rom his sister Jane reached him no doubt in due
course.

Chawton: [July 3, 1813].[254]

MY DEAREST FRANK,--Behold me going to write you as
handsome a letter as I can! Wish me good luck. We
have had the pleasure of hearing from you lately
through Mary, who sent us some of the particulars
of yours of June 18 (I think), written off Rugen,
and we enter into the delight of your having so
good a pilot. Why are you like Queen Elizabeth?
Because you know how to chuse wise ministers. Does
not this prove you as great a Captain as she was a
Queen? This may serve as a riddle for you to put
forth among your officers, by way of increasing
your proper consequence. It must be a real
enjoyment to you, since you are obliged to leave
England, to be where you are, seeing something of
a new country and one which has been so
distinguished as Sweden. You must have great
pleasure in it. I hope you may have gone to
Carlscroon. Your profession has its _douceurs_ to
recompense for some of its privations; to an
enquiring and observing mind like yours such
_douceurs_ must be considerable. Gustavus Vasa,
and Charles XII., and Cristina and Linneus. Do
their ghosts rise up before you? I have a great
respect for former Sweden, so zealous as it was
for Protestantism. And I have always fancied it
more like England than other countries; and,
according to the map, many of the names have a
strong resemblance to the English. July begins
unpleasantly with us, cold and showery, but it is
often a baddish month. We had some fine dry
weather preceding it, which was very acceptable to
the Holders of Hay, and the Masters of Meadows. In
general it must have been a good hay-making
season. Edward has got in all his in excellent
order; I speak only of Chawton, but here he has
better luck than Mr. Middleton ever had in the
five years that he was tenant. Good encouragement
for him to come again, and I really hope he will
do so another year. The pleasure to us of having
them here is so great that if we were not the best
crea