The Columbian. [volume] (Bloomsburg, Pa.) 1866-1910, 1897-02-11
OSCAR TT. OF SWEDEN.
NAMED AS UMPIRE IN THE ARBI-
TRATION TREATY. s~--~

nm iSN fh1Nt -
Brief Sketch of the Ruler Whose Name
Ia Now Before the worid-A Wise King,
Faithful Husband and Christian Gen
tleman.
Oscar H., King Of Sweden and Nor
way, is a man of 81. with benevo-
lent countenance, a full gray beard
and stalwart figure. In his youth
be was sailor, and he still retains
the bluff manners of q follower of the
sen.
He Is the fourth sovereign of the
line of Charles Jean Bernadotte, who,
by a singular accident, was raised from
the station of a simple burgher to that
of a Marshal in Napoleon's army. At
the death of Charles XIII. the Par
lament of Sweden, acting under or
ders from the all-powerful conqueror,
chose Marshal Bernadotte to succeed
him, and he ascended the throne under
the name of Charles XIV. He had
wit enough to cut aloof from the En-
peror when the latter rushed on his
doom, and thus at the reconstruction
which followed he retained his crown
and bequeathed it to his son, Oscar /.
That polite monarch managed TO
Keep out of the Schleswig- Holstein
dispute. and retained the good will of
both Prussia and Denmark; so he
died at peace with all men, though
sorely stricken in body, in the year
1859. He was succeeded by his son,
Charles Nv, who united Sweden and
Norway and reigned till 1872. when
the present sovereign ascended the
throne.
The duties of reigning are not con-
genial to Oscar ii. He Is poet. a
musician and a man of science. He
has written many books, some Of
which are as good as if they had not
been written by king. He wrote n
drama in French, which has been
played to full houses. He is cores
ponding member of the Frankfort
Academy of Sciences. His memoir of
Charles XII holds a high place in his
tUrical literature. His inaugural ad-
dress to the Rlgstad contained some
BuITlllS pdSStSeS.
81 am deeply penetrated" said he,
"with the sense that the royal crown,
which has fallen to me as heir, is not
lent to me for mere outer splendor;
rather, / know and admit that my re-
sponsible, royal mission, Of which the
crown is a symbol, has been laid upon
me to promote the welfare of the bro
ther nations. May these words be my
motto: Brodrafolkeno Vail"
The task which fell upon his should
ers was, indeed, one which might have
appalled, less intrepid soul. He had
to administer the Government Of two
nations which had been artlficially
put together in harness, and whose
aims and temper are as far apart as
the poles. He had to contend against
such political foes as Ibsen and Bjorn-
sen. The latter once actually chal-
enged the King to mortal combat. He
had to handle three Houses of Parlia-
ment-two in Sweden, one in Norway.
There has hardly been a day in his
reign when he did not need to remind
himself Of his own apothegm-"A king
must ever know how to subordinate
all the incllnations of his character,
however legitimate, to the eXlgencies
of his political policy"
Whenever he could, Oscar has
sought relief from the cares of public
business in his country house, in the
Sound Of Helslngborg. There, with
his wife, the beautiful and gifted So
phia of Nassau, and their four stall
wart boys, he has led the life of a
studiOus country gentleman, working
out problems in Arctic navigation and
writing verses ON pastoral themes.
There they sit at an open window,
Breathing the strong air of the north,
mhallng the summer breeZes and let
ting the sea vapor fan their brows. An
awning covers veranda, bordered
with flowers bathed in sunshine, from
which a long stretch Of sea rolls under
their eye. Here the King tells his
family the old, strange sagas of Swe-
den's past, and carries them back to
the days Of Wodln and the Northmen.
He has a well-chosen library, full Of
ho ioNoii'c llclc Ht lONtS
to talk poetry and science and legend
with guest.
A brother of Oscar--Eugene-is
studying to be painter, and proposes
to establish a studio at Paris. His
aunt, the Kings sister-Eugene-is
the Lady Bountiful of Sweden; when
she failed in obtaining from the Rig
stad an appropriation for a work house
which was badly needed she sold her
diamonds and put up the building.
When the King saw 1t he cried: but,
Eugene, where on earth did you get
the money to crafty your whlm?"
NOT TROUBLED WITH INSOMNIA.