The Placer herald., 1857-09-12
Morals of Stockholm.

Tribune, from Stockholm on the LIST of Nav
last, says:
Stockholm has been CT lied the most hcen-
ttous city in Europe, and, | have no doubt,
with the most perfect justice Vienna may
nence Very nearly half the registered
births are illegtimate children born IN wed
lock. OF the servan,-girls, shop girls and
seamstresses in the city, it is very safe to say
that scarcely one out of hundred is chaste,
while, as rakish young Swedes have informed
me, large proportion of grlso respectable
parentage belonging to the middle class, are
not much better. The men, of course, are
much worse than the women, and even in
Paris one sees fewer physical signs Of exces-
sive debaushery. Here, the number of bro
ken-down young men, and blear eyed, hoary
sinners. is astonishing. have never been in
any place where centiousness was so open
and avowed-anI yet, where the slang of a
sham morality was so prevalent. There are
no houses of prostitution in Stockholm, and
the city would be scandaized at the ea of
allowing 81 ch thing. A few years ago two
were established, and the fact was no sooner
known than virtuous mob arose and VIC
lently pulled them down! At the restaurants
Young blades order their dinners of the
female walters, with an arm around their
waists, while the old men place their hands
unbushngly upon their 5osoms All the
baths in Stockholm are tended by women
generally middle.aged and hideous must
confess,) who perform the usual scrubbing
and shampooing with the greatest noncha-
lance. One does not wonder when ne is
told of young men who have passed safely
through the ordeals of Berlin and Paris, and
have come at last to Stockholm to be ruined
This, the most vital Of all social problems,
is strangely neglected. The diseases and ex
cesses which it engenders are far more devas-
tating than those which spring from any
other vice, and yet no philanthropist is bold
enough to look the question in the face.
The virtuous shrink from it, the vicious don't
care about it, the godly simply condemn,
and the ungodly indulge; and so the world
Coes on, and the hundreds of thousands go
down annually to utter ruin. Which is best,
city like Stockholm, where prostitution is
prohibited, or New York, where it is tacitly
allowed, or Hamburg, where it is legaized?
Let some one with more time and II ore ethi-
cal ability, answer; my business here is sim
ply to make statements.
1t is but fair to say that the Swedes ac
count for the large number of iegilimate
births, by stating that many unfortunate
females come from the country to hide their
shame in the capital, which is no doubt true.
Everything that have said has been derived
from residents of Stockholm. who proud as
they are and sensitive, cannot conceal this
glarinG ,:epravity. The population of Stock
holm as is proved by statistics, has only been
increased during the last fifty years, by i'm
migration from the country. the num er of
deaths among the inhabitants exceeding the
births by several hundred, every year.
was once speaking with Swede about these
facts, which he seemed inclined to doubt.
But" said |, "thev are derived from your
own statistics" well" he answered, with
naive attempt to find some coinpen-
saing good "you must at least admit that
the Swedish statistics are as exact as any in
the worldN'
Drunkenness is a lea!ing vice among the
Swedes as we have daily evidence here Six
years ago, the consumption of brandy through
out the kingdom was nine gallons for every
man, woman and child annually; but it h
decreased considerably since then, mainly
through the manufacture of beer and porter
"BTerskt 0" (Bavarian beer) is now to be
had everywhere. and is rapidly becoming
the tavorite drink Of the people. Swedan
and the United States are fast proving the
fact that lager bier is more efficacious in pre-
venting intemperance than any amoult of
prohibitory law. Brandy drinking is still,
n verheless, one of the greatest curses of
Sweden. 1t is no unusual thing to see boys
OF twelve or fourteen take their glass OF
fiery .fnkel before dinner. The celebrated
Swedish punch, made of arrack, wine and
sugar, is a universal evening drink, and one
of the most nsidious ever invented, despite
its agreeable flavor There is movement
in favor of total abstinence, but it seems to
have made but little progress, except as it is
connected with some of the new religious
ideas that are now ractised throughout the
country.
CHIvAlRous AcT.--It will be remembered
that one of the buildings recently consumed
on | street. was occupied by Chinese sor-
caress One of the adventurous firemen be-