OSCAR II. KING OF SWEDEN AND NORWAY. AN account of the Eighth International Congress of Orientalists would be incomplete unless it were ushered in by a brief sketch of the life and literary work of its Royal Patron and Protector, Oscar II, King of Sweden and Norway, who, by the boundless hospitality extended to its members, and by the leading personal interest he took in its proceedings, mainly ensured its unparalleled success. Oscar Frederik was born at the Castle of Stockholm on the 21st January, 1829, as the third son of Prince Oscar (subsequently King Oscar I.), and received from his royal grandfather the title of Duke of East Gothland. His early education was entrusted to Mr. F. F. Carlson, the historian, who instilled in the young prince that love for historical research which was to bear such good fruit in later years. In 1845 the prince received his officer's patent both in the army and navy, but he then and ever after evinced a predilection for the latter branch of the service. He took part in the naval evolutions in the summer of 1846, and in subsequent expeditions under S. von Krusenstjerna. His poetical genius derived from these its noblest subjects and its happiest imagery. At the University of Upsala (1846-49) Prince Oscar devoted himself mainly to historical and literary studies. Under the reign of his father, and subsequently under that of his elder brother Charles XV., he was the chief protector of the military and musical institutions of the two kingdoms. He took a warm interest in literature, arts, and manufactures, and was one of the great promoters of the Arctic expeditions, and of the voyage of the "Vega" round the world. In 1857, on the 6th June, he married Sophia, Princess of Nassau. Four Princes have issued from this happy union. On the 18th September, 1872, he succeeded his elder brother on the throne. Under his reign literature, art, and industries are flourishing as they never did before. It would be impossible to give within a brief space a sketch of his many literary productions. A complete list of them is to be found in a monograph entitled, “Hans Majestät Koning Oscar II's Bibliografi, 1849-1887. Utgiften af C. M. C." Stockholm, 1888 (19 pages). In 1857 he gained the prize of the Swedish Academy for his cyclus of poems Ur Svenska Flottans Minnen (Mementos of the Swedish Fleet). From 1859 to 1863 there appeared his Contributions to the History of Sweden during the Years 1711, 12, 13." Five editions of his volume of poems called Nytt och Gammalt (Things New and Old) betoken the high appreciation in which his poetry is held by the public. He translated Herder's Cid and Göthe's Torquato Tasso. Many of his poetical and historical works, and of his addresses, have been translated into German, French, and English. A collective edition of his works has been in progress since 1885. The members of the last Oriental Congress will ever remember the ease, elegance, and terseness with which His Majesty handled not only the current languages of Europe, but also Latin, a language not generally kept up by crowned heads. Well says Professor Louis de Geer, in an address printed in the Transactions of the Swedish Academy for 1874, and quoted as motto in the above-mentioned Bibliography: "On the horizon of Swedish oratory we observe at least one star of first magnitude shine out in ever increasing brilliancy. Who is that speaker with the lofty thoughts and the noble words who kindles patriotism in every breast, and weaves fresh garlands of the fairest flowers of reminiscence and hope in every region? Round his shoulders hangs the purple: it is the King himself!" Drinking Horn presented by H. M. KING OSCAR II. as a Memorial to be used at all subsequent Congresses. TRÜBNER'S RECORD, A JOURNAL DEVOTED TO THE LITERATURE OF THE EAST. Ever since at the conclusion of the Seventh International Oriental Congress, held at Vienna towards the end of September, 1886, the invitation from the King of Sweden to hold the next Congress at Stockholm was conveyed by Count Landberg to the assembled members, and accepted by them with acclamation, preparations for making the forthcoming Congress a festive gathering on a grand and unprecedented scale appear to have been set on foot. Not only were invitations sent out at an unusually early date, but the printed programme containing information about even the most minute details calculated to insure the comfort of the members and to make the Congress as a social réunion generally attractive, proved beyond doubt the forethought of the organizers as well as the solidity and liberality of all the arrangements; and from the time that the foreign visitors set foot on Swedish soil they became aware that the reception which awaited them was not of yesterday's planning. The newspaper press in this country and abroad has been lavish in its praise of the boundless hospitality accorded by King and country to their foreign guests, no less than of the circumspection and untiring exertions of the General Secretary, Count Carlo Landberg. We name especially the Academy, the Athenæum, the London and China Telegraph, the Times, the Schwäbische Merkur, the National-Zeitung, and the Freie Presse, from whose columns we have culled here and there a passage that appeared to us noteworthy for embodiment in a general sketch of the Congress. The abstracts of papers read, for which we are indebted to the individual authors,-we much regret our inability to give a résumé of all the papers,-will, we venture to hope, be the more welcome to our readers as a few years generally elapse before the "Transactions" of these Congresses become accessible to the public. In the evening of the 1st September a sort of informal réunion was held in the reception rooms of the Grand Hotel at Stockholm, at which about 300 members attended. and were hospitably entertained to a cold collation. These preliminary gatherings are very enjoyable. Many savants shake hands again who never meet except at these triennial congresses, while others are brought face to face for the first time who had till then known one another only by photograph or correspondence. The solemn inauguration of the Congress took place |