The New York Herald Newspaper, June 6, 1873, Page 4

ae ORONATION. Oscar I. Crowned King of Sweden as Well as of the Goths and the Vandals. GUSTAVUS VASA AND BERNADOTTE. The Washington of Sweden and His Traditions. THE CORONATION DAY. RAIN. AND STORM AND. MIST. A Hundred Thousand People in the Streets. The Processions of the King and Queen. The Silver Chair and Its Associations. The Annointing with Sacred Oil. THE CORONATION. The Act of Homage and the Cath to the King. THE RETURN TO THE PALACE. Students Singing National Hymns in the Rain. “Now is Oscar the Second Orowned as King of Sweden, of the Goths and the Vandals—He and No Other.” STOCKHOLM, May 12, 187! The cold rain comes down in an incessant, piti- Jess torrent, and our poor “Venice of the North” looks draggled and limp and sad on this, the day when her King is to be crowned. A ripple of sun- shine through the gray clouds yesterday made us hope for royal weather, But the hope vanished in the mists, and looking out upen the Palace square this morning we think with Richard, on the mem- orable morning of his fate— The sun will not be seen to-da: The sky doth frown and lower upon ou! New YORK’ ‘HERALD, FRIDAY, JUNE 6, 1873—TRIPLE SHEET much. dentret poay’ to ) the Danes, You may see the room tn which he lived. the very bed upon which he found sleep—‘“the baim of hurt minds”— the wooded shores tn whictt he hid from pursuit, another barn, where he threshed the corn for trusty farmer Sven Elfason, who found him out, but would never betray him all the same, and in which honest Sven's descendants thresh corn to this very day. You may also see a monument not many miles from here, which indicates that he was once in extremity of peril, and that another nople woman, wife to peasant Larsson, hid tim in a cel-. larand covered the trap with an ale tub, and so prevaricated on the subject that the pursuing Dane took his departure and was satisiied, {have not heard that he ever chopped down a cherry tree with a hatchet or shot; an apple from the head of his only son; but there is no ingenuous Swedish mind in all these peninsulas and archipelagoes who does not believe he could have performed either teat, But his labors camé to a just end. He over- threw the tyrannous Dane ama was chosen King and reigned with refown, and his children and children’s children reigned after him, until Water- loo times and thereabouts, when a new race came to the throne. And this being the day on which Vasa was born into the world, a Prince of the House of Bernadotte elects that upon this day he will accept the crown. 80 you have the two reasons for this being Coronation Day—the May season and the patriot anniversary. But, if only the aun would shine! STOCKHOLM IN THE RAIN. “tony the sun would shine! thinks all Stock- holm; and yet its 140,000 people and thousands who come as its guests mean to-honor the day and dis,- Gain the rain. One notes in the quiet, land-locked harbor, their masts in the shadow of the palace, a fleet of ships and boats, dressed in fags—from spar to spar a fringe of idly hanging flags of all Dations, the heart-moving banner of far America among the number, Stripes and Stars in a soaked condition. Booted men with spurs, their feathers and braid just peeping out of blue cloaks make their appearance. Carriages—the heavy lumbering Car- riage of Sweden—tumble along over the bridge to the palace, and through the window pane we see some high, select being, in scariet or blue, with gold em- broiderea hat. Now and then comes a chariot the windows of which are smothered with a cloud of lace and silks, and white ruffled garments that might be petticoats; and you Know that, hidden under that mass of thread and bullion and iinery, some noble lady lies buried and in an unseemly manner holds aloft her train. Squads of soldiery are marching from nowhere to nowhere, as they always do on these oecasions, with no definite purpose but to march. Along the open spaces, in the arches of the bridges, in the windows of the strange, high, conical-roofed houses, crowds as- semble—the rain pouring, pouring, pouring, but no abatement of interest, no shrinking trom the showers, but thousands of people, resolute to see the King and Queen in all their glory and tne princes and noblemen following after. THE PROGRAMME, It isset down that the ceremony shall be in the “Great Church;” that the royal party shall leave the palace at eleven precisely; that there shall be two processions, one enclosing the King, the other the Queen, and that they shall walk on foot from the palace tothe church, To make the path easy a temporary platform of boards, about ten feet wide, has been laid down in the middle of the street. This pathway is covered with cloth. The distance thus to be walked I would judge to be about as far as from Trinity church to the HERALD office, with many turns in and out, in zigzag shape. THE FAMILY OF BERNADOTTE. The man who is to be crowned to-day King oj Sweden, “as weil as of the Goths and the Van- dais,” and the woman, his wife, who is to be crowned Queen, are Oscar Frederick Bernadotte, and Sophia, a princess of Nassau. He is a young T would these dewy tears were from the Tround, Truly there could not be a more dismal day for a Nation’s festival. There stands the Prince's Palace, where the King still resides, uncomfert able, coid, perspiting—the cloaked sentryman moodily pacing his beatin front of its gates. Now and then an anxious face—some Court darling, no doubt, concerned about his finery—appears at an upper Window, seeking brightness in the sombre | skies, Far of sweeps the waters of beautiful Malar Lake, the green, wooded hills invisible in the mist and rain. Over the bridge, beyond the preposterous statue of Gustavus Adoiphus—horse and rider in an oozing, watery plight—rises the palace of the kings, @ vast building of brick and | granite and sandstone, and two collossal angry lions | in front, who seem eventuaily to have genuine cause jor anger. But the city takes its visitation with meekness, and as we stroll along the streets, away irom the water drippings of the eaves and sudden Too!-currents of untidy rain, bits of decoration be- come manifest. We see the flag of Sweden from many windows, exceedingly damp; flags of Nor- way, that would be none the worse fora patent clothes wringing machine more frequently: drenched banners, embiazoned with patriotic three crowns a8 an escutcheon. The “three crowns” represent what we are to understand as | the highest aspiration of the Scandinavian heart— the hope that Sweden and Denmark and Norway | may one day be a Seandinavian Confederation, | of Denmark, Man—that is to say, he was born in 1829, and 1s forty-four years of age. His wife isseven years younger. His brother was the late King, and left ne child, but one daugher, who is Crown Princess He 1s grandson of the famous Berna- | dotte, Napoleon’s Marshal, and great-grandson of Bernadotte who lived an humble tradesman’s life | in Pau, under the shadow of the castle of Henry of | Navarre. This famous Bernadotte, the grand- jather, was a red republican, and left his home to | make war upon the coalition of tyrants against whom Danton was thundering. He joined the French ranks with a musket and chanted the “Marseillaise,” like the rest of them, and probably had no shoes and very little toeat. But as this was an army in which every soldier was said to carry a fleld marshal’s baton in his knap- sack, and asin time it came to be commanded by one Napoleon Bonaparte, Bernadotte attained great honors. He found the baton. He married a sister of one of Napoleon’s sisters-in-law. He was | made a prince, republican ashe was. But he did net continue well with Napoleon. Some say the great Emperor was unjust tohim and meanly de- prived him of his glory. At Wagram he displeased the Emperor so much that he was censured by name in a general order of the day. It happened that a body of Swedish prisoners came into his hands. He was kind to them. The fame of his kindness spread through Sweden, and as the king then on the throne had no heir, why, who shouwid be his heir but Bernadotte ? He was a prince strong enouga to wrest Finland from Russia and Danish Schieswig from the German Kaiser. t THE CORONATION ANNIVERSARY—GUSTAVUS VASA AND HIS PLACE IN HISTORY. There were two reasons for the selection of this 12th of May as the day of the King’s coronation. May ts generaily a charming month in Sweden. The long Winter suddenly breaks; the days lengthen until you have scarcely any night; the dawn ¢omes at three in the morning, when the birds sing for joy, and the twilight lingers hazily in towards midnight, when you may saunter under the old -oaks im the Deer Park or make merry on the smooth waters of Malar Lake, with music and song and woman’s laughing voice. This burst of greenness and life; wiich is unknown to us in more temperate and deliberate zones, has its | effect on character and society, and May, there- fore, 18 pecuilarly the seasom of joy, of love and marriage, of growth and vegetation. Moreover, this 2th of May is the an- niversaty” of the birth of Gustavus Vasa. Andas you probably have forgotten the main incidents tm this distinguished gentleman's career I will say that his statue now stands crowned in laurel in frontof the Legisiative Pa - lace ; that his sword isin yonder museut, an object of much respect and veneration, and that his body now reata with, Godin. Upsala Cathedral, covered with marble, near the relics of the good St. Eric, whoembraced the cress more than @ thousand | years ago and brought the peace of Christ to this wild, pagan land. Furthermore, and as the reason | for the great honor done te Gustavus Vasa, let | him be remembered as the liberator of Sweden—a character much resembling our own Washington and heroes Of his class. Many legends have en- crusted, his memory, and Gustavus Vase 18 as impossible a man, as men go, a8 the current Washington of American history or the laurel Jaden statue in front of the Riddarhus, where the students are now singing patriotic | songs in the pitiless, depressing rain, It was about the time that Columbus was discussing America and Spanish captains were roasting Aztec | Kings and dethroning Peruvian Incas, and when | Indian chiefs anticipated the HeRravy in the enjoy- ment of a large circulation on Manhattan Island, | that Gustavus Vasa did bis work and won great renown. The son of @ private gentleman whose head was taken off by Christian II. fer political considerations, Gustavas became exasperated and | declared war against the unworthy Danish mon- arch who had made his couhtry wretched and him- self an orphan. What he precisely aid your corre- spondent is afraid to say, information on that sub- ject being of a romantic character and only to be printed with reserve in a journal as accurate as the Heracp. But he had many Wanderings and hair-breadth escapes, and the Danish minions sought in vain for bis head, that it faight bedded to the collection which already in- cluded tte head of hig father. They will show you @ barn near Lake Runny, were in peasant dress he threshea straw, and @ building, now kept in repair by the State, where he was saved by & noble woman (Barbara—part of her name—the other part not pronounceable) from the treachery of her hus- band, who meant to add to his income and make pewsekseping expenses casicr by gelling Vasa's | ous crown."? and @ famous man of war. Napoleon furiously opposed his accepting the dignity; but he accepted it, was elected Crown Prince, and became com- mander of the Swedish armies, When the coall- tion against Napoleon was made he joined it, assur- ance being given that he could retain his crown in spite of his father’s calling and be “Sire, my bro- ther,” to heaven-anointed Georges and Alexan- ders. In the overtrow of his old chief he bore an important part, and in 1818, when Napoleon was chafing his bitter life away at St. Helena and quar- relling with his keeper about his wine, his title and green cloth for his coats, Bernadotte ascended the throne of Gustavus Adolphus as Charles XIV,, and was acknowledged ‘Sire, my brother,” by the crowned heads of the Holy Alliance. THE LATE KING AND HIS MISSION. Bernadotte was in his fifty-filth year when he at- tained this supreme, sublime feciity, and his republican head was “round impaled with a glori- He reigned many years, and died a very old man, even fourscore. He was a good, sen- | sible king. So likewise his son, who, oddly enough, | married the daughter of Eugene Beauharnais, son | of Josephine and the adopted son of Napoleon. | ‘This lady still lives and is called Queen Dowager, and | was first cousin to the late Emperor of the French. | So that until Sedan history—and shall we say also God’s own beautiful and sweet justice—showed two | thrones occupied by Jineal descendants of the di- | | vorced and discarded Josephine—two houses of the line of the abandoned Beauharnals. This son, Osear—his royal name Oscar I.—died in 1839, and | his son succeeded as Charles XV. Charles was very | French—fond of painting and coinsand specimens of firearms, and chinaware and wine and women, with a black, swarthy, eager face—some traces of the Creole blood whicu his grandmother Josephine brought from the West ies. I remember him wéll, as I used to see him, two Summers since, in his beautiful Summer palace of Drottninghoim, just beyond the town, on beautifal Z0fen, one of the loviiest islands of this charming lake Mal; He was a restless, unhappy soul, and wrote poems and painted landscapes. He came to this prosy theme with # “mission.” He would unite these three kingdoms; he would make a great Scandinavia; the three crowns would be one crown; he would recall the glory of Charles XIL and Gustavus Adolphus, and be a king worthy of theseat: of Odinand of the golden | time when the “Norweyan banners floated the | skies of Scotland aud fanned the” people cold.’ | | He would be a king whose voice would be heard in Europe, and assist Napoleon anu the other kaisers inthe business of peace end war., So he took to drilling and military exercises, his brain much iafamed with the ‘career’ that would come to him worthily as the grandson of the flery Berna- dotte. But the dream was only a dream. The “three crowns” all told could not embody éight million of men, no matter what stress he put upon Scandinavian resources. Scandinavia would be no mére than Belgium or Holland, So the repre- sentatives ceased to give him money. His army could not gtow. The honest Swedes preterred to till their soll and find fron and leave “the balance of power” to the kalsers. So the dream vanished, and the disappointed King took to paint 0 | the ana Poems and mating collections, and, it is sald, an unholy life in moral. matters, The candle burned at both ends, the wax even melting in the Middle, and he died suddenly, exhausted nature giving his body up in aespair, He wae a pleasant king—hearty in hia ways, easily reached and much liked, GATHERING FOR THE CBREMONY. Well, the life of the fondly-dreaming Charles went out in a flash, bis queen going alittle before him; and his impatient, much-aspiring seul now rests ‘with God, we trust, for his body is in. old Riddar- hotms chape) on the island, just beyond the church to which we now go to see his brother crowned. And while we have rambled off into this narrative, necessary, s it seemed, to shuw who the man is now about to be anointed of the Lord, and what he represents tn the universe, the crowd has grown denser and denscr, The carriages, laden with the diplomatists and special and this is ite name to-day. Af you remember that, among the unhappy gentlemen who passed ander the axe was Eric Vasa, & Senator, and father to Gustavus Vasa, you will understand some of the remoter congequences of that cruel deed. But we cannot dwell upon these memories; for a8 we turn from the square into @ narrow, stony, ascending atreet, we stand at the door of the church where the kings of Sweden have for centuries been crowned, THR OHUROH. The famous church Storkyran, or the “Great Church’ as the people call it, or the Church: of St. Nicholas, in honor of Nicholas Breakspear, the Saxon who became Pope to the scandal of pure- blooded, high-stepping Austrian-Norman races 80 long, long ago, is the scene of the coronation. It is a Lutheran church, and the services to-day are according tothe Lutheran ritual, A clumsy build- ing, lacking piety and expreasion, and comes rudely ambassadors, have lumbered past; court wag- ons drawn by six horses, and such visions of human splendor, to be seen through the windows, An Austrian attaché, especially, in the following of Metternich, whose radiance in the way of feathers ‘and lace, and gems and furs, and tightly fitting Scarlet breeches, is altogether a ravishing spec- ‘tacle and @ bieasing to the thousands of eyes who look eagerly on in the rain, These precious, splen- did beings all gone, we note that the members of ‘both chambers of the Diet have passed mainly in carriages, From all parts of the town the people press and crowd—cloaked, furred, heavily clad— Fesolute to see ‘in spite of the shower. Small steamers from the iglands and shores around land passengers at the very palace gates and puff mer- rily away for more. If only the sun would shine! But drip, drip, drip, and the stern, unrelenting skies seem to bend closer, more angrily down, and the waters of the lake rush under the bridges with &@ scalding whirl, and the garments of the poor sol- diery splatter us with rain as they form in line and keep us back, that King’s majesty may have room to pass on the sacred errand. THE PROCESSION OF THE KING. And how the bells ring out—every bell in this large city having a voice, and speaking merrily in the thick, misty air. And what a comfort we find the clanging chorus amid so many discomforts, and our spirits seem to rise with their tumbling and rollings and tintinabulation. And now comes that moment of expectancy, as the minutes verge upon the hour, the hour of eleven, when Solomon is to come in all his glory. We stand near the statue of Gustavus III., looking up towards the palace. Gustavus holds a civil wreath in his bronze hands, as tf he would also do honor to his successor. But I marvel if King Oscar will pause for his courtesies, for this Gustavus who reigned in these walls as King was one night cruelly murdered in the opera house over the way, which bears his name, and where minstrels and opera women still sing, and he is scarcely a man to bless q king or coronation journey. Eleven comes, and almost at the strike the procession leaves the palace door, unfolding itself down the long descending stairs and through the green garden and so to the street, in number, as we calculate, about four hundred. It comes towards usin slow, stately fasbion—not hurrying the least for the rain—and in due order. Life Guards leading, followed by royal pages, then two heralds of the household, in marvellous rai- ment, preceding the Grand Marshal and staf, who have much to do to-day. Then we have court peo- ple in quantity, marching two by two, and two other heralds, who excite genuine admiration as triumphs of tailoring. After them a body of middle- aged gentlemen in plain Gress, who are delegates from the Diet—special committees of Congress— walking in threes, and two more heralds, gaudily stalking behind—kind of chorus to the procession. Then—the gentlemen rising higher in dignity—we have solemn Attorney Generals and S8u- preme Judges and Cabinet Ministers, in manner much as such individuals appear im Washington; every now and then a sprinkling of heralds, to give color to the grouping. On they pass, splashing along, well shod, we hope, and now all interest rises, as we see the royal mantle, borne by a lieutenant general and baron, Wrede, @ distinguished Swede, who seems duly sensible of assists him, it being of great importance that the imperial robe should not trail in the mud. After comes solemn Councillor Waeru, Secretary of the Treasury, who holds the key; Secretary Bugstien, having the orb of royalty; Secretary Weidernjelm (if youcan print his name), carrying the sword of State. The sword lies on a cushion. (Note that it 1s sheathed, and later note, on the way home, and aiter the coronation, that it will not be sheathed, but lie naked and open.) Then comes Foreign Secretary, Excellency and General BiornstjOrna, who bears the sceptre, followed by the Minister of Justice, Excellency Adlercrentz, proudly clasping the crown. KING OSCAR. And now comesa group of guards, sabred and spurred, and eight distinguished Swedes earrying @ canopy, eight army colonels supporting them, Prime Minister splashing at the side, and under the canopy, secure from the rain, slowly walks Oscar Il, King of this land. His Majesty wears the mantle ofa prince of the royal house—on his head ® prince’s coronmet. Rather above the middie stature, with a compact, serious, sincere face, a swarthy beard tinged with gray, and heavy black hair cat short, rusting likewise with premature years; manly eyes, in one of which you note the slightest possible imperfection; a good face—you say not a great face—no trait of Scandina- | via in any line of the countenance, but French im every motion and sign and bodily token—French of the Pyrenees and the | Mediterranean. As he passes, off go our hats, and we cheer, and he bows in gracious fashion. Behina’ walk his sons, four boys, the eldest fifteen, the youngest not above honey and breaa and being sent to bed without his supper. The eldest, @spry, promising lad, is in a military uniform, the others in plain clothes, like any tradesman’s lads | on their way to church. Then came the Knights of the Seraphim, Sweden’s highest order of chivatry, and its cross only given to the select beings of the earth. A major general named Sandels carries the cross of the Order. Then came Knights of the Order of the Sword, the Order of the North Star, the Order of Vasa, of Charies XIV, and com- | manders of the Order of St. Olaf of Norway. These chivalrous souls splash along in irregular fashion and end the King’s procession, | THE PROCESSION OF THR QUEEN. It was intended that the Queen should follow in like manner on foot; but Her Majesty accepted 'cir- | cumstances, and, not being above the value of a | good appearance in the way of velvet when she | | reached church, rode ina closed carriage, and all | we could gee was @ mass of rolled up finery and | the suspicion of a bright, womanly face peering out, like the moon or @ shining star struggling behind a bank of fleecy clouds. There were pages ; and heralds and chamberiains in due fashion. | Court dignitaries carried her mantle, globe, sceptre and crown. Her Majesty, wearing the coronet and | Mantle of Princess Royal, was supported by noble- | | men‘and generals, and was abundantly followed by ladies of noble ‘houses, more especially ladies whose husbands were members of the most distin, { guished Order of the Seraphim. THE ROUTE TO THE CHURCH. | he select throng rolis on—every roof and win+ dow, every jutty frieze, buttress and coigne ot | vantage, covered with men and wemen, a multi- | | tude, as we hastily guess, a hundred thousand | Swedish subjects, to see their King. And so we pass the high obelisk. erected by Gustavus IV.—the foolish ending of @ noble lime—to celebrate the valor shown by Stockolm in one of the absurd dis- astrous Russian wars. Still further, through @ narrower way, to thé open square in front of the Bourse or Merchants’ Exchange, The Bourse | looks as if it had beén chipped off the New York | Custom House building; but it is to-day covered with flags and insignia, and in front is @ temporary wooden scaffolding, highly painted, in preparation for the great city ball of Thursday evening. Through the open square, the high buildings dark with eager shout- ing heads, This is one of the famous spow ef Swedish ground. For it was here, in this very square, that, more than three centuries since, the Danish King, under circumstances of unusual per- fidy, caused the heads of nearly a hundred jngble- upon the mind after the noble piles in Sevilie and Burgos, where you see what Goethe calls the frozen music of Architecture. So despairing to describe it one opens the first honest guidebook or waylarer’s companion that comes to hand and quotes these words:—‘It stands om the Slottsbacken, and the tower groups admirably. with the palace, The view from this tower 1s extensive and amply repays, &c. The altar-picce is elaborately carved in ebony, and ornamented with gold, silver and ivory, and represents the birth, pas- sion and resurrection of Jesus Christ. In the library are many precious works taken froma convent of Jesuits, &0.” One value of this description is that, like guidebook descriptions generally, it. gives you no idea of the building whatever. As we enter we see that every corner is filled. On the right and the left, and in the rear, are temporary galleries covered with blue coarse cloth, dotted with gilt crowns. Under the altar is a wooden dais hidden under rich Persian carpet. On this dais which is about two feet above the floor is an ancient silver chatr—the old coronation chair. It fronts the altar and we have a good view of the back. On one side, nearest the altar, the Upper House or Senate are gathered. The grave and reverend Seigniors are an unusually fine body of men. They are chattering, taking snuff and cran- ing over the balcony to see who comes and watch the gaudy uniforms as iuriously as the rest of us. Behind them, elevated higher, are benches where the wives and female associates of the members of the Upper House sit. Another gallery is crowded with the members of the Lower House, who are very noisy and discuss the military gentlemen and foreigners as they come, so loudly that the Assem- bly enjoys the debate. THE AMBASSADORS, A smaller and more select gallery is filled with the memopers of the Diplomatic Corps, and the special ambassadors who are here to do honor to the new King. The English Minister has a striking, brown-bearded and Scotch face, which you look at a second time when you learn that he is the grandson of England’s famous Erskine. Next him, in sober evening dress, with a firm, pleasant, dark-bearded face, 1s the modest and accomplished American Minister, General C, C. Andrews, of Min- nesota, whose mission here has done so much for his country’s fame in Sweden. General Andrews looks so much like the new King, that it would not amaze us if the Archbishop were to go toddiing up the steps and crown him by mistake. That gorgeous person, in radiant costume, the order of the Seraphim girdling his throat, lis breast ribboned and starred, and a pale, fine, feeble Austrian counte- nance, is the most high Prince Metternich, who to-day represents the Empire of Austria, Next him, his collar of fur concealing many of the em- biems of his glory, but adding firmness and a rugged quality to the heavy Russian face, is Gen- eral Liewn, the Ambassador of the Czar, and who, if he spoke bis mind, would probably say that Sweden will be the most unnecessary country in Europe until it follows Swedish Finland and be- comes a part of Holy Russia. Then we see the famed Menabrea. I wonder if he bas been forgotten by the constant reader. I am afratd so, but he is worthy of better courtesy, as at one time Prime Minister to Victor the honor that has fallen tohim. A chamberlain * Emmanuel and head of the Italian government. A strong, expressive face, with active, fashing eyes, wavering like flames or sunshine on the sea. That positive, inditferent, sandy person is Count Moltke—not the famous Moltke, who seems to have made laws for the art of war as inexorable and unerring as the laws of fate, but another of Denmark—considerable enough in that inconsider- able country, and here as Ambassador of the Dan- ish King. But, speaking of war, look well at that calm, keen tace, tinged with gray; the sca ered beard, scarcely covering the thin lips and rigid chin; the peaked nose and intense blue eye, over which curves a high, projecting, marrow fore- | head, thatched witn thinning gray-brown hairs; look well at him as he sits with scarcely clasped hands, quietly watching the Movement of the multitude; note the cross that gathers his general’s collar at the throat, and the plain iron cross far down on his closely buttoned coat, and see a master of war and one of the heroes im the recent contest with France in Lieutenant General Blumenthal, Chief of Staff to the Crown Prince of Prussia, special Ambassador from the Kaiser of Deutschland and famous because ef his deeds in the campaigns of Sadowa and Sedan. At his side—as an odd contrast, not without meaning— is General Barail, French Ambassador, a notable general of cavalry, whom Blumenthal contributed to defeat. Butone hopes such memories are not present now, a8 we observe how polite they are, and the deep, demure, deferential interest they take in each other's conversation, THE ARRIVAL AT THE CHURCH. But while we have been peering so curiously into this interesting and distinguished group the crowd has grown denser. Bench rises upon bench, crammed with bearded men, nobles and officers, and the fair ladies of Sweden. We do not observe much color in the mass—mainly trimmings of purple and blue, and now and then outcroppings of violet ; but the faces are fair and bright and soft; hair like the sunshine, and eyes suggesting the azure that we have so sadly missed to-day, and here and there a speaking face that calls up memortes of other days—the village church, the stream, the long, long snaded lanes—so American is its type, that a sober person like your historian might well be permitted to go mooning for the rest of the ceremony, caring little for crowns or sacred oil. But the organ peal bursts eut, and @ train of the Lutheran prelates and clergy slowly trail down the aisle and stop at the doer, The the bishops arises in the soft Swedish tongue that sounds like @ lisping, imperfect English. The words he says are these:—“Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.” THEIR MAJESTIES IN PRAYER. As this invocation arises clear and soft there ts a rustle, for we all stand up, knowing that the King has come at last, and that thus we do him honor. So we all etand expectant ard curious, and the King slowly meves up the aisle, bowing slightly to the right and left. Just besore he reaches the altar there two permanent gilded chairs, lined with bine velvet, ona dais of the same material, stud- ded with gilded crowns, Over these chairs is an elaborate wood carving, also in gold—an angel in flight, holding a flaming imperial mantie and blowing & trumpet, the whole surmounted by acrown. These chairs are directly opposite. The King takes his seat, bowing first to the ambassadors, ‘who all return the courtesy, then to the Diet and other bodies, who make the same recognition. | Behind him is a group of Swedish generals, At | nis right stands an officer holding the State banner of Sweden. At his left another officer holds the banner of the Order of the Seraphim. As he seats | himself @ short prayer is read, and the procession again marches to the door to receive the Queen. Another bishop meets Her Majesty, saying, as be- fore, “Blessed is he whe comes in the name of the Lord.” Her Majesty slowly walks up the aisle, clad in magnificent purple robes, her train borne | by three noble ladies of the kingdom. She bows to the right and left and seats herself om the gilded chair in front of her husband. There is @ little delay to give the train a proper, graceful fold, and we all sit down and their Ma- jesties bend their knees on velvet cushions and engage in prayer. THE SERMON. men and gentlemen of Sweden to be taker Om by ‘the headsman. Soitwas called the “Blggd Bath,” We all sit down, and the crowd rugtions iteell into King has come and stands waiting. The voice of | place, and@:s hush falls upon every one, for Their Majesties are in prayer, and the Archbishop is try- ing to And the piace in tae Psalm Book, which we organ steals forth a soft, eweet, murmuring volun- tary as a chorus to the royal devotions, Thelr prayers end, and the Archbishop, a sturdy, vigor- ous, middle-aged prelate, announces that we shail all sing ® psaim, the twenty-afth Psalm. And we be pres: apleinainnn,oh e at least a 'y 8 moe recogmized, for the whole congregation sings, according to the Lutheran canon, with atriking, hearty effect. This over, amother prelate, the Bishop of Wisteras, ascends the winding staircase that leads to the pulpit, radely carved and.elapor- ately gilded, and direculy over the royal head, and informs us that he is about to preach. His text was selected for him by the King. It will be found in the twenty-fifth Psalm and in these words: “Lord, show me Thy ways and teach mo Thy steps, ’ Lead me in Thy troth and teach me; for Thou art the God of my help; daily I waiton Thee.” THE OHAIR OF SILVER, It was a half hour after noon when the Bishop “began his discourse. Those of us-who understoed Swedish liatened with earnest. and edified look; while those whose language was limited to English and German and French, and less necessary tongues, patiently studied the multitude, espe- ctally the benk where sat the throng of ladies who had been presented at Gourt. The sermon lasted forty-five minutes, and, although some of tne older Ambaasadors—to whom the bench of beauty had diminished attractions—and @ few of tho Senators palpably nodded and dozed, the good Bishop had @ most respectful hearing. When he concluded, with words of encouragement to His Majesty in his solemn and holy office and prayers for the peace and glory of his reign, there was an- Other eager rustic in the crowd, who seemed to feel shat the sermon out of the way was a duty Welland gladly performed, and not without its advantages. Music again, and: the King arose from his seat and advanced to the silver chair, in front of the altar, whose back we have been studying so carefully during the sermon. As he advances two chamberlains take the Prince’s mantle, which he hse worn, since he left the palace, and lay it on the altar, They then remove the Prince’s crown, which he has also worn, and hand it to the Grand Marsnal, who lays it likewise on the altar. Then the Archbishop, as- sisted by General Wrede, lifted the King’s mantle from the altar and Yently placed it on bis shoul- ders. As they did so His Majesty knelt on a cushion which had been placed before him, and in front of @ praying-desk, on which lays Bible. The Arch- bishop opened the Bible at the first chapter of Revelations, and as he did so the music ceased. THE CORONATION OATH. As the King knelt expectant the Minister of Jus- tice advanced and read the royal oath. The King Placed three fingers on the opened Bible page, and repeated the oath, word for word, as the Min- ister of Justice pronounced it to him. THE ANOINTING. This done the Archbishop again advanced. The King, with a slight effort, opened the folds of his shirt bosom. The Archbishop anointed him with oll, first on the forehead, then on the bare bosom, then on the temples and finally on the wrists. As he did so he said in @ voice that rose gentle and clear :— Almighty and eternal God instil His Holy Spirit into your soul, and mind, and purpose and enter- terprise, through whose diessing you may 30 govern country and kingdom that your reign may redound to the praise and honor af God, strengthen right and justice and do good to the land and its people, As these words were spoken reverently and with manifest feeling, the King, with bent head, Ustened, his eye fixed on the opened Bible which lay before him. Then he arose and seated himself in the silver chair, fronting the altar. This famous chair has been the traditional royal coronation throne of Sweden since tae time of Christina, who was daughter of the renowned Gustavus Adol- phus—Queen after his death—and, not lively in her life and conversation, she resigned her royal funo- tions in 1654 and went to Reme, leaving the crown and the chair to her cousin, known to men as Charles X. Since his time all Swedish princes have sat there to be crowned—Charies XII. and the re- mainder of the Vasa people, who ran out in time into worthieasness and decay, and the Bernadottes, all sitting in this chair, under this very roof, before this high altar, while thousands looked on as thousands are looking now, as thousands may look in coming times, when this King, in all his glory, and the Queen Sophia. in her radiant splen- dor, and the blushing maids of honor and dames of high degree, whose beauty foods the dark arches of this cathedral with their electric light, and the men of valor and fame and illustrious station, who look on, envied of the world; yes, and the applaud. ing thousands who hurry upon the bridges and high’ perching windows and narrow stony streets, in spite of the tormenting rain, all, all shall nave van- ished—shadows following shadowa—from this which seems to that which is. THE CORONATION. The King takes his seat in the historic silver chair, looking up to the altar, all eyes following him. Then the Archbishop and the Minister of Jus- tice, holding the royal crown between them, lilt it reverently from the altar and place it on his brow, and Oscar Bernadotte, great grandson of Jo- sephine, who married the General Beauharnais, and of Bernadotte, the honest Pau tradesman, sits ac- tually crowned King of Sweden and of the Geths and Vandals. A prayer was read by His Grace, and we all bowed our heads and said “‘Amen.” Then | the sceptre was taken from the altar and placed in the royal hands, Another prayer was read, and we bowed our heads and said “amen.” And in the same manuer the orb, the sword, and other emblems of royalty were placed in his anointed bands. And in like manner | the archbishops, after each separate bestowal of the kingly decorations and instruments, read a prayer, whereupon we all bowed our heads and said “Amen.” When His Majesty had been thus deco- rated and anointed, and the kingly instruments duly bestowed, the Grand Marshal made a signal, and one of the gaudy heralds advanced to the steps oi the throne, and cried in @ loud voice :— “Wow is Oscar the Second crowned as King of Sweden, af the Goths and the Vandals, He, and ‘no other.” Upon which unquestionable publication the heralds again waved their staffs, the drums and trumpets sounded and we all shouted in loyal exul- tation, “Long live Oscar the Second,” and the can- non began to thunder on the granite quais, and the voices of the multitude could be heard outaide in vhe merciless rain crying with an enthusiasm which would not dampen, ‘Long live Oscar the Second,” and the orchestra broke forth intoa harmony signifying that God had blessed this nation ameng nations in giving it 50 good @ king. This done, the Arehbishop read another | Prayer to which we all bowed our neads and said “Amen.” And the King was crowned, and, msing from the silver chair, he descended from the throne and seated himself in the chair ef blue and gold, where we all could see him in his glory, @ heaven-anointed king, with a real crown on his head and areal sceptre in his hand, and a royal mantle falling over his limbs. ‘Traly a king—thinking. I wonder what a gentie- man would be apt to think under these unusual circumstances, With serene, serious face, a8 one ‘who had been much in prayer for an hour or two— not by any means a bad idea of a king—but in manner and pose and expression calculated to sat isfy the most exacting critic. CORONATION OF THE QUEEN, And there he sat, his face never changing its expression, holding the royal instruments in-his hand, steady cnough to have had hia photograph taken. And Queen Sophia arose, her train sweep- ing after her in a manner so gracefal that if 1 knew her millinct she shoald, in these hospitable and discriminating columns, have an immortal, world-wide fame. She knelt as her hasband had knelt, and was anointed on her forehead and wrists and not upon her bosom. And so in man- ner and form, exactly as I nave detailed in refer- ence to the King, she was crowned queen, and an- nother herald advanced and cried:— “Now 9 Sophia crowned as Queen of Sweden, the Goths ana the Vanagle—sne ana no other,” eS a aan Queen Sophia | and there were prayer, music and cannon fring and new shouts fromthe dripping crowd without, and Her Majesty—showing, we fau- cied,in her pleased, satisfied, kind face, that her tender heart had felt ‘‘the aspiring flame of golden sovereignty”—aescended from the silver throne and resumed her seat om the chair in gold and blue, immediately in front of her husband, who sat soberly gazing, his ‘hands full of royal instruments and the crown upon his head. THE OATH OF ALLEGIANOE, Then was the silver chair turned so we might allsee it. And the King arose, still holding the tn- struments and decorations, and resumed his seat. And there he s#t mm full view, no longer with the back turned and the Archbishop half the time in the way, so that we could not know what was ‘done, but high, alone—bis full majesty blazing upon us. Then his ministers and councillors ad- vanced, some standing om one side, some on the Other. The prayer cushion was taken away, hav- ing served its purpose. The music ceased, and the Grand Maranal advanced, and, standing in front of. the throne, his voice and cried :— “Good gentlemen and men af both Chambers, of the Dies, make oath tothe King" And the members arose. Then the Mintster of THE RETURN 70 THR PALAOS. It was now close upon three. The: King: slowlg: @rose, and we all arose with him, end wo mained standing until he departed. Then Queen arose and followed him. The King ji his}procession and marched: on foot to the precisely as he had come. The Queen, who come in a carriage, returned on feot, the rain ing alt the time, with disastrous consequences; that cannot be dwelt upon, to the sweeping velvet: robe and its magnificent train. The bells of the whole city continued to" peal merrily and with comfort to us all. As the royal party EEE , turned into the square where the obelisk stood s company of lads from the city schools sung @ Swedish folk song. When it reached the garden,. in front of the entrance: door, another company— eight hundred in all, young men from the colleges and the universities—sung loud and tunefully, and with notable effect, the Swedish national air; and King and Queen bowed smilingly for the courtesy and passed into the palace, the people in. the pro- cession rather hurriedly splashing after. Then, the hour being something later than three, the multitude fell away for home and shelter, the rain still having its impetuous will, and the clouds: gathering darker and darker over city and palaces and wooded hills and the waters of the beautifal lake. And this is the manner in which it came to pass that Oscar Bernadotte and Sophia, his. wife, were crowned King and Queen of Sweden, as well as of the Goths and the Vandals. LITERARY CHIT-CHAT. AMONG THE RECENT Books in foreign languages devoted to the history of the United States is M. Ferout de Froutpertuis’ “Etats Unis de l'Amér- ique, Septentrionale, leur Origine, leur Emanci- pation, et lear Progrés,” just out in Paris, A LEABNED RussIaN, named Nardeschdin. has published at St. Petersburg a treatise on “The Rights. and the Position of Women in Onristen- dom.” Tax. Frat Systematic Work devoted to the genealogy of Welsh families has just veen. pab- lished, It is entitled “Annais and Antiquities of the Counties and County Families of Wales, com taining a record of all ranks of. the gentry, their lineage, alliances, appointments, armorial ensigns, &c.” By T. Nichols. THE FORSIGN QUESTION that is uppermost in England now is the Khiva expedition and. Central Asia. Sir F. T. Goldsmid, who was long a British diplomatist in Persia,” has published “Central Asia and Its Question,” which contains in a few Pages more knowledge respecting Bokhara, Peraia, and Afghanistan than could be gleaned from many books on those strange countries. FELIcITA VesTUALI has published at Munich, un- der the singular title of ‘Pallas Athene; Memoirs of an Artist; herown biography. The beok isi German. EMILE OLLIVIER 1s in Florence, writing a history of Machiavelli. BRucE’s AMERICAN StuD Book, after years of patient toil devoted to its preparation by the author, is at length issued from the press, hand- somely bound, in two large octavo volumes, num- bering in all some sixtcen hundred pages. Apart from turf sports, which render such a work. an in- dispensible necessity, there is a vast amount o wealth invested in horse stock in this country, growing in importance, and every day becoming more widespread. And as the thoroughbred is now the recognized type whence breeders of stock derive their finest models for the-trotting tarf, the: family landau and carriage, the post chaise and the farm, purchases are made and.prices regulated in accordance with the estimated value of the pedi- gree attached to the animal. The science of breed- ing is therefore greatly indebted to correct gonea- logical information for the successful results it has achieved in the last quarter ofa century. If there were no reliable records to shed light. upor the problem of ,breeding every attempt te.improve any particular breed might be one of error, and we wouid realize in truth how uncertain are-the de- crees of chance; but with the facts—the treasures of ages of anxious thought and patient research— before us, we are not left dependent upon varying fortune; are not lost, bewildered in darkness, bat are enabied to draw, with a degree of certainty, conclusions irom established laws; to mould a race ‘at pleasure; to aim ata certain standard, and to wait the result with comparative confidence. A stud book 1§ essentially a work of genealogies, each. pedigree recorded constituting a succinct history of an animal, and of the ancestry whence he-or she is descended, The work before us, arranged after the manner of the English Stad Book, Julfils, in an eminent degree, the necessary requirements, and will be regarded as the more valuable {rom the con- ciseness of the subject matter and the reliability of its information. THE LATE CHIEF JUSTICE CHASE. Meeting of the Bench and Bar New Jersey, and Resolutions of Coneusbunie Chase, Randolph and Vredenburg. The Supreme Court is now in session at Trenten, A meeting of the legal fraternity was held yester- day to give expression to their views on the char- acter and services of the late Chief Justice Chase, Chief Juatice Beasley presided. Attorney General Gilchrist made @ few appropriate remarks, after which a committee was appointed to draw up reso- lutions, consisting of the following Vang Ss nogg Attorney General Giichrist, ex-Governor Vroome, Abraham = Browring, J. G. SI and H. ©. Pitney. After the adjournment of the Court the Attorney General arose and read the following preambie and resolutions :— The Hon. Salmon P. Chase, Chief Justice of the Su- Ere Court of the United states, having departed this re ddpring We last vacation, the members of the Bench and Bar of New Jersey, entertaining veneration fiers ld beatae ai its firmness, patriotism ‘ig orinced pti evens, criehing ge ‘sneer reg: and unosteniatious siete ny sy groat sta ries \ athe called by the partiality y ot is coun! man, ba ved, That the Bench and Bar ~witoe bd Raed ar in the griet which has been caused b ‘the death gr theriate i Justice of the United fates 8 nee aby. his death pura Cf tie log SW hich tl e = ape, jountry have susta! to {ov oxpres resin their dean fener st a fellow dinizens and. Bar of New Jersey on unite wi res; ee be of 99 symp: tree w hs boreavat family in their affiie "Re holved, That these utions. be Ast Be Seeariarceieriacter certain 01 ma to the ener ot the deceased by the. chuirinen of Usp Resolutions of respect for the memory of the late Joseph F. Randolph, formerly an A jate Justice and Hon, of the Supreme Court of New Jersey, Peter Vredenburg, were also read and ‘laid before the meeting. Mr. ABRAHAM BROWNING, in a brief, but eloquent and pathetic address, seconded the adoption of waa deen ir, CORTLANDT PARKER delivered # lengthy et nee men, and logy On each of the three diatin adopted. The is baghdad OF Mr. Albert H. Slape. 16 resolutions were unanimously Meeting then adourned