Everything about us was white; the trees, were loaded with icicles and snow.  The hill down which we toboganned was very steep, ending in a long slide over the frozen lake.  The snow on both sides of our path was piled up four feet high at least.  The fun of toboganning is the bunker.  The sudden rise gives you such an impetus, and on the other side you get such a tremendous bump that generally one, if not both, of you fall off head first in the snow.

One must be an adept to manage these sleds.  The Crown Prince toboganned, as he did everything else, to perfection.  Of course, each prince had his own sled and invited some lady to go with him.  The lady generally sits in front, with her legs stretched out, and holds on to everything she can, her clothes in particular.  The gentleman sits behind, steering with his feet.

The Crown Prince went often alone, and then he would lie flat on his stomach and steer with his long legs, as if he were sculling a boat.  I did not feel the least nervous when I went with him, but I confess I did feel a little shy when I had to put my arms round his neck and clutch him for dear life when we jumped the bunker.  He preferred having his companion behind him.

The revers de la medaille was the toiling up the long slope in the intense cold.  I wondered if the pleasure was worth the toil, but if one did not go down on the sleds one would have to stay on the top of the hill and freeze.

We enjoyed this sport till darkness put an end to it; then we returned, tired, cold, and hungry to town, to dine hurriedly and be ready for the theater at eight o’clock—­a gala performance.

[Illustration:  THE KING OF SWEDEN From a photograph taken when he was Crown Prince Gustav.  The crown and robe were worn at the formal opening of the Riksdag by his father, King Oscar.]

J. and I were invited to sit in the royal box.  The opera was “Orphee,” by Glueck.  The Crown Princess suffers agonies when she hears music (everything sounds false to her sensitive ears).  Therefore, to spare her, they had chosen the shortest opera.

In the entr’actes refreshments were served in the small salon which is kept in reserve for the King.  It is the same room where King Gustave III. retired when he attended the ball which proved so fatal to him on the night of his assassination.  The libretto of “Ballo in Maschera” by Verdi, is made on this subject, and the scene laid in Boston.

STOCKHOLM, 1892.

Dear L.,—­The opening of the Rigsdag is a great event in Stockholm.  The Corps Diplomatique met in the room in the palace called Kronesal.  The walls are covered with the three gold crowns of the Swedish coat of arms painted on a blue background.  They passed on through the rooms of the Order of the Sword, which had just as many swords on its walls as the other had crowns.  You can never make a mistake as to where you are!  The ladies were told to wear toilette de ville, and the gentlemen to dress in gala uniform.