Weftmania, Nericia, Geftricia, Of Sweden Proper, the following are the fubdivifions: Uplandia, Sudermania, Helfingia, Dalecarlia, Wermeland, Dalia, Schonen, Bleking, Halland. Of Swedish Lapland, the following are the fubdivifions: Thorne Lapmark, Pithia Lapmark, Lula Lapmark. The principal places in Weft Bothnia are Umea, Pitea, and Tornea: Of Finland, the following are the subdivisions: East Bothnia, Cajania, Nyland, Finland Proper. The Swedish ifles are, Gothland, Oeland, Aland, and Rugen. The face of Sweden is nearly fimilar to thofe of its neighbouring countries; only it has the advantage of navigable rivers. In Sweden fummer burfts fudden. ly from winter; and vegetation is more speedy than in fouthern climates; for the fun is here fo hot as fometimes to fet forefts on fire. Stoves and warm furs mitigate the cold of winter, which is fo intenfe, that the noses and extremities of the inhabitants are fometimes mortified; and in fuch cafes, the beft remedy that has been difcovered, is rubbing the affected part with fnow. The Swedes, fince the days of Charles XII. have been at incredible pains to correct the native barrennefs of their country, by erecting colleges of agriculture, and in fome places with great fuccefs. The foil is much the fame with that of Denmark, and fome parts of Norway, generally very bad, but in fome vallies surprisingly fertile. The Swedes, till of late years, had not induftry fufficient to remedy the one, nor improve the other. The peafants now follow the agriculture of France and England; and fome late accounts fay that they raise almost as much grain as main tains the natives. Gothland produces wheat, rye, barley, oats, peas, and beans; and in cafe of deficiency, the people are fupplied from Livonia and the Baltic provinces. In fummer the fields are verdant and covered with flowers, and produce ftrawberries, rafpberries, currants, and other fmall fruits. The common people know, as yet, little of the cultivation of apricots, peaches, nectarines, pine-apples, and the like high-flavoured fruits; bue melons are brought to great perfection in dry feasons. MINERALS AND METALS.] Sweden produces cryftals, amethyfts, topazes, porphyry, lapis-lazuli, agate, cornelian, marble, and other foffils. The chief wealth of Sweden, however, arifes from her mines of filver, copper, lead, and iron. The laft-mentioned metal employs no fewer than 450 forges, hammering-mills, and fmelting-houses. A kind of a gold mine has likewise been difcovered in Sweden, but fo inconfiderable, that, from the year 1741 to 1747, it produced only 2,389 gold ducats, each valued at 9s. 4d. fterling. The firft gallery of one filver mine is 100 fathoms below the furface of the earth; the roof is fupported by prodi. gious oaken beams; and from thence the miners defcend about 40 fathoms to the loweft vein. This mine is faid to produce 20,000 crowns a year. The product of the copper-mines is uncertain; but the whole is loaded with vaft taxes and reductions to the government, which has no other refources for the exigencies of the ftate. These subterraneous manfions are aftonishingly fpacious, and at the fame time commodious for their inhabitants, fo that they feem to form a hidden world. The water-falls in Sweden afford excellent conveniency for turning mills for forges; and for fome years the exports of Sweden for iron brought in 300,000l. fterling. It is fuppofed that they conflituted two-thirds of the national revenue. It muft, however, be obferved, that the exactions of the Swedish government, the importation of American bar-iron into Europe, and fome other causes, have greatly diminished this manufacture. } ANTIQUITIES AND CURIOSITIES, A few leagues from GottenNATURAL AND ARTIFICIAL. burgh there is a hideous precipice, down which a dreadful cataract of water rushes with fuch impe tuofity from the height, into fo deep a bed of water, that large masts, and other bodies of timber, precipitated down it, difappear for near an hour before they are recovered: the bottom of this bed has never been found, though founded by lines of feveral hundred fathoms. A re markable flimy lake, which finges things put into it, has been found in the fouthern parts of Gothland: and feveral parts of Sweden contain a ftone, which being of a yellow colour, intermixed with feveral ftreaks of white, as if compofed of gold and filver, affords fulphur, vitriol, alum, and minium. In the univerfity of Upfal is preferved the famous Codex Argenteus, a manufcript, with filver letters, of a Gothic tranflation of the Golpels, by Ulphilas, a bishop of the Goths in Mafia, who lived about 1300 years ago. It is very ancient and very imperfect, but equally curious and valuable, because it contains all that remains of the ancient Gothic language, the venerable parent of the Runic, the old Teutonic, and the Anglo-Saxon; and, confequently, of the modern English, German, Danish, Swedish, and Icelandic languages. SEAS.] Their feas are the Baltic, and the gulfs of Bothnia and Fin land, which are arms of the Baltic; and on the weft of Sweden are the Categate fea, and the Sound, a firait about four miles over, which divides Sweden from Denmark. These feas have no tides, and are frozen up ufually four months in the year; nor are they fo falt as the ocean; never mixing with it, because a current fets always out of the Baltic Sea into the ocean. QUADRUPEDS, BIRDS, AND FISHES.] Thefe differ little from those already defcribed in Norway and Denmark. The Swedish horfes are more ferviceable in war than the German. The Swedish hawks, when carried to France, have been known to revifit their native country, as appears from one that was killed in Finland, with an infcription on a fmall gold plate, fignifying that he belonged to the French king. The fishes found in the rivers and lakes of Sweden are the fame with those in other northern countries, and taken in fuch quantities, that several forts of them, pikes in particular, are falted and pickled for exportation. The train-oil of the feals taken in the gulf of Finland, is a confiderable article of exportation, INHABITANTS, MANNERS, AND CUSTOMS.] The character of the Swedes has differed greatly in different ages; nor is it very uniform. At prefent their pealants feem to be a heavy plodding race of men, ftrong and hardy, but without any other ambition than that of fubfifting themfelves and their families as well as they can: the mercantile claffes are much of the fame caft; but great application and perfeverance is difcovered among them all. It feems difficult, however, to conceive that the modern Swedes are descendants of those, who, under Guftavus Adolphus and Charles XII. carried terror in their names through diftant countries, and fhook the foundations of the greatest empires. The intrigues of their fenators drew them to take part in the war, called the feven-years' war, against Pruffia; yet their behaviour was fpiritlefs, and their courage contemptible. The principal nobility and gentry of Sweden are naturally brave, polite, and hofpitable; they have high and warm notions of honour, and are jealous of their national interefts. The drefs, exercifes, and diverfions of the common people, are almoft the fame with those of Denmark: the better fort are infatuated with French modes and fashions. The women go to the plough, thresh out the corn, row upon the water, ferve the bricklayers, carry burdens, and do all the common drudgeries in hufbandry. RELIGION.] Chriftianity was introduced here in the 9th century. Their religion is Lutheran, which was propagated amongst them by Guftavus Vafa, about the year 1523. The Swedes are furprisingly uniform and unremitting in religious matters; and had fuch an averfion to popery, that caftration was the fate of every Roman-catholic priest difcovered in their country. The archbishop of Upfal has a revenue of about 400L a year, and has under him 13 fuffragans, befides fuperintendents, with moderate ftipends. No clergyman has the least direction in the affairs of ftate; but their morals and the fanctity of their lives endear them fo much to the people, that the government would repent making them its enemies. Their churches are neat, and often ornamented. A body of ecclefiaftical laws and canons direct their religious economy. A converfion to popery, or a long continuance under excommunication, which cannot pafs without the king's permiffion, is punished by imprisonment and exile." LANGUAGE, LEARNING, AND LEARNED MEN.] The Swedish language is a dialect of the Teutonic, and resembles that of Denmark. The Swedish nobility and gentry are, in general, more converfant in polite literature than thofe of many other more flourishing ftates. They have of late exhibited some noble fpecimens of their munificence for the improvement of literature; witness their fending, at the expence of private perfons, that excellent and candid natural philofopher Haffelquift into the eastern countries for difcoveries, where he died. This noble fpirit is eminently encouraged by the royal family; and her Swedish majesty purchased, at no inconfiderable expence for that country, all Haffelquift's collection of curiofities. That able civilian, ftatesman, and hiftorian, Puffendorff, was a native of Sweden; and fo was the late cele brated Linnæus, who contributed fo eminently to the improvement of feveral branches of natural knowledge, particularly botany. The paffion of the famous queen Chriftina for literature is well known; and fhe may be accounted a genius in many branches of science. Even in the midst of the late diftractions of Sweden, the fine arts, particularly drawing, fculpture, and architecture, were encouraged and protected. Agricultural learning, both in theory and practice, is now carried to a confiderable height in that kingdom; and the character given by fome writers, that the Swedes are a dull heavy people, fitted only for bodily labour, is in a great measure owing to their having no opportunity of exerting their talents. UNIVERSITIES.] The principal is that of Upfal, inftituted near 400 years ago, and patronifed by fucceffive monarchs, particularly by the great Guftavus Adolphus, and his daughter queen Chriftina. There are near 1500 ftudents in this univerfity; but for the most part they are extremely indigent, and lodge, five or fix together, in very poor hovels. The profeflors in different branches of literature are about twenty-two; of whom the principal are thofe of divinity, eloquence, botany, anatomy, chemistry, natural philosophy, aftronomy, and agriculture. Their falaries are from 70l. to 100l. per annum. This univerfity, juftly called, by Stillingfleet, "that great and hitherto unrivalled school of na"tural hiftory," is certainly the firft feminary of the North for academical education, and has produced, from the time of its inftitution, perfons eminent in every branch of science. The learned publications which have lately been given to the world by its members, fufficiently prove the flourishing ftate of literature in these parts; and the thefes, compofed by the ftudents on the admiffion to their degrees, would form a very interefting collection, Many of these tracts, upon various fubjects of polite literature, antiquities, languages, &c. evince the erudition and tafte of the respective authors. Among the works of this fort, which have widely diffused the fame of this learned fociety throughout Europe, are the Amanitates Academicæ, or a collection of Thefes upon Natural Hiftory, held under the celebrated Linnæus, and chiefly felected by that mafter. There is another university at Abo in Finland, but not fo well endowed, nor fo flourishing; and there was a third at Lunden, in Schonen, which is now fallen into decay. Every diocefe is provided with a free-school, in which boys are qualified for the university*. MANUFACTURES, TRADE, COM- The Swedish commonalty fubMERCE, AND CHIEF TOWNS. fift by agriculture, mining, grazing, hunting, and fishing. Their materials for traffic are the bulky and ufeful commodities of mafts, beams, deal-boards, and other forts of timber for shipping; tar, pitch, bark of trees, pot-ah, wooden utenfils An academy of arts and fciences was fome years fince established at Stockholm, and is now in a flourishing condition. They have published feveral volumes of Memoirs, which have been well received by the public. hides, flax, hemp, peltry, furs, copper, lead, iron, cordage, and fif Even the manufacturing of iron was introduced into Sweden fo late a the 16th century; for till that time they fold their own crude ore to the Hanfe towns, and bought it back again manufactured into utenfils About the middle of the 17th century, by the affiftance of the Dutch and Flemings, they fet up fome manufactories of glafs, ftarch, tin, woollens, filk, foap, leather-dreffing, and faw-mills. Bookfelling was at that time a trade unknown in Sweden. They have fince had fugar-baking, tobacco-plantations, and manufactures of fail-cloth, cotton, fuftian, and other ftuffs; of linen, alum, and brimftone; paper-mills, and gunpowder-mills. Vaft quantities of copper, brafs, fteel, and iron, are now wrought in Sweden. They have alfo founderies for cannon, forges for fire-arms and anchors; armouries, wire and flatting-mills; mills alfo for fulling, and for boring and stamping; and of late they have built many fhips for fale. Certain towns in Sweden, 24 in number, are called ftaple-towns, where the merchants are allowed to import and export commodities in their own fhips. Those towns which have no foreign commerce, though lying near the fea, are called land-towns. A third kind are termed mine-towns, as belonging to the mine diftricts. The Swedes, about the year 1752, had greatly increased their exports, and diminished their imports, moft part of which arrive, or are sent off, in Swedish fhips; the Swedes having now a kind of navigation act, like that of the English. Thefe promifing appearances were, however, fruftrated by the improper management and jealoufies of the Swedish government, Stockholm is a ftaple-town, and the capital of the kingdom: it ftands about 760 miles North-eaft of London, upon feven fmall rocky iflands, befides two peninfulas, and is built upon piles. It ftrongly impresses a ftranger with its fingular and romantic fcenery. A variety of contrafted and enchanting views are formed by numberless rocks of granite, rifing boldly from the furface of the water, partly bare and craggy, partly dotted with houfes, or feathered with wood. The harbour, which is fpacious and convenient, though difficult of accefs, is an inlet of the Baltic: the water is clear as cryftal, and of fuch depth that ships of the largeft burthen can approach the quay, which is of confiderable breadth, and lined with fpacious buildings and warehouses. At the extremity of the harbour several streets rife one above another, in the form of an amphitheatre; and the palace, a magnificent building, crowns the fummit. Towards the fea, about two or three miles from the town, the harbour is contracted into a narrow ftrait, and, winding among high rocks, difappears from the fight; the profpect is terminated by diftant hills, overfpread with forefts. It is far beyond the power of words, or of the pencil, to delineate these fingular views. The central ifland, from which the city derives its name, and the Ritterholm, are the handsomest parts of the town. Excepting in the suburbs, where the houses are of wood, painted red, the generality of the buildings are of ftone, or brick ftuccoed white. The royal palace, which ftands in the centre of Stockholm, and upon the highest spot of ground, was begun by Charles XI. It is a large quadrangular ftone edifice, and the ftyle of architecture is both elegant and magnificent *. The number of housekeepers who pay taxes are 60,000. This city is furnished with all the exterior marks of magnificence, and erections for manufactures and commerce that are common to other great European Coxe, vol. ii. p. 327, 328. |