GUSTAVUS IV., King of Sweden, was born on the let of November 1778, and, after the murder of his father Gustavus III., ascended the throne on the 29th of March 1792. This king, who by his conduct so completely alienated the national feelings, that, forgetting his great ancestors, they gave the throne of Gustavus Adolphus to a French man, displayed, while a prince, a capricious humour and an obstinacy that bordered upon madness. He entered into a uegociation for a marriage with the grand-daughter of the Empress Catharine of Russia, and suffered it to proceed so far that the whole court was assembled in order to be present at the solemn ratification of the marriage treaty. But instead of confirming the treaty, he departed secretly, and shortly afterwards married a German princess of the house of Baden. Of all the European monarchs he was the most zealous partisan of legitimacy, and he proposed, as the great object of his life, the restoration of the dethroned family of the Bourbons to the crown of France. In 1803 he made a journey through Germany in order to unite all the sovereign princes of the empire in arms against Napoleon I.; and to show his detestation of the usurper, he Bent back to the King of Prussia the order of the Black Eagle, because the same distinction had been given to Napoleon. When Bonaparte con cluded peace with Germany in 1806, Gustavus IV., through his ambassador, declared that he would no lunger take any part in tho proceedings of the Diet while it remained under the influence of a usurper. Nothing more was required to make him break off all diplo with the most powerful courts of Europe than an approach on their part to friendly relations with Napoleon. He thus involved his country in indescribable difficulties, irritated all his neighbours, and showed by his conduct that he would not scruple to sacrifice his people's welfare to his unreasoning obstinacy. His wars and negotiations exhausted the poverty of Sweden, and the inhabit ants sighed beneath an intolerable burden of taxes. Even England, his only ally, whom he certainly could not reproach with any friendly feelings towards Napoleon, he contrived to offend by his conduct. Upon the English government sending him a message with some well grounded complaints, he broke off with this power also, and ordered all the English ships in Swedish harbours to be laid under embargo.
The Swedes soon became tired of seeing themselves sacrificed to the extravagant follies of this Don Quixote, of legitimacy, and the most influential patriots began seriously to consider how they could rescue their country from total destruction. Gustavus appears to have discovered through his spies that a storm was gathering about him, and either iu order to avert it, or to make himself safe in any event, he endeavoured to possess himself of the funds deposited in the Bank of Sweden. At first he made an attempt to get the money into his hands by means of a propoeed loan of eighty-two millions of Swedish rix-dollars (about twelve millions sterling), but as the bank commissioners refused to comply with this demand he resolved to carry his plan into effect by force.
On the 12th of March 1809 ho repaired to the bank, accompanied by a detachment of military, with the intention of taking possession of the money deposited there. The commissioners of the bank had
applied for protection to the Diet, and the Diet had directed Generals Klingspor and Adlerkreutz to divert the king from his intention by persuasion, or to prevent him by force. The generals mat the king in the court of the bank buildings, and endeavoured to make him aware of the impropriety of his conduct ; but Gustavus treated them as rebels, and ordered the soldiers to remove them from his presence by force. Adlerkreutz then advanced, seized the king by the breast, and cried with a loud voice—" In the name of the nation, I arrest thee, Gustavus Vasa, as a traitor." Of the soldiers who were present, about forty endeavoured to defend the king, but the majority followed the call of the general to carry into effect the orders of the Diet. Gustavus defended himself with desperation, and it was only by force that they could disarm him. He torn himself loose from the hands of the eoldiera, and had very nearly escaped, but was again secured, and confined in an apartment, where for several hours he raged like a madman. Immediately upon the arrest of Gustavus, Duke Charles of Sudermania issued a proclamation, in which he announced that he had been called to tho head of a regency, and exhorted the people to quietness till the decision of the States-General should be promulgated. On the 24th of March Gustavus was brought to the malls of Cripehelm, where he gave in his abdication. On the 29th there appeared the decision of the Diet, by which Gustavus 1V. and his direct deseendanta were declared to have forfeited their rights to the Swedish crown, and the Duke of Sudermanis ascended the now recant throne of Sweden under the name of Charles XII I.
Gustavus left the Swedish territories very shortly after his depo sition. During his exile he travelled through most of the countries of Europe, but used chiefly in the little town of St. Gall, the capital of the Swim canton of the same name. He assumed the name of Colonel Gustayson, and renounced all external obser vances that might remind him of his former rank. lie refused the appanage which Sweden offered him ; ho urged forward a suit of divorce from his wife, which he succeeded in obtaiuing on the 17th of February 1812; and lie declined having any communication with his v and obstinately rejected all assistance from them. Ile subsisted on the produce of Ilia labours as an author, together with a little pension which he drew as a colonel.
Among his printed works, which appeared during his residence in Switzerland, one very systematically developea the mystical-religions and ultra-royal political tendencies of his mind. The moderation and discretion, as well as the etedfast tranquillity with which ho endured his fall did him honour, and go some way towards atoning for the worse than follies through which he trifled away the possession of a throne. He was a martyr to his principles, which were founded upon his extravagant notions of the divine right of kings over their subjects.
Ile died at St Gall, toward the end of the year 1837, lamented by all who had known him in the latter years of his life. His son, the heir of the line of Vasa, became a colonel of an Austrian regiment