ground, resembling sugar plums upon gingerbread. The state rooms are very rich and elegant, and an Englishman is much gratified to find in the library a very large and choice collection of English authors. There is a beautiful picture here of a weeping Ariadne, by Wertmuller, a Swedish artist, who, unfortunately for his country, has for ever left it, and settled in America.

Whenever I reflect upon a neglected artist of merit, a delightful little anecdote, which is related of Francis I, always occurs to me: that sovereign having received a picture of St. Michael from the hand of Raphael d'Urbino, which he much coveted, he renumerated Raphael far beyond what his modesty conceived he ought to receive the generous artist, however, made him a present of a Holy Family, painted by himself, which the courteous monarch received, saying, that persons famous in the arts partake of the immortality of princes, and are upon a footing with them.

In this palace there is the head of a Persian Sybil, in mosaic, exquisitely beautiful, and two costly and elegant presents from the late Empress Catharine II, of tables of lapis lazuli and Siberian agate. There are also some exquisite statues in alabaster and marble, and Etruscan vases, purchased in Italy by Gustavus III, during his southern tour. The Etruscan vases are very beautiful; but in tone of colour, classical richness, elegance and variety of shape, not equal to those which I had previously seen in England at Gillwell Lodge, the seat of William Chinnery, esq. who unquestionably has the finest private collection of this kind in England, perhaps in Europe.

There is here a portrait of that eccentric personage Queen Christina, who abdicated the throne of Sweden in 1660, and left to her successor, Charles X, the costly discovery that, amidst all her whimsical caprices, she had taken good care to clear most of the palaces of their rarest furniture previous to her retiring to Rome: picking out even the jewels of the crown before she resigned it. So completely had she secured every thing that was valuable, that Charles X was obliged to borrow several necessary utensils for his coronation. This loss, for I suppose it must not be called a depredation, has been amply restored by the taste and munificence of Gustavus III. In the state sleeping-chamber, the royal banner of light blue and silver was fixed at the foot of the bed, and had a a very chivalrous appearance. In the garden there is a theatre, N

which is large and handsome; but since the death of Gustavus III, who was much attached to this place, and made it the seat of his brilliant festivities, it has been little used. In the gardens there is a range of small houses in the Chinese taste, but neither the former nor the latter are worthy of much notice.

After our return from Drottingholm we gained admission, but with much difficulty, to the arsenal. This depot of military triumphs is a brick-building, consisting of a ground floor, with lofty windows down to the ground, stands at the end of the King's gardens, the only mall of Stockholm, and has all the appearance of a large green-house. The artillery, which is planted before it, hast the ridiculous effect of being placed there to defend the most precious of exotic trees within from all external enemies, who either move in air or pace the earth. The contents, alas! are such fruits 66 as the tree of war bears," and well deserve the attention of the traveller and antiquary. Here is an immense collection of trophies and standards taken from the enemies of Sweden, and a long line of stuffed kings, in the actual armour which they wore, mounted upon wooden horses, painted to resemble, and as large as life, chronologically arranged. I was particularly struck with the clothes of Charles XII, which he wore when he was killed at the siege of Frederickshall, and very proudly put them on, viz. a long shabby blue frock of common cloth, with large flaps and brass buttons, a little greasy low cocked hat, a handsome pair of gloves, fit to have touched the delicate hands of the countess of Koningsmark, a pair of stiff high-heeled military boots, perhaps it was one of those which he threatened to send to the senate at Stockholm, to which they were to apply for orders until his return, when they were impatient at his absence during his mad freaks in Turkey. As it is natural to think that great souls generally inhabit large bodies, my surprise was excited by finding that when I had completely buttoned the frock of this mighty madman upon my greyhound figure, my lungs gave sensible tokens of an unusual pressure from without. I must be indulged in giving the following extract from an account of this marvellous madcap, which was given by a person who had seen him, and who thus speaks of him: "His coat "is plain cloth, with ordinary brass buttons, the skirts pinned up "behind and before, which shews his Majesty's old leather waist"coat and breeches, which they tell me are sometimes so greasy

that they may be fried. But when I saw him they were almost 66 new; for he had been a gallant a little before, and had been to "see King Augustus's Queen upon her return from Leipsic, and, "to be fine, he put on those new leather breeches, spoke not above "three words to her, but talked to a foolish dwarf she had, about a quarter of an hour, and then left her. His hair is light brown, very greasy, and very short, never combed but with his fingers. "At dinner he eats a piece of bread and butter, which he spreads "with his thumbs."

Think of all this as applied to "the most powerful among the "kings that worship Jesus; redresser of wrongs and injuries, " and protector of right in the ports and republics of south and "north; shining in majesty, love of honour and glory, and of our "sublime Porte-Charles, King of Sweden, whose enterprises may God crown with success !"

The said blood-besprinkled gloves, and bullet-pierced hat have furnished abundant and fatiguing sources of vague and violent disputation pages, nay volumes, have been written to ascertain whether the death of Charles was fair or foul: a fact to be found only in the records of Heaven, and of small import to be known here. Let the blow have been given from whatever hand it may, Sweden had good reason to bless it, and happy are those who live in times which furnish but little of such materials for the page of history, as Charles supplied.

Though Charles was said to possess a great coldness of character, the following anecdote will shew that he was susceptible of Battery: Whilst the batteries of the citadel of Frederickshall were firing heavily at the enemy's trenches, a young woman who was looking at the King from an adjoining house, dropped her ring int the street: Charles observing her said, " Madam, do the guns "of this place always make such an uproar?" "Only when we "have such illustrious visitors as your majesty," replied the girl. The King was much pleased, and ordered one of his soldiers to return the ring. This extraordinary being must have sometimes excited the smiles, as he often did the tears, of mankind. After the Turks, irritated by his refusal to depart, were obliged to burn his house over his head, and by main force send him to Bender, Charles XII, a fugitive, attended only by a few wretched followers, ruined, and his coffers completely exhausted, wrote to his envoy

at the court of Louis XIV, to send him the exact ceremonials of that brilliant and magnificent court, that he might immediately adopt them.

Hurried away by kings, palaces, and statues, I have to my shame (my cheek reddens whilst I write) staid thus long in Stockholm ere I noticed those, without whom a crown is unenviable, the most magnificent abode cheerless, and of whom the most graceful images of art are but imperfect imitations. The Swedish ladies are in general remarkably well shaped, enbonpoint, and have a fair transparent delicacy of complexion, yet, though the favourites of bountiful nature, strange to relate, they are more disposed to conceal than display those charms, which in other countries, with every possible assistance, the fair possessor presents to the enraptured eye to the best advantage. A long gloomy black cloak covers the beautiful Swede when she walks, confounding all the distinctions of symmetry and deformity; and even her pretty feet, which are as neat and as well turned as those of a fine Frenchwoman, are seldom seen without the aid of a favouring breeze. Even the sultry summer has no influence in withdrawing this melancholy drapery, but I am informed that it is less worn now than formerly: often have I wished that the silk-worm had refused his contribution towards this tantalizing concealment: occasionally the streets of Stockholm displayed some bewitching seceders from the abominable habit. This custom arises from the sumptuary laws, which forbid the use of coloured silks.

The Swedish ladies are generally highly accomplished, and speak with fluency English, French, and German, and their tenderness and sensibility by no means partake of the severity of their northern latitude; yet they exhibit two striking characteristics of whimsical prudery: in passing the streets a Swedish lady never looks behind her, nor does she ever welcome the approach or cheer the departure of a visitor by permitting him to touch the cherry of her lips; the ardent admirer of beauty must be content to see

that

Welcome ever smiles,

And farewel goes out sighing.

This chilling custom is somewhat singular, when it is considered that the salutation of kissing, even between man and man, hateful

as it is to an untravelled Englishman, prevails almost in every part of the continent.

I was very desirous of attending the courts of justice, or as they are called the kamners-rætter, of which there are four in Stockholm, but I found they were all close, and only the judges and parties and necessary officers permitted to enter. What a contrast to the unreserved openness with which the laws in England are administered! By unfolding the gates of justice, and displaying her in all her awful majesty, her ordinances become widely promulgated, and the respect paid to her decrees augmented by the reverence which is excited by her presence; her seat is not only the depository of the law, but of all descriptions of learning, and is a school of eloquence in which the language of the country receives its highest polish. Of what national importance the powers of an illustrious advocate may become, let those say, who have witnessed the brilliant genius, exalted persuasion, and profound knowledge of an Erskine, and can trace their consequences to a country which knows how to appreciate them. The laws of Sweden are considered to be simple, mild, clear, and just; and, since the labours of Gustavus III, to render them so, have been impartially administered. In civil causes each party pays his own costs; this must frequently be unjust; but whilst Sweden, however, may learni something from the manner in which the laws are dispensed in England, she presents to our admiration a spirit which we should do well to imitate: the prosecutor sustains no share whatever of the expenses of prosecuting a criminal.

In England there is a highly important society, first established by the celebrated Sir John Fielding, the objects of which are actively and ably conducted by its solicitor and secretary, S. S. Hunt, esq. for prosecuting felons. These objects are to prevent the impunity which too frequently follows depredation, from the heavy extra expenses which often attend the discovery, apprehension, and trial, of delinquents, by raising a yearly subscription fund to indemnify the suffering individual who prosecutes in the name of the Crown. How a foreigner who takes a keen and close peep at us, must be surprised to observe an institution, which, whilst it exhibits the patriotic spirit of individuals, reflects with not a little justified severity, upon the absence of a legislative provision, which is of so much consequence to the country. It may be said, that