THROUGH THE GÖTA CANAL
THE gong clanged. The big steamer churned the water into foamy suds as
it left the wharf at Stockholm. Sigrid and her father and mother waved
their handkerchiefs to the friends on shore as long as they could see
them.
"Let us find seats in the bow of the boat, where we shall have a good
view of the canal," said Mrs. Lund.
"I never was in such a large boat before. It is just like a house,"
cried Sigrid, who was much excited.
"Wait till you see the small state-room with the red plush sofas that
turn down at night for a bed," said Major Lund. "We must leave all
these posies there before we come on deck again."
All three of them had their arms full of flowers which their friends
had brought them.
"How long will it take us to get to Aunt Frederika's house, father?"
"Nearly three days. You will enjoy the trip, Sigrid. We are to cross
the whole of Sweden. But we shall see beautiful country and many old
castles before we reach Göteborg. You won't have to stay on the steamer
all the time, for we shall often get off at the locks and wander
through old towns."
"Wherever shall we sleep?" Mrs. Lund asked with a smile. The great mass
of flowers almost filled the tiniest room you ever saw. They finally
had to throw some of them away when they went to bed.
"I wish Erik and Anders could have come too," said Mrs. Lund when they
were on deck again. She almost never took a journey without her whole
family.
"Grandmother would be very lonely if we were all gone. Our two weeks'
trip will soon be over," replied her husband.
"Father," said Sigrid, a few hours later, "sometimes the canal is not
much wider than the boat. Why, it seems just as if we were riding on
top of the land instead of the water."
"Yes, I know what you mean." Major Lund was amused at the child's
distress of mind. "We shall go through several places in the canal, so
narrow that trees on opposite banks arch over the boat. But when we
reach the big lakes you will think we are at sea. Sometimes they are so
broad, you cannot see the shore."
"I thought it was the Göta Canal all the way," said Sigrid.
"So it is," replied her father. "But that is like a family name for
wide rivers, big lakes, and little short canals that all join hands to
make a waterway across the country."
Long before bedtime, Sigrid felt quite at home in her new quarters.
After supper, she again sat on deck with her parents.
Suddenly, they heard a sharp cry. "Oh, Isabella, you will drown! Can't
you get her, father? What shall I do! Oh! Oh!"
Several people hastened to the side of the boat where the cry rose.
A pretty child was weeping bitterly, while her father was trying to
comfort her.
"She has only lost her doll in the water, madam," explained the
gentleman to Mrs. Lund, who was eager to help. He spoke in English.
"What did he say?" asked Sigrid, who was too far off to hear.
"She dropped her doll overboard while she was waving her hand to some
children on the shore. Poor child! she is all alone with her father."
"Is she an English girl?" asked Sigrid.
"I think she is an American. Perhaps she would like some of your
twisted ring cakes, when she stops crying."
When the child's sobs finally ceased, Mrs. Lund said to her kindly:
"Won't you come and sit beside my little daughter? She wants to give
you some of her cakes."
The two children glanced at each other shyly.
"May I, father?" asked the American child.
"Certainly, Anna. You are very kind to amuse her," said the stranger
politely to Mrs. Lund.
Sigrid could speak in English as well as Swedish, which seemed to
surprise Anna.
"What nice sweet pretzels!" said Anna as she nibbled at one of the
cakes.
"Mother bought them of a peasant girl who came on board at that funny
place where the banks were so high we couldn't see the town," explained
Sigrid.
"Did you bring your doll with you?" asked Anna, who still mourned the
lost Isabella.
"Oh, yes!" said Sigrid, "and a whole trunk of clothes. Wait a moment
and I will get her."
She returned with a pretty yellow box on which red and blue flowers
were painted. Grandmother had a large chest at home exactly like this
toy.
"Oh! you have a peasant doll. How I wish I had one like that! Mother
bought Isabella for me in Paris," said Anna.
During the next two days of the trip, the little girls were often
together.
"What a giant stairway! I don't see how the steamer can go up to the
top," Sigrid exclaimed, the next morning. They had reached the town
of Berg, and as she looked at the canal before her, she saw seventeen
locks, which mounted to the sky.
[Illustration: THE GÖTA CANAL]
"But it can," said Major Lund. "Hundreds of vessels climb those locks
every year. It will take several hours, so that we may as well go
ashore.
"When we come to Vadstena, Sigrid, we shall have just time to cross the
drawbridge and visit a grim old castle there. Gustaf Vasa, our first
Swedish king, built it more than three hundred years ago."
"Didn't we have any kings before him?" asked Sigrid.
"Yes," said Major Lund. "But he was the first king to unite our people
and make Sweden a strong nation."
"Mother and I took a trip once while we were in Stockholm. Some one
pointed out the Castle of Gripsholm, where a nobleman named Vasa hid
during the 'Blood Bath of Sweden.' Was that the same man?" asked Anna,
who was standing near.
"Erik told me all about that once," replied Sigrid. "I am sure he is
the same man. King Christian, the Dane, ruled Sweden then. He was very
cruel, Anna. Why, he murdered so many Swedish noblemen that people call
that time 'The Blood Bath.' No one knew who would have his head chopped
off next."
Anna shuddered. "Did they kill Gustaf Vasa?"
"His father was slain, but Gustaf Vasa fled away into the mountains,"
replied Sigrid. Ever since she was a baby, she had heard these stories
of the old kings. They were real people to her.
"He had many wild adventures in Dalecarlia. Sometime, if you go there,
Anna, you will see where he lived. The people there loved him dearly
and wanted him for king instead of the tyrant Dane," said Major Lund.
"Do tell me about his adventures, Major Lund," said Anna.
"Ask Sigrid; I am sure she knows," he replied.
Sigrid's eyes shone with delight. "I know, I know," she exclaimed.
"He cut off his hair and put on homespun clothes, so he looked like a
peasant. Then he worked in the mines and on farms."
"Didn't the peasants know who he was?" asked Anna.
"Some of them did. They wanted to save him from the Danish soldiers.
Father saw a house where a woman helped him to escape. She hung a towel
from a window. With that for a rope, he climbed down and ran away.
"The story I like best is the one about the farmer who hid Gustaf Vasa
in a load of straw. The soldiers thrust their spears all through the
straw, but they could not find him.
"One spear did wound him. The farmer feared the soldiers would return
and see the blood-stains on the snow. So he took his jack-knife and cut
a small place on his horse's leg. When the soldiers came back, they saw
the red spots on the white ground. The peasant showed them the wound on
the horse and they were satisfied."
"Don't forget about Margit's quick wits," said Major Lund.
"She was a peasant woman in whose house Gustaf Vasa stayed," continued
Sigrid. "One day she heard the soldiers coming.
"'My lord, where shall I hide you?' she cried.
"That day she had brewed a huge tub of Christmas ale. In a second, she
thought of a plan.
"'Here, hurry down this ladder.' She pulled up a trap-door in the
kitchen floor and he fled into the cellar. By the time the soldiers
reached the gate she had pulled the tub of ale over the trap-door. The
soldiers never guessed where the prince was."
"I suppose they caught him, at last," said Anna.
"That's the best part," said Sigrid. "After a long time, he gathered an
army. Then he fought the Danes and made them give up Sweden for ever."
"Did you ever fight in a real war, Major Lund?" asked Anna, after a
minute of silence.
"Not yet," he replied. "Awhile ago, when Norway wanted her own king,
many people feared war between Norway and Sweden. But everybody is glad
that Haakon, the new King of Norway, was chosen without blood-shed."
"That Frenchman you were talking to this morning, father, called King
Oscar a 'Bernadotte.' What did he mean?" asked Sigrid.
"He was only referring to King Oscar's French ancestor. King Karl XIII,
who lived a hundred years ago, had no children. So the people tried to
decide who should be the next king. Finally they chose a famous French
officer, named Bernadotte, who fought under Napoleon. He was elected
crown prince."
"I am sure that must be Vadstena in sight now," said Mrs. Lund. "It
will be pleasant to go ashore for awhile. Grandmother asked me to buy
her some of the lovely lace they make here."
"You will have to be quick, if you want to see the castle, too," said
Major Lund.
The last few hours of the journey, they steamed down the Göta River
toward the city of Göteborg.
"Gustaf Adolf chose well when he built a city at the mouth of this
river," said Major Lund to his wife. They were watching the huge rafts
of timbers that were floating on their way to the seaport.
"Was he any relation to Gustaf Vasa?" asked Sigrid.
"Yes, Gustaf Adolf was his grandson. A nobler and braver king never
lived," replied Major Lund. He spoke with the love and reverence which
every Swede feels for Gustaf Adolf, the greatest king the nation ever
had.
"I do hope Aunt Frederika will be at the pier to meet us," said Sigrid
as they approached the landing. "Oh, I think I see her! No, I don't."
But Aunt Frederika did find them, and welcomed them warmly. Such a fine
visit they all had together! Erik and Anders heard about little else
for the rest of the summer.