be called a queen, because the name implied that she
belonged to the weaker sex. She therefore caused herself to be proclaimed
KING, thus declaring to the world that she despised her own sex, and was
desirous of being ranked among men. But in the twenty-eighth year of her
age, Christina grew tired of royalty, and resolved to be neither a king
nor a queen any longer. She took the crown from her head, with her own
hands, and ceased to be the ruler of Sweden. The people did not greatly
regret her abdication; for she had governed them ill, and had taken much
of their property to supply her extravagance.

Having thus given up her hereditary crown, Christina left Sweden and
travelled over many of the countries of Europe. Everywhere, she was
received with great ceremony, because she was the daughter of the renowned
Gustavus, and had herself been a powerful queen. Perhaps you would like to
know something about her personal appearance, in the latter part of her
life. She is described as wearing a man's vest, a short gray petticoat,
embroidered with gold and silver, and a black wig, which was thrust awry
upon her head. She wore no gloves, and so seldom washed her hands that
nobody could tell what had been their original color. In this strange
dress, and, I suppose, without washing her hands or face, she visited the
magnificent court of Louis the Fourteenth.

She died in 1689. None loved her while she lived, nor regretted her death,
nor planted a single flower upon her grave. Happy are the little girls of
America, who are brought up quietly and tenderly, at the domestic hearth,
and thus become gentle and delicate women! May none of them ever lose the
loveliness of their sex, by receiving such an education as that of Queen
Christina!

Emily, timid, quiet, and sensitive, was the very reverse of little
Christina. She seemed shocked at the idea of such a bold and masculine
character as has been described in the foregoing story.

"I never could have loved her," whispered she to Mrs. Temple; and then she
added, with that love of personal neatness, which generally accompanies
purity of heart:--"It troubles me to think of her unclean hands!"

"Christina was a sad specimen of womankind, indeed," said Mrs. Temple.
"But it is very possible for a woman to have a strong mind, and to be
fitted for the active business of life, without losing any of her natural
delicacy. Perhaps, some time or other, Mr. Temple will tell you a story of
suc