 Ports of call! Far at the world then, strange fascinating lands beckon us, bid us revel in their exotic splendors. Come with us as we head for Ports of Call. The dark green and blue of the Baltic is the mighty sea upon whose bosom we ride to reach the coast of Sweden, star of the north. The cool, refreshing, tangy wind whips our senses with the foretaste of the thrill to come. When we ride upon the sun-flaked fjords and lakes, which honeycomb this lovely jewel in the crown of the Scandinavian countries. But the harbor is just ahead as we glide into the welcoming arms of Stockholm to enter Sweden, our Ports of Call. You know Sweden is to know the history of the ages. A definite line of history can be traced from the Stone Age to the present, for from the Scandinavian countries came all of the present fair-skinned races in Europe. They are true, noble, unconquered people, in whose most remote peasant blood there is no strain of slavery. The earliest viking sailed the great seas, built many civilizations on many foreign shores, pillaged and destroyed, but were never conquered. Fortunately for posterity, many of the early Swedes built in stone, and from the year 1100 we can see the Sweden of yesterday, its tradition, its history. We have left the open sea, and as we steam up the Saltyo we begin to pass the outskirts of Stockholm. From the ship we get a glimpse of the Skansen, that remarkable outdoor museum which is really Sweden and miniature, with its trees and flowers, and the reproductions of the characteristic dwellings of the peasants of the various districts of Sweden. Finally our ship docks, and as we start down the gang plank, we pause for a moment for a view of the Staden, the island which was once the site of ancient Stockholm. Before us lies the Royal Palace, a magnificent structure of Italian Renaissance style. Behind it we see the top of the steeple of the Storkirka, the oldest church in Stockholm, and flanking the palace many of the fine old government buildings. In every direction we have vistas of lakes, streams and waterways. Taking a cab we find ourselves in a maze of traffic, and as we cross the Norbro bridge to the mainland, we get our first impression of modern Stockholm, of broad straight streets, of fine parks and statues, and handsome buildings, some almost medieval, some ultra modern. But our sightseeing comes abruptly to a halt, for here is our hotel. Our bags are whisked away, and we are being greeted in perfect English. The greatness of Sweden is an accumulation of endeavor, of national pride, of glorious fighting spirit. Sweden has been known by all the ages of man. The Stone Age knew Sweden, so did the Iron Age and the Viking Age, and the thunder of Swedish brain and brawn has echoed down the centuries until it rested on a pinnacle of romantic and intellectual endeavor when Kristina succeeded her father, King Gustavus Adolphus, in 1632. King is dead, long live the queen, long live Kristina! When Gustavus Adolphus, the great Swedish king, died, his daughter Kristina was six years old. The news of the passing of an old order and the establishment of the new was brought to her by the new appointed regent, Axel Oxtensianna. He bows low before the child who is to be his sovereign. His announcement, however, does not bring forth tears from the eyes of the little queen, but sharp words from the royal mouth. Axel Oxtensianna, get up from your knees! Your Majesty, I am not permitted to deliver this announcement standing. You are an old man, an old man my father used to say, have gout. Your Majesty, I have not gout. My father was king, and the king always knows things that other people don't, so get up from your knees that have gout in them. As you command, Majesty, it is permissible on an occasion like this for your Majesty to give way to tears. Your father was a great king and a kind man. My father liked to hear the cannons go boom, boom. Make the cannons go boom, boom, Axel Oxtensianna. But Majesty, the muffled cannon were fired when the king died. They can't go boom, boom, that is too loud, too joyous. It would be sacrilege. But I am not dead, I am alive, and it's fun to hear the cannons. Forgive me, Majesty, as your chief advisor to dissuade you from... My father let me command the gunner when I was princess. And now that I am a queen, well, I command you. Christina wants to hear the cannons go boom, boom. The queen is 18 years old. The queen rules supreme over her subjects and her heart. Axel Oxtensianna, you have been a good friend, a wise counselor and a great noble of Sweden. Asking your Majesty's pardon, I have tried to be a father to you. I know, my friend, and if I have not been too warm or tender, forgive me, that is my nature. I love people, but first I love the fields and the sun and books. Ah, books! We must invite the great and the near great to Sweden to build for us towers of learning. The treasury is empty, Majesty. Thirty years of war, the people have not enough food in their stomachs. Oh, they don't need food for their stomachs. They need words for their minds. Tomorrow we will send invitations post haste by couriers to doctors of science, of letters, of medicine, all to all of them. Bring me professors from England to teach our people the tongue of civilization. But, Majesty, Stockholm is not Paris or London. But Stockholm has gold for learning. Now is the time and the time is short. It is a command. The audience is not over? Majesty, if I may be so bold as to remind you that I am an old man and you are now of age, if I should die, there would be no man to... Oh, so you would get me a consort before you died. Good, Axel. I am not a queen who likes her petticoats. But it is not good for a queen to live alone. And then you have a duty to your people, to posterity. You must be queen to them a king or a queen. Axel Oaksenstierna. Majesty. How soon shall you be writing to Cardinal Richelieu? Well, quite soon. I have a letter from him that requires immediate answer. Yes, of course. And you may say that the queen said no. But, Majesty, you have not read his letter. How can you... Tell the greatest meddler in all Europe that the hand of the Queen of Sweden does not care to rock a cradle, but to hold aloft to her people the torch of learning. The Queen of Sweden is 30 years old. But, Majesty, in God's name there is no air. Oh, what shall be a revolution? Oh, stop, gentlemen, stop! I command you! You may proclaim to the people that Christina I first has decided to abdicate in favor of her cousin, Kyle Gustav. Oh, my goodness. No, gentlemen, for once your counsel is not wise. I am a woman of Vasa. It is in the blood of the women of my line to let the dead bury their dead and let the living march on, each to his own destiny. My cousin Gustav will be a wiser king than I have been a queen. He will fill their stomachs again while I have robbed their stomachs to fill their minds. He will give them the joy of their lives as to the throne. May the peace of God enter your heart, Your Majesty. May he guide your footsteps from this day hence. May he lead me back in spirit from the beyond to see my country blessed with peace and learning and plenty. May Sweden in the crown of Europe be its brightest star, the star of the north. The history of Sweden is a history of a proud people, proud monarchs, proud ideals. They fought through hundreds of years to retain their identity against a hundred foes and one. If they had been less proud, less idealistic, the entire history of Europe would have been changed even as late as the closing years of the 18th century. It is the summer of 1796. Catherine the Great, Empress of all the rushes, receives the ambassador from England in the council chamber of the Imperial Palace. It has been long since we have had the honor of receiving you, sir. Your Majesty does me a great honor. Now, what is the purpose of this audience? Your Imperial Majesty has been eminently successful in her conquests for Russia. Conquest? Perhaps I might better say military engagement. Yes, I have been successful. Well, go on. Certain rumors have reached me, Your Majesty. Disquieting rumors. To what do you refer? His Majesty King Gustavus Adolphus of Sweden has but recently arrived in Russia. That is true. Now, the rumors... That it is the plan of the Empress of Russia to arrange a marriage between the King of Sweden and Your Majesty's granddaughter, the Grand Duchess Alexander. I failed to see that it is any of your business, sir, nor the concern of your country. The rumor is true. May I presume to remind you that any scheme to conquer Sweden by this advice may ultimately fail. I do not remember, sir, that I have asked for your advice. Majesty, in the interests of England, in the interests of your own great land, in the interests of the peace of Europe of the world, I must warn you not to force this marriage unless it is the will of God. I will marry Alexander to Gustavus' will of God or no will of God before I die of seedy sweet humble. Once there was a queen called Christina. She brought the light of learning to her people. She brought them sciences and letters and languages. She brought them English. The Swedes still speak Swedish and German, but they think in short Anglo-Saxon words. No is one of them. He would not dare refuse the hand of my granddaughter. Such an affront would mean war. Before I take my leave, Imperial Majesty, may I remind you that Sweden has never lacked the courage to defend her conviction. The audience is over. Imperial Majesty, I kiss your hand. Vasara, Vasara. Imperial Majesty. Present my compliments to the King of Sweden. Tell him that I have just written a proclamation announcing his marriage to the Grand Duchess Alexandra. Imperial Majesty, the King, has just arrived from Sweden. He has not even proposed to the Grand Duchess. Fool! Are you minister of state or a court jester? I must think before he thinks. I must act before he acts. I must live to see the King of Sweden humble before Russia, before her empress, before the world. Don't cry, Alexandra. Don't cry, I say. You will marry you and I will throw him into prison and have him flogged like a miserable servant. Oh, please, Grandmother. You see, he really loves me, he's Protestant and I'm Greek Orthodox Catholic. And if I'm to be Queen of Sweden, why shouldn't I embrace his religion? Alexandra, are you mad? Would you have a beardless boy beat me at my own game? But it is no game. I love him. He loves me. Love, love, love. He'll marry you. He'll change his religion. Because Sweden must someday become a province of Russia. Is that all you think of? Conquest? Adding more and more provinces to a land that is already more than you can rule? Stop! Yes, it is all I think of. Listen to me, Alexandra. Before the Tsar Peter died, he was afraid of me. He tried to devour me. His favorite nobles taught him to fear my strength. Well, I was strong. It has been my purpose and ever will be to recreate Russia as an unconquerable empire. The most vast, the most invulnerable in the history of the world. I have Poland. I have the Crimea. Someday I shall have Persia, India, and Sweden. Then I won't marry Gustavus. I won't let you make a mockery of our love. You're wicked. Wicked, I say. A wicked old woman. A wicked old woman. Ah, but a wise old woman who will beat a bedless boy at his game or die. Marry your Majesty. For the last time, will you change your religion and marry Alexandra? No, I'll not change my religion. A Protestant I was born, a Protestant I will die. Do you know that I could have you thrown into prison and flogged before making a fool of me? But I won't. I want a reason with you. May I say, Your Majesty, that I do not care to be flogged, thrown in prison, or reasoned with. I wish to go home, and I leave in the morning. You will not leave until you marry my granddaughter in a religious and civil ceremony. Your Majesty, my ancestors were Vikings. They were sailors. They were victorious upon the sea years. Perhaps Your Majesty knows from having been defeated so many times in naval battles. Your insolence, that of the Empress of Russia. For my ancestors, I have the courage of my convictions. From the English, I've acquired a bluntness. I wish to make short business of your ambitions. I return at once to Sweden. You dare not? I dare and will leave Russia without a new religion or without selling my country to you in exchange for a queen. Christina abdicated her throne for the salvation of her people. Gustavus refused a beautiful bride to save his country from Russian serfdom, and the Swedish people have followed in the same independent footsteps as their monarchs. When young Gustavus Adolphus returned to Stockholm, he received an ovation. An ovation that a few months later, after the death of Catherine the Great, was overshadowed by the thunder of naval conflict between England and the Danes. But Majesty, if Lord Nelson should cast his anchors at Carl's Krona in our waters... First Admiral, he must meet the Danes. If he beats them and our friends, the Russians, rock their bones, fail us, then the policy of armed neutrality will be at an end. We have never been beaten on sea before. We may not be beaten now. We may not have to fight. But if we're challenged, our answer will be, we will fulfill our obligations. Lord Nelson has twice as many ships as we have. But we have as many stout hearts. That is all, sir. Wait. I too will leave Stockholm with you for Carl's Krona. But Majesty, the danger... There's also danger for my people. My people have been as brave, as rich as victorious, and as wise as their kings. I am not wise or rich or victorious. But thank God I have courage. Admiral, your spikers. You have a very exposed position, sire. So I'm sure Lord Nelson will not mind if I exchange glances with him. His ship is flying some signals. Well, I'll say this for his ship. He spells correctly, and he doesn't waste words. Let me see. The Danish fleet is mine. You have 24 hours in which to withdraw from the alliance with Russia. Nelson. Your Majesty, what shall we do? Signal the following message. The flag's already. We will fulfill our obligations. Sire, Sweden will suffer her first defeat. Admiral, we've become so civilized that we forget that once many hundreds of years ago, our forefathers, the Vikings, sailed these very seas. They went out with a merry song to meet the enemy. Look, a Russian ship is wedging its way through, flying a white flag. No. No, they're flying a white flag. No. No, they're flying signals. Sir, I'll read them. The Tsar, Paul the First, is assassinated. Alexander the First will negotiate with England. Our Russians have tricked us again. Now England is supreme on all the seas of Europe. What shall I signal, Lord Nelson, Your Majesty? Shall we begin negotiations with England and form an alliance with her and Alexander the First? No. If war is to be a game of tricks, I'll play at it. Signal, Lord Nelson, we will not negotiate with him or with Russia. Your Majesty, we must do something. We're under Nelson's gun. Very well, then. Inform his lordship that we will negotiate. Your Majesty. Trick for trick, Admiral. Signal we will negotiate with Napoleon. The story of the reign of Gustavus at Alphas was written with a pen dipped in the blood of his people. However, the courage of the young king was not matched by the wisdom so typical of all the great Bowser princes. Gustavus wavered many times between alliances with Napoleon and the newly formed Entente of Russia, Austria and Prussia. The years swept away Gustavus and his line and for the first time in the history of the Swedish people, a foreigner was offered to them as a king by the king-maker of Europe. General Count Charles Bernadotte stands before his emperor, Napoleon Bonaparte. I am yours to command. You are my king, General Bonaparte. Let us rephrase the sentence, Count Bernadotte. Please say, if you will, you are my general, Bonaparte. And I will say, you are my king. King? King Charles of Sweden. It was Napoleon who forced the hand of Swedish politics in the National Reichstag. From August 21st, 1810, the house of Bernadotte, known as the line of Charles XIV, came into power and continues in power until this day. A little more than a hundred years after this history-making event, Sweden again stood on the threshold of a great national crisis. A madman assassinated the Grand Duke of Serbia at Sarajevo. And a few days later, all of Europe was in flames. This great conflagration was called the World War. On all sides, the belligerence clamored for Sweden's entry into the League of Warring Nations. They pleaded, threatened, coerced. But Sweden knew that in this emergency, discretion was the better part of valor. One day in the rick's dog... I am very honored to speak. Sweden must fight. The world has gone mad. Let us join the untouched. The Germans are present. We'll join with a friend. Mr. President of the rick's dog... Mr. Carl Swartz. Don't listen to him. He's a president. Mr. Swartz, Mr. President of the rick's dog... Gentlemen, in this grave hour, when we stand upon the threshold of a world in flames, it is not for our members to say who is for peace and who is for war. Not who is for peace or who is for war, but who is for Sweden. Therefore, let us take our problem, which is one of life and death, to our people and to the representative of our people in whom is vested this divine authority. Let us take our problem to His Majesty the King. Mr. Swartz. Your Majesty. If Sweden leans to the untouched one way or to the allies the other way, she will eventually be conquered and dismembered. I agree with you, Your Majesty. There is only one hope for the nation. Peace within our land. We must refrain from joining this feast of the jackals. This is not a war. It's a slaughter. Sweden has cleaved to ideals for ten centuries. To principles of learning, to advancement, to education and progress, Mr. Swartz, we must not turn back now. We must go forward. And may I tell the rickstag in your name, sir? You may tell the rickstag in my name, in the name of our people, that we want peace with honor. Gentlemen! Gentlemen! Mr. Swartz has a message from the King. In the name of His Majesty the King and in the name of the people of Sweden, from this day henceforth and for the duration of the world war, let it be known that we have declared ourselves to be non-beligerents. Let us have peace with honor. Let us be neutral. Let us have peace with honor! And now we bid farewell to a people who fought to preserve ideals in religion, in war and in peace. To Sweden, a country where tolerance and temperance move hand in hand, where beauty abounds in a thousand little lakes and as many charming resorts, where the Baltic washes the rugged coast with huge tumbling salty waves from the outside and fresh water gently caresses her shores within. But the magic days have passed and once again we are embarking for another land, another tour of adventure. So we bid farewell to Sweden, star of the north and salute her intellect, her idealism, her beauty and her culture. We invite you to join us again next week in this time as we journey to another of the world's fascinating ports of call.