Full resolution (TIFF) - On this page / på denna sida - XVI. Reign of Gustavus III, 1771–1792 - E. The King’s Reverses
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292 A History of Siveden
France and Italy, which lasted nearly a year. At the
same time a failure of crops afflicted the land, and
many people perished from hunger.
The displeasure with Gustavus was partly of the
kind that usually follows reforms. The burghers com-
plained of the changes wrought in the mercantile sys-
tem, as the clergy did of the establishment of religious
freedom, and the nobility could not forgive Gustavus
for depriving them of their former prerogative at the
meetings of the Riksdag and of the incomes connected
therewith.
The King’s Efforts to Regain Popularity. It was
bitter indeed for one so sensitive as Gustavus to have
lost the love of his people. The happy, youthful period
of his career was at an end. His peace of mind was
gone. In the noisy pleasures of court life he sought to
forget his grief and unrest. But those who were close
to him noticed how sorrow wore on him. He was
moody and irritable, and at times tears gathered in his
eyes. The love of the people how was he to regain it?
He must. He began to dream of victories and con-
quests, which should cover his reign with glory and
make him like his hero, Gustavus Adolphus.
But for such exploits he was not supported by his
old advisers, Scheffer and Liljencrants, both of whom
resigned. Instead came the officer in guard, Gustav
Maurits Armfelt, whose good humor and fine personal
appearance made him the king’s spoiled favorite. He
was untiring in his efforts, with sparkling wit and ever
new amusements, to ward off dullness and monotony,
which Gustavus dreaded more than anything else. Arm-
felt was a real genius, but through his insatiable love
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