fore have it in my power to state the population of all the Swedish
towns, and of the whole kingdom, with considerable accuracy.
Gottenburg lies upon the banks of the Gotha, which I conceive to
be the largest river in Sweden. It comes from the lake Wennern, at
the distance of about 50 English miles north. About ten miles from
Gottenburg it divides into three branches, two of which speedily unite,
inclosing a rock upon which stands an old fort called Bohus, intended
to defend the city from the incursions of the Norwegians. The two
branches of the Gotha inclose a pretty large island called Hisingen, and
fall separately into the sea. Gottenburg lies upon the most easterly of
these branches.
This city cannot boast of any great antiquity. Gustavus Vasa built
a town called Lodese, and endowed it with such privileges as soon
rendered it the great emporium o f the north. Charles IX., when duke
of Gothland, in 16o-4, laid the foundation o f a new town in the island
o f Hisingen, at no great distance from Lodese, and called it Gottenburg
out of compliment to his dutchy. When he mounted the throne
he granted this place many privileges, established in it a trading company,
and placed there a number of British troops. He granted to the
Calvinists the free exercise of their religion, and rendered his new
town, next to Stockholm, the most flourishing in the kingdom. Being
burnt by the Danes in 1611, it was rebuilt by Gustavus Adolphus, on
its present site; and its privileges being confirmed and enlarged, it soon
recovered its former thriving state.
Gottenburg is regularly fortified with a ditch and w a ll; but is not in
a state to make any resistance. When the Danes suddenly attacked
the Swedes in 17-88, under the pretence of assisting their allies the
Russians, with whom Gustavus III. was at war, they marched suddenly
towards this city. Gustavus III. was at that time in a state of
great distress. He had gone to Dalecarlia to solicit the assistance of
the warlike peasants of that country, and having mounted the stone
from which Gustavus Vasa had addressed them, harangued them with
such effect that they agreed to march in a body against the Russians.
Hearing of the march of the Danes, he hastened with the utmost rapidity
to Gottenburg, and animated the inhabitants to defend their city. The
Danes had taken possession of the fort of Bohus and summoned the
Gottenburgers to surrender. They were not a little surprised when
they understood that the king was present in person, and that he
meant to defend the place to the last extremity. lortunately Mr.
Elliot, the British ambassador at the court of Denmark, prevailed on
him to accept of the mediation of Britain, Prussia, and Holland, and
succeeded in stopping the career o f the Danes.
The principal merchants in Gottenburg are Scotchmen. In consequence
of letters of introduction which we carried to several o f them,
we experienced from that liberal and respectable body a profusion of
kindness and politeness which it was impossible to surpass, and which
it would be very difficult to equal. The want of inns, and our ignorance
of the Swedish language, would have made it very difficult for us to
have procured dinner while we stayed at Gottenburg, but this difficulty
was obviated by the merchants, with one or other o f whom we dined
every day during our stay in that city. The entertainments which
they gave were in the Swedish style, and possessed a degree o f splendour
at which I was not a little surprised. As the mode of dining in
Sweden is very different from the mode followed in Great Britain, I
shall give a general description of a dinner, that my readers may form
some notion to themselves of the customs of that country.
The houses in Sweden are fitted up with great magnificence. The
public rooms are usually on the first floor, and vary from three to seven
or more according to the size of the house and the wealth of its master.
These rooms always open into each other, and constitute a very elegant
suite of apartments. The furniture though very handsome is not
similar to ours. You seldom see mahogany chairs; they are usually of
birch or of some other wood painted. As the table cloth is never removed
they have no occasion for our fine mahogany tables, and as the
dishes are brought in one by one, and the dessert and wine put upon the
table before the company sit down, they have but little occasion for a
side-board. Accordingly, except in the house of Mr. Lorent, who had