platform of the
throne, and mingled with that of the royal corse; whilst the head of the
victim, rebounding from the crimson pavement, rolled to the feet of
Charles, and stained them with blood. Hitherto, astonishment had
rendered the monarch dumb; but at this horrid spectacle his tongue was
unloosed. He advanced a few steps towards the platform, and addressing
himself to the apparition on the left of the corse, boldly pronounced
the customary abjuration, "If thou art of God, speak; if of the Evil
One, depart in peace." The phantom replied in slow and emphatic accents,
"Charles, not under thy reign shall this blood be shed [here the voice
became indistinct]; five monarchs succeeding thee shall first sit on the
throne of Sweden. Woe, woe, woe to the blood of Wasa!" Upon this the
numerous figures composing this extraordinary assemblage became less
distinct, till at last they resembled a mass of coloured shadows, soon
after which they disappeared altogether. The fantastic torches were
extinguished of themselves, and those of Charles and his suite cast
their dim, flickering light upon the old-fashioned tapestry with which
the chamber was usually hung, and which was now slightly moved by the
wind. During some minutes longer a strange sort of melody was heard, a
harmony compared by one of the eye-witnesses of this unparalleled scene
to the murmur of the breeze agitating the foliage, and by another to the
sound emitted by the breaking of a harp-string. All agreed upon one
point, the duration of the apparition, which they stated to have lasted
about ten minutes. The black drapery, the decapitated victim, the stream
of blood which had inundated the platform, all had disappeared with the
phantoms; every trace had vanished except a crimson spot, which still
stained the slipper of Charles, and which alone would have sufficed to
remind him of the horrid vision, had it been possible for any effort to
erase it from his memory. Returning to his private cabinet, the king
committed to paper an exact relation of what he had seen, signed it, and
ordered his companions to do the same. Spite of the precautions taken to
conceal the contents of this statement from the public, they soon
transpired, and were generally known, even during the lifetime of
Charles XI. The original document is still in existence, and its
authenticity has never been questioned; it concludes with the following
remarkable words:--"If," says the king, "all that I have just