neither Asia nor Africa could give us a person capable of filling the
office, so it looks very much as though the only person to be found, who
understands diplomacy well enough to be of use, would be a European
sovereign.

If the umpire must be such a person, King Oscar of Sweden is the most
desirable of them all.

He is, besides, almost the only European ruler who is free to accept the
office.

The royal families of Germany, Russia, Denmark, and Greece are all related
to England, and therefore could not be chosen. Austria and Italy are too
hemmed in by other countries, and too much bound by treaties, to be free
to give any decision that might offend Europe.

Sweden and Norway are cut off from the rest of Europe by the Baltic Sea,
and for this reason have not needed to burden themselves with as many ties
as the other powers of the Continent.

King Oscar is moreover a quiet, sensible man, who would be likely to help
the Committee to arrive at wise and just conclusions.

There is another advantage in choosing King Oscar. The royal family of
Sweden is only eighty years old, and has not those centuries of traditions
behind it, which make other royal houses so difficult to deal with.

Oscar II., the present King, is the grandson of the famous French Marshal,
Bernadotte, for whom Napoleon secured the throne of Sweden and Norway.