‘You know that Finland is an ancient province of the Swedish Crown,
and that when it was united to Russia, after the fall of Napoleon, my
ancestor, the then Crown Prince Bernadotte, was authorised to take
Norway as a compensation?’
‘I do, sire.’
‘Perhaps you know also that the exchange has been a disastrous one
for Sweden. The Finns were contented and happy under our rule, while
the Norwegians have done nothing but quarrel with the Swedes for a
century.’
‘I have heard something of this,’ I responded.
‘Now as long as Finland held the position of a semi-independent
State, over which the Tsar ruled as Grand Duke of Finland, it was
possible for us to regard her as a buffer between us and Russia. We
had every reason to hope that if the Russians wished to attack us,
they would have to subdue Finland first.’
‘I was hardly aware of that, sire.’
‘It is the fact. The Finnish civilisation is really Swedish, our
language is spoken there, and the Swedish element in the population
looks on Sweden as its real home. Very good. That being so, the
Russians have decided to conquer Finland in time of peace, under the
cloak of administrative measures.’
‘Your Majesty means that this attack on Finland is really an attack
on Sweden and Norway?’
‘It is the first step towards an attack on Sweden,’ King Oscar
answered, with significance. ‘The question of Norway is the matter
about which I have sent for you.’