king no power to
prevent its meeting at the appointed time, but should he refuse to assent
to any laws that are passed, these laws come into force without his
assent, provided they are passed by three successive parliaments.--ED.

{49} The present king of Sweden and Norway is Oscar, one of the few
fortunate scions of those lowly families that were raised to royal power
and dignity by Napoleon. His father, Bernadotte, was the son of an
advocate, and entered the French army as a common soldier; in that
service he rose to the rank of marshal, and then became crown-prince, and
ultimately king of Sweden. He died in 1844. The mother of Oscar was
Desiree Clary, a sister of Julie Clary, wife of Joseph Bonaparte, the
elder brother of Napoleon. This lady was asked in marriage by Napoleon
himself, but her father refused his assent; and instead of becoming an
unfortunate empress of France, she became a fortunate queen of Sweden and
Norway. Oscar was born at Paris in 1799, and received his education
chiefly in Hanover. He accompanied his father to Sweden in 1810, and
ascended the throne on his father's death in 1844. In 1824 he married
Josephine Beauharnois, daughter of Prince Eugene, and granddaughter of
the brilliant and fascinating Josephine, the first and best wife of
Napoleon. Oscar is much beloved by his subjects; his administration is
mild, just, and equable; and his personal abilities and acquirements are
far beyond the average of crowned heads.--ED.

{50} Bergen is a town of about twenty-five thousand inhabitants,
situated near the Kons Fiord, on the west coast of Norway, and distant
about 350 miles from Christiania. It is the seat of a bishopric, and a
place of very considerable trade, its exports being chiefly fish. It has
given its name to a county and a township in the state of New Jersey.
There are three other Bergens,--one in the island of Rugen, one in the
Netherlands, and another in the electorate of Hesse.

{51} _Kulle_ is the Swedish for hill.

{52} Delekarlien is a Swedish province, situated ninety or one hundred
miles north of Stockholm.

{53} The family of Sturre was one of the most distinguished in Sweden.
Sten Sturre introduced printing into Sweden, founded the University of
Upsala, and induced many learned men to come over. He was mortally
wounded in a battle against the Danes, and died in 1520.

His successors as governors, Suante, Nilson Sturre, and his son, Sten
Sturre the younger, s