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passed in the Riks-Råd, according to which those goods
for which certain u Skottars ” had not paid duty should be
confiscated, and the would-be smugglers moreover mulcted
in the sum of 200 Thaler, payable to the Church of St
Jacob.1
In the eighteenth century the name of George Seton
comes before us. He had been born in Scotland in 1696,
and came to Sweden shortly after the death of Charles
XII. There he commenced as a poor man, but, like so
many of his countrymen, soon acquired great wealth.
Many anecdotes are told of his peculiarities. Though
one of the merchant-princes of Stockholm, he continued
to dress as he did in the days of his poverty. Once he
walked to the quay to inspect one of his ships after a
stormy voyage. When the vessel was made fast a sailor
jumped ashore, rushed up to Seton, and put some money
into his hand. “ Why do you give it to me ? ” asked the
merchant. u Because,” answered the sailor, “ I promised,
when in sore distress on the broad seas, to give my little
all to the first poor man I should meet on landing, if
God would save me.” Seton kept the money, but asked
the sailor to accompany him home. There, being pleased
with the man’s character, he told him the truth and made
him captain of a vessel that was just putting off to sea.
Another time he was sitting solitary in his
counting-office when a young man entered, who, after some time of
lively conversation, suddenly put a pistol to’ his breast,
saying : “ Lend me 20,000 Thaler at once, or taste this.”
When the old merchant had fetched the money and given
it to him, the latter put down the pistol and ran away.
When Seton took up the weapon, calling to the young man
to bring back the money at once or answer for it with his
life, he was met with a laugh and with the words: “ The
1 Riks-Rädets Protokoll, yi. 322.
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