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the love of independence, and an unconquerable averfion which the had conceived, even in her infancy, for the yoke of marriage. "Do not force me to marry, faid fhe to the ftates, for if I fhould have a fon, it is not more probable that he should be an Auguftus than a Nero,"

An accident happened in the beginning of her reign, which gave her a remarkable opportunity of difplaying the strength and equanimity of her mind.

him by the hair all this happened in lefs than a moment of time. The man was known to be mad, and therefore nobody fuppofed he had any accomplices; they therefore contented themselves with locking him up, and the queen returned to her devotion, without the leaft emotion that could be perceived by the people, who were much more frighted than herself.

One of the great affairs that employed Chriftina, while the was upon the throne, was the peace of Weftphalia. She had fent two plenipotentiaries to the congrefs; one was Oxenstiern, whofe father, the grand chancellor, had been juftly honoured with the entire confidence of the great Guftavus, and who had governed Sweden with an authority almoft abfolute, during the minority of Chriftina, who foon began to be weary of his yoke, which was by no means eafy or light; the other was Salvius, lord privy feal, who alone had the queen's confidence, and was led into the fecret purposes of her mind. He pushed on the peace with all his power, according to the queen's defire; but Oxenstiern, on the contrary, who knew that peace would diminish the importance of his family, threw a thoufand difficulties in the way; the peace, however, fo much defired, and fo neceffary, in which fo many clafhing interefts were reconciled, and fo many claims afcertained, was at laft concluded in the month of October, 1648. The fuccefs of the Swedish arms rendered Chriftina the arbitrefs of this treaty, at least as to the affairs of Sweden, to which this peace confirmed the poffeffion of many important countries. Chriftina, at the conclufion of this

As fhe was at the chapel of the caftle at Stockholm, aflifting at divine service with the principal lords of her court, a poor wretch who was difordered in his mind, came to the place with a defign to affaffinate her. This man, who was preceptor of the college, and in the full vigour of his age, chofe for the execution of his defign, the moment in which the affembly was performing what in the Swedish church is called an act of recollection, a filent and feparate act of devotion performed by each individual kneeling, and hiding the face with the hand. Taking this opportunity, he rushed through the crowd, and mounted a balluftrade, within which the queen was upon her knees: the baron Brahi, chief juftice of Sweden, was alarmed, and cried out; and the guards croffed their partifans, to prevent his coming farther; but he ftruck them furioufly on one fide, leaped over the barrier, and being then clofe to the queen, made a blow at her with a knife that he had concealed, without a fheath, in his fleeve. The queen avoided the blow, and pushed the captain of her guards, who inftantly threw himfelf upon the affaffin, and feized

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important affair, rewarded Salvius by raising him to the rank of fenator, a dignity which till then had always been the prerogative of birth, but which Christina thought fhe had a right to confer upon merit.

No public event of importance took place during the reft of Chriftina's reign, for there were neither wars abroad, nor troubles at home: this quiet might be the effect of chance, but it might alfo be the effect of a good administration, and the great reputation of the queen; and the love her people had for her ought to lead us to this determination.

Her reign was that of learning and genius; the drew about her, wherever the was, all the diftinguished characters of her time; Grotius, Pafchal, Bochart, Def cartes, Caffendi, Saumaise, Naude, Voffius, Heinfius, Meibom, Scudery, Menage, Lucas, Holftenius, Lambecius, Bayle, madam Dacier, Filicaïa, and many others. The arts never fail to immortalize the prince who protects them, and almost all these illuftrious perfons have celebrated Chriftina either in poems, letters, or literary productions of fome other kind, the greater part of which are now forgotten. They form, however, a general cry of praife, and a mafs of teftimonials which may be confidered as a folid bafis of reputation. Among the few of thefe pieces that are ftill particularly remembered, is a Latin epigram, in which Bochart draws an ingenious parallel between Christina and the queen of Sheba.

Ma docenda fuis Salomonem invifit ab

oris

Undique ad hanc docti, quo doceantur, gunt.

Christina, however, may be justly reproached with want of taste, in not properly affigning the rank of all thefe perfons, whofe merits, though acknowledged, were yet unequal; particularly for not having been fufficiently fenfible of the fuperiority of Defcartes, whom the difgufted, and at last wholly neglected. The rapid fortune which the adventurer Michon, known under the name of Bourdelot, made by her countenance and liberality, was also a great fcandal to literature. He had no pretenfions to learning; and though fprightly, was indecent; he was brought to court by the learned Saumaife, and for a time drove literary merit intirely out of it, making learning the object of his ridicule, and exacting from Chriftina an exorbitant tribute, to the weakness and inconftancy of her fex; for even Chriftina, with refpect to this man, fhewed herself to be weak and inconftant: when at laft fhe was compelled, by the public indignation, to banish this unworthy minion, the diftinguished him by marks of the greatest confidence, and heaped prefents upon him with a moft fhameful prodigality. Yet he was no fooner gone, than her regard for him was at an end. She was afhamed of the favour she had fhewn him, and in a fhort time thought of him only with hatred and contempt; and though the did afterwards correfpond with him, it was only to render him subfervient to a tafte for literature, which he had for a time fufpended, by giving him commiflions for fuch valuable books as appeared in France, where. Bourdelot was born, and whither he retired.

This Bourdelot, during his. D 3 afcend

afcendency over the queen, had fupplanted count Magnus de la Gardie, fon of the conftable of Sweden, who was a relation, a favourite, and perhaps the lover of Chriftina. Madam de Motteville, who had feen him ambaffador in France, fays, in her memoirs, that he spoke of his queen in terms fo paffionate and respectful, that every one concluded his attachment to her to be more ardent and tender, than a mere feufe of duty can produce.

This nobleman fell into difgrace, because he fhewed an inclination to govern, while Bourdelot seemed to aim at nothing more than to amuse, and concealed, under the unfufpected character of a droll, the real afcendency which he exercised over the queen's mind.

Scudery having obtained permiffion to dedicate his Alaric to her, fhe was fo weak as to require him to ftrike out of the poem fome verfes, in which he had complimented the count de Gardie, who was then quite out of favour; and Scudery had the noble fortitude to reply, that he would never deftroy the altar upon which he had facrificed "

About this time an accident happened to Christina, which brought her into ftill greater danger, than that which has been related already. Having given orders for fome fhips of war to be built at the port of Stockholm, fhe went to fee them when fhe heard they were finished; and as fhe was going on board of them, croís a narrow plank, with admiral Fleming, his foot flipping, he fell, and drew the queen with him into the fea, which in that place was near 90 feet deep. Anthony Steinberg, the queen's firft

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equery, inftantly threw himselfinto the water, laid hold of her robe, and with fuch affiftance as was given him, got the queen on fhore: during this accident, her recollection and prefence of mind was fuch, that the moment her lips were above water, fhe cried out, "Take care of the admiral." When fhe was got out of the water, the difcovered no emotion either by her gefture or countenance, and the dined the fame day in public, where he gave a humorous account of her adventure.

But though at first she was fond of the power and fplendor of royalty, yet fhe began at length to feel that it embarraffed her; and the fame love of independence and liberty, which had determined her against marriage, at laft made her weary of her crown.

As, after the first difguft, it grew more and more irkfome to her every day, fhe refolved to abdicate, and in 1652, communicated her refolution to the fenate. The fenate zealously remonftrated against it, and was joined by the people, and even by Charles Guftavus himself, who was to fucceed her fhe yielded to their importunities, and continued to facrifice her own pleasure to the will of the public, till the year 1654, and then the carried her defign into execution.

It appears, by one of her letters to M. Canut. the French ambaffador, in whom he placed great confidence, that the had meditated this project more than eight years, and that fhe had communicated it to him five years before it took place.

The ceremony of her abdication was a mournful folemnity,

a mix

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ture of pomp and fadness, in which fcarce any eyes but her own were dry. She continued firm and compofed through the whole, and as foon as it was over, prepared to remove into a country more favour able to fcience than Sweden.

Concerning the merit of this action, the world has always been divided in opinion; it has been condemned, alike both by the ignorant and the learned, the trifler and the fage: it was admired, however, by the great Condé; "How great was the magnanimity of this princefs, fays he, who could fo eafily give up that for which the rest of mankind are continually destroying each other, and which fo many throughout their whole lives purfue, without attaining!" It appears by the works of St. Evremond, that the abdication of Chriftina was at that time the univerfal topic of fpeculation and debate in France.

Chriftina, befides abdicating her crown, abjured her religion; but this act was univerfally approved by one party, and cenfured by another; the papifts triumphed, and the proteftants were offended,

No prince, after a long imprifonment, ever fhewed fo much joy upon being reftored to his kingdom, as Chriftina did in quitting hers. When the came to a little brook, which feparates Sweden from Denmark, he got out of her carriage, and leaping to the other fide, the cried out in a tranfport of joy,

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At laft I am free, and out of Sweden, whither I hope I fhall never return." She difmiffed her women, and laid by the habit of her fex; "I would become a man, faid fhe; yet I do not love men because they are men, but because, they are not women.”

She made her abjuration at Bruffels, where fhe faw the great Condé, who after his defection, made that city his afylum. "Coufin, faid fhe, who would have thought, ten years ago, that we should have met at this distance from our countries!" But there happened another thing lefs likely than their meeting, the great coldness with which, after they had been drawn towards each other by mutual admiration, they came together at laft, when the interview which they had both fo ardently defired, took place. The prince of Condé demanded to be received with the fame honours that had been fhewed to the archduke Leopold at his interview with the queen; but this fhe refufed. The prince, therefore, determined to fee her incog. and with that view he got into her apartment among the crowd; the queen knew him the moment the faw him, by a picture which had been given her, and was about to give him a reception suitable to his rank; but the prince, fecing himfelf difcovered, inftantly withdrew; and perceiving that the queen followed to bring him back, he turned about and faid, “Madam, all or nothing:" and immediately left the room. From this time they never faw each other but by chance, with great coldnefs and a mutual difcontent with each other.

The inconftancy of Chriftina's temper appeared from her going perpetually from place to place; from Bruffels fhe went to Rome; from Rome to France, and from France the returned to Rome again; after this fhe went to Sweden, where fhe was not very well received; from Sweden she went to D 4

Ham

Hambourg, where the continued a year, and then went again to Rome; from Rome fhe returned to Hambourg, and again to Sweden, where The was received ftill worse than before, upon which fhe went back to Hambourg, and from Ham bourg again to Rome; fhe intended another journey to Sweden, but it did not take place, any more than an expedition to England, where Cromwell did not feem well difpofed to receive her; and after many wanderings, and many purpofes of wandering ftill more, fhe at laft died at Rome.

It must be acknowledged, that her journeys to Sweden had a motive of neceffity, for her appointments were very ill paid, though the flates often confirmed them after her abdication, but to other places fhe was led merely by a roving difpofition, and what is more to her difcredit, fhe always difturbed the quiet of every place The came into, by exacting greater deference to her rank as queen, than fhe had a right to expect, by the total nonconformity to the customs of the place, and by continually exciting and fomenting intrigues of ftate. She was indeed always too bufy, even when fhe was upon the throne, for there was no event in Europe in which the was not ambitious of acting a principal part. During the troubles in France by the faction called the Fronde, he wrote with great eager nefs to all the interested parties, officioufly offering her mediation to reconcile their interefts, and calm their paflions, the fecret fprings of which it was impoffible the fhould know; this was firft thought a dangerous, and afterwards a ridiculous behaviour. Du

ring her refidence in France fhe gave univerfal difguft, not only by violating all the cuftoms of the country, but by practifing others directly oppofite; fhe treated the ladies of the court with the greatest rudeness and contempt; when they came to embrace her, the being in a man's habit, cried out, "What a ftrange eagernefs have these women to kifs me, is it because I look like a man ?”

But though fhe ridiculed the manners of the French court, she was very folicitous to enter into its intrigues. Lewis the XIV th, then very young, was enamoured of mademoiselle de Mancini, niece to cardinal Mazarine; Chriftina flattered their paffion, and offered her fervice: "I would fain be your confidante, faid fhe; if you love, you must marry."

The murder of Monaldeschi is to this hour an infcrutable mystery; many particulars have been related from the Trinitarian fryer of Fontainbleau, who confeffed him in the gallery des Cerfs, and who faw him affaffinated, but they do not remove the veil. Whatever was Monaldefchi's crime, whatever were the rights of Chriftina, and however fpecious the pretences by which flattery and cunning influenced the fupine, or corrupt jurifconfults to juftify it, the fact was, without doubt, moft flagitioufly wicked.

It is, however, of a piece with the expreffions constantly used by Chriftina, in her letters, with refpect to thofe with whom the was offended, for the fearce ever fignified her difpleafure without threatening the life of the offender. "If you fail in your duty, faid fhe to her fecretary, (whom the fent

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