True Stories From History and Biography (31 page)

"Father," said she, "why do not you listen to my speech?"

In a moment, the king forgot every thing, except that he was parting with
what he loved best in all the world. He caught the child in his arms,
pressed her to his bosom, and burst into tears. Yes; though he was a brave
man, and though he wore a steel corselet on his breast, and though armies
were waiting for him to lead them to battle,—still, his heart melted
within him, and he wept. Christina, too, was so afflicted that her
attendants began to fear that she would actually die of grief. But
probably she was soon comforted; for children seldom remember their
parents quite so faithfully as their parents remember them.

For two years more, Christina remained in the palace at Stockholm. The
queen, her mother, had accompanied Gustavus to the wars. The child,
therefore, was left to the guardianship of five of the wisest men in the
kingdom. But these wise men knew better how to manage the affairs of
state, than how to govern and educate a little girl so as to render her a
good and happy woman.

When two years had passed away, tidings were brought to Stockholm which
filled everybody with triumph and sorrow at the same time. The Swedes had
won a glorious victory at Lutzen. But alas! the warlike king of Sweden,
the Lion of the North, the father of our little Christina,—had been slain
at the foot of a great stone, which still marks the spot of that hero's
death.

Soon after this sad event, a General Assembly, or Congress, consisting of
deputations from the nobles, the clergy, the burghers, and the peasants of
Sweden was summoned to meet at Stockholm. It was for the purpose of
declaring little Christina to be Queen of Sweden, and giving her the crown
and sceptre of her deceased father. Silence being proclaimed, the
Chancellor Oxenstiern arose.

"We desire to know," said he, "whether the people of Sweden will take the
daughter of our dead king, Gustavus Adolphus, to be their Queen."

When the Chancellor had spoken, an old man with white hair, and in coarse
apparel, stood up in the midst of the assembly. He was a peasant, Lars
Larrson by name, and had spent most of his life in laboring on a farm.

"Who is this daughter of Gustavus?" asked the old man. "We do not know
her. Let her be shown to us."

Then Christina was brought into the hall, and placed before the old
peasant. It was strange, no doubt, to see a child—a little girl of six
years old—offered to the Swedes as their ruler, instead of the brave king,
her father, who had led them to victory so many times. Could her baby
fingers wield a sword in war? Could her childish mind govern the nation
wisely in peace?

But the Swedes do not appear to have asked themselves these questions. Old
Lars Larrson took Christina up in his arms, and gazed earnestly into her
face. He had known the great Gustavus well; and his heart was touched,
when he saw the likeness which the little girl bore to that heroic
monarch.

"Yes," cried he, with the tears gushing down his furrowed cheeks, "this is
truly the daughter of our Gustavus! Here is her father's brow!—here is his
piercing eye! She is his very picture. This child shall be our queen!"

Then all the proud nobles of Sweden, and the reverend clergy, and the
burghers, and the peasants, knelt down at the child's feet, and kissed her
hand.

"Long live Christina, queen of Sweden!" shouted they.

Even after she was a woman grown, Christina remembered the pleasure which
she felt in seeing all these men at her feet, and hearing them acknowledge
her as their supreme ruler. Poor child! she was yet to learn that power
does not insure happiness. As yet, however, she had not any real power.
All the public business, it is true, was transacted in her name; but the
kingdom was governed by a number of the most experienced statesmen, who
were called a Regency.

But it was considered necessary that the little queen should be present at
the public ceremonies, and should behave just as if she were in reality
the ruler of the nation. When she was seven years of age, some ambassadors
from the Czar of Muscovy came to the Swedish court. They wore long beards,
and were clad in a strange fashion, with furs, and other outlandish
ornaments; and as they were inhabitants of a half-civilized country, they
did not behave like other people. The Chancellor Oxenstiern was afraid
that the young queen would burst out a-laughing, at the first sight of
these queer ambassadors; or else that she would be frightened by their
unusual aspect.

"Why should I be frightened?" said the little queen;—"and do you suppose
that I have no better manners than to laugh? Only tell me how I must
behave; and I will do it."

Accordingly, the Muscovite ambassadors were introduced; and Christina
received them, and answered their speeches, with as much dignity and
propriety as if she had been a grown woman.

All this time, though Christina was now a queen, you must not suppose that
she was left to act as she pleased. She had a preceptor, named John
Mathias, who was a very learned man, and capable of instructing her in all
the branches of science. But there was nobody to teach her the delicate
graces and gentle virtues of a woman. She was surrounded almost entirely
by men; and had learned to despise the society of her own sex. At the age
of nine years, she was separated from her mother, whom the Swedes did not
consider a proper person to be entrusted with the charge of her. No little
girl, who sits by a New England fireside, has cause to envy Christina, in
the royal palace at Stockholm.

Yet she made great progress in her studies. She learned to read the
classical authors of Greece and Rome, and became a great admirer of the
heroes and poets of old times. Then, as for active exercises, she could
ride on horseback as well as any man in her kingdom. She was fond of
hunting, and could shoot at a mark with wonderful skill. But dancing was
the only feminine accomplishment with which she had any acquaintance.

She was so restless in her disposition, that none of her attendants were
sure of a moment's quiet, neither day nor night. She grew up, I am sorry
to say, a very unamiable person, ill-tempered, proud, stubborn, and, in
short, unfit to make those around her happy, or to be happy herself. Let
every little girl, who has been taught self-control, and a due regard for
the rights of others, thank heaven that she has had better instruction
than this poor little queen of Sweden.

At the age of eighteen, Christina was declared free to govern the kingdom
by herself, without the aid of a regency. At this period of her life, she
was a young woman of striking aspect, a good figure and intelligent face,
but very strangely dressed. She wore a short habit of gray cloth, with a
man's vest over it, and a black scarf around her neck, but no jewels, nor
ornaments of any kind.

Yet, though Christina was so negligent of her appearance, there was
something in her air and manner that proclaimed her as the ruler of a
kingdom. Her eyes, it is said, had a very fierce and haughty look. Old
General Wrangel, who had often caused the enemies of Sweden to tremble in
battle, actually trembled himself, when he encountered the eyes of the
queen. But it would have been better for Christina if she could have made
people love her, by means of soft and gentle looks, instead of affrighting
them by such terrible glances.

And now I have told you almost all that is amusing or instructive, in the
childhood of Christina. Only a few more words need be said about her; for
it is neither pleasant nor profitable to think of many things that she
did, after she grew to be a woman.

When she had worn the crown a few years, she began to consider it beneath
her dignity to be called a queen, because the name implied that she
belonged to the weaker sex. She therefore caused herself to be proclaimed
KING, thus declaring to the world that she despised her own sex, and was
desirous of being ranked among men. But in the twenty-eighth year of her
age, Christina grew tired of royalty, and resolved to be neither a king
nor a queen any longer. She took the crown from her head, with her own
hands, and ceased to be the ruler of Sweden. The people did not greatly
regret her abdication; for she had governed them ill, and had taken much
of their property to supply her extravagance.

Having thus given up her hereditary crown, Christina left Sweden and
travelled over many of the countries of Europe. Everywhere, she was
received with great ceremony, because she was the daughter of the renowned
Gustavus, and had herself been a powerful queen. Perhaps you would like to
know something about her personal appearance, in the latter part of her
life. She is described as wearing a man's vest, a short gray petticoat,
embroidered with gold and silver, and a black wig, which was thrust awry
upon her head. She wore no gloves, and so seldom washed her hands that
nobody could tell what had been their original color. In this strange
dress, and, I suppose, without washing her hands or face, she visited the
magnificent court of Louis the Fourteenth.

She died in 1689. None loved her while she lived, nor regretted her death,
nor planted a single flower upon her grave. Happy are the little girls of
America, who are brought up quietly and tenderly, at the domestic hearth,
and thus become gentle and delicate women! May none of them ever lose the
loveliness of their sex, by receiving such an education as that of Queen
Christina!

Emily, timid, quiet, and sensitive, was the very reverse of little
Christina. She seemed shocked at the idea of such a bold and masculine
character as has been described in the foregoing story.

"I never could have loved her," whispered she to Mrs. Temple; and then she
added, with that love of personal neatness, which generally accompanies
purity of heart:—"It troubles me to think of her unclean hands!"

"Christina was a sad specimen of womankind, indeed," said Mrs. Temple.
"But it is very possible for a woman to have a strong mind, and to be
fitted for the active business of life, without losing any of her natural
delicacy. Perhaps, some time or other, Mr. Temple will tell you a story of
such a woman."

It was now time for Edward to be left to repose. His brother George shook
him heartily by the hand, and hoped, as he had hoped twenty times before,
that to-morrow or the next day, Ned's eyes would be strong enough to look
the sun right in the face.

"Thank you, George," replied Edward, smiling; "but I am not half so
impatient as at first. If my bodily eyesight were as good as yours,
perhaps I could not see things so distinctly with my mind's eye. But now
there is a light within which shows me the little Quaker artist, Ben West,
and Isaac Newton with his windmill, and stubborn Sam Johnson, and stout
Noll Cromwell, and shrewd Ben Franklin, and little Queen Christina with
the Swedes kneeling at her feet. It seems as if I really saw these
personages face to face. So I can bear the darkness outside of me pretty
well."

When Edward ceased speaking, Emily put up her mouth and kissed him as her
farewell for the night.

"Ah, I forgot!" said Edward, with a sigh. "I cannot see any of your faces.
What would it signify to see all the famous people in the world, if I must
be blind to the faces that I love?"

"You must try to see us with your heart, my dear child," said his mother.

Edward went to bed, somewhat dispirited, but quickly falling asleep, was
visited with such a pleasant dream of the sunshine and of his dearest
friends that he felt the happier for it all the next day. And we hope to
find him still happy when we meet again.