There are here remains of two churches, which owed their origin, as the town did, to a convent founded by S. Brigitta in the sixteenth century. She was a splendid woman, and drew to her side ladies of noble birth from many countries. Life was very strict in the convent, no one could possess any wealth, no intercourse was allowed with old friends except on rare occasions. Every nun was driven out at the Reformation, and not much is left to tell of their having lived there, but in the town many women make beautiful lace of the old patterns the nuns used to work. Often on board the steamer a woman brings a basketful to sell. The steamer re-enters the canal at Motala, where there are very large engineering works, at which all the science of modern times is employed in turning out all sorts of engines and mechanical appliances.
When the steamer is entering Lake Roxen, we are again carried back to the old days. Here is Vreta Closter, where of old kings were buried, and here, too, can be seen several coffins in one of the chapels. These contain the remains of members of the Douglas family, who fought under Gustavus Adolphus. Their descendants have a high place among Swedish nobility at the present day.
[Illustration: SUMMER EVENING ON THE WEST COAST OF SWEDEN. _Oscar Hullgren._]
Lake Roxen is a beautiful sheet of clear crystal water, with steep, rocky, and wooded shores on the one side, and fertile plains on the other. There are many old ruins that command our attention.
On the last morning of our trip, we wake up to find ourselves among those pretty islands that dot the Baltic Sea off the Swedish coast. We have, however, to pass through the Sodertelie Canal, which is entered at a village of that name. Of this you can make no mistake, for on board come women and children with baskets full of ring-twisted biscuits, which are known all over the world. At last we enter Lake Malar, surely one of the most beautiful of lakes, and with a warm sun and blue sky overhead, no one can but feel at peace and full of happiness. Soon the spires of Stockholm are visible, and the canal voyage is over when we moor at the Riddarholm quay.
There are many beautiful cities in the world, and among them should be placed Stockholm, the Venice of the North. This is due not only to the enterprise of the people, but also very largely to its situation. What a lovely picture, or series of pictures, the traveller sees as he approaches Stockholm from the sea. The steamer wends its way among hundreds of small islands, covered with luxuriant verdure and foliage. On each of these islands brightly painted wooden houses are seen, surrounded by pretty gardens of flowers. These are the country residences of Stockholm's business men. Every such house has its landing-stage, at which small but swift steamers call every morning and evening, and it is a never-failing source of pleasure to see the meetings and partings of father and family. The Swedes are very demonstrative, and speed the parting guest with waving of handkerchief until he is out of sight, although he may be returning in a few hours.