Page:Three Years in Europe.djvu/222

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186
THREE YEARS IN EUROPE.

and old relics of the wars fought by these great kings. A lion's skin in brass, with a crown, a sword and a sceptre are placed on the sarcophagus of Charles XII. Many other kings and queens and members of the Swedish royal family are interred here.

Leaving the islands behind we now came to the southern bank of the sea i. e., to Sodermalmen or the southern part of the town. This part of the town is built on high rocks considerably higher than the other parts, and a lift has been constructed for the convenience of the people which in less than a minute raised us to the top of Sodermalmen! The view from this height was splendid. The Baltic with its busy traffic and countless steamers and launches lay at our feet; Staden island with its colossal palace, as well as other islands stretched east and west before us as we looked to the north; and beyond these islands extended the northern portion of the town with the National Museum towering boldly over the other buildings.

We had now roughly surveyed the northern town, the central island, and the southern town. This was a good day's work. But we were so delighted with what we had seen of Stockholm that we rushed out again after dinner to visit parts of the town yet unexplored. Djurgarden island boasts of delightful gardens and places of amusement. The Hasselback restaurant was brilliantly illuminated and fitted up, seats and tables for visitors were placed under trees in a garden, and a band discoursed music to the assembled people. Paris has set the example of these open air cafès which are so pleasant and delightful in summer, and there is not a capital city