and respected abroad; with a full
treasury, and many flourishing provinces, besides the hereditary
states. How happy would it have been for Sweden had his son been
willing to rest contented with the glory of having preserved his
paternal inheritance.'

The uncle and nephew simultaneously turned towards the speaker, with
noble indignation, to defend the character of their adored king against
his foreign traducer;--but before they could find words, the pastor,
accustomed to speak in that house, and stirred by the occasion, took
the answer upon himself. 'The judgment,' cried he, in his deep,
resounding voice, 'which you have passed upon our immortal king is as
unjust as it is harsh. You forget that his first wars were purely
defensive; that even his victories, which rendered Sweden illustrious
in the eyes of all Europe, involved him in circumstances which at last
brought misfortunes upon his head. You judge him by the situation in
which he left his realm when God removed him from it in the bloom of
manhood, and entirely overlook what he would have accomplished for
Sweden had he been allowed time for the fulfilment of his designs for
her prosperity. It is a sad truth that the country now finds itself on
the brink of misery; but far be it from us to complain of our immortal
king, on that account. Let us rather curse the murderous villain whose
bullet ended that great man's life before Frederickshall! Him, him
alone, has the kingdom to thank for its calamities; and may all the
tears and blood which have flowed since that black night, and which
must flow hereafter, be poured into the balance of his sins, until he
may sink down to the regions of everlasting torment, overborne by their
weight!'

'So you are one of those,' said Megret, with embarrassed mockery, 'who,
from your passion for the romantic and marvellous, will have it that no
man of consequence can die except by assassination! In consequence of
the rashness with which the king exposed himself to the fire of the
enemy, it would rather have been matter of astonishment had he escaped
alive. The balls flew so thick, that the agency of assassins was not
necessary to account for his death.'

'I have my convictions!' cried the pastor, in the heat of his
indignation, 'and those convictions are neither to be sneered nor
subtilized away! God, however, who proves the heart and the reins, must
pass judgment upon the concealed guilt, and punish the murderer
according to his de