MEMORIALS OF BERNADOTTE, KING OF SWEDEN.*

THIS book is neither more nor less than a mass of state papers. We should be sorry if theST had not been printed, though we can advise no one to read them except the political and historical student, who may be able to collect useful information from them. Of BERNADOTTE and his history individually, there is absolutely nothing. The author's political disquisitions are formal, and more important in the writer's own estimation than in ours: in short, we think him altogether a dull man, and his book a very dull book. He threatens us with a history of International Intercourse : we shall be glad to find that his notion of a history is not a collection of treaties. One document in this volume possesses popular interest, and may be read with pleasure. It is the letters of the Crown Prince, now the King of Sweden, to his son's governor, laying down rules for the con- duct and directing the studies of Prince OSCAR.

THE CROWN PRINCE TO THE BARON CEDERHJELM.

" Stockholm, Oct. 29th, 1812.

" I have begged the King to appoint you governor of my son, the Prince Oscar; and his Majesty is pleased to comply with my request. Your merit

• has determined his choice.

" You are about to form the mind of my son, and to develop his charac- ter ; his happy dispositions will assist you. By exerting yourself to inculcate in him the manners and the customs of the country, in a word, the national character, you will satisfy my desires ; let his ecizcation be entirely Swedish, and the nation will owe you all the good which such an education must pro- duce.

"You will strengthen in his heart the sentiments of religion, of morality, and of love for the laws of his country.

" You will supply his thoughts with the examples of good kings ; and you will also excite in his soul that thirst for true glory, which ought always to have for its object the desire of being useful to his fellow-creatures, and of contributing to their happiness.

" My son is of an age when the impressions that are received, last for life; you should therefore guard against his forming false ideas of what is called character ; the firmness, which ought to be the basis of that of a prince, should never be considered a virtue, except when it is employed to a good purpose. "It will he easy for you to make him understand, that his duty is always in accordance with the impulse of his heart, when the succour of the unfor- tunate is in question ; and that his benefactions ought to bear the stamp of magnanimity, and never that of ostentation or of prodigality.

"The indigent classes ought to excite the solicitude of a prince ; I desire that my son may be impressed with this principle. " A prince should be proof against either fear or suspicion ; he should not hesitate to expose his own life to ensure the glory and the wellbeing of his country. He should judge without passion, and with that imposineb calm- ness which distinguishes good sovereigns. Apply yourself, my lord, to im- press these principles on the heart of my son ; I entrust him to you at a period when he haS strength to receive them, that you may cherish all those ideas which may combine for the happiness of Sweden. Repeat to him un- ceasingly, that one of the greatest scourges which heaven can inflict on a nation, is a feeble prince ; that the overthrow of states, civil war, and the slavery of nations, are usually the fatal consequences of the timidity of sove- reigns ; that war is the most terrible of all evils which can befal a state, but that there are occasions when it is a salutary remedy, to restore energy to a nation, to force it to resume its ancient character, and to preserve it from the evil of losing its name by sinking into a province of another empire ; that when a kingdom is thus menaced, and when it cannot avoid shame without an appeal to the fate of war, the prince has no longer the power of election ; he must dare everything, and enterprise everything to maintain the inde- pendence of his country. It is then that the energies of his soul should de- velop themselves ; it is then that every circumstance demands that he should surround himself with men of probity and courage, whatever may be their political opinions on other points, since his great end is to preserve his coun- try; and the true means to preserve a country is to combine against the op- pressor.

" You will guard my son against reposing his confidence in the indiscreet and the prodigal ; the first will betray it from self .love, the last from their mercenary dispositions. "Religion, history, geography, statistics, mathematics, the elements of an- cient and modern literature, drawing and bodily exercise, will form the edu- cation of my son for two years ; after which I will beg the King to permit another system to be followed. "The study of religion leads to that of a mild and beneficent morality. With such sentiments you will fill the heart of my son. "He should be acquainted with the history of all nations, but in pursuing this study, you ought to direct him principally to distinguish that of their governments, their laws, and the influence they have had on the manners and public happiness. The art of war ought more particularly to fix the at • tention of my son. In our days a Prince ought to be a General: we have seen the fatal results of opposing a general who was responsible to his master, against a chief whose decision was absolute. My son, then, must be accus- tomed betimes to brave the seasons, and to make the most of his bodily strength, lest a too sedentary life should influence his active powers, or those habits of personal inspection of affairs so necessary for a Prince. Journeys over mountains, visits to mines, swimming and riding, are exercises which develop the energies of the mind, by reminding him of war, and awakening the idea of danger, which must ever be present to become familiar. "The study of geography should be regularly followed up by statistics, and especially by those of Sweden. With these my son should be acquainted in their most trifling details, in order that he may form a just idea of the re- sources of the kingdom, and not yield to illusions dangerous for the people and for himself. It is my wish that this part of his education should not be confined to a mere superficial knowledge : as it is necessary that his knowledge

* Memorials of Charles John, King of Sweden and Norway, illustrative of his Cha- racter, of his relations with the Emperor Napoleon, and of the present state of his King- doms; with a Discourse on the Political Character of Sweden. By William George

Meredith, Esq. A.M. of Brazennose College, Oxford, London, 1829. Colburn.

of this branch should be thorough, k should he impressed on his memory by travels, and by intercourse with the best-informed men of each state. In the provinces, the peasants and enlightened agriculturists of the district which he is visiting, will give him ideas on the fertility of their soil, on the nature of their productions, on the price of their provisions, on the taxes with which their lands are charged, &c. In the towns, the governors will instruct him on the general administration of their province, and lawyers of emi- nence will form his society during his stay there. Their conversation will serve to give him an outline of the jurisprudence and the laws of Sweden, until the time when his age shall permit him to prosecute the study of the law. It will be necessary to take advantage of the curiosity which the dawn of knowledge will excite in the mind of my son, to conduct him to all places where there will be anything to learn. These excursions may he made an inducement to read, before and after, whatever may relate to the objects in question. When he visits ships, he should acquire a knowledge of the most celebrated naval battles ; and a skilful seaman should accompany him, to explain the manoeuvres which decided those engagements. When he inspects a fortress, he should be accompanied by an engineer, to explain to him on the spot the science of fortification, and of the attack and defence of places. He will find in Smith all the necessary information oo finances and manu- factures. The works of Winckehnann will give him a just idea of the fine arts : and he will form his literary taste by reading the most celebrated authors.

"The great difficulty in education is to command the willingness of the pupil. It is important, then, to give my son historical books which he shall have pleasure in reading, and which he may peruse alone. He must give an account of what he has read by word of mouth rather than by writing ; for a power of speaking is a primary attainment for a prince of Sweden. I think, therefore, that for the purpose of improving him in the art of speaking, you should invite as his visitors, once or twice a week, from seven o'clock till nine in the evening, persons whom you shall choose, and with whose merit you are acquainted. " I wish my son to consecrate a portion of his time to foreign literature. He will there learn to distinguish the characteristics of other nations, and to converse with foreigners on subjects which are out of the usual routine of the conversation of princes.

"It now remains for me to fix the hours of work for my son, and his do- mestic habits. He will rise at half-past sev6n, that he may begin his studies at eight, and he will continue them till eleven.

"At eleven be will breakfast with his tutors and his gentlemen in waiting ; from half-past eleven till one o'clock will be set apart for recreation. " On Sundays only, two persons of your selection will be admitted to his breakfast.

"From one o'clock till five in the afternoon he will continue his studies ; at half-past 'five he will come to dine with me on Sundays, Tuesdays, and Thursdays; on other days he will dine at home. It is in company and at table that by little and little we learn to form opinions of men, and to pene- trate their character. The habit of mixing with the world gives ease and grace; and removes that timidity so common in children educated in solitude and privacy, and so dangerous for a prince, whom it would expose to become the dupe of impudence, and of those who gain credit by a decided and per- emptory tone. When dining with me, my son will find the first men in Sweden assembled, so that this society will assist his education without his feeling the restraint of study. " from seven till nine in the evening my son will alternately spend his time in paying his respects to their Majesties, either at the theatre, or at some ball, or in the parties which he should give once or twice a week, and of which! have spoken above. At ten o'clock he should always. have retired to rest.

"Thus my son will work seven hours a day ; this appears a sufficient time for his age. It remains for you, my Lord, to determine the nature of the stu- dies which should occupy each hour, in conformity with my desires on this subject. " One of the points which I would have most seriously impressed, is the tender respect which my son ought always to show towards the King. In everything his wishes should be those of his Majesty himself. All his actions ought to have for their aim to adorn the old age of his Majesty ; and he ought to have it constantly present to his thoughts, that no repentance can atone for the slightest disquietude he may occasion him.

"I seize with pleasure this opportunity, Baron Cederhjelm, to renew to you my assurance of the sentiments with which you inspired me from the moment I became acquainted with you ; and I pray God to have you in his holy and worthy keeping, and to grant his blessing on your labours."

It is a great oversight in a mere collection of state papers like this, that no list is given of them : we ought at least to have had a catalogue. of the documents. It is possible, however, that Mr. MEREDITH may consider official papers mighty light reading, and always to be taken in order as they occur from beginning to end.

EGAN, S HARP PRIMER.

WE have received an angry letter from Mr. EGAN on the subject of our review of his "Harp Primer." He would have acted wisely in not provoking any furtherdtscus- sion as to the value of his book. Considered in reference to other, to utiother books of instruction which we have ever seen, it contains the smallest quantity of infor- mation, charged at the highest price. However, if lie can find purchasers who are content to give him four shillings for that which other compilers of such th rigs are accustomed to sell at sixpence, let him be satisfied with his good fortune, and not be angry that his Primer fails to procure for him an equal degree of repu- tation as of profit. Why did he send iE to us ?