Portia’s travels ih swedes?.
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lowing; a ceremony which took place with the greateft folemnity, the Queen firlT: re-ferring to herfelf fome very confiderable pofleffions, and a right of fovereignty over herfervants and dependants: fhe was at that time twenty-feven years of age. Whatevermotive may be afcribed to the abdication of Chriftina, it certainly required great ftrengthof mind and refolution to meditate for lb great a length of time, and put in execution,a projefl: of fimilar nature. It appears a very difficult thing freely to renounce a crown,particularly in one who was born to the throne, and had known no other condition oflife. Chriftina had reigned glorioufly; {he had protected the arts, induftry, and com-merce, and eftablilhed poft-houfes, (in 1636 :) her fenfe and acquirements would havemade her confpicuous, even had fhe not united with them the fplendor of royalty ; heryouth held out aflurance of a long continuance of life; but the love of liberty, of in-dependence, got the better, in her, of every other confideration : in the throne (he fawnothing but fplendid flavery, the bonds of which her whole thoughts were employedin breaking afunder; for the inclination of this Princefs for the arts can only be re-garded as a fecondary motive for her conduct; this with that of numbers is our opi-nion.
Chriftina, notwithftanding, deferves to be ranked in the number of great fovereigns ;file was an extraordinary woman, and implacable in her vengeance. (This is provedby the death of the Marquis of Monaldefchi; an adfion in the life of Chriftina whichwe are very far from approving, particularly from her having chofen to exhibit at a fo-reign court, a fpeflacle till then unfeen; but (he thought Ihe had a right to punilh oneof her fervants, who affuredly was guilty, a right which, as we have before noticed, fhehad referved to herfelf in full plenitude.) She held public opinion far too much in con-tempt ; yet muff it be allowed fhe poffefled great qualities. It is affirmed that fhe re-pented having abdicated, which is credible; and this opinion receives fome fupportfrom the circumftance of her having travelled to Stockholm upon the death of CharlesGuftavus; this journey, however, was all for nought, the minds of the people being nolonger favourably difpofed towards her; for Chriftina, upon her firft leaving Sweden ,retired to Rome , and on paffing through Infpruck had abjured Lutheranifm, and em-braced the Roman catholic religion; fhe returned again therefore to Rome , and diedtherein 1689, in the 63d year of her age. We fhall here remark, that this Princefs,on leaving Stockholm , took with her her furniture, pictures, books, medals, jewels,plate; in one word, all {he could carry, and left her palace in fuch a perfect ftate ofdeftitution, that her fuccefl’or was obliged to hire carpets and borrow plate for the ce-remony of his coronation : the Queen deeming no doubt that in leaving him the crown,file left him quite enough.
Charles Gufla-vits was the fon of the Count Palatine, Prince of Deux Fonts, and Ca-therine, the filler of Guftavus Adolphus, who were married in 1614. The King at thetime declaring, that if he fhould die without children, he wifhed that the eldeft Princeborn from this alliance fhould afcend the throne ; in the perfon of Charles X. the willof Charles was literally complied with. This Prince, throughout the whole of a veryfhort reign, was entirely intent on war; he defeated the Poles and Danes in many en-gagements. Charles tranfported his army over the two Belts on the ice, and forced theKing of Denmark to conclude the peace of Rofchild, by which he acquired a great ex-tent of country. The paflage of the Great Belt , four Danifh miles (fifteen to a degree)wide, took place on the 7th February 1638. This was an enterprize which ought toferye as an epoch in the wonders of the world: the council of war being of an entirely
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