Government; and he commissioned Dumouriez to go secretly to Hamburg, to levy men, and to take them, by Lübeck, to Sweden. The only effect of this was to stimulate D'Aiguillon's curiosity. He had Dumouriez kidnapped and sent to Paris, where he was provided with lodgings in the Bastile. The whole story of his captivity and examination, and the alarm of Louis lest his share in the business should come to light, forms an amusing pendant to the story of the king's secret diplomacy, and, as such, has been related at length by Dumouriez himself in his Mémoires,' and more recently by the Duke de Broglie in the 'Secret du Roi;' but its connexion with the Swedish revolution is slight, and it may be passed over here with a bare mention.

6

After all, the active support of France was not needed; for Catherine had no troops to spare from the Turkish war, and Frederick, who had meant to march into that fag-end of Po'merania' unopposed, whilst the Russians in Finland were quelling such resistance as the Swedes were capable of offering, had no force ready. He contented himself, therefore, with uttering a diplomatic malediction, which after-events curiously fulfilled. It was written to Gustavus, and bears date January 23, 1773.*

'I have no doubt that your Majesty has powerful allies; but they are at a great distance from Sweden, and therefore little able to assist it. You tell me that you are satisfied with the testimonies of friendship which your neighbours have given you. I have no wish to disturb the happy security you enjoy; and, far from finding pleasure in prophesying misfortunes, I would much rather be the augur of prosperity. I declare to your Majesty that I have never believed myself prophet, seer, or inspired; I can only calculate the future from known data; and my conclusions may sometimes be false, but are more frequently correct. And I might remind you of the answer of that soothsayer who had foretold the misfortunes which threatened Cæsar on the ides of March. . . . Your Majesty knows the rest. . . . If the glimpse of the future is disagreeable to you, I, as well as another, can veil the precipices with flowers, so as to hide them from your eyes. You may, however, be sure that if there is any one who is anxious to shelter you from coming dangers, it is I, and that, if things take a different turn, it shall not be my fault.'

It was thus, then, that by good fortune and good management the anarchy in Sweden was ended, the danger from its powerful neighbours was tided over, and a possible future bright with the blessings of peace and plenty dawned for the

*In M. Geffroy's work this date appears as 1778; a very evident misprint.

impoverished and sorely tried country. And though the mind and temper of Gustavus were but ill-adapted for the routine of government, for the narrow necessities of economical administration and financial reform, and though his eager zeal hurried him on beyond the limits of prudence, still much was accomplished. Legislative corruption was severely checked,] religious toleration was introduced, justice was no longer a saleable commodity, increased liberty was given to the press, the penal laws were rendered milder, public granaries were instituted, corn was distributed to the needy, and mendicity was put a stop to. An Agricultural Commission was appointed to examine into the capabilities of each province, and the trade in grain was declared free. Commerce and manufacture were encouraged; and not only these, but letters and the fine arts. The king himself wrote well, whether in Swedish or in French. He established the Academy of Sweden on a basis similar to that of France, and received one of its earliest medals for an essay on, or rather a eulogium of, Torstenson. He promoted the national drama, sketched several plays-mostly on subjects of Swedish history-and planted or grafted that school of Swedish opera which, even in our own time, has borne such excellent fruit. Painting, sculpture, and architecture were equally encouraged; and several of the public buildings of Stockholm still bear witness to the almost feverish activity of the nascent taste. But all this, though tending to soften the manners of the people, who preserved a great deal of their mediæval ruggedness, involved a large expenditure, and thus gave opportunity for much and ever-growing discontent.

courage

Another softening influence was of very doubtful advantage. The close alliance between Sweden and France, as well as the partiality which the king openly showed for French customs, fashions, and language, sent numbers of the young nobles to Paris, not only to spend their time, but to seek service under the French Government, and to push their fortunes at Court or in the camp, with the talent, the versatility, the energy, the of the Northmen of old. The names of some of these thus became mixed up with our own history. One, Count Stedingk, who years afterwards commanded the Swedish contingent in the very general coalition of 1813, served under D'Estaing in the West Indies in 1779, when, in July, he headed the column of attack on the Hospital Hill at Grenada; or in October was severely wounded in covering the repulse at Savannah. Another, Count Fersen, served in America on the staff of Rochambeau, and in that capacity was present when Lord Cornwallis surrendered at York in October 1781.

Later events inseparably linked the name of Le Beau Fersen' with that of the Queen of France, who, in the opinion of many, entertained for him a guilty passion. The scandal was not a child of the Revolution. True or false, it was of long standing, and was very distinctly spoken of in a letter from Creutz to Gustavus, dated April 10, 1779.

'I ought to tell your Majesty that young Count Fersen has been so well received by the queen, that it has given offence to many persons. I must say I cannot hinder myself from believing that she has an inclination for him. I have seen such proofs of it that I cannot doubt it. The count has, in respect of this, behaved admirably both in his modesty and reserve, and especially in taking the resolution to go to America. By this departure he avoids the danger; though to overcome the seduction demands a firmness beyond his age. During these last days the queen was not able to keep her eyes off him, and whilst gazing at him they filled with tears. I implore your Majesty to keep this secret, both for her sake and that of senator Fersen. When the approaching departure of the count was known, all the courtiers were charmed. The Duchess of Fitz-James said to him, "What, sir! you 66 can abandon your conquest in this "If I had made one," he way ?" answered, "I should not abandon it. I leave this a free man, and unfortunately my departure will not awaken any regrets." Your Majesty will admit that this reply was of a wisdom and prudence beyond his years.'

The King of Sweden had as much inclination towards the gaiety and brilliance of the French Court as any of his subjects, and in the cold north longed for the delights which he had once just tasted. In the summer of 1780 he spent some months at Aix-la-Chapelle, Spa, Brussels, and the Hague; but a hint from the French Government prevented his going to Paris. In the autumn of 1783 he determined to take a longer holiday, intending, after a tour in Italy, to return by France, which he hoped he might be permitted to visit, now that the very general European war was ended. He, therefore, under the incognito of Count Haga, set out from Stock

Count Axel Fersen was at this time twenty-four. On his return from America he again established himself in Paris, and has been more especially known by his devotion to Marie Antoinette during her last three years. After her death, he attached himself to the service of his own country; and in a popular tumult, June 20, 1810, was horribly torn to pieces by the mob. His correspondence during the years 1790-93 has been recently published under the title of 'Le Comte de Fersen et la Cour de France.' 2 vols. 8vo. Paris: 1878. An engraved portrait, prefixed to the first volume, singularly bears out his right, at the age of twenty-eight, to the distinguishing name of 'Le Beau Fersen.'

holm on September 28, and, passing by easy stages through Germany, he entered Italy in the end of October. One of his adventures on the way, suggested probably by his dramatic studies, might itself furnish a hint to the dramatist. It is thus described by M. Geffroy, from the letters of the Saxon ambassador at Stockholm:

'Gustavus had long ago promised a visit to the little Court of Schwerin. Accordingly, as soon as the Duchess of Mecklenburg heard of his having landed in Germany, she prepared two fêtes in his honourone in her capital, the other at Ludwigslust; but Gustavus, who rather disdained these petty German Courts, thought it a good joke, instead of going himself to Schwerin, to send two of his attendants—a page named Peyron, and Desvouges, a valet-de-chambre, who had formerly been an actor. These two personated Count Haga and his minister, Baron Sparre, and sustained the characters throughout; accepted all the homage meant for their master, danced with all the Mecklenburg ladies who were presented to them, and Peyron went even so far as to ask one of them for her portrait. Meantime Gustavus, in a real incognito, was taking his pleasure at Ludwigslust; and the mistake lasted long enough for him fully to enjoy the mystification.'

We are not told how it ended, but the concluding sentence would imply that in some way or other the mystification was. explained away as a mistake or a misunderstanding. To Italy he seems to have carried the same ideas of frolic, more in the taste of a schoolboy out for a holiday, than of a king, nearly forty years old, studying peoples and governments. At Florence he met the Emperor Joseph II., also incognito as Count Falkenstein. As a first visit, the emperor and his brother, the grand duke, called on the King of Sweden. It was nineo'clock in the morning, and Gustavus was still in bed; but, jumping up, he threw on a dressing-gown, fastened on the grand cross of the Pole Star, and in such guise received his astonished guests. The two men had little in common; and though whilst at Florence they were necessarily thrown together, each seems to have disliked or despised the other; Gustavus making a jest of the emperor's church-going habits, and Joseph, on his return to Vienna, putting the hero of an operatic farce on the stage in a dressing-gown and grand cross. The Count d'Albany was another whose personal acquaintance Gustavus made at Florence. The misery which clouded the last days of this unfortunate prince has often been described, but it is still interesting to note the actual observations of an unprejudiced eye-witness, Baron Adlerbeth, one of the king's staff.

'Count d'Albany (he writes) took some pains to attract the attention of Count Haga. This personage lives at Florence, in a style quite

beyond his resources. He gave some large dinners, to which we were invited. Though only sixty-three years old, he is decrepit, bent, does not walk without difficulty, and has so little memory that he repeats the same thing within a quarter of an hour. He never fails to wear the blue ribbon over his shabby every-day dress; and, on occasions of ceremony, the mantle of the Garter, with the ribbon at the knee. On the front of his house is displayed the shield of England, surmounted by a royal crown. He speaks with fire of the episodes of his youth, with firmness of his misfortunes, with resentment of the conduct of France.'

The representations of Gustavus to the King of France and to the Pope succeeded in alleviating, to some extent, the misery of his old age; from the one he obtained a formal divorce from the countess, and from the other, some addition to his very slender pension, which, however, his death put a stop to some four years later.

At Rome Gustavus postured not only as the patron of art, but more especially as the friend of religious liberty. On Christmas Day, in company with Count Falkenstein, he attended high mass at St. Peter's, and directly afterwards he visited the Pope. The interview, though not without a certain comic aspect, was ably conceived. The king, as head of an independent Church, put himself on a religious as well as on a political equality with the Sovereign Pontiff, and, as he had attended a Roman Catholic communion, invited the Pope to attend a Lutheran. His Holiness evaded the proposal; but Gustavus did eventually succeed in getting permission to open a Lutheran chapel in the immediate neighbourhood of St. Peter's; and that very day the Protestant service was performed in Rome, as publicly as the Catholic in Stockholm.

It was Gustavus's desire to go from Rome to France; but the Minister for Foreign Affairs, his old ally M. de Vergennes, was doubtful how far it would be prudent to receive him. The reports from the Cardinal de Bernis, then ambassador at Rome, taught the French Government how much Gustavus was bent on the visit; and as they knew that before his departure from Sweden, he had been coquetting with the Empress of Russia, they were not without fear lest he should be induced to enter into closer alliance with her, to the prejudice of France. They therefore judged it advisable to win him entirely to themselves by the fascinations and seductions of the French Court. He was invited to return by Paris, and that, not only formally but by a special letter from Marie Antoinette. He accordingly arrived there on June 7, 1784, and went on the same evening to Versailles. Louis had been hunting, and was at supper at