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have met with of fuch an excufe being admitted by the police; it mull indeed be al-lowed that thofe who admit this plea are often drunk themfetves.
Society here is dull ; it is limited to tea parties at five o’clock : the ladies have theirfet days ; and at feven o’clock all doors are doled, thofe of merchants alone excepted,who are yet accuftomed to give fuppers, and from whom an invitation to dine is an en-tertainment for the day. Through the whole of winter we never but once fupped witha Swede , (the Grand Mailer Bonde:) fometimes dinners are given, but very rarely; theminifters alone keep an eftablilhment, properly fpeaking, and even the greater part ofthefe do not really fo. The minifter for foreign affairs, alone, gives regularly a dinneronce a week, at which the diplomacy meet for conference, and to which ftrangers areconftantly invited. The difeontent of the nobility, a part of whom has retired to theirdiftind provinces, has greatly contributed to the diminution of the company found inthis city. Society (that is to fay, of perfons liable to invitation on days of ceremony)is fo fcarce, that it does not exceed one hundred and fifty perfons ; whereas it amountsto two hundred and fifty at Copenhagen ; and at Berlin, to two hundred and twenty orthirty.
The foreign minifters had a club in the north-fquare, called La Societe, where ftran-gers and perfons well known in Stockholm were admitted. Here you read the papers,might play (but only at round games,) and dine and fup at an ordinary at a fixed price,-always fure of meeting with good company. We are uninformed whether or not thisfociety continues to exift; fhould it not, we pity the foreigners who may vifit Stock-holm , as this formed the chief, and, frequently the only refource for them throughoutgreat part of the day.
The inns are miferable; a ftranger, incafe of remaining here any time, cannot abfolutelydifpenfe with hiring furnilhed lodgings; for three rix-dollars a week, you obtain tolerablycomfortable apartments, and at a lefs rate in cafe of taking them by the month. Verylittle wood is required to heat the rooms, the ftoves being of an excellent conftrudion.Good laquais de louage, as well here as elfewhere, are very rare, particularly fuch as fpeakFrench . You may hire glafs coaches at two rix-dollars and a half per day, or at from50 to 55 per month, which indeed is the only way to be fecure of having fuch as are de-cent, for generally they are both old and incommodious. You pay three copper-dollarsfor a ride from one fpot to another, in a hackney-coach, a plotte for the firlt hour, andfour copper-dollars for each fucceeding one; but hackney coaches are not to be found,at all times.
Society, which ought naturally to be gay, particularly that of women of a certain clafs,is ferious and dull. Thefe ladies affed to give themfelves airs, exped to be treated inthe fame manner as ladies of the court, and are fond of your killing their hand. It mayeafily be conceived how greatly this alfumption of dignity, in every refped fo ridiculous,mult affed the pleafantry of fociety.
Although we have extolled the natural probity of the Swedes, we do not pretend inthis charader to include the cities, particularly the capital. That bears a perfed re-femblance to other cities of the firlt rank: every thing is very dear; here as elfewhereare robbers, adventurers, and fharpers ; in one word, it is as corrupt as a city can bethat is filled with inhabitants of all nations.
The Court of Sweden . Prefentations at court take place every fortnight on Sundays,at the inftant of the King leaving his apartment: which is ufually about feven o’clock,The etiquette of this court much refembles that of the court of Verfailles formerly, andin many things is abfolutely the fame. The King is always preceded by his grand
officers;