And so, as the years went by, a third generation grew up in the palace
at Stockholm,--a brood of long-limbed and broad-shouldered sons with
wholesome tastes and bright minds and kindly temperaments. And at
last, when the king was seventy-eight years old, a great-grandchild
was laid in his arms,--the first son of Prince Gustavus Adolphus (now
the Crown Prince) and the Princess Margaret of Connaught.

Up to the last King Oscar remained active and interested in all public
affairs. Though he had experienced several brief but rather severe
illnesses of late years, the end came without warning, after a few
days of indisposition, on Dec. 8, 1907. A kindly "thanks" for a small
favor rendered him by a member of his family was the last word heard
from his lips. Previously he had expressed his wish to the members of
his cabinet that no interruption in public or private business be made
on account of his death.

King Gustavus V, who took the oath of office within a few hours of his
father's death, has suffered something resembling his father's fate
as Crown Prince. Overshadowed by the more brilliant gifts and more
attractive personality of the parent, he was for years spoken of in
rather a disparaging manner in Sweden, while in Norway he harvested
outright hatred in return for his determined upholding of the union.
On frequent occasions during the last decade of his father's reign, he
acted as vice-regent while his father was sick or traveling, and in
this way he found chances to display qualities that gradually changed
the popular regard of him from one of suspicion to one of hearty
respect. His near-sightedness, his serious-mindedness, have militated
against him, but it seems probable that he will prove the very _best_
ruler Sweden could desire at the present juncture. He is slow to make
up his mind, and will not do so until he has searched every phase