contains the tombs
of three Swedish kings, together with that of the Count Douglas, who
fled hither from Scotland in the time of Cromwell. The Douglas estate is
in this neighbourhood, and is, I believe, still in the possession of the
family. The church must at one time have presented a fine, venerable
appearance: but all its dark rich colouring and gilding are now buried
under a thick coat of white-wash.

We had already a prophecy of the long summer days of the North, in the
perpetual twilight which lingered in the sky, moving around from sunset
to sunrise. During the second night we crossed the Wetter Lake, which I
did not see; for when I came on deck we were already on the Viken, the
most beautiful sheet of water between Stockholm and Gottenburg. Its
irregular shores, covered with forests of fir and birch, thrust out long
narrow headlands which divide it into deep bays, studded with wild
wooded islands. But the scenery was still that of winter, except in the
absence of ice and snow. We had not made much southing, but we expected
to find the western side of Sweden much warmer than the eastern. The
highest part of the canal, more than 300 feet above the sea, was now
passed, however, and as we descended the long barren hills towards the
Wener Lake I found a few early wild flowers in the woods. In the
afternoon we came upon the Wener, the third lake in Europe, being one
hundred miles in extent by about fifty in breadth. To the west, it
spread away to a level line against the sky; but, as I looked southward,
I perceived two opposite promontories, with scattered islands between,
dividing the body of water into almost equal portions. The scenery of
the Wener has great resemblance to that of the northern portion of Lake
Michigan. Further down on the eastern shore, the hill of Kinnekulle, the
highest land in Southern Sweden, rises to the height of nearly a
thousand feet above the water, with a graceful and very gradual sweep;
but otherwise the scenery is rather tame, and, I suspect, depends for
most of its beauty upon the summer foliage.

There were two or three intelligent and agreeable passengers on board,
who showed a more than usual knowledge of America and her institutions.
The captain, however, as we walked the deck together, betrayed the same
general impression which prevails throughout the Continent (Germany in
particular), that we are a thoroughly _material_ people, having little
taste for or appreciation of anything