ntiquities, and all curiosities. There is not a cunning
workman in these arts but she has him fetched. There are as good
workers in wax and in enamel, engravers, singers, players, dancers here
as will be found anywhere.

She has a gallery of statues, bronze and marble, medals of gold,
silver, and bronze, pieces of ivory, amber, coral, worked crystal,
steel mirrors, clocks and tables, bas-reliefs and other things of the
kind; richer I have never seen even in Italy; finally, a great quantity
of pictures. In short, her mind is open to all impressions.

But after she began to make her court a sort of home for art and
letters it ceased to be the sort of court that Sweden was prepared for.
Christina's subjects were still rude and lacking in accomplishments;
therefore she had to summon men of genius from other countries,
especially from France and Italy. Many of these were illustrious
artists or scholars, but among them were also some who used their
mental gifts for harm.

Among these latter was a French physician named Bourdelot--a man of
keen intellect, of winning manners, and of a profound cynicism, which
was not apparent on the surface, but the effect of which last lasting.
To Bourdelot we must chiefly ascribe the mysterious change which
gradually came over Queen Christina. With his associates he taught her
a distaste for the simple and healthy life that she had been accustomed
to lead. She ceased to think of the welfare of the state and began to
look down with scorn upon her unsophisticated Swedes. Foreign luxury
displayed itself at Stockholm, and her palaces overflowed with
beautiful things.

By subtle means Bourdelot undermined her principles. Having been a
Stoic, she now became an Epicurean. She was by nature devoid of
sentiment. She would not spend her time in the niceties of love-making,
as did Elizabeth; but beneath the surface she had a sort of tigerish,
passionate nature, which would break forth at intervals, and which
demanded satisfaction from a series of favorites. It is probable that
Bourdelot was her first lover, but there were many others whose names
are recorded in the annals of the time.

When she threw aside her virtue Christina ceased to care about
appearances. She squandered her revenues upon her favorites. What she
retained of her former self was a carelessness that braved the opinion
of her subjects. She dressed almost without thought, and it is said
that she combed her hair not more than twice