She made her way to Rome, was well received at the Vatican by the Pope. In time she began to regret her course, and in 1666 and again in 1667 she returned to Sweden in the vain hope of regaining her crown. In 1668 she laid claim to the crown of Poland. Returning to Rome, she died in 1689, old, poor, neglected, at the age of sixty-three, and was buried in St. Peter's Cathedral.

Christina was succeeded by Charles X. of Sweden.[[7]] He proved to be a good ruler. The family of Vasa remained on the Swedish throne till 1810, when, the Vasa family having no suitable heirs, the throne was offered to Field Marshal Bernadotte, a famous general under Napoleon I., whose favor was supposed to be secured by this act. Bernadotte became a Lutheran under the title of Charles John, sometimes spoken of as Charles XIV. In 1814 Norway entered into a union with Sweden which continued until 1905.

[7]. Charles X. was son of John Cassimer, of Palatinate Zwerbrucken, and Catherine, granddaughter of Gustavus I.

Charles XI. was succeeded by his son (in 1844), known as Oscar I., who lived until 1859, when the Crown Prince Charles, who, on account of the bad health of the king, had been acting as regent, now became king of the two countries under the name of Charles XV.; he was succeeded by his brother, the honored Oscar II., September 18th, 1872, and ruled till December 8th, 1907.

It is not too much to say that Oscar II. was the best loved monarch of his generation. It fell to his fate to assent to the loss of his Norwegian crown, but the magnanimous manner in which he did this gained more world-wide admiration than most rulers acquire by conquering an empire.

It is interesting to know that the only scion of royalty of the Napoleon dynasty now on a throne is the King of Sweden, through the family of poor, deeply wounded Josephine. Eugene de Beauharnaise, son of Josephine, married Augusta of Bavaria, their daughter became the wife of Oscar I., whose grandson, Gustavus V., who came to the throne December 8th, 1907, now most ably rules over the Swedish people.

Scandinavia has produced great men in every walk of life, but the proudest name that portion of the world has yet inscribed among the Imperishables is that of

Gustavus the Great.

TRANSCRIBER'S NOTES

  1. Silently corrected simple spelling, grammar, and typographical errors.
  2. Retained anachronistic and non-standard spellings as printed.