turns in the room, when he found himfelf furrounded by a crowd which preffed upon him violently, and was fhot by a perfon behind him, in the left fide. Guftavus was not killed on the fpot; but falling on a bench near him, immediately gave orders for all the doors to be thut, and every perfon to be unmarked. He was afterwards led to an adjoining apartment. On the floor of the room was found a piftol and a dagger; both of which the affaffin was fuppofed to have dropped, after the perpetration of the horrid deed. Every perfon, as he left the room, was compelled to unmafk, and give in his name. Ankerstroem was the last perfon who left it; yet he left it without being difcovered. Next morning the arms that had been found were fubmitted to public examination. Agunfmith of the city of Stockholm depofed, that he had repaired the identical piftol for Captain Ankerftrom; and a cutler, that he had made the dagger at the request of the fame perfon. The affaffin was immediately arrefted, and without hefitation confeffed and gloried in his crime. He had intended, he faid, to have difpatched the King, after the difcharge of his piftol, with his dagger; but his hand trembling, as he tried to point it to the breaft of Gustavus, he involuntarily dropped it on the floor. He denied that he had any accompices; but afterwards, when threatened with the torture, he disclosed many circumstances of the confpiracy, and the names of feveral con fpirators; among whom Though the fufferings of the King must have been excruciating in the extreme, as the piftol had been loaded with seven nails, befides two balls, and fome fmall fhot, he bore them with unexampled courage and refignation, and "dif-" Ribbing was one of three young men who confpired to put the King to death, and drew lots for the infamous honour of making the first attack on his perfon. The other two were Ankerftrom, on whom the lot fell, and the Count Von Horn. Vol. XXXIII. G played played a prefence of mind the moft aftonishing. While he waited for the arrival of his furgeons, in an apartment adjoining to the faloon of the opera-houfe, feveral of the foreign minifters prefented themfelves; to whom fie faid, "I have given orders, Gentlemen, that the gates of the city fhall be fhut. You will, therefore, not take it ill if you fhould be unable to fend couriers to your courts until after three days. Your advices then will be more certain, fince it will probably be known whether I can furvive or not. His converfation then related to the effects which the accident might produce in Europe; and the love of fame, which was always his predominant paffion, was perceptible in his remarks. General Baron d'Armfeldt, one of his most affectionate friends, entered the room pale with horror, and unable to utter a word. As he approached, the King, ftretching out his hand to him, faid, "What's the matter, my friend? Be.not alarmed on my account. You know, by experience, what a wound is." Thus flatteringly alluding to the wound which the General had received in Finland. Finding that he was not likely to furvive, he fettled all his affairs, as a man does who is preparing for a journey, with all the compofure imaginable. He fent for his fon, the Prince Royal, and addreffed a fpeech to him on the nature of a good government, in a manner so truly affecting, that all those who were prefent were diffolved in tears. The wound which the King received was not at firft pronounced to be mortal, and fome faint hopes were entertained of his recovery; but on the 28th a mortification took place; and on the following morning, fenfible of his approaching diffolution, he confeffed himfelf, according to the ufage of the Lutheran church, to his High Almon. er, with a fincere, but calm and unoftentatious devotion. After which he faid to his confeffor, "I doubt whether, in the eyes of my Maker, I have any great merit; but, at least I have the confolation to reflect, that I never wilfully injured any perfon." It was his defire to receive the bleffed facrament, and to take leave of his Queen, who, by the advice of the phyficians, had not been admitted to him while his fate remained undecided. That he might be prepared to support these important duties with dignity and fortitude, he endeavoured to compofe himself for taking some repofe; when, immediately after bidding adieu to the nobleman in waiting, he expired *. The King, during his illness, appointed his brother the Duke of Sudermania, during the minority of his fon, Regent of the kingdom. He gave it in ftrict charge to the This murder of a king, at a time when the rulers of France were in the habit of expreffing the most marked execration of royalty, and were generally fuspected of propagating their anti-monarchical and even king-killing principles in every country open to their intrigues, was, by many zealous oppofers of the French revolution, attributed to the machinations of their emiffaries. The account that has been given, leaves no ground for fuch a fuppofition. Nevertheless, the death of Guftavus afforded a fubject of great and favage triumph to the French revolutionists, both in France and other countries. Duke Duke to pardon all the confpirators, not excepting even the affaffin himfelf But on the expoftulation of the Dike, he agreed to the neceffity of making him an exception. He was condemned to be deprived of his right of nobility, and of a citizen, with infamy, to be pilloryed and whipt in different places, to have his right hand cut off, and afterwards to be beheaded. Ankerfrem, until his ftrength was exhaufted by his fufferings, fhewed great firmnefs of mind, and read a paper, in which he declared his deliberate fentiments on what he had done, and was about to fuffer. He juftified the act he had committed, as the only means left for delivering the nation from a tyrant; and predicted a time when the prefent difgrace of his family would be compenfated by the future applaufe and gratitude of the Swedish na tion. Guftavus III. was a prince of great natural talents, highly improved by education. To a great fund of eafy and impreffive eloquence, he united the most infinuating manners; and the extent of his knowledge and folidity of his judgment excited the admiration of all who had accefs to his converdation. The various journies which he made into diferent parts of Europe, as well as into almoft every corner of his own domi nions, made him thoroughly acquainted with mankind; and he poffeffed fufficient fagacity profit by his obfervations, and to apply them to the purposes of government. He feemed to in herit from his mother all that was. most admirable in the character of his uncle, Frederic the Great, King of Pruffia: - the fame love of the arts and fciences *; the fame fertility of invention, prefence of mind, intrepid courage, and devotion to military glory. But whatever may be thought of the doctrine refpecting the physical tranfmiffion of mental qualities, there can be no doubt but the character, conduct, and maxims of his illuftrious maternal uncle were ever prefent to his mind, as well as thofe of his heroic predeceffors on the Swedish throne. One maxim of Frederic he was wont to repeat to his confidential friends with great approbation: "That in great affairs, no man, however difcouraging the circumftances in which he may be placed, needs to be afraid to ftrike a blow, provided that he does it with prudence and perfeverance; as friends and conjunctures will arife, which, rightly improved, will carry him through all difficulties." It is on this folid maxin that he feems to have acted from his acceffion to the throne in 1772; foon after which he destroyed, in the fpace of an hour, that powerful ariftocracy which had imperiously ruled Sweden for near fixty years, and recovered the authority which * This extraordinary prince was not only a great orator, but a fine writer; of which there are abundant proofs, not only in private letters and memorials drawn up by his own hand, but in different printed pieces, though anonymous; particu larly a publication which drew great attention, and whofe object it was to expose the licentioufnefs of Catharine's private life, and the arrogance of her inordinate ambition. This was confidered as a just retaliation for the intrigues of the Emprefs in Sweden. G 2 had had been wrested from his anceftors, to his attack on Ruflian Finland in 1788, and the more recent period, when he determined and was prepared to throw himself with only a finall army, for the fcale on which war is now made, on the coaft of France. defirable for them; but propofed to exalt their minds to the love and pursuit of the great and fublime in moral conduct. For fuch a heroic fyftem, and at such a juncture, when the two imperial courts threatened total destruction to the political balance of Europe, there were not wanting plaufible arguments. In the inaugural oration which the King pronounced before the academy which he inftituted at Stockholm *, he fays,-" Such indeed is the nature of man, that he can be animated only by action, and muft have his mental powers excited by ftrong motives. A state of tranquillity has a ftrong tendency to enervate the understanding; unlefs mankind are impelled to utility by the most powerful motives, and are prevented by the profpect of fame from finking into a lethargic flumber, equally dangerous to individuals and to the community at large." But though this Prince had determined to live, as it were, in the ftorm of war, as fuch a conduct was imperiously demanded by the circumftances of the times, he was not inattentive to the arts of peace.. It was not only to the liberal arts and the fciences that he extended his attention, but to agriculture, commerce, and the mechanical or ufeful arts. He introduced fundry wife regulations into the various departments of government. He enforced the most perfect impartiality in the adminiftration of justice; and, on the whole, the people faw with the greateft fatisfaction, the power of an ariftocracy, whofe influence they had experienced, transferred into the hands of a mɔ It was this military ardour and thirft of fame, as we have had occafion before to mention, that formed his predominant paffion; and which may feem to explain, if not to apologize, for his defire of power, and his invafion of what had become the actual conftitution of his country: for this feemed abfolutely neceflary to the emancipation of himfelf, as well as of his people, from the overbearing pride and power of the nobility, and the danger and dread of the domineering ambition of Ruffia. It was not in order to exercife tyranny and oppreffion that a prince of fo great humanity and divine clemency of difpofition fought to ftrengthen his hands; but that he might be enabled to purfue what he conceived to be for the intereft of Sweden: for although the real happiness and profperity of a nation do not confift in purfuits of military renown, yet fome great effort appeared to be neceffary on the part of the Swedish nation, for fecuring their political independence, without which no ftate or kingdom can long enjoy the higheft degree of excellence, virtue, or happiness and as the Swedish nation would fhare with him in the glory of his exploits, he did not ef tablish one standard of what is good and defirable for himself, and an other of what might be good and Of this academy the principal perfons in his court were members, and the king hindelf was prefident. narch narch who poffeffed their love and affection. So dangerous may the virtues of princes become to their people as their vices ! In every age there is generally one hero who commands a greater fhare of the public admiration than any other. Guftavus III. appeared beyond all doubt as the most heroic character among fovereign princes, after the death of his illuftrious relation, the King of Pruffia; nor will it be thought extravagant to affirm, that there is no hero, in any age or country, that is more entitled to the admiration and the love of men than Guftavus III. of Sweden. If there be a region in the world where military campaigns roughen to the eye, and the hardfhips and horrors of war become more harsh and horrible than others, it is the ancient Scandinavia, Norway, Sweden, and the northern parts of the Ruffian empire. Bodies of armed men, now traverfing a country interfected by mountains, moraffes, glens, ravines, rapid rivers, and lakes; now on board of veffels, grappling with their enemies in narrow and tempeftuous feas; and now defcending into mines, and in thofe gloomy caverns feeking victory over their enemies, or death,-these appearances indicate a more than ordinary degree of human hardihood and courage, and are of fuch a nature that, if they had been reported to the Grecian poets, they would have been wrought into fables of a race of beings of gigantic force and ferocity, living in the gloomy regions of Tartarus, and beyond the precincts of the habitable world, and accustomed to wage war against the immortal Gods, prefiding over the different departments of nature. The enterprize, courage, and activity of Guftavus were highly dif tinguifhed, even in this daring and defperate mode of warfare. The defects and blemishes in the character of this illuftrious prince, were fuch as human nature cafily pardons, being only the exceffes of generous paffions: a gallantry and fearleffnefs refpecting his own perfon, carried to a degree of fatal im. providence; and a clemency of difpofition carried not only beyond the bounds of juft policy, but almoft to the length of weaknefs. On the whole, Guftavus III. King of Sweden, endowed with many natural advantages, cultivated by a fine education, and emulous of the high renown of his relations, both by the paternal and maternal fide, prov ed that the celestial fire of the human race is not extinguished by the lapfe of ages; and to what exertions human nature, might be animated by the love of glory, properly directed, CHAP. V. Rejoicings at Petersburg on Account of the Peace with Sweden. An Ambition of Conqueft, the ruling Paffion of the Empress. The Pacification of Werela a Countermine to the Convention of Reichenbach. Effects of this on the Minds of the Turks. Refentments against the Swedes. Mifplaced. The King of Sweden's Conduct in making Peace with Ruffia vindicated. The haughty Spirit of the Emprefs reduced by the Allies within the Bounds of greater Circumfpection ana G3 Caution, |