I viewed with considerable interest, and not a little emotion, the
tomb o f the three Stures, who fell a sacrifice to the madness and
tyranny of Eric XIV. It was erected by the widow of Count Svante,
and contains (besides some verses) an inscription in Latin prose to the
following effect: “ This is the burial place o f the last remaining branch
o f the Stures, whose ancient and royal lineage was illustrated by Steno,
Svante, and Steno, three successive regents of Sweden, deservedly
styled, for their merits and virtues, Fathers o f their country. But
Svante, son o f the last Steno, raised to the dignity o f Count at the
coronation o f Eric X IV , and his sons,. Nicholas and Eric, both eminent
in peace and war, fell victims to a violent death on the 4th of May,
1566. All that was great and noble could not soothe the iron heart of
their sovereign. Reader! i f thou art not equally unfeeling, deplore
the unmerited catastrophe of such exalted virtue.”
The first Protestant archbishop of Upsala was Laurentius Petri, of
the province o f Nerike. He, in conjunction with his brother Olaus
Petri, first preached the reformed doctrines to the Swedes, and translated
the Bible into the Swedish language. Soon after the establishment
of the Lutheran church in Sweden, which was in a great measure
owing to his labours, he was consecrated archbishop, and died in
1570, in the 73d year of his age.
In the sacristy of the cathedral several articles are kept, which are
worth seeing as curiosities.. The archbishop’s robes are there: they
are very magnificent, but so heavy, that I should conceive it would.be
not a little cumbersome for an old man to wear them, i They were presented
to the archbishop of Upsala by Gustavus III.; w h o ,is said to
have brought them from Rome. The coat worn by Eric, the son. of
Steno Sture, when he was stabbed by Eric XIV. is preserved in the
same place, and must be viewed with emotion by all who are ac-,
quainted with the virtues and the history of this unfortunate family.
It is a brown coat without lining,.exceedingly light, with metal buttons,
and some slight ornaments of lace. It appears superfine. The place
where the King stabbed Eric, and the blood which flowed from the
wound, are both very visible.
Another curiosity, but o f which one cannot make so much, is a
ragged piece of linen fixed to a staff, like a pair o f colours, and called
the shirt o f Margaret. It was carried in battle as the main standard
to animate the troops with the recollection of her warlike virtue. This
relic was deposited in Nuremberg, from which it was brought by the
Swedes and placed in Upsala, as a kind of memorial o f this heroine of
the north. I was shown also an enormous whetstone, which I was
told had been sent to Margaret by Albert, King Of Sweden, recommending
her to sharpen her own sword, and those o f her followers,
before she ventured to make an attack upon him. . This taunt was
speedily followed by the defeat of Albert and his capture by Margaret.
Lastly, I was shown a miserable representation of a human head, not
better than those brought now-a-days from the South Sea islands. This
is said to be an image of the gód Thor, who was very much the object
of worship in that part o f Swéden before the introduction of the
Christian religion. Human sacrifices were offered up to this deity at
Upsala.
Upsala is a small but very regular and neat looking town. It has a
square in its centre, and all the streets terminate in this square, and
the principal streets are either parallel to each other, or they cross each
other at right angles: - It takes its name from the small river Sala,
which runs through it. This river has diminished veiy sensibly within
the memory of man, and fears are entertained that it will speedily become
too small to drive a mill, situated within the town, and upon
which a considerable part of the revenues of the university depend.
The number of inhabitants in Upsala are about 30oo, exclusive of
students; who may amount to 500 moré. In the tables of the population
of Sweden, published in the Memoirs Of the Swedish Academy of
Sciences, the inhabitants of Upsala are reckoned 4807. But something
more than the mere town of Upsala, and the students are. included.
This city has no species o f trade or manufacture whatever, but depends
entirely upon the university, j
Soon after our arrival in Upsala, we were visited by a Mr. Tomer,
who had been for four years under-librarian to Sir Joseph Banks in