Source:
The Town and Country Magazine, Or, Universal Repository of Knowledge, Instruction, and Entertainment, volume 6, pages 640 to 641 (December, 1774), published by Archibald Hamilton, 1774; original at Harvard University; scan without obscured text on page 641 in the SIM Collection (Serials in Microfilm), via the Internet Archive
The biography:
Her character is thus drawn by an eminent foreigner: Christina was born with the enthusiasm of a hero, and the genius of a great man; she had the head of a statesman, and the heart of a good king. When she seized the reins of government, she astonished, notwithstanding her youth, all the senators who had grown grey in the study of the law, and in the science of politics. No sovereign ever attended with more sagacity and constancy to all the details of administration. She would see and know everything: she often consulted her ministers; but she never allowed herself to be swayed either by authority or credulity. She judged of the different arguments offered; she often herself started a new opinion; and her decision was considered as the oracle of reason. She had arrived at this great art of reigning by the assistance of a vigorous and active mind, and an education severe and altogether masculine.
Her person little engaged her attention; she could not bear looking-glasses; she was desirous of appearing amiable, but in her own way. She despised the amusements and occupations of women: to study the ancient and modern languages; to fathom the depth of the sciences; to cultivate polite learning; to instruct herself in the elegant and useful arts; to attend to the affairs of government, and fulfil all the duties of royalty, were her occupations; and to make long journies, either on horse or foot, to run at the chace, and to fence, were her amusements. She was indefatigable, and always in action.
If we judge from her own account, Christina was "mistrustful, suspicious, and ambitious, even to excess; irascible, proud, impatient, contemptuous, and ironical; little inclined to devotion, incredulous, and of a warm and sanguine temperament, which incited her strongly to love:" — but, if we believe her, she never yielded to this tendency of her constitution, from a principle of pride, because she could not bear to submit to the condition of an inferior.
She neglected all the decorums of her sex; she could not take the trouble of them. "I had better", said she, "emancipate myself at once: I was never born to be a slave." Anxious to render herself illustrious by great actions, she gave herself no concern about little singularities: she used a great many oaths in her conversation, laughed aloud, and walked with much precipitation: she had, in short, neither the virtues nor the vices, the accomplishments nor the foibles of a woman. The daughter of the great Gustavus was of a nature different, in many respects, from other women; and, as Gustavus himself wished, "That girl had better been a boy."
Glory was the predominant passion of Christina; but she often mistook the shadow for the substance, and always followed her ignis fatuus too far. Her greatest reproach is her abdication; to have quitted a throne to which her birth, her talents, and her inclinations ought to have attached her. Christina would have been ranked among the most illustrious sovereigns, had she continued to govern. The singularity of her manners and of her character, would only have rendered her more conspicuous. All great geniuses have certain oddities which constitute their originality, and raise them above the rest of the species; but they must be viewed in a certain point of elevation: brought down to the level of life, they are too strikingly contrasted with the [usages] of the world to be properly judged of. This Christina severely experienced, after her abdication. Drawn from her sphere by a mistaken love of learning and freedom, this princess, who had been universally admired on the throne, became ridiculous in society. Her talents, her foibles, and even her virtues, were misplaced; nothing suited the condition to which her caprice had reduced her: — but, after all, we must conclude with saying, "She was still the daughter of the great Gustavus."
DECEMBER, 1774.
Above: Kristina.
No comments:
Post a Comment