NOTES OF A TOUR IN SWEDEN, during the Summer of 1858. By Rev. E. Steane, D.D., and Rev. J. H. Hinton, M.A. London Nisbet, & Co.

THE esteemed secretaries of the Baptist Union did not visit Sweden last summer as mere travellers. The Swedish Baptists announced that they were about to hold a conference in Stockholm, and sent an urgent request that Messrs. Steane and Hinton should attend as representatives of the Baptist Churches in England. The notice was short, but as both felt it to be a call of duty, preliminaries were hastily arranged, and by the 3rd of June, they were on their way to the capital of Sweden.

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The narrative of the journey commences at Copenhagen. They left this port in the trading steamer, Wikingen," Captain Lind, sighted the isle of Hven, the birth place of Tycho Brahe, and soon after a low shore-line, partly fringed with | trees, and seeming to lie asleep on the bosom of the water, broke upon their view. This was their first glimpse of Sweden. "It scarcely opened more upon us as we approached it to touch at the town of Landscrona, for it had no elevated points, and it might be said much to resemble the coast of Norfolk, except that it wanted the girdle of the shingle-beach, and that it never acquired even the small attitude created by low water, there being in the Baltic no tides." They passed along the Sound, saw Elsinore, and the castle of Cronstadt; and having rounded the point, entered the Cattegat. They called at Helsingborg, anchored for the night in the quiet water at Halmstadt, and at five the next morning, started for the Dutch-like town of Gottenburg. They reached this town a day too late for the Stockholm boat. Four hundred miles lay between them and their destination, and how were they to reach it in time for the Conference? Their plan was to proceed, how they did not know, from Gottenburg to an inland town called Orebroo, from whence a regular conveyance would take them to Stockholm. The captain of the steamer, with sailor-like good-nature, helped them out of their difficulty. "A friend of mine," said he, "starts to night for Amkesund, a town on the Wetter lake, and you can land at Sheutorp in time for you, by posting seventy miles, to reach Orebroo on Thursday night, and Stockholm on Friday." With the mate of

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the "Wermland," as good-natured a sailor as Captain Lind, the bargain was accordingly struck, their luggage put on board, and at eleven the same night they got into their berths. Having arrived at Sheutorp, the mate sent off a lad to the post-house to order horses; the steamer left them on shore by the side of their luggage. "Of course, in so novel a situation," write the authors, we wait anxiously. In our solitary watch nothing escapes us. We see an artisan going early to work. We also see a man come over the bridge in the direction of the post-house, and in him we have a more direct interest, as is shortly manifest, for in about half an hour he returns, leading a couple of horses, which it seems he has been to procure for us from one of the farmers who contract to supply the Government with horses whenever they may be wanted. By and bye we hear the sound of wheels; first a gig with one horse, in which the Swedish captain, having taken a courteous leave of us, departed; and then, with two horses, a country waggon which we were requested to occupy. We mounted accordingly, and drove about a quarter of a mile to a farm-house, which was the posting station, and where the post-master, on the presentation of our first billet, required us to enter in the day-book, our names and other particulars, for the information of the Government. No other house did we see for several miles; we were, in truth, in the midst of a native pine forest, very scantily infringed on here and there by cultivation. Our driver, a boy mounted in front of us, drove along at a good pace, while we amused ourselves at one time with the examination of our equipage, which was indeed of the simplest, not to say the rudest construction-at another time with reducing to its least possible momentum the jolting of our persons, for our vehicle had no springs

at another by surveying the diverse features of a Swedish pine forest, then so new to us-now admiring the arums in full bloom in large numbers in the marshes-and then listening and looking for birds, and other living things, of which we both heard and saw a very small number. As to birds, for many miles we saw only two white crows and one magpie. On arriving at the next station, we presented our second billet; the post-master reads it, looks at us, and says, 'Ja.' Presently the horses come, and

we are again flying away, without either party having said another word. Towards the close of our long days' ride, for we did not reach our destination till seven o'clock in the evening, the country became much more open, cultivated, and populous; but it was always flat, or marked by very slight undulations. We were, for the most part, accompanied by a line of telegraphic wire, which, however, was not, as in England, conducted along the road, but was carried in a straight line, on lofty poles, through the forest, and across cultivated fields. We posted this seventy miles for five and twenty shillings. Arrived at Orebroo on the Thursday evening, our great object was secured; for by train and steamer, we should be at Stockholm on the morrow. At seven in the morning, we started by railway for Arboga, a town at the head of the Maelar Lake, and about sixty miles from Stockholm. This ride of five and forty miles took us through a fine country, both wooded and cultivated. At ten o'clock we were on board the steamer for Stockholm, and landed on the Riddar Holm Quay about five o'clock."

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It fortunately happened that in the very hotel in which Dr. Steane and Mr. Hinton had taken up their quarters, a meeting of the Swedish branch of the Evangelical Alliance was at that moment being held. They were at once invited to attend. "Nothing," say the writers of the volume before us, "could surpass the cordiality and respectful manner of our reception." The next morning they attended the Association of the Baptist churches in Sweden. The place where the meeting was held was situated in one of the narrow streets which constitute the heart of the city. The apartment, which was the usual place of worship, consisted of the first floor of a house, and had formerly been used as a public gymnasium. It was plain, neatly and conveniently fitted up with seats, but too low in the ceiling. The assembly rose when the deputation entered; the letter from the Committee of the Baptist Union was presented and read; and a warm vote of welcome passed unanimously. "Business then proceeded, and in a manner that much gratified us. We found there was a printed paper of Agenda, in which the business to be transacted was thrown into the form of questions for discussion, and that perfect order was preserved by the speakers."

The existence of the Swedish Baptists is of very recent origin. Three or four years ago there was not one church in the whole country. At the close of 1857,

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there were forty-five. 1292 were admitted last year to membership, on a personal profession of faith, and on testimony borne to their christian character: and 600 were waiting in June last for baptism. But they exist at present in the midst of vexatious persecutions. The rite of baptism is regarded as a breach of law; and most baptisms take place at midnight, or early dawn. The conventicle act presses heavily upon them, as well as the Swedish law of apostacy. The first causes frequent interruptions and annoyances to the Baptists when assembled for worship, and the second proclaims banishment as its penalty. The following cases mentioned: "In the district of North Helsingland, 427 persons were in 1851-54, condemned to fines amounting to £425, for receiving the Lord's supper without the intervention of the priest." In these parishes in the same period, "210 persons were, for similar offences, and for privately meeting for religious worship, condemned by the local jurisdiction to fines amounting to £268." "Colporteurs are ill-treated, put into irons, and thrown into prisons, no difference in this respect being made between Baptists and Lutherans." One disciple had been summoned twelve times during the past year to attend before the clergy and the church session, and four times before the civil courts; and was fined £7 10s. They are prayed at by some of the Lutheran clergymen, and a form of prayer is actually sent to the churches in one diocese with blanks left in them for the insertion of the names of obnoxious Baptists and other separatists. Lutheran church claims the sole right to marry, and punishes all who may take part in the ceremony if not according to ecclesiastical law. The Baptists have acted like the Quakers did formerly in this country. At a meeting of the church members, two parties, previously betrothed, rise and declare their intention of living together as man and wife, and of fulfilling conscientiously the duties of marriage. No ceremony is observed, no official act is performed by the elder or minister, or by any other party, since this might expose them to an action at law, for having solemnized the marriage. Last June an information was lying against a Baptist colporteur because, in a prayer with which he concluded a meeting, he had implored the blessing of God on a couple who had united themselves in the manner described. Should he be held in law to have married them, he will be subject to the penalty of three years' imprisonment in a fortress, with hard labour.

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Dr. Steane and Mr. Hinton had audi

ences with several members of the govern- | ment, both in church and state; with Mr. Von Koch, the Royal Chancellor of Justice; Dr. Reuterdahl, Archbishop of Upsala, Baron Manderstroem, the Foreign Minister; Mr. Anjou, the Ecclesiastical Minister; and Count Hamilton, Governor of Stockholm; and the result is most cheering. All agreed to the right of Baptists to religious toleration, and some gave assurances of it speedily being recognized. Mr. Von Koch has already rendered material service to the Swedish Baptists by withholding his name from prosecutions against them for breaches of the conventicle act, without which, as Royal Chancellor of Justice, they cannot proceed; and Count Hamilton has greatly assisted the brethren in Stockholm, by conniving at their meetings. Better days are drawing near for our brethren in Sweden.

Stockholm, the capital of Sweden, is commonly called, though, as our authors think, "with much latitude in the use of terms," the Venice of the north. Just where the Maelar Lake passes out to the Baltic are three islands-two small, and one of considerable size. On this largest island the principal part of Stockholm stands. It has a gentle ascent, and the summit is crowned by the royal palace. The second island is built upon, though the streets are narrow: and the third is used chiefly by the royal stables. The city also extends largely on the mainland, both to the north and to the south, and the suburbs stretch over four other islands. The view of Stockholm as you approach it by water is striking. The houses are piled one over the other, with their fronts towards you, and present a beautiful picture. There is no great expanse of sea visible, for the Baltic is studded with islands; but the vast quantity of water in the midst of which the city stands, is a prominent feature. "Turn where you will, you have water-a few steps, water --and to a great many places you go by water." The water is fresh and always level. "It is never low water, but the tide, so to speak, is always high. The effect of this is, in one respect, very beautiful; for you have the scenery always in trim, and are never troubled with an expanse of mud, or annoyed with a slimy shore. It also allows all the steamers and other passage-boats to keep fixed times. There is this disadvantage, however, in the absence of tides, that the aqueous expanse acquires too much the character of stagnant water." Stockholm has few buildings that can boast of much architectural finish. The palace is a building of

which every Swede is proud. It is massive, simple, and in an admirable position. The most conspicuous church is that in the Riddar Holm, the second island in size. It has a steeple of cast-iron, and made too at one casting. The handsomest edifice seen by the English deputation was St. Catherine's church. The city is lighted up with gas, but the drainage is bad, and the supply of wholesome water very deficient.

Upsala is a small new town, situated in a vast plain, but visible from a considerable distance by reason of a ridge of elevated ground that skirts it, on which stands three imposing buildings, the castle, the university library, and the cathedral. It is the seat of the only Swedish archbishopric, and of one of the universities. There are from ten to fifteen hundred students and forty-seven professors. No academical dress is worn, the students being known by a white cap, with the Swedish national cockade in the front. This has only been adopted within the last few years. The cathedral is brick, "with all the grand dimensions and just preparations of the finer buildings of its class, but this is all that can be said about it." The university library is a spacious room, containing 50,000 books, well selected, well arranged, and admirably preserved. The gem of the collection is a fragment of the translation of the New Testament into the Gothic language, by Ulphilas, in the fourth century. The manuscript is assigned to the sixth, and is called the Codex Argenteus, because it is written in silver letters. "Our philology," says our authors, "not to say our denominationalism, so far prevailed upon us, that we turned to one of the passages in which the Greek term Barris occurs, in order to see how Ulphilas had rendered it, and we found it rendered by daupjan, to dip." The valuable things in the library are the spoils of war. Bonaparte stole pictures. Gustavus Adolphus had an equal aptitude for stealing books. The plunder of the last enrich the library at Upsala. The thefts of the first the gallery at Versailles.

Some Swedish customs attracted the notice of our brethren. Here is a singular account of "a night-watch." At night as the clock struck ten, our notice was awakened by a sound quite new to us. The church bell had no sooner told the hour, than the same thing was done by an equal number of tones of a trumpet; and this continued all through the night, but was not repeated during the day. At first we could not tell whether this was effected by machinery, or by voluntary

agency; but we found on enquiry, that it constituted part of the civil arrangements for the prevention of fire. Where houses are generally built of wood, a fire is, of course, extremely disastrous; and in order to give the earliest possible notice, of such a calamity, watchmen are stationed during the night on the church towers, charged with the duty of constant observation and prompt alarm. As soon as the clock has struck, each watchman sounds the hour with his trumpet, in order to prove to the public that he is not asleep." The Swedish address was thought more courteous than the English. "The hat was always taken off to a lady, and even between gentlemen pretty well acquainted with one another, the process of salutation is this: at a distance of about four paces both parties stand still, and take off their hats, making a bow; then they advance, and take each other by the hand; and after this, if they be very friendly, they put their arms far enough round each other to pat each other fondly on the back." The Swedish mode of "saying grace " is as follows: "The company stand round the table, and at some distance from it, the gentlemen for the most part, if not always, with their hands clasped and held on their breasts. Profound silence ensues for perhaps a minute, or it may be two, when the ladies drop a courtsey, and the gentlemen make a bow. This point of the ceremony being arrived at, it is concluded by the whole party kissing the hand of the lady of the house, and shaking hands with the host. The company then take their seats. After dinner there is sometimes an addition, one of the party striking up a verse of some well known hymn, when all joined in singing it." At Swedish dinners cheese is invariably eaten first.

The costumes of Sweden are said to be very numerous, but the Dalecarlian women alone attracted and caught the attention of Dr. Steane, and Mr. Hinton. Their dress is described as neat and picturesque. A white cap, handkerchief and sleeves, with a scarlet bodice and apron. The most singular and unnatural part of ing costume, was a piece of wood projecting from the shoe just in the hollow of the foot, and constituting an artificial heel.

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as they everywhere are, you scarcely care to look at them." In the north the scenery is bold, romantic, and wild; especially in Swedish Lapland, or even along the range of hills that divide Sweden from Norway. The soil was mostly poor, generally a mere drift, and everywhere copiously strewed with gigantic granitic boulders. The theory of these boulders is well known. Very anciently, it is thought, the mountain tops of Sweden, Norway, Scotland, England, and Wales, were islands in a frozen sea. In the course of ages, innumerable fragments of all sizes were precipitated from them, and lodged on the ice, and on the melting and drifting of the ice, these fragments sank, at divers distances, to the bottom of the sea. The sea-bottom being now elevated into land the boulders are found either on, or more or less embedded in its surface. Stones are even now protruded, apparently by some internal force, on the surface, an instance of which is mentioned as having taken place in the garden of Pastor Akerland, at Beateberg. Another geological phenomenon, peculiar to Sweden, was noticed near the Falls of Trollhaetta. The thing is called a Giant Pot. It is neither more nor less than a rounded hollow in the solid granite, about five feet deep and four feet across, the roundness at the bottom being such as might have been produced by the long attrition of stones in a state of continual rotation. The second pot near the summit of the Falls has deeply engraven on the sides of it the names of kings, princes, and nobles almost without number, to say nothing of the names ignoble, which are largely associated with them. It has also this peculiarity, that one side of the pot is opena peculiarity which seemed to deserve notice, although not helping to solve the mystery of the Giant Pots. There is one near Gottenburg, and many in other parts of Sweden.

We should like to refer to the history of religious opinion in Sweden; to the present remarkable revival among all classes of the community; to the good work done by men known as Readers; to the growing spirit of christian brotherhood among men of different sects and parties; to the zeal of our Baptist brethren; and to the singular history of Oscar Arhnelt, the so-called "Swedish Troubadour," who, with a good voice, a good knowledge of music, a great proficiency in guitar accompaniment, sallies through the country, subdues and melts the music-loving Swedes by a few spirited songs, and then lays aside his guitar, takes out his Bible, and proclaims salvation

Sweden abounds with lakes, large and small, and islands sprinkled over them. The pine freely covers both the islands, and the banks. The scenery was monotonous in the part visited by the deputation. The country was mostly flat, and presented little change. "You have lakes, islands, and pines-lakes, islands, and pines over and over again, until beautiful