Full resolution (JPEG) - On this page / på denna sida - I. Ancestry and country home in Sweden—Home influences—My first school years—Christmas—Military life—Departure for America
<< prev. page << föreg. sida << >> nästa sida >> next page >>
Below is the raw OCR text
from the above scanned image.
Do you see an error? Proofread the page now!
Här nedan syns maskintolkade texten från faksimilbilden ovan.
Ser du något fel? Korrekturläs sidan nu!
This page has never been proofread. / Denna sida har aldrig korrekturlästs.
CHAPTER I.
Ancestry and country home in Sweden — Home influences — My first school
years—Christmas — Military life — Departure for America.
My childhood passed so quietly and smoothly that it
would be superfluous to mention it at all, except for the fact
that such omission would leave a gap in these reminiscences.
For this reason, and, also, in order that the American reader
may get some idea of a good country home in Sweden, I
shail relate very briefly some incidents from that time.
My parents belonged to one of those old families of
proprietary farmers, whose spirit of independence and never
failing love of liberty, have, from time immemmorial, placed
Sweden, as a land of constitutional liberty, in the front rank
among all the countries of the Old World.
Like the descendants of the old Scotch clans the ancestors
of my father were noted for certain physical and mental
qualities, which made them prominent among the
inhabitants of the district ofVilland, Skane, where most of them
had their home. They were independent freeholders and
were generally reckoned among the leading men of their
district. They were large and strong with broad shoulders,
high and broad foreheads and other family characteristics.
The christian names of the male members were generally
Bonde, Trued, Lars, Matts, and Hans, and the family can be
traced back in the parish records for more than two hundred
years.
<< prev. page << föreg. sida << >> nästa sida >> next page >>
