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102 Fortunes of his son Gustavus HISTORY OF THE SWEDES.
the family of the counts Tott, which queen
Christina wished to elevate to the ducal rank. Of the
son a manuscript account relates, that while yet
not a year old, immediately after Eric’s
imprisonment, he was inclosed by John’s command in a
sack, and delivered to one of his servants to be
drowned ; but that Eric Sparre’, afterwards
chancellor, saved him, and had him conveyed to Olmutz.
Various points of this narrative, it is demonstrable,
are at variance with truth. The young Gustave
Ericson was still, in 1574, at Gripsholm9. Not
until after this time, therefore, and when in his
seventh year, could he have been the object of such
an attempt at murder. In Olmutz and Prague he
spent several years, not of his childhood but of his
youth, under the emperor Rudolph’s protection.
Messenius, who mentions nothing of the attempted
murder, asserts that he was sent out of the country
to Prussia, and went to school, first with the Jesuits
of Braunsberg and Thorn, afterwards in Wilna, in
so great poverty that he used to earn his sustenance
in the evenuig by brushing the shoes of the
travellers in the inns and tending their horses. It is
added, that he was present in beggar’s clothes at
Sigismund’s entry into Cracow in 1587, saw his
sister Sigrid in the court-train of the princess Anna,
and discovered himself to her. At this time he
refused an ecclesiastical office proffered to him by
Sigismund, and repaired to the emperor Rudolph,
under whose protection he studied zealously,
especially alchymy. Spies from Sweden surrounded
him, who carried his contemptuous expressions
regarding John to the king’s knowledge. Hence the
latter wrote to his son Sigismund, that it would be
most expedient so to arrange that " the bird’s
feathers might not be too long;" he should be arrested
and placed in confinement; especially as the
discontented lords in Sweden sought intercourse with
him, as a servant of lord John Sparr£ had
admitted1. It is certain that in 1583 Swedish fugitives
solicited from king Henry III. of France assistance
to avenge Eric’s murder, and set on the throne his
rightful heir, who in return should acknowledge the
superiority of Finance. This proposal 2, made
probably by foreigners formerly in the service of Eric,
had no results, but its authors declared themselves
to be, and were in fact (as is plain from the loans
they made to several French lords, which led in
the sequel to law-suits) in possession of sums as
large as if they had really in their hands king
Eric’s secret treasure, whose discovery John wished
to purchase from Catharine Magnus’ daughter3.
in Poland and
Russia.
This son never permitted himself to be employed
as the tool of foreigners against his country, which
he never revisited. From Prague he took his way
to the Netherlands, but turned back at Cologne on
the news of Alexander Farnese’s death, came to
Vienna, wished to take service against the Turks,
for which the emperor denied him permission, and
resided for some time with a Silesian abbot, of
whose tender care during a malady which seized
him he ever afterwards spoke with the greatest
thankfulness. Intending thereafter to seek his
mother in Finland, he was prevented by a
prohibition from the government, but obtained leave to
hold an interview with her at Reval, where he saw
her for the last time. About this period his poverty
was alleviated by the revenues of a Polish abbey,
which Sigismund conferred on him, and he spent
two years in Thorn. Being invited thence to
Russia, and received in a splendid fashion, he
declined to become the son-in-law of the Czar Boris
Godunow at the price of changing his religion. "
Instead of this,"says a Swedish chronicle," he watched
through whole nights in studying bookish arts and
alchymy, whereby his head was much weakened, so
that sometimes when he wished to strengthen
himself by a good draught, he spoke roundly out that
which lay at his heart4." He was soon found to be
unserviceable for the political projects of the Czar.
To abundance and grace now succeeded supervision
and banishment. Prince Gustave Ericson died in
1007 i» the little town of Kaschin. Afterwards
during his Russian campaign, Jacob de la Gardie
saw his lonely grave in a grove of birches on the
banks of the Kaschenka.
We cast one more glance backwards on the death
of the unhappy Eric. John wrote to Charles, that
this had occurred after a short illness, of which the
king had not been informed till too late. Charles
intimated plainly enough his opinion on the real
circumstances, and expressed great disgust at the
manner of Eric’s interment, wishing that it should
be performed anew. " He was still,’’ were his words,
" an anointed and crowned king of Sweden, who
with the evil (God pardon it him!) into which
he fell, did also many good and manly actions
during his government 5."
Eric’s body was deposited in an unostentatious
grave in the cathedral of Westeras. The Latin
inscription was taken from the second chapter of the
First Book of Kings :—" The kingdom is turned
about, and is become my brother’s, for it was his
from the Lord 6."
° According to Eric’s letter to Catharine Magnus’ daughter,
Jan. 11, 1574. Palmskold Collections.
1 Messenius, Scondia, vii. 10.
2 Remonstrances et offres des conjurez et releguez du
royaume de Su£de au roy Henry III. pour avoir justice de
l’assassinat commis en la personne d’ Erric roy de Suede. Ex
codice manuscr. Biblioth. Reg. Paris, No. 340, fol. 121.
Copied in the Palmskold Collections, and printed in the
Nova Acta Reg. Soc, Scient. Upsal. v. 23.
3 When Catharine requested the life-tenure of I.iuxala
manor in Finland, where she afterwards lived unmolested
and respected till 1612, John replied that he could give her
no decisive answer thereupon; "but if you will point out
the treasure which our deceased brother king Eric, before he
quitted the government, caused to be buried, then will we
concede to your children some estates for an inheritance."
Reg. for 1578.
4 Petri Petreji Muscovitiske Kronika. Stockholm, 1615,
p. 121.
5 Letter to John, April 1, 1577.
6 King Gustavus III. caused the crown and sceptre to he
taken from the tomb of John III. in the cathedral of Upsala,
and therewith adorned the monument which he erected to
Eric in that of Westeras.
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