war, fagacious and decifive in the cabinet, a friend to humanity,
yet fevere in the puniihment of crimes. Attached by principle
to the proteftant religion, he firpported with firmnefs its declining
caufe, againft the perfecutions of John and Sigifmond, and
raifed it, ahnoft drooping, again to pre-eminence.
Zealous to promote the interefts of his people, he built towns,
encouraged commerce and agriculture, and patronized letters.
O f quick and lively feelings, he was fubjeft to violent but fhort
tranfports of pafiion, which harrafied his frame, and f in a l l y 0c-
calioned his death. He died in 1611, in the fixty-firll year of his
age, leaving the commerce, finances, and army, in the moft
flouriihing ftate, and, a moil invaluable legacy to his country, his
ion Guitavus Adolphus.
From Stnegnetz I palled through Örebro, Arboga, Lidkio-
ping, Trolhastta, and Gotheborg, of which places I have already
given a curfory account *„
I found the works at Trolhstta very little advanced fince my
former vifit to this place, in March 1779. A new plan is formed
for cutting the intended canal through the precipitous rock of
granite which forms the banks of the Gotha; a plan more practicable
and left expenfive than the former, for the loweft
depth of rock to be excavated is twenty feet • but a large dam is
to be made 120 feet high, and 20 thick. Of this projedted canal
only a fquare of about fixty feet had been executed.
The deficiency of Polheim’s original plan, in attempting to
* See Boo k V I I .. c . ix . and x.
make
make the fluices near the channel of the Gotha, was experienced chap.
laft year j for the dam which Hopped the water above Eker- ■ — _r
brad cut was overthrown by the violence of the river, and
the waters burft through the cuts of Ekerbrad and Polheim, and
would have deftroyed the iluices if they had been conftrudled.
From Trolhaetta we failed down the river Gotha, palled
through the lluice at Aker, and difembarked at the lluice of
Edit, which was fo nearly completed, that the navigation from
the Wenner to Gotheborg may now be confidered as uninterrupted.
Having examined the lluice of Edit, we crofted the Gotha,
difembarked at a fmall village, and continued along the weftern
Ihore of the Gotha, through a very wild and rocky country, in-
terfefted with vallies. of corn and pafture. We palled through
Konglhall, now a fmall village, confifting of one ftreet of wooden
cottages, at the bottom of a ridge of barren rock, formerly
faid to have been the refidence of the antient dukes or kings of
Norway.
We flopped at Bohus to examine the fort o f that name,
Handing on a rocky eminence in the Ille of Bohus, encircled
by two branches of the Gotha. This fort was formerly celebrated
in the hiftory of Norway, as a place of confiderable
ftrength, and forming the frontier fortrefs between Sweden
and Norway, during the conftant wars in which the Danes
and Swedes were engaged.
It was a wooden fortrefs before the invention of gunpowder,
R 2 but