“Considered from a political standpoint it is not easy to discover the cause of that exalted gentleman’s aversion to Germany. The interests of Sweden and Norway are in no way opposed to ours. On the contrary, what benefits us Germans, is almost invariably of advantage to our two neighbours in the North. A powerful Germany does not threaten the free development of the Scandinavian peoples, nor for the matter of that, any other of her neighbours. The German Empire is the great universal preserver of peace, the protector of international independence, armed only for defence; and whether, remembering old, half-forgotten quarrels, they like to hear it or not, it is, and remains connected with them by ties of close racial kinship. Nor can public opinion in Sweden be held responsible for royal prejudices, which would even go to the length of making military preparations against us in view of possible contingencies. The Schleswig-Holstein question at one time caused a great deal of anti-Prussian feeling, but to our knowledge that agitation was not so deep-seated as might have been inferred from a section of the Swedish press, and anyhow it has long since subsided, except in a few newspaper offices. It broke out once more in Stockholm and other large towns during our war with France, but in the newspapers rather than among the public, of whom the more thoughtful section soon realised which side was in the right and by whose victory those not immediately concerned would be the gainers. It may be safely asserted that only a small minority in Sweden now regrets the triumph of Germany. “From this it would seem to follow that sentiment can alone explain the hostile sentiments of King Charles. His aversion to New Germany may probably be chiefly the corollary of his sympathies for France, which again may doubtless be traced to the recollection that the Bernadotte dynasty sprung from a French lawyer, a recollection which would however assume a questionable complexion if it were to lead the King to forget that his first duty is to consider the interests of the countries over which he now rules. But perhaps there may have been also another recollection, namely that there was once in Sweden, years ago, a Charles XII. But it would be a pity for such memories to cause forgetfulness of the changes produced by time.