V.

moment depended upon the firmness with which CHAP. the Sovereign might persist in his resolution. At this critical juncture, when the Senators were all in consternation, as the King rose to leave the chamber, one of them, Funck, a man beloved by all parties, threw himself upon his knees at the feet of the monarch, and, holding him fast by his robe, urged him, by the most pressing solicitations, to return to his seat. The good old King was beginning to waver, when young Gustavus, in a commanding tone of voice and with great presence of mind, asked Funck "how he dared thus forcibly to detain the King his father;" and making him quit his hold, conducted his parent from the Senate'. The building itself is old; and, excepting this circumstance, and the many revolutionary conflicts that have been here witnessed, perhaps there is nothing to render it remarkable*.

It was opposite to this building, in the Place Place de

(3) "Le Roi, bon par sa nature, entraîné par son fils, attendri par la posture et les prières de son ami, flottoit entre ces deux impressions, quand le Prince Royal, par un de ces traits qui annoncent les grands hommes, prend sur-le-champ son parti, repousse la main du Sénateur, et lui demandant 'comment il osoit retenir ainsi de force le Roi son père,' tranche enfin la question." Hist. de la dernière Révolut. de Suéde, par Desmaisons, p. 167. Amst. 1782.

(4) In the Voyage de Deux Français dans le Nord, it is called Maison des Nobles. See tom. II. p. 139. Paris, 1796.

Ridderholm.

V.

of Ankar

ström.

CHAP. de Ridderholm, that the second part of the punishment inflicted upon Ankarström took place. Execution He was exposed upon a scaffold raised for the purpose, in front of the Senate House, upon the left of the pedestrian statue of Gustavus Vasa, and at the end of a street which here terminates in the square. The throng of spectators was immense. Several detachments of cavalry, with drawn sabres, preceded the cart in which Ankarström, surrounded by executioners, was conveyed from his prison. The streets were lined with infantry. After being publickly flogged, he was chained to a post, and left exposed, for several hours, to the view of all the people. Over his head were fastened, in a conspicuous manner, the dagger and the pistol with which he went to the masquerade: and above all, appeared this inscription, in the Swedish language: ASSASSIN OF THE KING." Several portraits of him have been sold. That which has been here engraved, is remarkable for the likeness it exhibits of the man; and it shews, at the same time, the manner in which he was exposed, during three successive days, to the people. He was five feet two inches high: his hair was black, short, and frizzled; his nose aquiline; and he had a firm and lofty expression of countenance; regarding the vast

Pollard Sailp

t

PORTRAIT of the REGICIDE ANKARSTRÖM as be was exposed in the Streets of Stockholm. during three days upon a Scaffold.

unmoved ap

throng of spectators with an
pearance of calmness and indifference. Being
thus exposed for three days; upon the fourth
day his right-hand was struck off; after which
he was beheaded; and his body separated into
four quarters, which were exposed upon four
wheels, in different quarters of the city. Five
weeks after his execution, the remains of his
carcase were visited by persons of distinction
belonging to his party, and even by elegant
women', as precious relics; and verses attached
to those wheels were frequently observed,
commending the action for which he suffered.

CHAP.
V.

During this day, we went to the Academy, Academy. in search of Professor Engeström, whose useful little treatise on the Swedish Minerals, entitled "Guide aux Mines," we had purchased for our journey. He was absent in the country; but we found his colleague, a most intelligent man and very able chemist, of the name of Hjelm, who permitted us to see the collection of Collection minerals belonging to the Crown. A part of rals.

of Mine

(1)" Même les femmes les plus élégantes de la Cour allaient visiter ce cadavre, et lui rendaient une espéce de culte." Hist. de l'Assuss. de Gustave III. par un Officier Polonais, Témoin Oculaire, p, 102. Paris, 1797.

(1) Guide du Voyageur aux Carrières et Mines de Suéde, par Gustave D'Engeström, Conseiller des Mines. Stockholm, 1797.