CHRISTINA. 



397 



Christina, he drew the queen along with him, into a part of the 

 ^"V^" sea which was nearly 90 feet deep. The queen's first 

 equerry, Anthony Steinberg, instantly threw himself in- 

 to the water, laid hold of her robe, and, with such as- 

 sistance as was at hand, fortunately dragged her on shore. 

 During this accident, her recollection was such, that the 

 moment her head was above water, she cried out, " Take 

 care of the admiral." When she got on dry land, she 

 betrayed no emotion either by her gesture or counte- 

 nance ; and the same day she dined in public, and en- 

 tertained her company with a humorous account of her 

 adventure. 



In the year 1650, Christina was crowned with great 

 pomp and splendour ; and as, at this period, her king- 

 dom enjoyed a state of uninterrupted tranquillity, she 

 felt herself at liberty to gratify her ruling passion for 

 letters ; and declared herself the patroness of the learn- 

 ed, and the encourager of the fine arts throughout Eu- 

 rope. She invited to her court, and was anxious to have 

 about her person, all the distinguished characters of her 

 time. Among these we may reckon Grotius, Pascal, 

 Bochart, Descartes, Gassendi, Saumaise, Vossius, Hein- 

 sius, Meibornius, Menage, Bayle, Madame Dacier, Fili- 

 caia, and many others. Her preference, however, seems 

 to have been directed more by general fame, than by her 

 own judgment, or discrimination of their several excel- 

 lencies ; for Menage stood much higher in her esteem 

 than Descartes, whom she disgusted, and at length 

 wholly neglected. Her want of a just sense of merit 

 was remarkably evinced, by the favour which she shew- 

 ed to an adventurer called Michon, but better known by 

 the name of Bourdelot, who was brought to court by the 

 learned Saumaise ; but had little to recommend him, ex- 

 cept his sprightliness and buffoonery. This unworthy 

 minion, not only took place of true literary merit at the 

 Swedish court, but was able to supplant, in the favour 

 of the queen, Count Magnus de la Gardie, son of the 

 constable of Sweden, who was a relation, a favourite, 

 and a reputed lover of Christina. She was compelled, 

 however, by the public indignation, to banish Bourde- 

 lot ; and he was no sooner gone, than her regard for 

 him seemed to cease. So lavish was Christina in her gifts 

 to her literary favourites, and so profuse in her collec- 

 tion of books, manuscripts, medals, paintings, and an- 

 tiques, that she brought the finances of her kingdom in- 

 to considerable disorder. 



At first Christina appeared attached to the duties of 

 a sovereign ; but two years had scarcely elapsed from 

 the period of her coronation, when, with a character- 

 istic fickleneis, she became disgusted with the fatigues 

 and embarrassments of royalty ; and determined to abdi- 

 cate the crown, and, in private life, to enjoy independ- 

 ence and literary ease. In 1652, she communicated her 

 resolution to the senate ; but was prevailed upon, by 

 their remonstrances, in which her successor Gustavus 

 joined, to relinquish her intention. Finding, however, 

 her repugnance at reigning rather increase than diminish, 

 she finally effected her purpose in 1654, when she was 

 only in her twenty-eighth year ; although it appears by 

 one of her letters to M. Canut, that she had meditated 

 this pr ject eight years before, and communicated it to 

 him five years before it took place. The fickleness of 

 Christina was still further evinced, by her abjuring her 

 religion, at the >ame time that she abdicated her crown. 

 Her d.-claring herself a papist necessarily gave great dis- 

 gust to her Protestant subjects ; but was a mighty tri- 

 umph for the Romanists. 



Immediately after her abdication, Christina quitted 

 Sweden, exhibiting the greatest joy on being now the 



uncontrolled mistress of her actions. When she came Christina. 

 to a little brook, which separates Sweden from Den- """""Y"" * 

 mark, she got out of her carriage, and, leaping on the 

 other side, exclaimed in a transport of delight, " At 

 last I am free, and out of Sweden, whither, I hope, I 

 shall never return." She now dismissed her female at- 

 tendants, and even laid aside the habit of her sex. " I 

 would become a man (said she) ; yet I do not love men, 

 because they are men, but because they are not women." 

 The same inconsistency of temper, however, still conti- 

 nued to actuate Christina, and induced her to shift con- 

 tinually from place to place. She first took up her abode 

 at Brussels ; from thence she went to Rome ; from Rome 

 to France ; and from France she went to Rome again. 

 She also visited Hamburgh ; and went twice to Sweden, 

 where she was by no means well received. 



While in France, she was treated with much respect 

 by the court ; and had apartments assigned her by Louis 

 XIV. at Fontainbleau. But she soon disgusted the Pa- 

 risians, by her violation of the manners of the country, 

 which she affected to treat with great ridicule, and by 

 the rudeness and indelicacy of her conversation. It was 

 here, also, that she committed an action, which has af- 

 fixed an indelible stain upon her memory, the murder of 

 her master of the horse, Monaldeschi, who, having on 

 some account incurred her displeasure, was stabbed by 

 her order, by two of her domestics, in an apartment ad- 

 joining that in which she herself was. After this, Chris- 

 tina became sensible that she was regarded with horror 

 in France, and would gladly have visited England j but 

 received no encouragement for that purpose from Crom- 

 well, who was then in power. 



It was on the death of Charles Gustavus in 1660, that 

 she took her first journey to Sweden, being, with cha- 

 racteristic fickleness, inspired by the desire of recover- 

 ing her crown. Her ancient subjects, however, were 

 altogether indisposed towards her and her new religion, 

 and insisted on a second renunciation of the throne, be- 

 fore they agreed to confirm her revenues. In 1662, some 

 differences with the Pope, and the ill payment of her ap- 

 pointments, induced her again to visit her native coun- 

 try ; but the conditions annexed by the senate to her re- 

 sidence there rendered her stay very short. She then 

 went to Rome, where she resided with little interrup- 

 tion till her death in 1689. During this interval, she 

 cultivated a correspondence with the learned men all over 

 Europe ; but her restless disposition led her, at the same 

 time, to intrigue in all the political cabals of the times. 

 Though she had resigned the crown of Sweden, she can- 

 vassed for that of Poland. At the peace of Nimeguen, 

 she sent a plenipotentiary to take care of her interests, 

 who with difficulty procured the remittance of her ar- 

 rears. During the civil contest in France, called the 

 Fronde, she officiously offered her mediation to both 

 parties, conceiving herself capable of reconciling their 

 interests, and calming their passions. On the revoca- 

 tion of the edict of Nantz in 1685, she wrote to the 

 French ambassadors in Sweden, animadverting, with 

 m-ich freedom and good sense, on the felly of making 

 converts by persecution, and the bad policy of banishing 

 useful artizans for a difference in religious faith. Her 

 letter was published by Bayle, at which Christina wag 

 greatly offended ; but afterwards appeased, on the sub- 

 mission of the philosopher. 



Upon the whole, with some striking virtues, this prin- 

 cess had many faults. She had magnanimity, talents, and 

 learning ; but she was fickle, violent, intriguing, and re- 

 vengeful. She says of herself, that she was ' mistrust- 

 ful, ambitious, passionate, haughty, impatient, contemp- 



