two houses. One of these is the rather garish Riddarhus; the other is a very plain building, not so good-looking as most of the town-halls in your small country towns. The first is for the exclusive use of the nobles; the second contains the other three chambers or houses-that is to say, the clergy house, the burghers', the peasants'.

It was hard to find any one of these houses at work. The truth is, that the Parliament of Sweden may now be well tired of sitting; it has sat for ten months, and is just going to be dismissed by the King. It meets by his order every three years, dating from the time of its dissolution; for, with the exception of the Riddarhus, the seats in which are hereditary, the other members are re-elected each time; the same may be chosen again, and in some cases are so.

Each head of a noble family possesses a seat in the Riddarhus; and if that head cannot, or will not, use it, his eldest son may do so on attaining the age of twenty-five years, before which age no one is admitted to the legislature.

If this son, even, will not do so, the next immediate relative possesses the same right. Yet with all this wide scope for what we call a Parliamentary career, out of a body of so-called nobility,

amounting to between thirteen and fourteen thousand, among a population of, I think, about three millions-there are not more than six or seven hundred nobles who concern themselves in the affairs

of their country. Such a parliamentary nation as ours may view with admiration the total indifference with which public measures are here regarded.

The Clergy's house is composed of priests, which term signifies incumbents of parishes; they are elected to serve by the votes of the beneficed clergy of each diocese. The two Universities, Upsala and Lund, also contribute their representatives; and the Academy of Sciences in Stockholm sends a member, who, though not clerical, takes his seat in the Clerical chamber, as the representative of learning.

The Burgesses' house, of course, represents the trading and commercial classes, and in this the iron factories, a distinct and favoured class in Sweden, have also a representative.

The Peasants' house is composed of what we would perhaps, I really do not know for certain, term small freeholders-they may be small farmers, but they must not, I believe, be great farmers; for any one who raises himself to the

rank and position of what is called in England the landed gentry, is no longer eligible to serve in the Parliament of his country, and loses all privilege of being represented there. It is something scarcely intelligible, that in any land under the sun, a man, a peasant, or small freehold farmer (a Bonde-in his native phrase) should disqualify himself for parliamentary service, if he, either by education, or by purchasing, as is often done, the lands of an impoverished noble, lifts himself above the peasant class. So, however, it is here; the class above the peasant class, that very one which we deem almost the most important, the landed gentry, has no representative in Sweden, and in the legislature of the country can only exert that worst species of influence, which may be exercised over individual members by secret and personal influence, or control. Nor is this the only curious feature in this antiquated mode of legislature.

"Madame," cried a portly Swede, springing on his feet and exhibiting himself in full length and breadth, "I have no representation!" Not knowing what he meant at the time, I actually turned my head to look if the great pier glass had removed from its place; but I knew afterwards

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that in the representation to which he alluded, parliamentary representation, he, as well as all professional men, lawyers-a strangely numerous body,-medical men, men of learning, arts, or science, military and naval men, and every one in Sweden in fact, who is not in trade or commerce, who has not an iron foundry, or who is not a priest, a peasant, or a noble, has no one to represent their rights or wrongs in the parliament or legislature of their country. Well! as His Royal Highness Prince Oscar did me the honour to say to me on a later occasion, "We have been very happy, and we have not known what made us so happy," so institutions, which may seem to us to have outlived their age, may be the means of keeping us happy without our ever being able to know what it is that makes us happy; for I suspect it was to them the sagacious young Prince alluded.

We went to the Peasants' house first, and at the door I saw some sights not exactly suited to St. Stephen's; and then I saw a number of plain, solid-looking men, with longish hair, and dressed, not exactly in freize, but mostly in long, plain cut coats of dark blue; national, or rather provincial costumes, these Riksmen have now laid

aside. We could not, however, catch

any cham

ber exactly at work; at this Peasants' house we were told to go to that of the Burgesses; there we hurried, and were sent to the Clergy's; and at the Clergy's we were told there was a debate at the Nobles'.

We were at last successful. There was a debate, and what do you think it was? Guess. Recollect the time and cause of my flight from England; and then imagine me coming nearly to the extremity of Europe, and running post haste to the Swedish Parliament to hear a debate-on the Catholic Question! Now don't laugh at me; but it is true!

I was engaged in looking over the Hall of Assembly, from the very little gallery into which any one is free to enter.

curious to be seen from it,

There is nothing

except the 3,000 of Sweden, which

shields of the ancient nobles are hung on the walls. Were only the shields of the good and patriotic to be hung there, the practice might be a salutary one. The place bears much the appearance of a lecture room, independently of these emblazonments; plain benches are ranged at each side of a narrow aisle, and on a platform at the top there is a handsome carved