B)Q^ FOR-TMS COMPILED Amy 30Uh POR, THE BBNEFTT OP THE RXMINE EUND POR MORTHERN 3>XrEDEN AND PI>aAND, PRICE ^(JrCENrs. 25 What Has Sweden Done for the United States? cA brochure printed and sold for the Benefit of the Famine Fund for Northern Sweden and Finland By LARS P. NELSON Published by the Author Chicago. 1903 THE LlORAWY OF CONGRESS, Two Copies Received APR 10 1903 Copytignt Lnliy CLASS i^ XXc. No. COPY 'B. Copyright 1903 By LARS P. NELSON Illustrations by Hugo von Hofsten Printed by Hollister Brothers Chicago •clftrr ti)c ^uotustorm Painting by JOHAN TIr£n Poem by JACOB BONGGREN ©arh wooDe anD C>rcar\? niountatiio and marsbce flat an^ ^vi^c, au5 sorrow aiiC? ^etiolation an5 col? on cvcrv eiCc ; tthc plains an5 hille an? wooMan^s arc wrappc? In a cloak of snow, an? fiercer, ever fiercer the win?s from tbe IHorthcnst blow. at first as soft as a wbis^ier tbcB Dance tbrongb the leafless trees; Cben louJ)cr grow tbclr voices. as brish an? stroiici as a brecjc. at last tbev; sbahc tbe beavens an? ben? tbe trees an? roar, like tiaiiiit an? boarv giants wbo fitibt tbe terrible Cbor. Sbe frigbtful battle isen?e?; tbe stnr?\: Xaplan? swain 3&\2 col? an? bunker, tbe monsters, is cruellv? pierce? an? slain. liJis face is of asben pallor; he's col? to tbe verv core, jfirc an? foo? arc forgotten; be sleeps an? will wake no more. Cbc mournful motber watcbes ber bov; on bis cbills be?. IHo longer bis feet en skees arc fleet; ber ?auntless ?arllng is ?ea?. Cbe bo\} wbo braves a blijjar? to get foo? for tbe starving fol?; Js be not a noble bero, IS be not a warrior bol? ? ■z^ ^ ^ V ■"■v. GUSTAF II. ADOLPH A'iiiiT of Swt-dcii, i6ii'!6j2. Wl)at lf}as ^Vuclicn ©our for tljc ^nttrt States? HE first attention given by the Swedish Government to the country now comprising the United States is recorded in a letter given by King Gustaf Adolph in 1624, to Willem Usse- hnx of Holland, authorizing him to organize a "company to trade in Asia, Africa, Aiucrica, and Magellanica." (iiven at Stockholm the 21st of December, 1624. The following year a company was organized and named " The Royal Swedish General Trading Company, to do business in Asia, Africa, Avicriai and Magellanica." Part of its prospectus reads: "It must be well considered and weighed that God Almighty, in his incomprehensible wisdom and providence, has so foreordained and arranged that all which is necessary for the welfare and sustenance of mankind is not found in one place, unless God has blessed with his gifts each country by itself. Consecjuently what is wanting in one country abounds in the other, and one country can not do without another." The next year, 1626, the King issued a charter to the company, entitled "Charter or Privilege, which the Mighty and most noble Prince and Lord, Gustaf Adolph, King of Sweden, the Gothes and Vendes, Grand Duke of Finland, etc., has graciously given by letters patent to the newly established Swedish South Company." Its object is stated in a statesmanlike and Christian manner, thus: " Whereas, we find that it will considerably add to the welfare of our kingdom and of our subjects, and that it is necessary that the commerce, trades and naviiration in our lands and territories should 2:row, be increased and improved by all suitable means ; and whereas, by the reports of experienced and trustworthy men we have received reliable and certain intelligence that there are in Africa, America, and Magellanica, or terra Australis, many rich countries and islands, with which it may not only be possible to carry on a large commerce from our kingdom, but it is also most likely that the people in those lauds may be made more civilized and taught morality and the Christian religion, by the mutual intercourse and trade ; therefore, we have maturely considered and as far as in our power concluded that the advantages, profits and welfare of our kingdom and faithful subjects, besides the fiirther propagation of the holy gospel, will be much improved and increased by the discovery of new commercial relations and navigation," etc. The thirty-first article of this charter shows how earnest the King was about Sweaish Colonization in America this business. It reads: "In order to manifest the great pleasure which we have in the progress of this company, we promise that we will subscribe and invest a sum of four hundred thousand dalers, counting thirty-two round pieces to a daler, which we will risk for our own account, dividing profit and loss with the others." The charter is dated, " Royal Palace at Stockholm, in the one thousandth six hundredth and six and twentieth year after the birth of God's son, the 14th of June, 1626." ,r-- 1, r- \ ^ (Signed) GusTAF Adolph. Speaking about the motives that prompted Gustaf Adolph in preparing for colonization in America, Dr. Stille, of Philadelphia, says : "It was not merely as a commercial enterprise that Gustaf Adolph planned to found a colony in America. If we wish to understand the real significance of the scheme, its para- mount and controlling impulse, we must look upon the colony as the outgrowth of the Thirty Years' War, and its establishment as a remedy for some of the manifold evils of that war, which had suggested itself to the minds of Gustaf Adolph and his Chancellor, Oxenstjerna. "A glance at contemporary history shows how novel and comprehensive were the views o'f colonization held 'by the King. The Protestants of Germany and Denmark were at that time in the midst of a pitiless storm, exposed to all its fury. The Thirty Years' War — unex- ampled in history for the cruel sufferings inflicted upon non-combatants — was at its height. The Protestants were yielding everj'where; nothing could resist the military power of Wallen- stein, who, supporting his army upon the pillage of the country, pressed forward to the shores of the Baltic, with the intention of making that sea an Austrian lake. The Protestant leaders ^Mansfeld, Christian of Brunswick, the King of Denmark — were all defeated, and their fol- lowers were a mass of fugitives fleeing toward the North and imploring succor. Gustaf had not yet embarked in the German war, but his heart was full of sympathy for the cause in which these poor people were suffering, and this scheme of colonization occurred to him as a practical method of reducing the horrors which he was forced to witness. "The faith of the King in the wisdom of this scheme never wavered. In the hour of his complete triumph over his enemies he begged the German Princes whom he had rescued from ruin to permit their subjects to come to America and live there under the protection of his powerful arm. He spoke to them just before the battle of Liitzen of the proposed colony, which he called ' the Jewel of his Crown," and after he had fallen a martyr to the cause of Protestantism on that field, his Chancellor, acting, as he said, upon the express desire of the dead King, renewed the patent for the colony, extended its benefits more fully to Germany, and secured the official confirmation of its provisions by the diet of Frankfurt. "The colony that came to these shores in 1638 was not exactly the colony planned by the great King. The commanding genius that could foresee the permanent settlement of a free state here, based upon the principles of religious toleration — the same principles in defense of which Swedish blood was poured out like water upon the plains of Germany — had been removed from this world. It has been said that the principle of religious toleration which was agreed to at the peace of Westphalia, in 1648, and afterward became part of the public law of Europe, is the cornerstone of our modern civilization, and that it has been worth more to the world than all the blood that was shed to establish it. With this conflict and this victory the The Peace of Westpluilia name and fame of Gustaf Adolph is inseparably associated; and glorying in that memory, we will also remember that when during the long struggle he sometimes feared that liberty of con- science could never be established upon an enduring basis in Europe, his thoughts turned to America as the country where his cherished ideal of human society, so far in advance of the civilization of the age in which he lived, might become a glorious realit)-."' The treaty of peace of Westphalia which terminated the Thirty Years' War is one of the great historical mileposts in human progress, and not only the Protestant world, but Christendom as a whole to the men and the nation who contributed to that peace and compelled the making of that treaty; and of all the human agencies which were employed and worked out that result, Gus- taf Adolph and the 83,000 Swedes who laid clown their lives on German battlefields during eighteen years of that horrible war, are entitled to the first consideration. The peace of Westphalia consists of two treaties, one between Sweden and the Austrian Emperor, signed at Osna- briick, and one between France and the Emperor, signed at Miinster. The two together make the famous is under lasting; oblifjation AXEL OXENSTJERNA Prhfic Minister and Chancellor of Sreet/en, 161116^4. compact designated in history as " The Peace of Westphalia," but the article that has made this peace famous — made it the "cornerstone of our modern civilization" — appears only in the Swedish treaty. It is the fourth article, and it stipulates that the peace treaty of Augsburg of 1355, which established liberty of worship for the Lutherans, shall be left inviolate and confirmed, and its provisions and benefits shall also be extended to the Reformed Church (t/ie Calvinists), so that the three churches — the Catholic, Lutheran and Reformed — shall have ecjual rights, equalitas exacta nuttuaqae. This principle of religious toleration, of liberty to worship God according to the dictates of men's consciences, was insisted upon and put into the treaty Colony Founded by Oxenstjerna, idjS by the Swedish delegates, Johan Oxenstjerna (son of the Chancellor) and Johan Adler Salvius. They were the chief representatives of the Protestants, and the Emperor and all the Catholic delegates from Austria, France, Spain and Italy had to submit and consent to the incorporation in the treaty of this great principle, much as it was against their will to do so. Both on the bat- tlefield and in the councils of state Sweden wrought for the oppressed ; she sent her statesmen to plead with the mighty, and her soldiers to fight with their armies, with equal success. The world can never repay her for the great sacrifice of human lives which she laid upon the altar of humanity in the Thirty Years' War. The death of the King, November 6, 1632, prevented him from realizing his plan of American colonization, but he left it a legacy to his Secretary of State, the famous chancellor. Axel Oxenstjerna, by whom the project was carried out and the American Colony established. After the death of Gustaf Adolph, his daughter Christina — then only six years old — was proclaimed Queen, and a regency, with Oxenstjerna at the head, was appointed, which carried on the government during the Queen's minority. It was during this period, and under the direction of the Chancellor, that the Swedish Colony on the banks of the Delaware was founded in 163S. Ten expeditions in fifteen ships were sent by Sweden to America from 1637 to 1654, during the time that Oxenstjerna, as Prime Minister and Chan- cellor, ruled Sweden. His instructions to Governor Printz — who was sent out in 1643 — says an American author, Edward Armstrong, "are minute and exhibit great knowledge upon the river, combined with great shrewdness and practical good sense. T/icy form the most important State paper yet discov- ered relatiiio- to tlie settlement upon our shores, as connected with this period of our annalsT William Penn has been much praised for his treatment of the Indians, but few people know that Penn's Indian policy was originated by Axel Oxenstjerna, and that Penn merely adapted it from the Swedes, who had prac- ticed it for more than forty years before Penn came into the country. When Minuit landed on Christina Creek with the first expedition he immediately sought the Indian chiefs who were in possession of the shores of the river, and bought and paid liberally for the land he wanted, on which to settle the colony. His orders from the Swedish Government were "to buy the land from the Indians and perfect the title by immediate settlement on it, and live in Swedish Indian Policy Adopted hy Pemi peace, amity and good fellowship with them." This policy was emphasized by the instructions to Governor Print/., dictated by Oxenstjerna, the ninth article of which reads as follows: "The wild nations bordering on all sides, the Governor shall understand lioiv to treat luith all Immanity and respect, that no violence or wrong be done to them by Her Royal Majesty or her subjects; but he shall rather, at every opportunity, exert himself, that the same wild people may graduallv be instructed in the truths and 7vorship of the Christian religion, and in other ways be brought to civilization and a good govern- ment," etc. Think of this — the government of Sweden instructs and commands its ofificers and agents to treat the Indians zvith hunianitv and respect, to buy what they want from them, and not to steal it; to try to convert them to Christianity and a good life. William Penn was shrewd enough to see that this sort of honesty was the best policy, hence he adopted it, with profit to himself and all concerned. DR. JESPKR SVEDBERG Bishop of Ska in, Swt-ileii, i-^oj-f^jj. Siiperint,iiilcnt of I lie S-u'Ci/is/i Miisioii in Aiiuiica, i6i)6-J~jj. The progress of the colony, not- withstanding the change of masters, from Swedish to Dutch and from Dutch to English, was continuous and solid. The Swedes took root in the new soil and were the first to plant Christian civilization in Pennsylvania and Delaware. They flourished and increased, raising big families, intermar- ried largely with the English that came under William Penn, and are the ancestors of a great part of the present inhabitants of Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Delaware and other states. Long after all political connection between the mother country and the colony had ceased the Swedish Government sent ministers of the gospel and thousands of books to the colony. "There is not upon record" — says an Swedish Mission in America American author, William M. Reynolds — "a more remarkable instance of dis- interested care fur its expatriated citizens than that of the Swedish Govern- ment for these members of its race, no longer bound to it by any political ties, and separated from it by the wide expanse of the Atlantic. From 1696 to 17S6 the Swedish Government sent to the churches on the Delaware no less than thirty-two cler- gymen, giving them outfits and paying the expenses of their voyage from Sweden to America, as also of their return voyage, when, after many years of faithful labor, they returned to their native land, where they were again re- ceived with open arms, and often in- vested with pastor- ates of the most de- sirable character. How much money the Swedish Govern- ment thus expended it is now impossible to determine, but the amount cannot have been less than $ 1 00,000, and m ay have reached double that amount. The whole of it was given without thought of material return or profit from the investment. It must also be borne in mind that money was scarce during that period, and that Sweden was then in straightened circumstances, and frequently suffered from financial embarrassment. The MAGISTER ERIC TOBIAS BJORK I'lislor of Christina Congrfi;atioii, Delaware, ibgy-iyt^. Built Trinity Church, IVilmiiti^ton, and deditatctl it Trinity Sunday, ibgc). Johyi Morton country, exhausted by the expenditure of blood and treasure in the Thirty Years' War, was brought to the verge of bankruptcy bv the disastrous con- clusion of the reign of Charles XII. We cannot, therefore, but admire the liberality of Sweden toward the descendants of the colonists whom, in the days of her power and prosperity, she sent forth to America, but whose spiritual necessities she was anxious to provide for even in times of her own deepest depression." ^ i^'^" /' '■'^^^'^'cr , JT J^y Coming down from the early colonial to revolutionary times in 1776, we find one of the sons of the Swedish colonists sitting as judge in Upland County, Penn- sylvania, yohn Morton, signer of the Declaration of Independence, was the great-great-grandson of Marten Martens- son, who arrived in the colony from Sweden with Governor Printz, in 1643. Morton was born in 1725, was well edu- cated, became a member of the assembly of Pennsylvania and its speaker in 1772- 1775. Soon after his entry into political life he attended the Stamp Act Congress in New York, in 1765. He was high sheriff of the county in 1 766-70, and in his later years president judge of com- mon pleas, and a judge of the Supreme Court, as well as a member of the Continental Congress from its beginning, in 1774. On the question of sepa- ration from Great Britain the Pennsvlvania delegation was divided. Franklin and Wilson voted aye; Willing and Humphrey no; Morris and Dickinson were absent. Taking his seat in the delegation late in July, Judge Morton showed his patriotism and courage by casting his vote for the Declaration, thus committing his state to the revolution and offending a number of his friends who were royalists. This enstrangement weighed upon his mind in his last hour, and he sent a message to his old friends to this effect: "Tell them they will live to see the day when they will acknowledge that my signing the Declaration of Independence was the most glorious service I / Scilioii of tlic signatures of the Declaration of Iniiepeniieiue. Stvedeti First to Make Treaty with United States, Ij8j ever rendered my countr)^" He died in 1777, leaving a family of three sons and five daughters, and an honored name, of which we are all proud. ^ * * ^ ¥ i^ * Sweden is tlie only power in Europe that voluntarily offered its friend- ship to the United States when they were struggling for independence, and long before it was recognized by Great Britain. The author of "Diplomac}' — ^- of the United States," Bos- ton, 1826, says: "The con- duct of Sweden was marked with great frankness of a very friendly character. The United States could not ex- pect much from that country or suppose that her example could have a great deal of influence on other nations. But it was highly gratifying that a state renowned as Sweden always has been for the bravery and love of in- dependence of her people, should manifest so great sympathy in the arduous struggles for liberty of a distant country." The pro- posal for a treaty was en- tirely unsought for on the part of the United States. The only account we have of the transaction is in one of the letters of Dr. Frank- lin. The Swedish Minister at Paris, Count Gustaf Philip de Creutz, called on Dr. Franklin toward the end of June, 1782, by direction of his Sovereign, Gustaf III., to inquire if he were furnished with the necessary powers to conclude a treaty with Sweden. In the course of the conversation he remarked that "it was a pleasure to him to think, and he hoped it would be rciuembercd, that Sweden was the first power in Europe which had voluntarily offered its friendship to the United States without being soHcited." Dr. Franklin communicated the inquiry of the Swedish Envoy to Congress, and GUSTAF III. I-Ciug of Stueden^ jyyi-/yg2. U United States Consul in (iothcnburg instructions were at once sent him to agree to a treaty, which was concluded at Paris on April 3, 17S3, by Henjamin Franklin for the United States and Count Gustaf Philip de Creutz for Sweden. The treaty was ratified by Congress on July 29th, and a proclamation that the treaty was in force, and directing all the citizens and inhabitants, and more especially all officers and others in tire service of the United States, to observe it, was issued by Congress on the 25th of September, 1783. Well, some one may remark, what did this amount to? A treaty with Sweden in those days did not benefit the United States very much. Let us see. The 26th article of the treaty stipulates that "The two contracting parties grant mutually the liberty of having each in the ports of each other consuls, vice consuls, agents and commissaries," etc., and thereby hangs a tale, a very pretty tale, which I will relate. In pursuance of this treaty and the particular article 26, cited above, the United States had appointed as its consul in Gothenburg, Sweden, Mr. Rich- ard S. Smith, of Philadelphia. The time when he was stationed at Gothen- burg was in the early part of the last century, during the time of the great Napoleonic wars of Europe. By the decrees of Berlin and Milano, and the British order in council, all ports in Europe were closed to neutral vessels save those of the Baltic. The United States, not beins; in the contest, had a great commerce with those Northern ports, and when there a]:)peared one morn- ing in the roadstead of Gothenburg an American vessel without a cargo, but with orders to call at Gothenburg and then to hurry on farther to some Rus- sian port in the Baltic, Mr. Smith detected in the mysterious appearance of this ship enough to satisfy him that war had broken out between the United States and Great Britain. Mr. Smith himself tells the story as follows: " In the month of July, iSi 2, it was the law in Sweden that every vessel arriving from Amer- ica should come to anchor in the quarantine harbor, fourteen miles from the city, and, being boarded by the master of quarantine, the necessary manifest of cargo, clearance, etc.. were ex- hibited, and a memorandum thereof made and immediately^ dispatched by a boat to the proper health officer of the city. Being anxious to be promptly advised of every arrival, I made arrangements with the man who navigated the boat between the station and the city that he should e.xhibit all the papers to me of all American ships before he took them to the Health Office. (There was no breach of trust in this.) It so happened that on the morning of the 23d of July, 1S12, between live and six o'clock, the quarantine boy brought me the papers of the pilot boat schooner Champlain, cleared by Minturn and Champlin, in ballast from New York to Eastport, Maine. It was at once clear to my mind that this vessel was dispatched with most important intelligence affecting the interests of this principal New York firm, that I did not hes- itate a moment, but procured a boat and in less than an hour, with my consular commission in my pocket, I was on my way to the quarantine ground. Arriving there, I called on an old offi- cer in charge and was allowed to go out to the vessel. I was not allowed to go on board, and ConttHKet/ an page JS OSCAR II. A'liig of Sweden and A^orway. gStk i u'.er of the Kingdom of Sweden. PRESIDENT ROOSEVELT. 2jtli Pn- si dent of the Unitrd States. Saves American Ships from Capture by the English in iS 12 the old officer, therefore, passed in_v commission up to the captain of the schooner, who, having read it, said he recognized me as consul, but was a good deal annoyed at- being detained even a day, before he could visit the city and forward important letters to various cor- respondents of his owners. I told him I would facilitate his intentions by all the means in my power, and added, that as there could be no doubt the information to be thus conveyed was of a character highly important to all Americans in charge of vessels and property in neighboring ports, I thought he should communicate freely with me, whose duty it was to protect the inter- ests of his countrymen within my reach. He said that, being intrusted with a commission affecting the private interests of the house who had dispatched the vessel, he was not at liberty to sav more. Apprehending that he might not be willing to say more or speak out in the presence of another, I asked the old Swede if he would land me on the rocks in sight of the schooner and allow me the use of his skifT, that I might have a confidential talk with the captain. Consenting to this, 1 rowed out alone in the boat and told the captain of the schooner that I feared war had been declared against England, and if so, I ought to be informed, as there were millions of dollars at stake, which I could protect and secure if I were clearly advised of the fact. He repeated his former assertion that he had a commission to perform for his owners, and he would not go beyond that. I directed his attention to a fleet of several hundred vessels lying in Winga Roads, distant a mile from the quarantine grounds. I told him I knew over forty Amer- ican vessels in that fleet waiting English convoy, and of course under the guns of British cruis- ers. I told him the English had great facilities in receiving and forwarding all important information affecting their interests, and that, doubtless, the English admiral would have the information within a day or two. and it would be a lasting sorrow to him to know that one word in confidence to me might have saved millions to his countrymen, which otherwise, by his silence, would be captured by an enemy. At this he was much agitated, and said that he could not, in that view of the case, remain silent. He said war was declared by an act of Congress on the 17th day of June, and that on the ne.xt day Commodore Rogers had sailed to look for British cruisers off Halifa.x, and no doubt hostilities had commenced. " Having obtained this important information, with a strong fair wind, I hurried back to the city and hastily assembled the Americans in my office. I astonished and startled them by the news I had obtained. Some of them were captains of vessels lying down in the roads under convoy, and were crazy to get to their ships. "The wind, which had been so fair to bring me up to the city, was now almost a gale against a passage down. It was suggested that we should all set to work writing a circular which I prepared, and that a horse and carriage should be procured, with which two or three of the number should proceed to Marstrand, a seaport a few miles to windward, from which, by boat, the fleet could easily be reached and the circulars delivered to the American vessels, warning them unless they weighed their anchors and ran up the river above the Swedish batteries, they were liable at any moment to British capture. All parties were cautioned to keep strict silence in the city until these vessels were secured. Happily, the expedition to Marstrand and thence to the fleet w^as a success, and before the next morning the vessels, over forty in number, were safe under the protection of Swedish batteries, to the great surprise of the British officers, who wondered what had got into the Yankees that they had all gone up the river." In this way, and by his sagacity and energetic promptness, Mr. Smith saved from capttn-e, by the British warships which were lying outside, the iS John Ericson wliole of that American ticet. It was a great service to his country, but it was only made possible by and on account of the treaty then in force, which had been made by the Government of Sweden twenty-nine years before, at the invitation of the then reigning King Gnslaf III. * *■ * * On the occasion of the celebration of the 250th an- niversary of the first land- ing of the Swedes on the Delaware, held in Minne- apolis, Minn., Sept. 14, 1 888, the chief orator of the festi- \al, Mr. W. W. Thomas, United States Minister to Sweden, said: "When our forefathers rose in arms to throw off the yoke of Great Britain, in that long struggle of the revolution, that time that tried men's souls, let not America forget that next after our ally, France, it was the gallant King- dom of Sweden, that, first among the nations of the world, recog- nized our new-born republic, made with us a treaty of friendship, and welcomed us into the great sister- hood of nations. "We, of this generation, can never forget the incidents of the great American Rebellion, that Titanic contest that for four years raged over the continent. We can never forget our bright days of victory, nor our dark and gloomy days of defeat and disaster, when everything that was dear and sacred to us as a nation seemed trembling in the balance. Shall we ever forget one memorable morning wiien the rebel ram, Merrimac. steamed out of Norfolk harbor, and, with her prow of iron, came down upon our wooden walls of defence, lying at anchor at Hampton Roads ? How cruelly that monster iron-clad gored one after another of our brave ships to the death, while the shot from our cannon rattled off her coat of mail harmless as hailstones. How bravely went down the good ship Cumberland, with the stars and stripes still floating at her masthead, and with three hundred inunortals on board, who fired the last JOHN ERICSON 19 The' Monitor broadside as the waters of the ocean poured into the muzzles of their guns. Then all was terror and consternation. Telegrams were sent from headquarters to New York, Boston and Portland, to all maritime cities: 'The Merrimac has escaped. She has broken the blockade. She has sunk the bravest ships of our navy. We have nothing that can cope with her. Take care of yourselves; we cannot protect you.' " I recollect well how the news was received in Portland. How our citizens consulted to- o-ether. How it was proposed to construct rafts of long lumber, and chain them across the har- bor, to save, if possible, our beautiful city by the sea from the shot and shell of this rebel mon- ster. For a few short hours that rebel ram was ' Mistress of the Seas.' "Then what! A little nondescript craft comes steaming in from the ocean, 'a Yankee cheesebox on a raft,' it was called in derision. But she steams straight for tlie Merrimac, the bio' turret. 'The cheesebox' begins to revolve; the big guns are run out. and the big cannon balls are hurled, one after another, with crushing effect against the mailed armour of the Con- federate cruiser. The contest was long; the fight was hard; but at its close this rebel ruler of the waves, crippled, disabled and defeated, was glad to crawl out of the fight, to roam the seas no more. "This is all familiar to you as household words; but let us not forget that the inventive o-enius who planned and built and gave us the Monitor, that apparently insignificant means of defence, which in that hour, under God, was the salvation of our navy, our blockade, and our prestige on the seas — let us not forget, I say, that he, the inventor of the Monitor, was no Amer- ican born, but the Swede, John Ericson, the son of a Swedish miner, born and bred in the backwoods of old Sweden." Battle Pctwt't'ii the Monitor and Menimae Jenny hind I^'rom the grini realities of war it is a relief to turn to the gentle arts of the sweet singers, who have made us forget for the nonce life's burden and lifted us to realms of nobler aims and higher impulses. During the last cen- tury Sweden gave to the world two of the sweetest singers that ever charmed rapt audiences with divine melody, Jenny Lind and Christine Nilsson. Jcmiv L///i/ wan born in Stockholm, October 6, 1S20. She received her early training in the school of singing attached to the Royal Theatre in Stock- holm, and made her debut in opera at that theatre in March, 183S, as Agatha in Weber's " Der Freischutz," and made an instant hit; afterward singing- Alice in " Robert le Diable," and Giulia in " La Vestale," all with brilliant success. In June, 1S41, she went to Paris and took lessons from Garcia for nine months. Meyerbeer, who happened to be in Paris at the time, heard her, was delighted, and predicted for her a brilliant future. She obtained a hearing at the opera in 1S42, but no engagement followed. Naturally hurt at this, she is said to have determined never to accept an engagement in Paris; and, whether that is true or not, it is certain that in March, 1847, she declined an engagement at the Academic Royale, nor did she ever appear in Paris again. She went to Berlin and studied German, but returned to Stock- holm in September, 1S44, to take part in the fetes at the crowning of King Oscar I. She returned to Berlin in October and obtained an engagement at the opera, through the influence of Meyerbeer, who had written for her the principal role in his " Feldlager in Schlesien," afterward remodelled as "L'Ftoile du Nord." She appeared first December 15 as Norma, made a hit in that character, and afterward sang with equal success her part in Meyerbeer's new opera. In the following year she sang at Hamburg, Cologne and Coblentz, and in Copenhagen on her return to Stockholm, enjoying everywhere a triumphant success. The next year, 1846, she was engaged in Vienna and appeared there for the first time, April iS, 1846. On May 4, 1S47, she made her first appearance in London at Her Majesty's Theatre, as Alice in " Robert." Moscheles had already met her in Berlin, and wrote thus of her performance in "The Camp of Silesia:" " Jenny Lind has fairly enchanted me. She is unique in her w ay, and her song, with two concertante flutes, is perhaps the most incredible performance, in the way of bravura singing, ever accomplished. How lucky I was to find her at home! What a glorious singer she is and so unpretentious withal." Mendelssohn wrote of her : " In my whole life I have not seen an artistic nature so noble, so genuine, so true, as that of Jenny Lind. Natural gifts, study, and depth of feeling I have never seen united in the same degree ; and, although one of these qualities may have been more prominent in other persons, the combination of all three has never existed before." "Jenny hind In London slic leaped at once to tlie pinnacle of fame. "The town, sacred and profane, went wild about the Swedish Nightingale," says Chorley. Her voice, with a compass from D to D, with another note or two occasionally available above the high D, was a soprano of a bright, thrilling and remark- ably sympathetic quality. She was an unrivaled coloratura singer.and showed exquisite taste in her caden- za, which she usually in- vented. Her wonderfully developed length of breath enabled her to perform long and difficult passages with ease, and to fine down her tones to the softest pianis- simo, while still maintaining the quality unvaried. One .writer said about her: "What shall I say of Jenny Lind.? I can find no words adequate to give you an idea of the impression she has made. We have heard an artist who makes a conscience of her art." Next to the great gift of her wonderful voice, that was undoubtedly the grand thing about Jenny Lind, "she made a conscience of her art." In the smallest town she would put the same zeal, the same verve into her sing- ing that she would if she were making her debut in Her Majesty's Theatre in London. She never concerned herself about what her critics, friends or enemies, would say about her; she put her whole soul into her art, and gave the best that was in her, in her best and most powerful manner, to her audiences, whether made up of lords and princes or of people from the humbler walks of life. In 1S50-52 she visited America under the management of Mr. Barnum. She was married to Mr. Otto Goldschmidt, a German pianist from Hamburg, EN NY LIND Christiih' Ni/ssofi in Boston, on February 5, 1S52, and the marriage turned out to be a happy one. Long before her marriage she iiad left the operatic stage and betaken herself to the concert hall. "How she sang there," says Chorley, "many of the present generation will still remember — the wild, queer Northern tunes brought from her native land — her careful expression of Mozart's great airs, her mastery over such a piece of execution as the Bird Song in Haydn's 'Creation,' and lastly the grandeur of in- spiration with which the 'Sanctus' of angels in Men- delssohn's 'Elijah' was led by her. These are the tri- umphs which will stamp her name forever as one of the brightest in the golden book of singers." Her private life was as admirable as her pub- lic repute; her generosity was unbounded; her mod- esty and nobility of soul have been the theme of enthusias- tic eulogy. She died at her villa, Wynds Point, Malvern Wells, England, November 2, 1887. A marble medal- lion of her head was put up in the poet's corner in West- minster Abbey, and unveiled on April 20, 1S94. * * * * Christine Nilsson was born August 20, 1S43, '•'' the parish of Wederslof, near Wexib, Sweden, where her father was a small farmer on the estate of Count Hamilton. Her first teachers were the Baroness Lenheusen and Frans Ber- wald in Stockholm. She was afterward taken to Paris by the Baroness and studied singing under M. Wartel. She made her debut at the Theatre Lyr- ique, October 27, 1864, as Violetta in "La Traviata." She made an instant success and remained at the Lyrique nearly three years, after which she came CHRISTINE NILSSON Comtt'ssc Miranda . Christine Ni/sson to London and made her first appearance at Her Majesty's Theatre, as Vio- letta, on June 8, 1S67, making a great hit, subsequently singing Lady Henri- etta and Elvira, but making her greatest success as Marguerite in "Faust." The same season she sang at the Crystal Palace, and at the Birmingham fes- tival in oratorio, for which she was instructed by Mr. Turle, the organist of Westminster Abbey. On October 23, she took farewell of the Theatre Lyr- ique by creating the principal part in "Les Bluets" of Jules Cohen. She was then engaged by the Academic de Musique for the part of Ophelia in Ambroise Thomas' "Hamlet," in which she appeared on its first production, March 9, 1S6S, with very great success. In 1 868 Christine Nilsson reappeared in Italian opera at Drury Lane Theatre, London, with the same eclat as before, and added to her reportoire the roles of Lucia and Cherubino. In the autumn she sang in Baden-Baden, appearing for the first time as Mignon, and in the winter returned to the Academie in Paris. In 1869 she sang Ophelia in the production of "Hamlet" in Covent Garden, and at Exeter Hall in "The Messiah," "Creation," "Hymn of Praise," etc., and returned to Paris for the winter. From the autumn of 1870 to the spring of 1872, Christine Nilsson toured in the United States, singing in opera and concert under the management of M. Strakosch. She returned to Drury Lane in London, in the summer of 1872, and on July 27 was married to M. Auguste Rozaud in Westminster Abbey. From 1S72 to 1877 Madame Nilsson sang every season in Italian opera at Drury Lane and Her Majesty's, creating Edith in Balfe's"Talismano," and Elsa in the production of " Lohengrin" at Drury Lane in 1875. During the winter and spring of these years she sang at the opera of St. Petersburg, Moscow and Vienna. In 1873-74 she paid a second visit to America, being everywhere received with unbounded enthusiasm. She made her third visit to America in 1884. Her first husband having died in 1882, she married Count Casa di Miranda, a Spanish nobleman, in 1887. Since her retirement from professional singing she has made Paris her home, and from there makes annual visits to her native land of Sweden where she has bought farms and presented to the members of her numerous family, making them all happy and prosperous. The introduction of the above sketches of the two great singers may not be exactly germane to the subject of this brochure, but so many of our younger generation have heard the names of these famous singers without knowing the particulars of their history (I have heard young people contend that Jenny Lind was born in England and was an English woman), that I think it will be a pleasure to a great many to learn who Jenny Lind and Christine Nilsson were, what they did, and where they came from. Swedish Imniigrdnts Prosper in United States The- great adaptability of the Swedes to the circumstances and customs of a new country is acknowledged on all sides. Whenever and wherever they have transplanted themselves, whether in England in the eighth and ninth centuries, in Normandy in the tenth, in Cicily in the eleventh, or in America in the seventeenth and nineteenth, the same pro- gress of transformation has taken place. No other people in all history have such a record. In the United States they have eagerly learned English. Their passion for the pos- session of land and for the independence that goes with it has character- ized them from the earliest times, and it is that which has made them so \'alu- able as citizens of the great Northwest, in which they have settled so largely. Of course they are not all land owners. Thou- sands of them have made a record as able and skilled mechanics in our manu- facturing establishments, and in e\"ery city and town in the Northwest we find them engaged in com- mercial enterprises and the professions with marked success, but the great majority are farmers. It is an old saying that the apple falls not far from the tree. For more HANS ANDERSON The- sole- snri-h'or of the fii^'hting creio of the Monitor, in its mcmor- Kihlc Ihitile 'iK'ith the Menimac. Born in Sivedcn^ ^■S^J-, C'inie to America in iS^y, sailed I }i Ameriean merchant ships until iS^4. ivhen he joined the navy. Served on board the frigates Falmouth and Congress until he joined the volunteer cri70 of the A/onitor just i>efore Christmas, iS6r. lie was one of the gunners in the revolving toisjer {the cheesehox) of the Moni- tor^ that loaded and fired the i^uns that disabled the iMerrimae. He is yet living, a hale and hearty old 7-eteran pensioner of the United States, in his home in Brooklyn^ X. )*. 25 Statistics of Siveiiish luunigration tlian forty generations tlie Swedes have behind them the Hves of their ances- tors saturated with hard work, thrift and economy, and an independence that never became the slave of priest, landlord or king. Is it any wonder then when such a race is transplanted into a richer soil and a more genial climate that they flourish and make for the good of the state in which the)' have taken up the white man's burden ? An American author, Pfendrick C. Babcock, justly remarks: "The hundreds of thousands of immigrants from Sweden that have settled in the West and brought pros- perity to that country, are no longer pilgrims and strangers. They are not simply in the better country, they are of it, and of its people. It is to the immigrants of this class and especially those from Sweden, Norway and Denmark, that the Northwest is largely in- debted for its marvelous development." A glance at the statis- tics of Swedish immigra- tion into the United States during the nine- teenth century sliows that, from 185 i to 186S, both inclusive, 56,107 persons arrived from Sweden; from 1869 to 1880, inclusive, 153,589 arrived; from 1S81 to 1890, inclusive 391,733 arrived; from 1891 to 1899, inclusive, 212,028 arrived; making a total for the forty-nine years covered by these statistics of 813,457; adding to these 10,000 who arrived between 1820 MR. A. (}Rir S'lOeSish- Norwegian Mniisler in IVailiiiigtoii. To the United States During the igth Century and 1.S50, we liave a grand total of S23,457 Swedish immigrants settled in tlie United States during the last century. Political economists have calculated that each of these immigrants is worth $875 to the country and that they bring witli them on an average $50 each, which increases their \'alue to $950. This is admitted to be a low estimate, but even thus, it shows an addition to the wealth of the United States of $782,284,150, and a correspond- ^^ ing loss to Sweden. This is the pecuniary sacri- ,< fice that the Swedish nation has made to the United States dur- ing the last century. Sweden in return has gained something by money remittances from her former sons and daughters to their relatives in Sweden, but this does not amount to one- twentieth part of the value she has lost. As individuals the Swedes who have settled in the United States have prospered and gained immensely by the change; as a nation Sweden has made a sacri- fice that can never be repaid. The burden of propagating the Christian religion and civiliz- ing the globe is laid upon the white race. The Suedes are an integral part of that race, and history proves that in comparison to their number they have perforjned a large share of the work of propagating and defending the gospel light of Christianity. In their new home on this continent they prove themselves worthy heirs of noble sires by keeping their churches, schools and benevolent institutions, evidences of their religious life and activities, well to the front. MR. \V. W. THOMAS Support Christianity and Good Government As a testimony to their moral worth, and as propagators of Cliristianity, let it be recorded to their credit tliat they have built and support over 1,400 churches in the United States; that they maintain over i.ooo ministers of the gospel: own and maintain several hospitals, a number of orphanages, colleges and seats of learninor. In all relations of life, political, social and relig- ious, they associate them- selves with the best ele- ments of native Ameri- cans. Are law abiding, peaceful and productive. Towns, counties and states in which they are a considerable part of the population are uniformly prosperous. Industrial establishments, schools and churches are very much more in evidence in such communities than police magistrates and jails. In the observance and obligations of Ameri- can citizenship they aim at the best type and strive to attain the highest standard that education, faith and loyalty can pro- duce. Their particular and great value to the VICE CONSUL JOHN R. LINDGREN Official Representative of the Swedisli Gmwrnmeitt in Chieiigo, and Treasurer of the Swedish Famine Fund. nation is aptly expressed in Swift's famous epigram: "Whoever makes two ears of corn, or two blades of grass to grow upon a spot of ground where only one grew before deserves better of mankind and does more essential service to his country than the whole race of politicians put together." This is what the Swedish- American farmer has done. All honor to his progressive spirit. The truly great are those who make least noise. And walk with humble looks upon the earth ; They nor affect a swelling part nor speak Big words that make their hearers stand aside In silent awe and clear an ample space, Like Lilliputians before some Gulliver. Greatness consists not in such empty gauds As dazzle and attract the public eye; It rests not on the breath of multitudes. For rightly hath the poet said — "The world knows nothing of its greatest men." There went A great man once about the daily paths Of life, and few there were that recognized The greatness that in goojitess dwelt ; and still Small is the numljer unto whom this truth Is made apparent. Kgune. Whatever man possesses God hath lent. And to his audit liable is, ever. To reckon how, and when and where he spent ; As faithful steward and a true receiver. Little thy debt when little is thy store — When much thou hast, thv debt is so much more. And when thy brother needs thy open hand. Don't shut it — nay, be glad and always willing To meet his wants, and let him understand 'Tis duty's pleasure brings to him your shilling. The contradiction's true when at your grave, The on/y tfihig you have is 7ohat vott gave. Fletcher. Be kind to each other ! The night's coming on. When friend and when brother Perchance may be gone. Then, midst our dejection, How sweet to have earned The blest recollection Of kindness returned. A.non. Mercy is the highest reach of wit, A safety unto them that practice it. Born out of God, and unto human eyes, Like Ciod, not seen, 'till worldly passion dies.