248 ANNUAL REGISTER, 1810. 



ginated in the same cause ; a wish 

 to prepare the way to the crown 

 of Sweden for the prince of Pontc 

 Corvo. 



In the general system of over- 

 throwing all ancient thrones, and 

 making new kings and princes of 

 the Corsican race, or of the French 

 generals, it was never the inten- 

 tion of Buonaparte to make an ex- 

 ception of the kingdom of Swe- 

 den. But the example of Spain 

 had taught him, that there was a 

 difference between a contest with 

 a court, and one with a nation. 

 The Swedes were not supposed to 

 be so devoid of patriotism, and a 

 sense ofnational independence and 

 honour, as he afterwards found 

 them to be. They were consi- 

 dered as a brave and high-spirited 

 nation, whom open aggression 

 might animate and unite in an ob- 

 stinate resistance. He therefore 

 determined to watch opportuni- 

 ties ; to begin with nourishing 

 dissension, ashehad donein Spain, 

 and to attack the independence of 

 Sweden, not with the weapons of 

 war, but the poison of corruption. 

 The precise point of time when 

 he began to harbour the idea of 

 making Bernadotte, who, it seems, 

 had married one of his rela- 

 tives, king, cannot be determined ; 

 though it may be fairly presumed 

 it did not occur for the first time 

 on the death of the prince of Au- 

 gustenburg, Bernadotte had long 

 been placed in a situation in which 

 he had an opportunity, which he 

 did not neglect, of accumulating 

 immense wealth, and in which 

 also, from the vicinity of the north 

 of Germany to the Swedish pro- 

 vinces, he had an opportunity, 

 which he seems also to have im- 

 proved, of formirg an acquaint- 



ance and connections with many 

 persons of great consideration and 

 influence in Sweden. But it was 

 to the influence andawcof France, 

 still more than to his own pro- 

 mises, and the dexterous distribu- 

 tion of part of his own fortune, 

 that he was indebted for his eleva- 

 tion. He was considered as a fit 

 instrument for enforcing the con- 

 tinental system, establishing the 

 French power in the Baltic, and 

 finally, t)y a war for the recovery 

 of Finland, to co-operate with 

 France for the expulsion of the 

 Russians from Petersburg. 



The deliberate election of Ber- 

 nadotte, by the assembled States 

 of Sweden, in preference both to 

 the brother of the late Crown 

 Prince, and the eldest son of Gus- 

 tavus IV. a child, whom his father 

 olfered to place under their tui- 

 tion, appears to be tlie most de- 

 plorable instance of national de- 

 generacy and degradation to be 

 met with in history. Yet it may 

 eventually, if the Prince of Ponte 

 Corvo has sufTicicnt wisdom, cou- 

 rage, and magnanimity, prove the 

 salvation of Sweden, and even the 

 whole north of Europe. A fair 

 field for surpassing the glory of 

 Buonaparte lies before him. 



After his arrival in Sweden, he 

 endeavoured in every possible way 

 to ingratiate himself with the na- 

 tion, and to acquire their confi- 

 dence. He professed to change 

 his religion, and adopted the Lu- 

 theran tenets of the Swedish 

 church. He appropriated part of 

 his immense private fortune to the 

 purchase of the estates in Pome- 

 rania, that had been distributed 

 among French officers, which he 

 did on easy terms, and restored 

 them to their true owners; and he 



