1 every thing but his plate and his library, if he would return and take the oaths; but he bravely anfwered, "That he was born free; his ancestors were free, and he would die fo!" It happened fortunately for this prince (as it is reported) that the zeal of his anceftors had provided a refource for his misfortunes, which looked almoft, as if they had foreseen them. They had depofited fome ages ago, in one of their churches, twelve ftatues of the Apostles, compofed of maffy gold, and each a foot and a half in height; which the dean and chapter were obliged to produce once a year to the reigning prince. By the fame good fortune, thefe ftatues efcaped the rapacity of the fpoilers of Poland, and the prince brought them fafe to Germany. Some of the apoftles are already melted down, and the reft will probably undergo the fame fate; they will however preferve their owner from many of those diftreffes, which too many of the unhappy nobility of his country muft undoubtedly experience. The patriotifm and misfortunes of the Marchionefs Wielopolfka, hould not be forgotten. This illuftrious lady, in the beginning of the troubles, not only fupported the Confederates with her money, but fold her plate and jewels for the fame purpofe, As their misfortunes, and the miferies of her country increased, her affection to it arofe in proportion to the greatness of the danger, and the by degrees mortgaged her vaft eftates, and, it is faid, raifed upon them the amazing fum of 1,200,000 ducats. However this fum may be exaggerated, the difpofed of the whole amount, whatever it was, in the defence of her country. The union of the petitioning powers, having fruftrated the generous hopes which fhe had conceived, she still bore up against the misfortune, till the Auftrians feized the country where her eftates lay, and they of courfe became liable to confifcation, as the would not fubmit to the terms that were neceffary for their prefervation. Unable to bear a load of diftrefs, which would have been a trial to the most temperate and firm philofophy, the woman, now, got the better of the heroine, and the unhappy marchioness in a fit of defpair threw herself into a deep well. The care of her attendants, however, prevented that fate which fhe was feeking, and she was preferved from any worse confequence, than that of breaking her arm. CHAP. CHA P. V. Some obfercations on the ancient and modern ftate of the Swedish govern. Great change in the conftitution by Guftaeus Vaja. The nobleness of Gustavus Adolphus's nature. Dejpotifm fully established by Charles XIth. Deplorable state of Sweden at the death of Charles the XIIth. Effects produced by the change of government which took place upon his deceafe. Bishop of Lubeck, father to the present king elected prefumptive heir to the crown upon the death of the Queen Ulrica Eleanora. Conduct of the prefent King from his acceffion. Matters preparatory to the revolution. Revolt of the garrison of Chriftianpadt, and manifefto published by them. Declaration publihed by Prince Charles,, the King's brother. Menfures taken by the fenate, and the fecret committee, for quelling the infurrection and approved of by the plates. The revolution takes place in Stockholm, and is fected without tumult or blood. The ancient form of government abolished, and a new established, by the King, in a full ajjembly of the ftafes. The revenues mude perpetual, and all the powers of the ftate virtually lodged in the hands of the King. The Diet breaks up. Internal government of the kingdom. Rewards and honours to thofe who diftinguished themselves in the revolution. was rendered the more efficacious, Speriods been confidered among as the kings found it occafionally the freeft governments in Europe. It has been even thought to approach to a perfection in that refpect, fuperior to any other of the modern fates. Though governed by kings, thefe kings were originally elected by the people, and their power circumfcribed within very narrow limits; the fenate in a manner exercifed the whole executive power; and the general diets, at their meetings, fuperintended and regulated the whole. The pealants, who are fo little confidered in other countries, had the peculiar privilege of being fully reprefented in thofe affemblies, and with the burghers, formed two, of the four great orders, which compofed the ftates of the nation. By this means they were a happy counterpoize to the ambition and power of the nobility and clergy; which their intereft, to throw their own weight into the fame scale. However happy this fyftem of government was in other refpects, it could not avoid being clogged with thofe impediments, and liable to thofe fatal confequences, which, are inherent to elective monarchies. The latent feeds of its deftruction were contained within itself; and the introduction of the Danish tyrants, towards the clofe of the fourteenth century, the unhappy union of Calmar, which perpetuated their claims, together with the overgrown power and ambitious views of the clergy, brought them to their full growth. Sweden accordingly became a scene of war and calamity for upwards of 120 years, until the at length faw, almost, the whole body of the nobility murdered in cold blood, and little lefs than than a general maffacre of the nation take place, under Chriftian the Second. In this exigence, the celebrated Guftavus Vafa rescued his 1520. country from the bloody hands of one of the most deteftable tyrants that ever degraded human nature. Though this young nobleman had many heroic qualities, he bad too much ambition to reftore the ancient conftitution of his country; and the people in the excefs of their joy and gratitude hay ing furnished him with the means, he by degrees laid the foundation of that defpotifm, which was car▲ ried to its utmost extent by his defcendants. Having feized on the vaft pofleffions of the clergy, he formed a power that was independent of the itate; and became enabled thereby, to make that crown hereditary to his family, which he had only received from the free fuffrages and election of the people. He however continued to retain fuch of the ancient names and forms of government, as did not militate totally with his defigns, and might be made ufe of in fuch a manner, as to take off from the crown a great fhare of that odium which it muft neceffarily incur, if all the violent and unpopular effects of its power, were to be confidered as its own direct and par ticular acts. Thus the form and name of a fenate was preserved, and it was still liable to the imputation of all the miscarriages and exorbitancies of government, though it was now entirely compofed of the King's creatures, who had not a will of their own, nor were poffeffed of a fingle power but what he chofe to endow them with. In the fame manner, the diets were affembled and held, according to their usual forms; but the crown had obtained fuch an overruling influence in the elections, that few were returned but thofe who were recommended or approved of by it; and the few that came in upon other terms, were fo overawed by the ftrong arbitrary powers that were lodged in its hands, and fo terrified by a powerful ftanding army which depended upon its will, that they' found it neceffary to fubmit implicitly to the King's mandates, and the ftates of the nation were reduced to little more, than regifters of the decrees of the crown. The fucceffors of Guftavus gave the Swedes continued occafion, to lament the intolerable yoke which he had laid upon their fhoulders. Even his fon, Charles of Sudermania, who became king by dethroning his nephew Sigifmund, facrificed to his rage and covetousness, by profcriptions, executions, and confifcations, that ancient nobility, to whom the houfe of Vafa owed every thing. It is however true, that Guftavus Adolphus, from the generosity and nobleness of his own nature, reconciled for once an arbitrary power (which in his hands could not be felt) with the intereft and happiness of his people, and repaired, fo far as it was poffible to be done, the mifchiefs that proceeded from his father's avarice and cruelty. The Swedes never fully experienced all the horrors of defpotifm, until the reign of Charles the Eleventh, who ftripped the fenate of its authority, and the nobility of their eftates. As the Livonian foldiers, were neither attached to the perfons or laws of the Swedes, he made ufe of them to compel the ftates to give up every shadow of their liberty, and to acknowledge that he was accountable to none but God for his actions. He after wards, in the fame manner, defpoiled the nobility of Livonia and Efthonia, of their eftates; though they had voluntarily furrendered to the government of Sweden; that, their property and rights were fecured to them by treaty, and confirmed upon oath at the acceffion of every king; and that the titles to their lands were fheltered under the fanction of a remote antiquity. The Swedish foldiers now repaid the compliment, which their nation owed to the Livonians, and were the agents to difpoffefs them of their eftates, in return for the lofs of their own liberties. It was this transaction which gave rife to the calamities and deplorable fate of the celebrated and unfortunate John Patkul. And to this tranf action might alfo in a great meafure be attributed, the fucceeding lofs of Livonia and the adjoining provinces, to the irreparable damage of Sweden. As the education and conduct of this monarch were equally fingular, and are in many refpects out of the common course of things, the extraordinary nature and importance of the fubject, may excufe our taking fome small notice of it. As the death of his father left him a minor at the early age of five years, the care of his education was entrusted in the hands of the queen his mother, and of five of the great officers of state. The fenate complimented the Queen with the choice of a governor, and he, though an excellent princefs in other respects, gave way upon this occafion to her private affection, and to the amazement of all mankind appointed a nobleman to that office, whofe principal qualification confifted, in his being one of the hardeft drinkers in the kingdom. It is faid that the course of the young prince's ftudies, was confined to the knowledge of two great principles, which were continually inftilled into his mind, and were laid down as the general and invariable rules for the future government of his life. The first of these principles, was to practise at all times the most profound diffimulation; and the fecond, to perfevere in all his own refolutions.One religious, and one moral duty, were inculcated with equal care and effect; the first was, to say his prayers twice a day, and the fecond, to fhew himself affectionate and dutiful to his mother. As to other matters, this prince was fo totally illiterate, that he fcarcely was able to make his fignature; and fo deficient in words and matter, that though he did not want natural parts, he was not ca pable of holding a difcourfe with any ftranger, upon the common topics of converfation. It is faid, that one of the firft nobility of the kingdom, having remonftrated freely with the queen upon the fhameful state of his education, the replied with great warmth and indignation, that neither of her bro. thers had ever submitted to learn any thing, and yet they were both excellent princes, and highly beloved in their country. Under the government of a monarch fo deplorably ignorant, and whofe mind received fo fatal a bias, it is not to be wondered that his fubjects fuffered the most unparalleled oppreffions, and that the poor remains of the conftitution were were totally annihilated. As his their treacherous defigns against himself, and was never capable of feeing the danger. They however failed in all their defigns against the King; but were fuccefsful in thofe against their country. Charles the Twelfth inherited the intrepidity, obftinacy, harfhnefs and violence of his father, without his diffimulation. He carried defpotifm to a fill greater height, as he threw by all the forms, and appearances of law, and decided peremptorily in every thing, without admitting of any difculGon. The events and fortune of his life are too generally known, to require any illuftration. His obftinacy and implacable difpofition at length brought on his ruin, after a life dedicated to heroic actions and abfurd purfuits; and having reduced his country, from the height of power and glory, to the lowest ebb of weakness and mifery. Such was the fituation of Sweden at the time of his decease, that if other states had not been more attentive to the general interefts of Europe, than they seem to have been fince, the partitioning powers would not now, probably, have wanted a recent precedent for the divifion of Poland. The Swedes loft their finest provinces by the war, and the remaining part of their country was fo miferably defolated by the cruel depredations of the enemy, as to be fcarcely recoverable by time and induftry. The Ruffians penetrated into the bowels of their mountains to deftroy the valuable coppermines, and carried off at the fame time the wretched inhabitants of all fexes and ages, to cultivate their remote forefts. To balance thefe misfortunes, they recovered their [D] ancient |