d only by mere chance, and his
sister by a flight in disguise.

Sweden was once more without an heir-apparent to the throne, and,
though others had been proposed, King Charles sent two emissaries
to Napoleon to notify him of the death of Charles August and the
selection of his brother. Then one of the most original and daring
schemes ever attempted on such a line was carried through by Count
Otto Moerner, one of the emissaries. On his own responsibility, he
inquired of Marshal Bernadotte, one of Napoleon's ablest generals,
if he would consent to become heir-apparent to the Swedish throne.
Bernadotte consented, and the consent of Napoleon was obtained through
the Swedish ambassador in Paris. Upon his return, Moerner was ordered
to leave the capital, by the minister of state, who blamed him for his
unauthorized action. But, from Upsala, Moerner led an eager agitation,
with the result that the Riksdag of Oerebro selected Bernadotte, who
was represented by a secret emissary. Thus, the two generals who,
at the abdication of Gustavus IV, were, one in Norway, the other in
Denmark, with troops ready to attack Sweden, both within one year were
chosen to succeed Charles XIII. And this is how the Bernadottes,
the present reigning family of Sweden, came to the throne. Marshal
Bernadotte took the name of Prince Charles Johann.

It was in 1818, four years after Norway had been joined to Sweden,
that Charles XII died, at the age of seventy, and Charles XIV Johann,
the first of the Bernadotte dynasty, succeeded him, at the age of
fifty-four years. His reign was one of reconstruction--politically,
financially, and socially,--and during the last years of his life
he received strong and repeated evidence of the love of his people,
especially upon the twenty-fifth anniversary as king of Sweden.

Oscar I, his son, was forty-five years of age at the death of his
father. He did not possess his father's brilliant genius or power of
personal influence, but was fondly devoted to the fine arts, himself a
talented painter and composer. He was a hard worker, and also fond
of the pleasures of life. His health was injured through illness, in
1857, and he never recovered. The premature death of his second
son, Prince Gustavus, a talented composer and highly popular, had
a disastrous effect on him, and he died July 8, 1859, after a long
illness, beloved by the two nations who, during his reign, had enjoyed
the happiest epoch of their history.

It