would be most unpopular with a large proportion of the male community. " The civil magis- trates, especially on days of great solemnity, make very strict search, and punish such as are absent from Church without a just excuse, with imprisonment and other severities." 46 Among the Goths and Vandals. violent extremes and become the victims of a ranting fanaticism. It has never been satisfactorily sliown that those demonstrative professions and sudden impulses lead to the permanent regeneration of communities. Eecent reforms will probably increase the local influence of the priesthood. The " House of Clergy," as one of the four representative chambers, has been abolished, and the clergy have ceased to be " political parsons." In earlier times, the counsels of its members, from their superior education, naturally carried with them great consideration, but as civiliza- tion advanced, and other classes in point of cultivation stood on more equal terms, claims to superior wisdom ceased to be recognised. Their views, too, were often widely opposed to public opinion, and such divergence i produced irritation and estrangement. 'Parish duties were made subservient to political discussions, which diminished their local authority. Where pohtical power has been of this vicarious sort, an adverse element has been too commonly imported into the cause of pro- gress. The history of Grreat Britain, without seeking evidence elsewhere, amply proves the assertion. In the last forty years our Bishops and clergy, till they could not help themselves, resisted Roman Catholic emancipation, opposed Parliamentary and Eduation is less general than popularly imagined. 47 Municipal reform, denounced the repeal of the Corn laws and the general movements of free trade, and contended for a system of tests and teaching in our universities, totally at variance with the principles of religious equality. As a recognised political body the Swedish clergy are dead. By exclusive devotion to their professional duties, the cause of religion will be more surely promoted by them. An exaggerated idea prevails of the universality of education. Each parish has its school, but the scattered character of the population and the rigorous climate, are fatal to general or regular attendance, and indeed the schoolmaster often finds it necessary to suspend his labours for months, through the failure of pupils. In some districts, efforts have been made to correct this state of things, and ambulatory schools seek to supply the remedy. The teacher pursues the pupils, and at some farmhouse gathers about him, for a few weeks, a small group, which he forsakes for another to be similarly collected and instructed at a new locality. The stipend of the parish schoolmaster is so small, that he finds it neces- sary to supplement it from other sources.* If he is * Until 1863, the minimum salary was 16 tonnas of corn, worth probably in all 121. 10s. of our money, school accommodation. 48 Among the Goths and Vandals. musically inclined, the churcli makes him its organist. He collects the poor's rates, and is the chief agent in their distribution, and it happens that not unfre- quently his voice and facetiousness are engaged in discharging the popular duties of auctioneer. I had heard that everybody was within the reach and had profited by the advantages of education, but this is an apocryphal belief. Among the labouring classes numbers read with difficulty, — with such difficulty, that any idea of pleasure is dissociated from the effort ; others are totally without the ability, and for caligraphy, in some districts adults as a rule do not know how to write their own names. Statistical returns will refute this statement, for they place Sweden nearly side by side with Prussia ; but statistics cannot enlighten on the relative stan- dards of education, which is certainly without the uniformity of excellence that belongs to it in the latter country. This assumed educational superiority is no new idea, and possibly its correctness may have rested on better grounds formerly than at the present time. An Englishman wrote, two centuries ago. and "if possible" a suitable plot of land. Now the minimum allowance is raised, and may be computed at 221. 5s., besides a free house, fuel, and winter fodder for cows and pigs. Efforts to spread Education. 49 that the Swedes " are so affectionate to learning, that although publick scholars for good literature be but rare among them, yet are private persons, who have attain- ed to any learning so forward to instruct their neigh- bours, that it is a hard matter to find one going at the plough, but hee can read." Difficulties in the way of systematic attendance no doubt produce these in- stances of ignorance I have quoted, and for which any imperial remedy is nearly impracticable. If the rising generation is to be benefited, it will have to depend more upon the exertions of individual land- owners than extended provisions by the State. This ignorance might have been partially corrected if clerical duties had always been more strictly attended to. The law requires that the population of both sexes shall be confirmed on reaching a reasonable' age, after previous examination by the parish priest, a knowledge of reading and writing being among the prescribed subjects. Without such know- ledge, therefore, confirmation ought not to be granted, and strict enforcement of formulce would undoubtedly favour educational progress, as neglect to be confirmed is lowering to a man in social consideration. His evidence, for example, is inad- missible in a court of justice, and a clergyman who 4 50 Among the Goths and Vandals. marries him makes himself amenable to penal con- sequences.* But, in the face of much ignorance, the efforts to remove it cannot be too highly extolled, and the early period at which they were commenced makes them the more noteworthy. The work of educating the people was begun as far back as the first half of the sixteenth century. What John Knox was enabled under easier circumstances to introduce into Scotland, Gustavus Wasa had previously exerted himself to effect for Sweden. He established nume- rous schools, and evidently contemplated a compre- hensive system. Nature is powerless to extricate chaos, and Gustavus perceived that without some influential combination it would be impossible to instruct a nation ; but means were not abundant in his day, and he could only lay the foundation-stone, upon which others were to build the edifice. There is no country in Europe, which, by reason of its inhabi- tants being so widely scattered, it is more difficult to reach in detail, and this, and not the abstract * A Statute of Charles XI. provided that nobody should be allowed to enter into marriage without having been admitted to the Lord's Supper, and that none should be confirmed until they could read. Efforts to spread Education. 51 character of the system, is the cause of partial failure. A general educational movement, headed by an enlightened ruler, was among the firstfruits of the Eeformation. The king had no honeyed words to be- stow on the monks, who were formerly supposed to be the only capable instructors, and he described them as "vermin, harmful to the people and good for nothing ;" further making offer to supply teaching for the " edification of the children of the people" {Folkefs barn). In the schools he appointed gospel readings to take place every day. About the middle of the seventeenth century, some general desire for increased facilities was expressed. Separate parishes, previously unaccommodated, supplied themselves. A few years later, an announcement was made in the Eiksdag, that the parish oiFellinc/bro had instituted an " Informatorii," and about the same date several parishes in Norrland petitioned the legis- lature to establish schools, and the peasantry belonging to one entire province made application that a "Block- are," clerk or teacher, might be appointed at every parish church. Charles XI. was a powerful patron of education, and the interest he took in it was extremely 4— a 52 Among the Goths and Vandals. beneficial. Further on in the century, the clergy headed an earnest movement for the appointment of teachers in every parish, and it was about this time that ambulatory schools received greater conside- ration. But arrangements were still and long afterwards very incomplete, and a thoroughly systematic revision cannot be said to have taken place until the years, 1840, 41, and 42. In the Diet of these years, resolu- tions were passed that in every country parish there should be at least one stationary or ambulatory school, the first to be preferred, and very considerable sums were voted for the purposes of national educa- tion, which subsequent meetings have largely aug- mented. The status and accomplishments of teachers were raised, and those only could fill the of&ce who after examination were found to be duly qualified. Training- schools were founded, and an ef&cient supervision by the Crown of all national schools was established. In order to keep before the executive ample in^- formation on the progress of education, the clergy are further directed to "keep a watchful eye on the schools of their parishes, especially as to the religious education of the pupils, and to make annual reports thereon." Each parish school is also A " Head-tax^' for Educational Purposes. 53 under a board of local supervision, consisting of tlie clergyman, who is chairman ex officio, and of lay residents popularly elected. In addition to parliamentary grants in the cause of national education, a royal decree fixes a head-tax, to which each male contributes about fourpence, and each female twopence. These two sources combined produce more than half a million rix-doUars,* and are usefully applied in the general spread of education — especially where corresponding local ex- ertions have been made for aiding such poor parishes as are little able from their scanty resources to defray expenses, by supplementing the teachers' salaries — for the salaries of inspectors, and the purchase of improved books, maps, and globes. As a lead- ing result of the educational movement at various times, and a proof also of its great importance, may be adduced the fact that there are at the present day some thousands of professional teachers, great num- bers of whom, exclusive of the direct occasional aid to parish schoolmasters, are salaried by Grovernment. The condition of things in towns, which are admi- rably supplied, is elsewhere referred to. Fees being * Circa SO.OOOZw 54 Among the Goths and Vandals. small, poverty can find no valid excuse for neglecting to educate its juvenile representatives. In larger communities, " seminaries" supported by Government afford instruction to both sexes, in branches which may be diminished or expanded according to the condition or views of pupils. There is a solidity about the education of the middle classes, which makes it essentially practical. The range is not extensive, but its soundness impresses one. Swedes of this class are good arithmeticians, and write fluently and grammatically. They are exceedingly well read in the history of their country, and have a familiar biographical acquaintance with the great men who adorn its annals. Improved facilities of communication wiU help by-and-by to extend inquiries, and give them greater interest in the tra- ditions and literature of other lands, but their present stock of knowledge suffices for the creditable dis- charge of daily duties and the right appreciation of measures for the well-being of the common- wealth. They are free from what Sydney Smith calls the " foppery of universality — of knowing all sciences and excelling in all arts — chemistry, mathe- matics, algebra, dancing, history, reasoning, ridingi fencing, low Dutch, high Dutch, and natural philo- Some Parish Notables. 55 sophy !" " It is better," added that wise and witty man, " to have the courage to be ignorant of a good number of things, and thus to avoid the calamity of being ignorant of everything." There are other parish notables besides parsons and schoolmasters. The doctor is one of them, and in hard work and mean remuneration shares the lot of many well educated men in the profession in rural districts elsewhere, but his rides are longer, exposure to the weather is infinitely more trying, and his annual earnings are even less considerable, making one lament the inadequate requital science too frequently receives. The chemist is another, and although this kindred calling is socially inferior, its recompense is greater. His office is a monopoly, since Grovernment limits the numbers, and also selects the locality of their residence. Compe- tition therefore is unknown. The provision which establishes a pharmacy depot in every parish is a wise one, as in the occasional absence of medical advice its chief is competent to give valuable assistance. Midwives, in their more limited sphere, are as im- portant personages as either. In the practice of the obstetric art, the ubiquity of the doctor becomes less necessary, seeing that women, professionally in- 56 Among the Goths and Vandals. structed, are within reacli in all districts, and it is indeed quite an exceptional case wlien any but a female practitioner assists at the birth of a child.* The services of women are in such requisition, that the principle of " woman's rights " may be said to be almost conceded. They conduct nearly exclu- sively the business of savings-banks, and are extensively employed in the Post-office and tele- graphic departments. In numerous private estabhsh- ments they make efficient clerks and bookkeepers, and recently a Medical College has been opened at Gottenburg, where ladies, not under seventeen years of age, are admitted to a complete course of three years, with clinical and anatomical lectures. In view of this efficiency, and these pretensions, it is a marvel that the King and his Ministers, when lately introducing electoral and other political changes, did not give the nation a " Woman's House of Eepresentatives." Although the chorus of two hundred voices had been heard, that need not have made it a house of discord ; and its delibera- tions, presided over by Jenny Lind or Christine Nils- son, would have imparted to them a livelier interest than usually follows from Swedish Councils ! * Published letter of Madame Ankarsvard of Stockholr More Parish Worthies. 57 Alas ! tlie united skill of doctor, chemist, and mid- wife, is insufficient to stay the ravaging hand of death, and the gravedigger in Scandinavia, whose office has been made classical by the magic touch of our great dramatist, supplies another parish worthy. In winter his ordinary duties are suspended, and all corpses are deposited in a dead-house attached to every church- yard, until graves can be dug on the return of a milder season. The official, however, who chiefly fills the paro- chial eye, is the policeman — a hydra-headed speci- men, when his multifarious duties are considered. He grasps at everything ; he is an ordinary Dogberry and a scientific detective ; government taxes are in his collection ; the functions of coroner — untrammelled by jury — are dispensed by him ; he is sheriff- officer and bailifi", varying his duties at ambulatory courts of justice by a paid advocacy of the suits of litigants. If his eloquence in their behalf proves unavailing, and they are cruelly left to fate, he easily forgets the claims of fleeting associations — promptly metamorphoses him- self into an auctioneer, and sells ofi", without com- punction, the worldly goods of former allies. By needy fellow parishioners of every class, the police- 68 Amo/ig the Goths and Vandals. man is treated with marked respect. One must not too curiously inquire whether fear or affection most commands it. It is highly creditable to the executive that ample provision is made for the care and support of indigent members of the community. This charitable provision has never been neglected. In old times, when servants and retainers became disabled, masters housed, fed, and clothed them; centuries back, a traditional account relates how a rich lady, moved by priestly counsels, bequeathed her possessions for the benefit of those whose support was derived from alms-taking. The gift, so far as Sweden was concerned, had no practical significance, since there were none to claim it, and its benefits were transferred to other countries, in which men- dicity was rampant. At the present day stroUing beggars are a rare sight, especially in the country. All excuses are withdrawn by careful arrangements and periodical distributions of relief. If individuals are homeless, accommodation is supplied by alms- houses and workhouses. Occupants and tenants contribute equally, and claims upon parishes are determined, in respect either of the parish of birth, or of that in which industrial residence has been ac- Careful Treatment of the Poor. 59 quired. It is perhaps scarcely reasonable to draw a contrast between Sweden and England as regards pauperism and its treatment ; undoubtedly we should not benefit by the contrast. In the former case the difficulties of management are as nothing in com- parison. There are no over-crowded neighbourhoods to deal with, nor combinations of people whom pro- fessional robbery and plunder supply with the means of living. Controlling power is therefore infinitely more easy, but unhappily for us we have engrafted on our efibrts to suppress mendicity a savage spirit, and at the same time signally failed. France, with its teeming population, manages things better, and if the beggar has been more effectively dealt with there, it is because no hard lines are drawn, and no command given that he shall disappear in an impossible manner. It was lately remarked that our Poor Law is eleemosynary in the worst sense of the word. The allowance merely suffices to sustain life in miserable fashion, and beyond doling out their allowance, we take no further interest in the recipients. Continental countries are not content to leave the pauper as they find him, and in their efforts to improve his con- dition and prospects, show us an example we would do well to imitate. Pauperism in Sweden, without 60 Among the Goths and Vandals. presenting any appalling picture, has considerable dimensions. Of almshouses and workhouses there are no fewer than 2129, and official returns to the end of 1865 show that 55,187 persons were in that year entirely supported by parochial relief, while, in the same period, 92,601 were partially relieved. Of the gross number of 147,788, upwards of 81,000 were women. The legislature continues to sanction the appropriation of public revenues, from sources which have no natural relations to the subject, for the support of the poor. A proportion of all penalties imposed in courts of law, as well as an eighth per cent, of legacy duties on succession to property, is devoted for the relief of pauperism. The nation has long been accustomed to make provision for the insane, an inheritance bequeathed to it from Roman Catholic times. In each of those provinces where lunatic asylums have been esta- blished, the Governor and Bishop, are, ex officiis, chairman and vice-chairman respectively, four other members, named by the King, completing the board of management. The supervision, as well as accom- modation of insane persons, has excited during this generation increased interest and attention. In the neighbourhood of Stockholm, on a bright and com- Provision for the Insane. 6 1 manding site, having extensive grounds attached, a hospital of pleasing architectural design was opened a few years ago, capable of containing three hundred patients, and is regarded as a general model. Although inmates belonging to these institutions have exhibited for some time a steady increase, ample pecuniary support has been forthcoming, and pauper patients find an asylum at the very moderate charge of about seven pounds per annum. The change of treatment in recent years elsewhere observable, has been fully recognised by Swedish medical practi- tioners. Cruelty and brutality have been replaced by kindness and gentle persuasion, so that mad-houses have ceased to be regarded as loathsome prison- houses, in which obedience was too often enforced by the lash, or the clouded intellect taught submission by the violent onslaughts of ferocious attendants. At the end of 1866, the number of lunatics under legal restraint was 1500, but national prejudices have only been partially removed, and many are still at large who require careful treatment. An extension, and more stringent application of the Lunacy Law, would therefore be a humane contribution. We know, in England, how many cases of almost living interment have been disclosed to view, following upon the en- 62 Among the Goths and Vandals. largement of official authority, where human beings out of their mind have for years been cruelly concealed by members of their family, as if the affliction, instead of being a mere mental disease, involved some enor- mous moral guilt. Similar cases, dependent on this erroneous construction, without doubt exist in Sweden, in which not only are no efforts made to alleviate suffering, but the whole tendency in respect of treat- ment is towards the degradation of the invalids, who are reduced below the standard of the brute creation. The deprivations of the deaf and dumb and blind have likewise excited the earnest interest of the benevolent. So far back as the year 1809 an insti- tution for the care and education of this com- bined class was founded in the capital, under circum- stances of peculiar difficulty, by Aaron Berg. This gentleman, who held an inferior appointment in one of the public offices, was compelled to leave it, owing to some difference with his chief, and sharing the versatility of his countrymen, for a time supported himself by teaching singing, and playing on the harp. Possibly his success as a professor had not realized his expectations, as, attracted by the efforts else- where of the Abbd de I'Epde, he opened a school for the education of deaf, dumb, and blind children. Institution of the Deaf and Dumb and Blind. 63 One of his earliest pupils was a blind girl of sur- prising natural capacity, which Berg most success- fully cultivated. Sjerling was the daughter of a strolling acrobat, and had been born blind. She soon became the right hand of the founder, and her profi- ciency, especially in languages and music, helped materially to obtain public sympathy and support. Being a new process which was to be developed, it had to contend with an unusual amount of scepticism. That persons under distressing natural deprivations should have the power of acquiring knowledge with facility, and of imparting it to others, was hardly con- ceivable, save on conditions which decent folks would reject ; but an investigation by men in authority removed adverse impressions and forced approval. Mademoiselle Sjerling was no impostor, and Berg achieved his first triumph. Government lent its sanction, although the manner cannot be called magnificent. The new institution was voted a grant of four hundred and fifty doUars, equal to twenty-five pounds of our money. In the follow- ing year the Queen attended the examination of pupils and vouchsafed her royal patronage; but circumstances so adventitious were inadequate to confer unclouded prosperity. Hateful rumours were put in circulation. 64 Among the Goths and Vandals. and parents in landward districts hesitated to send forward their children. Disappointed though not cast down, upheld by a sense of the purity of his actions and the worthiness of the cause, Berg resolved to invade the provinces, accompanied by several of his pupils for the illustration of his method. They made the journey on foot, and their progress was that of a victorious army. The appearance of the children and their acquire- ments at once exposed calumny and imparted confi- dence, and such was the eagerness exhibited for ad- mission, that applications greatly exceeded the means of meeting them. These suspicions removed, it might have been fairly anticipated that an institution which basked in the sunshine of royalty would sufier no reverses, especially as the Qufeen had been indefati- gable in her attentions. Sixty years ago Queens were still vastly imperious personages, and by personal government most kingdoms with their belongings, great and small, were ruled. In this fashion her Majesty of Sweden was minded to guide the affairs of the Eoyal Hospital, while Berg manfully refused to endorse royal reforms. He retired from the di- rection, and until he returned to his old post, on differences being cemented, a settled cloud hung over the institution. It is long ago since its ad- Its successful Career. 65 vantages have been universally acknowledged ; at the end of 1867 the building in Stockholm con- tained 190 deaf and dumb, and 58 blind boys and girls. Of these, 166 were wholly maintained and edu- cated from the hospital funds, and the remainder contributed the very moderate annual sum of 250 dollars each, or 14Z. Education is directed according to the various conditions and tastes of the pupils, by tutors and governesses who have all been trained in the house. The course of training runs from six to eight years, having this general result, that many who would otherwise have been useless outcasts, have, by manual occupations of different kinds, supported them- selves in comfort, while not a few have obtained excel- lence in science and art. The care taken, and the science applied in the treatment of the victims of a strange infirmity, have indeed exhibited some of the best human sympathies. Statistics represent the number of bKnd in the country at about 3000, and of deaf and dumb at 2500. There are more blind women than men, and as might be expected, fewer dumb women than of the other sex ! Berg's fame reached other countries, and on the invitation of the Government of Portugal he visited Lisbon, where a hospital was 5 66 Among the Goths and Vandals. establislied on the system he had successfully intro duced at home. Not any of the public institutions in Sweden deserve higher commendation than the hospitals in the largest towns for the benefit of the sick. Pro- fessional capacity, kindness, and cleanliness are con- spicuous characteristics. They are popular with both rich and poor, and thus it frequently happens that patients from the country belonging to the former class seek admission, for whom limited accommoda- tion, at a fixed tariff of charges, is provided. CHAPTEE IV. SHOOTING AND FISHING. HE authority to destroy, under the ancient law, what has come to be called " game," was of a liberal kind. Game- preserving squires will be shocked to hear that, in Sweden, the lives of neither hare nor deer were treated with consideration. Legal dicta announced, He may have the Hare who takes it ; He may have the Fox who hunts it ; He may have the Wolf who traps it ; He may have the Bear who kills it ; He may have the Elk who fells it ; He may have the Otter who snares it . But things have changed since those days, and now there are game laws strict enough on paper, but feebly enforced. The extent of forests sheltering securely a great variety both of winged and ground vermin 5— a 68 Among the Goths and Vandals. makes "preserving" in our sense an impossibility; while from tlie depth and long continuance of snow, "trapping" is an easy as well as remunerative voca- tion. From this source Stockholm, and other towns receive large supplies during the winter months. It is computed that of blackcock, the hazel grouse,* and ripa {ptarmigan) alone, between 200,000 and 300,000 are forwarded on sledges every season. There is what may be called a Government system of game pre- serving, head rangers being attached to each province, who pay money, according to a tariff, for every beast and bird of prey killed. The larger and wilder animals are annually diminishing, but the destruc- tion has no perceptible influence on the number of others. The Swedes like to statisticize everything, and recent returns give some particulars not without interest. These show that during five years there has been an average slaughter of 117 bears, 162 wolves, 110 lynx, 5396 foxes ; and of winged vermin, * The hazel hen is an excellent bird for the table, and an univer- sal favourite. According to M. Winhelm von Wright, " the Finns entertain the very singular notion that at the Creation this bird was the largest of the feathered tribe, but that year by year it has decreased in size, and will continue to do so, until at last it will become so very diminutive as to be able to fly through the eye of a needle, and when that happens, the world will come to an end." Sporty as -a Bule, is not good. 69 1908 eagles, hawks, and falcons, and 1013 owls. In tlie same period the aggregate loss sustained through the joint ravages of vermin is estimated at 15,000?., and some idea may be formed of the destruction of game by the fact that poultry yards, naturally more or less protected, have suffered according to reported cases (and large allowance must be made for cases not reported) to the respectable amount of 1600?. Of late years we have been exchanging specimens of game. The capercali now flourishes on a few wide domains in Scotland, where he can luxuriate on the young twigs of the pine, his favourite food, and the Messrs. Dickson, of Gottenberg, have imported grouse in some quantities, and found that they were easUy acclimatized. The comparatively small extent of suitable ground alone prevents their becoming general, but moor and mosslands are not to be found in every district. It is an utter fallacy to imagine that Sweden, taking it all in all, is a country for good shooting. As a rule, it is not to be compared with what we leave behind at home. There are some portions, it is true, where the sportsman may have exciting practice, to enjoy which he must provide for a short campaign and make up his mind to " rough it." If he will 70 Among the Goths and Vandals. direct his steps to Dalecarlia, and tlie fells towards the Norwegian frontier, he will find every species of furred and feathered game peculiar to the country, and may reckon upon large bags. In more civilized districts, however, the ordinary kinds are scarce, and an eager amateur will be sorely disap- pointed. He will have no difficulty in obtaiaing permission to range over miles of country without the risk of being collared by saucy keepers, nor do such nuisances as game certificates help to swell the revenues of Swedish Chancellors of Exchequer. The penalties imder the law are greatest in the case of the elk. He is the most valuable of the deer species, and weU worth careful protection, some specimens having been known to weigh as much as 1300 to 1400 pounds. Elks have other enemies than man, and wolves during winter often make sad ravages among them. A combination of circumstances had conspired so prejudicially, that for forty years there was a prohibition against killing elks except in every tenth year, but since then they have increased to such an extent in many parts of the peninsula, that authority is now given to hunt them from the 1st of August to the 1st of December inclusive. Devices for snaring the elk are common, but adventurous sportsmen, Stalking the Elh Red Deer. 71 wearing snow-shoes, prefer to track them, and the pursuit is occasionally continued for two or three days. The natives used to hold very extravagant ideas re- specting this animal. His legs were without knees and joints. He did not therefore lay himself down to sleep, but found repose by leaning majestically against v. some friendly tree. His long upper Hp made it necessary he should adopt a novel fashion in browsing, and when he did, he walked backwards. He was subject to fits of epilepsy, but nature had supplied him with a valuable prescription, and so by opening with his hind foot a vein at the back of the ear, appalling symptoms were promptly removed ! At one time the red deer and roebuck were common in most districts, but their numbers have greatly diminished, and are now confined prin- cipally to southern provinces. Among the many good things, great and small, attributed to Grustaf "Wasa, he is said to have introduced the red deer, although this would seem to be without foundation, since fossil remains have been discovered in great mosses, which show that it is an indigenous repre- seintative. The diminutive size of the animal is a proof of the influence of climate and feeding. In Germany the same species is larger than in 72 Among the Goths and Vandals. Scotland, and the Scotch twice as big as that in Sweden. The game season is not of long continuance. By November snipe, woodcock, and duck have migrated, and such birds as remain in the forests sit perched up high among the trees, where it is difficult either to disturb or reach them. Bear hunting was the sport which used to supply the greatest excitement, and the country people, in forces of several hundreds, turned out to avenge them- selves on some old couple and their offspring which had been making foray upon cattle and sheep. Mr. Lloyd, a mighty hunter, has told the world about his exploits and adventures, extending over a period long enough for the lifetime of ordinary mortals, and says that bears are now altogether confined to the northern parts of the peninsula, where they are less numerous than for- merly. The Ursus Arctos of Linnaeus is the only kind known in Scandinavia. M. Falk, a Swede who has destroyed no less than eighty-six bears, thus enthu- siastically glorifies the sport. " If any kind of hunting tends to harden the body, strengthen the mind, and enable us to meet the dangers that may cross our path in life, it is that of the bear, and the man who calmly enters into combat with this king of the forest, will The Northern Fauna. 73 not in all probability tremble at the sight of the enemy's ranks." The northern Fauna includes, of game birds, the portly capercali, blackcock, the hazel hen, the dal- ripa (ptarmigan) of several varieties, the common partridge, the common quail, the great bustard (although rare), the woodcock, and snipe of diffe- rent kinds. During spring and autumn the lakes and rivers swarm with aquatic birds of ample variety ; the mallard, teal, wigeon, the golden eye, the goosander, the merganser, and divers gulls and terns, the sheUdrake, &c. In the fall of the year in many localities excellent wild goose shooting may be had, and at the same season and the breaking up of frost in spring, wild swans pay "flying visits." At that period both descrip- tions keep company, which, says Nordholm, in his account of Helsingland, has impressed the common people with an opinion, from the one being much less in size than the other, that geese are no other than the young of swans ! There are, belonging to the game family, a few curious specimens of hybrids. Those between the capercali and blackcock are not uncommon, and, more rarely, crosses between blackcock and ptarmigan 74 Among the Goths and. Vandals. are found. Tke capercali is easily domesticated, and crosses have succeeded between him and the turkey, although, for useful purposes, the experiment is with- out value. Nature has invested most men with a love of sport, but the Swedes are not ambitious representa- tives, and although a fowling-piece is amongst the first wishes to be gratified, it is ordinarily of such primi- tive construction, and the ammunition so atrociously bad, that one wonders how any deadly "results foUow. The indifierence about the species to practise upon is almost ridiculous. It may be that woodpeckers are preferred to sparrows, but a string of either is a trophy highly considered ! Heathcote got up a chasse on grand scale specially on my account, A general holiday was announced, and the farm servants, noisy and tumultuous, were our beaters — ^his nearest, although not near, neighbours arrived, and in such gay equipments as to recall the description given of the uniform of other foreign sportsmen, that it partook equally of a field-marshal's and a Swiss church beadle's. We did not find great abundance, but pleasing varieties. The " patrons " carried huge knives, and shocked me by the savage manner in which A Shooting Party. 75 they disembowelled uuhappy hares. Not a drop of blood remained ; what dishonouring treatment in the eyes of an English cook !* Vulpicide prevailed to a discreditable extent. No foxes die a glorious death. Poor reynard's skin is a coveted possession, and he receives neither sympathy nor protection. Such cheerful sounds as " Tally ho !" " Hark away !" attend him not. That day half a dozen specimens swelled the bags of Swedish Nimrods. We saw no wolves or bears — associated in the minds of most men with the wilds of Scandinavia — but a solitary elk dashed through the beaters, and disappointed our best efforts to bring him down. Our return was welcomed by the most sumptuous of feasts. Soyer himself never presented more fasci- * " The hare, as soon as killed, is disembowelled, and its head, with the exception of the ears, which remain attached to the skin, is severed from the body. The only reason I could ever hear alleged for this very strange custom, which is usually adopted in Sweden, is that if a woman in a state of pregnancy was to see the head of the animal, her oflFspring would inevitably have a hare-lip." — Lloyd's Adventures in Scandinavia. Other parts of the hare are attractive. According to Linnseus the fur is used by the Dalecarlian girls as a " flea trap." Prom having noticed the fondness of fleas for its peculiar warmth and shelter, they ingeniously resolved to benefit by the observation, and wear about their persons a kilot or ball, which it is hoped they find altogether efficacious ! 76 Among the Goths and Vandals. nating combinations, and our kind hostess attended to us with delightful impartiality. Swedish punch, and mj friend's bright and sparkling wines — a danger- ous mixture — soon exerted their influence. After national fashion, we charged bumper full our glasses, which we drained, and then bringing them into lively contact, vowed eternal friendship. Beranger would h' and continued to be prosecuted with success until in 1808, influenced bysome new freak, they again deserted the locality, to which they have never since shown any disposition to return. During these sixty-one years the " take" was often prodigious, so that four bushels might occasionally be purchased on the spot for a halfpenny, and in one season 2,938,000 barrels were secured, ample proof of the extraordinary abundance. This success was highly beneficial in many respects. It was the means of supplying employment to many thousands, and the produce, much of it sent to foreign countries, increased native wealth. The suddenness of the collapse aggravated the evil, which was indeed a great national calamity. The wise as well as the foolish busied themselves to account for the myste- rious cause ; Government appointed what we should call a mixed commission of scientific and practical men to examine the subject, and speculative reasons were produced in endless variety. Here are some of them ; — The noise and uproar in the " SkSrgard" ■ from the operations of the thousands employed ; the excessive quantity of foul refuse thrown into the sea, which, producing an unbearable stench, The Subject pursued. 183 destroyed all submarine vegetation ; the whole- sale destruction of fry and lesser fish arising from the smalln'ess of the meshes, and the gigantic pro- portions of drag nets which swept the bottom to the destruction of grass and other plants that sup- plied the fish with convenient spawning beds. Few were willing to accept these reasojis as conclusive, and the fishermen ridiculed them. They preferred relying upon superstition as their mysterious guide, and declared that the fish captured on these stations were dififerent from all other inhabitants of the deep. They did not breed like ordinary varieties, but had a separate creation by Providence every third year, or, according to another section, they were quickened in the sea every month out of a green substance which flourished on the surface. The notion therefore that creatures so produced in unlimited quantities should be diminished or destroyed by any of those agencies suggested by the commissioners, was denounced as absurd, and until this day no generally accepted solu- tion has been presented. Mr. Lloyd* very cautiously observes that in his opinion the absence of the fish is owing to " some hidden law of nature," and predicts * " The Game Birds, &c., of Sweden." 1867. 184 Among the Goths and Vandals. their reappearance. Another writer* attributes the disappearance to " the great thanklessness shown by the people to Grod, and the way in which they have abused His many bounteous gifts ; as also their ungodly and dissolute lives were no doubt the cause of dis- appearance of the herrings." Dr. McCuIloch,! a very intelligent authority, likewise disagrees with the con- clusions of the commissioners on other grounds: " Ordinary philosophy," he says, " is never content unless it can find a solution for everything, and is satis- fied for this reason with imaginary ones." He refers to the case of Long Island, one of the Hebrides, which once was a herring station, and because, by some imaginary coincidence, the fish left it simultaneously with the commencement of kelp-manufacturingthere,the theory that the fires in connexion with the process afirighted them was generally accepted ; but on other shores the manufacture was in similar activity, and shoals of herring found there previously, were content to remain in their ancient quarters. " It has been a stiU more favourite and popular fancy that they were driven away by the firing of guns, and hence this is not allowed during the fishing season. A gun has scarcely * Peder Clausen. f MeCuUoch. A National Misfortune. 185 been fired on the Western Islands or on the West Coast since the days of Oliver Cromwell, yet they (herrings) have changed their places many times in the interval. In a similar manner and with equal truth it was said they had been driven from the Baltic by the battle of Copenhagen !" Our own Highlanders vie with their Scandinavian brethren in ingenious hypotheses. Before guns and gun- powder were, they maintained that herrings ceased to frequent the coasts where blood had been shed, and now steamers supply a fresh reason for their disappearance, but, as Dr. McCulloch says, the best specimens are caught in much abundance in Loch Fine, on which steamers ply daily, and from other lochs, where steamboats have never smoked, they have mysteriously disappeared. It is vain to search for reasons which will fail now, as before, to be generally satisfactory. The loss of the fishing was a national disaster which has only been compensated by the creation of other branches of industrial employment, but while the multitude continues to sorrow, there are others who extract the elements of rejoicing. Mr. Holmburg, a native author , says, when the fishing was in the height of its pros- perity — " The vagabond life led by the people ex- 186 Among the Goths and Vandals. ceeded all belief. Blasphemy, outrages, immorality of aU kinds, and scenes of beastly drunkenness, were going on all day. From morning to night the fisher- men and others were staggering about in their houses, their boats, and on the piers, whilst the nights were devoted to debaucheries of the worst description, little surprising from the fact that the people of both sexes thus congregated together were for the most part the very dregs of society." He adds that the in- habitants of the province exclaimed then, as residents do now, when revival of the trade is hinted at as a possibility, " Grod forbid that the herrings should ever again come back !" ' Agriculture. — The chief source of national wealth must continue to be agriculture, and self-interest ought to' neglect no opportunity for fostering and extending it. A greatly increased breadth of culti- vation and the general adoption of improved systems are the first steps — produce would be augmented, and by and by more capital be made available for the development of those mineral riches which exist in large abundance. During the last twenty years this subject has ob- tained much attention with highly beneficial results, so that, whereas formerly little or no grain was ex- Agriculture — its Condition and Frospects. 187 ported, there is an income now, thence derived, of more than half a million yearly. The Danes have been better practical agriculturists hitherto than their neighbours. In many instances, it is true, they have a more grateful soil, and kinder climate, but these don't account for the whole difference. The area of Denmark is a fourteenth part less than that of Sweden, with 1,700,000 inhabitants as against 4,000,000, and yet the estimated value of land in the two countries is 16,000,000^. in favour of Denmark. The fondness for purchasing estates for the sake of forests which has been already referred to, is a grievous hindrance to agricultural prosperity. Such owners treat the cultivation of the lands as a subordinate affair. They are but birds of passage, and permanent improve- ments on their part are out of the question. Besides, they have no knowledge of practical agriculture, and attempts, if made, would be sure to be failures. Gustaf Wasa was seldom wrong, and there is an old saying of his, carefully preserved, fuU of wisdom : " Let tradespeople remain tradespeople, and farmers be farmers!" If men would only stick to the employment they really understand, there would be less poverty abroad in the world. Numerous successful efforts have, however, been made 188 Among the Goths and Vandals. by other landed proprietors to give effect to modem systems of improvement. It is to be desired tbat Government would inaugurate the plan ours wisely adopted, of advancing money for the reclamation of wastes and for drainage purposes. Swedish credit stands high on foreign Bourses, and loans can be raised on easy terms, while on the principle of capital and interest being repaid by a fixed number of equal annual amounts, such improvements would be effected without pecuniary pressure, and with results that would immensely enhance the products of the country. Sweden is not behind other nations in having Agricultural Societies, and so long ago as 1813 the "Agricultural Academy" has been one of its institutions, but it is not by means of an experi- mental farm of a few hundred acres in the neighbour- hood of Stockholm, which the Society possesses, that a general stimulus is to be provided. The successful pursuit of agriculture is synonymous with national prosperity, for seven-eighths of the population are, in rural districts, most of them directly engaged in, and all more or less indirectly dependent upon it. Un- doubtedly greater earnestness has been exhibited of late years, and nothing has been more serviceable than the establishment of Agricultural Schools in Agricultural Schools. 189 different districts. A director, appointed and salaried by Government and usually the owner of a large farm or estate, receives as pupils a limited number of young men, some of whom are free students, named by a committee of management attached to each school, and selected from the sons of peasant landowners. This also is a wise provision. The peasants, we have seen, are a very numerous and influential body, and the value of land in gross in their occupation amounts to several millions sterling. All of them are practical men, strongly prejudiced in favour of the maxims and customs of antiquity, to which they cling with the tenacity of Chinamen. There will be real difficulty in forcing upon them the adoption of new systems, and this can only be effected by slow degrees and gentle processes. The plan selected is practically to make their children that agency, and another generation may witness in great measure its successful execution. On the farms where this teaching is going on, im- proved implements are in use, and the influence of scientific appliances so explained and illustrate d, that conviction foUows as matter of course. Intelligent pupils may well wonder why, if in other departments of industry so great advantages have accrued, their fathers still refuse to be benefited by the teaching 190 Among the Goths and Vandals. of science and the aid of mechanical invention. In the marts of Europe the prices of grain are more likely to fall than to rise, and the only way by which agriculturists can hope for reasonable success is by omitting no available means to increase production, and the employment of the best mechanical assistance. Pu- pils remain at these Agricultural Schools for a couple of years, and give a helping hand in out of door opera- tions. In winter the director seeks to enliven the long evenings — we trust successfully — by discoursing on topics which concern the breeding and rearing of stock, manuring of land, the drainage of lochs, and the best rotations ; and as a " veterinary" usually belongs to the establishment, lectures by him vary the entertainment. The course being finished, all free students undergo an examination, which, if satisfactory, entitles them to a certificate of merit, and either become farm overseers, or return to the paternal acres, carrying with them, it is hoped, the power as well as determination to in- troduce such sweeping reforms as the efforts of a hundred strangers would be inadequate to effect. Several of the landed gentry, to combine the advantages of foreign travel with instruction in A Scotch Agriculturist broken on the Wheel. 191 agriculture, as successfully practised, have placed their sons "with eminent farmers, principally in Scotland, where the best rules and practice in all departments are observed. The belief that agriculture is better understood in Scotland thanin England is an old inheri- tance. It is known that Gustaf Wasa and James V. corresponded on the subject, and the former was besides desirous of creating a trade in horses between the two countries. It had been better for at least one Scotchman if this estimate of his countrymen's departmental superiority had not existed. Alexander Blackwell, a native of Aberdeen, had passed through many vicissitudes, when — ^like other discreet men — he wrote a book, dedicating it to agriculture. Somehow the King of Sweden, hearing of its merits, invited the author to take up his residence in Stockholm. A pension was settled upon Blackwell, and fortune smUed upon him. The period was a brief one. His native caution had deserted him, and for some imprudent freedom of speech he was unjustly suspected of complicity in a plot for the over- throw of the constitution. The poor Scotchman was tried, found guilty, and sentenced to be broken alive on the wheel. Since then, no Scottish agriculturist has found similar employment, and the 192 Among the Goths and Vandals. fear of Blackwell's fate may have diminislied individual longing for it. As an evidence of the importance of agriculture, it may be noted that on an average of each of the preceding five years, we have received 700,000/. of grain, which is twice the value of the iron exported, and nearly one-half that of the deals and timber. But the present production is no criterion of real capabiHties. Immense tracts might be added to the area of cultivation, and artificial manures, not stintily applied as at present, would increase the elements of fertility. There is no de- partment in which management is so faulty as that which relates to manuring. A want of economy is observable in the treatment of farm manure, which is rarely sheltered from the weather. The quantity too is often inadequate, and no auxiliary supply exists. Why not bring into general use many of the descriptions we have found so effectual, and which are equally within their reach? It is not so long ago since phosphatic manures were in their infancy, and everybody knows the beneficial results that have followed from their free application. There can be no doubt that bone as a manure has been one of the greatest boons to agriculture, Railways as affecting Agriculture. 193 and its influence on Swedish soil would not be less ttan on our own. The use especially of this description of stimulants, communicates properties to the land of a permanent kind. Without the great assistance contributed to it by the various appliances of scientific culture, our present production must have been miserable in comparison, and it is not merely shortsightedness, but positive weakness, which deters from the practice of a system that has caused fertility to spring out of barrenness, and converted acres that barely repaid the cost of labour, into fields of waving corn. The railway system, as it continues to be extended, will assuredly introduce a new era in agricul- ture. What is true of it in one country, another is certain to find verified by experience. Eail- ways have contributed to success by bringing the leading marts within easy reach, supply- ing facilities for, the transport of aU descriptions of produce, opening up new centres and expanding the general trade and commerce to the benefit of every class. Grovernment having the property as well as the control, will be specially careful to make them subordinate to the development of national resources. Already railway accom- 13 194 Among the Goths and Vandals. modation has been the chief means of origi- nating a new article of foreign commerce. In 1866 there were sent to our markets from Sweden between eight and nine thousand head of homed cattle, sheep, and pigs. Many parts of the country are well adapted for grazing, and cattle breeding might be immensely extended. By careful attention it would pay well, and the exportation of live stock would contribute more effectually than any other means to improve native herds and enhance the value of stock of every description. In this department Denmark has exhibited greater means and activity, for during the last three years there have been exported thence in cattle, sheep, and pigs, principally to Eng- land, no fewer than 129,000 head. At the present time we receive supplies of this description from provinces much further removed from our shores than Sweden. Comparing prices in the two countries, the trade could not fail to be remunerative, if judiciously conducted.* Forests and Mines. -^-TlimbQr and minerals for generations were almost the only articles of export, and in the further development of the latter, many * The price of butchers' meat in the capital averages about 5d. per lb. In the provinces it is much less- How Forests have disappeared. 195 tell you, lies the certainty of great future riches. It used to be said that the forests covered more than half the surface of the country, but that calculation, probably always exaggerated, does not represent the existing state of things, one fourth being a nearer approximation. During the present century, and specially in the last fifty years, a great expansion of the timber trade has taken place. Speculative enter- prise has often unnaturally stimulated it, and unfortunately, with the rarest exceptions, operations have been directed to cutting down, and not to replanting. Timber, therefore, is neither so good nor abundant in many districts as formerly. Immense tracts of land have changed hands solely for the sake of the wood and its Separate resale. An owner- ship undertaken for one imperial purpose — to destroy and not to build up — portends mischief, and the nation has experienced, and must continue to feel, the baneful influence of this unnatural combination. Estates have not only been dilapidated by the un- restricted licence given to the axe, and their amenities cruelly destroyed, but the land itself has eventually fallen into the possession of an inferior class without the means of doing it justice, hence producing deterioration in another form, Forests, thousands of 13— a 196 Among the Goths and Vandals. acres in extent, have disappeared without an effort or thought to replace them. "When the debris of branches has been removed (five or six years proba- bly), a crop of natural wood springs up, choked in one place, isolated in another, and a couple of lifetimes is consumed before any advantages are forthcoming. The loss is deplorable, and supplies an instance of the prevailing want of capital. We rarely replant forest lands in England and Scotland, but metamorphose them as quickly as possible into agricultural districts, immediately creating reproductive property, and mak- ing some amends for the destruction of familiar and ornamental objects. If Sweden does not follow our example, she must grow poorer and not richer. Cir- cumstances will force it on her by-and-by. It is nearly certain that the present quantity of timber annually cut down and exported must lead to a posi- tive scarcity for general purposes. Eailways will no doubt help to make available a great deal that has hitherto been isolated, but they may also aggravate the mania for buying land for the purpose of laying forests waste.* * On this subject the following is from a recent report of the British Consul at Stockholm to the Foreign Office : — " A country with such extensive forests might reasonably he supposed to possess Fears about diminished Supplies. 197 There are many great forests whose isolated position or distance from seaboard and the centres of popula- tion, makes of no practical value, nor is there a pro- bability that they will ever become valuable. Some are remarkable for extent and the splendour of their timber. " Those dark forests where through many an age, Night without day no axe the silence broke.". The Swedes treat purely as income the large sums they receive for exports in deals and timber ; but this is a fallacy. Much is an encroachment on capital by reducing the value of the national area, and therefore, unless returns are forthcoming by the expansion of other sources of production, diminished revenues will be inevitable. The whole question of the prudent preservation and reproduction of timber is one calling for the serious attention of practical politicians. It has been too long neglected from a popular belief that, supplies being inexhaustible, there was no neces- almost inexhaustible resources of forest produce ; yet there is a general apprehension of an approaching failure in this product in the populated parts of the kingdom. Hitherto immense quantities of wood and timber have been exported, but a reduction in this article of export is likely soon to take place, as the forests in the more populous parts of the kingdom consist chiefly of young wood, and the forest districts in the northern parts situated along the lines of communication are said to have been ravaged to a great extent." 198 Among the Goths and Vandals. sity for its contemplation. Circumstances imparting an anxious complexion to the subject have recently- wrought changes of opinion, and another generation may have cause to regret the delay. For fuel, coal may no doubt be substituted in some localities, at a cost perhaps less than is now paid for wood, but that would not be a satisfactory result, at least in the view of political economists. With an insignificant exception, coal is not an indigenous article, and cir- culating money in the country to pay for wood is a different thing from remitting the same value to foreign States to buy coal.. It sounds odd that our coal should find a ready market in exceptional districts, where the supply of firewood is still great, and in spite of a water-carriage of a thou- sand miles. Twenty years ago, "shipping coals to Stockholm" would have been considered as foolish an operation as sending them to Newcastle, but British merchauts have found it answer. It may be noticed that this coal trade has assisted in the formation of another branch which is sure to be useful. The Messrs. Fawcus, of West Hartlepool, following the plan of similar works of theirs in different parts of the Continent, have erected a coke manufactory in the outskirts of the capital, and thus Mines and their Capabilities. 199 have the merit of introducing a new and probably permanent branch of industry, valuable in itself and conducive to the comforts of travellers who avail themselves of steam locomotion by land or water. Minerals. — Considering the number of mines of various descriptions, computed at 600, of which the greatest proportion are iron, the comparative smallness of production shows that feeble means for working many of them are only available. !No one doubts the richness of the deposits, but besides the ob- stacles arising from restricted capital, there are frequently superadded the difficulties of access and the natural inconveniences of locality. The com- parative cheapness of fuel and labour is of little avail in presence of such drawbacks. Money and science during the last hundred years have wonderfully in- creased our own mineral production, and raised the iron trade, from being a department of minor impor- tance, into one of foremost rank. In the middle of last century our furnaces yielded no more than twenty thousand tons yearly, and now the amount is five millions. Let the Swedes take courage, and compete for a place in the race of progress. The total annual production of iron in Sweden is not much above 100,000 tons, three-fourths of which 200 Among the Goths and Vandals. are exported. ' Great Britain probably receives 50,000 tons. It is to be remembered, however, that we send back again a large value in the shape of steel, and manufactured iron goods of divers kinds. The most remarkable mines, although by no means the most profitable, are those at Falun, which have an historical existence of more than 600 "years, and it is certain that they are several centuries older. Olof Eudbeck, whose favourite contention was that Sweden was the country whence all the ancient Pagan divinities and our first parents were derived, and that the nations of Europe had their original habitation there,* avers that Solomon received from these mines the copper wherewith to roof his temple ! but proofs, as may be imagined, are not very clear, and the ques- tion may be compromised by the admission that they undoubtedly are of very great antiquity. It has in- deed been more generally asserted that their existence was known in the East, and hence the adage, " He who wishes to grow rich should go to the North; he who would be wise should dwell in the East." The production has been periodically diminishing, so that now the amount is a fourth less than it was two hundred years ago. Rudbeck's " Atlantica," &o. '' A Mine of Wealth'' (?) 201 Several of the iron mines have been in working condition for many generations, and it is on this description of mineral deposits that the safest calcu- lations of riches are usually founded. Those of Dahe- mora, on the site of what was originally a silver mine in which operations have been carried on since the fifteenth century, yield a metal that in respect of ductility and nlalleability is the best in Europe. We receive nearly the whole in our markets, and it has helped to make our cutlery the envy of the world. It was in these mines where Gustaf Wasa, pursued by hostile Danes, found shelter and worked until the embroidered collar of his shirt attracting the curious eyes of a woman — his fellow- labourer — was the means of revealing his identity. Attempts have often been made to attract foreign capital to mining adventures, and in 1863 a company was launched in London and Stockholm, of great pretensions, which offered golden results. The rich iron field of promise was the Gellivare Mountain, in Lapmark, 1800 feet high, known, so long ago as 1730, to contain one mass of ore. Hitherto efforts to render this wealth available had not succeeded, from the difficulties of access, and the expense of trans- porting the produce, which had to be done on the 202 Among the Goths and Vandals. backs of reindeer. The property had frequently changed hands. Bernadotte, hearing of its fame, purchased it as a private speculation, and his suc- cessor, King Oscar, on a resale realized at a considerable advance. Several other men in the interval had been the successive rulers of this northern province. Everything about the under- taking sounded grand. The very array of large figures made it respectable. There was an area of twelve hundred thousand acres. Half a million of these were forest ground. One hundred thousand were well adapted for cultivation. The purchase price was only 225,000/., and an outlay of 230,000?. would secure a communication with the Gulf of Bothnia by means of railway and canal. From various sources the company would present net returns equal to nineteen per cent. Happy shareholders, twice each year, to have pockets stuffed with 47,000Z. ! and so certain was success that for a period of three years, until supplementary works could be completed, and time had assisted to develop them, the vendors consented to put aside 50,000?., which was to be a guarantee for the payment of six per cent, dividends. A company thus gilded could not fail of attractions for sanguine capitalists, and its lists were rapidly What became of it. 203 completed. The Stock Exchange approved the con- stitution, and honoured the venture with a place in its daily list. There were a few weak men who sold their allotments at a premium, and subsequently realized the comforts of having no calls to pay! Months progressed ; not so the new works ; and by general admission it came to be an acknowledged fact that capital was insufficient, and golden dreams were not to be realized. It was an ominous sign that Swedes had never shown any anxiety to become shareholders, and many of them had the audacity to laugh at that strange compound of gullibility and sagacity, John Bull ! There cannot be a doubt that the value of the mineral deposits is immense. Dr. Clark,* in 1824, thus speaks of them: — "Gellivare is the largest iron mine in Sweden, and perhaps in the whole world. Its layer of ore extends, for several miles, and is so rich that it leaves 60 per cent, of iron." But the prospectus was careful to avoid any reference to a variety of circumstances which conspired to damage its calculations. One hundred thousand acres form a large area of culti- vation, capable of a great yield; but those who * Clark's " Travels in Sweden.' 204 Among the Goths and Vandals. knew the district could liave told that corn ripens only once in three years, and that were there agri- cultural competitions, a potato two inches in length would be siire to gain the highest prize. And where was the labour to come from ? The forest was to yield in clear profit 20,000Z. a year for an indefinite period ! Who were to fell the trees and saw the timber? Thousands upon thousands would represent the value of the metal, but where were busy hands to be found to raise and smelt it? The Lapps, from their wandering life and habits, could not rea- sonably be expected to become steady and sedate labourers. It was not probable that, the mine could be worked throughout the whole year, and men brought from a distance to be so engaged for a few months, and returned from whence they came at the end of the season, must have involved the costliest service. The Swedes knew the thing would not answer, nor had they long to wait till their prophe- cies were realized. The iron mountain has not been removed; it has not even produced a mouse. Its hidden riches remain for the enterprise of another association. These 500,000 acres of magnificent pines, meanwhile, will grow more magnificent, and the culture of potatoes may become less discouraging. It may be solicited again. 205 " Britistiers" will continue subject periodically to spasmodic attacks of speculative insanity, in one of which., exceeding ordinary violence we shall have the Gellivare prospectus revived, more formidable in its dimensions, more profuse in its offerings. The G-ulf of Bothnia will be described as the natural dep6t of inexhaustible supplies of iron, timber, and deals ! For the sake of the happiness of hopeful fellow-countrymen let us wish that great results will come to pass. Sweden may well join in the aspiration, for she would assuredly be a profiter. Is it worth inquiring if British capital might not be more com- fortably invested nearer home? Ah! my friends, it is not always these tempting paper returns that bring most riches in the long run ! " Commend me," said Lord Stowell, " to the aristocratic Three per Cents." His Lordship followed his own counsels, and left a quarter of a million of money ! Gold and silver are likewise native products. The gold currency is exceedingly limited, and a ducat, the only description, is a sight of singularly rare occurrence. The old Spanish proverb says, "A silver mine brings misery, a gold one ruin." The history of these mines in Sweden does not refute its truthfulness. CHAPTEE XI. SWEDES AT HOME. KINGLY AUTHORITY AS VARIOUSLY EXERCISED. DO not care to refer to kings and people prior to the period wlien Gustaf Ericsson, a simple gentleman of ancient and even royal extraction, rescued Ms country from the tyranny of Danish usurpers, and under the title of " Gustavus Wasa" secured the independence which Sweden has since preserved. Previously all was chaos. The inhabitants, groaning under a cruel bondage, were everywhere persecuted and oppressed, and Christian II., the "Nero of the North," as he has been called, to rivet more securely the chains of despotism, had just commanded the massacre of the nobles in Stockholm, whither they had been summoned under the false pre- tence of a friendly conference, among them being Gustavus Wasa. 207 the father of the futare king. The many wanderings and disguises of "Wasa, the humility of his occupa- tions,* his marvellous escapes, the fidelity of the peasants in their disdainful rejection of every bribe, the steady pursuit of his efforts, and the final triumph of his patriotism, have often been recorded. When his fortunes appeared to be at their lowest ebb, there were some whose opinions never faltered, that he was to be the regenerator of their country. It is said that the ladies who were present on the auspi- cious occasion of his birth saw in the new-born child presages of future greatness. On his head was a caul, closely resembling a helmet, and on his bosom the print of a silver cross. " Gustavus in Arce nascitur Lindholm, mense 12 Mali, galeam in capite membra- neam et rubicundam, in pectore crucem de utero preferens materno, hisque palam faciens prodigiis in quantum evasurus esset heroem/'f It was weU that these happy anticipations were fulfilled. His countrymen have proved loyal to his memory, and on the completion of each revolving century from * Gustavus III. erected a monument in porphyry on the scene of one of his adventures, and inscribed, " Here Gustaf Ericsson threshed !" t Messenii Scandia Illustrata. 208 Among the Goths and Vandals. his death the whole nation holds a day of juhilee. His virtues are the universal theme. The valour; the wisdom, the patriotism of their king, supply exhaustless material for discourse and song. Inde- pendence is the glory of nations as of individuals. It was the courage of Gustaf Wasa which secured it for Sweden, his statesmanship that imparted to it strength and vitality. The words on his tomb best express the sentiments of his countrymen, " Pater Patrise !" No wonder that he is held among them in grateful remembrance, " Whose noble deeds above the Northern star Immortal fame for ever hath enrolled." From having been elective, the new King made the succession to the Crown hereditary. The finances were in wretched plight, and, except among eccle- siastics, there was no wealth. Inclusive of the army, the annual national expenditure was about seven thousand pounds, and the whole revenues, counting Finland, did not exceed three thousand. Such a state of things must have soon .been intolerable, had G-ustavus not called to his aid a firm purpose and resolute will. There were many valuables in the His Efforts and their Successes. 209 churches and monasteries, unnecessary in his view for the furtherance of a pure faith, and the mon- strances and the chalices were made to solve a finan- cial difiB.culty. It was a strong measure, but strong measures were required for the situation. His favourite precept helped the course he had determined upon. " Consider well," he said, " execute with vigour, and stick to your purpose. Put nothing off until to-morrow. Eesolves carried out at the right moment, are like clouds without rain in a sore drought." This step was the beginning of those contentions which witnessed the overthrow of the Eoman Catholic religion, and resulting in the esta- blishment of the doctrines of the Reformation, have given the King of Sweden a great place in that re- surrection of truth and reason. It cannot perhaps be affirmed that the means always justified the end, but a strong personal conviction on the King's part of the errors of popery, formed it is said during his enforced residence at Lubeck, assisted him to a resolution from which he never deviated. He was besides impressed by reasons of sound policy that opposed themselves to any ecclesiastical govern- ment that made the clergy the sole depositaries of national wealth, and permitted them to apply it to 14 210 Among the Goths and Vandals. purposes ttat were questionable, and oftentimes positively bad. In 1527 the wbole property of tbe cburch was confiscated by royal decree, and applied to State purposes. It wiU not be imagined that such trans- ference, even in those days of personal govemmenti> was to be carried into effect without some spirited remonstrance. " The mildness of the clergy," is now frequently an exaggerated expression, and in the sixteenth century it was wholly inapplicable ; but priestly fulminations neither appalled nor moved Gustavus. One dignitary exclaimed that " the gifts confirmed by kings and emperors cannot be filched away without Grod's curse and eternal damnation ;" on which the King aptly inquired, " What if these possessions were obtained by fraud, by the preaching of purgatory, or such like cozenage of priests and friars ?" But Gustavus Wasa not having been educated in a school of theology and physics, found it no easy task to combat the practised speech and subtle arguments of the Romish priesthood. He therefore called to his aid two men of low decent — the sons of a village blacksmith — but of high intellect, who had gained great distinOition at Wittenberg, and His able Coadjutors. 211 were favourite pupils of Luther and Melancthon. Olaus and Laurentius Petri amply justified tlie selection. They were persons of great eloquence and power, whose training enabled them to expose sophistry and to vindicate the Eeformation princi- ples. None could have been more energetic and useful coadjutors. Besides polemical contributions, Olaus wrote the earliest translation of the New Tes- tament, as well as the earliest Catechism, and relieved the severity of his theological studies by presenting to his countrymen the first dramatic composition in the Swedish language. Laurentius, not less active, was less versatile. He translated the Old Testament, compiled a code of ecclesiastical law, and had his labours rewarded by being appointed Protestant Archbishop of Upsala. Church government reconstituted, the King's attention was turned from a special to a general point of view — 'the condition of his subjects and the requirements of the nation. Here he displayed the be^t qualities of a wise statesman. He had already established a reputation for personal courage and military command, and was altogether averse from the pursuit of an aggressive foreign policy. He saw that the prosperity of the kingdom and the 14—2 212 Among the Goths and Vandals. survivance of his dynasty depended upon the steady development of natural resources and the creation and spread of commerce. The country was without manufactures of any sort, except such as the Dutch and English markets supplied. When he died the wonderfully improved state of the revenue showed the success he had achieved. Industrial contributions of various kinds had made important progress, and he left a powerful navy to protect the newly-formed com- merce. He was the ruler of a great territory. Be- sides Finland, with an area of 120,000 square miles, Sweden was twice the size of Grreat Britain. When he succeeded, its arterial communications were wretched, and the whole country was land-locked. Those magnificent lakes, among the largest in Europe, which enterprise and science combined have since converted into great highways, were only isolated ex- panses of water ; and if the Bang could not accomplish all he desired, he perceived the disadvantages of difficult accesses and did his best to remove them. The services of landowners and their dependents were claimed to construct leading thoroughfares and to maintain them — an obligation upon land which still continues. If his successors had been content to abide by the system of paternal government of which A Bad Queen. 213 he set the example, we might have heard less of Grustavus Adolphus and Charles XII., hut the con- dition of Sweden in respect of national wealth, and probably political consideration, would undoubtedly have been higher than at the present day. Queen Christina — ^the only child of the great Gustavus, and granddaughter of Wasa — disap- pointed, by the frailties of maturer years, all the promise of her youth. She was an infant when her father died, but his virtues and achievements secured the affectionate devotion of her subjects, while the wisdom of the Chancellor Oxenstiern was ever at command to counsel and to guide her. Nature had been bountiful to the young Princess, who seemed fitted to adorn an exalted position. Her life, how- ever, was a tissue of inconsistency and contradiction. If she exhibited occasional instances of magnanimity, mildness, and frankness, they were quickly followed by acts of vanity, severity, and dissimulation. She possessed much knowledge of the world and acuteness of penetration, yet these were insufficient to preserve her from visionary projects and from dreams of alchemy and astrology. No woman ever received so many splendid offers of marriage, all of which she resolutely put aside. The King of Spain, the 214 Among the Goths and Vandals. King of Poland, the Elector Palatine, the Elector of Brandenburg, the Princes of Denmark, Austria, and Bavaria;, were in the lists of her rejected suitors. Between the glorious founder of the dynasty and this prodigal descendant no more striking contrast could have existed. The simplicity of his life, the lascivious excitement of hers ; his .adoption of Pro- testantism from conviction, her abjuration of it from caprice; his careful guardianship of the pubHc treasury, her unprincipled scattering of it away, are but a few of many instances. She made nearly five hundred additions to the nobility, and showed her respect for the body by enrolling among them one John Holm, a tailor, who appropriated the patronymic of " Lejoncrona " (lion crown). The Court was attended by dancers, singers, and low comedians, and ballets were improvised in which the Queen de^ graded herself by taking part. Yet this strange woman was a distinguished patron of learning. She increased the public grants to the universities, and learned men came in crowds from other Courts. Grotius, Pufiendorf, and Descartes were among the number she encouraged and promoted. She must have known that her once attached subjects had ceased to respect her character and person, and although her original An Extract from her Autobiography. 215 determination to abdicate was at first popularly contested, it was joyfully acquiesced in when re- peated. She became the neighbour of the Pope, but did not remain long in one place, and, as might have been anticipated, all her plans were marked by restlessness and uncertainty. Contempt was after- wards changed into detestation when the world learned the circumstances attending the assassination of her favourite Monaldeschi, which took place by her command. During a visit she made to Paris, Mademoiselle de Montpensier writes of her : — " We went to the comedy, where her behaviour surprised me. To perceive the passages which gave her pleasure ! She woxdd swear by God, lie down in her chair, throw her legs about, and assume postures not very decent !" Christina was occasionally candid, as the following little piece of autobiography attests. She says : " I am mistrustful, ambitious, passionate, haughty, impa- tient, contemptuous, satirical, incredulous, undevout, of an ardent and violent temper, and extremely amorous !" We turn from this sketch of an unprincipled woman to notice brifefly the career of the founder of a new dynasty. 216 Among the Goths and Vandals. Deriving no advantage from the accident of birth — the son of a notary at Pan — young Bemadotte, at first a soldier in the ranks, raised himself, by his professional qualities and genius for command, to be a Marshal in the army of the French Empire, and Prince of Como. Some of his future subjects made their first acquaintance with him on the field of battle, where at the head of a French army he met and defeated them. After the enforced abdi- cation of the fourth Gustavus, and the succession of his uncle Charles XIII., who was childless, it became necessary to adopt an heir to the Crown of Sweden. The choice of the nation fell upon an old foe, from a belief, it is said, that this would propitiate the French Emperor; but although the marriage of relatives had formed a family connexion between Napoleon and his Lieutenant, there really existed no personal cordiality, and the latter had at one time retired from active service on account of un- pleasant difierences. However that may be, Greneral Bemadotte accepted his destiny, and assumed the rank and duties of Crown Prince of Sweden. Ee- newed continental disturbances led to increased com- plications. Napoleon desired that the Swedes should break ofi" all relations with Great Britain; refusal Bemadotte as King. 217 irritated him, and produced such controversy as caused estrangement from France and a union with the Allied Powers. The command of the army of the Allies in the north of Grermany was entrusted to the Prince, and there, admirably supported by the soldiers of his new country, he defeated Oudinot at Grrossbeeren, and Marshal Ney at Dennewitz. It was to his energetic influence that Sweden owed the annexation of Norway. That could not compensate for the recent losses of Pomerania and Finland, but it gave the addition of extensive territory, and in- creased the political authority of the kingdom. Thenceforth the career of the Crown Prince, who soon after ascended the throne, was one of peace. He fostered the cause of education ; the agricultural and commercial interests, no longer disturbed by the rival factions of " Hats" and " Caps," were promoted, and important public works actively prosecuted. In selecting Bernadotte as King, the only condition the Swedes made was that he should join the Protestant Church, one readily agreed to, for a soldier of fortune who had lived through the French Eevolution was not likely to have many con- scientious scruples in so far as religion was concerned. He was an able administrator and an upright ruler. 218 Among the Goths and Vandals. The nation was proud of the martial fame he had won, and Charles XIV. retained his popularity to the end. Two things he failed to do, or he might have been still more popular. He never acquired a knowledge of the spoken language of his subjects, and objected to conform to the national custom of wearing goloshes !* II. THE PEOPLE, IN SOME OF THEIR HABITS AND INSTITUTIONS. The hospitality everywhere extended to strangers, and the ease and cordiality which distinguish social intercourse, soon make one feel at home. The Swedes set great store upon the precept, " given to hospitality," and none of them, I trust, will feel offended by the statement that they attach much importance to the duties of the dinner table. It has been already said that in the ordinary aflfairs of life they " take things easy." In towns a few hours to * It is well known that Bernadotte had an unreasonable fear of assassination. His ministers often tried to persuade him in vain that no such plots were in the least to be dreaded, but the King often recurred to the subject. The Swedish minister at Copen- hagen, a most intelligent nobleman, told me that one day his Majesty was repeating his fears to a trusted counoillor, who scouted the idea, and facetiously added, " Ah ! Sire, if you would but wear goloSihes, all would be well." They are not fond of Violent Exertion. 219 business, several hours to eating and drinking, a short time in the theatre, and a longer devoted to cards, billiards, and cigars, make up the daily routine.* The only physical exertion which really rouses the energies of their menkind is dancing. In none other are they proficient, nor do they put forward serious claims. There are schools indeed for teaching gymnastics, but attendance there is enforced rather than voluntary, and these exercises are therefore not- to be classed with ordinary recreations. In the country there is no "hunting" in our sense, no steeple-chasing, no coursing — for which many districts are well enough adapted ; you have no boating or yachting worth the name, although every community has a large share of either salt or fresh water, and numerous families possess extensive lochs of their own. Young fellows have no such games as golf, cricket, leap-frog, or foot-ball, and most of them not only cannot swim, but avoid all contact with water as if an attack of hydrophobia were imminent. Even in winter, with magnificent opportunities, amuse- ments on the ice are far fewer than might be * I again desire to say that this is to be received as a general, not universal rule. 220 Among the Goths and Vandals. anticipated. As botli Gustavus Adolphus and Charles XII. are said to have been fond of violent exercises, they must have appropriated a large share of the natural tastes of their successors. The general disinclination to this sort of exertion, is no novel feature, for an old writer says : "It seems as if the severity of the clime should in a manner cramp the faculties of their bodies, and indispose them to any great degree of dexterity and nimbleness !" Card play- ing, and other games of skill and chance, are universal recreations, and often lead to embarrassments and sorrow. The most popular depends on the capri- cious throw of the dice, although the Swedes always play like gentlemen, and submit to the decrees of fate with a stolidity a Frenchman would envy. Foul play is denounced with virtuous indignation, and he who attempts it is treated with a sharper's deserts. " Spare thou the person, and expose the vice. How, sir! not damn the sharper, but the dice." There is a good deal of billiard playing, but the condi- tions are less dangerous, and circumstances make gene- ral devotion impossible. The theatre did not become a national feature until the days of the unfortunate Gustavus III., a prince who prior to his accession had The Drama, and its Advancement. 221 benefited by foreign travel, and his subjects were not only indebted to bim for encouragement of literature, and tbe formation of more than one learned society, but for his patronage of the drama, and an opera-house in the capital, which he erected and supported at his own expense.* Before his reign stroUing players were the only exponents of the drama. It has since received the brilliant contributions of Jenny Lind and Christine Nilsson, who have greatly stimulated the national taste, so that now operas and theatres bear aU the evidences of ever-increasing popularity. There was another Swede who established a great reputation as a danseuse ; older men will recollect her weU, and acknowledge the justice of contemporary tributes, that in agility and gracefulness she surpassed all compe- titors. It is more than twenty years since Taglioni permanently retired from the stage — where she had * This amounted to a sum equal to 25,000Z. yearly. As a " theatre it may be reckoned the second of the kind in Europe, there being only one at Paris which exceeds it, and the superiority of the latter is more in the dancing than in any other. As to the beauty of figure, extent and flexibility of voices, justness of accom- paniment, pathetic action, magnificence of dress, and illusion of scenery, the Swedish opera is so little inferior to the French, that strangers who have seen both, have in some respects lately given the preference to the former, especially for the beauty and finishing of the decorations." — Court of Sweden, 1790. 222 Among the Ooilis and Vandals. long fascinated the European races — to an elegant villa on the lake of Como. Although the people are averse from violent exercises, as we practise them, they thoroughly enjoy holiday-making, and the numerous feast-day^' of the Lutheran Church, if not practically dedicated to religious observances, are so much respected that all work is then carefully suspended. Midsum- mer, or St. John's Eve, has a chief place, and is kept as generally as merry May-day used to be, a genera- tion or two ago, by ourselves. Every country domi- cile has its maypole, and everybody dances round about it. Steamboats are decorated with flowers and flags, and regale their passengers with bands of music. But the day of days is Christmas. It so far difiers from most others, that religion and mirth both share in its observance. " Julotan," or Christmas Matins (" otan" meaning very early, about cock-crow), is a marked feature, and every church throughout the land has its peculiar decorations. Each householder makes a contribution in kind, and the churches are thus ablaze with myriads of candles, to represent " types of Christ, the true light shining in the dark land."* The coldest dawn and deepest snow are no * Miss Hewitt's " Twelve Months with Frederica Bremer." Christmas. 223 hindrances to attendance, and for a few hours, on one day in the year at all events, a' whole nation is devoting itself to God. Jul, pronounced as we do " Yule," the corresponding English word, has other duties, as universally fulfilled. In the palace, of the King and in the meanest hovel, pleasing evi- dences are to be found. " Christ-trees," promiscuously adorned, according to the means of the household, with lights and gifts — ^the custom of reciprocal presents — and some special Christmas meats and dishes, an- nounce its advent. During months preceding, many a rix-doUar has been carefully put aside, to replace the ordinary frugality of other days for the purchase of some peculiar dainty for this one. Friends and relatives hold cordial reunions. Old feuds are cemented ; eternal friendships promised. Domestics are treated to the popular Jul-buller (Christmas cakes), and unstinted supplies of the inevitable "pounch." No poverty-stricken brother or sister knocks at the door to be sent empty away. Even among the beasts that perish, there are distributed double rations of food ; and if the husbandman did not hang out on a pole the "Tule sheaf," which had been carefuUy appropriated at harvest time, that the little birds might participate in the happiness of the 224 Among the Goths and Vandals. day, lie would feel just alarm lest tlie wilful "Trolle" should sicken his herds, or else his neighbours would brand him as a bad and hard-hearted man. Swedepi, at Christmas time, is another Goshen flowing with mUk and honey ! One spot is a blot upon proverbial hospitality. The Island of Grottland has obtained an unenviable reputation for wrecking. It was recently reported that an association of residents there had been formed for the purpose of tendering assistance, after a highly profitable fashion, to ships either wrecked or in danger. " One member affects to be the agent of the shipowner, another for the owner of the cargo, another for the insurers, while another would make himself agent for the salvors." Thus distributing among themselves customary duties, and living on different parts of the island, they form a sort of net- work round about it, to increase and not to alleviate distress. The sums demanded for salvage are enormous, and an appeal to the Courts is attended with those vexatious delays, already noticed, which become intoler- able. Here, according to the report of the Assistant Secretary to the £oard of Trade, is what occurred in a special instance. "A vessel got on shore, the weather was fine, and she was taken afloat the same ' Wrecking, and Plunder: 225 day by a person who was reported to be a member of the Grottland organization, very little damaged, and lay in barbour for many days. She did not make more water in any one day than could be pumped out in ten minutes, and at the outside a quarter of an hour. After lying in harbour leaking steadily at this rate for some time, one day she suddenly leaked heavily. The ship was examined, and it was found that some of the oakum had been driven out of the seams. This was repaired, and the vessel did not leak much, while the oakum remained in it, but it was pulled out again. The captain and mate were subsequently seen to go on board on two occasions. After one of their visits the vessel got deeper in the water, and after the other she went down altogether at her moor- ings. A survey was held, and the vessel was con- demned in due course. She was a new ship, and was sold for about one fifth of the sum for which she was insured. She was bought by a member of the organi- zation, who was a salvor, and the conditions of sale were strongly against any one else buying her. Shortly after the sale was effected, the leak was stopped, and she was afloat in a few hours. Her bottom was repaired by a few hands, and she took in cargo and sailed away. She was rechristened, and is 15 226 Among the Goths and Vandals. still running. The agent of the underwriters, who is represented to be a member of the organization, had a representative present at the ship in their behalf, and the underwriters dismissed him on account of this case, and declined to pay the insurance." Combinations leading to such results cannot be too strongly denounced. They represent the naturally warm heart of the Swede corrupted and seduced by an inordinate love of filthy lucre. The organization is illegal, because its objects are collusion, fraud, and extortion. Tor the honour of " Gamla Swerje" (old Sweden), and in the interests of commerce, the Government is bound to bring to speedy dissolution, associations so cruel and disreputable. For a few years past, emigration has been on a large scale. In each of the years 1867 and 1868 not less than 18,000 people from Sweden and Norway, by far the largest proportion being from Sweden, sailed for the States of America. It is difficult to account for this migratory impulse, and to explain, the causes which produce a gregarious movement of the sort. Eapid increase of the population, a change in religious or political institutions, popular discon- tent, are often reasons with other communities, but in Sweden none of these apply. Should this drain They Civilized Pennsylvania. 227 continue, tlie labour market must be affected, and all interests suffer. Experience, however, shows that any attempt to check the exodus by withholding facilities, would prove abortive ; the inclination is possibly only to be conquered by the more active prosecution of industrial works promoted by the Home Govern- ment, which would create less disparity between the earnings of labourers in their own country and America. But instances of emigration have occurred before the present day. It was Sweden which gave to Pennsylvania its first civilized colony ; a well-pro- vided body of Swedes and Finns having settled in 1627 on both shores of the Delaware, and made their way nearly to the present site of Philadelphia. To remind them of their common origin they called the settlement " Nya Sjerige" (New Sweden), and were making some progress, when they had to submit, thirty years later, to the flourishing Dutch rule at New Amsterdam, and passed over in 1664 to English jurisdiction, which was established at that time. They belonged therefore in succession to three separate nationalities. Many of their descendants, long regarded as pure bred, children of the great republic, perhaps do not even know that the foundation of their pedigree is to be traced to Scandinavian sources. 15—3 228 Among the Goths and Vandals. There is another kind of migration, more limited as regards distance, although not less extensive in its operation. Stockholm,* like London, goes out of town during the autumn months. Few extend their wanderings into foreign parts, but provincial water- ing places of every description teem with visitors, and country houses — great and small — become the temporary abodes of enterprising citizens. Accommo- dation is indeed frequently stinted, and an impartial on-looker finds it difficult to associate with this over- crowding of humanity the possibility of comfort, but wives and children would call it tyrannical if means were not at their disposal of doing what every other body does, and so adhering to a custom sanc- tioned by prescription, which the exigencies of fashion have transformed into a necessity. Several of those institutions, commercial and social, which denote the advance of civilization, have an early history. In a work by that ambitious financier, John Law, published in 1705,-j- and in a subsequent communication in 1716, addressed by him to the Kegent of France, on the subject of banks, -he * This is true with respect to all larger towns, t " Money and Trade considered," 1705. An Older Bank than the Bank of England. 229 shows that their discovery, as establishments of credit, is due to the Swedes. The Bank of England was founded in 1694 ; the Bank of Scotland the year following ; but forty years previously, an association of Swedish merchants obtained the royal licence to exclusively conduct banking business during a period of thirty years. It was then that the novelty of issuing bank notes {billets de credit) payable to bearer, to circulate without interest from hand to hand as " real money," was introduced, and as the currency heretofore was entirely copper, necessitating a carriage or waggon to transport a moderate sum, the luxury of a bank, with its many facilities to business men, may easily be imagined. In 1701, the Bank of Sweden commenced its career, and gave a fresh impetus to trade by dis- counting the bills of customers. Fortune has attended its progress, and the nation been well served. The grandeur of younger neighbours, and the meanness of its architectural decorations, have been compensated for by the pleasant balance-sheets yearly presented. The Bank is placed under the cognizance of the " Eiksdag," which controls the issue, and a committee of seven directors, responsible to and selected by Parliament, superintends the management. The 230 Among the Goths and Vandals. reserve is fixed at a minimum amount, and the public, by statements in the newspapers, are periodically made acquainted with the position of afiairs. Branches accommodate the more important provinces. Paper works in connexion with this bank, for the manufacture of its supplies, are likewise under the supervision of the same directors, the scale of whose remuneration is not magnificent. The chairman receives 150/., and each of his colleagues 75/. per annum. The " Eiksbank," as this old institution is called, has been especially prosperous in later years. In 1837, realized profits amounted to 80,000/., which in 1867 were nearly doubled. The history of private banks is comparatively recent. The first was established in 1831. Between twenty and thirty others have since received Govern- ment licences, and the right of circulating notes. Their annals have been variously distinguished. Some have assisted to enrich happy shareholders, while by others, committed to the charge of improvi- dent or foolish directors, ruin and desolation have been spread broadcast. B^ut in the main great ad- vantages have followed, and a large cumulative capital, previously unproductive, has been made to yield a fair annual increase. In 1850, the Bank An English Bank had a short Existence. 231 deposits, inclusive of the State Bank, were under 1,400,000 rix-doUars {circa 77,0001.), and in 1866 they represented the respectable sum of fifty million rix-doUars, or 2,750,000/.* The calamitous mis- management referred to attracted legislative attention, and stringent provisions, requiring the publication of periodical balance-sheets, were imposed upon all banking companies, which have completely satisfied popular misgivings. A few years ago some of our adventurous country- men, in concert with Swedish capitalists,, projected the plan of a banking company, to be conducted on English principles, and managed by a staff trained to. banking in this country. " The English and Swedish Bank " promised to be a grand success. Applications far transcended the number of shares at disposal, and the stock rapidly attained a high premium. Imposing looking premises at Stockholm and Gottenburg housed the Bank's gold and silver, as well as its sagacious managers from England; but the times were not * I have been mucli indebted for several items of information to my accomplished friend Count Charles Morner, who, till his recent succession to the family estates, held a high post in the Statistical Department at Stockholm. Count Morner has a common descent with the MontgomerieS; Earls of Eglintoun, in the Peerage of Scotland. 232 Among the Goths and Vandals. propitious. The Swedes drew out more largely than they deposited, and native bankers regarded the insti- tution with the green eyes of jealousy. In a period wonderfully brief, this hybrid establishment gave signs of impending collapse, and wisely anticipated a resolution which might have been afterwards forced upon it. " The English and Swedish Bank, limited," proceeded to realize assets, and those sanguine share- holders who once saw great dividends looming, now received back again their capital, .diminished by the respectable amount of five-and-twenty per cent. ! The paper currency, which from the scarcity of silver is in universal requisition, must be called a nuisance. Englishmen, accustomed to nothing below a five- pound note, take some time to realize the fact that the sort mostly in use represents no more than thirteenpence of our money. If these notes are of small value, it must be allowed that a great deal of filth is attached to them ! It is well and truthfully said, that "a woman's heart, Christian charity, and scientific enlightenment," united in giving to Sweden the extraordinary advantages its poorer members have derived from Savings Banks. These admirable institutions promise at length to Savings Banks, and their Progress. 233 become popular, but in spite of comparative progress it wUl be seen tbat they are susceptible of immense enlargement. So far as they go the results are hope- ful, and the poorest labourer may learn in time, that by the periodical saving of trifles and facilities for deposit, some substantial provision may be made for " a rainy day." In the year 1840 the number of the banks was 53 ; of depositors, 48,445 ; and the deposits in sterling money amounted in round numbers to 300,000/. In 1850, these several figures were 82, 100,194=715,000/. In 1860, they were, 146, 200,932 = 1,600,000/.; and in 1865, 186,244,726 = 2,000,000/. The depositors in 1840 represented 1 in 65 of the population; in 1850 they were 1 in 35 ; in 1860 1 in 21; and in 1865 1 in 17. The most satisfactory feature is the steady growth of the num- ber of depositors. As the internal prosperity of the country improves, and labour becomes as a conse- quence more remunerative, deposits wiU increase apace. Women, as a rule, are employed as cashiers and clerks in the Savings Banks, whose business is con- ducted with precision, and of course agreeably* * The Swedes dearly love figures. Subjects are occasionally painfully statistioized by them, but this is one which must always 234 Among the Goths and Vandals. Life Assurance has made comparatively little progress, and has not penetrated into the masses. In a few of the larger towns, English companies have established agencies which supply every facility, but Swedes are slow of belief, and patience must be largely drawn upon ere great success is realized.* As a rule, the incomes of men in trade are small, and families prematurely deprived of their head frequently ex- perience severe vicissitudes. A moderate insurance, supported by an annual contribution so inconsiderable that the charge would not be felt, would avert this lamentable condition of things. In a volume pub- lished last year, for whose reception the author cannot feel too grateful,! ^^ thus notices the subject : — interest. We have old men in England who can remember, if not the introduction, the earliest history of savings banks, and our work- ing classes have long ago appreciated their advantages. They are now influential institutions, representing an enormous amount of capital — upwards of fifty millions sterling. The Post-Office Savings Banks, for which we are indebted to Mr. Grladstone, have likewise been an astonishing success. It appears from a document published last year, that a suni of 5,333,638Z. 6s. 2d. was received from depositors in the twelve months ending December 31, 1868, and the total amount standing at their credit on that date was 11,666,655Z. 8s. 5d. * The very able manager of the Northern Insurance Company of London, Mr. A. P. Fletcher, was among the earliest to extend these advantages to foreign countries. t " The Old Times and the New." London, 1868. Bible and Missionary Societies. 235 " Who was to command its (life) continuance ? ~Soi a day passes that inexorable fate does not snatch hun- dreds away before their time, and how many others have faculties impaired through accidents and the ravages of disease ? These institutions provide the antidote for one series of the ills to which flesh is heir. They prevent the entrance of poverty into the house of mourning, and save from anticipations of evil the man whose sole fortune is the uncertain pursuit of his vocation. Everybody whose health and habits give him the right of entrance, and who has not secured by other means a provision for his suc- cessors, should profit by the opportunity which they place before him." Among fiscal reforms the Swedes have long ago borrowed our system of penny postage, and appreciate its comfort and convenience. In labours of philanthropy they keep pace with surrounding civilization. They have founded Bible as well as Missionary Societies, and sought to commu- nicate truths to others that were comforting to them- selves. The Swedish Bible Society, established more than fifty years ago, had an early connexion with the Bible Society of London, from which it received large grants at various times, but on the committee refusing 230 Among the Goths and Vandals. to omit the Apocrypha from all copies issued, the London management withheld further suhsidies. This point of difference was subsequently adjusted, and there is again harmonious co-operation. The Society announces that it has circulated, from its commence- ment, above 600,000 copies of the New Testament, and 200,000 of the Bible. It prospers financially, and numbers nearly 400 members. In 1868, 50,000 copies of the Bible alone were printed. More recently, a " Women's Bible Society" has been formed for the promotion of similar objects. The British and Foreign Bible Society has an agency in Stockholm, and been very active, since, including tracts, upwards of a million and a half of its publications have been distributed in the country. The Swedish Missionary Society is the parent of other Evangelizing associations, of which there are several. Besides aiding the Lappish Mission, it has maintained for a century several stations in the East Indies ; and the Evangelical Father- land's Society, founded so recently as 1861-62, has sent missionaries to the Western States of North America, as well as to the East Coast of Africa. In connexion with this description of labour, there A Church in Lapland. 237 is no field in wHcli it might sobeneficially be conducted as in Lapland, and it is almost matter of regret that instead of applying resources, which are of course limited, to the support of missions in distant countries with which there is no political connexion, and where few comparatively of their countrymen are to be found, the Swedes should not economize their expenditure and concentrate it nearer home. A lady* to whom ]. have been much indebted for several translations, has sent me the following, which is striking testimony to the poverty of religious ordinances, and the diffi- culties which attend them. " Alkaven, in the Lap- mark, is situated among the fells, about forty English miles from Qvicjok. To give an idea of what those remote chapels in Lapmark are, I will quote a short description of Alkaven, given by one who had a perfect knowledge of the place and its surroundings. ' It is a church, and perhaps the only one of its kind, built of stone, which sounds fine enough, but there is a drawback, for its walls are full of holes. They consist of rough granite stones piled upon each other like a heap of wooden clogs, and without clay or cement ; consequently they had hole * Mademoiselle Plesner. 238 Among the Goths and Vandals. upon hole. Tte roof is of boards, with, an opening in it. Into this shed the clergyman and his flock creep when they arrive, for here is their only shelter from rain and tempests. Here they make a fire in the midst of the floor, the smoke making its way through the hole in the roof, otherwise it might flnd plenty of outlets through the walls. Here they eat, drink, and sleep, the shepherd with his flock, like Polypheme in days of yore in his grotto. Here the service takes place, here the sacraments are administered. Luckily, walls and roof offer plenty of ventilation. Heather and other rubbish from the field furnish fuel, for there is no wood nearer than Qvicjok. Once a year the minister from that place comes hither to keep this midsummer prayer-day for the Laplanders.' " One society of a kindred kind, in Stockholm, called " The Deaconess' Society," devotes, its energies to works of love and mercy. The destitute, the for- saken, and the fallen find from it protection and encouragement. Through its exertions eight and twenty schools have been established in difierent parts of the provinces, three childrens' homes, and three Magdalen asylums, of which the inmates are under the special superintendence of the benevolent members of committee. The Schoolmaster in Towns. 239 Besides the system of national education pursued in tlie parish schools, the government have been making great exertions by means of " Elementary Schools," whose aim, as explained under the law of 1859, "is to impart a system of national education surpassing the standard of the national schools, and to lay such rudiments of scientific knowledge as may be further developed at the Universities.'' These institutions, ably and vigorously conducted, have been found to be highly serviceable to burghal communities, and in place, as used to be the case, of committing the entire control to the clergy, a mixed superintendence is provided. In Stockholm, for example, where they have especially attained eminence, the governing body consists of the archbishop, the governor of the town, the burgomaster, the chief pastor, a member of tbe Swedish Academy, a member of the Academy of Belles-Lettres, three elected city clergymen, two elected magistrates, and two elected burghers ; and another pleasant feature is the comparatively Hberal salaries of the teachers, who, according to status and length of service, have incomes varying from 110/. to 250/. They have indeed a just claim to decent remuneration, when the number of 240 Among the Goths and Vandals. the prescribed subjects in which they are required to be proficient is considered. " Eeligion, Swedish language, arithmetic and geometry, history and geography, natural history, pedagogy and method, caligraphy, drawing, music, singing, gymnastics and military exercise, gardening and tree-planting !" Towards elementary education, as above described, the Budget of 1867 voted a large sum, and from all sources, ofiicial, capitalized, voluntary, upwards of 80,000^. was available that year for its promotion. In Sweden, as in England, " Freemasonry" has become a great social institution, into which men of every diversity of occupation, and of conflicting political opinions, have sought admission. Sec- tarianism and whatever savours of exclusiveness are banished by the fundamental laws of the order. Thdre have been occasions, it is true, where " Lodges'* have become the refuge of revolutionary sympathies, and so frustrated the conditions of their foundation, but exceptional features of this kind are inadequate reasons for broadcast attacks on a craft which con- spicuously acknowledges the supremacy of " Labour and good-will." The dominant party of the Church of Rome anathematizes the order, an influence, however, from which Swedes and Englishmen are Free Masonry and the Prince of Wales. 241 equally free. In some Eoman Catholic countries — Belgium is an example — ultramontanism is incessant in its attacks, and aggravates by this means the hostility which agitates political partisanship. The undoubted antiquity of masonry, as well as world- wide existence, imparts to it an uncommon interest and authority, and the youngest apprentice, if he chooses to inquire and think, may feel some personal pride in belonging to a brotherhood which is enabled to connect itself with the mysteries of Egypt and Chaldea. It was fitting that into this social com- munion, dedicated emphatically to works of mercy and benevolence, the Prince of Wales, the future ruler of millions of the human familv, should seek enrolment, and at a lodge in Sweden, under the genial auspices of the King, his Eoyal Highness first received the privileges of a " free and accepted mason." 16 CHAPTEE XII. SWEDES AMONG FOREIGNERS. EIC the Crown Prince, son of the illustrious Gustavus Wasa, imbibed a strong passion for becoming the hus- band of the Queen of England,, If one of the proudest and haughtiest of Sovereigns who ever reigned in this country had been dis- posed on political grounds to favour the suit, the character of her lover must have altogether deterred her. He was more remarkable for his outrages upon, than any allegiance to the decencies of civilized life. To the King, his father, his conduct had been the cause of much sorrow, and the good old man did not hesitate to denounce the vagaries of his profligate descendant. " Ah !" said he, " if this Absalom does not blush to do these things before my face, what will he not venture to do when I am dead." This adorer Queen Elizabeth's Adorer. 243 of Queen Elizabeth, was indeed a very brutal fellow. He bad been installed as vice-regent of an extensive principality, whose interests he neglected, and found amusement in the perpetration of acts of malicious cruelty. Fiendish sports in which limbs were lopped off, and eyes knocked out, constituted the programme of these " Northern meetings," and as his father's subjects were thus mutilated, the Viceroy applauded with a madman's laughter. What a dangerous ornament Prince Eric would have been had he become a permanent member of the Court of St. James ! At first his pretensions were introduced by proxy and correspondence, with results which ought to have satisfied any reasonable man that it was vain to pro- secute them further. That, however, was r[ot the view of the heir to the throne of Sweden. He prevailed on the old King to intercede in his behalf with the royal representative of the Tudors. Wasa was a man of honour and truth, and if he desired to maintain that character and at the same time promote the cause of his son, his task must have been singularly diflScult. Elizabeth loved independence, and could besides find no pretext for plighting her troth to one whose habits and pursuits were both debased and unmanly. She 16—2 244 Among the Goths and Vandals. refused him, it is said, both, in French and Englishj and then wrote a Latin letter to the King in which she entreated that his son would think no more about her. The Queen had determined to reject his addresses, and her decision was as unalterable as a decree of the Medes and Persians. The pig-headed Eric would have no refusal, and as neither his own knowledge of Latin nor that of his father was exten- sive, he persuaded the latter that they might pos- sibly have misapprehended the fuU meaning of the royal letter- writer, and that for the double purpose of receiving an answer from Queen Elizabeth's own lips, and giving him the advantage of pressing his suit in person, it would be best he should take ship and present himself to the " Virgin Queen." Everybody, except the principal actor, predicted what the upshot would be, and, as usual, everybody was right. It was an expensive wooing, and if Tegel is to be believed, produced some national grumbling. He says : " What a sum was expended in this expedition to so magnifi- cent a people, and in such a matter where expense is not wont to be spared, may easily be imagined : in fact, the cost amounted to 200,000 dollars."* This * Tegel, 1^59— upwards of 11,000Z. A Snow King. 245 was the only visit Eric paid to our shores. In the following year he became King. His inglorious career and melancholy end are familiar historical episodes. There was a Swedish monarch who acquired the highest reputation abroad, and as a great military commander, has few equals in modern times. Gustavus Adolphus had most qualities which make a man respected and beloved. Gifted with a noble understanding, a warm heart, daring courage, a magnanimity in seasons of triumph, and utterly averse from the cruelty of oppression, he commanded the respect of his political enemies and reigned in the hearts of his own people. His countrymen now treat each spot that is associated with his personal residence as if it were hallowed ground, and his memory with the affection they would bestow on some cherished friend. This " Snow King," as his Continental rivals at first nicknamed him, inherited a war with Poland and Eussia, as well as a long standing feud with Denmark. Wisely settling in the first instance his differences with the Danes, he marched his army against the Eussians, whom he drove from Ingria, Kavelia, and Livonia, while his admirals offering 246 Among the Goths and Vandals. them battle in the Baltic, destroyed or dispersed their fleet. Having thus humbled the Czar, Gustavus con- cluded a treaty of peace with him, and proceeded to prosecute the war in Poland. The military operations there undertaken exalted his renown, and generally resulted in the triumph of his arms. These successes and the short repose that ensued, permitted Gustavus Adolphus to mature plans which he had long cherished with respect to Germany, and he earnestly resolved that the commanding authority of his poli- tical situation should be employed as a grand Pro- testant counterpoise to the leading Catholic empires. Accordingly, in the summer of 1630, the King set sail with an army of 15,000 men to aid the Protes- tants of that country in their deadly struggle with the Catholic league, on whose side was marshalled the whole power of the empire. Neither the menaces nor the armaments of Ferdinand II. appalled the Swedidi King, who, having abeady taken Stettin, and secured a variety of important strategic advantages, in 1633 crossed the Danube in the face of Tilly's army, which he signally defeated. Continuing his march to Munich, the whole route is said to have been one triumphal ovation. Meanwhile France, ever prompted by hostile feelings towards the German confederation, Gustavus Adolphus. 247 had promised a large subsidy so long as Gustavus maintairied an army in the country. This pecuniary support was of incalculable value to a scientific and energetic commander, and historians agree that if Ferdinand had not recalled Wallenstein, his ablest general, it is probable the further advance of the Swedish army would have experienced no serious check. Had that been so, history would not have had to record the stirring events of the blood-stained battle-field of Lutzen ; the world would have heard that Protes- tant ascendancy had been established at Vienna, and seen the grandson of Gustaf Ericsson seated upon the throne of Charlemagne. It is remarkable that a man early trained to mili- tary duties, and constantly occupied with afiairs of pressing importance, should have found leisure to devote to literary and scientific investigation. There was no European prince who, in mental accomplish- ments, excelled Gustavus Adolphus. He was well versed in the classics, familiar with ancient history, a proficient in music, and so excellent a linguist that he is said to have spoken and written fluently five languages. The first great patron of learning in his own country, he extended the endowments of the universities as they then existed at Upsala and in 248 Among the Goths and Vandals. Finland, while his successes in war had an indirect though marked effect on literature, since several libraries captured in Germany were appropriated and sent home by him. No sovereign was ever more ably served in state affairs. The devotion of his chancellor, Oxenstiern, was perfect. The statesmanship of this great minister, combined with the military fame of his chief, attracted many learned foreigners to Sweden, and their labours, liberally rewarded, eminently assisted national progress. The posthumous fame of another king rests on his foreign achievements. There were few points of resem- blance between him and his two greatest predecessors. Charles XII. is said to have been " the greatest hero, Grustavus Adolphus the greatest general, but Wasa the greatest king." Like other distinguished men, he has had violent detractors, and some affect to see in him only a " brilliant madman" or another " Don Quixote," but the world does not share these exaggerated criti- cisms, and wUlingly ranks him among the foremost men of the eighteenth century. As a mere boy he assumed military command, and dic- tated terms to the King of Denmark from his capital of Copenhagen. He scattered the troops of Grermany and Poland before him, andunder the walls of Narva, stormed Charles the Twelfth. 249 the Eussian camp, dispersing an army four times more numerous thanhis own. He had a strange passion for war, and was the first man who ever aspired to the title of conqueror without] the least desire to extend his dominions. In subduing kingdoms, the greatest satisfaction he found was in giving them away.* Alexander the Great was early selected by him as a model, and hence the sting of the Czar Peter's remark upon receiving from Charles a message in answer to proposals of peace, that he would treat with him at Moscow : " My brother Charles still afiects to act Alexander, but I flatter myself he will not find me a Darius !" An illustrious commander, who shared the dietary of his soldiers, banishing aU luxuries from his table, and was never absent from the post of danger, might depend upon devotion in the hour of victory as in seasons of reverse, and that depen- dence was not in vain. When Augustus of Poland was reduced by the fortunes of war, he hoped to allure Charles from his projects through the siren charms of Aurora von Konigsmark, said to be one of the most beautiful women in Europe ; but an influence which might have overpowered many great men was * Votaires " Life of Charles XII." 250 Among the Goths and Vandals. without weight in this instance. The victorious King declined to receive the Polish Countess, and to womankind in general he was strangely — per- haps irrationally — indifferent. His proverbial self- will and obstinacy were his greatest weaknesses, as they were the occasion of his heaviest misfortunes. To them is to be attributed his enforced detention for five years in Turkey, a large portion of his remarkable life. It was from no fault of Charles that we had not a visit from him in England. The beginning and end of his career saw him surrounded by hostile alliances. Poland, Russia, and Denmark at the former period ; at the latter, the Anti-Swedish league, which com- prised Great Britain. The King had succeeded, through his sagacious minister. Baron Gortz, in weakening it, and Eussia was to favour the views of Sweden. The programme included the subjection of Norway, and, under favour of the Jacobite rising, a landing in Scotland, to terminate in the dethrone- ment of the first of our Georges ! But at the siege of Frederickshall, conducted in weather so rigorous that numerous sentinels perished from the exposure, Charles XII. received the bullet which proved fatal to an ambition that was dangerous to Europe from its restless and insatiable kind. Gustavus the Third. 251 At his death, Sweden ceased to be counted among the Great Powers. He was not a prudent adminis- trator. "His liberality," says Voltaire, "degene- rating into profusion, ruined Sweden ; his courage, approximating to rashness, was the cause of his death; his justice sometimes descended to cruelty. .... His great qualities, any one of which would have been sufficient to immortalize another prince, proved the misfortunes of his country." There are two more kings who carried their arms into foreign parts, the one without dishonour, the other so inauspiciously as to lead to the serious dismemberment of the empire, Grustavus III. had many qualifications which fitted him for being a great king, but his imperious temper and love of despotism weakened his popu- larity and abridged his reign. He had destroyed oligarchies, and the aristocracy regarded with dis- favour a diminution of their influence. He refused any enlargement of constitutional principles, and a "fierce" democracy clamoured for liberty. The country, too, needed repose. The campaigns of Charles XII. had increased its martial renown, but sadly impoverished it, and if the King had shown even a moderate inclination to defer to public opinion, 252 Among the Goths and Vandals. and sought to foster the iuternal resources of the nation, his own authority would have rapidly revived and contentment been restored. Neither course suited his inclination; he knew that his popularity had long been waning, and resolved that war was the natural stimulant of loyalty. At that time the northern frontier of Russia lay exposed in consequence of hostilities with the Turks, and the Swedish general in Finland was directed to march against St. Petersburg. A vigorous campaign, extending to three years, conducted by the King in person, produced a peace favourable to his interests; but this unprovoked attack upon Muscovite territory was a step not to be forgotten by Russia, and the ultimate loss of Finland may not unreasonably be traced to it. A war policy did not remove the influence of hostile parties or the growth of discontent, and the assassination of Gustavus forms a black spot in the nation's annals. In his hours of leisure, when the pleasures of the chase and the table did not occupy him, the pursuits of art and science were favourite avocations. Before setting out for the Russian war he deposited two boxes in the library of Upsalaj with directions that they should remain unopened until Gustavus the Fourth. 253 fifty years after his death. The condition was respected, and in 1842 the fastenings were cere- moniously removed. The contents comprised sundry letters, with historical and literary essays sufficiently meritorious to have gained for their author another medal from " The Eoyal Swedish Academy."* Grustavus IV. was the cause of the abrupt ter- mination to the Wasa rule. His unwise policy and vain ambition led to the loss, first of Pomerania, and then of Finland. Charles XII. was his beau ideal, of whom he afiected to be a close imitator, but unless in here- ditary courage, the claims to resemblance were ridiculous. The act of his public life which entitles him to the thanks of civilization, was the bold and indignant protest he delivered, all but alone among the Powers of Europe, to the French Emperor, against the barbarous death of the Duke d'Enghien. That, and his speeches in the German diet, as Duke of Pomerania, were causes of immense irritation to Napoleon, who contemptuously spoke of him as the heir of Charles XII., " only in jack-boots and audacity of tongue !" Gustavus could boast of no military successes like * See " Account of Swedish Academies." .254 Among the Goths and Vandals. his ancestors. He took the field in Germany with a powerful army against 30,000 French troops, and was signally defeated. It adds another to the many strange episodes of history, that the conqueror that day was Bernadotte, and the van- quished his future subjects. Alexander and Napoleon had now coalesced, and a Eussian army was overrunning Finland. Great Britain, still a friendly ally, had promised Sweden a subsidy of 1,200,000/. as weU as a contingent of 10,000 men commanded by Sir John Moore. But for his unparalleled foUy in quarrelling, on some capricious pretext, with the British commander, who returned to England in disgust, Gustavus might have been spared the humiliation of losing a valuable appendage of the Crown. His conduct became every' day more remarkable for dangerous eccentricities, and the nation at last forced him to abdicate. His uncle was now King, and Bernadotte Crown Prince. The dethroned sovereign roamed about the world. He had divorced himself from an amiable consort, and was alone. In the canton of Basel he chiefly resided, under the name of " Colonel Gustaf- son," the gallant colonel's chief glory being concen- trated in the mystical religious badge of the Knights A Famous Mystic. 255 of Jerusalem wHcli he habitually wore — and a simu- lated poverty. In 1810 he paid a visit to England, to which no warm reception was accorded ; but Hampton Court being then the asylum of several French refugees, the ex-king found there congenial companionship. Weak and half lunatic, he ceased, long before his death, to have any personal importance, and was hardly remembered. He was the last in descent, although not the last king, of the dynasty of Wasa. Between him and its illustrious founder there was the very antithesis of everything that constitutes identity. Nearly two hundred years after the unhappy Eric had returned a discomfited suitor for the hand of our haughty Queen Elizabeth, we had a visit from another Swede — accounted the most famous mystic of the eighteenth century— who died in England. The son of a Bishop, and himself destined for the church, Swedenborg, by the mathematical and mechanical dis- tinction he gained at the university, attracted the notice of Charles XII., who made him an assessor of mines, then an office of consideration as well as emolument. Subsequently, he was invited to accept, but declined, the chair of mathematics in Upsala, and later in life the Queen Obica conferred on him a patent of 256 Among the Goths and Vandals. nobility as Baron. Until past fifty, he had not entered on his singular career of spiritualism, con- nected with which posterity have made his acquain- tance, and was only locally known as a man of great capacity and extensive acquirements. A contem- porary prime minister has said that " he was without contradiction the most learned man in my country." Soon after coming to London he published his "Arcana Cselestia," which excited much attention from its startling announcements. He had free access, he informed, to heaven and hell, and the spiritual world ; where he not only had opportunities of con- versing with deceased acquaintances, but with distin- guished men of former periods. Self-love, according to him, was a dangerous property, for, if it was largely developed, its possessor was certain to be consigned to one of the three hells, which he designated." His "sightseeing" was generally supposed to be defective, for whereas King David and the Apostle of the Grentiles were still suffering the penalty of their sins, Louis Quatorze and George II. held exalted rank among the angels of light ! The grand distinctive principle of Swedenborgian theology is the doctrine of Life. " Grod, it is maintained, alone lives — creation is dead — man is dead, and their apparent life is the A Famous Mystic. 257 Divine presence. It appears as if he were different in one man and in another ; but this is a fallacy. The difference is in the recipients. By one He is not received in the same degree as in another. A man more adequately represents God than a tree. This is the only difiPerence : the life of devils is Grod's presence perverted in disorderly forms. All things, and each of them, to the very uttermost, exist and subsist instantly from God. If the connexion of anything with Him were broken for a moment, it would instantly vanish, for existence is perpetual subsistence, and preservation perpetual creation."* One portion of Swedenborg's belief was a reversal of the leading doctrine of Socinianism, for he saw God in the Saviour, and regarded Him as the sole object of worship. From a variety of circumstances there is not a doubt that he really believed whatever he wrote and spoke on such mysterious subjects, but it is equally certain that his intellect had become perverted and that these hallucinations were the offspring of insanity. The Swedenborgians have become a distinct sect. Great Britain contributes from three to four thousand members, of whom * " Arcana Caelestia ;" also " Chambers' Encyclopaedia." 17 258 Among the Goths and Vandals. Lancashire represents the largest nunaber. In America they are in greater force, but the founder's countrymen have the smallest sympathy with his opinions. They are not probably destined to rise from their present obscurity among Dissenters, and are indeed little considered, except from their con- nexion with the mental eccentricities of a very remarkable man. The enormous extension of commerce during the present century, and the influx of foreigners of aU nations into the great Modern Babylon, its centre, have naturally enlarged our acquaintance with the Swedes, whose mercantile integrity is cheerfully acknowledged. The diplomatic and consular ser- vants of their government have been men of intel- ligence and honour, highly esteemed in their own circles, but without general acquaintance. It has been diiFerent with . two of their fair countrywomen, who, by the charm of their artistic , gifts and the purity of their " moral page," have won all hearts. Jenny Lind and Christine Nilsson have both risen from the ranks to positions which the mere accident of high birth could not have commanded. Every obstacle was removed by the magic of their power ; the une voix pMnomenale, as the French caU it, proved Nightingales. 259 irresistible. Until their day, all the celebrated cantatrici we had been glad to welcome, had come from the warm South, and now two peasant girls belonging to the far North were each in succession to make captive the most brilliant and fastidious audiences in the world. At the age of sixteen, Jenny Lind found herself the reigning and popular jt3n«2