es are racially very similar in character and habits, and
mutually respect each other. King Oscar was as beloved and honored in
Norway as he was in Sweden, and deservedly so. The Norwegians felt
proud of his character, life, and statesmanship. They appreciated
his wisdom and moderation, and gave him full credit for his earnest
conviction that he was right in his differences with the Norwegian
government. And yet, the dissolution was a blessing to both countries
concerned. So long as Norway and Sweden were united under one king,
there would have been friction. In like manner the long union between
Norway and Denmark was a continuous source of irritation, but after
the dissolution they were the best of friends. It has been suggested
that Russia has long had her eye on the ice-free harbors of the
Norwegian coast and has coveted them; that she has built her railroads
across Finland close up to the Norwegian frontier, and that there
is trouble ahead for Norway, because she has isolated herself from
Sweden, her natural protector. But we see in the division a Greater
Scandinavia. There are now the three great Scandinavian nations,
Norway, Sweden, Denmark, and it can be imagined that, so close of kin,
any one of them would rush to arms in defense of the others. A united
Norway and Sweden under one king brought constant bickerings; a
separate Norway and Sweden can be of mutual help.[b]

CHAPTER III

SWEDEN IN THE NINETEENTH CENTURY

Leading up to the events of the nineteenth century in Sweden were
centuries of splendid history, some points of which will be briefly
touched upon to connect the present-day Sweden with the mediaeval
state.

During the Folkung Dynasty, in the fourteenth century, the royal
houses of Sweden and Norway became united through the marriage of Duke
Eric, of Sweden, and Ingeborg, only child of King Haakon, of Norway;
and Duke Valdemar to the king's niece of the same name. In May, 1319,
King Haakon died, and Magnus Ericsson, the young son of Duke Eric and
Princess Ingeborg, inherited the crown of Norway, and July 8 of the
same year was elected King of Sweden, at Mora in Upland.

For the attainment of this end, Magnus' mother, Duchess Ingeborg, and
seven Swedish councillors had worked with great activity. They had
taken part in shaping the first Act of Union of the North in June,
1319, and from Oslo, in Norway, hastened to have Magnus elected at
the Stone of Mora, where the Swedish kings since ti