mcr were obliged to pay him a hundred louis d’ors ibr their admittance
; and as felf-love is extremely unwilling ever to nllow
that it has been impofed upon, they were inclined to give way to
the illufions, for -which they had paid fo confiderable a film; and
endeavoured not only to Work themfelves into a belief that they
had really made a valuable acquifitien o f knowledge, but exerted
themfelves alfo to perfuade others o f the fame. Hence the progreis
o f that abftrufe foience may be accounted for, which I have feen
performed, and which was no where more fuccefsful and rapid than
at Stockholm. A certain officer o f the Swedilh army contrived to
attract the notice o f the court info much, that he was -favoured
in his promotion, 'by pretending to be particularly -fufceptible o f
the effeits o f animal magnetifm, and by counterfeiting ecftacies
and fleep-walking. When he was under the hands o f the mag-
netifer, he would feign fomnolency, then awake as from prophetic
dreams, and foretel future events. He prophefied his own death,
which was to take place in the firft battle he ffiould be engaged
in. The credulous people in whofe prefence he uttered this prediction
lamented his cruel fate. The courtiers made no oppoli-
tion -either to his military advancement or his progrefs in favour
a t court, from the foothing idea that he had hut a fhort time
to live, and would not interfere with their mtereftsl T o thofe
whom he thought it worth his while to flatter, he predicted every
thing that was good. He aflured the prime minifter, Count
Sparre, that he Ihould afcend to heaven like E l i j a h , without
tailing: death. And fo ready, it is faid, was this good man to believe
lieve him, that he immediately fettled his worldly concerns, and
never went out any where in his carriage without firft faying his
prayers, and making other preparations, that he might be ready-
on a minute’s warning to proceed on his celeftial journey. I will
not vouch for the truth o f this r e p o r t b u t it is certain, that the
extreme credulity o f the court in this as well as other things, encouraged
impoftors to praitife all poffible tricks and artifices. A
young officer, who had not any friends o f rank or confequence on.
whom he might depend for promotion, had recourfe to the following
ftratagem for interefting the regent in his- favour, and
raifing his own fortune. He went in the dead o f the night to
the royal palace o f Drottningholm, and wounded himfelf rather
feverely in the arm with a piftol : immediately on the difcharge
o f the piftol he gave the cry o f murder ! and perfuaded every body
that he had been fet upon by two ruffians, who had miftaken
him for the Duke o f Sudermania, whom they had intended to
aflaffinate. T h e duke very much affeited by this incident, and
at the fame time moved with compaffion for the poor man, who
he imagined had fuffered in his ftead, made him a prefent in
money, and immediately gave him a commiffion in his own
regiment. T he fraud being afterwards detected the impoftor was.
hooted out o f the army.
The prefent king o f Sweden has adopted a mode o f conduit
and ftyle o f manners direitly oppofite to thofe o f his uncle, with
whom he has never lived in harmony. During the whole o f the
N 2 regency