Sweden. 



21 



take the sacrament without having first read with the priest. The 

 consequence is, that nearly every peasant can read and write — all 

 can read ; and this, I think, is rather a clincher against the argu- 

 ment that it is not prudent to teach the working classes too much. 

 Nowhere do we see a more honest, Lard-working, quiet race of 

 men, taking them in general, than the peasants here. Even " in 

 his cups " he is pleasant and good-natured ; and there certainly is 

 not in this country one-third of the crime in proportion to tlie 

 number of inhabitants, which we hear of in England. 



It is very difficult to give any idea of the value of property here. 

 Very little is rented ; almost every Swedish proprietor farms his 

 own land. Estates are, however, always in the market ; and a man 

 with capital has no trouble to suit himself, and often at his own 

 price. I have seen a 2000 acre farm, in Wermland, sold for 2000/., 

 and many others, not half the size, for double the sum. I should 

 say, however, that 5/. per acre would buy most of the estates in 

 Wermland J and ^s. to los. per acre (when lands are let) is, 

 perhaps, the standard rent 3 and, in my opinion, this is their full 

 value, considering the present state of the land. 



There is a perfect mania in S\^^eden for buying estates, and I do 

 not believe there is a landed proprietor heie who would not part 

 with his estate, if the price tempted him. Not one estate in tooo 

 is entailed ; and, as most of the estates are fully mortgaged, and 

 half of them bought on speculation, to be parted with again 

 directly land rises in the market, the landed proprietor in the north 

 does not feel an interest in his land equal to that of the British 

 landowner, whose estate has been in his family for centuries. This 

 is the true secret why the farms are made so little of in the north. 

 Scarcely any gentleman thinks of renting a farm — his great object 

 is to become a landed proprietory therefore, if he possesses 1000/. 

 or 2000/., instead of renting just as much land as he can well 

 manage, and throwing his capital into his farm, where he would be 

 sure to get a safe return, he at once buys an estate for from 2000/. 

 to 4000/., puts what money he has into the purchase, and borrows 

 the remainder at 6 per cent. He has therefore nothing left to 



