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 HISTORY 
 
 PETER THE GREAT, 
 
 EMPEROR OF RUSSIA. 
 
 PROM THE FRENCH OF VOLTAIRB. 
 
 BY SMOLLETT. 
 VOL.1 
 
 NEW YORK: 
 LEAVITT & ALLEN. 
 
 379 BROADWAY. 
 
 1S57.
 
 ^
 
 PETER THE GREAT 
 
 CHAP. L 
 
 rjiHE 
 
 DESCRIPTION OF RUSSIA. 
 
 E empire of Russia is the largest in the whole 
 globe, extending from west to east upwards 
 of two thousand common leagues of France,* and 
 about eight hundred in its greatest breadth from 
 morth to south. It borders upon Poland and the 
 Frozen Sea, and joins to Sweden and China. Its 
 length from the island of Dago, in the western- 
 most part of LJTonia, to its most eaateiu limits, 
 takes in near one hundred and seventy degrees, 
 BO that when it is noon in the western parts of the 
 empire, it is nearly midnight in the eastern. Ita 
 breadth from north to south is three thousand six 
 hundred wersts, which make eight hundred and 
 fifty of our common French leagues. 
 
 The limits of 'iiis country were so little known 
 in the last century, that, in 1689, when it was re- 
 ported, that the Chinese and the P.ii3?ians ware 
 at war, and that in order to terminate their Qif- 
 ferences, the emperor Camhi on the one hand, anl 
 tlie czars Ivan or John, and Peter, on the other, 
 had sent their ministers to meet an embassy with- 
 in three hundred leagues of Pekin, on the frontiers 
 of the two empires, the account was at first treated 
 as a fiction. 
 
 The country now comprehended under the name 
 
 * A French league contains three English miles. 
 
 205100.5
 
 4 HISTORY OF 
 
 of Russia, or the Russias, is of a greater extent 
 than all the rest of Europe, or than ever the Roman 
 empire was, or that of Darius subdued by Alex- 
 ander ; for it contains upwards of one million one 
 hundred thousand square leagues. Neither the 
 Roman empire, nor that of Alexander, contained 
 more than live hundred and fifty thousand each ; 
 and there is not a kingdom in Europe the twelfth 
 part so extensive as trie Roman empire ; but to 
 make Russia as populous, a? plentiful, and as well 
 stored with towns as our southern countrie.-, would 
 require whole ages, and a race of monarchs such 
 as Peter the Great. 
 
 The English ambassador, who resided at Peters- 
 burg in 1733, and who had been at iMadrid, says, 
 in his manuscript relation, that in Spain, which 
 is the least populous state in Europe, there may 
 be reckoned forty persons to every square mile, 
 and in I'ussia not above five. We shall see in 
 the second chapter, whether this minister was 
 mistaken, Marshal Vauban, the greatest of en- 
 gineers, and the best of citizens, computes, that, 
 in France, every square mile contains two hun- 
 dred inhabitants. These calculations are never 
 very exact, but they serve to shew the amazing 
 disproportion in the population of two different 
 countries. 
 
 1 shall observe here, that from Petersburg to 
 Pekin, there is hardly one mountain to be met with 
 in the route which the caravans might take through 
 independent Tartary, and that from Petersburg 
 to the north of France, by the road of Dantzic, 
 Hamburg, and Amsterdam, there is not even a 
 hill of any eminence to be seen. This observa- 
 tion leaves room to doubt of the truth of that 
 ^eory, which makes the mountains to have been 
 formed by the rolling of the waves of the sea, and 
 supposes all that is at present dry land, to have
 
 PETER THE GREAT. 5 
 
 been for a long time covered with water : but how 
 comes it to pass, that the waves, which, according 
 to the supposition, formed the Alps, the Pyrenees, 
 and Mount Taurus, did not likewise form some 
 eminence or hill from Normandy to China, which 
 is a winding space of above three thousand 
 leagues ? Geography, thus considered, may fur- 
 nish lights to natural philosophy, or at least give 
 room for rational doubts. 
 
 Formerly we called Russia by the name of Mus- 
 covy, from the city of Moscow, the capital of that 
 empire, and the residence of the grand dukes : but 
 at present the ancient name of Russia prevails. 
 
 It is not my business in this place to inquire, 
 why the countries from Smolensko, to the other 
 side of Moscow, were called White Russia, or 
 why Hubner gives it the name of Black, nor for 
 what reason the government of Kiow should be 
 named lied Russia, 
 
 It is very likely that Madies the Scythian, who 
 made an irruption into Asia, near seven hundred 
 years before our vulgar a;ra, might have carried 
 his arms into these regions, as Gengis-Khan and 
 Tamerlane did afterwards, and as probably others 
 had done long before Madies. P^ery part of 
 antiquity is not deserving of our inquiries ; that 
 of the Chinese, the Indians, the Persians, and the 
 Egyptians, is ascertained from illustrious and in- 
 teresting monuments ; but these monuments sup- 
 pose others of a far more ancient date, since it 
 required many ages to teach men the art of trans- 
 mitting their thoughts by permanent signs, and 
 no less time was required to form a regular lan- 
 guage ; and yet we have no such monuments even 
 in this polite part of Tvurope. The art of writing 
 was a long time unknown to all the North : the 
 patriarch Constantine, who wrote the history of 
 Kiow in the Russian language, acknowledges,
 
 6 HISTORY OF 
 
 that the use of ■aTiting was LOt known in thcsa 
 countries in the fifth century. 
 
 Let others examine whether the Huns, the 
 Slari, and the Tartars, formerly led their wander- 
 ing and famished tribes towards the source of the 
 Boristhenes ;* my design is to shew what czar 
 peter created, and not to en-'age in a useless 
 attempt, to clear up the chaos of antiquity. We 
 should always keep in mind, that no family upon 
 earth knows its first founder, and consequentlv, 
 that no nation knows its first origin. 
 
 I use the name of Russians to designate the in- 
 habitants of this great empire. That of Roxola- 
 nians, which was formerly given them, would in- 
 deed be more sonorous, bur. we shall conform to 
 the custom of the language in which we write. 
 News-papers and other memoirs have for some 
 time used the word Russians ; but as this name 
 comes too near to that of Prussians, I sliall abide 
 by that of Russ, which almost all our writers have 
 given them. Besides, it appeared to me, that the 
 most extensive people on the earth ought to be 
 known by some appellation that may distinguish 
 them absolutely from all other nations. t 
 
 This empire is at present divided into sixteen 
 large governments, that will one day be sub- 
 divided, when the northern and eastern countries 
 come to be more inhabited. 
 
 • The Boristhenes, or Dnieper, is one of the largest 
 rivers in Europe ; it rises in the Walchonske Forest, runs 
 through Lithuania, the country of the Zoporag Cossacks, 
 and that of the Kagicch Tartars, and falls into the Black 
 Sea near Oczakow. It has thirteen cataracts within a 
 imal! distance. 
 
 t The reader will easily perceive, that the whole of this 
 paragraph relates only to the French language, for in 
 Engli&b we make no such distinctions in the name of tbeM 
 peoplo. but always call them Russians.
 
 PETER THE GREAT. f 
 
 These sixteen governments, which contain se> 
 »eral immense provinces are the following : — • 
 
 LIVONIA. 
 
 The nearest province to our part of the world 
 is that of Livonia, one of the most fruitful in the 
 vhole North. In the twelfth century the inhabi- 
 tants were pagans ; at this time certain merchants 
 of Bremen and Lubeck traded to this country, and 
 a body of religious crusaders, called port-glaives, 
 or sword bearers, who were afterwards incorpo- 
 rated in the Teutonic order, made themselves 
 masters of this province in the thirteenth century, 
 at the time when the fury of the crusades armed 
 the Christians against every one who was not of 
 their religion. Albert, margrave of Brandenburg, 
 grand-master of these religious conquerors, made 
 himself sovereign of Livonia and of Branden- 
 burg-Prussia, about the year 1514. From that 
 time, the Russians and Poles began to dispute for 
 the possession of this province Soon afterwards 
 it was invaded by the Swedes, and for a long 
 while continued to be ravaged by these several 
 powers. Gustavus Adolphus having conquered 
 it, it was then ced#d to the Swedes in 1660, by 
 the famous treaty of Oliva ; and, at length, c/.ar 
 Peter wrested it from these latter, as will be seen 
 in the course of this history. 
 
 Courland, which joins to Livonia, is still in 
 Tassalage to Poland, though it depends greatly 
 upon Russia. These are the western limits of 
 this empire in Christendom. 
 
 Of the Govrrnmentu of 
 REVEL, PETERSBURG, and WYBURG. 
 
 More northward is the government of Revel and 
 Esthonia. Revel was built bj the Danes iathe
 
 8 HISTORY OF 
 
 thirteenth centurj. The Swedes were in posses- 
 
 eion of this province, from the time that country 
 put itself under the protection of that crown in 
 1561. This is another of the conquests of Peter 
 the Great. 
 
 On the borders of Esthonia lies the gulf of 
 Finland. To the eastward of this sea, and at the 
 junction of the Neva with the lake Ladoga,* is 
 situated Petersbvirg, the most modem and best 
 built city in the whole empire, fcmded by czai 
 Peter, in Bjjite of all the united obstacles which 
 opposed its foundation. 
 
 This city is situated on the bay of Kronstat, in 
 the midst of nine rivers, by which its different 
 quarters aie divided. In the centre of this city 
 is almost an impregnable fortress, built on an 
 i^land, formed by the main-stream of the river 
 Neva : seven canals are cut from the rivers, and 
 wash the walls of one of the royal palaces of the 
 admiralty, of the dock-yard for the galleys, and 
 of several buildings of manufactories. Thirty-five 
 large churches contribute to adorn the city ; among 
 which five are allotted for foreigners of the Roman 
 Catholic. Calvmist, and Lutheran religions : these 
 are as so many temples raised to toleration, and 
 examples to other nations. 1 heVe are five palaces; 
 the old one, called the summer palace, situated 
 on the river Neva, has a very large and beautiful 
 stone balustrade, which runs all along the river 
 side. The new summer palace near the triumphal 
 gate, is one of the finest pieces of architecture in 
 Europe ihe admiralty buildings, the school for 
 cadets, the imperial college, the academy of 
 sciences, the exchange, and the merchants' ware- 
 houses, are all magnificent structures, and monu- 
 
 • A collection of water lying between the gulf of Fin. 
 land and lake Onega ; it is the largest, and said to contaiD 
 a greater number of fish than any other in Europe,
 
 PETER THE GREAT. 9 
 
 merits of taste and public utility. The town-house, 
 the public dispensary, where all the vessels are 
 of procelain, the court magazines, the foundery, 
 the arsenal, the bridges, the markets, the squares, 
 the barracks for the horse and foot guards, con- 
 tribute at once to the embellishment and safety 
 of the city, which is said to contain at present 
 four hundred thousand souls. In the environs of 
 the city are several villas or country-seats, which 
 surprise all travellers by thtir magnificence. 
 There is one in particular which has water-works 
 superior to those of Versailles. There was no- 
 thing of ail this in 1702, the whole being then an 
 impassable morass. Petersburg is considered as 
 the capital of Ingria, a small province subdued 
 by Peter I. Wyburg, another of his conquests, 
 and that part of Finland which was lost, and ceded 
 by the Swedes in 1742, make another govern- 
 ment. 
 
 ARCHANGEL. 
 
 Higher up, proceeding towards the north, is 
 the province of Archangel, a country entirely new 
 to the southern nations of Europe. It took its 
 name from St. Michael, the Archangel, under 
 whose patronage it was put long after the Rus- 
 sians had embraced Christianity, which did not 
 happen till the beginning of the eleventh cen- 
 tury ; and they were not known to the other na- 
 tions of Europe till the middle of the sixteenth. 
 The English, in 1633, endeavouring to find out a 
 north-east jtassageto the East Indies, Chancellor, 
 captain of one of the ships fitted out for this ex- 
 pedition, discovered the port of Archangel in the 
 White Sea ; at that time it was a desert place, 
 having only one convent, and a little church, de» 
 dicated o St. Michael, the Archangel.
 
 10 HISTORY OF 
 
 The Fngiish sailing up the river DNvina,* nr* 
 rived at the midland part of the country, and at 
 lengtb at .Moscow. Here tbey easily made them- 
 selves masters of the trade of Russia, wliich waa 
 removed from the city of Novogorod, where it 
 was carrit^ii on by land to this sea-port, which is 
 inaccessible indeed during seven months in the 
 year ; iiut, nevertheless, this trade proved more 
 beneficial to the empire than the fairs of Novo- 
 gorod, that had fallen to decay in consequence 
 of the \v:iTs with Sweden. The English obtained 
 the pri ilege of trading thither without paying 
 any duiies : a manner of trading which is appa- 
 rently the most beneficial to all nations. The 
 Dutch soon came in for a share of the trade of 
 Archangel, then unknown to other nations. 
 
 Long before this time, the Genoese and Vene- 
 tians had established a trade with the Russians 
 by the nic ath of the Tanais or Don.t where thej 
 had built a town called Tana. This branch of 
 the Italian commerce was destroyed by the ra- 
 vages of Tamerlane, in that part of the world : 
 but that of Archangel continued, with great ad- 
 vantages l)oth to the English and Dutch, till the 
 time that Peter the Great opened a passage into 
 his dominions by the Baltic Sea. 
 
 * We mnst not confound this river with another of 
 the same name that runs through Lithuania in Poland, 
 and dividing Livonia and Courland, fails icto the Baltio 
 tt Dunamunder fort, below Riga. 
 
 t 1 his was Dv the ancients reckoned among; the meet 
 famons ri-^ers in the world, and the boundary between 
 Asia and Europe. It issues from St. John's Lake, not 
 far from Tula, aod after a long course, divides itself iate 
 three arms, and falls into the sea below Aaoph.
 
 PETER THE GREAT. il 
 
 RUSSIAN LAPLAND. 
 
 Of the Government of Arrhaitget. 
 
 To the west of Archangel, and within its go- 
 Terninent, lies Russian Lapland, the third part 
 of this country, the other two belonging to Sweden 
 and Denmark. This is a very large tract, oc- 
 cupying about eight degrees of longitude, and ex- 
 tending in latitude from one polar circle to the 
 North Cape.* The natives of this country were 
 confusedly known to the ancients, under the 
 name of troglodytes and northern pigmies ; ap- 
 pellations suitable enough to men, who, for the 
 most part, are not above four feet and a half high, 
 and dwell in caverns ; they are just the same 
 people they were at that time. They are of a 
 tawny complexion, though the other people of 
 the north are white, and for the most part very 
 low in stature ; though their neighbours, and the 
 people of Iceland, under the polar circle, are tall : 
 they seem made for their mountainous country, 
 being nimble, squat, and robust ; their skins are 
 hard, the better to resist the cold, their thighs 
 and legs are slender, their feet small, to enable 
 them to run more nimbly amongst the rocks, 
 with which their province is covered. They are 
 passionately fond of their own country, which 
 none but themselves can be pleased with, and 
 are able to live no where else. Some have 
 aflSrmed, upon the credit of Olaus, that these 
 people were originally natives of Finland, And 
 thai they removed into Lapland, where they di- 
 minished in stature : but why might they not as 
 well have made choice of lands less northerly, 
 where the conveniences of life were to be bad in 
 
 * A promontory of the island of Maggern in the north 
 of Monraj, and i» the moit northern point in Europe.
 
 12 HISTORY OF 
 
 greater plentv ? How comes it that they differ so 
 totally from their pretended ancestors in features, 
 figure, and complexion t Methinks we might, with 
 as great reason, suppose that the grass which 
 grows in Lapland is produced from that of Den- 
 mark, and that the fishes, peculiar to their lakes, 
 came from those of Sweden. It is most likely 
 that the Laplanders are, like their animals, the 
 produce of their own country, and that nature 
 has made the one for the other. 
 
 Those who inhabit the frontiers of Finland, 
 have adopted some of the expressions of their 
 neighbours, as happens to every people : but 
 when two nations give to things of common use, 
 to objects which are continually before their eyes, 
 names absolutely different, it affords a strong 
 presumption, that one of them is not a colony 
 from the other. The Finlanders call a bear 
 Karu, the Laplanders Muriet : the sun in the 
 Finnish language is called Auringa, in the Lap- 
 land tongue Beve. Here is not the least ana- 
 logy. The inhabitants of Finland, and Swedish 
 Lapland, formerly worshipped an idol whom 
 they called lumalac, and since the reign of Gus- 
 tavus Adolphus, to whom they are indebted for 
 the appellation of Lutherans, they call Jesus Christ 
 the son of lumalac. The Muscovite or Mus- 
 sian Laplanders, are at present thought to be of 
 the Greek church ; but those who wander about 
 the mountains of the North Cap^, are satisfied 
 with adoring one God under certain rude forms, 
 as has been the ancient custom of all the nations 
 called N(^mades, or wandering nations. 
 
 This race of people, who are inconsiderable in 
 numbers, have but very few ideas, and are happy 
 in not having more, which would only occasion 
 them to have new wants which they could not 
 satisfy : at present they live contented, and free^
 
 PETER THE GREAT. 13 
 
 from diseases, notwithstanding the excessive 
 coldness of their climate ; they drink nothing 
 but water, and attain to a great age. The cus- 
 tom imputed to them of entreating strangers to 
 lie with their wives and daughters, which they 
 esteem as an honour done to them, probably arose 
 from a notion of the si:periority of strangers, and 
 a desire of amending, by their means, the de- 
 fects of their own race. This was a custom es- 
 tablished amongst the virtuous Lacedemonians, 
 A husband would entreat a favour of a comely 
 young man, to give him handsome children, whom 
 he might adopt. Jealousy, and the laws, pre- 
 vent the rest of mankind from giving their wives 
 up to the embraces of another ; but the Lap- 
 landers have few or no laws, and are in all pro- 
 bability, strangers to jealousy. 
 
 MOSCOW. 
 
 Ascending the river Dwina from north to south, 
 we travel up the country till we come to Moscow, 
 the capital of the empire. This city was long 
 the centre of the Russian dominions, before they 
 were extended on the side of China and Persia. 
 
 Moscow, lying in 55 degrees and a half, north 
 latitude, in a warmer climate, and more fruitful 
 soil than that of Petersburg, is situated in the 
 midst of a large and delightful plain on the river 
 Moskwa, and t\*o lesser rivers, which with the 
 former lose themselves in the Occa, and after- 
 wards help to swell the stream of the Wolga. 
 This city, in the ISth century, was only a col- 
 lection of hats inhabited by a set of miserable 
 wretches, oppressed by the descendants of Gengis 
 Khan. 
 
 The Kremlin, or ancient palace of the great 
 dakes, was not built till the Hth century; of 
 such modern date are cities in this part of the
 
 14 HISTORY OF 
 
 world. This oalace was built by Italian archi- 
 tects, as -were several churches in the Gothic 
 taste which then prevailed throughout all Eurojw;. 
 There are two built by the famous Aristotle, of Bo- 
 logna, who flourished in the 13th century ; but thr 
 private houses were no better than wooden huts. 
 
 The first writer who brought us acquaiutfd 
 with Moscow, was Olearius ; who, in 163r), wett 
 thither as the companion of an embassy from the 
 duke of Holstein. A native of Holstein must 
 naturally be struck with wonder at the immense 
 extent of the city of Moscow, with its five quar- 
 ters, especially the magnificent one belonging to 
 the czars, and with the Asiatic splendour which 
 then reigned at that court. There was nothing: 
 equal to it in Germany at that time, nor any city 
 by far so extensive or well peopled. 
 
 On the contrary, the earl of Carlisle, who was 
 ambassador from Charles II. to the czar Alexis, 
 in 163:'>, complains i . his relation that he could 
 not meet with any one convenience of life in Mop- 
 cow ; no inns on the road, nor refreshments of 
 any kind. One judged as a German, the otht-r 
 as an Englishman, and both by comparison. The 
 Englishman was shocked to see mosi of the Boy- 
 ards or Muscovite noblemen, sleep upon boards 
 or benches, with only the .skins of animals under 
 them ; but this was the ancient practice of ali 
 nations. The houses, whicii were almost all built 
 of wood, had scarcely any furniture , few or none 
 of their tables were covered with cloth ; there 
 was no pavement in the streets ; nothing agree- 
 able ; nothing convenient ; very few artificers, and 
 those few extremely awkward, and employed 
 only in works of absolute necessity. These people 
 might have passed for Spartans, had they been 
 Bober. 
 
 But, on public days, the court displays all the
 
 PETER THE GREAT. 15 
 
 Bplendour cf a Persian monarch. The earl says, 
 he could see nothing but gold and precious stones 
 on the robes of the czar and his courtiers. These 
 dresses were not manufactured in the country ; 
 and yet, it is evident, that the people might be 
 rendered industrious long before that time. In 
 the reign of the czar Boris Godonow, the largest 
 bell was cast at Moscow, in Europe ; and in the 
 patriarchal church there were several ornaments 
 in silver, worked in a very curious manner. 
 These pieces of workmanship, which were made 
 under the direction of Germans and Italians, 
 were only transient efforts. It is daily industry, 
 and the continual exercise of a threat number of 
 arts, that makes a nation flourishing. Poland, 
 and the neighbouring nations, were at that time 
 very little superior to the Russians. The handi- 
 craft trades were not in greater perfection in the 
 north ot Germany, nor were the polite arts much 
 better known, than in the middle of the seven- 
 teenth century. 
 
 Though the city of Moscow, at that time, had 
 neither the magnificence nor arts of our great 
 cities in Europe, yet its circumference of twenty 
 miles ; the part called the Chinese town, where 
 all the rarities of China are exhibited ; the spa- 
 cious quarter of the Kremlin, where stood the 
 palace of the czars ; the gilded domes, the lofty 
 and conspicuous turrets; and, lastly, the prodi- 
 gious number of its inhabitants, amounting to 
 near 500, ()()(). All this together, rendered Mos- 
 cow one of the most considerable cities in the 
 world. 
 
 Theodore, or Fccdor, eldest brother to Peter 
 the Great, began to improve .Moscow. He or- 
 dered several large houses to be built of stone, 
 though without any regular architecture. He 
 encouraged the principal persons of his court to
 
 J6 HISTORY OF 
 
 build, advancing them sums of money, and fur- 
 nishing ihem with materials. He was the first 
 who collected studs of fine horses, and made se- 
 veral useful embellishments. Peter, who was 
 attentive to every thing, did not neglect Moscow 
 at the time he was building Petersburg ; for he 
 caused it to be paved, adorned it with noble edi- 
 fices, and enriched it with manufactures ; and, 
 within these few years, M. de Showalow, high 
 chamberlain to the empress Elizabeth, daughter 
 to Peter the Great, has founded an university in 
 this city. This is the same person who furnished 
 me with the memorials, from which 1 have com- 
 piled the present history, and who was himself 
 much more capable to have done it, even in the 
 French language, had not his great modesty de- 
 termined him to resign the task to me, as will 
 evidently appear from his own letters on this sub- 
 ject, which 1 have deposited in the public library 
 of Geneva. 
 
 SMOLENSKO. 
 
 Westward of the duchy of Moscow, is that of 
 Smolensko, a part of the ancient Sarmatia Eu- 
 ropea. The duchies of Moscow and Smolensko 
 composed what is properly called White Russia. 
 Smolensko, which at first belonged to the great 
 dukes of Russia, was conquered by the great duke 
 of Lithuania, in the beginning of the fifteenth 
 century, and was retaken one hundre-l years af- 
 terwards by its old masters. Sigismund 111. king 
 of Poland, got possession of it in 1611. 'i'he czar 
 Alexis, father of Peter I. recovered it again in 
 1654, since which time it has always constituted 
 part of the Russian empire. 1 he panegyric of 
 Peter the Great, pronounced iu the academy 
 of sciences at Paris, takes notice, that before 
 his time the Russians had made no conquests
 
 PETER THE GREAT. I7 
 
 either to the west or south ; but this is evidently 
 a mistake. 
 
 Of the Governments of 
 NOVOGOROD and KIOW, or the UKRAINE. 
 
 Between Petersburg and Smolensk©, lies the 
 province of Novogorod ;* and is said to be the 
 country in which the ancient Sluvi, or Sclavo- 
 nians, made their first settlements. But from 
 wjjence came these Sla>:i, whose language has 
 •pread over all the north-east part of Europe 1 
 SLa signifies a chief, and blare one belonging to a 
 chief. All that we know concerning these an- 
 cient Slaves is, that they were a race of conquer- 
 ors ; that they buiit the city of Novogorod the 
 Great, at the head of a navigable river ; and that 
 this city was for a long time in possession of a 
 flourishing trade, and was a potent ally to the 
 Hanse Towns. Czar Iwan Wassiliawitsch (or 
 John Basilowitz) made a conquest of it in 1467, 
 and carried away all its riches, which contri- 
 buted to the magnificence of the court of Moscow, 
 till then almost unknown; 
 
 'I'o the south of the province of Smolensko, we 
 meet with the province of Kiow, otherwise called 
 the Lessor Russia, lied Russia, or the Ukraine, 
 through which runs the Dnieper, called by the 
 Greeks the Boristhenes. The difference of these 
 two names, the one so harsh to pronounce, and 
 the other so melodious, served to shew us, toge- 
 ther with a hundred other like instances, the 
 rudeness of all the ancient people of the North, 
 in comparison with the graces of the Greek lan- 
 guage. Kiow, the capital city, formerly Kisow, 
 was built by the emperors of Constantinople, who 
 made it a colony : here are still to be seen seve- 
 
 • GrodjOr gorod.iignifiescil^' in iLe Russian laiiguagp.
 
 18 HISTORY OF 
 
 ral Greek inscriptions upwards of t« elve hundred 
 years old. 'ibis is the only city of any antiquity 
 iu these countries, where men lived so long to- 
 gether without building walls. Hrre it was that 
 the great dukes of Russia held their residence 
 in the eleventh century, before the Tartars brought 
 it under their subjection. 
 
 The inhabitants of theUkraine.calledCossacks, 
 are a mixture of the ancient Roxolaniacs, Sar- 
 matiaiis, and I'artars, blended together. Rome 
 and Constantinople, though so long the mistress 
 of other nations, are not to compare in fertility 
 of country with the Ukraine. Nature has there 
 exerted her utmost efforts for the service of man- 
 kind ; but they have not seconded those efforts 
 by industry, living only upon the spontaneous 
 productions of an uncultivated, but fruitful soil, 
 and the exercise of rapine. Though fond, to a 
 degree of enthusiasm, of that most valuable of all 
 blessings, liberty ; yet they were always in sub- 
 jection, either to the Poles or to the Turks, till 
 the year 1654, when they threw themselves into 
 the arms of Russia, but with some limitations. 
 At length thev were entirely subdued by Peter 
 the Great. 
 
 Other nations are divided into cities and tovtus; 
 this into ten regiments. At the head of which 
 is a chief, who used to be elected by a majority 
 of votes, and is called by the name of Hetman, 
 or Itman. This captain of the nation was not 
 invested with supreme power. At present the 
 itman is a person nominated by the czar, from 
 among the great lords of the court ; and is, in 
 fact, no more that the governor of the province, 
 like governors of the pays d'etats in France, that 
 have retained some privileges. 
 
 At first the inhabitants of this country were 
 ail either Pagans or Mahometans; but, when
 
 PETER THE GREAT. 19 
 
 they entered into the service of Poland, they 
 were baptized Cliristians of the Roman commu- 
 nion ; ajd now, that they are in the service of 
 Russia, they belong to the Greek church. 
 
 Amongst these are comprehended the Zapora- 
 vian Cossacks, who are much the same as our 
 Bucaniers, or freebooters, living upon rapine. 
 They are distinguished from all other people, by 
 never admitting women to live among them ; as 
 the Amazons are said never to have admitted any 
 man. 1 he women, whom they make use of for 
 propagation, live upon other islands on the river; 
 they have no marriages amongst them, nor any 
 domestic economy ; they inroll the male chil- 
 dren in their militia, and leave the girls to the 
 care of their mothers. A brother has frequently 
 children by his sister, and a fa 'her by his daughter. 
 They know no other laws than customs, intro- 
 duced by necessity : however, they make use of 
 some prayers from the Greek ritual. Fort St. 
 Elizabeth has been lately built on the Boristhenee, 
 to keep them in awe. They serve as irregulars 
 in the Russian armies, and hapless is the fate of 
 those who fail into their hands. 
 
 Of the Governments of 
 BKLGOROD, WORONITZ, and ^ ISCHGOROD. 
 
 To the noith-east of the province of Kiow, be- 
 tween the boristhenes and the Tanais, or Don, 
 is the government of Belgorod, which is as large 
 as that of Kiow. This is one of the most fniitful 
 provinces of Russia, and furnishes Poland with 
 a prodigious number of that large cattle known 
 bj the name of Ukraine oxen. These two pro- 
 vinces are secured from the incursions of the 
 petty Tartar tribes, by lines extending from the 
 Boristhenes to the Tanais, and well furnished 
 with forts and redoubts.
 
 eo HISTORY OF 
 
 Farther nortliward we cross the Tanais, and 
 come into the government of Worownitz, or Ve- 
 ronise, which extends as far as the bai-.ks of the 
 Palus Ma^otis. In the neighbourhood of the ca- 
 pital of this province, which is called, by the 
 Russians, Woronestch.at the mouth of the river 
 of the same name, which falls into the Don, 
 Peter the Great built his first fleet; an undertaking 
 which was at that time entirely new to the in- 
 habitants of these vast dominions. From thenco 
 we come to the government of Nischgorod, 
 abounding with grain, and is watered by the river 
 Wolga. 
 
 ASTRACAN. 
 
 From the latter province we proceed southward 
 to the kingdom of Astracan. 'i'his country 
 reaches from forty-three and a half degrees 
 north latitude (in a most delightful climate) to 
 near fifty, including about as many degrees of 
 longitude as of latitude. It is bounded on one 
 side by the Caspian Sea, and on the other by the 
 mountains of Circassia, projecting beyond the 
 Caspian, along mount Caucasus. It is watered 
 by the great river Woiga, the Jaick, and several 
 other lesser streams, between which, accord- 
 ing to I\Ir. Perry, the English engineer, canals 
 might be cut, that would serve as reservoirs to 
 receive the overflowing of the waters ; and by 
 that means answer the same purposes as the 
 canals of the Nile, and make the soil more 
 fruitful : but to the right and left of the Wolga 
 and Jaick, this fine country was inhabited, or 
 rather infested, by Tartars, who never apply 
 themselves to agriculture, but have always lived 
 as strangers and sojourners upon the face of the 
 earth. 
 
 The above named engineer, Perry, who was
 
 PETER THE GREAT. 21 
 
 employed by Peter the Great in these parts, found 
 a vast track, of land covered with pasture, le^- 
 minous plants, cherry and almond trees, and 
 large flocks of wild sheep, who fed in these so- 
 litary places, and whose flesh was excellent. The 
 inhabitants of these countries must be conquered 
 and civilized, in order to second the efforts of 
 nature, who has been forced in the climate of 
 Petersburg. 
 
 The kingdom of Astracan is a part of the an- 
 cient Capshak, conquered by Gengis-KKan, and 
 afterwards bv Tamerlane, whose dominion ex- 
 tended as far as Moscow. The czar, John 
 Basilides, grandson of John Basilowitz, and the 
 greatest conqueror of all the Russian princes, 
 delivered his country from the Tartarian yoke, 
 in the sixteenth century, and added the kingdom 
 of Astracan to his other conquests, in lr)54. 
 
 Astracan is the boundary of Asia and Europe, 
 and is so situated as to be able to carry on a 
 trade with both ; as merchandizes may be con- 
 veyed from tlie Caspian Sea, up to this town, by 
 means of tlie Wolga. This was one of the grand 
 schemes of Peter the Great, and has been partly 
 carried into execution. An entire su-burb of As- 
 tracan is inhabited by Indians. 
 
 OREMBUKG. 
 
 To the south-east of the kingdom of Astracaa 
 ift a small country, newly planted, called Orem- 
 burg. Ihe town of this name was built in the 
 year 1731, on the banks of the river Jaick. This 
 province is thick covered with hills, that are 
 parts of Mount Caucasus. The passes in these 
 mountains, and of the rivers that run down from 
 them, are defended by forts raised at e()ual dis- 
 tances. In this rtgion, formerly uninhabited, 
 \he Persians come it present, to hide from the
 
 if HISTORY OF 
 
 rapacity of robbers, such of their effects as have 
 CBcapc-d the fury of the civil wars. Tlie ritj of 
 Oreiubiirg is become the asylum of the Persians 
 and their riches, and is grown considerable by 
 their calamities. The natives of Great Bukari 
 come huher to trade, so that it is become the 
 mart of Asia. 
 
 Of the Government of 
 CASAN, a/(do/ GREAT PERMIA. 
 
 Beyond the Wolga and Jaick, towards the 
 north, lies the kingdom of Casan, which, like that 
 of Astracan, fell by partition to one of the sons 
 of Gengis Khan, and afterwards to a sou of Ta- 
 merlane, and was at length conquered by John 
 Basilides. It is still inhabited by a number of 
 Mahometan Tartars. This vast country stretches 
 aa far as Siberia ; it is allowed to have been for- 
 merly very flourishing and rich, and still retains 
 some part of its pristine opulence. A province 
 of this kingdom, called Great Permia, and since 
 Solikam, was the staple for the merchandizes of 
 Persia, and the furs of Tartary. i here has 
 been found in Permia a great quantity of the 
 coin of the first Caliphs, and some Jartarian 
 idols, made of gold ;* but these monuments of 
 ancient opulence were found in the midst of bar- 
 ren deserts and extreme poverty, where there 
 were not the least traces of commerce : revolu- 
 tions of this nature may easily happen to a barren 
 countrv, seeing they are so soon brought about 
 in the most fruitful provinces. 
 
 The famous Swedish prisoner, Strahlemberg, 
 who made such advantageous use of his misfor- 
 tunes, and who examined those extensive coun- 
 tries with so much attention, was the first who 
 • Memoirs of Strahlemberg, confirmed by 
 thoge sent me from Russia.
 
 PETER THE GREAT. 23 
 
 rave an air of probability to a fact, whicb before 
 had beea always thougbt incredible ; namely, 
 concerning the ancient commerce of these pro- 
 vinces. Piiuy and Pomponius Mela relate, that, 
 in the reign of Augustus, a king of the Suevi 
 made a present to Metellus Celer of some In- 
 dians who had been cast by a storm upon the 
 coasts bordering on the Elbe. But how couJd 
 inhabitants of India navigate the Germanic seas 1 
 This adventure was deemed fabulous by all our 
 moderns, especially after the change made in the 
 commerce of our hemisphere by the discovery of 
 the Cape of Good Hope. But formerly it was 
 no more extraordinary to see an Indian trading 
 to the parts to the north-west of his country, than 
 to see a Roman go from India by the way of 
 Arabia. The Indians went to Persia, and thence 
 embarked on the Hyrcanian Sea, and ascending 
 the Rha, now the Wolga, got to Great Permia 
 through the river Kama ; from whence they 
 might take shipping again on the Black Sea, or 
 the Baltic. They have, in all times, been enter- 
 prising men. The Tyrians undertook most sur- 
 prising voyages. 
 
 If after surveying all these vast provinces, we 
 direct our view towards the cast, we shall find 
 the limits of Europe and Asia again confounded. 
 A new name is wanting for a considerable part 
 of the globe. The ancients divided their known 
 world into Kurope, Asia, and Africa; but they 
 had not seen the tenth part of it : hence it hap- 
 pens, that when we pass the Palus Rlieotis we 
 are at a loss to know where Europe ends, or 
 Asia begins ; all that tract of country lying bo- 
 jfond mount Taurus was distinguished by the 
 general appellation of Scythia, and afterwards by 
 that of Tartary. It might not be improper, per- 
 haps, to give the name of Terra; Arctic3>, or
 
 «4 HISTORY OF 
 
 Northern Lands, to the coantry extending from the 
 Baltic Sea to the confines of China ; as that of 
 Terras Australes, or Southern Lands, are to that 
 equally extensive part of the world, situated un- 
 der the Antarctic Pole, and which serves to 
 counterpoise the globe. 
 
 Of the Governments of 
 SIBERIA, o/i/ze SAMOJEDES, Me 0STIAK3 
 KAMTSHATKA, 4c. 
 
 Siberia, with the territories beyond it, extends 
 from the frontiers of the provinces of Archangel, 
 Casan, and Astracaa, eastward as far as the sea 
 of Japan : it joined the southern parts of Russia 
 by Mount Caucasus ; from thence, to the country 
 of Kamtshatka, is about one thousand two hun- 
 dred computed French leagues ; and from south- 
 em Tartary, which serves as its boundary, to the 
 Frozen Sea, about four hundred, which is the 
 least breadth of the Russian empire. This coun- 
 try producevS the richest furs ; and this occasion- 
 ed the discovery of it in the year 1563. 
 
 In the sixteenth century, in the reign of the 
 cxar, John Basilides, and not in that of Foedor. 
 Johannowitz, a private person in the neighbour- 
 hood of Archangel, named Anika, one tolerably 
 richforhis condition of life and country, took notice 
 that certain men of an extraordinary figure, and 
 dressed in a manner unknown to that country, and 
 who spoke a language understood by none but 
 themselves, came every year down a river which 
 falls into the Uwina,* and brought martins and 
 black foxes, which they trucked for nails and pieces 
 of glass ; just as the first savages of America used 
 to exchange their gold with the Spaniards: he 
 caused them to be followed by his sons and ser- 
 vants, as far as their own country. Theae wero 
 • Memoirs sent from Petersburg.
 
 PETER THE GREAT. 8d 
 
 the Saraojedes, a people who seem to resemble 
 the Laplanders, but are of a different race. They 
 are, like that people, unacquainted with the use 
 of bread ; and like them, they yoke rein-deer to 
 draw their sledges. They live in caverns and 
 huts, amidst the snow ; * but in other respec-ts, 
 nature has made a visible difference between this 
 species of men and the Laplanders. Their upper 
 jaw projects forward, so as to be on a level with 
 their nose, and their ears are placed higher. 
 Both the men and women have no hair in any 
 other part of their bodies, but their heads; and 
 their nipple is of a deep black, like ebony. The 
 Lapland men and women are distinguished by no 
 such marks. By memoirs sent from these coun- 
 tries so little known, 1 have been informed, that 
 the author of the curious natural history of the 
 king's garden, is mistaken, where, in speaking of 
 the many curiosities of human nature, he con- 
 founds the Lapland race with that of the Samo- 
 jedes. There are many more different species of 
 men than is commonly thought. The Samojedes, 
 and the Hottentots, seem to be the two extremes 
 of our continent ; and if we observe the black 
 nipples of the Samojedian women, and the apron 
 wiOi -which nature has furnished the Hottentot 
 females, and which hangs half way down their 
 thighs, we may have some idea of the great va- 
 riety of our animal species, a variety unknown 
 10 those inhabiting great cities, who are gene- 
 rally strangers to almost every thing that is not 
 immediately within their view. 
 
 The Samojedes are as singular in their moral 
 as in their physical distinctions ; tliey pay no 
 worship to the Supreme Being ; they border upon 
 Manicheism, or rather upon tJie religion of the 
 
 * Memoir* lent frond Petersburg. 
 
 B
 
 26 HISTORY OF 
 
 wcient Magi in this one point, that they acknow> 
 ledge a good and an evil principle. The horrible 
 climate they inhabit may in some measure excuse 
 this belief, which is of such ancient date, and so 
 natural to those who are ignorant and unhappy. 
 
 Theft, or murder, is never heard of amongst 
 them ; being in a manner devoid of passions, 
 they are strangers to injustice ; they have no 
 terms in tb^ir language to denote vice and vir- 
 tue, their extreme simplicity has not yet permit- 
 ted them to form abstract ideas, they are wholly 
 guided by pensation, and this is perhaps an in- 
 contestable proof that men naturally love>justice, 
 when not blinded by inordinate passions. 
 
 Some of these savages were prevailed on to 
 suffer themselves to be carried to Mo^-cow, where 
 many things they saw struck them with admira- 
 tion. Thev gazed upon the emperor as their 
 god, and voluntarily engaged for themselves and 
 countrsmen a present of two martens, or sables, 
 every year for each inhabitant. Colonies were 
 soon settled beyond the Oby,* and the lrtis,t 
 and some forts built. In the year 1595, a Cos- 
 sack officer was sent into this country, who con- 
 quered it for the czar with onlv a few soldiers 
 and some artillery, as Cortez did Mexico -, but he 
 only made a conquest of barren deserts. 
 
 In sailing up the Obj to the junction of the 
 river Irtis with the Tobnl, they found a petty 
 settlement, which they converted into the town 
 
 • Called also the Ob, This lar^e river issues from the 
 lake Altin in Calmuck Tartary, in Asia, from whence run- 
 ning north it forms the boundary between Europe and 
 Asia, and after traversin;^ a vast tract of above two thoa- 
 sand mileF, it falls into a hay of the Frozen Sea. 
 
 + In the Russian language Irtish, This river runs from 
 N. to .S. thron<:h all Russia, and falling into the former 
 **Ter, forniBpart of the boundery between Asia and Europe-
 
 PETER THE GREAT. 27 
 
 of Tobol,* now the capital of Siberia, and a con- 
 siderable place. Who could imagine (hat this 
 country was for along time tie residence of those 
 very Huns, who under Attila carried their depre- 
 dations as far as the gates of Rome, and that 
 these Huns came from the north of China? The 
 Usbeck Tartars succeeded the Huns, and the 
 Russians the Usbecks. The possession of these 
 savage countries has been disputed with as 
 much murderous fury, as that of the most fruit- 
 ful provinces. Siberia was formerly better 
 peopled than it is at present, especially towards 
 the southern parts ; if we may judge from the 
 rivers and sepulchral monuments. 
 
 All this part of the world, from the sixtieth de- 
 gree of latitude, or thereabouts, as far as those 
 mountains of perpetual ice which border the 
 north seas, is totally different from the regions of 
 the temperate zone , the earth produces neither 
 the same plants, nor the same animals, nor are 
 there the same sort of fishes in their lakes and 
 rivers. 
 
 Below the country of the Samojedes lies that 
 of the Ostiaks, along the river Oby. These people 
 have no resemblance in any respect with the 
 Samojedes, save that like them and all the first 
 race of men, they are hunters, fishermen, and 
 shepherds ; some of them have no religion, not 
 being formed into any society, and the others 
 who live together in herds or clans, have a kind 
 of worship, and pray to the principal object of 
 their wants ; they adore the skin of a sheep, be- 
 cause this creature is of all others tlie most ser- 
 viceable to them ; just as the Egyptian husband- 
 men made choice of an ox, as an emblem of the 
 Deity who created that creature for the use of 
 man. 
 
 * In .he Russian language Toboloky.
 
 28 HISTORY OF 
 
 The Ostiaks have likewise other idol?, whose 
 origin and worship are as little deserving our no- 
 tice as their worshippers. There were some con- 
 verts to Christianity made amongst them in the 
 year 1 7 1 'J ; hut these, like the lowest of our pea- 
 sants, are Christians without knowing what they 
 profess. Several writers pretend that these 
 people were natives of Great Permia, but as 
 Great Permia is in a manner a desert, how comes 
 it that its inhabitants should settle themselves 
 at such a distance, and so inconveniently 1 This 
 is a difEculty not worth clearing up. Every na- 
 tion which has not cultivated the polite arts, do- 
 serves to remain in obscurity. 
 
 In the country of the Ostiaks m particular, and 
 amongst their neighbours the Buratcs and Jaka- 
 tians, they often discover a kind of ivory under 
 ground, the nature of which is as yet unknown. 
 Some take it to be a sort of fossil, and others the 
 tooth of a species of elephants, the breed of which 
 have been destroyed : but where is the country 
 that does not afford some natural productions, 
 which at once astonish and confound philosophy. 
 
 Several mountains in this country abound with 
 the amianthes or asbestos, a kind of incombus- 
 tible flax, of which a sort of cloth and paper is 
 sometimes made. 
 
 To the south of the Ostiaks are the Burates, an- 
 other people, who have not yet been made Chris- 
 tians. Eastward there are several hordes, whom 
 the Russians have not as yet entirely subdued. 
 
 None of these people have the least knowledge 
 of the calendar : they reckon their time by snows, 
 and not by the apparent motion of the sun : as 
 it snows regularly, and for a long time every 
 winter, they say, ' I am so many snows old,' just 
 as we say, I am so many years. 
 
 And here I must relate the accounts given by
 
 PETER THE GREAT. %9 
 
 the Swedish officer Strahlemberg, who was taken 
 prisoner in the battle of Paltowa, and lived fif- 
 teen years in Siberia, and made the entire toar of 
 that country. He says, that there are still some 
 remains of an ancient people, whose skin is 
 spotted or variegated with different colours, and 
 that he himself had seen some of them, and the 
 fact has been confirmed to me by Russians bom 
 at Tobolsky. The variety of the human species 
 seems to be greatly diminished, as we find very 
 few of these extraordinary people, and they have 
 probably been exterminated by some other race : 
 for instance there are very few Albinos, or White 
 Moors ; one of ihem was presented to the aca- 
 demy of sciences at Paris, which I saw. It is 
 the same with respect to several other species of 
 animals which are rare. 
 
 As to the Borandians, of whom mention is 
 made so frequently in the learned history of the 
 king's garden, my memoirs say, that this race ol 
 people is entirely unkno%vn to the Russians. 
 
 All the southern part of these countries is 
 peopled by numerous hordes of Tartars. The 
 ancient Turks came from this part of Tariary to 
 conquer these extensive countries, of which they 
 are at present in possession. The Calmucs and 
 IVIonguls are the very Scythians who, under Ma- 
 dies, made themselves masters of Upper Asia, 
 and conquered Cyaxares, king of the Medes. 
 They are the men, whom Gengis Khan and his 
 sons led afterwards as far as Germany, and was 
 termed the Mogul empire under Tamerlane. 
 These people afford a lively instance of the vicis- 
 situdes which have happened to all nations j 
 some of their hoides, so far from being formi- 
 dable now, are become vassals to Russia. 
 
 Among these is a nation of Calmucs, dwelling 
 between Siberia and the Caspian Sea, where, in
 
 30 HISTORY OF 
 
 tiie year 1720, there was discovered a subter- 
 raneous house of stone, with urns, lamps, ear- 
 rings, an equestrian statue of an oriental prince, 
 with a diadem on his head, two women seated 
 on thrones, and a roll of manuscripts, which were 
 sent by Peter the Great to the academy of in- 
 scriptions at Paris, and proved to be written in 
 the Thibet language: all these are striking proofS; 
 that the liberal arts formerly resided in this now 
 barbarous country, and are lasting evidences of 
 the truth of what Peter the Great was wont seve- 
 raJ times to say, viz. that the arts had made the 
 tour of the globe. 
 
 The last province is Kamtshatka, the most 
 eastern part of the continent. The inhabitants 
 were absolutely void of all religion when they 
 were first discovered. The north part of this 
 country likewise affords fine furs, with which the 
 inhabitants clothed themselves in winter, though 
 they went naked all the summer season. The 
 first discoverers were surprised to find in the 
 southern parts men with long beards, while in 
 the northern parts, from the country of the Samo- 
 jedes, as far as the mouth of the river Amur, 
 they have no more beards than the Americans. 
 Thus, in the empire of Russia, there is a greater 
 number rf different species, more singularities, 
 and a greater diversity of manners and customs, 
 tlian in any country in the known world. 
 
 The first discovery of this country was made 
 by a Cossack ofiicer, who went by land from Si- 
 beria to Kamtshatka, m 1701, by order of Peter 
 the Great, who, notwithstanding his misfortune 
 at Narva, still continued to extend his care from 
 one extremity of the continent to tie other. 
 Afterwards, in 1725, some time before death 
 surprised him, in the midst of his great exploits, 
 he sent Captain Bering, a Dane, with exprew
 
 PETER THE GREAT. 31 
 
 orders to find out, if possible, a passage by the 
 sea of Kamtshatka, to the ccast of America. 
 Bering did not succeed in liis first atteirpt ; but 
 the empress Anne sent him out again in 1733. 
 M. Spengenberg, captain of a ship, his associate 
 in this voyage, set out the first from Kamtshatka, 
 but could not put to sea till the year 1739, so 
 much time was taken up in getting to the port 
 •where they were to embark, in buildi .)g and fit- 
 ting out the ships, and providing the necessaries. 
 Spengenberg sailed as far as the north part of 
 Japan, through a streight, formed by a long chain 
 of islands, and returned without having disco- 
 vered the passage. 
 
 In 1741, Bering cruised all over this sea, in 
 company with De Lisle de la Croyere, the astro- 
 nomer, of the same family of L'Isle, which has 
 produced such excellent geographers : another 
 captain likewise went upon the same discovery. 
 They both made the coast of America, to the 
 northward of California. Thus the north-east 
 passage, so long sought after, was at length dis- 
 covered, but there were no refreshments to be met 
 with in those barren coasts. Their fresh water 
 failed them, and part of the crew perished with 
 the scurvy. 1 hey saw the northern bank of Cali- 
 fornia for above a hundred miles, and saw some 
 leathern canoes, with just such a sort of people 
 in them as the Canadians. All their endeavours 
 however proved fruitless : Bering ended his life 
 in an island, to which he gave his name. The 
 other captain, happening to be closer in with the 
 Californiau coast, sent ten of his people on shore, 
 who ever returned. The captain, after waiting 
 for tuem in vain, found himself obliged to return 
 back '0 Kamtshatka, and De Lisle died as he 
 «'a» going on shore. Such are the disasters that 
 i»ave geneially attended every new attempt upon
 
 ?9 HISTORY OF 
 
 the northern seas. But what advantages maj 
 yet arise from tliese powerful and dangerous dis- 
 coveries, time alone can prove. 
 
 We have now described all the different pro- 
 vinces that compose the Russian dominions, from 
 Finland to the sea of Japan. The largest parts 
 of this empire have been all united at different 
 times, as has been the case in all other kingdoms 
 in the world. The Scythians, Huns, Massagetes, 
 Slavians, Cimbrians, Getes, and Sarmatians, are 
 now subjects of the czar. The Russians, pro- 
 perly so called, are the ancient Roxolani or Slavi. 
 
 Upon reflection, we shall find that most states 
 were formed in che same manner. The French 
 are an assemblage of Goths, of Danes called 
 Normands, of northern Germans, called Burgun- 
 dians ; of Franks, Allraans, and some Romans, 
 mixed with the ancient Celtae. In Rome anrt 
 Italy there are several families descended from 
 the people of the Nonh, but none that we know 
 of from the ancient Romans. The supreme pon- 
 tiff is frequently the offspring of a Lombard, a 
 Goth, a Teuton, or a Cimbrian. The Spaniards 
 are a race of Arabs, Carthaginians. Jews, Tyrians, 
 Visigoths, and Vandals, incorporated with the 
 ancient inhabitants of the country. When na- 
 tions are thus intermixed, it is a long time before 
 tbey are civilized, or even before their language 
 is formed. Some, indeed, receive these sooner, 
 others later. Polity and the liberal arts are so 
 difficult to establish, and the new raised structure 
 is so often destroyed by revolutions, that we 
 may wonder all nations are not so barbarous w 
 Tartars.
 
 PETER THE GREAT 35 
 
 CHAP. II. 
 
 Continuation of the description of Russia, population 
 fiiiances, armies, customB, religion : state of Russia 
 before Peter the Great. 
 
 'PHE more civilized a country is, the better it 
 is peopled. Thus China and India are more 
 populous than any other empires, because, after 
 a multitude of revolutions, which changed the 
 face of sublunary affairs, these two nations made 
 the earliest establishments in civil society : the 
 antiquity of their government, which had sub- 
 sisted upwards of four thousand years, supposes, 
 as we liave already observf^i, many essays and 
 efforts in preceding agt.s. The Russians came 
 very late ; but the arts having been introduced 
 amongst theui in their full perftcdon, it has hap- 
 pened, that they have made more progress in 
 fifty years, than any other nation had done be- 
 fore them in five hundred. The country is far 
 from being populous, in proportion to its extent; 
 but. such as it is, it has as great a number of in- 
 habitants as any other state in Christendom. 
 From the capitation lists, and the register of 
 merchants, artificers, and male peasants, 1 might 
 safely as>er-t, that Russia, at present, contains 
 at least twenty-four millions of male inhabitants : 
 of tliese twenty-four millions, the greatest part 
 are villains or bondmen, as in Poland, several 
 provinces of Germany, and formerly throujihout 
 all Europe. The estate of a gentleman in Russia 
 and Poland is computed, not i)y his increase in 
 money, but by the number of his slaves. 
 
 The following is a list, taken in 1747, of all 
 the males who paid the capitation or poll-tax : — 
 
 Merchants or tradesmen 198000 
 
 Handicrafts .... .... 1650w 
 
 B2
 
 S4 HISTORV or 
 
 Peasants incorporated with the mer- 
 chants and handicrafts 1950 
 
 Peasants called Odonoskis, who contri- 
 bute to maintain the militia . . . 430220 
 
 Others who do not contribute thereto . 26080 
 
 Workmen of different trades, whose 
 
 parents are not known 1000 
 
 Others who are not incorporated with 
 
 the companies of tradesmen . . . 4700 
 
 Peasants immediately dependent on the 
 
 crown, about 555000 
 
 Persons employed in the mines belong- 
 ing to the crown, partly Christians, 
 partly Mahometans and Pagans . . 64000 
 
 Other peasants belonging to the crown, 
 who work in the mines, and in pri- 
 vate manufactories 24200 
 
 New converts to the Greek church . 57000 
 
 Tartars and Ostiaks (peasants) . . . 241000 
 
 Mourses, Tartars, Mordauts, and others, 
 whether Pagans or Christians, em- 
 ployed by the admiralty .... 7800 
 
 Tartars subject to contribution, called 
 
 Tepteris, Bobilitz, Sec 28900 
 
 Bondmen to several merchants, and 
 other privileged persons, who though 
 not landholders, are allowed to have 
 slaves 9100 
 
 Peasants in the lands set apart for the 
 
 support of the crown 418000 
 
 Peasants on the lands belonging to her 
 majesty, independently of the rights 
 of the crown 60500 
 
 Peasants on the lands confiscated to the 
 
 crown 13600 
 
 Bondmen belonging to the assembly of 
 the clergy, and who defray other ex- 
 penses 37500
 
 PETER THE GREAT. 35 
 
 Bondmen belonging to gentlemen . . 3550000 
 Bondmen belonging to bishops . . . 116400 
 Bondmen belonging to convents, whose 
 
 numbers were reduced by Peter the 
 
 Great 721500 
 
 Bondmen belonging to cathedral and 
 
 parish churches 2S700 
 
 Peasants employed as labourers in the 
 
 docks of the admiralty, or in otlier 
 
 public wc^iks, about 4000 
 
 Labourers in the mines, and in private 
 
 manufactures 16000 
 
 Peasants on the lands assigned to the 
 
 principal manufactures 14500 
 
 Labourers in the mines belonging to the 
 
 crown 300 
 
 Bastards brought up by the clergy . . 40 
 
 Sectaries called Raskolniky .... iii'iOO 
 
 Total 6646390 
 
 Here we have a round number of six millions 
 six hundred forty-six thousand three hundred 
 and ninety male persons, who pay the poll-tax. 
 In this number are included boys and old men, 
 but girls and women are not reckoned, nor boys 
 born between the making of one register of the 
 lands and another. Now, if we only reckon 
 triple the number of heads subject to be taxed, 
 including women and girls, we shall find near 
 twenty millions of souls. 
 
 To this number we may add the military list, 
 ■which amounts to three hundred and fifty thou- 
 sand men : besides, neither the nobili-ty nor clergy, 
 who arc computed at two hundred thousand, are 
 subject to this capitation. 
 
 Foreigners, of whatever country or profession, 
 are likewise exempt : as also the inhaLiiant.s uf
 
 56 IIISTOUV OF 
 
 the conquered countries, namely, Livon;a, Es- 
 thonia, Ingria, Carelia, and a part of Finland, 
 the Ukraine, and the Don Cossacks, the Cal- 
 mucks, and other Tartars, Samojedes. the Lap- 
 landers, the Ostiaks, and all the idolatrous people 
 of Siberia, a country of greater extent than China. 
 
 By the same calculation, it is impossible that 
 the total of the inhabitants of Russia should 
 amount to less than twenty-four millions. At 
 this rate, there are eight persons to every square 
 mile. The English ambassador, whom I have 
 mentioned before, allows only five ; but he cer- 
 tainly was not furnished with such faithful me- 
 moirs as those with which 1 have been favoured. 
 
 Russia therefore is exactly five times less po- 
 pulous than Spain, but contains near four times 
 the number of inhabitants : it is almost as popu- 
 lous as France or Germany ; but, if we consider 
 its vast extent, the number of souls is thirty times 
 less. 
 
 There is one important remark to be made in 
 regard to this enumeration, namely, that out o! 
 six million six hundred and forty thousand peo- 
 ple liable to the poll-tax, there are abuut nine 
 hundred thousand that belong to the Russian 
 clergy, without reckoning either the ecclesiastics 
 of the conquered countries, of the Ukraine, or of 
 Siberia. 
 
 Therefore, out of seven persons liable to the 
 poll-tax, the clergy have one ; but, nevertheless, 
 they are far from possessing the seventh part of 
 the whole revenues of the state, as is the case in 
 many other kingdoms, where they have at least 
 H seventh of all estates; for their peztsants pay 
 :j capitation to the sovereign ; and the other 
 taxes of the crown of Russia, in which the clei^ 
 ^.ive no share, are very considerable. 
 
 T\;\» valuation is very different from that of
 
 PETER THE GREAT. 3*^ 
 
 ftll other writers, on the aflFairs of Russia ; so that 
 forpign ministers, who have transmitted memoirs 
 of this state to their courts, have been great!}'- 
 mistaken. The archives of the empire are the 
 only things to be consulted. 
 
 It is very probable, that Russia has been bet- 
 ter peopled than it is at present ; before the 
 sraall-pox, that came from the extremities of 
 Arabia, and the great pox that came from Ame- 
 rica, had spread over these climates, where they 
 have now taken root. The world owes these 
 two dreadful scourges, which have depopulatec 
 it more than all its wars, the one to Mahomet, 
 and the other to Christopher Columbus. The 
 plague, which is a native of Africa, seldom ap- 
 proached the countries of the North : besides, 
 the people of those countries, from Sarmatia to 
 the Tartars, who dwell beyond the great wall, 
 having overspread the world by their irruptions, 
 this ancient nursery of the human species must 
 have been surprisingly diminished. 
 
 In this vast extent of country, tnere are said 
 to be about seventy-four ♦.housand monks, and 
 five thousand nuns, notwithstanding the care 
 taken by Peter the Great to reduce their number; 
 a care worthy the legislator of an empire where 
 the human race is so remarkably deficient. These 
 thirteen thousand persons, thus immured and 
 lost to the state, have, as the reader may have 
 observed, seventy-two thousand bondmen to till 
 their lajids, which is evidently too great a num- 
 ber : there cannot be a stronger proof how diffi- 
 cult it is to eradicate abu.^es of a long standing. 
 
 I find, by a list of the revenues of the empire 
 in 17o5, that reckoning the tribute paid by the 
 Tartars, with all taxes and duties in money, the 
 8um total amounted to thirteen millions of rubles, 
 which jnakes sixty five millions of French livreb.
 
 38 HISTORY OF 
 
 exclusive of tributes in kind. This moderate sum 
 was at that time sufficient to maintain three 
 hundred and thirty-nine thousand five hundred, 
 as well sea as land forces : but both the revenues 
 and troops are augmented since that time. 
 
 The customs, diets, and manners of the Rus- 
 sians, ever bore a greater affinity to those of Asia 
 than to those of Europe: such was the old cus- 
 tom of receiving tributes in kind, of defraying the 
 expenses of ambassadors on their journeys, and 
 during their residence in the country, and of 
 never appearing at church, or in the royal pre- 
 sence with a sword ; an oriental custom, directly 
 the reverse of that ridiculous and barbarous one 
 amongst us, of addressing ourselves to Gcd, to 
 our king, to our friends, and to our women, with 
 an offensive weapon, which hangs down to the 
 bottom of the leg. The long robe worn on public 
 days, had a more noble air than the short habits 
 of the western nations of Europe. A vest lined 
 and turned up with fur, with a long scimar, 
 adorned with jewels for festival days ; and those 
 high turbans, which add to the stature, were 
 much more striking to the eye than our perukes 
 and close coats, and more suitable to cold cli- 
 mates ; but this ancient dress of all nations seems 
 to be not so well contrived for war, nor so con- 
 venient for working people. .Most of their other 
 customs were rustic ; but we must not imagine, 
 that their manners were so barbarous as some 
 writers would have us believe. Albert Krants 
 relates a story of an Italian ambassador, whom 
 the czar ordered to have his hat nailed to his 
 head, for not pulling it cff while he was making 
 his speech to him. Others attribute this adven- 
 ture to a Tartar, and others again to a French 
 ambassador. 
 
 Olearius pretends, that he czar Michael
 
 PETEK THE GREAT. 39 
 
 Theodorowitz, banished the marquis of E-xideuil, 
 ambassador from Henry IV. of France, into 
 Siberia ; but it is certain, that this monarch sent 
 no ambassador to INIoscow, and that there never 
 was a marquis of Exideiiil in France. In the 
 same manner do travellers speak about the 
 country of Borandia, and of the trade they have 
 carried on with the people of Nova Zembla, 
 which is scarcely inhabited at all, and the long 
 conversations they have had with some of the 
 Samojedes, as if they understood their language. 
 Were the enormous compilations of voyages to 
 be cleared of every thing that is not true nor use- 
 ful in them, both the works and the public would 
 be gainers by it. 
 
 The Russiaii government resembled that of the 
 Turks, in respect to the standing forces, or guards, 
 called Strelitzes, who, like the janissaries, some- 
 times disposed of the crown, and frequently dis- 
 turbed the state as much as they defended it. 
 Their number was about forty thousand. Those 
 who were dispersed in the provinces, subsisted 
 by rapine and plunder ; those in Moscow lived 
 like citizens, followed trades, did no duty, and 
 carried their insolence to the greatest excess : in 
 short, there was no other way to preserve peace 
 and good order in the kingdom, but by breaking 
 them ; a very necessary, and at the same time a 
 very dangerous step. 
 
 The public revenues did not exceed five mil- 
 lions of rubles, or about twenty-five millions of 
 French livres This was suflBcient when czar 
 Peter came to the crown to maintain the ancient 
 mediocrity, but was not a third part of what was 
 necessary to go certain lengths, and to render 
 himself and people considerable in Europe : but 
 at the same time many of tlieir taxes were paid 
 ia kind, according to the Turkish custom, which
 
 40 HISTORY OF 
 
 is less burthensome to the people than that of 
 paying their tributes in money. 
 
 OF TFIE TITLE OF CZAR. 
 
 As to the title of czar, it may possibly come 
 from the tzars or tchars of the kingdom of Casau. 
 When John, or Ivan Basilides, completed tbe 
 conquest of this kingdom in the sixteenth century, 
 which had been begun by his grandfather, who 
 afterwards lost it, he assumed this title, which 
 his successors have retained ever since. Before 
 John Basilides, the sovereign of Russia, took the 
 title of Welike Knez, i. e. great prince, great 
 lord, great chief, which the Christian nations af- 
 terwards rendered bv that of great duke. Czar 
 Michael Theodorowitz, when he received the 
 Holstein embassy, took to himself the follo\\'ing 
 titles : ' Great knez, and great lord, conservator 
 of all the Russias, prince of Wolodomer, Moscow, 
 Xovogorod, &c. tzar of Casan, tzar of Astracan, 
 and Lzar of Siberia.' Tzar was, therefore, a title 
 belonging to these eastern princes ; and, there- 
 fore, it is more probable to have been derived from 
 the tshas of Persia, than from the Roman Caesars, 
 whom the Siberian tzars, on the banks of the 
 Oby, can hardly be supposed to have ever heard. 
 
 No title, however pompous, is of any conse- 
 quence, if those who bear it are not great and 
 powerful themselves. The word emperor, which 
 originally signified no more than general of the 
 army, became the title of the sovereign of the 
 Roman republic : it is now given to the supreme 
 governor of all the Russias, more justly than to 
 any other potentate, if we consider the power and 
 extent of his dominions. 
 
 RELIGION. 
 
 The established religion of this country has, 
 ?ver since the eleventh centurv, been that of the
 
 PETER THE GREAT. 41 
 
 Greek church, so called in opp.osition to the Latin : 
 though there were always a greater number of 
 Mahometan and Pagan proTinces, than of those 
 inhabited by Christians. Siberia, as far as China, 
 was in a state of idolatry ; and, in some of the 
 provinces, they were utter strangers to all kind 
 of religion. 
 
 Perry, the engineer, and baron Strahlemberg, 
 who both -esided so many years in Russia, tell 
 us, that they found more sincerity and probity 
 among the Pagans than the other inhabitants ; 
 not that paganism made them more virtuous, but 
 their manner of living, which, was that of the pri- 
 mitive ages, as they are called, freed them from 
 all the tumultuous passions ; and, in consequence, 
 they were known for their integrity. 
 
 Christianity did not get footing in Russia and 
 the other countries of the North, till very late. 
 It is said, that a princess, named Olha, first in- 
 troduced it, about the end of the tenth century, 
 as Clotilda, niece to an Arian prince, did among 
 the Franks , the wife of Miceslaus, duke of Po- 
 land, among the Poles ; and the sister of the em- 
 peror Henry II. among the Hungarians. Women 
 are naturally easily persuaded by the ministers 
 of religion, and as easily persuade the other part 
 of mamkind. 
 
 It is further added, that the princess Olha 
 caused herself to be baptized at Constantinople, 
 by the name of Helena ; and that, as soon as she 
 embraced Christianity, the emperor John Zimis- 
 ces fell in love with her. It is most likely that 
 she was a widow ; however, she refused the em- 
 peror. The example of the princess Olha, or 
 Olga, as she is called, did not at first make many 
 proselytes. Her son,* who reigned a long time, 
 
 • liiG name was SowattoH-slaw.
 
 42 HISTORY OF 
 
 was not of the same way of thinking ashis mother , 
 but her grandson, Wolodomer. who was born of 
 a concubine, having murdered his brother and 
 mounted the throne, sued for the alliance of Ba- 
 siles, emperor of Constantinople, but could obtain 
 it only on condition of receiving baptism : and 
 this event, which happened in the year 987, is 
 the epocha when the Greek church was first es- 
 tablished in Russia. Photius. the patriarch, so 
 famous for his immense erudition, his disputes 
 with the church of R.ome, and for his misfortunes, 
 sent a person to baptize Wolodomer, in order to 
 add this part of the world to the patriarchal see.* 
 Wolodimer, or Wolodomer, therefore com- 
 pleted the work which his grandmother had be- 
 gun. A Greek was made the first metropolitan* 
 or patriarch of Russia ; and from this time the 
 Russians adopted an alphabet, taken partly from 
 the Greek. This would have been of advantage 
 to them, had they not still retained the princi- 
 ples of their own language, which is the Sclavo- 
 nian in every thing, but a few terms relating to 
 their liturgy and church government. One of the 
 Greek patriarchs, named .'eremiah, having a suit 
 depending before the divan, came to Moscow to 
 solicit it ; where, after some time, he resigned 
 his authority over the Russian churches, and con- 
 secrated patriarch, the archbishop of Novogorod, 
 named Job. This was iu the year 1.588, from 
 which time the Russian church became as inde- 
 pendent as its empire. The patriarch of Russia 
 has ever since been consecrated by the Russian 
 bishops, and not by the patriarch of Constanti- 
 no])le. He ranked in the Greek church next Iff 
 
 • Tbis anecdote is taken from a private ^IS. entitled, 
 ' The Ecclesiastical Government of Russia." which is lika^ 
 wiK deposited in the public library.
 
 PETER THE GREAT. 43 
 
 the patriarch of Jerusalem, but he was in fact the 
 only free and powerful patriarch ; and, conse- 
 quently, the only real one. Those of Jerusalem, 
 Constantinople, Antioch, Alexandria, are merce- 
 nary chiefs of a church, enslaved by the Turks r 
 and even the patriarchs of Jerusalem and Antioch 
 are no longer considered as such, having no more 
 credit or influence in Turkey, than the rabbins of 
 the Jewish synagogues settled there. 
 
 It was from a person who was a patriarch of 
 all the Kussias, that Peter the Great was de- 
 scended in a right line. These new prelates soon 
 wanted to share the sovereign authority with the 
 czars. i'hey thought it not enough that their 
 prince walked bare-headed, once a year before 
 the patriarch, leading his horse by the bridle. 
 These external marks of respect only served to 
 increase their thirst for rule ; a passion which 
 proved the source of great troubles in Russia, as 
 well as in other countries. 
 
 Nicon, a person whom the monks look upon 
 as a saint, and who was patriarch in the reign 
 ('( Alexis, the father of Peter the Great, wanted 
 to raise his dignity above that of the throne ; for 
 he not only assumed the privilege of sitting by 
 tlie side of the czar in the senate, but pretended 
 that neither war nor peace could be made with- 
 out his consent. His authority was t^o great, that, 
 being supported by his immense wealth, and by 
 his intrigues with the clergy and the people, he 
 kept his master in a kind of subjection. He had 
 the boldness to excommunicate some senators 
 who opposed his excessive insolence; till at last, 
 Alexis, finding himself not powerful enough to 
 depose Lim by his own authority, was obliged to 
 convene a synod of all the bishops. There the 
 patriarch was accused of having received money 
 from the Poles j and being convicted, was deposed,
 
 44 HISTORY OF 
 
 and confined for the remainder of his days in a 
 monaster^', after which the prelates chose another 
 patriarch in his stead. 
 
 From the first infancy of Christianity in Russia, 
 there have been several sects there, as well as in 
 other countries ; for sects are as frequently the 
 fruits of ignorance, as of pretended knowledge : 
 but Russia is the only Christian state of any con- 
 siderable ext-ent, in which religion has not excit- 
 ed civil wars, though it has felt some occasional 
 tiunults. 
 
 The Raskolnikys, who consist at present of 
 about two thousand males, and who are men- 
 tioned in the foregoing list,* are the most ancient 
 sect of any in this country. It was establishe^d 
 in the twelfth century, bv some enthusiasts, who 
 had a superficial knowledge of the New Testa- 
 ment- they made use then, and still do, of the 
 old pretence of all sectaries, that of following 
 the letter, and accused all other Christians of 
 remissness. They would not permit a priest, 
 who had drank brandy, to confer baptism ; they 
 affirmed, in the words of our Saviour, that there 
 is neither a first nor a last, among the faithful ; 
 and held, that one of the elect might kill himself 
 for the love of his Saviour. According to them 
 it is a great sin to repeat the hallelujah three 
 times ; and, therefore, repeat it only twice. The 
 benediction is to be given only with three fingers. 
 In other respects, no society can be more regu- 
 lar, or strict in its morals. They live like the 
 quakers, and, like them, do not admit any other 
 Christians into their assemblies, which is the 
 reason that these have accused them of all the 
 abominations of which the heathens accused the 
 primitive Galileans: these latter, the gnostics, 
 
 • See page .^5.
 
 PETER THE GREAT. 46 
 
 and with which the Roman catholics have charg- 
 ed the protestants. They have been frequently 
 accused of cutting the throat of an infant, and 
 drinking its blood ; and of mixing together in 
 their private ceremonies, without distinction of 
 kindred, age, or even of sex. They have been 
 persecuted at tiroes, and then they shut them- 
 selves up in their hamlets, set fire to their houses, 
 and thrown themselves into the tiames. Peter 
 took the only method of reclaiming them, which 
 was by letting them live in peace. 
 
 But to conclude, in all this vastempiie, there 
 are but twenty eight e})iscopal sees ; and in 
 Peter's time there were but twenty -two. This 
 small number was, })erhaps, one of the causes to 
 which the Russian church owes its tranquillity. 
 So very circumscribed was the knowledge of the 
 clergy, that czar Theodore, brother to Peter the 
 Great, was the first who introduced the custom 
 of singing Psalms in churches. 
 
 Theodore and Peter, espev-laUy the latter, ad- 
 mitted indifFerently, into thtir councils and their 
 armies, those of the Greek, the Latin, the Lu- 
 theran, and the Calvinift communion, leaving 
 every one at liberty to serve God after his own 
 conscience, provided he did his duty to the state. 
 At that time there was not one Latin church in 
 this great empire of two thousand leagues, till 
 Peter established some new manufactures at As- 
 tracan,when there were about sixty Roman catho ■ 
 lie families, under the direction of the ca|)uchins ; 
 but the Jesuits endeavouring to establish them- 
 selves in his dominions, he drove them out by 
 an edict, published in the month of April, 17 18. 
 He tolerated the capuchins as an insignificant set 
 of monks, but considered the Jesuits as dangerous 
 politicians. 
 
 The Greek church has at once the honour and
 
 4o HISTORY OF 
 
 Batisfaction o see its communion extended 
 throughout c.n empire of two thousand leagues 
 in length, while that of Rome is not in possession 
 of half that tract in Europe. Those of the Greek 
 communion have, at all times, been particularly 
 attentive to maintain an equality between theirs 
 and the Latin church ; and always upon their 
 guard against the zeal of the see of Rome, which 
 they look upon as ambition ; because, in fact, 
 that church, whose power is very much circum- 
 scribed in our hemisphere, and yet assumes the 
 title of universal, has always endeavoured to act 
 up to that title. 
 
 The Jews never made any settlements in 
 Russia, as they have done iu most of the other 
 states of Europe, from Constantinople to Rome. 
 The Russians have carried on their trade by 
 themselves, or by the help of the nations settled 
 amongst them. Theirs is the only country of the 
 Greek communion, where synagogues are not 
 seen by the side of Christian temples. 
 
 Coneluaion of the State of 
 RUSSIA before PETER the GREAT. 
 
 Russia is indebted solely to czar Peter for its 
 great influence in the affairs of Europe : being 
 of no consideration in any other reign, since it 
 embraced Christianity. Before '.his period, the 
 Russians made the same figure on the Black Sea, 
 that the Normans did afterwards on the coasts of 
 the ocean. In the reign of the emperor Hera- 
 clius, they fitted out an armament of forty thou- 
 sand small barks; appeared before Constanti- 
 nople, which thev besieged, and imposed a 
 tribute on the Greek emperors; but the grand 
 knez Woiodimar, being wholly taken up uath 
 the care of establishing Chrifltianity in his do-
 
 PETER THE GREAT. 47 
 
 in'nions, and wearied out with intestine broils 
 in his own family, weakened his dominions by 
 dividing them between his children. They al- 
 most all fell a prey to the Tartars, who held 
 Russia in subjection near two hundred years. 
 At lenotl Join Basilides freed it from slavery, 
 and enlar>jed its boundaries: bat, after his time, 
 it was ruined again by civil wars. 
 
 Before the time of Peter the Great, Russia was 
 neither so powerful, so well cultivated, so popu- 
 lous, nor so rich as at present. It had no posses- 
 sions in Finland, nor in Livonia ; and this latter 
 alone had long been worth more than all Siberia. 
 The Cossacks were still unsubjected, nor were 
 the people of Astracan reduced to obedience •, 
 what little trade was carried on, was rather to 
 their disadvantage. The White Sea, the Baltic, 
 the Pontus Euxinus, the sea of Azoph, and the 
 Caspian Sea, were entirely useless to a nation 
 that had not a single ship, nor even a term in 
 their language to express a fleet. If nothing 
 more had been wanting but to be superior to the 
 Tartars, and the other nations of the north, as 
 far as China, the Russians undoubtedly had that 
 advantage, but they were to be brought upon an 
 equality with civilized nations, and to be in a 
 condition, one day, of even surpassing several of 
 them. Such an undertaking apj)eared altogether 
 impracticable, inasmuch as they had not a single 
 ship at sea, and were absolutely ignorant of mi- 
 litary dicipline by land : nay, the most common 
 manufactures were hardJy encouraged, and agri- 
 culture itself, that primnm mobile of trade, was 
 neglected. This requires the utmost attention 
 and encouragement on the part of a govornment; 
 and it is to this that the English are indebted, for 
 finding in their corn a treasure far superior to 
 their woollen manufacture.
 
 43 HISTORY OF 
 
 This gross neglect of the necessary arts, suffi* 
 cieRtly shews that the people of Russia had no 
 idea of the polite arts, which become necessar}', 
 in their tarn, when we have cdtivated the others. 
 Thej might indeed, have sent some of the na- 
 tives to gain instruction among foreigners, but 
 the difference of languages, manners, and reli- 
 gion, opposed it. Besides, there was a iaw of 
 state and religion, equally sacred and pernicious, 
 which prohibited any Russian from going out of 
 his country, and thus seemed to devote this peo- 
 ple to eternal ignorance. They were in posssr.- 
 sion of the most extensive dominions in the uni- 
 verse, and yet every thing was wanted amongst 
 them. At length Peter was bom, and Russia 
 became a civilized state. 
 
 Happily, of all the great lawgivers who bav3 
 lived in the world, Peter is the only one whose his- 
 tory is well known. Those of Theseus and Romu- 
 lus, who did far less than him, and of the founders 
 of all well-governed states, are blended with the 
 most absurd fictions : whereas here, we have tba 
 advantage of written truths, which would pass 
 for nctious, were they not so well attested. 
 
 CHAP. III. 
 
 The ancestors of Peter the Great. 
 'T'HE family of Peter the Great have been in 
 possession of the throne ever since the year 
 1613. Before that time, Russia had undergone 
 revolutions, which h-ad retarded the reform.ation 
 of her police, and the introduction of the liberal 
 arts. This has been the fate of all human socie- 
 ties. No kingdom ever experienced more crueJ 
 troubles. In the year 1.597, -the tyranf. Boris
 
 PETER THE GREAT. 4i 
 
 Godonow assassinated Demetrius (or Demetri, 
 as he was called), the lawful heir, and usurped 
 the empire. A young monk took the name of 
 Demetrius, pretending to be that prince who had 
 escaped from his murderers ; and with the assis- 
 tance of the Poles, and a considerable party 
 (which every tyrant has against him), he drove 
 out the usurper, and seized the crown himself. 
 The imposture was discovered as soon as he 
 came to the sovereignty, because the people were 
 not pleased with him ; and he was murdered. 
 Three other false Demetrius's started up, one 
 after another. Such a succession of impostors, 
 supposes a country in the utmost distraction. 
 The less men are civilized, the more easily they 
 are imposed on. It may readily be conceived, 
 how much these frauds augmented the public 
 confusion and misfortunes. The Poles, who had 
 begun the revolutions, by setting up the first false 
 Demetrius, were on the point of being masters 
 of Russia. The Swedes shared in the spoils on 
 the coast of Finland, and laid claim to the crown. 
 The state seemed on the verge of utter destruc- 
 tion. 
 
 In the midst of these calamities, an assembly, 
 composed of the principal boyards, chose for 
 their sovereign a yoimg man of fifteen years of 
 age : this happened in 1613, and did not seem a 
 very likely method of putting an end to these 
 troubles. This young man w;is Michael Roma- 
 now,* grandfather to czar Peer, and son to the 
 archbishop of Ilotow, surnamed PliilaTcles, and 
 of a nun, and related by the mother's bide to the 
 ancient czars. 
 
 • Tbu8 the Russians call this roung man ; but in all 
 French authors we find Romano, tluit lanj^uai^e having u& 
 Burh letter ae the W ; others again cull hira Komatioff. 
 
 c
 
 50 HISTORY OF 
 
 It must be observed, that this archbisbop was 
 a powerful nobleman, whom the tyrant Boris had 
 obliged to become priest. His wife, Scheremetow, 
 was likewise compelled to take the veil ; this was 
 the ancient custom of the western tyrants of the 
 Latin church, as that of putting out the eyes was 
 with the Greek Christians. The tyrant Deme- 
 trius made Philaretes archbishop of Rostow, and 
 sent him ambassador to Poland, where he was 
 detained prisoner by the Poles, who were then 
 at war with the Russians ; so little was the law 
 of nations known to the different people of these 
 times. During his father's confinement, young 
 Romanow was elected czar. The archbishop was 
 exchanged against some Polish prisoners ; and, 
 at his return, his son created him patriarch, and 
 the old man was in fact king, under his son's name. 
 
 If such a government appears extraordinary to 
 strangers, the marriages of czar Michael Roma- 
 now, will seem stil4 more so. The Russian 
 princes had never intermarried with foreign 
 states since the year 1490, or after they became 
 masters of Casan and Astracan ; they seem to 
 have followed the .Vsiatic customs in almost every 
 thing, and especially in that of marrying only 
 among their own subjects. 
 
 This conformity to the ancient customs of Asia, 
 was still more conspicuous at the ceremonies 
 observed at the marriage of a czar. A num.ber 
 of the most beautiful women in the provinces 
 were sent for to court, where they were received 
 by the grand gouvemante of the court, who pro- 
 vided apartments for them in her own house, 
 where they all eat together. The czar paid them 
 visits, sometimes incognito, and sometimes in 
 his real character. The wedding-day was fixed, 
 without its being declared on whom the choice 
 had fallen. At the appointed time, the happy
 
 PETER THE GREAT. 51 
 
 she was presented with a rich wedding-suit, and 
 other dresses were given to the rest of the fair 
 candidates, wlio then returned home. There 
 have been four instances of these marriages. 
 
 In this manner was Michael Romanow es- 
 poused to Eudocia, the daughter of a poor gen- 
 tleman, named Streschneu. He was employed 
 in ploughing his grounds with his servants, when 
 the lords of the bed-chamber came to him with 
 presents from the czar, and to acquaint him that 
 his daughter was placed on the throne. The name 
 of the princess is still held in the highest venera- 
 tion by the Russians. This custom is greatly 
 different from ours, but not the less respectable 
 on that account. 
 
 It is necessary to observr-, that before Roma- 
 now was elected czar, a strong party had made 
 choice of prince Ladislaus, son to Sigismund 111. 
 king of Poland. At the same time, the pro- 
 vinces bordering on Sweden had offered the 
 crown to a brother of Gustavus Adolphus : so 
 that Russia was in the same situation then in 
 which we have so frequently seen Poland, where 
 the right of electing a king has been the source 
 of civil wars. But the Russians did not follow 
 the example of the Poles, who entered into a 
 compact with the prince whom they elected ; 
 notwithstanding they had smarted from the op- 
 pression of tyrants, yet they voluntarily sub- 
 mitted to a young man, without making any con- 
 ditions with him. 
 
 Russia never was an elective kingdom ; but 
 the male issue of the ancient sovereigns failing, 
 and six czars, or pretenders, having perished 
 miserably in the late troubles, there was, a.s we 
 have observed, a necessity for electing a mo- 
 narch ; and this election occasioned fresh wars 
 uith Poland and Sweden, who maintained, with
 
 52 HISTORY OF 
 
 force of arms, their pretended rights tD the 
 crown of Russia. The right of governing a na- 
 tion against its own will, can never be long sup- 
 ported. The Poles, on their side, after having 
 advanced as far as jMoscow, and exercised all 
 the ravages in which the military expeditions of 
 those times chiefly consisted, concluded a truce 
 for fourteen rears. Bv this truce, Poland re- 
 mained in possession of the duchy of Smolensko, 
 in which the Boristhene.s has its source. The 
 Swedes also made peace, in virtue of which they 
 remained in possession of Ingria, and deprived 
 the Russians of all communication with the Baltic 
 Sea, so that this empire was separated more than 
 ever from the rest of Europe. 
 
 Michael Romanow, after this peace, reigned 
 quietly, without making any alteration in the 
 state, either to the improvement or corruption 
 of the administration. After his death, which 
 happened in 1645, his son, Alexis Michaelowitz 
 (or son of Michael), ascended the throne by 
 hereditary right. It may be observed, that the 
 czars were crowned by the patriarch of Russia, 
 according to the ceremonies in use at Constanti- 
 nople, except that the patriarch of Russia, was 
 seated on the same ascent with the sovereign, 
 and constantly affected an equality highly insult- 
 ing to the supreme power. 
 
 ALEXIS MICHAELOWITZ. 
 
 Alexis was married in the same manner as his 
 father, and from among the young women pre- 
 sented, he chose the one who appeared the most 
 amiable in his eyes. He married a daughter of 
 the boyard Mefoslauski, in 1647 ; his second 
 wife, whom he married in 1671, was of the fa- 
 mily of Nariskin, and his favourite Morosow was 
 married to another. 'I'here cannot be a mors
 
 PETER THE GREAT. 53 
 
 Buitable title found for this favoarite tban that of 
 vizier, for be governed the empire in a despotic 
 manner ; and, by his great power, excited several 
 commotions among the strelitzes and the popu- 
 lace, as frequently happens at Constantinople. 
 
 The reign of Alexis was disturbed by bloody 
 insurrections, and by domestic and foreign wars. 
 A chief of the Don Cossacks, named Stenko- 
 Rasin, endeavoured to make himself king of 
 Astracan, and was for a long time very formida- 
 ble; but, being at length defeated and taken 
 prisoner, he ended his life by the hands of the 
 executioner ; like all those of this stamp, who 
 have nothing to expect but a throne or a scaflfold. 
 About twelve thousand of his adherents are said 
 to have been hanged on the high road to Astra- 
 can. In this part of tbe world, men being uninflu- 
 enced by morality, were to be governed only by 
 rigour ; and from this severity, frequently carried 
 on to a degree of cruelty, arose slavery, and a 
 secret thirst of revenge. 
 
 Alexis had a war with the Poles that proved 
 successful, and terminated in a peace, which 
 secured to him the possession of Smolensko, 
 Kiow, and the Ukraine : but he was unfortunate 
 against the Swedes, and the boundaries of the 
 Russian empire were contracted within a very 
 narrow compass on that side of the kingdom. 
 
 The Turks were at that time his most formi- 
 dable enemies : they invaded Poland, and threat- 
 ened the dominions of the czar that bordered 
 upon Crim Tartary, the ancient Taurica Clierso- 
 nesus. In 1671, tliey took the important city of 
 Kaminiek, and all that belonged to Poland in 
 tbe I'kraine. The Coss:\cks of that country, 
 ever averse to 'Subjection, knew not whether they 
 belonged to tlie Turks, Poland, or Uussia. Sultan 
 Mahomet 1 V. who had conquered the Poles, and
 
 54 HISTORY OF 
 
 had just imposed a tribute upon them, demanded, 
 with all the haughtiness of an Ottoman victor, 
 that the czar should evacuate his possessions in 
 the Ukraine, but received :is haughty a denial 
 from that prince. Men did not know at that 
 time how to disguise their pride, by an outside 
 of civility. The sultan, in his letter, styled the 
 sovereign of the Russias only Christian Hospodar, 
 and entitled himself 'most gracious majesty, 
 king of the universe.' The czar replied in these 
 terms, ' that he scorned to submit to a Mahome- 
 tan dog, and that his scimetar was as good as the 
 grand seignior's sabre.' 
 
 Alexis at that time formed a design which 
 seemed to presage the influence which the Rus- 
 sian empire would one day obtain in the ChTJstian 
 world. He sent ambas.^adors to the pope, and 
 to almost all the great sovereigns in Europe, ex- 
 cepting France (which was in alliance with the 
 Turks), in order toestablish a league against the 
 Ottoman Porte. His ambassadors at the court 
 of Rome succeeded only in not being obliged to 
 kiss the pope's toe ; and in other courts they met 
 with only unprofitable good wishes ; the quarrels 
 of the Christian princes between themselves, and 
 the jarring interests arising from those quarrels, 
 having constantly prevented them from uniting 
 against the common enemy of Christianity. 
 
 In the mean time, the Turks threatened to 
 chastise the Poles, who refused to pay their tri- 
 bute : czar Alexis assisted on the side of Crim 
 Tartary, and John Sobieski, general of the crown, 
 wiped off his countrj''s stain in the blood of the 
 'J urks, at the famous battle of Choczini,* in 1674, 
 
 • Or Chotsin, a town of Upper Moldavia in European 
 Turkey, well fortified both by nature aud art, situated oa 
 the Driester, aud subject to the Turks, from whom it 
 B-as taken by the Russians in 1739.
 
 PETER THE GREAT. 55 
 
 which paved his way co the throne. Alexis dis- 
 puted this very throne with him, and proposed 
 to unite his extensive dominions to Poland, as 
 the Jagellons had done ; but in regard to Li- 
 thuania, the greatness of his offer was the cause 
 of its being rejected. He is said to have been 
 very deserving of the new kingdom, by the man- 
 ner in which he governed his own. He was the 
 first who caused a body of laws to be digested 
 in Russia, though imperfect ; and introduced both 
 linen and silk nu'inufactures, which indeed were 
 not long kept up ; nevertheless, he had the merit 
 of their first establishment. He peopled the 
 deserts about the Wolga and the Kama, with 
 Lithuanian, Polish, and Tartarian families, whom 
 he had taken prisoners in his wars : before his 
 reign, all prisoners of war were the slaves of 
 those to wliose lot they fell. Alexis employed 
 them in agriculture : he did his utmost endea- 
 vours to introduce discipline among his troops, 
 in a word, he was worthy of being the father of 
 Peter the Great ; but he had no time to perfect 
 what he had begun, being snatched away by a 
 sudden death, at the age of forty-six, in the 
 beginning of the year 1677, according to our st)'le, 
 which is eleven days forwarder than that of 
 Russia. 
 
 F(EDOR. or THEODORE ALEXIOWITZ. 
 Upon the death of Alexis, son of Michael, all 
 fell again into confusion. He left, by his first mar- 
 riage, two princes, and six princesses. Theodore, 
 the eldest, ascended the throne at fifteen years of 
 age. He was a priice of a weak and sickly con- 
 stitution, but of merit superior to his bodily in- 
 firmities. His father Alexis had caused him to 
 be acknowledged his successor, a year before his 
 death : a conduct observed by the kings of France
 
 56 HISTORY OF 
 
 from Hugh Capet down to Lewis tbe Young, and 
 by many other crowned heads. 
 
 The second son of Alexis was Iwan, or John, 
 who was still worse treated by nature than his 
 brother Theodore, being almost blind and dumb, 
 very infirm, and frequently attacked with convul- 
 sions. Of six daughters, bom of this first mar- 
 riage, the only one who made any figure in Europe 
 was the princess Sophia, who was remarkable for 
 her great talents ; but unhappily still more so for 
 the mischief she intended against Peter the Great. 
 
 Alexis, by his second marriage with another of 
 his subjects, daughter of the boyard Nariskin, had 
 Peter and the princess Nathalia. Peier was bom 
 the 3()th of ]May (or the 10th of June new stile), 
 in the vear 167 '2, and was but four } ears old when 
 he lost his father. As the children of a second mar- 
 riage were not much regarded in Russia, it was 
 little expected that he would one dav mount the 
 throne. 
 
 It had ever been the character of the family of 
 RomLmow to civilize their state. It was also that 
 of Theodore. We have already remarked, in 
 speaking of Moscow, that this prince encouraged 
 the inhabitants of that city to h\ ild a great number 
 of stone bouses. He likewise enlarged that capi- 
 tal, and made several useful regulations in the 
 general police ; but, by attempting to reform the 
 boyards, he made them all his enemies : besides, 
 he was not possessed of sufficient knowledge, 
 vigour, or resolution, to venture upon making a 
 general reformation. The war with the Turks, or 
 rather with the Crim Tartars, in which he was 
 constantly engaged with alternate success, would 
 not permit a prince of his weak state of health to 
 attempt so great a work. Theodore, like the rest 
 of his predecessors, married one of his own sub- 
 jects, a native of the frontiers of Poland ; but hav-
 
 PETER THE GREAT. 57 
 
 ing lost her in less than a year after their nuptials, 
 he took for his second wife, iu 168i, Martha 
 Matweowna, daughter of the secretary Nariskin.* 
 Some months after this marriage, he was seized 
 with the disorder which ended his days, and died 
 without leaving any children. As the czars mar- 
 ried without regard to birth, they might likewise 
 (at least at that time) appoint a successor without 
 respect to primogeniture. The dignity of consort 
 and heir to the sovereign seemed to be entirely 
 the reward of merit ; and, in that respect, the 
 custom of this empire was much preferable to the 
 customs of more civilized states. 
 
 Theodore, before he expired, seeing that his 
 brother Iwan was by his natural infirmities in- 
 capable of governing, nominated his younger 
 brother Peter, heir to the empire of Russia. Peter, 
 who was then only in his tenth year, had already 
 given the most promising hopes. 
 
 If, on the one hand, the custom of raising a 
 subject to the rank of czarina, was favourable to 
 the females, there was another which was no less 
 hard upon them ; namely, that the daughters of 
 the czars were very seldom married, but were 
 most of them obliged to pass their lives in a 
 monastery. 
 
 The princess Sophia, third daughter of czar 
 Alexis, by his first marriage, was possessed of 
 abilities, equally great and dangerous. Perceiv- 
 ing that her brother Theodore had not long to live, 
 she did not retire to a convent ; but finding her- 
 self situated between two brothers, one of whom 
 was incapable of governing, through his natural 
 inability ; and the other, on account of his youth, 
 
 • This must certainly be a mistake of M. de Voltaire, 
 or an error in the pres^s ; for the lady here spoken of WM 
 the daughter of Matthias Apraxim, a person on whom 
 Theodore had lately conferred nobility. 
 
 C2
 
 58 HISTORY OF 
 
 she conceived the design of j. lacing herself at the 
 head of the empire. Hence, in the last hours of 
 czar Theodore, she attempted to act the part that 
 Pulcheria had formerly played with her brother, 
 the emperor Theodosius. 
 
 CHAP. IV. 
 
 JOHN A'SD PETER. 
 
 Horrible Sedition among the Strelitzes.* 
 
 1682. r^ZAR Theodore's eyes were scarcely 
 closed, when the nomination of a 
 prince of only ten years old to the throne, the ex- 
 clusion of the elder brother, and the intrigues of 
 the princess Sophia, their sister, excited a most 
 bloody revolt among the strelitzes. Never did 
 the janissaries, nor the praetorian guards, exercise 
 more horrible barbarities. The insurrection be- 
 gan two days after the interment of Theodore, 
 when they all ran to arms in the Kremlin, which 
 is the imperial palace at Moscow. There they 
 began with accusing nine of their colonels, for 
 keeping back part of their pay. The ministry 
 was obliged to break the colonels, and to pay the 
 strelitzes the money they demanded : but this did 
 not satisfy them, they insisted upon having these 
 nine officers delivered up to them, and condemned 
 them, by a majority of votes, to suflFer the Battogs, 
 or Knout ; the manner of which punishment is as 
 follows : — 
 
 The delinquent is stripped naked, and laid flat 
 *n his belly, while two executioners beat him 
 ,iPver the back with switches, or small canes, till 
 
 • Extracted wholly from the memoirs sent from 
 Moscow and Petersburg.
 
 PETEBL THE GREAT. 59 
 
 the judge, who stands by to see the sentence put 
 in execution, says, * It is enough.' The colonels, 
 after being thus treated by their men , were obliged 
 to return them thanks, according to the custom of 
 the eastern nations ; where criminals, after un- 
 dergoing their punishment, must kiss the judge's 
 hand. Besides complying with this custom, the 
 officers gave them a sum of money, which was 
 something more than the custom. 
 
 While the strelitzes thus began to make them- 
 selves formidable, the princess Sophia, who se- 
 cretly encouraged them, in order to lead them by 
 degrees from crime to crime, held a meeting at 
 her house, consisting of the princesses of the blood , 
 the generals of the army, the boyards, the patri- 
 arch, the bishops, and even some of the principal 
 merchants ; where she represented to them, that 
 prince John, by right of birch and merit, was en- 
 titled to the em})ire, the reigns of which she in- 
 tended to keep in her own liands. At the break- 
 ing up of the assembly, she caused a promise to 
 be made to the strelitzes, of an augmentation of 
 pay, besides considerable presents. Her emis- 
 saries were in particular employed to stir up the 
 soldiery against the Nariskin family, especially 
 the two brothers of the young dowager cz;irina, 
 the mother of Peter the First. These persuaded 
 the strelitzes, that one of the brothers, named 
 John, had put on the imperial robes, had seated 
 himself on the throne, and had attempted to 
 strangle prince John ; adding, moreover, that the 
 late czar Theodore had been poisoned by a villain, 
 named Daniel Vongad, a Dutch physician. At 
 last Sophia put into their hands a list of forty 
 noblemen, whom she stiled enemies to their corps, 
 and to the state, and as such worthy of death. 
 These proceedings exactly resembled the pro- 
 sctiptions of Sylla, and the Roman triumvirate.
 
 60 HISTORY (^F 
 
 which had been revived by Christian II. in Den- 
 mark and Sweden, This may serve to shew, that 
 such cruelties prevail in all countries in times of 
 anarchy and confusion. The mutineers began the 
 tragedy with throwing the two knez, or princes, 
 Dolgorouki and IMatheof, out of the palace-win- 
 dows ; whom the strelitzes received upon the 
 points of their spears, then stripped them, and 
 dragged their dead bodies into the great square ; 
 after this they rushed into the palace, where meet- 
 ing with Athanasius Nariskin, a brother of the 
 young czarina, and one of the unclesof czar Peter, 
 they murdered him in like manner ; then break- 
 ing open the door of a neighbouring church, where 
 three of the proscribed persons had taken refuge, 
 they drag them from the altar, strip them naked, 
 and stab them to death with knives. 
 
 They were so blinded with their fury, that see- 
 ing a young nobleman of the family of Soltikoff, a 
 great favourite of theirs, and who was not in- 
 cluded in the list of the proscribed, and some of 
 them mistaking him for John Nariskin, whom 
 they were in search of, they murdered him upon 
 the spot ; and what plainly shews the manners 
 of those times, after having discovered their 
 error, they carried the body of yoang SoltikofF, to 
 his father to bury it ; and the wretched parent, 
 far from daring to complain, gave them a consi- 
 derable reward for bringing him the mangled 
 body of his son. Being reproached by his wife, 
 his daughters, and the widow of the deceased, 
 for his weakness, • Let us wait for an opportunity 
 of being revenged,' said the old man. These 
 words being overheard by some of the soldiers, 
 they returned furiously back into the room, 
 dragged the aged parent by the hair, and cut his 
 throat at his own door. 
 
 Another party of the strelitzes, who wero
 
 PETER THE GREAT. 61 
 
 •couring the city in search of the Dutch physi- 
 cian, Vongad, met with his son, of whom they 
 inquired for his father ; the youth trembling, re- 
 plied, he did not know where he was, upon 
 which they immediately dispatched him. Soon 
 after, a German physician falling in their way, 
 ' You are a doctor,' said they, ' and if you did 
 not poison our master, Theodore, you have 
 poisoned others, and therefore merit death ;' and 
 thereupon killed him. 
 
 At length they found the Dutchman, of whom 
 they were in quest, disguised in the garb of a 
 beggar; they instantly drag him before the 
 palace. The princesses who loved this worthy 
 man, and placed great confidence in his skill, 
 begged the strelitzes to spare him, assuring 
 them that he was a very good physician, and had 
 taken all possible care of their brother Theodore. 
 The strelitzes made answer, that he not only de- 
 served to die as a physician, but also as a sor- 
 cerer ; and that they had found in his house, a 
 great dried toad, and the skin of a serpent. They 
 furthermore required to have young Nariskin de- 
 livered up to them, whom they had searched for 
 in vain for two days : alleging, that he was cer- 
 tainly in the palace, and that they woul-.' set fire 
 to it, unless lie was put into their hands. The 
 sisterof John Nariskin, and theother princesses, 
 terrified by their menaces, went to acquaint their 
 unhappy brother in the place of his concealment, 
 with what had passed-; upon which the patriarch 
 heard his confession, administers the viaticum, 
 and extreme unction to him, and then, taking 
 an image of the blessed Virgin, which was said 
 to perform miracles, he leads the young man 
 forth by the hand, and presents him to the stre- 
 litzes, shewing them, at the same time, the image 
 of the Virgin. The princesses, who in tears s\ii»
 
 62 HISTORY OF 
 
 rounded Nariskin, falling upon their kn?es before 
 the soldiers, besought them, in the name of the 
 blessed Virgin, to spare their relation's life ; but 
 the inhuman wretches tore him from their arms, 
 and dragged him to the foot of the stairs, toge- 
 ther with the phvsician Vongad, where they 
 held a kind of tribunal among themselves, and 
 condemned them both eo be put to the torture. 
 One of the soldiers, who could write, drew up a 
 form of accusation, and sentenced the two unfor- 
 tunate princes to be cut in pieces ; a punishment 
 inflicted in China and Tartary on parricides, and 
 called the punishment of ten thousand slices. 
 After having thus used Nariskin and Vongad, 
 tbev exposed their heads, feet, and hands, on the 
 iron points of a balustrade. 
 
 While this partv of the strelitzes were thus 
 glutting their fury in the sight of the princesses, 
 the rest massacred every one who was obnoxious 
 to them, or suspected by the princess Sophia. 
 
 This horrid tragedy concluded with proclaim- * 
 iug the two princes, John and Peter, in June, 
 1682, joint sovereigns, and associating their 
 sister Sophia with them, in the quality of co- 
 regent ; who then publicly approved of ail their 
 outrages, gave them rewards, confiscated the es- 
 tates of the proscribed, and bestowed them upon 
 their murderers. She even permitted them to 
 erect a monument, with the names of the per- 
 sons they had murderetl. as being traitors to their 
 country : and to crown all, she published letters- 
 patent, thanking them for their zeal and fidelity.
 
 PETEFy the great. 63 
 
 CHAP. V. 
 
 Administration of the princess Sophia. Extraordi- 
 nary quarrel about religion. A conspiracy. 
 
 CUCH were tlie steps by which the princess 
 Sophia did in effect ascend the throne of 
 Russia, though without being declared czarina ; 
 and such the examples that Peter the First had 
 before his eyes. Sophia enjoyed all the honours 
 of a sovereign ; her bust was on the public coin ; 
 she signed all dispatches, held the first place in 
 council, and enjoyed a power without control. 
 She was possessed of a great share of under- 
 standing, and some wit ; made verses in the Rus- 
 sian language, and both spoke and wrote ex- 
 tremely well. These talents were set off by the 
 addition of an agreeable person, and sullied only 
 by her ambition. 
 
 She procured a wife for her brother John, in 
 the manner already described in several exam- 
 ples. A young lady named Soltikoff, of the fa- 
 mily with the nobleman of that name who had 
 been assassinated by the seditious slrelitzes, was 
 sent for from the heart of Siberia, where her fa- 
 ther commanded a fortress, to be presented to 
 czar John at Moscow. Her beauty triumphed 
 over all the intrigues of her rivals, and John was 
 married to hfr in 168-1. At every marriage of a 
 czar we seem to read the history of Ahasuerus, 
 or that of Theodosius the Younger. 
 
 In the midst of the rejoicings on account of 
 this marriage, the strelitzes raised a new insur- 
 rection, and (who would believe itl) on account 
 of religion! of a particular tenet! Had they 
 been mere soldiers, they would never have !«}- 
 come coutroveriists, but they were also citi-
 
 64 HISTORY OP 
 
 zens cf Moscow. Whosoever has, or assumes 
 a right of speaking in an authoritative manner 
 to the populace, may found a sect. This has 
 been seen in all ages, and all parts of the world, 
 especially since the passion of dogmatizing has 
 become the instrument of ambition, and the terror 
 of weak minds. 
 
 Russia had experienced some previous disturb- 
 ances on occasion of a dispute, whether the sign 
 of the cross vras to be made with three fingers, or 
 with two ! One Abakum, who was also a priest, 
 had set up sc:ne new tenets at Moscow, in re- 
 gard to the Holy Spirit ; which according to the 
 Scriptures, enlightened all the faithful ; as like- 
 wise with respect to the equality of the primitive 
 Christians, and these words of Christ : — ' There 
 shall be amongst jou neither first nor last.' 
 Several citizens and many of the strelitzes, em- 
 braced the opinions of Abakum. One Raspop* 
 was the chief of this party, which became consi- 
 derable. The sectaries, at length, entered (July 
 16, 1682, new stile) the cathedral, where 
 the patriarch and his clergy were officiating ; 
 drove them out of the church with stones, and 
 seated themselves very devoutly in their places, 
 to receive the Holy Spirit. They called the pa- 
 triarch the ' ravenous wolf in the sheepfold ;' a 
 title which all sects have liberally bestowed on 
 each other. The princess Sophia, and the two 
 czars, were immediately made acquainted with 
 these disturbances: and the other strelitzes, who 
 were stauuch to the good old cause, were given 
 to understand, that the czars and the church 
 were in danger. Upon this the strelitzes and 
 
 • Here M. de Voltaire seems to have greatly mistaken 
 the sense of this word. Raspop not being a proper 
 name, in which sense he takes it, but signifies a degraded 
 priest.
 
 PETER THE GREAT. 65 
 
 burghers of the patriarchal party attacked the 
 Abakumists : but a stop was put to the carnage, 
 by publishing a convocation of a council, which 
 was immediately assembled in a hall of the 
 palace. This took up very little time, for they 
 obliged every priest they met to attend. The 
 patriarch, and a bishop, disputed against Ras- 
 pop ; but at the second syllogism, they began to 
 throw stones at one another. The council ended 
 wi;h ordering Raspop, and some of his faithful 
 disciples to have their heads struck off; and the 
 s ntence was executed by the sole order of the 
 three sovereigns, Sophia, John, and Peter. 
 
 During these troubles, there was a knez, named 
 Chowanskoi, who having been instrumental in 
 raising the princess Sophia to the dignity she then 
 held, wanted, as a reward for his services, to 
 have a share in the administration. 
 
 It may be supposed, that he found Sophia not 
 so grateful as he could wish ; upon which he es- 
 poused the cause of religion, and the persecuted 
 Raspopians, and stirred up a party among the 
 streliizes and the people, in defence of God's 
 name. 
 
 This conspiracy proved a more serious affair 
 than the tnthusiastic riot of Raspop. An ambi- 
 tious hypocrite always cairies things farther than 
 a simple fanatic. Chowanskoi aimed at no less 
 than the imperial dignity ; and to rid himself of 
 all cause of fear, he resolved to murder the two 
 czars, Sophia, the other princesses, and every 
 one who was attached to the imperial family. 
 The czars and tlie princesses were obliged to re- 
 tire to the monastery of the Holy Trinity, within 
 twelve leagues of Petersburg.* 'I'his was, at the 
 same time, a convent, a palace, and a fortress, 
 
 * We suppose the author meaiis Moscow.
 
 6b HlSTORi' OF 
 
 like Mount Cassino,* Corby, t Fulda f Kempten,$ 
 and several others belonging to the Latin church. 
 This monastery of the Trinity belongs to the 
 monks of St. Basil. It is surrounded by deep 
 ditches, and ramparts of brick, on which is planted 
 a numerous artillery. The monks are possessed 
 of all the country round for four leagues. The 
 imperial family were in full safely there, but more 
 on account of the strength, than the sanctity of 
 the place. Here Sophia treated with the rebel 
 knez ; and having decoyed him halfway, caused 
 his head to bf struck off, together with those of 
 .^jj„ one of his sons, and thirty-seven stre- 
 litzes who accompanied him. 
 The body of strelitzes upon this news, fly to 
 arms, and march to attack the convent of Trinity, 
 threatening to destroy every thing that canie in 
 their way. The imperial family stood upon their 
 defence ; the boyards arm their vassals, all ihe 
 gentlemen flocked in, and a bloody civil war 
 seemed on the point of beginning. The patriarch 
 somewhat pacified the strelitzes, who began to 
 be intimidated with the number of troops that 
 were marching towards them on all sides : in short, 
 their fury was changed into fear, and their fear 
 into the most abject submission ; a change com- 
 
 • Or Cossano, a small town and abbey in the Milanese. 
 Oa the Adda, near this place, an obstinate battle waa 
 fought between the Germans and French, in 17. ">5, when 
 prince Eugene defeated the duke of Vendome. 
 
 f A town and abbey on the borders of Westphalia, in 
 Germany ; the abbot of which is a sovereign prince, and 
 has a seat in the imperial diet. 
 
 X Or Fuld, a town and abbey of Hesse, in Germany ; 
 ■itnate on a river of the same name. It is governed by 
 tn abbot, who is a prince of the empire, 
 
 9 An imperial city of Suabia, in Germany, situate ov 
 the Ifar
 
 PETER THE GREAT. 67 
 
 moD to the multitude. Three thousand seven 
 hundred of this corps, followed by their wives 
 and children, with ropes tied about their necks, 
 went in procession to the convent of the Trinity, 
 which three days before they had threatened to 
 burn to the ground. In this condition, these un- 
 happy wretches present themselves before the 
 gate of the convent, two by two, one carrying a 
 block and another an axe ; and prostrating them- 
 selves on the ground, waited for their sentence. 
 They were pardoned upon their submission, and 
 returned back to Moscow, blessing their sove- 
 reigns ; and still disposed, though unknown to 
 themselves, to commit the same crime upon the 
 very first opportunity. 
 
 These commotions being subsided, the state 
 resumed an exterior of tranquillity; but Sophia 
 still remained possessed of the chief authority, 
 leaving John to his incapacity, and keeping Peter 
 in the subjection of a ward. In order to strengthen 
 her power, she shared it with Prince Basil Ga- 
 litzin, whom she created generalissimo, mmister 
 of slate, and lord keeper. Galitzin was in every 
 respect superior to any person in that distracted 
 court : he was polite, magnificent, full of great 
 designs, more learned than any of his country- 
 men, as having received a much better education, 
 and was even master of the l^atin tongue, which 
 was, at that time, almost entirely unknown in 
 Russia. He was of an active and indefatigable 
 spirit, had a genius superior to the times he lived 
 in, and capable, had he had leisure and power, 
 as he had inclination, to have changed the face 
 of things in Russia. This is the eulogium given 
 of him by La Neuville, at that time the Polisii 
 envoy in Russia; and the encomiums of foreigner* 
 are seldom to be suspected. 
 
 Thia minister bridled the. insolence of the stBT-
 
 68 HISTORY OF 
 
 litzes, by distributing the most mutinous of that 
 body among the several regiments in the Ukraine, 
 in Casan, and Siberia. It was under his admi- 
 nistration that the Poles, long the rivals of Rus- 
 sia, gare up, in 1686, all pretensions to the large 
 provinces ofSmolensko and the Ukraine. He 
 was the first who sent an embassy to France, in 
 1687; a country which had, for upwards of 
 twenty years, been in the zenith of its glory, by 
 the conquests, new establishments, and the mag- 
 nificence of Lewis XIV. and especially by the 
 improvement of the arts, there can be not only 
 external grandeur, but solid glory. France had 
 not then entered into any correspondence with 
 Russia, or rather was unacquainted with that em- 
 pire ; and the academy of inscriptions ordered a 
 medal to be struck to couimemorate this embassy, 
 as if it had come from the most distant part of 
 the Indies ; but notwithstanding all this, the am- 
 bassador Dolgorouski miscarried in his negotia- 
 tion, and even suffered some gross affronts on ac- 
 count of the behaviour of his domestics, whose 
 mistakes it would have been better to have over- 
 looked ; but the court of Lewis XIV. could not 
 then foresee, that France and Russia would one 
 day reckon among the number of their advan- 
 tages, that of being cemented by the closest union. 
 
 Russia t^as now quiet at home, but she was 
 still pent up on the side of Sweden, though en- 
 larged towards Poland, her new ally, in continual 
 alarms on the side of Crim Tartar v, and at va- 
 riance with China in regard to the frontiers. 
 
 The most intolerable circumstance for their em- 
 pire, and which plainlv shewed, that it had not yet 
 attained to a vigorous and regular administration, 
 was, that the khan of the Crim Tartars exacted 
 an annual tribute of 6000 rubles, in the nature 
 of that which the I'urk had imposed on the Poles.
 
 PETER THE GREAT. 69 
 
 Crim Tartary is the ancieut Taurica Cherso- 
 nesus, formerly so famous by the commerce of 
 the Greeks, and still more by their fables, a 
 fruitful but barbarous country. It took, its name 
 of Crimea, or Crim, from the title of its first khans, 
 who took this name before the conquests of the 
 sons of Gengis Khan. To free his country from 
 this yoke, and wipe off the disgrace of such tri- 
 bute, the prime minister, Galitzin, marched in 
 person (1687, 16B8,) into Crim Tartar)% at the 
 head of a numerous army. These armies were 
 not to be compared to the present troops ; they 
 had no discipline ; there was hardly one regi- 
 ment completely armed ; they had no uniform 
 clothing, no regularity : their men indeed were 
 inured to hard labour and a scarcity of provisions, 
 but then they carried with. them such a prodi- 
 gious quantity of baggage, as far exceeded any 
 thing of the kind in our camps, where the great- 
 est luxury prevails. Their vast numbers of wag- 
 gons for carrying ammunition and provisions, in 
 an uninhabitable and desert country, greatly re- 
 tarded the expedition against Crim rartary. The 
 army found itself in the midst of the vast deserts, 
 on the river Samara, unprovided with magazines. 
 Here Galitzin did what in my opinion, was never 
 done any where else : he employed thirty thou- 
 sand men in building a town on the banks of 
 the Samara, to serve as a place for magazines 
 in the ensuing campaign : it was begun in one 
 year, and finii^hed in the third month of the fol- 
 lowing ; the houses indeed were all wood except 
 two, which were brick ; the ramparts were of 
 turf, but well lined with artillery ; and the whole 
 place was in a tolerable state of defence. 
 
 This was all that was done of any consequence 
 in this ruinous expedition. In the mean while 
 Sophia continued to govern in Moscow, while
 
 70 HISTORY OF 
 
 John had only the name of czar ; and Petei 
 now at the age of seventeen, had already tbi 
 courage to aim at real S!;vereignty. La Neuville, 
 the Polish envoy, then resident at Moscow, and 
 who was eye-witness to all that passed, pretends 
 that Sophia and Galitzin had engaged the new 
 chief of the screlilzes, to sacrifice to them their 
 young czar : it appears, at least, that six hun- 
 dred of these strelitzes were to have made them- 
 selves masters of his person. The private me- 
 moirs which hate been entrusted to my perusal 
 by the court of Russia, afl5rm, that a scheme had 
 actually been laid to murder Peter the First : 
 the blow was on the point of being struck, and 
 Russia for ever deprived of the new existence 
 she has since received. The czar was once 
 more obliged to take refuge in the convent of 
 the Trinity, the usual asylum of the court when 
 threatened by the soldiers. There he assembled 
 the boyards of his party, raised a body of forces, 
 treats with the captains of the strelitzes, and 
 called in the assistance of certain Germans, who 
 had been long settled in Moscow, and were all 
 attached to his person from his having already 
 slie-R-n himself the encourager of strangers. Sophia 
 and John, who continued at Mo.scow, used every 
 means to engage the strelitzes to remain firm to 
 their interests ; but the cause of young Peter, 
 who loudly complained of an attempt meditated 
 against himself and his mother, prevailed over 
 that of the princess, and of a czar, whose very 
 aspect alienated all hearts. All the acomplices 
 were punished with a severity to which that 
 country was as much accustomed as to tbe crimes 
 which occasioned it. Some were beheaded after 
 undergoing the punishment of the knout or bat- 
 tocks The chief of the strelitzes was put to 
 death in the same manner, and several other
 
 PETER THE GREAT. ti 
 
 •uspected persons had their tongues cut out. 
 Prince Galitzin escaped with his life, through 
 the intercession of one of his relations, who was 
 a favourite of czar Peter ; but he was stripped 
 of all his riches, which were immense, and ba- 
 nished to a phice in the neighbourhood of Arch- 
 angel. La Neuville, who was present at the 
 whole of this catastrophe, relates, that the sen- 
 tence pronounced upon Galitziu was in these 
 terms : ' Thou art commanded, by the most cle- 
 ment czar, to repair to Karga, a town under the 
 pole, and there to continue the remainder of thy 
 days. His majesty, out of his extreme goodness, 
 allows thee three pence per day for thy sub- 
 sistence.' 
 
 There is no town under the pole. Karga is 
 in the 62d degree of latitude, and only six de- 
 grees and a half further north than Moscow. 
 Whoever pronounced this sentence must have 
 been a very bad geographer. La Neuville was 
 probably imposed upon by a false account. 
 
 1689.] At length the princess Sophia was once 
 more sent back to her monastery at Moscow,* 
 after having so long held the reins of government; 
 and this revolution proved, to a woman of her 
 disposition, a sufficient punishment. 
 
 From this instant Peter began to reign in 
 reality ; his brother John havin;,^ no other share 
 in the government, but that of seeing his name to 
 all public acts. He led a retired life, and died 
 in 1646. 
 
 * How are we to reconcile this with what the author 
 tells u« in the latter part of the third chapter, where ho 
 •ays, that this princess, ;»erceiTing that her brother Theo- 
 dore was near his end, declined retiring to a convent, a* 
 was the uBoal custom ti the princessea of the imperial 
 family.
 
 72 HISTORY OP 
 
 CHAP. VI. 
 
 The reigc of Peter the First. — Beginning of 
 the grand reformation. 
 
 pETERthe Great was tall, genteel, well-made, 
 with a noble aspect, piercing eyes and a ro- 
 bust constitution, fitted for all kinds of hardship 
 and bodily exercise. He had a sound under- 
 standing, which is the basis of all real abilities ; 
 and to this was joined an active disposition, 
 which prompted him to undertake and execute 
 the greatest things. His education was far from 
 being worthy of his genius. The princess Sophia 
 was, in a peculiar manner, interested to let him 
 remain in ignorance, and to indulge himself in 
 those excesses which youth, idleness, custom, 
 and the high rank he held, made but too allow- 
 able. Nevertheless, he had been lately married, 
 (June 1689) like others of his predecessors, to one 
 of his own subjects, the daughter of colonel La- 
 puchin ; but, as he was young, and for some time 
 enjoyed none of the prerogatives of the crown, 
 but that of indulging his pleasures without re- 
 straint, the ties of wedlock were not always suf- 
 ficient to keep him within just bounds. The 
 pleasures of the table, in which he indulged him- 
 self rather too freely, with foreigners, who had 
 been invited to Moscow by prince Galitzin, 
 seemed not to presage that he would one day be- 
 come the reformer of his country ; however, in 
 spite of bad examples, and even the allurements 
 of pleasure, he applied himself to the arts of 
 war and government, and which, even then, 
 shewed that he had the seeds of greatness in him. 
 It was still less expected, that a prince, who 
 was subject to such a constitutional dread of 
 water, as to subject him to cold sweats, and even
 
 PETER THE GREAT. 73 
 
 convulsions, when be was obliged to cross asnnall 
 river or brook, should become one of the best 
 seamen in all the north. In order to get the 
 better of nature, he began by jumping into the 
 water, notwithstanding the horror he felt at it, 
 till at length this aversion was changed into a 
 fondness for that element.* 
 
 He often blushed at the ignorance in which he 
 had been brought up. He learned, almost of him- 
 self, without the help of a master, enough of Ger- 
 man and high Dutch, to be able to write and ex- 
 plain himself tolerably well in both those lan- 
 guages. The Germans and Dutch appeared to 
 him as the most civilized nations, because the 
 former had already erected, in Moscow, some of 
 those arts and manufactures which he was de- 
 sirous of seeing established in his empire', and the 
 latter excelled in the art of navigation, which he 
 already began to look upon as the most necessary 
 of all others. 
 
 Such were the dispositions which Peter che- 
 rished, notwithstanding the follies of his youth. 
 At the same time, he found himself disturbed by 
 factions at home, had the turbulent spirit of the 
 Btrelitzes to keep under, and an almost uninter- 
 
 • We find, in the memoirs of count Strahlemberg, a 
 Swedish ofl&cer, who was taken prisoner at the battle of 
 Pultowa, and continued many years at the court of czar 
 Peter, the following account of the true cause of this ex- 
 traordinary kind of hydrophobia. When Peter was about 
 five jears of age, his mother took him with her in a 
 coach for an airing, and having to pass a dam, where 
 there was a great fall of water the child, who was then 
 sleeping in his nurse's lap, was so terrified by the rush- 
 ing of the water (the noise of which waked him sud- 
 denly out of his sleep), that he was seized with a violent 
 fever, and, after his recover^', he retained sucli a dread 
 of that element, that he could not bear the 8i2;ht even of 
 any standing water, much leas to bear n running stream 
 D
 
 74 HISTORY OF 
 
 mpted war to manage against the Grim Tartars, 
 For thotigh hostilities had been suspended in 
 1689, by a truce, it had no long continuance. 
 
 During this interval, Peter became confirmed in 
 his design of introducing the arts into his couctrv. 
 
 His father Alexis had, in his lifetime, enter- 
 tained the same views, but he wanted leisure, 
 and a favourable opportunity to carry them into 
 execution ; he transmitted his genius to his son, 
 who was more clear-sighted, more vigorous, and 
 more unshaken by difficulties and obstacles. 
 
 Alexis had been at a great expense in sending 
 for Bothler,* a ship builder and sea captain, from 
 Holland, together with a number of shipwrights 
 and sailors. These built a large frigate and a 
 yacht up.on the Wolga, which they navigated 
 down that river to Astracan, where they were to 
 be employed in building more vessels, for carry- 
 ing on an advantageous trade with Persia, by the 
 Caspian Sea. Just at this time the revolt of 
 Stenko-Rasin broke out, and this rebel destroyed 
 these two vessels, which he ought to }iave pre- 
 served for his O'rni sake, and murdered the cap- 
 tain ; the rest of the crew fled into Persia, from 
 whence they got to some settle<nents belonging 
 to the Dutch East India company. A mastsi- 
 builder, who was a good shipwright, staid behind 
 in Russia, where he lived a long time in obscurity. 
 
 One day, Peter taking a walk at Ishmaelof, a 
 summer-palace built by his grandfather, he per- 
 ceived, among several other rarities, an old Eng- 
 lish shallop, which had lain entirely neglected : 
 upon which he asked Timmerman, a German, 
 and his mathematical teacher, how came that 
 little boat to be of so different a construction from 
 any he had seen on the iMoska 1 Timmerman re 
 plied, that it was made to go with sails and oars. 
 * Memoirs of Petersburg and Moscow.
 
 PETER THE GREAT. 75 
 
 1 be young prince wanted instantly to make a 
 ti >al of it ; but it was first to be repaired and rig- 
 gti. Brant, the ship-builder abovementioned, 
 wa<i by accident found out at INIoscow, where he 
 lived retired ; he soon put the boat in order, and 
 worked her upon the river Yauza, which washes 
 the suburbs of the town. 
 
 Peter caused his boat to be removed to a great 
 lake, in the neighbourhood of the convent of the 
 Trinity ; he likewise made Brant build two more 
 frigates, and three yachts, and piloted them him- 
 self. A considerable time afterwards, viz. in 
 1694, he made a journey to Archangel, and having 
 ordered a small vessel to be built in that port, by 
 the same Brant, he embarked therein on the 
 Frozen Sea, which no sovereign beside himself 
 had ever beheld. On this occasion, he was es- 
 corted by a Dutch man of war, under the com- 
 mand of captain Jolson, and attended by all the 
 merchant-vessels then in the port of Archangel. 
 He had already learned the manner of working 
 a ship ; and, notwithstanding the pains his cour- 
 tiers took to imitate their master, he was the only 
 one who made a proficiency in it. 
 
 He found it no less diflScult to raise a well dis- 
 ciplined body of land forces, on whom he could 
 depend, than to establish a navy. His first essay 
 in navigation, on a lake, previous to his journey to 
 Archangel, was looked upon only as the amuse- 
 ments of a young prince of genius ; and his first 
 attempt to form a body of disciplined troops, like- 
 wise appeared as nothing more than that of di- 
 Tersion. This happened during the regency of 
 the princess Sophia ; and, had he been suspected 
 of meaning any thing serious by this amusement, 
 it might have been attended with fatal conse- 
 quences to him. 
 
 He placed his confidence in a foreigner, the
 
 76 HISTORY OF 
 
 celebrated Le Fort, of a noble and ancient family 
 in Piedmont, transplanted near two centuries ago 
 to Geneva, where they have filled the most con- 
 siderable posts in the state. He was intended 
 to have been brought up to the trade, to which 
 the town is indebted for the figure it now makes ; 
 having formerly been known only as the seat of 
 religious controversies. 
 
 But his genius, which prompted him to the 
 greatest undertakings, engaged him to quit his 
 father's house at the age of fourteen ; and he 
 served four months* in quality of a cadet in the 
 citadel of Marseilles ; from thence he went to 
 Holland, where he served some time as a volun- 
 teer, and was wounded at the siege of Grave, a 
 strong fortified town on the jVIeuse, which the 
 prince of Orange, afterwards king of England, 
 retook from Lewis XIV. in \69-i:. After this, 
 led by hopes of preferment, wherever he could 
 find it, he embarked with a German colonel, 
 named Verstin, who had obtained a commission 
 from Peter's father, the czar Alexis, to raise sol- 
 diers in the Netherlands, and bring them to Arch- 
 angel. But, when he arrived at that port, after 
 a most fatiguing and dangerous navigation, the 
 czar Alexis was no more ; the government wsa 
 changed, and Russia in confusion. The governor 
 of Archangel suffered Verstin, Le Fort, and his 
 whole troop, to remain a long time, in the utmost 
 poverty and distress, and even threatened to send 
 them into the extremity of Siberia ; upon which 
 
 • Thia sliould certainly be four years ; as we can 
 hardly suppose a boy of fourteen j'ears and a half, would 
 be received iuto the military service of any cou3tr3', and 
 much less by the Dutch at that period of time, when they 
 «tood in need of able and experienced soldiers, to with- 
 stand the attacks of the French, who breathed DOthing 
 less than the utter subversion of their state.
 
 PETER THE GREAT. 7*? 
 
 every mtin shifted for himself. Le Fort, in want 
 of every thing, repaired to INIcscfw. where he 
 waited upon the Danish resident, named De Horn, 
 who made him his secretary : there he learned 
 the Russian language, and some time afterwards 
 found means to be introduced to the czar Peter ; 
 the elder brother, Iwan, not being a person for 
 his purpose. Peter was taken with him, and im- 
 mediately gave him a company of foot. Le Fort 
 had seen very little service, he knew but little 
 of letters, not having studied any particular art 
 or science ; hut he had seen a great deal, and 
 had a talent of making the most of what he saw. 
 Like the czar, he owed every thing to his own 
 genius ; he understood the German and Dutch 
 languages, which Peter was learning, as those 
 of two nations that might bt of service in his de- 
 signs. Every thing conspired to make him agree- 
 able to Peter, to %vhom he strictly attached him- 
 self. From being the companion of his pleasures, 
 he became his favourite, and confirmed himself 
 in that station by his abilities. The czar made 
 him his confidant in the most dangerous design 
 that a prince of that country could possibly form, 
 namely, that of putting himself in a condition to 
 be able one day to break the seditious and bar- 
 barous body of forces called the strelitzes. It 
 had cost the great sultan or basha Osman his life, 
 for attempting to disband the janissaries. Peter, 
 young as he was, went to work in a much abler 
 manner than Osman. 
 
 He began with forming, at his country-seat at 
 Preobrazineki, a company of fifty of his youngest 
 domestics ; and some young gentlemen, the sons 
 of boyards, were chosen for their officers : but, 
 in order to teach these young noblemen a subor- 
 dination, to which they were wholly unaccus- 
 Vimed, he made them pass through all the dif-
 
 78 HISTORY OF 
 
 ferent military degrees, and himself set them the 
 example, by serving first as a drum, then as a 
 private soldier, a serjeant, and a lieutenant of 
 the company. Nothing was ever more extraor- 
 dinarv, nor more useful, than this conduct. The 
 Russians had hitherto made war in the same man- 
 ner as our ancestors at the time of the feudal 
 tenures, when the unexperienced nobles took the 
 field at the head of their vassals, undisciplined, 
 and ill armed : a barbarous method, sufficient in- 
 deed to act against the like armies, but of no use 
 against regular troops. 
 
 This company, which was formed wholly by 
 Peter himself, soon increased in numbers, and 
 became afterwards the regiment of Preobrazinski 
 guards. Another regiment, formed on the same 
 plan, became in time the regiment of Semeni- 
 oujiky guards. 
 
 The czar had already a regiment of five thou- 
 sand men that could be depended upon, trained 
 by general Gordon, a Scotchman, and composed 
 almost entirely of foreigners. Le Fort, who had 
 borne arms but a short tima, but whose capacity 
 was equal to every thing, undertook to raise a 
 regiment of twelve thousand men, which he ef- 
 fected : five colonels were appointed to serve 
 under him, and he saw himself on a sudden ge- 
 neral of this little army, which had been raised, 
 as much to oppose the strelitzes, as the enemies 
 of the state. 
 
 One thing worthy of being remarked,* and 
 which fully confutes the hasty error of those who 
 pretend that France lost very few of its inhabi- 
 tants by the revocation of the edict of Nantz, is, 
 that one- third of his army, which was only called 
 a regiment, consisted of French refugees. L« 
 
 • General Le Fort'ii MS&
 
 PETER THE GREAT. 79 
 
 Fort disciplined his new troops, as if he had been 
 aJl his lifetime a soldier. 
 
 Peter was desirous of seeing one of those ima- 
 ges of war, the mock fights, which had lately 
 been introduced in times of peace: a fort was 
 erected, which was to be attacked by one part of 
 his new troops, and defended by the other. The 
 difference between this fight, and others of the 
 like nature, was, that instead of a sham engage- 
 ment, there was a real one, in which some of his 
 men were slain, and a great many wounded.* 
 Le Fort, who commanded the attack, received a 
 considerable wound. These bloody sports were 
 intended to initiate the young troops into the 
 service of the field ; but it required much labour, 
 and even some degree of sufferings to compass 
 this end. 
 
 These warlike amusements did not take off the 
 czar's attention to his naval project. As he had 
 made Le Fort a general by land, notwithstand- 
 ing his having never borne a command ; he now 
 made him admiral, though he had never had the 
 direction of a ship, but he knew him deserving 
 both of the one and the other. It is true, that he 
 was an admiral without a fleet, and a general 
 with only his regiment for an army. 
 
 By degrees the czar reformed that great abuse 
 in tlie army, viz. the independence of the boy- 
 ards, who, in time of war, used to bring into the 
 field a multitude of their vassals and peasants: 
 this was exactly tlie ancient government of the 
 Franks, Huns, Goths, and Vandals, who indeed 
 subdued the Roman empire in its state of de- 
 cline, but would have been totally destroyed, had 
 they had the warlike disciplined legions of ancient 
 Rome to encounter, or such armies as are now 
 broughf. into the field. 
 
 • General Le Fon'a M9S.
 
 80 HISrORY OF 
 
 Admiral Le Fort was not long, however, be- 
 fore he had something more than an empty title. 
 He employed some Dutchmen and Venetians 
 iu building, a number of barcolongos, or kind 
 of long barks, and also two ships of about thirty 
 guns each, at the mouth of the VVoroniiz, which 
 falls into the Tanais, or Don : these vessels were 
 to fall down the river, and keep in awe the Crini 
 Tartars, with whom hostilities had been renewed. 
 
 The czar was now to determine (in 1689^ 
 against which of the following powers he would 
 declare war, whether against the 1 urks, the 
 Swedes, or the Chinese. Bat here it will be 
 proper to premise on what terms he then stood 
 with China, and which was the first treaty of 
 peace concluded by that nation. 
 
 CHAP. VII. 
 
 Congress and Treaty with the Chinese.* 
 
 'W/'E must set out by forming a proper idea of 
 the limits of the Chinese and Russian em- 
 pires at this period. When we leave Siberia, 
 properly so called, and also far behind us to the 
 south, a hundred hordes of Tartars, with white 
 and black Calmucks, and Mahometan and Pagan 
 Monguls, we come to the 130th degree of longi- 
 tude, and the 52d of latitude upon the river 
 Amur.t To the northward is a great chain of 
 mountains, that stretches as far as the Frozen 
 
 • Extracted from memoirs sent from China ; also from 
 Petersburg, and from letters published in Du Halde's 
 History of China. 
 
 + A famous and considerable river of the Asiatic part 
 of the empire of Russia, which falls into the eastern 
 ocean. It was formerly called Charan Mi»ran; but at
 
 PETER THE GREAT. 81 
 
 Sea, beyond the |)oIar circle. This river, which 
 runs upwarik of five hundred leagues,* through 
 Siberia ard Chinese Tartary, falls, after many 
 windings, into the sea of Kamtshalka. It is af- 
 nrmed for a truth, that at its mouth, which opens 
 with this sea, there is sometimes caught a mon- 
 Ftrous fish, much larger than the hippopotamus 
 of the Nile, and that the tooth thereof is the 
 finest ivory. It is furthermore said, that this 
 ivory was formerly an object of trade ; that 
 they used to convey it through Siberia, which is 
 the reason why several pieces of it are still found 
 under the ground in that country. This is the 
 most probable account of the fossil ivory, of 
 which we have elsewhere spoken ; for it appears 
 highly chimerical to pretend, that there were 
 formerly elephants in Siberia. 
 
 This Amur is likewise called the Black River 
 by the Mantechoux Tartars, and the Dragon's 
 River by the Chinese. 
 
 It was in these countries, so long unknown, 
 that the Russians and Chinese contested the li- 
 mits of their empires. t Ihe Russians had some 
 forts on the river Amur, about three hundred 
 leagues from the great wall. Many hostilities 
 had arisen between these two nations on account 
 of these forts : at length both began to under- 
 stand their interests better ; the emperor Camhi 
 preferred peace and commerce to an unprofitable 
 
 present the Chinese and Mauschurs give it the name of 
 Sagalin Ula. It also bears the several appellations of Ja- 
 mur, Onon, llelonfr, Kiang. and Skilka. It is formed by 
 the junction of the rivers Sckilk and Argun, and is navi- 
 gable to the sea. 
 
 • Busching, the famous geograplier, says, that its whole 
 
 length is no more than fonr hundred miles, so that there 
 
 must be a verj' great error in one or other of these anthora, 
 
 ♦ Memoirs of the Jesuits Pere^ra and Gerbillon. 
 
 1)52
 
 82 HISTORY OF 
 
 •war, and seut several ambassadors to Niptchou. 
 one of those settlements. J'he ambassadors had 
 ten thousand men in their retinue, iucluding 
 their escort; this was Asiatic pomp; but what 
 is very remarkable, is, that there was not an ex- 
 ample in the annals of the empire, of an embassy 
 being sent to another potentate ; and what is 
 still more singular, that the Chinese had never 
 concluded a treaty of peace since the foundation 
 of their monarchy. Though twice conquered by 
 the Tartars, who attacked and subjected them, 
 they never made war upon any people, except- 
 ing a few hordes that were quickly subdued, or as 
 quickly left to themselves, without any treaty. 
 So that this nation, so renowned for morality, 
 knew nothing of what we call the ' Law of na- 
 tions ;' that is to say, of those vague rules of 
 war and peace, of the privileges of foreign mi- 
 nisters, of the formalities of treaties, nor of the 
 obligations resulting from thence, nor of the 
 disputes concerning precedency and point of 
 honour. 
 
 But in what language were the Chinese to 
 negotiate with the Russians, in the midst of de- 
 serts ? This difl5culty was removed by two Jesuits, 
 the one a Portuguese, named Pereira, the other a 
 Frenchman, whose name was Gerbillon ; they set 
 out from Pekin with the Chinese ambassadors, 
 and were themselves the real negotiators. They 
 conferred in Latin with a German belonging to 
 the Russian embassy, who understood this lan- 
 guage. The chief of that embassy was Golowin, 
 governor of Siberia, who displayed a greater 
 magnificence than the Chinese themselves, and 
 thereby gave a high idea of the Russian empire, 
 to a peo])le who thought themselves the only 
 ]X)werful nation under the sun. 
 
 The two Jesuits settled the limits of both era-
 
 PETER THE GREAT. 83 
 
 pires at the river Kerbechi, near the spot where 
 the treaty v.as concluded. xAll the country, to the 
 southward of this line of partition, was adjudged 
 to the Chinese, and the north to the Russians, 
 who only lost a small fort which was found to 
 have been built beyond the limits : a peace was 
 agreed to, and after some few altercations, both 
 parties swore to observe it. in the name of the 
 same God ; * and in these terms, ' If any of us 
 shall entertain the least thought of kindling anew 
 the flames of war. we beseech the supreme Lord 
 of all things, and who knows all hearts, to punish 
 the traitor with sudden death.* 
 
 From this form o*" treaty, used alike by Chinese 
 and Christians, we may infer two important 
 truths : the first, that the Chinese government is 
 neither atheistical nor idolatrous, as has been so 
 frequently and falsely charged upon it, by con- 
 tradictory imputations. Secondly, that all na- 
 tions, who cultivate the gift of reason and under- 
 standing, do, in effect, acknowledge the same 
 God, notwithstanding the particular deviations 
 of that reason, through the want of being properly 
 instructed. 
 
 The treaty was drawn up in Latin, and two 
 copies v/ere made of it. The Russian ambas- 
 sadors set their names the first to the copy that 
 remained in their possession, and the Chinese 
 also signed theirs the first, agreeable to the cus- 
 tom observed by European nations, when two 
 equal powers conclude a treaty with each other. 
 On this occvtion was observed another custom 
 belonging to tlie Asiatic nations, and which was 
 indeed, that of the earliest ages. The treaty 
 was engraven on two large marble pillars, erected 
 on the spot, to determine the boundaries of the 
 two empires. 
 
 * J689, Sept. 8. new style. Memoirs of Cbiso.
 
 84 HISTORY OF 
 
 Three years after this, the czar sent Isbrand 
 Ides, a Dane, his ambassador to China ; and the 
 commerce he then estaolished between the two 
 nations, continued with advantage to each, till 
 the rupture between them in the year 172 J ; but 
 since this short interruption, it has been revived 
 •vith redoubled vigour. 
 
 CHAP. VIII. 
 
 Expedition to the Palus Maeotis ; conquest of Azoph.— 
 The czar sends young gentlemen into foreign countries 
 for improvement. 
 TT was not so easy to have peace with the Turks, 
 and indeed, the time seemed come for the 
 Russians to rise upon their ruins. The republic 
 of Venice, that had long groaned under their 
 yoke, began now to rouse itself. The Doge 
 ^lorosini, the same who had surrendered Candy 
 to the Turks, afterwards took from them the 
 Peloponnesus, which conquest got him the title 
 of Peloponnesian, an honour which revived the 
 memory of the Roman republic. Leopold, em.- 
 peror of Germany, had proved successful against 
 the Ottoman power in Hungary ; and the Poles 
 made shift to check the incursions of the Crim 
 Tartars. 
 
 Peter took advantage of these circumstances, 
 to discipline his troops, and to procure himselt 
 the empire of the Black Sea. General Gurdon 
 marched along the Tanais, towards Azoph, with 
 his numerous regiment of five thousand men, 
 followed by general Le Fort, with his regiment 
 of twelve thousand ; by a body of Strelitzes, under 
 the command of Sheremeto and Schein, na- 
 tives of Prussia ; by a body of Cossacks, and by 
 a large train of artillery : in a word, every thing 
 was ready for this expedition.
 
 PETER THE GREAT. 85 
 
 1694.] This grand army began its march under 
 the command of marshal Shereraeto, or Sche- 
 remejtofF, in the beginning of the summer of 1695, 
 to attack the town of Azoph, at the mouth of the 
 Tanais, and at the extremity of the Palus Maiotis, 
 now called the Zaback Sea. The czrir himself 
 was with the army, but only in quality of a vo- 
 lunteer, being determined to learn, some time 
 before he took upon him to command. During 
 their march, they stormed two forts which the 
 Turks had built on the banks of the river. 
 
 This expedition was attended with some con- 
 siderable difficulties. The place was well for- 
 tified, and defended by a numerous garrison. A 
 number of barcolongos, resembling the Turkish 
 saicks, and built by Venetians, with two small 
 Dutch ships of war, that were to sail out of the 
 Woronitz, could not be got ready soon enough to 
 enter the sea of Azoph. All beginnings meet 
 with obstacles. The Russianshad never yet made 
 a regular siege ; and the first attempt did not 
 meet with all the success that could be desired. 
 
 One .Tacob, a native of Dantzic. had the direc- 
 tion of the artillery, under the command of general 
 Schein ; for as yet they had none but foreign 
 officers belonging to the train, and none but 
 foreign engineers and pilots, ibis Jacob had 
 been condemned to the bastinade, or knout, by 
 .Schein, the Russian general. At that time 
 rigorous discipline was thought to be the only 
 method of strengthening command ; and the Rus- 
 sians quietly submitted to it, notwithstanding 
 their natural bent to sedition ; and after the pu- 
 nishment, did their duty as usual. But the Dane 
 thought in a diff'erent manner, and resolved to 
 be revenged for the treatment he had received, 
 and thereupon nailed up the cannon, deserted to 
 the Turks, turned Mahometan, and defended
 
 86 HISTORY OF 
 
 Azoph, with great success, against his formei 
 masters. This instance shews, that the lenity 
 which is now practi-ed in Russia, is much pre- 
 ferable to the former severities ; and is better 
 calculated to retain those in their duty, who by 
 a good education, have a proper sense of honour. 
 It was absolutely necessary at that time, to use 
 the utmost rigour towards the common people; 
 but since their manners have been changed, the 
 empress Elizabeth ^ has completed, by clemency, 
 the work her father begun, by the authority of 
 the laws. This lenity has even been carried, by 
 this princess, to a degree unexampled, in the 
 history of any nation. She has promised, that, 
 during her reign, no person shall be punished 
 with death, and she has kept her word. She is 
 the first sovereign who ever shewed so much 
 regard for the lives of men. By an institution, 
 equally prudent and humane, malefactors are 
 now condemned to serve in the mines, and other 
 public works : by which means their very punish- 
 ments prove of service to the state. In othei 
 countries, they know only how to put a criminal 
 to death, with all the apparatus of execution, 
 without being able to prevent the perpetration 
 of crimes. The apprehensioji of death makes, 
 perhaps, less impression on those miscreants, 
 who are, for the most part, bred up in idleness, 
 than the fear of punishment and hard labour, 
 renewed every day. 
 
 • The present reigning empress Cathariue seems even 
 to exceed her aunt in lenity, which together with the 
 saperior qualifications of this princess, affords her people 
 the most happy presage of a glorious xeiga ; and it is not 
 without reason, that the most sensible amongst them flat- 
 ter themselves with the hope, that under this augnst 
 princess, the Russian empire will wrive at its highest 
 ptniMcle of glory .
 
 PETER THE GREAT. 87 
 
 To return to the siege of Azoph, which place 
 Was now defended by the same person who had 
 before directed the attacks against it ; the Rus- 
 sians, in vain, attempted to take it by storm; 
 and after losing a great number of men, were 
 obliged to raise the siege. 
 
 Perseverance in his undertakings, was the 
 distinguishing character of Peter the Great. In 
 the spring of 1696, he brought a still more con- 
 siderable army before Azoph. About this time 
 died czar John, bis brother, who though he had 
 not, while living, been the least curb to Peter's 
 authority, having enjoyed only the bare title of 
 czar, yet he had been some restraint upon him 
 in regard to appearances. The money which had 
 been appropriated to the support of John's dig- 
 nity and household, were now applied to the 
 maintenance of the army. This proved no small 
 help to a government, whose revenues were not 
 near so great as they are at present. Peter wrote 
 to the emperor Leopold, to the stales-general, 
 and to the elector of Brandenburg, to obtain engi- 
 neers, gunners, and seamen. He likewise took 
 some Calmucks into his pay, whose light horse 
 are very useful against the Grim Tartars. 
 
 The most agreeable of the czar's successes, 
 was that of his little fleet, which was at length 
 completed, and well commanded. It defeated 
 the Turkish saicks, sent from Constantinople, 
 and took some of them. The siege was carried on 
 regularly by trenches, but not altogether in our 
 method ; the renches being three times deeper 
 than ours, with parapets as high as rampart:;. At 
 length the garrison surrendered, the 28th of July, 
 1696. N.S. without being allowed the honours of 
 war, or to carry out with them either arms or 
 ammunition : they were likewise obliged to de- 
 liver up the renegado, Jacob, to the conquerors.
 
 68 HISTORY OF 
 
 The czar immediately set about fortifying 
 Azoph, built strong forts to protect it, and made 
 a harbour capable of holding large vessels, with 
 a design to make himself master of the Streights 
 of Caffa, or the Cimmerian Bosphorus, which 
 commands the entrance into the Pontus Euxinus, 
 or Black Sea ; places famous in ancient times, 
 by the naval armaments of Mithridates. He 
 left thirty two armed saicks before Azoph,* and 
 made all the necessary preparations for fitting 
 out a fleet against the Turks, to consist of nine 
 ships of sixty guns, and of forty-one, from thirty 
 to fifty. He obliged his principal nobles, and 
 the richer merchants, to contribute towards this 
 armament ; and thinking that the estates of the 
 clergy ought to help towards the common cause 
 he obliged the patriarch, the bishops, and prin- 
 cipal clergy, to pay down a sum of ready money to 
 forward this expedition, in honour of their coun- 
 try, arid the advantage of the Christian faith. 
 The Cossacks were employed in building a num- 
 ber of those light boats in use amongst them, 
 and which were excellent for the purpose of 
 cruizing on the coast of Crim Tartary. The Ot- 
 toman empire was alarmed at this powerful ar- 
 mament ; the first that had ever been attempted 
 on the Palus Micotis. The czar's scheme was to 
 drive the Turks and the Tartars for ever out of 
 the Taurica Chersonesus, and afterwards to es- 
 tablish a free and easy commerce with Persia 
 through Georgia. This is the very trade which 
 the Greeks formerly carried on to Colchos, and 
 to this peninsula of Crim Tartary, which Peter 
 now seemed on the point of conquering. 
 
 Having subdued the Turks and the Tartars, 
 he was willing to accustom his people to splendid 
 
 • Le Fort's Memoirs.
 
 PETER T'iE GREAT. 89 
 
 shows as well as to military labour. He made his 
 army to enter into Moscow, under triumphal 
 arches, in the midst of superb fire-works, and 
 every thing that could add to the lustre of the 
 festival. The soldiers who had fought on board 
 the Venetian saicks against the Turks, and who 
 were a distinct corps of themselves, marched first. 
 Marshal Sheremeto, the general Gordons and 
 Schein, admiral Le Fort, and the other general 
 officers, all took the precedence of their monarch 
 in this processiim, who declared he had no rank 
 in the army, being desirous to convince the nobi- 
 lity, by his example, that the only way to acquire 
 military preferment, was to deserve it.* 
 
 This triumphal entry seemed somewhat a-kin 
 to those of the ancient Romans, in which the 
 conquerors were wont to expose the prisoners 
 they ii ad taken, to public view, and sometimes 
 put them to death : in like manner, the slaves, 
 taken in this expedition, follow the army ; and 
 the deserter Jacob, who had betrayed them, was 
 drawn in an open cart, in which was a gibbet, to 
 which his body was fastened after he had been 
 broke upon the wheel. 
 
 On this occasion was struck the first medal 
 in Russia, with this remarkable legend, in the 
 
 * It is in consequence of this glorious and equitable 
 distinction, that at this day we find nobility gives no 
 precedence iu the court of Russia ; nor can the son of 
 a prince appear there in an3' other rank, than that which 
 his situation in tlic army gives him ; while a private 
 citizen, who by his merit has raiswd himself above his 
 condition, receives all tlic honours due to his post ; or 
 more properly speaking, to the merit which obtained 
 him that post. A reputation of this kind would, me- 
 thinks, be attended with preat a(l\-antage8, both in Eng. 
 land and France, as it would be a means to raise in the 
 youth 01 all ranks, a virtuous and noble emulation.
 
 90 HISTORY OF 
 
 language of the country. ' Peter the First, 
 august emperor of Muscovy.' Oh the reverse 
 was the city of Azoph, with these words ; ' Vic- 
 torious by Fire and Water.' 
 
 Peter felt a sensible concern in the midst of 
 all these successes, that his ships and gallies in 
 the sea of Azoph, had been built entirely by the 
 hands of foreigners; and wished as earnestly to 
 have a harbour in the Baltic Sea, as upon the 
 Pontus Euxinus. 
 
 Accordingly, in the month of March 1677, he 
 sent threescore young Russians of Le Fort's 
 regiment, into Italy, most of them to Venice, and 
 the rest to Leghorn, to instruct themselves in the 
 naval art, and the manoer of constructing gul- 
 lies. He likewise sent forty others into Holland,* 
 to learn the metbcd <;f building and working 
 large ships : and others likewise into Germany, 
 to serve in the land forces, and instruct them- 
 selves in the military discipline of that nation. 
 At length he took a resolution to absent himself 
 for a few years from his own dominions, in order 
 to learn how to govern them tbe better. He had 
 an irresistible inclination to improve himself by 
 his own observation and practice in the know- 
 ledge of naval affairs, and of the several arts 
 which he was so desirous to establish in liis iwu 
 country. He proposed to travel incognito through 
 Denmark, Brandenburg, Holland, Vienna, Ve- 
 nice, and Rome. France and Spain were the 
 only countries he did not take into his plan ; 
 Spain, because the arts he was in quest of, were 
 too much neglected there ; and France, because 
 in that kingdom they reigned with too much 
 ostentation, and that the parade and state of 
 Lewis XIV. which had disgusted so many 
 rrowne.d heads, ill agreed with the private man- 
 • General's Le Fort's MSS.
 
 PETER THE GREAT. 91 
 
 ner in which he proposed lo travel. Moreover, he 
 was in alliance with most of the powers, whose 
 dominions he intended to visit, except those 
 of France and Rome. He likewise remembered, 
 with some degree of resentment, the little respect 
 shewn by Lewis XIV. to his embassy in 1687, 
 which had proved more famous than successful ; 
 and lastly he already began to espouse the cause 
 of Augustus, elector of Saxony, with whom the 
 prince of Conti had lately entered into a compe- 
 tition for the crown of Poland. 
 
 CHAP. IX. 
 Travels of Peter the Great. 
 
 1697 H A^'^ING thus determined to visit the 
 several countries and courts above- 
 mentioned in a private character, he put himself 
 into the retinue of three ambassadors, in the 
 same manner as he had before mingled in the 
 train of his generals at his triumphant entry 
 into Moscow. 
 
 • The three ambassadors were, general Le 
 Fort, the boyard Alexis Gollgwin, commissary- 
 general of lyar, and governor of Siberia, the same 
 who signed the perpetual treaty of peace with the 
 plenipotentiaries of China, on the frontiers ot 
 that empire ; and VVonitzin, diak, or secretary 
 of state, who had been long employed in foreign 
 courts. Four principal secretaries, twelve gen- 
 tlemen, two pages fur each ambassador, a com- 
 pany of fifty guards, with their oflScers, all of the 
 regiment of Preobrazinski, composed the chief 
 retinue of this embassy, which consisted in the 
 
 • The Petersburg Memoirs, and Memoirs of Le Fort.
 
 952 HISTORY OF 
 
 whole of two hundred persons ; and the czar, re- 
 serving to himself only one valet de cbambre, a 
 servant in livery, and a dwarf, mingled with the 
 crowd. It was a thing unparalleled in history, 
 for a king of five-and- twenty years of age, to quit 
 his dominions, in order to learn the art of go- 
 verning. His victory over the Turks and Tartars, 
 the splendour of his triumphant entry into 
 Moscow, the number of foreign troops attached 
 to his service, the death of his brother John, his 
 co-partner in the empire, and the confinement of 
 the princess Sophia to a cloister, and above all 
 the universal respect shewn to his person, seemed 
 to assure him the tranquillity of his kingdom 
 during his absence. He intrusted the regency 
 in the hands of the boyard Strechnef, and the 
 knez or prince Romadonowski, who were to de- 
 liberate with the rest of the boyards in cases of 
 importance. 
 
 Two troops raised by general Gordon remained 
 behind in Moscow, to keep every thing quiet in 
 that capital. Those strelitzes, who were thought 
 likely to create a disturbance, were distributed 
 in the frontiers of Crim Tartary, to preserve the 
 conquest of Azoph, and to check the incursions 
 of the Tartars. Having provided against every 
 incident, he gav^afree scope to his passion and 
 desire of improvement. 
 
 As this journey proved the cause, or at least 
 the pretext, of the bloody war, which so long; 
 traversed, but in the end promoted, all the de- 
 signs of the czar ; which drove Augustus, king 
 of Poland, from the throne ; placed that crown 
 on the head of Stanislaus, and then stript him of 
 it ; which made Charles XII. king of Sweden, 
 the first of conquerors for nine years, and the 
 most unfortunate of kines for nine more ; it is 
 Dficessary, in order to enter into a detail of these
 
 PETER THE GREAT. ^3 
 
 «Tent8, to take a \ iew of the state of Europe at 
 that time. 
 
 Sultan Mustapba II. sat at that time on the 
 Ottoman throne ; the weakness of whose admi- 
 nistration would not permit him to make any 
 great eflforts, either against Leopold, emperor of 
 Germany, whose arms were successful in Hun- 
 gary, nor against the czar, who had lately taken 
 Azoph from him, and threatened to make him- 
 self master of the Pontus Euxinus ; nor even 
 against the Venetians, who had made themselves 
 masters of all the Peloponnesus. 
 
 John Sobieski, king of Poland, for ever famous 
 by the victory of Chocksim, and the deliverance 
 of Vienna, died the 17th of June, 1696, and the 
 possession of that crown was in dispute between 
 Augustus, elector of Saxony, who obtained it, 
 and Armond, prince of Conti, who had only the 
 honour of being elected. 
 
 1697.] Sweden had lately lost, but without re- 
 gret, Charles XI. her sovereign, who was the 
 first king who had ever been really absolute in 
 that country, and who was the father of a prince 
 still more so, and with whom all despotic power 
 ceased. He leftthecrown to his son Charles XII. 
 a youth of only fifteen years of age. This was 
 in all appearance a conjuncture the most fa- 
 vourable for the czar's design ; he had it in his 
 power to extend his dominions on the Gulf of 
 Finland, and on the side of Livonia. But he did 
 not think it enough to harass the Turks on the 
 Black Sea ; the settlements on the Palus Mjeotis, 
 and the borders of the Caspian Sea, were not 
 suflicient to answer his schemes of navigation, 
 commerce, and power. Besides, glory, which -js 
 the darling object of every reformer, was to be 
 found neither in Persia, nor in Turkey, but in 
 our parts of Europe, where great talents are
 
 94 HISTORY OF 
 
 rendered immortal. In a word, Peter did not 
 aim at introducing either the Persian or Turkish 
 manners among his subjects. 
 
 Germany, then at war both with the Turks 
 and with the French, and united with Spain, 
 England, and Holland, against the single power 
 of Lewis XIV. was on the point of concluding 
 peace, and the plenipotentiaries were already 
 met at the castle of Ryswick, in the neighbour- 
 hood of the Hague. 
 
 It was during this situation of affairs, that Peter 
 and his ambassador began their journey in the 
 month of April, 1697, by the way of Great Noto- 
 gorod : from thence they travelled through Es- 
 thonia and Livonia, provinces formerly disputed, 
 by the Russians, Swedes, and Poles, and which 
 the Swedes at last acquired by superiority of arms. 
 
 The fertility of Livonia, and the situation of its 
 capital, Riga, were temptations to the czar, to 
 possess himself of that country. He expressed a 
 curiosity to see the fortifications of the citadel. 
 But count D'Alberg, governor of Riga, taking 
 umbrage at this request, refused him the satisfac- 
 tion he desired, and affected to treat the embassy 
 with contempt. This behaviour did not at afl 
 contribute to cool the inclination the czar might 
 have, to make himself one day master of those 
 provinces. 
 
 From Livonia they proceeded to Brandenburg- 
 Pnissia, part of which had been inhabited by the 
 ancient Vandals ; Polish Prussia had been in- 
 cluded in European Sarmatia. Brandenburg- 
 Prussia was a poor country and badly peopled ; 
 but its elector, who afterwards took the name of 
 king, displayed a magnificence on this occasion, 
 equally new and destructive to his dominions. 
 He piqued himself upon receiving this embassy 
 iu his city of Konigsberg, with all the pomp of
 
 PETER THE GREAT. 95 
 
 royalty. Tte most sumptuous presents were made 
 on both sides. The contrast between the French 
 dress which the court of Berlin affected, and the 
 Jong Asiatic robes of the Russians, with their 
 caps buttoned up with pearls and diamonds, and 
 their scimitars hanging at their belts, produced a 
 singular effect. The czar was dressed after the 
 German fashion. The prince of Georgia, who 
 accompanied him, was clad in a Persian habit, 
 which displayed a different magnificence. This 
 is the same who was taken prisoner afterwards 
 at the battle of Narva, and died in Sweden. 
 
 Peter despised all thi?; ostentation ; it was to 
 have been wished that he had shewn an equal 
 contempt for the pleasures of the table, in which 
 the Germans, at that time, placed their chiefest 
 glory. It was at one of those entertainments,* 
 then too much in fashion, and which are alike 
 fatal to health and morality, that he drew his 
 aword upon his favourite, Le Fort ; but he ex- 
 pressed as much contrition for this s^udden sally 
 of passion, as Alexander did for the murder of 
 Clytus ; he asked pardon of Le Fort, saying, that 
 he wanted to reform his subjects, and could not 
 yet reform himself. General Le Fort, in his 
 manuscript praises the czar more for this good- 
 ness of heart, than he blames him for his excess 
 of passion. 
 
 The ambassadors then went through Pomerania 
 and Berlin ; and, from thence, one part took its 
 way through Magdeburg, and the other by Ham- 
 burg, a city which already began to be consider- 
 able by its extensive commerce, but not so rich 
 and populous as it has become since. From thence 
 they directed their route towards Minden, crossed 
 Westphalia, and at length, by the way of CIev«8, 
 arrived at Amsterdam. 
 
 * Le Fort's MS, memoirs.
 
 96 HISTORY OF 
 
 The czar reached this city fifteen days before 
 the ambassadors. At liis first coming, he .odged 
 in a house belonging to the East India company ; 
 but soon afterwards he took a small apartment 
 in the dock-yard, belonging to the admiralty. He 
 then put on the habit of a Dutch skipper, and in 
 that dress went to the village of Saardam, a place 
 where a great many more ships were built at that 
 times, than at present. This village is as large, 
 as populous, and as rich, and much neater, than 
 many opulent towns. The czar greatly admired 
 the multitude of people who were constantly em- 
 ployed there, the order and regularity of their 
 times of working, the prodigious dispatch with 
 •which thev built and fitted out ships, the incre- 
 dible number of warehouses, and machines, for 
 the greater ease and security of labour. The czar 
 began with purchasing a bark, to which he made 
 a mast with his own hands ; after that, he worked 
 upon all the diflferent parts in the construction of 
 a vessel, living in the same manner as the work- 
 men at Saardam, dressing and eating the same 
 as them, and working in the forges, the rope- 
 walks, and in the several mills, which are in 
 prodigious numbers in that village, for sawing 
 timber, extracting oil, making paper, and wire- 
 drawing. He caused himself to be enrolled in 
 the list of carpenters, hv the name of Peter 
 Michaelhofi^, and was commonly called Peter 
 Bas, or Master Peter : the workmen were at 
 first confounded at having a crowned head for a 
 fellow-labourer, but soon became familiarized to 
 the sight. 
 
 While he was thus handling the compass and 
 the a,ie at Saardam, a confirmation was brought 
 bim of the division in Poland, and of the double 
 nomination of the elector Augustus, and the 
 prince of Conti. The carpenter of Saardam
 
 PETER THE GREAT. 97 
 
 immediately promised king Augustus to assist 
 him with thirty thousand men ; and, from his 
 work-loft, issued out orders to his army that was 
 assembled in the Ukraine against the Turks. 
 
 11th Aug. 1697.] His troops gained a victory 
 over the I'artars near Azoph, and a few months 
 afterwards took from them the city of Or, or Or- 
 kapi, which we call Precop.* As to himself, he 
 still continued improving in different arts : he 
 went frequently from Saardam to Amsterdam, 
 to hear the lectures of the celebrated anato- 
 mist, Ruysch ; and made himself master of 
 several operations in surgery, which, in case of 
 necessity, might be of use both to himself and 
 his officers. He went through a course of natu- 
 ral philosophy, in the house of the burgomaster 
 VVitzen, a person for ever estmiable for iiis pa- 
 triotic virtue, and the noble use he madb of his 
 immense riches, which he distributed like a citizen 
 of the world, sending men of abilities, at a great 
 expense, to all parts of the globe, in search of 
 whatever was most rare and valuable, and fitting 
 out vessels at his own charge to make new disco- 
 veries. 
 
 Peter Bas gave a truce to his labours for a short 
 time, but it was only to pay a private visit at 
 Utrecht, and at the Hague, to William, king of 
 England, and stadtholder of the United Pro- 
 vinces. General Le Fort was the only one ad- 
 mitted to the private conference of the two mo- 
 narchs. Peter assisted afterwards at the public 
 entry of his ambassadors, and at their audi- 
 
 • Precop, or Perekop, once a fortress on tlie Isthmus, 
 nrhich joins the peninsula of Crira 'J'ar:or3' to the main 
 land of little Tartary, in European Turkey, and thence 
 considered as the key to that country. It has its name 
 from the ditches cat acroM for the defence of the penia* 
 aula. 
 
 £
 
 98 HISTORY OF 
 
 ence : they presented, in his name, to the deputy 
 of the states, six hundred of the most beaatiful 
 sables that could be procured ; and the states, 
 over and above the customary presents on these 
 occasions, of a gold chain and a medal, gave 
 tliem three magnificent coaches. They received 
 the first visits of all the plenipotentiaries who 
 were at the congress of Ryswick, excepting 
 those of France, to whom they had not notified 
 their arrival, not only because the czar espoused 
 the cause of Augustus against the prince of Conti, 
 but also because king William, whose friend- 
 ship he was desirous of cultivating, was averse 
 to a peace with France. 
 
 At his return to Amsterdam he resumed his 
 former occupations, and completed with his own 
 hands, a ship of sixty guns, that he had begun 
 himself^and sent her to Archangel ; which was 
 the only port he had at that time on the ocean. 
 
 He not only engaged in bis service several 
 French refugees, Swiss, and Germans ; but he 
 also sent all sorts of artists over to Moscow, and 
 he previously- made a trial of their several abi- 
 lities himself. There were few trades or arts 
 which <ie did not perfectly well understand, in 
 their minutest branches : he took a particular 
 pleasure in correcting with his own hands, the 
 geographical maps, which at that time laid dovm 
 at hazard the positions of the towns and rivers 
 in his vast dominions, then very little known. 
 There is still preserved, a map, on which he 
 marked out, with his own hand, his projected 
 commauication of t,he Caspian and Black Seas, 
 the execution of which he had given in charge 
 to iVlr. Brekel, a German engineer. The junction 
 of these two seas was indeed a less difficult en- 
 terprise than that of the Ocean and Mediterra- 
 nean, which was eflfected in France; but the
 
 PETER THE GREAT. 99 
 
 very idea of joining the sea of Azoph with the 
 Caspian, astonished the imagination at that time: 
 but new establishments in that country became 
 the object of his attention, in proportion as hia 
 successes begat new hopes. 
 
 His troops, commanded by general Schein and 
 prince Dolgorowski, had lately gained a victory 
 over the Tartars near Azoph, and likewise over 
 a body of janissaries sent by sultan Mustapha 
 to their assistance. (July 1696.) This success 
 served to make him more respected, even by those 
 who blamed him, as a sovereign, for having quit- 
 ted his dominions, to turn workman at Amster- 
 dam. They now saw, that the affairs of the 
 monarch did not suffer by the labours of the phi- 
 losopher, the traveller, and the artificer. 
 
 He remained at Amsterdam, constantly em- 
 ployed in his usual occupations of shipbuilding, 
 engineering, geography, and the practice of na- 
 tural philosophy, till the middle of January 1698, 
 and then he set out for England, but still as one 
 of the retinue of his ambassadors. 
 
 King William sent his own yacht to meet him, 
 and two ships of >*ar as convoy. In England he 
 observed the same manner of living as at Am- 
 sterdam and Saardam ; he took an apartment near 
 the king's dockyard, at Deptford, where he ap- 
 plied himself wholly to gain instruction. The 
 Dutch builders had only taught him their method, 
 and the practical part of shipbuilding. In Eng- 
 land he found the art better explained ; for there 
 they work according to mathematical proportion. 
 He soon made himself so perfect in this science, 
 that he was able to give lessons to others. He 
 began to build a ship according to the English 
 method of construction, and it proved a prime 
 sailor. The art of watchmaking, which was al 
 ready brought to perfection in London, next at-
 
 100 HISTORY OF 
 
 tracted liis attention, and he made himself com- 
 plete master of the whole theory. Captain Perry, 
 the engineer, who followed him from London to 
 Russia, says, that from the casting of cannon, to 
 the spinning of ropes, there was not any one 
 branch of trade belonging to a ship that he did 
 not minutely observe, and even put his hand to, 
 as often as he came into the places where those 
 trades were carried on. 
 
 In order to cultivate his friendship, he was al- 
 lowed to engage several English artificers into 
 his service, as he had done in Holland ; but, over 
 and above artificers, he engaged likewise some 
 mathematicians, which he would not so easily 
 have found in Amsterdam. Ferguson, a Scotch- 
 man, an excellent geometrician, entered into his 
 service, and was the first person who brought 
 arithmetic into use in the exchequer in Russia, 
 where before that time, they made use only of the 
 Tartarian method of reckoning, with balls strung 
 upon a wire ; a method which supplied the place 
 of writing, but was very perplexing and imper- 
 fect, because, after the calculation, there was no 
 method of proving it, in order to discover any 
 error. The Indian ciphers, which are now in 
 use, were not introduced among us till the ninth 
 century, by Arabs ; and they dul not make their 
 way into the Russian empire till one thousand 
 years afterwards. Such has been the fate of the 
 arts, to make their progress slowly round the 
 globe. He took with him two young students 
 from a mathematical school,* and this was the 
 beginning of the marine academy, founded after- 
 wards by Peter the Great. He observed and 
 calculated eclipses with Ferguson. Perry, the 
 
 • These were two Bcholars frcm Christ Church 
 Hospital, commonly called blae coat boys.
 
 PETER THE GREAT. 101 
 
 engineer, though greatly discontented at not being 
 sufficiently rewarded, acknowledges, that Peter 
 made himself a proficient in astronomy ; that he 
 perfectly well understood the motions of the 
 heavenly bodies, as well as the laws of gravitation, 
 by which they are directed. This force, now so 
 evidently demonstrated, and before the time of 
 the great Newton so little known, by which all 
 the planets gravitate towards each other, and 
 which retain them in their orbits, was already 
 become familiar to a sovereign of Russia, while 
 other countries amused themselves with imagi- 
 nary vertices, and, in Galileo's nation, one set of 
 ignorant persons ordered others, as ignorant, to 
 believe the earth to be immoveable. 
 
 Perry set out in order to effect a communica- 
 tion between rivers, to build bridges, and con- 
 struct sluices. The czar's plan was to open a 
 communication by means of canals between the 
 Ocean, the Caspian, and the Black Seas. 
 
 We must not forget to observe, that a set of 
 English merchants, with the marquis of Caermar- 
 then * at their head, gave Peter fifteen thousand 
 pounds sterling, for the permission of vending to- 
 bacco in Russia. The patriarch, by a mistaken 
 severity, had intenlicted this branch of trade ; 
 for the Russian church forbid smoking, as an un- 
 clean and sinful action. Peter, who knew better 
 things, and who, amongst his many projected 
 changes, meditated a reformation of the church, 
 introduced this commodity of trade into his dc- 
 minicns. 
 
 Before Peter left England, he was entertained 
 by king Willian with a spectacle worthy such a 
 
 • Tlie czar was particularij' fond of this nobleman, 
 because lie was a great lover of maritime affairs, fre- 
 quently rowed and sailed wiili Lim upon the water, and 
 gave him what information he could concerning shipping.
 
 102 HISTORY OF 
 
 gaest : this was a mock sea-fight. Little was it 
 then imagined, that the czar would one day fight 
 a real battle on this element against the Swedes, 
 and gain naval victories in the Baltic. In fine, 
 William made him a present of the vessel in 
 which he used to go over to Holland, called the 
 Royal Transport, a beautiful yacht, and magnifi- 
 cently adorned. In this vessel Peter returned to 
 Holland the latter end of 1698, taking with him 
 three captains of ships of war, five and twenty 
 captains of merchant ships, forty lieutenants, 
 thirty pilots, as many surgeons, two hundred and 
 fifty gunners, and upwards of three hundred ar- 
 tificers. This little colony of persons skilful in 
 all branches, sailed from Holland to Archangel, 
 on board the Royal Transport, and from thence 
 were distributed into all the diflferent places 
 where their services were necessary. Those who 
 had been engaged at Amsterdam wen^. by the 
 way of Narva, which then belonged to the Swedes. 
 
 While he was thus transplanting the arts and 
 manufacture of England and Holland into his 
 own country, the officers, whom he had sent to 
 Rome, and other places in Italy, had likewise 
 engaged some artists in his service. General 
 Sheremeto, who was at the head of his embassy 
 to Italy, took the tour of Rome, Naples, Venice, 
 aiid Malta, while the czar proceeded to \ienna 
 with his other ambassadors. He had now only 
 to view the military discipline of the Germans, 
 after having seen the English fleets, and the dock- 
 yards of Holland. Politics had likewise as great 
 a share in this journey as the desire of instruc- 
 tion. The emperor was his natural ally against 
 the Turks. Peter had a private audience of 
 Leopold, and the two monarchs conferred stand- 
 ing, to avoid the trouble of ceremony. 
 
 There happened nothing worthy remark during
 
 PETER THE GREAT. 103 
 
 his stay at Vienna, except the celebration of the 
 ancient feast of the landloid and landlady, which 
 had been disused for a considerable time, and 
 which Leopold thought proper to revive on the 
 czar's 'account. This feast, which l)y the Ger- 
 mans is called Wurtchafft, is celebrated in the 
 following manner : — 
 
 The emperor is landlord and the empress land- 
 lady, the king of the Romans, the archdukes and 
 the archduchesses are generally their assistants : 
 they entertain people of all nations as their 
 guests, who come dressed after the most ancient 
 fashion of their respective countries : those who 
 are invited to the feast, draw lots for tickets, on 
 each of which is written the name of the nation, 
 and the character or person they are to repre- 
 sent. One perhaps draws a ticket for a Chinese 
 mandarin ; another for a Tartarian nnrza ; a third 
 a Persian satrap ; and a fourth for a Roman se- 
 nator ; a princess may, by her ticket, be a gar- 
 dener's wife, or a milk-maid ; a prince a peasant, 
 or a common soldier. Dances are composed 
 suitable to all those characters, and the landlord 
 and landlady with their family wait at table. 
 Such was the ancient institution ; but on this 
 occasion * Joseph, king of the Romans, and the 
 countess of Traun, represented the ancient 
 Egyptians. The archduke Charles, and the coun 
 tess of Walstein, were dressed like Flemings in 
 the time of Charles the Fifth. The archduchess 
 Mary Elizabeth and count Traun were in the 
 habits of Tartars ; the archduchess Josephina 
 and the count of Workslaw were habited like 
 Persians, and the archduchess Mariamne and 
 prince Maximilian of Hanover in the character 
 of North Holland peasants. Peter appeared in 
 
 * Le Fort's MSS. and tlioae of Petersburg.
 
 lO-i HISTORY OF 
 
 the dress of a Friesland boor, and all R'bo spoke 
 to him addressed him in that character, at the 
 same time talkiiig to him of the great czar of 
 Muscovy. These are trifling particulars ; but 
 whatever revives the remembrance of ancient 
 manners and customs, is in some degree worthy 
 of being recorded. 
 
 Peter was ready to set out from Vienna, in 
 order to proceed to Venice, to complete his tour 
 of instruction, when he received the news of a 
 rebellion, which had lately broke out in his do- 
 minions. 
 
 CHAP. X. 
 
 A conspiracy punished. — The corps of streliues abolished, 
 alterations in customs, manners, church, and state. 
 
 r^ZAR Peter, when he left his dominions to set 
 out on his travels, had provided against 
 every incident, even that of rebellion. But the 
 great and serviceable things he had done for his 
 countrv, proved the very cause of this rebellion. 
 Certain old boyards, to whom the ancient cus- 
 toms were still dear, and some priests, to 
 whom the new ones appeared little better than 
 sacrilege, began these disturbances, and the old 
 faction of the princess Sophia took this opportu- 
 nity to rouse itself anew. It is said, that one of 
 her sisters, who was confined to the same monas- 
 tery, contributed not a little to excite these sedi- 
 tions. Care was taken to spread abroad the 
 danger to be feared from the introduction of 
 foreigners to instruct the nation. In short, who 
 would believe, that* the permission which the 
 czar had given to import tobacco into his empire, 
 contrary to the inclination of the clergy, was one 
 
 • r^ Fort's MSS.
 
 PETER THE GREAT. 105 
 
 of the chief motives of the insurrection 1 Super- 
 stition, the scourge of every country, yet the dar- 
 ling of the multitude, spread itself from the com- 
 mon people to the strelitzes, who had been scat- 
 tered on the frontiers of Lithuania : they assem- 
 bled in a body, and marched towards Moscow, 
 with the intent to place the princess Sophia on 
 the throne, and for ever to prevent the return of 
 a czar who had violated the established customs,* 
 by presuming to travel for instruction among 
 foreigners. The forces commanded by Schein 
 and Gordon, who were much better disciplined 
 than the strelitzes, met them fifteen leagues from 
 Moscow, gave them battle, and entirely defeated 
 them : but this advantage, gained by a foreign 
 general over the ancient militia, among whom 
 were several of the burghers of Moscow, contri- 
 buted still more to irritate the people. 
 
 To quell these tumults, the czar sets out pri- 
 vately from Vienna, passes through Poland, has 
 a private interview with Augustus, concerts mea- 
 sures with that prince for extending the Russian 
 
 • A most extraordinary instance of iLe obstinate at- 
 tachment of the Russians to their old customs, happeoad 
 in the time of the czar Bassilowitz, and undoubtedly in 
 fluenced liim not a iittle in the severity with which he 
 treated his people. The king of Poland, Stephen Battori, 
 havinj^ recovered Livonia, went himself into that province 
 to establish a i ew form of government. According to the 
 constant custom there, when any peasant, all of whom were 
 treated as slaves, had committed a fault, he was whipped 
 with a rod till the blood came. The king was willing to 
 commute this barbarous punishment for one that wa« 
 more moderate ; but the peasants, insensible of the favour 
 designed them, threw themselves at his feet, and intreated 
 him not to make any alterations in their ancient customs, 
 because they Lad experienced, that all innovations, far 
 from procuring them the least redress, had always ma<i* 
 their burthens sit the heavier on them. 
 
 E i
 
 106 HlST0R5f OF 
 
 dominions on the side of the Baltic, and at length 
 arrived at Moscow, where he surprised every one 
 •with his presence : he then confers rewards on 
 the troops who had defeated the strelitzes, (Sept. 
 1698,) of whom the prisons were now full. If 
 the crimes of these unhappy wretches were great, 
 their punishment was no less so. Their leaders, 
 with several of their officers and priests, were 
 condemned to death ; some were broken upon the 
 wheel,* and two women were buried alive ; up- 
 wards of two thousand of the strelitzes were exe- 
 cuted, part of whom were hung round about the 
 walls of the city, and others put to death in dif- 
 ferent manners, and their dead bodies remained 
 exposed for two days in the high roads.t parti- 
 cularly about the monastery where the princesses 
 Sophia and Eudocia resided. $ Monuments cf 
 stone were erected, on which their crimes and 
 punishments were set forth. A great number of 
 them who had wives and children at Moscow, 
 were dispersed with their families into Siberia, 
 the kingdom of Astracan, and the country oi 
 Azoph. This punishment was at least of service 
 
 • Memoirs of captain Perry, the engineer, employed 
 by Peter the Great, in Russia, and MSS. of Le Fort. 
 
 t Captain Perry, in p. 184 of his memoirs. 833-8, that 
 these executions being performed in the depth of winter, 
 I heir bodies were immediately frozen ; those who were 
 beheaded, were ordered to be left in the same posture as 
 when executed, in ranks tjpon the ground, with their heads 
 lying by them : and those who were hanged round the 
 three walls of the city, were left hanging the whole win- 
 ter, to the view of the peoplt, till the warm weather began 
 to come oii in the spring, when they were taken down and 
 buried together in a pit, to prevent infection. This author 
 adds, that there were other gibbets placed on all the pub- 
 lic roads leading to Moscow, where others of these rcbeb 
 wer« hanged. 
 
 : MSS. of Le Fort
 
 PETER THE GREAT. 107 
 
 to the state, as they helped to cultivate and peo- 
 ple a large tract of waste land. 
 
 Perhaps, if the czar had not found it absolutely 
 necessary to make such terrible examples, he 
 might have employed part of those strelitzes 
 whom he put to death, upon the public works ^, 
 whereas they were now lost both to him and the 
 state : the lives of men ought to be held in great 
 estimation, especially in a country wWpre the in- 
 crease of inhabitants ought to have been the prin- 
 cipal care of the legislature : but he thought it 
 necessary to terrify and break the spirit of the 
 nation by executions, and the parade attending 
 them. The entire corps of the strelitzes, whose 
 number not one of his predecessors had even 
 dared to think of diminishing, was broke for ever, 
 and their very name abolished. This change was 
 effected without any resistance, because matters 
 had been properly prepared beforehand. The 
 Turkish sultan, Osman, as I have already re- 
 marked, was deposed and murdered in the same 
 century, only for giving the jani;5saries room to 
 suspect that he intended to lessen their number. 
 Peter had better success, because he had taken 
 better measures. 
 
 Of this powerful and numerous body of the 
 strelitzes, he left only two feeble regiments, from 
 whom there could no longer be anv danger ; and 
 yet these still retaining their old spirit of mu- 
 tiny, revolted again in Astracan, in the year 
 1705, but were quickly suppressed. 
 
 But while we are relating Peter's severity in 
 this affair of state, let us not forget to commemo- 
 rate the more than equal humanity he shewed 
 some time afterwards, when lie lost his favourite 
 LeFort, who was snatched away by an untimely 
 fate, March 12, N. S. 1699, at the age of 46. 
 He paid him the same funeral honours as are be-
 
 108 HISTORY OF 
 
 Btowed on the greatest sovereigns, and assisted 
 himself in the procession, carrying a pike in his 
 hand, and marching after the captains, in the 
 rank of a lieutenant, which he held in the de- 
 ceased general's regiment, hereby setting an ex- 
 ample to his nobles, of the respect due to merit 
 and the military rank. 
 
 After the death of Le Fort, it appeared plainly, 
 that the changes in the state were not o^^^ng to 
 that general, but to the czar himself. Peter had 
 indeed been confirmed in his design by his se- 
 veral conversations with Le Fort ; but he had 
 formed and executed them all without his as- 
 sistance. 
 
 As soon as he had suppressed the strelitzes, 
 he established regular regiments on the German 
 model, who were all clothed in a short and com- 
 modious uniform, in the room of those long and 
 troublesome coats, which they used to wear be- 
 fore ; and, at the same time, their exercise was 
 likewise more regular. 
 
 The regiment of Preobrazinski guards was 
 already formed ; it had taken its name from the 
 first company of fifty men, whom the czar had 
 trained up in his younger days, in his retreat at 
 Preobrazinski, at the time when his sister Sophia 
 governed the state, and the other regiment of 
 guards was also established. 
 
 As he had himself passed through the lowest 
 degrees in the army, he was resolved that the 
 sons of his bovards and great men, should serve 
 as common soldiers before they were made offi- 
 cers. He sent some of the young nobility on 
 board of his fleet at Woronitz and Azoph, where 
 he obliged them to serve their apprenticeship as 
 common seamen. No one dared to dispute the 
 commands of a master who had himself set the 
 example. The English and Dutch he had brought
 
 PETER THE GREAT. 109 
 
 over with him were employed in equipping this 
 fleet for sea, in constructing sluices, and building 
 docks, for careening the ships, and to resume the 
 great work of joining the Tanais, or Don, and the 
 Wolga, which had been dropped by Brekcl, the 
 German. And now he began to set about his 
 projected reformations in the council of state, 
 in the revenue, in the church, and even in so- 
 ciety itself 
 
 The affairs of the revenue had been hitherto 
 administered much in the same manner as in 
 Turkey. Rlach boyard paid a stipulated sum for 
 his lands, which he raised upon the peasants, his 
 vassals ; the czar appointed certain burghers and 
 burgomasters to be his receivers, who were not 
 powerful enough to claim the right of paying only 
 Buch sums as they thought proper into the pub- 
 lic treasury. This new administration of the 
 finances, was what cost him the most trouble : he 
 was obliged to try several methods before he 
 could fix upon a proper one. 
 
 The reformation of the church, which in all 
 other countries is looked upon as so dangerous 
 and diflScult an attempt, was not so to him. The 
 patriarchs had at times opposed the authority of 
 the crown, as well as the streluzes ; Nicon with 
 insolence, Joachin, one of his successors, in an 
 artful manner. 
 
 The bishops had arrogated the power of life 
 and death, a prerogative directly contrary to the 
 spirit of religion, and the subordination of go- 
 vernment, riiis assumed power, which^had been 
 of long standing, was now taken from them. The 
 patriarch Adrian, dying at the close of this cen- 
 tury, Peter declared that there should for the 
 future be no other. 
 
 I'his dignity then was entirely suppressed, and 
 the great income belonging thereto was united to
 
 r.;) HISTORY OF 
 
 tlit» public revenue, which stood in need of this 
 adiiiuon. Although the czar did not set himself 
 up ;is the head of the Russian ."hurch, as the 
 kings of Great Britain have dene in regard to 
 the church of England; yet he was, in fact, ab- 
 solute master over it, because the synods did not 
 dare either to disobey the commands of a despo- 
 tic sovereign, or to dispute with a prince who 
 had more know'edge than themselves. 
 
 We need only to cast an eye on the preamble 
 to the edict, concerning his ecclesiastical reguhi- 
 tions, issued in iT'il, to be convinced that iie 
 acted at once as master and legislator: ' We 
 should deem ourselves guilty of ingratitude to 
 the Most High, if, after having reformed the nu- 
 litary and civil orders, we neglect the spiritual. 
 iScc. For this cause, following the example of 
 the most ancient kings, who have been fain«".i 
 for piety, we ha-ve taken upon us to make certai;, 
 wholesome regulations, touching the clergy.' \i 
 is true, he convened a synod for carrying iiiic 
 execution his ecclesiastical decrees, but tUe 
 members of this synod, at entering upon their 
 office, were to take aa oath, the form of whici; 
 bad been drawn up and signed by himself. I'hif; 
 was an oath of submission and obedience, ami 
 was conceived in the following terms: ' I s veiir 
 to be a faithful and obedient servant and subjec : 
 to my true and natural sovereign, and to the au- 
 gust successors whom it shall please him to no- 
 minate, in virtue of the incontestable right of 
 which he is possessed : I acknowledge him to be 
 the supreme judge of this spiritual college : 1 
 swear by the all-seeing God, that I understand 
 and mean this oath in the full force and sense, 
 which the words convey to those who read or 
 hear it.' This oath is much stronger Uian that 
 of the supxejuacy in England. The Russian
 
 PETER THE GREAT. 115 
 
 monarch was not, indeed, one of the fathers 6f 
 the synod, but he dictated their laws ; and, 
 though he did not touch the holy censer, he di- 
 rected the hands that held it. 
 
 Previous to this great woik, he thought, that 
 in a state like his, which stood in need of being 
 peopled, the celibacy of the monks was contrary 
 to nature, and to the public good. It was the 
 ancient custom of the Russian church, for secular 
 priests to marry at least once in their lives : they 
 were even obliged so to do : and formerly they 
 ceased to be priests as soon as they lost their 
 wives. But that a multitude of young people 
 of both sexes should make a vow of living useless 
 in a cloister, and at the expense of others, ap- 
 peared to him a dangerous institution. He, 
 therefore, ordered that no one should be admitted 
 to a monastic life, till they were fifty years old, 
 a time of life very rarely subject to a temptation 
 of this kind ; and he forbid any person to be ad- 
 mitted, at any age soever, who was actually in 
 possession of any public employ. 
 
 This regulation has been repealed since his 
 death , because the government has thought proper 
 to shew more complaisance to the monasteries : 
 but the patriarchal dignity has never been re- 
 vived, and its great revenues are now appropri- 
 ated to the payment of the troops. 
 
 These alterations at first excited some mur- 
 murings. A certain priest wrote, to prove that 
 Peter was antichrist, because he would not ad- 
 rait of a patriarch; and the art of printing, 
 which the czar encouraged in his kingdom, was 
 made use of to publish libels against him: but, 
 on the other hand, there was another priest who 
 started up to prove that Peter could not be anti- 
 christ, because the number 666 was not to be 
 found in his name, and that be had not the sign
 
 118 HISTORY OF 
 
 of the Beast. All complaints, however, were 
 soon quieted. Peter, in fact, gave much more xo 
 the church than he took from it ; for he made the 
 clergy, bv degrees, more regular and more learn- 
 ed. He founded three colleges at Moscow, where 
 they teach the languages, and where those who 
 are designed for the priesthood are obliged to 
 study. 
 
 One of the most necessary reforms was the 
 suppression, or at least the mitigation of the 
 Three Lents, an ancient superstition of the Greek 
 church, and as prejudicial with respect to those 
 who are employed in public works, and especi- 
 ally to soldiers, as was the old Jewish supersti- 
 tion of not fighting on the sabbath- day. Accord- 
 ingly the czar dispensed with his workmen and 
 soldiers at least, observing these lents, in which, 
 though they were not permitted to eat, they were 
 accustomed to get drunk. He likewise dispensed 
 with their observance of meagre days ; the 
 chaplains of the fleet and army were obliged to 
 set the example, which they did without much 
 reluctance. 
 
 The calendar, another important object. For- 
 merly, in all the countries of the world, the chiefs 
 of religion had the care of regulating the year, 
 not only on account of the feasts to be observed, 
 but because, in ancient times, the priests were 
 the only persons who understood astronomy. 
 
 The year began with the Russians on the 1st 
 of September. Peter ordered, that it should for 
 the future commence the first day of January, 
 as among the other nations of Europe. This al- 
 teration was to take place in the year 1700, at 
 the beginning of the century, which lie celebrated 
 by a jubilee, and other grand solemnities. It was 
 a matter of surprise, to the common people, how 
 the czar should be able to change the course of
 
 PETER THE GREAT. 113 
 
 the Bun. Some obstiuate persons, persuaded that 
 God had created the world in September, conti- 
 nued their old style : but the alteration took 
 place in all the public offices, in the whole court 
 of chancery, and in a little time throughout the 
 whole empire. Peter did not adopt the Grego- 
 rian calendar, because it had been rejected by 
 the English mathematicians ; but which must, 
 nevertheless, be one day received in all countries. 
 
 Ever since the 5th century, the time when let- 
 ters first came into use ::mong8t them, they had 
 been accustomed to write upon long rolls, made 
 either of the bark of trees, or of parchment, and 
 afterwards of paper ; and the czar was obliged 
 to publish an edict, ordering every one, for the 
 future, to write after our manner. 
 
 The reformation now became general. Their 
 marriages were made formerly after the same 
 manner as in 'I'urkcy and Persia, where the 
 bridegroom does not see his bride till the contract 
 is signed, and they cad no longer go from their 
 words. This custom may do well enough among 
 those people, where polygamy prevails, and 
 where the women are always shut up ; but it is 
 a very bad one in countries where a man is con- 
 fined to one wife, and where divorces are seldom 
 allowed. 
 
 'I'he czar was willing to accustom his people 
 to the manners and customs of the nations which 
 he had visited in his travels, and from whence 
 he had taken the masters who were now instnct- 
 ing them. 
 
 It appeared necessary that the Russians should 
 not be dressed in a different manner from those 
 who were teaching them the arts »u(\ B-i-iences , 
 because the aversion to strangers, wtiich is but 
 too natural to mankind, is not a little kept up by 
 a difference of dress. The full dress, which at
 
 114 HISTOR\ OF 
 
 that time partook of the fashjons of the Poles, the 
 Tartars, and the ancient Hungarians, was, as we 
 have elsewhere observed, very noble ; but the 
 dress of the burghers and common people resem- 
 bled those jackets plaited round the waist, which 
 are still given to the poor children in some of the 
 French hospitals.* In general, the robe was 
 formerly the dress of all nations, as being a gar- 
 ment that required the least trouble and art ; 
 and, for the same reason, the beard was suffered 
 to grow. The czar met with but little difficulty 
 in introducing our mode of dress, and the custom 
 of shaving among his courtiers; but the people 
 were more obstinate, he found himself obliged to 
 Jay a tax on long coats and beards. Patterns of 
 close-bodied coats were hung up in public places ; 
 and whoever refused to pay the tax were obliged 
 to suffer their robes and their beards to be cur- 
 tailed : all this was done in a jocular manner, 
 and this air of pleasantry prevented seditions. 
 
 It has ever been the aim of all legislators to 
 render mankind more sociable ; but it is not suf- 
 ficient to effect this end, that they live together 
 in towns, there must be a mutual intercourse of 
 civility. This intercourse sweetens all the bit- 
 terness of life. J'he czar, therefore, introduced 
 those assemblies which the Italians call ridotti. 
 To these assemblies he invited all the ladies of 
 his court, with their daughters ; and they were 
 to appear dressed after the fashions of the 
 gouthern nations of Europe. He was even him- 
 self at the pains of drawing up ruW.'S for all the 
 little decorums to be observed at these social 
 entertainments. Thus, even to good breedmg 
 among his subjects, all was his own work, and 
 that of time. 
 
 • SoTnewhat like those of oi:r blue coat boys 
 in England.
 
 PETER THE GREAT. 115 
 
 To make his people relish these innovations 
 the b<;tter, he abolished the word golut, slave, 
 always made use of by the Russians when they 
 addressed r.heir czar, or presented any petition to 
 him ; and ordered, that, for the future, thev 
 should make use of the word raab, which sig- 
 nifies su/>/>c^ This alteration in no wise dimi- 
 nished the obedience due to the sovereign, and 
 yet was the most ready means of conciliating 
 their affections. Every month produced some 
 new change or institution. He carried his at- 
 tention even to the ordering painted posts to be 
 set up in the road between Moscow and Woro- 
 nitz, to serve as mile stones at the distance of 
 every verst ; that is to say, every seven hundred 
 paces, and had a kind of caravanseras, or public 
 inns, built at the end of every twentieth verst. 
 
 While he was thus extending his cares to the 
 common people, to the merchants, and to the 
 traveller, he thought proper to make an addition 
 to the pomp and splendour of his own court ; for 
 though he hated pomp or show in his own per- 
 son, he thought it necessary in those about him ; 
 he therefore instituted the order of St. Andrew,* 
 in imitation of the several orders with which 
 all the courts of Europe abound. Golowin, who 
 succeeded Le Fort in the dignity of high admiral, 
 was the first knight of this order. It was es- 
 teemed a high reward to have the honour of 
 being admitted a member. It was a kind of 
 badge that entitled the person who bore it to the 
 respect of the people. This mark of honour costs 
 nothing to the sovereign, and flatters the self- 
 love of a subject, without rendering him too 
 powerful. 
 
 'I'hese many useful innovations were received 
 
 • COth Sept. 1698. It is to be observed, that I always 
 Collonr the aew style in my dales.
 
 116 HISTORY OF 
 
 with applause by the wiser part of the nation ; 
 and the murmurings and complaints of those who 
 adhered to the ancient customs were drowned in 
 the acclamations of men of sound judgment. 
 
 While Peter was thus beginning a new crea- 
 tion in the interior part of his state, he concluded 
 an advantageous truce with the Turks, which 
 gave him the liberty to extend his territories on 
 another side. Mustapha the Second, who had 
 been defeated by prince Eugene, at the battle of 
 Zeuta, in 1697, stripped of the Morea by the 
 Venetians, and unable to defend Azoph, was 
 obliged to make peace with his victorious ene- 
 mies, which peace was concluded at Carlowiz, 
 (Jan. 26, 1699.) between Peterwaradin and 
 Salankamon, places made famous by bis defeats. 
 Temeswaer was made the boundary of the Ger- 
 man possessions, and of the Ottoman dominions. 
 Kaminieck was restored to the Poles ; the Morea, 
 and some towns in Dalmatia, which had been 
 taken by the Venetians, remained in their hands 
 for some time ; and Peter the First continued ir. 
 possession of Casaph, and of a few forts built in 
 its neighbourhood. 
 
 It was not possible for the czar to extend his 
 dominions on the side of Turkey, without draw- 
 ing upon him the forces of that empire, before 
 divided, but now united. His naval projects were 
 too vast for the Palus Maeotis, and the settle- 
 ments on the Caspian Sea would not admit of a 
 fleet of men of war : he therefore turned his 
 views towards the Baltic Sea, but without relin- 
 quishing those in regard to the Tanais and 
 Wolga.
 
 PiTER THE GREAT. ^117 
 
 CHAP. XI. 
 
 War with Sweden. — The battle of Narva. 
 
 1700. A GRAND scene was now opened on 
 the frontiers of Sweden. One of the 
 principal causes of all the revolutions which 
 happened from Ingria, as far as Dresden, and 
 which laid waste so many countries for the 
 space of eighteen years, was the abuse of the 
 supreme power, bv (3harles XI. king of Sweden, 
 father of Charles XII. This is a fact which 
 cannot be too often repeated, as it concerns every 
 crowned head, and the subjects of every nation. 
 Almost all Livonia, with the whole of Esthonia, 
 had been ceded by the Poles to Charles XI. king 
 of Sweden, who succeeded Charles X. exactly at 
 the lime of the treaty of Oliva. It was ceded 
 in the customary manner, with a reservation of 
 rights and privileges. Charles XL shewing 
 Jittle regard to these privileges, John Reinhold 
 Patkul, a gentleman of Livonia, came to Stock- 
 holm in 1692, at the head of six deputies from 
 the province, and laid their complaints at the 
 fool of the throne, in respectful, but strong 
 terms.* Instead of an answer, the deputies 
 were ordered to be imprisoned, and Patkul was 
 condemned to lose his honour and his life. But 
 he lost neiiher, for he made his escape to the 
 country of Vaud, in Switzerland, where he re- 
 mained some lime; when he afterwards was 
 
 • Norberg, chaplain and confessor to Charles Xll. 
 says, in his history, ' That he had liie insolence lo 
 complain of oppressions, and tiiat he was condemned to 
 lose l>'.s honour and life.' This is spe<ikini^ like the 
 jiigh-priest of depotism. He should have observed, that 
 no one can deprive a citizen of his honour for duing his 
 duty.
 
 118 HISTORY OF 
 
 informed, that Augustus, elector c ' Saxony, had 
 promisfd, at his accession to the throne of 
 Poland, to recover the provinces tiat had been 
 wrested from that kingdom j he hastened to 
 Dresden, to represent to that prince, how easily 
 he might inp.ke himself master of Livonia, and 
 revenge upon a king, only seventeen years of 
 age, the losses that Poland had sustained by his 
 ancestors. 
 
 At this very time czar Peter entertained 
 thoughts of seizing upon Ingria and Carelia. 
 These provincea had formerly belonged to the 
 Russians, but the Swedes had made themselves 
 masters of them by force of arms, in the time of 
 the false Demetriuses, and had retained the 
 possession of them by treaties : another war and 
 new treaties might restore them again to Russia. 
 Patkul went from Dresden to Moscow, and, by 
 exciting up the two monarchs to avenge his pri- 
 vate causes, he cemented a close union between 
 them, and directed their preparations for in- 
 vading all the places situated to the east and 
 south of Finland. 
 
 Just at this period, the new king of Denmark, 
 Frederick IV. entered into- an alliance with' the 
 czar and the king of Polan 1, against Charles, the 
 voung king of Sweden, who seemed in no con- 
 dition to withstand their united forces. Patkul 
 had the satisfaction of besieging the Swedes in 
 Riga, the capital of Livonia, and directing the 
 attack in quality of major-general. 
 
 The czar marched near eighty thousand men 
 into Ingria. It is true, that, in thi-s numerous 
 army, he had not more than twelve thousand good 
 soldiers, being those he had disciplined himself; 
 namely, the two regim.ents of guards, and some 
 few others, the rest being a badly armed militia, 
 with bome Cossacks, and Circassian Tartars ;
 
 PETER THE GREAT. 119 
 
 but be carried with him a train of a hundred 
 and forty-five pieces of cannon. He laid siege 
 to Narva, a small town in Ingria, that had a 
 very commodious harbour, and it was generally 
 thought the place would prove an easy conquest. 
 S<pt.] It is known to all Europe, how Charlee 
 XII. when not quite eighteen years of age, made 
 head against all his enemiee and attacked them 
 one after another ; he entered Denmark, put an 
 end to the war in that kingdom in less than six 
 weeks, sent succours to Riga, obliged the enemy 
 to raise the siege, and marched against the Rus- 
 sians encamped before Narva, through the mid^t 
 of ice and snow, in the month of November. 
 
 The czar, who looked upon Narva as already 
 in his possession, was gone toNovogorod, (Nov. 
 18,) and had taken with him his favourite, 
 MenzikolF, then a lieutenant in the company of 
 bombardiers, cf the Preobrazinski regiment, and 
 afterwards raised to the rank of field-marshal 
 and prince ; a man whose singular fortunes en- 
 title him to be spoken of more at large in another 
 place. 
 
 Peter left the command of the army, with his 
 instructions for the siege, with the prince of 
 Croi ; whose family came from Flanders, and 
 who had lately entered into the czar's service.* 
 Prince Dolgorouki acted as commissary of the 
 army. The jealousy between these two chiefs, 
 and the absence of the czar, were partly the 
 occasion of the unparalleled defeat at Narva. 
 
 Charles XII. having landed at Pemau, in 
 Livonia, with his troops, in the month of Octo- 
 ber advanced northward to Revel, where be 
 defeated an advanced body of Russians. He 
 continued his march, and meeting with another 
 body, routed that likewise. The runaways re- 
 • See the History of Charles XII.
 
 ISO HISTORY OF 
 
 turned to the camp before Narra, w\jich they 
 filled with consternation. The month of Novem- 
 ber was now far advanced ; Narva, though un- 
 skilfully besieged, was on thp point of surrender- 
 ing. The young king of Sweden had not at that 
 time above nine thousand men with him, and 
 could bring only six pieces of cannon to oppose 
 to a hundred and forty-five, with which the 
 Russian intrenchments were defended. All the 
 relations of that time, and all historians without 
 exception, concur in making the Russian army 
 then before Narva amount to eighty thousand 
 men. 'i'he memoirs with which I have been fur- 
 nished say sixty thousand ; be that as it may, it 
 is certain, that Charles had not quite nine thou- 
 sand ; and that this battle was one of those 
 which have proved, that the greatest victories 
 have been frequently gained by inferior num- 
 bers, ever since the famed one of Arbela.* 
 
 Nov. .50.] Charles did not hesitate one mo- 
 ment to attack with his small troop this army, 
 so greatly superior ; and, taking advantage of a 
 violent wind, and a great storm of snow, which 
 blew directly in the faces of the Russians, he 
 attacked their intrenchments under cover of 
 some pieces of cannon, which he had posted 
 advantageously for the purpose. The Russians 
 had not time to form themselves in the midst of 
 that cloud of snow, that beat full in their faces, 
 and astonished by the discharge of cannon, that 
 they could not see, and never imagined how 
 small a number they had to oppose. 
 
 The duke de Croi attempted to give his orders, 
 but prince Dolgorouki would not receive them. 
 
 • A town on the river Lycus, in the province of A»- 
 •yria, now called Curdestan, where Alexander the Great 
 fought his third and decisive battle, with Darius, king of 
 Persia.
 
 PETER THE GREAT. I2t 
 
 The Russian officers rose upon the German offi- 
 cers ; the duke's secretary, with Colonel Lyon, 
 and several others, were murdered. Every one 
 abandoned his post ; and tumult, confusion, and 
 apanic of terror, spread through the whole army. 
 The Swedish troops had nothing more to do, but 
 to cut in pieces those who were flying. Some 
 threw themselves into the river Narva, where 
 great numbers were drowned ; others threw 
 down their arms, and fell upon their knees be- 
 fore the conquering Swedes. 
 
 The duke de Croi, general Alland, and the 
 rest of the general officers, dreading the Russians 
 more than the Swedes, went in a bod\' and surren- 
 dered themselves prisoners to count Steinbock. 
 The king of Sweden now made himself master 
 of all the artillery. 'I'hirty thousand of the van- 
 quished enemy laid down their arms at his feet, 
 and filed off bare-headed and disarmed before 
 him. Prince Dolgorouki, and all the Russian 
 generals, came and surrendered themselves, as 
 well as the Germans, but did not know till after 
 they had surrendered, that they had been con- 
 quered by eight thousand men. Amongst the 
 prisoners, was the son of a king of Georgia, 
 whom Charles sent to Stockholm : his name was 
 MitteleskyCzarovits, or czar's son, an additional 
 proof that the title of czar, or tzar, had not 
 its original from the Roman Csesars. 
 
 Charles XII. did not lose more than one thou- 
 sand two hundred men in this battle. The czar's 
 journal, v/hich has been sent me from Peters- 
 burg, says, that including those who died at the 
 siege of Narva, and in the battle, and those who 
 were drowned in their flight, the Russians lost 
 no more than six thousand men. Want of ^is- 
 ciphne, and a panic that seized the army, did all 
 the work of that fatal day. The number of thiu* 
 F
 
 12^ HISTORY OF 
 
 made prisoners of war, was four times greater than 
 that of the conquerors ; and if we may believe 
 Norberg,* count Piper, who was afterwards taken 
 prisoner by tlie Russians, reproached them, that 
 the number of their people made prisoners io the 
 battle, exctc-ded by eight times the number of the 
 whole Swedish array. If this is truth, the Swedes 
 must have made upwards of seventv-two thou- 
 sand prisoners. This shews how seldom writers 
 are well informed of particular circumstances. 
 One thing, however, equally incontestable and 
 extraordinary, is, that the king of Sweden per- 
 mitted one half of the Russian soldiers to retire 
 back, after having disarmed them, and the other 
 half to repass the river, with their arms ; by this 
 unaccountable presumption, restoring to the czar 
 troops that, being afterwards well disciplined, 
 became invincible, t 
 
 Charles had all the advantages that could re- 
 sult from a complete victory. Immense maga- 
 zines, transports loaded with provisions, posts 
 evacuated or taken, and the whole country at the 
 mercy of the Swedish army, were consequences 
 of the fortune of this day. Narva was now re- 
 lieved, the shattered remains of the Russian army 
 did not shew themselves ; the whole country as 
 far as Pleskow lay open ; the czar seemed bereft 
 of all resource for carrying on the war ; and the 
 king of Sweden, victor in less than twelve 
 months over the raonarchs of DenmarK, Poland, 
 
 • Vol. I. p. 439, ot" the 4to. edition, printed at the 
 Hague. 
 
 t The chaplain Norberp, pretends, that, immediatelj 
 tfter the battle of Narva, the Graad Seignior wrote a letter 
 of congratulation to the king cf Sweden, in these terms. 
 ' The sultan Easha, by the grace of God, to Charles XII. 
 &c ' The letter was dated from the sera of the creation 
 01* the world.
 
 PETER THE GREAT. 123 
 
 and Russia, was looked upon as the first prince 
 in Europe, at an age when other princes hardly 
 presume to aspire at reputation. But the un- 
 shaken constancy that made a part of Peter's 
 character, prevented him from being discouraged 
 in any of his projects. 
 
 A Russian bishop composed a prayer to St. 
 Nicholas,* on account of this defeat, which was 
 publicly read in all the churches throughout 
 Russia. Tliis composition shews the spirit of the 
 times, and the inexpressible ignorance from which 
 Peter delivered his country. Amongst other 
 things, it says, that the furious and terrible 
 Swedes were sorcerers ; and complains that St. 
 Nicholas had entirely abandoned his Russians. 
 The prelates oi that country would blush to write 
 such stuff at present ; and, without any offence 
 to the holy St. Nicholas, the people soon per- 
 ceived that Peter was the most proper person to 
 be applied to, to retrieve their losses. 
 
 CHAP. XII. 
 
 Resources after the battle of Narva. That disaster en- 
 tirely repaired. Peter sains a victory near the same 
 place. The person who was afterwards empress made 
 prisoner at the storming of a town. Peter's successes. 
 His triumph at Moscow, t 
 
 The years 1701 and 1702. 
 
 'THE czar having, as has been already observed, 
 
 quitted his army before Narva, in the end 
 
 of November, 1700, in order to go and concert 
 
 • See History of Charles XII. 
 t This chapter and the following, are taken entirelv 
 from the journal of Peter the Great, lent me from Peters^ 
 barg.
 
 184 'J.ISTORY OF 
 
 matters with the King of Poland, received the 
 news of the victory gained by the Swedes, as he 
 was on his way. His constancy in all emergen- 
 cies was equal to the intrepidity and valour o 
 Charles. He deferred the conference with Au- 
 gustus, and hastened to repair the disordered 
 state of his afF.iirs. The scattered troops ren- 
 dezvoused at Great Novogorod. and from thence 
 marched to Pleskow, on the lake Peipus. 
 
 It was not a little matter to be able to stand 
 upon the defensive, after so severe a check : ' I 
 know very well.' said Peter, ' that the Swedes 
 •will have the advantage of us for some time, but 
 they will teach us at length to conquer them.' 
 
 1701.] Having provided for the present emer- 
 gency, and ordered recruits to be raised on every 
 side, he sent to Moscow to cast new cannon, 
 his own having been all taken before Narva. 
 There being a scarcity of metal, he took all the 
 bells of the churches, and of the religious houses 
 in JNtoscow. This action did not savour much of 
 superstition, but at the same time it was no mark 
 of impiety. With those bells he made one hun- 
 dred large cannon, one hundred and forty-three 
 field-pieces, from three to six pounders, besides 
 mortars and howitzers, which were all sent to 
 Pleskow. In other countries the sovereign or- 
 ders, and others execute ; but here the czar was 
 obliged to see every thing done himself. While 
 he was hastening these preparations, he entered 
 into a negotiation with the king of Denmark, 
 who engaged to furnish him with three regiments 
 of foot, and three of cavalrj ; an engagement 
 which that monarch could not fulfil. 
 
 As soon as this treaty was signed, he hurried 
 to the theatre of war. He had an interview 
 with king Augustus, at Birzen, (Feb. 27.) on the 
 frontiers of Courland and Lithuania. His objecl
 
 PETER THE GREAT. 126 
 
 was, to confirii) that prince in his res.olutioii ol 
 maintaining the war against Charles XII. and 
 at the same time to engage the Polish Diet to 
 enter into the quarrel. It is well known, that a 
 king of Poland is no more than the head person 
 in a republic. The czar had the advantage of 
 being always obeyed ; but the kings of Poland, 
 and England, at present the king of Sweden, are 
 all obliged to treat with their subjects.* Palkul 
 and a few Poles in the interest of their monarch, 
 assisted at these conferences. Peter promised to 
 aid 'them with subsidies, and an army of twenty - 
 five thousand men. Livonia was to be restored 
 to Polap'', in case the diet would concur with 
 their kiug, and assist in recovering this province : 
 the diet hearkened more to their fears, than to 
 the czar's proposals. The Poles were apprehen- 
 sive of having their liberties restrained by the 
 Saxons and Russians, and were still more afraid 
 of Charles Xil. It was therefore agreed by the 
 majority, not to serve their king, and not to fight. 
 
 The partisans of Augustus grew enraged 
 against the contrary faction, and a civil war was 
 lighted up in the kingdom ; because their mo- 
 narch had an intention to restore to it a consi- 
 derable province. 
 
 Feb.] Peter then had only an impotent ally in 
 king Augustus, and feeble succours in the Saxon 
 troops; and the terror which Chai.\es XII. in- 
 spired on every side, reduced Peter to the neces- 
 flity of depending entirely upon his own strength. 
 
 March 1.] After travelling with the greatest 
 
 • We must be^ leave to remark in this plaje, that a 
 king of England has tlie power of doing pood in virtue of 
 his own authority, and may do evil if so disposed, by 
 havinc^ a mojority in a corrupt parliament ; whereas, a 
 kinj^ of Poland can neithi r do pood nor evil, not having 
 it in his power to dispose even of a prJr of colov.ra.
 
 126 HISTORY OF 
 
 expedition from Moscow to Courland, to confer 
 with Augustus : he posted back from Courland lo 
 M06COW, {■) forward the accomplishment of his 
 promises. He actually dispatched Prince Repnin, 
 with four thousand men, to Riga, on the banks of 
 theDana.wheretheSaxon troops -were intrenched. 
 
 July.] The general consternation was now in- 
 creased ; for Charles, passing the Duna in spite 
 of all the Saxons, who were advantageously 
 posted on the opposite side, gained a complete 
 victory over them ; and then, without waiting a 
 moment, he made himself master of Courland, 
 advanced into Lithuania, and by his presence 
 encouraged the Polish faction that opposed 
 Augustus. 
 
 Peter, notwithstanding all this, still pursued 
 his designs. General Patkul, who had been the 
 soul of the conference at Birzen, and who had 
 engaged in his service, procured him some Ger- 
 man officers, disciplined his troops, and supplied 
 the place of general Le Fort : the czar ordered 
 relays of horses to be provided for all the officers, 
 and even for the German, Livonian, and Polish 
 soldiers, who came to serve in his armies. He 
 likewise inspected in person into every particular 
 relating to their arms, their clothing, and sub- 
 sistence. 
 
 On the confines of Livonia and Esthonia, and 
 to the eastward of the province of Novogcrod, 
 lies the great lake Peipus, which receives the 
 waters of the riverVelika, from out of the middle 
 of Livonia, and gives rise in its northern part to 
 the river Naiova, that washes the walls 01" the 
 town of Narva, near which the Swedes gained 
 their famous victor)'. This lake is upwards of 
 thirty leagues in length, and fiom twelve to fif- 
 teen in breadth. It was necessary to keep a fleet 
 there, to i)revent the Swedish ships from insult'
 
 PETER THE GREAT. 127 
 
 ing die province of Novogorod ; to be ready tc 
 make a descent upon their coasts, and above all, 
 to be a nursery for seamen. Peter employed the 
 greatest part of the year 1701, in building on this 
 lake an hundred half gallies,to carry about fifty 
 men each ; and other armed barks were fitted 
 out on the lake Ladoga. He directed all these 
 operations in person, and set his new sailors to 
 work : those who had been employed in 1697, at 
 the Palus Maiotis were then stationed near the 
 Baltic. He frequently quitted those occupations 
 to go to Moscow, and the rest of the j)rovinces, in 
 order to enforce the observance of the late 
 customs he had introduced, or to establish new 
 ones. 
 
 Those princes who have employed the leisure 
 moments of peace in raising public works, have 
 acquired to themselves a name : but that Peter, 
 just after his misfortune at Narva, should apply 
 himself to the junction of the Baltic, Caspian, and 
 the Black seas, by canals, has crowned him with 
 more real glory than the most signal victory. It 
 was in the year 170'2, that he began to dig that 
 deep canal, intended to join the Tanais and the 
 Wolga. Other communications were likewise to 
 be made, by means of lakes between the Tanais 
 and the Duna ; whose waters empty themselves 
 into the Baltic, in the neighbourhood of Kiga. 
 But this latter project seemed to be still at a 
 great distance, as Peter was far from having 
 Riga in his possession. 
 
 While Charles was laying all Poland waste, 
 Peter caused to be brought from that kingdom, 
 and from Saxony, a number of shepherds, with 
 their flocks, in order to have wool fit for making 
 good cloth ; he likewise erected manufactories of 
 linen and paper : gave orders for collecting u 
 number of artificers such as smiths, braziers,
 
 1S8 HISTORY OF 
 
 annourers, and founders, and the mines of Si- 
 beria were ransacked for ore. Thu3 was he 
 continually labouring for the embellishment and 
 defence of his dominions. 
 
 Churles pursued the course of his victories, and 
 left a sufficient body of troops, as he imagined, 
 on the frontiers of the czar's dominions, to secure 
 all the posse.'sions of Sweden. He had already 
 formed a design to dethrone Augustus, and after- 
 wards to pursue the czar with his victorious army 
 to the very gates of Moscow. 
 
 There happened several slight engagements in 
 the course of this year, between the Russians and 
 Swedes, in which the latter did not always prove 
 superior ; and even in those where they had the 
 advantage, the Russians improved in the art of 
 war. In short, in little more than twelve months 
 after the battle of Narva, the czar's troops were 
 so well disciplined, that they defeated one of the 
 best generals belonging to the king of Sweden. 
 
 Peter was then at Pleskov/, from whence he 
 detached numerous bodies of troops, on all sides, 
 to attack the Swedes; who were now defeated 
 bj a native of Russia, and not a foreigner. His 
 general, Sheremeto, by a skilful manoeuvre, beat 
 up the quarters of the Swedish general, Slipen- 
 bak, in several places, near Derpt, on the fron- 
 tiers of Livonia ; and at last obtained a victory 
 over that officer himself. (Jan. 11, I70'i.) And 
 now, for the first time, the Russians took from 
 the Swedes four of their colours ," which was 
 thought a considerable number. 
 
 May.] The lakes Peipus and Ladoga ware for 
 some time afterwards the theatres of .sea-fights 
 between the Russians and Swedes ; in which 
 the latter had the same advanLages as by land : 
 namely, that of discipline and long practice ; but 
 the Russians had some few successes with their
 
 PETER THE GREAT. 3 29 
 
 half gallies, at the lake Peipus, and the field- 
 marshal Sheremeto took a Swedish frigate. 
 
 By means of this lake, the czar kept Livonia 
 and Esthonia in continual alarms ; his gallies 
 frequently landed -everal regiments in those 
 provinces ; who reimharked whenever they failed 
 of success, or else pursued their advantage : the 
 Swedes were twice beaten in the neighbourhood 
 of Derpt, (June, July, J) while they were victori- 
 ous every where else. 
 
 In all these actions the Russians were always 
 superior in number ; for this reason, Charles XI I. 
 who was so successful in every other place, gave 
 himself little concern about these trifling advan- 
 tages gained by the czar : but he should have 
 considered, that these numerous forces of his 
 rival were every day growing more accustomed 
 to the business of fighting, and might soon be- 
 come formidable to himself. 
 
 While both parties were thus engaged, by sea 
 and land, in Livonia, Ingria, and Esthonia, the 
 .:zar is informed that a Swedish fleet had set 
 Bail, in order to destroy Archangel ; upon which 
 he immediately marched thither, and every one 
 was astonished to hear of him on the coasts of 
 the Frozen Sea, when he was thought to be at 
 Moscow. He put the town into a posture of de- 
 fence, prevented the intended descent, drev/ the 
 plan of a citadel, called the New Dwina, laid 
 the first stone, and then returned to Moscow, and 
 from thence to the seat of war. 
 
 Charles made some alliances in Poland j but 
 the Russians, on their side, made a progress in 
 Ingria and Livonia. Marshal Sheremeto marched 
 to meet the Swedish army, under the command 
 of Slipenbak, gave that general battle near the 
 little river Embac, and defeated him, taking six- 
 teen colours, and twenty pieces of cannon, Nor- 
 F2
 
 130 HISTORY OF 
 
 berg places this action on tl)e first of December, 
 1701 ; but the journal of Peter the Great, fixes it 
 on the nineteenth of July, ITO'-J. 
 
 6th Aug.] After this advantage, the Russian 
 general marched onwards, laid the whole country 
 under contributions, and takes the litile town of 
 iMarienburg, on the confines of Ingria and Livonia. 
 There are several towns of this name in the north 
 of Europe ; but this, though it no longer exists, is 
 more celebrated in history than all the others, 
 by the ;uiventure of the empress Catherine. 
 
 This little town, having surrendered at discre- 
 tion, the Swedes, who defended it, either through 
 mistake or design, set fire to the magazine, 'lb* 
 Russians, incensed at this, destroyed the town, 
 and (jiirned away all the inhabitants. Among 
 the prisoners was a young woman, a native of 
 Livonia, who had been brought up in the house of 
 a Lutheran minister of that place, named Gluck, 
 and who afterwards became the sovereign of those 
 who had taken her captive, and who governed 
 Russia by the name of the empress Catherine. 
 
 There bad been many instances before this, of 
 private women being raised to the throne ; no- 
 thing was more common in Russia, and in all 
 Asiatic kingdoms, than for crowned heads to 
 raarrj their own subjects ; but that a poor stran- 
 ger, who had been taken prisoner in the storming 
 of a town, should become the absolute sovereign 
 of that very empire, whither she was led captive, 
 is an instance which fortune never produced 
 before nor since in the annals of the world. 
 
 The Russian arms proved equally successful in 
 IngTia : for their half gallies on the lake Ladoga 
 compelled the Swedish fleet to retire to Wibourg,* 
 
 • This seems a mistake ; our author probably m&aot 
 to say Kcrcholme, because Wibourg is act oa ihe lak« 
 Ladoga, but on the gulf of Finlaad.
 
 PETER THE GREAT. 13 1 
 
 a town at ilie other extremity of this great lake, 
 from whence they could see the siege of the for- 
 tress of Notebourg, which was then carrying on 
 by general Sherenieto. I'his was an undt^rtaking 
 of much greater importance than was imagined 
 at that time, as it might open a comniunicatiou 
 with the Baltic Sea, the constant aim of Peter 
 the Great. 
 
 Notebourg was a strong fortified town, built on 
 an island in the lake Ladoga, which it entirely 
 commands, and by that means, whoever is in 
 possession of it, must be masters of that part of 
 the river Neva, wliich falls into the sea not far 
 from thence. The Russians bombarded the town 
 night and day, from the 18th of September to 
 the l-th October ; and at length gave a general 
 assault by three breaches. 1 he Swedish garri- 
 son was reduced to a hundred men only capable 
 of defending the place ; and, what is very asto- 
 nishing, they did defend it, and obtain, even in 
 the breach, an honourable capitulation : more- 
 over, colonel Sli|>enbak, who commanded there, 
 would not surrender the town, but on condition 
 of being })ermitted to send for two Swec'-isb offi- 
 cers from the nearest post, to examine the 
 breaches (Oct. 16.), in order to bo witnesses for 
 him to the king his master, that eighty-three 
 men, who were all then left of the garrison capa- 
 ble of bearing arms, besides one hundred and 
 fifty sick and wounded, did not surrender to a 
 whole army, till it was impossible for them to 
 fight longer, or to preserve the place. This cir- 
 cumstance alone shews what sort of an enemy 
 the czar had to contend with, and the necessity 
 there was of all his great efforts and military dis- 
 cipline. He distributed gold medals among his 
 officers on this occasion, and gave rewards to aK. 
 the private men ; e.icept a few, whom he pu-
 
 132 HISTORY OF 
 
 nished for running away during the assault. 
 Their comrades spit in their faces, and afterwards 
 shot them to death ; thus adding ignominy tc 
 punishment. 
 
 NotebouTg was repaired, and its name changed 
 to that of Shiiisselburg, or the City of the Key ; 
 that place being the key of Ingria and Finland. 
 The first governor was that MenzikofF, whom we 
 -have already mentioned, and who was become 
 an excellent officer, and had merited this honour 
 by his gallant behaviour during the siege. His 
 example served as an encouragement to all who 
 have merit without being distinguished by birth. 
 
 After this campaign of 1702, the czar resolved 
 that Sheremeto, and the officers who had signa- 
 lized themselves, should make a triumphal entry 
 into Moscow. (Dec. 17.) All the prisoners taken 
 in this campaign marched in the train of the vic- 
 tors, who had the Swedish colours and standards 
 carried before them, together with the flag of 
 the Swedish frigate taken on the lake Peipus. 
 Peter assisted in the prejjarations for this trium- 
 phal pomp, as he had shared in the great actions 
 it celebrated. 
 
 These shows naturally inspired emulation, 
 otherwise they would have been no more than 
 idle ostentation. Charles despised every thing 
 of this kind, and, after the battle of Narva, held 
 his enemies, (heir eiForts, and their triumphs, in 
 equal contempt.
 
 PETER THE GREAT. 133 
 
 CHAP. XIII. 
 
 R«fonDation at Moscow — Further successes. — Founding 
 of Petersburg. — The czar takes Narva, &:c. 
 
 T^HE short stay which the czar made at Mos- 
 cow, in the beginning of the winter 1703, 
 was employed in seeing all his new regulations 
 put into execution, and in improving the civil as 
 well as the military government. Even his very 
 amusements were calculated to inspire his sub- 
 jects with a taste for the new mannei of living 
 he had introduced amongst them. In this view, 
 he invited all the boyards, and principa lladies 
 of Moscow, to the marriage of one of his sisters, 
 at which every one was required to appear dressed 
 after the ancient fashion. A dmner was served 
 up just in the same manner as those in the six- 
 teenth century* By an old superstitious custom, 
 no one was to light a fire on the wedding-day, 
 even in the coldest season. This custom was 
 rigorously observed upon this occasion. The 
 Russians formerly never drank wine, but only 
 mead and brandy ; no other liquors were permit- 
 ted on this day, and, when the guests made com- 
 plaints, he replied, in a joking manner, * This 
 was a custom with your ancestors, and old cus- 
 toms are always the best.' This raillery con- 
 tributed greatly to the reformation of those who 
 preferred past times to the present, at least it put 
 a stop to their murmurings ; and there are seve- 
 ral nations that stand in need of the like example. 
 A still more useful establishment than any of 
 the rest, was that of a printing-press, for Rus- 
 sian and Latin types ; the implements of which 
 were all brought from Holland. They began by 
 
 • TakcD from the journal of Peter the Orfaf-
 
 134 HISTORY OF 
 
 printing translations in the Russian language of 
 several books of morality and polite literature. 
 Ferguson founded schools for geometry, astro- 
 nomy, and na%-igation. 
 
 Another foundation, no less necessary, was 
 that of a large hospital ; not one of those houses 
 which encourage idleness, and perpetuate the 
 misery of the people, but such as the czar had 
 seen at Amsterdam, where old persons and chil- 
 dren are employed at work, and where every one 
 within the walls is made useful in some way or 
 other. 
 
 He established several manufactories ; and, as 
 soon as hr had put in motion all those arts 
 to which he gave birth in Moscow, he hastened 
 to Woronitz, to give directions for building two 
 ships, of eighty guns each, with long cradles, or 
 caserns, fitted to the ribs of the vessel, to buoy 
 her up, and carry her safely over the shoals and 
 banks of sand that lay about Azoph ; an ingenious 
 contrivance, similar to that used by the Dutch 
 in Holland, to get their large ships over the 
 Pampus. 
 
 Having made all the necessary preparations 
 against the Turks, he turned his attention, in the 
 next place, against the Swedes. He went to 
 visit the ships that were building at Olcnita 
 (March 30, 1703.), a town between the lakes 
 Ladago and Onega, where he had established a 
 foundry for making all kinds of arms ; and, when 
 every thing bore a military aspect, at Moscow 
 flourished all the arts of peace. A spring of mi- 
 neral waters, which has been lately discovered 
 near Olonitz, has added to the reputation of that 
 place. From thence he proceeded to Shlussel- 
 burg. wluch he fortified. 
 
 We have already observed, that Peter was de 
 terrained to pass regularly through all themilitarf
 
 PETER THE GREAT. 135 
 
 degrees : he had served as lieutenant of. bom- 
 bardiers, under prince jMenzikoft", before that 
 favourite was made governor of Shlusselburg, and 
 he now look the rank of captain, and served under 
 marshal Sheremeto. 
 
 There was an important fortress near the lake 
 Ladoga, and not far from the river Neva, named 
 Nyantz, or Nya.* It was necessary to make 
 himself master of this place, in order to secure 
 bis conquest, and favour his other designs. He 
 therefore undertook to transport a number of small 
 barks, filled with soldiers, and to drive off the 
 Swedish vessels that were bringing supplies, while 
 Sheremeto had the care of the trenches. ( May 22.) 
 The citadel surrendered, and two Swedish vessels 
 arrived, too late to assist the besieged, being both 
 attacked and taken by the czar. His journal says, 
 that, as a reward for his service, ' The captain of 
 bombardiers was created knight of the order of 
 St. Andrew by admiral Golowin, the first knight 
 of that order.' 
 
 After the taking of the fort of Nya, he resolved 
 upon building the city of Petersburg, at the mouth 
 of the Neva, upon the gulf of Finland. 
 
 The affairs of king Augustus were in a despe- 
 rate wav ; the excessive victories of the Swedes 
 in Poland had emboldened his enemies in the op- 
 position ; and even his friends had obliged him 
 to dismiss a body of twenty thousand Russians, 
 that the czar had sent him to reinforce his army. 
 They thought, by this sacrifice, to deprive the 
 malcontents of all pretext for joining the king of 
 Sweden : but enemies are disarmed by force, a 
 show of weakness serving only to n^ake tliein more 
 insolent. These twenty thous^md men, that had 
 been disciplined by Patkul, proved of infinite 
 service in Livonia and Ingria, while Augustus 
 • Some writers call it Nyenschnnla.
 
 136 HISTORV OF 
 
 was losing his dominions. This reinforcement, 
 and, above all, the possession of Nya, enabled the 
 czar to found his new capital. 
 
 It was in this barren and marshy spot of ground, 
 which has communication with the main land 
 only by one way, that Peter laid the foundation 
 of Petersburg, in the sixtieth degree of latitude, 
 and the forty-fourth and a half of longitude. The 
 ruins of some of the bastions of Nya was made 
 use of for the first stones of the foundation.* They 
 began by building a small fort upon one of the 
 islands, which is now in the centre of the city. 
 The Swedes beheld, without apprehension, a 
 settlement in the midst of a morass, and inacces- 
 sible to vessels of burden ; but, in a very short 
 time, they saw the fortifications advanced, a town 
 raised, and the little island of Cronstadt, situated 
 over against it, changed, in 1704, into an im- 
 pregnable fortress, under the cannon of which 
 even the largest fleets may ride in safety. 
 
 These works, which seemed to require a time 
 of profound peace, were carried on ir. the very 
 bosom of war ; workmen of every sort were called 
 together, from Moscow, Astracan, Casan, and 
 the Ukraine, to assist in building the new city. 
 Neither the difficulties of the ground, that was to 
 be rendered firm, and raised, the distance of the 
 necessary materials, the unforeseen obstacles, 
 which are for ever starting up in all great under- 
 takings ; nor, lastly, the epidemical disorder, 
 which carried off a prodigious number of the work 
 men, could discourage the royal founder ; and, 
 in the space of five months, a new city rose from 
 the ground. It is true, indeed, it was little 
 better than a cluster of huts, with only two brick 
 houses, surrounded by ramparts ; but this was 
 • Pelergburg was founded on Whitsunday, 
 the «7th May, 1703.
 
 PETER THE GREAT. 137 
 
 all that was then necessary. Time and persever- 
 ance accomplished the rest. In less than five 
 months, after the founding of Petersburg, a Dutch 
 ship came to trade there, (Nov.) the captain of 
 which was handsomely rewarded, and the Dutch 
 Boon found the way to Petersburg. 
 
 While Peter was directing the establishment 
 of this coloDY, he took care to provide every day 
 for its safety, by making himself master of the 
 neighbourins posts. A Swedish colonel, named 
 Croniort, had taken post on the river Septra, and 
 thence threatened the rising city. Peter, without 
 delay, marched against him with his two regi- 
 ments of guards, defeated him, (July 8.) and 
 obliged him to repass the river. Having thus put 
 his town in safety, he repaired to Olonitz,(Sep.) 
 to give directions for building a number of smal] 
 vessels, and afterwards returned to Petersburg, 
 on board a frigate that had been built bj his 
 direction, taking with him six transport vessels, 
 for present use, till the others could be got ready. 
 Even at this juncture he did not forj^et his ally, 
 the king of Poland, but sent him (Nov.) a rein- 
 forcement of twelve thousand foot, a;nl a subsidy 
 in money of three hundred thousand rubles, which 
 make about one million live hundred thousand 
 French livres.* It has been remarked, that his 
 annual revenue did not exceed then five million^ 
 rubles ; a sum, which the expense of his fleets 
 of his armies, and of his new establishments, 
 seemed more than sufficient to exhaust. He had, 
 at almost one and the same time, fortified No- 
 vogorod, Pleskow, Kiow, Smolensko, Azoph, 
 Archangel, and founded a capital. Notwith- 
 standing all which, he had still a sufficiency left 
 to assist his ally with men and money. Cornelius 
 Je Bruine, a Dutchman, who was on his travels, 
 * About sixty thousand pounds sterling.
 
 J38 HISTORY OF 
 
 and at that time iu Russia, and with whom he 
 frequently conversed very freely, as indeed he 
 did with al! strangers, says, that tue czar himseli 
 assured him, that he had still three hundred 
 thousand rubles remaining in his coffers, after all 
 the expenses of the war were defrayed. 
 
 In order to put his infant city of Petersburg out 
 of danger of insult, he went in person to sound 
 the depth of water thereabouts, fixed upon a place 
 for building the fort of Cronstadt; and, after mak- 
 ing the model of it in wood with his own hands, 
 he employed prince ^lenzikoff to put it in execu- 
 tion. From thence he went to pass the winter 
 at Moscow, (Nov. d.) in order to estaLlish, by 
 degrees, the several alterations he bad made in 
 the Ictws, manners, and customs of Russia. He 
 regulated the finances, and put them upon anew 
 footing. He expedited the works that were carry- 
 ing on in the Woronitz, at Azoph, and in a harbour 
 which he had caused to be made on the Palus 
 MsBotis, under the fort of Taganrock. 
 
 Jan. 1704.] The Ottoman Porte, alarmed al 
 these preparations, sent an embassy to the czar, 
 complaining thereof: to wh'ch he returned for 
 answer that he was master in his own dominions, 
 as well as the grand seignior was in Turkey, and 
 that it was no infringement of the peace to render 
 the Russian power respectable on the Euxine Sea. 
 
 March 30.] Upon his return to Petersburg, 
 finding his new citadel of Cronstadt, which had 
 been founded in the bosom of the sea, completely 
 finished, he furnished it with the necessary artil- 
 lery. But, in order to settle himself firmly in 
 Ingria, and entirely to repair the disgrace he had 
 suffered before Narva, he esteemed it necessary 
 to take that city. While he was making prepa- 
 rations for the siege, a small fleet appeared on 
 the lake of Peipus, to oppose his designs. The
 
 PETER THE GREAT. 139 
 
 Russian half galleys went out to meet them, gave 
 tbem battle, and took the whole squadron, which 
 had on boardninety-eight pieces ol cannon. After 
 this victory, the czar lays siege to Narva both by 
 sea and Jand, (April,) and, which was most ex- 
 traordinary, he lays siege to the city of Derptin 
 Esthonia at the same time. 
 
 Who would have imagined, that there was a 
 university in Derpt "? Gustavus Adolphus had 
 founded one there, but it did not render that city 
 more famous, Derpt being only known by these 
 two sieges. Peter was incessantly going from the 
 one to the other, forwarding the attacks, and 
 directing all the operations. The Swedish gene- 
 ral Slipeabak was in the neighbourhood of Derpt, 
 with a body of two thousand five hundred men. 
 
 The besiegers expected every instant when he 
 would throw succours into the place ; but Peter, 
 on this occasion, had recour&e V> a stratagem 
 worthy of more frequent imitation : he ordered 
 two regiments of foot, and one of horse, to be 
 clothed in the same uniform, and to carry the 
 same standards and colours as the Swedes : these 
 sham Swedes attack the trenches, (June '^7.) and 
 the Russians pretend to be put to flight ; the gar- 
 rison, deceived by appearances, make a sally ; 
 upon which the mock combatants join their forces 
 and fall upon the Swedes, one half of whom were 
 left dead upon the place, and the rest made shift 
 to get back to the town. Slipenbak arrives soon 
 after with succours to relieve it, but is totally 
 defeated. At length Derpt was obliged to ca- 
 pitulate, (July ii'3.) just as the czar was prepar- 
 ing every thing for a general assault. 
 
 At the same time Peter met with a consider- 
 able check, on the siile of his new city of Peters- 
 burg ; but this did not prevent him either from 
 going on with the works of that place, or from
 
 140 HISTORY OF 
 
 vigorously prosecuting the sieje of Narva. Ithaa 
 already been observed, that he sent a reinforce- 
 ment of troops and money to king Augustus, 
 whea his enemies were driving him from his 
 throne ; but both these aids proved useless. The 
 Russians having joined the Lithuanians in the 
 interest of Augustus, were totally defeated in 
 Courland by the Swedish general Levenhaupt • 
 (July 31.) and had the victors directed their ef- 
 forts towards Livonia, Ksthonia, and Ingria, they 
 might have destroyed the czar's new works, and 
 baffled all the fruits of his great undertakings. 
 Peter was every day sapping the breast-work of 
 Sw^eden, while Charles seemed to neglect ail re- 
 sistance, for the pursuit of a less advantageous, 
 though a more brilliant fanoe. 
 
 On the 13th of July, 1704, only a single 
 Swedish colonel, at the head of his detachment, 
 obliged the Polish nobility to nominate a new king, 
 on the field of election, called Kolo, near the city 
 of Warsaw. The cardinal -primate of the king- 
 dom, and several bishops, submitted to a Lu- 
 theran prince, noiwith-taading ihe menaces and 
 excommunications of the supreme pontiff : in 
 short, every thing gave way to force. All the 
 world knows in what manner Stanislaus Leczin- 
 sky was elected king, and how Charles XIL 
 obliged the greatest part of Poland to acknow- 
 ledge him. 
 
 Peter, however, would not abandon the de- 
 throned king, but redoubled his assistance, in 
 proportion to the necessities of his ally ; and, 
 while his enemy was making kings, he beat the 
 Swedish generals one after another in Esthonia 
 and Ingria ; from thence he passed to the siege 
 of Narva, and gave several vigorous assaults to 
 the town. There were three bastions, famous at 
 least for their names, called Victorv, Hoboux, and
 
 PETER THE GREAT. 141 
 
 Glorj. The czar carried them all three sword- 
 in-hand. The besiegers forced their way into 
 the town, where they pillaged and exercised all 
 those cruelties which were but too customary at 
 that time, between the Swedes and Russians. 
 
 August 20.] Peter, on this occasion, gave an 
 example that ought to have gained him the af- 
 fections of all his new subjects : he ran every 
 where in person, to put a stop to the pillage and 
 slaughter, rescues several women out of the 
 clutches of the brutal soldiery, and, after having, 
 with his own hand, killed two of those ruffians 
 who had refused to obey his orders, he enters the 
 town-house, whither the citizens had ran in 
 crowds for shelter, and laying his sword, yet 
 reeking with blood, upon the table — ' This sword,' 
 said he, ' is not stained with the blood of your 
 fellow citizens, but with that of my own Boldier.s, 
 which 1 have spilt to save your lives'. 
 
 CHAP. XIV. 
 
 Peter theGreat keeps possession of all Ingria.whileCharlee 
 XII. is triumphant in other places. — Rise of Menzikoff. 
 — Petersburg secured. — The czar executes his designs 
 notwithstanding the victories of the king of Sweden.* 
 
 itn* T^ETKR being now master of all In- 
 
 l/O-t. J. . /• J 1 . r 
 
 gna, conferred the government of 
 
 that province upon Menzikoff; and at the 
 same time gave him the title of prince, and the 
 rank of major-general. Pride and prejudice 
 might, in other countries, find means to gain- 
 say, that a pastry cook's boy should be raised 
 
 • All the foregoing chapters, and likewise thoee which 
 fellow, are taken from the journals of Peter the Great, and 
 the papers sent me from Petersburg, carefully compared 
 with other memoira.
 
 142 HISTORY OF 
 
 to be a general and governor, and to princely 
 dignity ; but Peter had already accustonaed his 
 subjects to see, without surprise, every thing given 
 to merit, and nothing to mere nobility. Menzikoff, 
 by a lucky accident, had, while a boy, been taken 
 from his original obscurity, and placed in the 
 czar's family,* where he learnt several languages, 
 and acquired a knowledge of public affairs, both, 
 in the cabinet and field ; and having found means 
 to ingratiate himself with his master, he after- 
 wards knew how to render himself necessary. 
 He greatly forwarded the works at Petersburg, of 
 which he had the direction ; several brick and 
 stone-houses were already built, with an arsenal 
 and magazines ; the fortifications were com- 
 pleted, but the palaces were not built till some 
 time afterwards. 
 
 • Menzikoff's parents were vassals of the monastery d 
 Cosmopoly : at the age of thirteen, he went to Moscow, 
 and was taken into the service of a pastrj- cook. Hia 
 pmplojment was singing ballads, and crying puffs and 
 cakes about the streets. One da^-, as he was following 
 this occupation, the czar happening to liear him, and to 
 be diverted with one of his songs., sent for him, and asked 
 him if he woald sell his pies and his basket ? The boy 
 answered, that his business was to sell his pits, but he 
 must ask his master's leave to sell his basket ; ^et as every 
 thing belonged to his prince, his majestj- had only to lay 
 his commands upon him. The czar was so pleased with 
 this answer, that he immediately ordered him to court, 
 where Le gave him at first a mean employment ; but 
 being every day more pleased with his wit, he thought 
 fit to place him about his person, and to make him groom 
 of hisbf-dchamber, from whence he craduallj' raised him 
 to tha highest preferBients. He was tall and well shaped. 
 At his first coming into the czar's service, heinlisted in 
 Le Fort's company, and acquired, under that general's 
 inetruciion, such a degree of knowledge and skill, as en- 
 abled him to command armies, and to become one of the 
 bravest and most auccessful generals in Russia.
 
 PETER THE GREAT. 143 
 
 Peter was scarcely settled in Narva, when b« 
 offered fresh succours to the dethroned king of 
 Poland ; he promised him a body of troops over 
 and above the twelve thousand men he had al- 
 ready sent him, and actually dispatched general 
 Repnin (Aug. 19.) from the frontiers of Lithuania, 
 with six thousand horse, and the same number of 
 foot. All this while be did not lose sight of his 
 colony of Petersburg: the buildings went on very 
 fast ; his navy encreased daily ; several ships 
 and frigates were on the stocks at Olmutz ; these 
 he took care to see finished, and brought them 
 himself into the harbour of Petersburg. 
 
 Oct. 11.] Each time he returned to Moscow, 
 was distinguished by triumphal entries. In this 
 manner did he revisit it this year, from whence 
 he made only one excursion, to be present at the 
 launching of his first ship of eighty guns upon the 
 Woronitz, (Dec. 30.) of which ship he liiraseJf 
 had drawn the dimensions the preceding year. 
 
 Blay, 1703.] As soon as the campaign could 
 be opened in Poland, he hastened to the army 
 which he had sent to the assistance of Augustus, 
 on the frontiers of that kingdom ; but, while he 
 was thus supporting liis ally, a Swedish fleet put 
 to sea, to destroy Petersburg, and the fortress of 
 Cronslot, as yet hardly finished. This fleet con- 
 sisted of twenty -two ships of war, from fifty-four 
 to sixty-four guns each, besides six frigates, two 
 bomb-ketches, and two fire-ships. 'Jhe troops 
 that were sent on this expedition, made a de- 
 scent on the little island of Kotin ; but a Russian 
 colonel, named Tolhogwin, who commanded a 
 regiment there, ordered his soldiers to lie down 
 flat on their bellies, while the Swedes were com- 
 ing on shore, and then suddenly rising up, thej 
 tlirew in so brisk and well directed a fire, that 
 the Swedes were put into coDfusion, and forced
 
 144 HISTORY OF 
 
 to retreat with the utmost precipitation to their 
 ships, leaving behind them all their dead, and 
 upwards of three hundred prisoners. (Juce 7.) 
 
 However, their fleet still continued hovering 
 about the coast, and threatened Petersburg. They 
 made another descent, and were repulsed as be- 
 fore (June i'5.) : a body of land-forces were also 
 advancing from Wiburn,* under the command 
 of the Swedish general Meidel, and look their 
 route by Shlusselburg : this was the most con- 
 siderable attempt that Charles had yet made 
 upon those territories, which Peter had either 
 conquered or new formed. The Swedes were 
 every where repulsed, and Petersburg remained 
 in security. 
 
 Peter, on the other hand, advanced towards 
 Courland, with a design to penetrate as far as 
 Riga. His plan was to make himself master or 
 Livonia, while Charles XII. was busied in re- 
 ducing the Poles entirely under the obedience of 
 the new king he had given them. The czar was 
 still at Wilnaw in Lithuania, and his general 
 Sheremeto was approaching towards Mittau, the 
 capital of Courland ; but there he was met by 
 general Levenhaupt, already famous by several 
 victories, and a pitched battle was fought be- 
 tween the two armies at a place called Gema- 
 vershoff, or Gemavers. 
 
 In all those actions where experience and dis- 
 cipline decide the day, the Swedes, though in 
 ferior in number, had the advantage. The Rus- 
 sians were totally defeated, (June 28.) and lose 
 
 • M. de Voltaire calls this citj- Wibor.rq, in this and 
 some other places of his history. The French are not 
 always very attentive to the right names of places, bnt 
 iere it is of some consequence. Wibour^ is the capital 
 jf Jutland in Denmark. Wiburn, the cit3' here meant, 
 hi tbe capital of Carelia in Russian Finland.
 
 PETER THE GREAT. 145 
 
 their artillery. Peter, Tiotwithstanding the loss 
 of three battles, viz. atGeiuavers, at Jacobstadt, 
 and at Narva, always retrieved his losses, and 
 even converted them to his advantage. 
 
 After the battle of Gemavers, he marched his 
 array into Courland ; came before Mittau, made 
 himself master of the town, and afterwards laid 
 siege to the citadel, which he took by capitu- 
 lation. 
 
 Sept. 14, 1705.] The Russian troops at that 
 time had the character of distinguishing their 
 successes by rapine and pillage ; a custom of too 
 great antiquity in all nations. But Peter, at the 
 taking of Narva, had made such alterations in 
 this custom, that the Russian soldiers appointed 
 to guard the vaults where the grand dukes of 
 Courland were buried, in the- castle of Mittau, 
 perceiving that the bodies had been taken out o! 
 their tombs, and stripped of their ornaments, re- 
 fused to take possession of their post, till a Swe- 
 dish colonel had been first sent for to inspect the 
 condition of the place ; who gave them a certi- 
 ficate that this outrage had been committed by 
 the Swedes themselves. 
 
 A rumour which was spread throughout the 
 •whole empire, that the czar had been totally de- 
 feated at the battle of Gemavers, proved of greater 
 prejudice to his affairs, than even the loss of that 
 battle. The remainder of the ancient strelitzea 
 in garrison at Astracan, emboldened by this false 
 report, mutinied, and murdered the governor of 
 the town. Peter was obliged to send marshal 
 Sheremeto with a body of forces to quell thu 
 insurrection, and punish the mutineers. 
 
 Every thing seemed now to conspire against 
 the czar; the success and valour of Charles XII.; 
 the misfortunes of Augustus ; the forced neutra- 
 lity of Denmark j the insurrection of the ancient 
 G
 
 146 HISTORY OF 
 
 streiitzes ; the murmurs of a people, seosible of 
 the restraint, but not of the utility of the late re- 
 form ; the discontent of the grandees, who found 
 themselves subjected to military discipline ; and, 
 lastly, the exhausted state of the finances, were 
 suflScient to have discouraged any prince except 
 Peter : but he did not despond, even for an in- 
 stant. He soon quelled the revolt, and having 
 provided for the safety of Ingria, and secured the 
 possession of the citadel of IMittau, in spite of 
 the victorious Levenhaupt, who had not troops 
 enough to oppose him ; he found himself at li- 
 berty to march an army through Samojitia and 
 Lithuania. 
 
 He now shared with Charles XII. the glorj of 
 giving laws to Poland. He advanced as far as 
 Tikoczin : where he had an interview for the 
 second time with king Augustus ; when he en- 
 deavoured to comfort him under his misfortunes, 
 promising to revenge his cause, and, at the same 
 time, made him a present of some colours, which 
 Menzikoff had taken from the troops of his rival. 
 The two monarchs afterwards went together to 
 Grodno, the capital of Lithuania, where they 
 staid till the 15th of December. At their parting. 
 Peter presented him both men and money, and 
 then, according to his usual custom, went to pa.'S 
 some part of the winter at Moscow, (30 Dec.) 
 to encourage the arts and sciences there, and to 
 enforce his new laws there, after having made a 
 very difficult and laborious campaign.
 
 PETER THE GREAT. 147 
 
 CHAP. XV. 
 
 ^^ile Peter i» strengthening his conquests, and im- 
 proving the police of his dominion, his enemy Charles 
 XII. gains several battles: gives laws to Poland and 
 Saxony, and to Augustus, notwithstanding a victory 
 gained by the Russians. — Augustus resigns the crown, 
 and delivers up Patkul, the czar's ambassador. — 
 Murder of Patkul, who is sentenced to be broke upon 
 the wheel. 
 
 1706. pETER was hardly returned to Moscow, 
 when he heard that Charles XI [ after 
 being every where victorious, was advancing to- 
 wards Grodno, to attack the Russian troops. 
 King Augustus had been obliged to fly from 
 Grodno, and retire with precipitation towards 
 Saxony, with four regiments of Russian dragoons ; 
 a step which both weakened and discouraged the 
 army of his protector. Peter found all the ad- 
 •vances to Grodno occupied by the Swedes, and 
 his troops dispersed. 
 
 While he was with the greatest difficulty as- 
 sembling his troops in Lithuania, the famous 
 Schullemburg, who was the last support Augus- 
 tus had left, and who afterwards gained so much 
 glory by the defence of Corfu against the Turks, 
 was advancing on the side of Great Poland, with 
 about twelve thousand Saxons, and six thousand 
 Russians, taken from the body troops with which 
 the czar liad entrusted that unfortunate prince. 
 ScliuUeinburg expected with just reason, that 
 he should be able to prop the sinking fortunes of 
 Augustus; he perceived that Charles Xll. was 
 employed in Lithuania, and tbat there was only 
 a body of ten thousand Swedes under general 
 Renschild to interrupt his march ; be therefore 
 advanced with confidence as far as the frontiers 
 of SiJesia; which is the passage out of Saxony
 
 148 HISTORY OF 
 
 into Upper Poland. When he came near the 
 village of Fraustadt, on the frontiers of that king- 
 dom, he met marshal Renschiid, who was ad- 
 vancing to give him battle. 
 
 Whatever care 1 take to avoid repeating what 
 has been already mentioned in the history of 
 Charles XH., I am obliged in this place to take 
 notice once more, that there was in the Saxon 
 army a French regiment, that had been taken pri- 
 soners at the famous battle of Hochsted (or Blen- 
 heim) and obliged to serve in the Saxon troops. 
 I\Iy memoirs say, that this regiment had the 
 charge of the artillery, and add, that the French, 
 struck with the fame and reputation of Charles 
 XII., and discontented with the Saxon service, 
 laid down their arms as soon as they came in 
 sight of the enemy (Feb.), and desired to be 
 taken into the Swedish army, in which they con- 
 tinued to the end of the war. This defection was 
 as the beginning, or signal of a total overthrow 
 to the Russian army, of which no more than 
 three battalions were saved, and almost every 
 man of these wns wounded ; and as no quarter 
 w-as granted, the remainder was cut in pieces. 
 
 Norberg, the chaplain, pretends, that the Swe- 
 dish word at this battle was, ' In toe name of 
 God,' and that of the Russians, ' Kill all;' but 
 it was the Swedes who killed all in God's name. 
 The czar himself declares, in one of his manifes- 
 toes,* that a number of Russians, Cossacks, and 
 Calmucks, that had been made prisoners, were 
 murdered in cool blood three days after that 
 battle. The irregular troops on both sides had 
 accustomed their generals to these cruelties, 
 than which greater were never committed in the 
 most barbarous times. I had the honour to hear 
 
 • The czar's manifesto in the LTiraine, I709.
 
 PETER THE GREAT. 149 
 
 k^g Stanislaus himself saj, that in one of those 
 engagements which were so frequent in Poland, 
 a Russian officer who had formerly been one of 
 his friends, came to put himself under his pro- 
 tection, after the defeat of the corps he com- 
 manded ; and that the Swedish general Steinbock 
 shot him dead with a pistol, while he held hira 
 in his arms. 
 
 Ihis was the fourth battle the Russians had 
 lost against the Swedes, without reckoning the 
 other victories of Charles XII. in Poland. The 
 czar's troops that were in Grodno, ran the risk 
 of suffering a still greater disgrace, by being sur- 
 rounded on all sides ; but he fortunately found 
 means to get them together, and even to strengthen 
 them with new reinforcements. But necessitated 
 at once to provide for the safety of this army, 
 and the security of his conquests in Ingria, he 
 ordered prince INIenzikoff to march with the army 
 under his command eastward, and from thence 
 southward as far as Kiow. 
 
 While his men were upon their march, he re- 
 pairs to Shiusselburg. from thence to Narva, and 
 to his colony of Petersburg (August), and puts 
 those places in a posture of defence. From the 
 Baltic he flies to the banks of the Boristhenes, 
 to enter into Poland by the way of Kiow, making 
 it still his chief care to render those victories of 
 Charles, which he had not been able to prevent, 
 of as little advantage to the victor as possible. 
 At this very time he meditated a new conquest ; 
 namely, that of Wibourg, the capital of Carelia. 
 situated on the gulf of Finland. lie went in 
 person to lay siege to this place, but for this time 
 it withstood the power of his arms ; succours 
 arrived in season, and he was obliged to raise the 
 siege. (Oct.) His rival, Charles XII. did not, in 
 Cact, make any couijuests, though he gained so 
 
 /
 
 150 HISTORY OF 
 
 manj? battles : he was at that time in pursuit of 
 king Augustus in Saxony, being always more in- 
 tent upon humbling that prince, and crushing him 
 beneath the weight of his superior power and re- 
 putation, than upon recovering Ingria, that had 
 been wrested from him by a vanquished enemy. 
 
 He spread terror through all Upper Poland, 
 Silesia, and Saxony, King Augustus's whole 
 family, his mother, his wife, his son, and the 
 principal nobility of the country, were retired 
 into the heart of the empire. Augustus now sued 
 for peace, choosing rather to trust himself to the 
 mercy of his conqueror, than in the arms of his 
 protector. He entered into a treaty which de- 
 prived him of the crown of Poland, and covered 
 him at the same time with ignominy. This was 
 a private treaty, and was to be concealed from 
 the czar's generals, with whom he had taken re- 
 fuge in Poland, while Charles XII. was giving 
 laws in Leipsic, and acting as absolute master 
 throughout his electorate. 
 
 His plenipotentiaries bad uJready signed the 
 fatal treaty (Sept. 11.), by which he not only di- 
 vested himself of the crown of Poland, but pro- 
 mised never more to assume the title of king ; 
 at the same time he recognized Stanislaus, re- 
 nounced his alliance with the czar his benefactor ; 
 and, to complete his humiliation, engaged to de- 
 liver up to Charles XII. John Reinold Patkul, the 
 czar's ambassador and general in the Russian ser- 
 vice, who was then actually fighting in his cause. 
 He had some time before ordered Patkul to be 
 arrested upon false suspicions, contrary to the 
 law of nations ; and now, in direct violation of 
 these laws, he delivered hira up to the enemy. 
 It had been better for him to have died sword-in- 
 hand, than to have concluded such a treaty • a 
 treaty, which not only robbed him of his crown,
 
 PETER THE GREAT. 151 
 
 and of his reputation, but likewise endangered 
 his liberty, because he was at that time in the 
 power of prince Wenzikoff in Posnania, and the 
 few Saxons that he had with him, were paid by 
 the Russians. 
 
 Prince Menzikoflf was opposed in that district 
 by a Swedish army, reinforced with a strong party 
 of Poles, in the interest of the new king Stanis- 
 laus, under the command of general Meyerfeld ; 
 and not knowing that Augustus had engaged in 
 a treaty with the enemies of Russia, had pro- 
 posed to attack them, and Augustus did not dare 
 to refuse. The battle was fought near Calish 
 (Oct. 19.), in the palatinate belonging to Stanis- 
 laus ; this was the first pitched battle the Rus- 
 sians had gained against the Swedes. Prince 
 MenzikofF had all the glory of the action, four 
 thousand of the enemy were left dead on the field, 
 and two thousand five hundred and ninety-eight 
 were made prisoners. 
 
 It is difficult to comprehend how Augustus 
 could be prevailed on, after this battle, to ratify 
 a treaty which deprived him of all the fruits of 
 his victory. But Charles was still triumphant 
 in Saxony, where his very name spread terror. 
 The success of the Russians appeared so incon- 
 siderable, and the Polish party against Augustus 
 was so strong, and, in fine, that monarch was so 
 ill-advised, that he signed the fatal convention. 
 Neither did he stop here : he wrote to his envoy 
 Finkstein a letter, that was, if possible, more 
 shanieful than the treaty itself; for therein he 
 asked pardon for having obtained a victory, 
 * protesting, that the battle had been fought 
 against his will ; that the Russians and the Poles, 
 his adherents, had obliged him to it; that he 
 had, with a view of preventing it, actually made 
 fiome movements to abandon Menzikoff; that
 
 152 HISTORY OF 
 
 Meyerfeld might have beaten him, had he made 
 the'most of that opportunity; that he was ready 
 to restore all the Swedish prisoners, or to break 
 vith the Russians ; and that, in fine, he would 
 give the king of Sweden all possible satisfaction,' 
 for having dared to beat his troops. 
 
 This whole aflfair, unparalleled and inconceiv- 
 able as it is, is, nevertheless, strictly true. When 
 we reflect, that, with all this weakness, Augustus 
 was one of the bravest pinces in Europe, we 
 may plainly perceive, that the loss or jireserva- 
 tion, the rise or declme of empires, are entirely 
 owing to fortitude of mind. 
 
 Two other circumstances concurred to com- 
 plete the disgrace of the king of Poland elector 
 of Saxony, and heighten the abuse which Charles 
 XII. made of his good fortune ; the first was his 
 obliging Augustus to write a letter of congratu- 
 lation to the new king Stanislaus on his election : 
 the second was terrible, he even compelled Au- 
 gustus to deliver up Patkul, the czar's ambassa- 
 dor and general.* It is sufficiently known to 
 all Europe, that this minister was afterwards 
 
 • The impartiality of an historian obliges us in this 
 place to advertise our readers, tliat it was not the fault 
 of Augustus, that Patkul -was delivered up to the king 
 of Sweden ; Augustus having privatelj' sent orders to 
 the commandant of the fort of Konigstein, where Patkul 
 was then confined, to suffer his prisoner to make his es- 
 cape in time. But the avarice of this officer proved 
 fatal to the life of the unhappj' captive, and to the cha. 
 racter of his own prince ; for while he was endeavour-- 
 ing to make the best bargain he could for himself, the 
 time slipped inconceivably away ; and while they wen 
 yet debating upon the price of the proposed releasement, 
 the guards sent by Charles came and demanded Patkul 
 in the name of their sovereign. The commandant waa 
 forced to obey, and the unhappy victim was delivered 
 up, contrary to the intentions of Aagustua.
 
 PETER THE GREAT. 153 
 
 brcke alive upon the wheel at Casimir, in the 
 month of September, 1707. Norberij, the chap- 
 lain, confesses that tlie orders for his execution 
 were all written in Charles's own baud. 
 
 There is not a civilian in all Europe, nay 
 even the vilest slave, but must feel the whole 
 horror of this barbarous injustice. The first crime 
 of this unfortunate man was, the having made 
 an humble representation of the rights and pri- 
 vileges of his country, at the head of six Livo- 
 nian gentlemen, who were sent as deputies from 
 the whole province : having been condemned 
 to die for fulfilling the first of duties, that of 
 serving his country agreeable to her laws. This 
 iniquitous sentence put him in full possession of 
 a right, which all mankind derive from nature, 
 that of choosing his country. Being afterwards 
 made embassador to one of the greatest monarchs 
 in the universe, his person thereby became sacred. 
 On this occasion the law of force violated that of 
 nature and nations. In former ages cruelties of 
 this kind were hidden in the blaze of success, 
 but now they sully the glory of a conqueror. 
 
 CHAP. XYI. 
 
 Attempts made to set up a third king of Poland.— 
 Charles XII. sets out from Saxony with a powerful 
 army, and marches throusjh Poland in a victorious man- 
 ner. — Cruellies committed. — Conduct of the czar. — 
 Successfs of the kini; of Sweden, who at length ad- 
 vances towards Russia. 
 
 1707 C"'^^^'^^^ ^^^" ^"j^y*^'^ ^^® ^'■"'^^ o' 
 
 his good fortune in Altranstadt near 
 Leipsic, whiiher the Protestant princes of the 
 German em{)ire repaired in droves to pay homage 
 G -i
 
 154 HISTORY OF 
 
 to him, and implore his protection. He leceived 
 ambassadors from almost all the potentates in 
 Europe. The emperor Joseph implicitly fol- 
 lowed his directions. Peter then perceiving that 
 king Augustus had renounced his protection and 
 his own crown, and that a part of the Polish na- 
 tion had acknowledged Stanislaus, listened to the 
 proposals made him by Yolkova, of choosing a 
 third king. 
 
 A diet was held at Lublin, in which several of 
 the pal atir.es were proposed ; and among others. 
 Prince Ragotski was put upon the list ; that 
 prince, who was so long kept in prison, when 
 young, by the emperor Leopold, and who after- 
 wards when he procured his liberty, was his com- 
 petitor for the throne of Hungary. 
 
 This negotiation was pushed very far, and 
 Poland was on the point of having three kings 
 at one time. Prince Ragotski not succeeding, 
 Peter thought to bestow the crown on Siniauski, 
 grand general of the republic ; a person of great 
 power and interest, and head of a third party, 
 that would neither acknowledge the dethroned 
 king, nor the person elected by the opposed 
 party. 
 
 In the midst of these troubles, there was a talk 
 of peace, as is customary on the like occasions. 
 Besseval the French envoy in Saxony interposed, 
 in order to bring about a reconciliation between 
 the czar and the king of Sweden. Itwas thought 
 at that time by the court of France, that Charles> 
 having no longer either the Russians or Poles to 
 fight against, might turn his arms against the 
 emperor Joseph, with whom he was not on very 
 good terms, and on whom he had imposed se- 
 veral laws during his stay in Saxony. But 
 Charles made answer, that he would treat with 
 the czar in Moscow. It was on this occasion that
 
 PETER THE GREAT. 155 
 
 Peter said, ' My brother Charles wants to act 
 the A.exander, but he shall not find a Darius 
 in me.' 
 
 The Russians however were still in Poland, 
 and were in the city of Warsaw, while the king 
 whom Charles XII. had set over the Poles was 
 hardly acknowledged by that nation. In the 
 mean time, Charles wa.s enriching his army with 
 the spoils of Saxony. 
 
 Aug. 22.] At length he began his march from 
 Altranstadt, at the head of an army of forty-five 
 thousand men ; a force which it seemed impos- 
 sible for the czar to withstand, seeing he had 
 been entirely defeated by eight thousand only at 
 Narva. 
 
 Aug. 27.] It was in passing by the walls of 
 Dresden, that Charles made that very extra- 
 ordinary visit to king Augustus, which, as Nor- 
 berg says, ' will strike posterity with admiration.' 
 It was running an unaccountable risk, to put 
 himself in the power of a prince whom he had 
 deprived of his kingdom. From thence he con- 
 tinued his march through Silesia, and re-entered 
 Poland. 
 
 This country has been entirely ravaged by war, 
 ruined by factions, and was a prey to every kind 
 of calamity. Charles continued advancing with 
 his army through the province of Muscovia, and 
 chose the most difficult ways he could take. The 
 inhabitants, who had taken shelter in the mo- 
 rasses, resolved to make him at least pay for bis 
 passage Six thousand peasants dispatched an 
 old man of their body lo speak to him : this man 
 who was of a very extraordinary figure, clad in 
 white, and armed with two carabines, made a 
 speech to Charles ; but as the standers by did 
 not well understand what he said, they, without 
 any further ceremony, dispatched him in his
 
 156 HISTORY OF 
 
 harangue, and before their king's face. The pea- 
 sants, in a rage, immediately withdrew, and took 
 up arms. All who could be found were seized, 
 and obliged to hang one another ; the last was 
 compelled to put the rope about his neck himself, 
 and tD be his own executioner. All their houses 
 were burnt to the ground. This fact is attested 
 by Norberg, who was an eye-witness, and there- 
 fore cannot be contradicted, as it cannot be re- 
 lated without inspiring horror. 
 
 1708, Feb. 6.] Charles being arrived within a 
 few leagues of Grodno in Lithuania, is inform- 
 ed of the czar's being there in person with 
 a body of troops ; upon which, without staying 
 to deliberate, he takes only eight hundred of his 
 guards, and sets out for Grodno. A German 
 officer, named Mulfels, who commanded a body 
 of troops, posted at one of the gates of the 
 town, making no doubt, when he saw Charles, 
 but that he was followed by his whole army, in- 
 stead of disputing the passage with him, leaves 
 it open, and takes to flight. The alarm is now 
 spread through the whole town ; every one ima- 
 gines the whole Swedish army already entered ; 
 the few Russians who made any resistance, are 
 cut in pieces by the Swedish guards ; and all the 
 officers assure the czar, that the victorious array 
 had made itself master of the place. Hereupon 
 Peter retreats behind the ramparts, and Charles 
 plants a guard of thirty men at the very gate 
 through which the czar had just before entered. 
 
 In this confusion some of the Jesuits, whose 
 college had been taken to accommodate the king 
 of Sweden, as being the handsomest structure 
 in the place, went by night to the czar, and for 
 this time told the whole truth. Upon this, Peter 
 immediately returns into the town, and forces the 
 Swedish guards. An engagement ensues in the
 
 PETER THE GREAT. 167 
 
 streets and public places ; but, at length, the 
 whole Swedish army appearing in sight, the czar 
 is obliged to yield to superior numbers, and 
 leaves the town in the hands of the victor, who 
 made all Poland tremble. 
 
 Charles had augmented his forces in Livonia 
 and Finland, and Peter had every thing to fear, not 
 only for his conquests on this side, together with 
 those in Lithuania, but also for his ancient territo- 
 ries, and even for the city of Moscow itself. He 
 was obliged then to provide at once for the safety of 
 all these different places, at such a distance from 
 each other. Charles couid not make any rapid 
 conquest to the eastward of Lithuania in the 
 depth of winter, and in a marshy country, sub- 
 ject to epidemical disorders, which had been 
 spread by poverty and famine, from Warsaw, as 
 farasMinski. Peter posted his troops so as to com- 
 mand the passes of the rivers, (April 8.) guarded 
 all the important posts, and did every thing in 
 his power to impede the marches of his enemy, 
 and afterwards has.tened to put things in a pro- 
 per situation at Petersburg. 
 
 Though Charles was lording it in Poland, he 
 took nothing from the czar; but Peter, by the 
 use he marie of liis new fleet, by landing his 
 troops in Finland, by the taking and dismantling 
 the town of Borgau, (May '^2.) and by seizings 
 great booty, was ])rocuring many real and great 
 advantages to himself, and distressing his enemy. 
 
 Charles, after being detained a long time m 
 Lithuania, by continual rains, at length reached 
 the little river of 15erezine, some few leagues 
 from the Boristheues. Nothing couid withstand 
 his activity : he threw a bridge over the river in 
 siglit of the l^ussians ; beat a detachment that 
 guarded the passage, and got to lloloziii on the 
 river Bibitsch, where tlie rzar Imd posceJ aeon-
 
 158 HISTORY OF 
 
 siderable body of troops to check the impetuous 
 progress of his rival. The little river of Bibitsch 
 is onlv a small brook in dry weather ; but at this 
 time it was swelled by the rains to a deep and 
 rapid scream. On the other side was a morass, 
 behind which the Russians had thrown up an in- 
 trenchment for above a quarter of a league, de- 
 fended by a large and deep ditch, and covered 
 by a parapet, lined with artillery. Nine regi- 
 ments of horse, and eleven of foot, were advan- 
 tageously posted in these lines, so that the pas- 
 sage of the river seemed impracticable. 
 
 The Swedes, according to the custom of war, 
 got ready their pontoons, and erected batteries 
 to favour their passage ; but Charles, whose im- 
 patience to engage would not let him brook the 
 least delay, did not wait till the pontoons were 
 ready. ^Marshal Schweriu, who served a long 
 time under him, has assured me several times, 
 that one day that they were to come to action, ob- 
 serving his generals to be very busv in concerting 
 the necessary dispositions, said tartly to them, 
 ' When will you have done with this trifling V 
 and immediately advanced in person at the head 
 of his guards, which he did particularly on this 
 memorable day. 
 
 He flung himself into the river, followed by his 
 regiment of guards. Their numbers broke the 
 impetuosity of the current, but the water was as 
 high as their shoulders, and they could make no 
 use of their firelocks. Had the artillery of the 
 parapet been but tolerably well served, or had 
 the infantry h\it levelled their pieces in a proper 
 manner, not a single Swede would have escaped. 
 
 July 2.T.] The king, after wading the river, 
 passed the morass on foot. As soon as the army 
 had surmounted these obstacles within sight of 
 the Russians, they drew up in order of battle,
 
 PETER THE GREAT. 159 
 
 and attacked the enemies intrenchments seven 
 different times, and it was not tilJ the seventh 
 attack that the Ilussians gave way. By the 
 accounts of their own historians, the Swedes took 
 but twelve field-pieces, and twenty-four mortars. 
 It was therefore evident, that the czar had at 
 length succeeded in disciplining his troops, and 
 this victory of Holozin, while it covered Charles 
 XII. with glory, might have made him sensible 
 of the many dangers he must have to encounter 
 in adventurmg into such distant countries, where 
 his army could march only in small bodies, 
 through woods, morasses, and where he would 
 be obliged to fight out every step of his way ; 
 but the Swedes, being accustomed to carry all 
 before them, dreaded neither danger nor fatigue* 
 
 CHAP. XVII. 
 
 Charles XII. croBses the Boristhenes, penetratek into the 
 Ukraioe, but concerts his measures badly. — One of his 
 armies is defeated by Peter the Great ; he loses his 
 supply of provisions and ammunition : advances for- 
 ward through a desert country : his adventures iu the 
 Ukraine. 
 
 1708. A T last Charles arrives on the borders of 
 the Boristhenes, at a small town call- 
 ed Mohilow. 'I'his was the important spot where 
 it was to be determined, whether he should di- 
 rect his inarch eastward, towards Moscow ; or 
 southwards, towards the Ukraine. His owif 
 army, his friends, his enemies, all expected that 
 he would direct his course immediately for the 
 
 • What would those Swedes say, were they living, to 
 se« the pitiful figure their descendants have made iu this
 
 160 HISTORY OF 
 
 capital of Russia. Which ever way he tool', 
 
 Peter was following him from Smolensko with a 
 strong army ; no one expected that he would turn 
 towards the Ukraine. He was induceito take 
 this strange resolution by Mazeppa, hetman of 
 the Cossacks, who, being an old man of seventy 
 and without children, ought to have thought only 
 of ending his days in peace : gratitude should 
 have bound him to the czar, to whom he was in- 
 debted for his present dignity ; but whether he 
 had any real cause of complaint against that 
 prince, or that he was dazzled with the lustre of 
 Charles's exploits, or whether, in time, he thought 
 to make himself independent, he betrayed his 
 benefactor, and privately espoused the interests 
 of the king of Sweden, flattering himself with the 
 hopes of engaging his whole nation in a rebellion 
 with himself. 
 
 Charles made not the least doubt of subduing 
 the Russian empire, as soon as his troops should 
 be joined by so warlike a people as the Cossacks. 
 Mazeppa was to furnish him with what provi- 
 sions, ammunition, and artillery, he should want ; 
 besides these powerful succours, he was to be 
 joined by an army of sixteen or seventeen thou- 
 sand men, out of Livonia, under the command of 
 general Levenhaupt, who was to bring with him 
 a prodigious quantity of warlike stores and pro- 
 visions. Charles was not at the trouble of re- 
 flecting, whether the czar was within reach of 
 attacking the army, and depriving him of these 
 necessary supplies. He never informed himself 
 whether Mazeppa was in a condition to observe 
 his promises ; if that Cossack had credit enough 
 to change the disposition of a whole nation, 
 who are generally guided only by their own opi- 
 nion ; or whether his army was provided with 
 euificient resources in case of an accident ; but
 
 PETER THE GREAT. 161 
 
 imagined, if Mazeppa should prove deficient in 
 abilities or fidelity, be could trust in his own 
 valour and good fortune. The Swedish army 
 then advanced beyond the Boristhenes towards 
 the Desna ; it was between these two rivers, 
 that he expected to meet with Mazeppa. His 
 march was attended with many difficulties and 
 dangers, on account of the badness of the road, 
 and the many parties of Russians that were 
 hovering about these regions. 
 
 Sept. 11.] MenzikoflF, at the head of some 
 horse and foot, attacked the king's advanced 
 guard, threw them into disorder, and killed a 
 number of his men. He lost a great number of 
 his own, indeed, but that did not discourage him. 
 Charles immediately hastened to the field of 
 battle, and with some difficulty repulsed the 
 Russians, at the hazard of his own life, by en- 
 gaging a party of dragoons, by whom he was 
 surrounded. All this while Mazeppa did not ap- 
 pear, and provisions began to grow scarce. The 
 Swedish soldiers, seeing their king share in all 
 their dangers, fatigues, and wants, were not dis- 
 pirited ; but though they admired his courage, 
 they could not refrain from murmuring at his 
 conduct. 
 
 The orders which the king had sent to Leven- 
 haupt to march forward with all haste, to join 
 him with the necessary supplies, were not deli- 
 vered by twelve days so soon as they should have 
 been. This was a long delay as circumstances 
 then stood. However, Levenhauj)t at length 
 began his march ; Peter suffered him to pass the 
 Boristheoes, but as soon as his army was got 
 between that river and the lesser ones, which 
 empty themselves into it, he crossed over after 
 him, and attacked him with his united forces, 
 which had followed \n ditierent corps at equal
 
 Id2 HISTORY OF 
 
 distances from one another. This battle was 
 fought between the Boristhenes and the Sossa.* 
 
 Prince Menzikoflf was upon his return with the 
 same body of horse, with which he had lately en- 
 gaged Charles XII. General Baur followed him, 
 and the czar himself headed the flower of his 
 army. The Swedes imagined they had to deal 
 ■with an army of forty thousand men, and the 
 same was believed for a long time on the faith 
 of their relation ; but my late memoirs inform 
 me, that Peter had only twenty thousand men in 
 this day's engagement, a number net much su- 
 perior to that of the enemy : but his vigour, his 
 patience, his unwearied perseverance, together 
 with that of his troops, animated by his presence, 
 decided the fate, not of that day only, but of 
 three successive days, daring which the fight was 
 renewed at different times. 
 
 They made their first attack upon the rear of 
 the Swedish army, near the village of Lesnau, 
 from whence this battle borrows its name. This 
 first shock was bloody, without proving decisive. 
 Levenhaupt retreated into a wood, and thereby 
 saved his baggage. (Oct. 7.) The next morning, 
 when the Swedes were to be driven from this 
 wood, the fig't was still more bloody, and more 
 to the advantage of the Russians. Here it was 
 that the czar, seeing his troops in disorder, cried 
 out to fire upon the runaways, and even upon 
 himself, if they saw him turn back. The Swedes 
 were repulsed, but not thrown into confusion. 
 
 At length a reinforcement of four thousand 
 dragoons arriving, he fell upon the Swedes a 
 third time, who retreated to a small town called 
 Prospock, where they were again attacked ; they 
 then marched towards the Desna, the R'jssians 
 
 • In the Russiaji language, Soeza.
 
 PETER THE GREAT. 16S 
 
 *till pursuing them : yet they were never broken, 
 but lost upwards of eight thousand men, seven- 
 teen pieces of cannon, and forty-four colours : 
 the czar took fifty-six officers and near nine hun- 
 dred private men prisoners ; and the great con- 
 voy of provisions and ammunition that were 
 going to Charles's army, fell into the hands of 
 the conqueror. ^ 
 
 This was the first time that the czar in person 
 gained a pitched battle, agaiusr an enemy who 
 had distinguished himself by so many victories 
 over his troops : he was employed in a general 
 thanksgiving for his success, when he received 
 advice that general Apraxin had lately gained 
 an advantage over the enemy in lugria, (Sept. 
 17,) some leagues from Narva, an advantage 
 less considerable indeed than that of Lesnau; 
 but this concurrence of fortunate events greatly 
 raised the hopes and courage of his troops. 
 
 Charles XII. heard of these unfortunate tidings 
 just as he was ready to pass the Desna, in the 
 Ukraine. Mazeppa at length joined him ; but 
 instead of twenty thousand men, and an im- 
 mense quantity of provisions ; which he was to 
 have brought with him, lie came with only two 
 regiments, and appeared rather like a fugitive 
 applying for assistance, than a prince, who was 
 bringing powerful succours to his ally. This 
 Cossack had indeed begun his march with near 
 fifteen or sixteen thousand of his people, whom 
 he had told, at their first setting out, that they 
 were going against the king of Sweden ; that they 
 would have the glory of stopping that hero on his 
 march, and that be would hold himself eternally 
 obliged to them for so great a service. 
 
 But when they carne v/ithin a few leagues of the 
 Desna, he made them acquainted with his real 
 design. These brave people received his decia-
 
 164 HISTORY OF 
 
 ration with disdain : they refused to betray a 
 monarch, against whom they had no cause of 
 complaint, for the sake of a Swede, who had in- 
 vaded their country with an armed force, and 
 who, after leaving it, would be no longer able to 
 defend them, but must abandon them to the 
 mercy of the incensed Russians, and of the Poles, 
 once their masters, and dhvays their enemies : 
 they accordingly returned home, and gave advice 
 to the czar of the defection of their chief : Ma- 
 zeppa found himself left with only two regiments, 
 the officers of which were in his own pay. 
 
 He was still master of some strong posts in the 
 Ukraine, and in particular of Bathurin, the place 
 of his residence, looked upon as the capital of 
 the country of the Cossacks : it is situated near 
 some forests on the Desna, at a great distance 
 from the place where Peter had defeated general 
 Levenbaupt. There were always some Russian 
 regiments quartered in these districts. Prince 
 MenzikofF was detached from the czar's army, 
 and got thither by round-about marches. Charles 
 could not secure all the passes ; he did not even 
 know them all, and had neglected to make him- 
 self master of the important post of Starowdoub, 
 which leads directly to the Bathurin, across seven 
 or eight leagues of forest, through which the 
 Desna directs its course. His enemy had always 
 the advantage of him, by being better acquainted 
 with the country. 
 
 MenzikofF and prince Galitzin, who had ac- 
 companied him, easily made their passage good, 
 and presented themselves before the town of 
 Bathurin, (Nov. 14,) which surrendered almost 
 without resistance, was plundered, and reduced 
 to ashes. The Russians made themselves mas- 
 ters of a large magazine destined for the use of 
 the king of Sweden, and of all Mazeppa's trea-
 
 PETER THE GREAT. 165 
 
 sores. TTie Cossacks chose another hetraan, 
 named Skoropasky, who was approved by the 
 czar, who being willing to impress a due sense of 
 the enormous crime of treason on the minds of 
 the people, by a striking example of justice, the 
 archbishop of Kiow, and two other prelates, 
 were ordered to excommunicate Mazeppa pub- 
 licly, (Nov. 22,) after which he was hanged in 
 effigy, and some of his accomplices were broken 
 upon the wheel. 
 
 In the meanwhile, Charles XII. still at the 
 head of about twenty-five or twenty- seven thou- 
 sand Swedes, who were reinforced by the re- 
 mains of Levenhaupt's army, and the addition 
 of between two or three thousand men, whom 
 Mazeppa had brought with him, and still infa- 
 tuated with the same notion of making all the 
 Ukraine declare for him, passed the Desna at 
 some distance from Bathurin, and near the Bo- 
 risthenes, in spite of the czar's troops which sur- 
 rounded him on all sides; part of whom followed 
 close in the rear, while another part lined the 
 opposite side of the river to oppose his passage. 
 
 He continued his march through a desert 
 country, where he met with nothing but burned 
 or ruined villages. The cold began to set in at 
 the beginning of December so extremely sharp, 
 that in one of Ins marches near two thousand of 
 bis men perished before his eyes : the czar's 
 troops did not suffer near so much, being better 
 supplied ; whereas the king of Sweden's army, 
 being almost naked, was necessarily' more ex- 
 posed to the inclemency of the weather. 
 
 In this deplorable situation, count Piper, 
 chancellor of Sweden, who never gave his master 
 other than good advice, conjured him to halt, and 
 pass at least the severest part of the winter in a 
 small town of the Ukraine, called Romna, where
 
 166 HISTORY OF 
 
 he might intrench himself, and get some provi- 
 sions by the help of Mazeppa ; but Charles re- 
 plied, tiiat — He was not a person to shut him- 
 self up in a town. Piper then intreated him to 
 re-pass the Desna and the Boristhenes, to return 
 back into Poland, to put his trooj'S into winter 
 quarters, of which they stood so much in need, 
 to make use of the Polish cavalry, which was 
 absolutely necessary; to support the king he had 
 nominated, and to keep in awe the partisans of 
 Augustus, who began already to bestir them- 
 selves. Charles answered him again — That this 
 would be living before the czar, that the season 
 would grow milder, and that he must reduce the 
 Ukraine, and march on to Moscow. * 
 
 January, 1709.] Both armies remained some 
 weeks inactive, on account of the intenseness of 
 the cold, in the month of January, 1709; but as- 
 soon as the men were able to make use of their 
 arms, Charh s attacked all the small posts that he 
 found in his way ; he was obliged to send parties 
 on every side in search of provisions : thra is to 
 say. to scour the country twenty leagues round, 
 and rob all the peasants of their necessary sub- 
 sistence. Peter, without hurrying himself, kept 
 a strict eye upon all his motions, and suffered 
 the Swedish army to dwindle away by degrees. 
 
 It is impossible for the reader to follow the 
 Swedes in their march through these countries : 
 several of the rivers which they crossed are not 
 to be found in the maps : we must not suppose, 
 that geographers are as well acquainted with 
 these countries, as we are with Italy, France, and 
 Germany : geography is, of all the arts, that 
 which still stands the most need of improvement . 
 and ambition has hitherto been at more pains to 
 
 • This is acknowledged by Norberg himself, 
 vol. ii. p. 263.
 
 PETER THE GREAT. 167 
 
 desolate the face of the globe, than to give a do- 
 scription of it. 
 
 We must content ourselves then wiih knowing, 
 that Charles traversed the whole Ukraine in the 
 month of February, burning the villages wherever 
 he came, or meeting with others that had been 
 laid in ashes by the Russians. He advancing 
 south-east, came to those sandy deserts, bordered 
 by mountains that separate the Nogay Tartars 
 from the Don Cossacks. To the eastward of 
 those mountains are the altars of Alexander. 
 Charles was now on the other side of the Ukraine, 
 in the road that the Tartars take tc Russia ; and 
 when he was got there, he was obliged to return 
 back again to procure subsistence : the inhabi- 
 tants, having retired with all their cattle into 
 their dens and lurking-places, would sometimes 
 defend their subsistence against the soldiers, who 
 came to deprive them of it. Such of these poor 
 wretches, who could be found, were put to death, 
 agreeably to what are falsely called, the rules of 
 war. I cannot here forbear transcribing a few 
 lines from Norberg.* ' As an instance,' says he, 
 • of the king's regard to justice, I shall insert a 
 note, which he wrote with his own hand to colonel 
 Heilmen. 
 
 * Colonel, 
 • I am very well pleased that you have taken 
 those peasants, who carried off a Swedish soldier; 
 as soon as they are convicted of the crime, let 
 them be punished with death, according to the 
 exigency of the case. 
 
 ' Charles; and lower down, Budis.' 
 
 Such are the sentiments of justice and hu- 
 manity shewn by a king's confepsor ; but, had the 
 peasants of the Ukraine had it in their power to 
 
 • VoL 1 1 . page '^79-
 
 168 HISTORY OF 
 
 hang up some of those regimented peasants of 
 East Gothland, who thought themselves entitled 
 to come so far to plunder them, their wives, and 
 families, of their subsistence, would not the con- 
 fessors and cliaplains of these Ukrainers have 
 had equal reason to applaud their justice ^ 
 
 Mazeppa had for a considerable time, been in 
 treaty with the Zaporavians, who dwell about the 
 two shores of the Boristhenes, and of whom part 
 inhabit the islands on that river. It is this di- 
 vision that forms the nation, of whom mention 
 has already been made in the first chapter of this 
 history, and who have neither wives nor families, 
 and subsist entirely by rapine. During the winter 
 they heap up provisions in their islands, which 
 they afterwards go and sell in the summer, in the 
 lif.tle town of Pultowa ; the rest dwell in small 
 hamlets, to the right and left of this river. AH 
 together choose a particular hetman, and this het- 
 man is subordinate to him of the Ukraine. I'he 
 person , at that time at the head of the Zaporavians, 
 came to meet Mazeppa ; and these two barbarians 
 had an interview, at which each of them had 
 A horse's tail, and a club borne before him, as 
 ensigns of honour. 
 
 To shew what this hetman of the Zaporavians 
 and his people were, I think it not unworthy of 
 history, to relate the manner in which this treaty 
 was concluded. Mazeppa gave a great feast to 
 the hetman of the Zaporavians, and his principal 
 officers, who were all served in plate. As soon 
 as these chiefs had made themselves drunk with 
 brandy, tbey took an oath (without stirring from 
 table) upon the Evangelists, to supply Charles 
 with men and provisions ; after which they 
 .-arried off all the plate and other table-furniture. 
 Mazeppa's steward ran after them, and remon- 
 strated, that such behaviour ill-suited with the
 
 PETER THE GREAT 169 
 
 doctrine of the Gospels, on which they had so 
 lately sworn. Some of Mazeppa's domestics 
 were for taking the plate away from them by 
 force ; but the Zaporavians went in a body to 
 romplain to 3Iazeppa, of the unparalleled aflfront 
 offered to &uch brave fellows, and demanded to 
 have the steward delivered up to them, that they 
 might punish him according to law. This was 
 accordingly complied with, and the Zaporavians, 
 according to law, tossed this poor man from one 
 to another like a ball, and afterwards plunged 
 a knife to his heart. 
 
 Such were the new allies that Charles XII. 
 was obliged to receive ; part of whom he formed 
 into a regiment of two thousand men ; the re- 
 mainder marched in separate bodies against the 
 Cossacks and Calmucks of the czar*s party, that 
 were stationed about that district. 
 
 The little town of Pultowa, with which those 
 Zaporavians carry on a trade, was filled with 
 provisions, and might have served Charles for a 
 place of arms. It is situated on the river Worsk- 
 law, near a chain of mountains, wuich command 
 it on the north side. To the eastward is a vast 
 desert. The western part is the most fruitful , and 
 the best peopled. The Worsklaw empties itself 
 into the Bonsthenes, about fifteen leagues lower 
 down ; from Pultowa, one may go northward, 
 through the defiles, which communicate with the 
 road to Moscow, a pa.ssage used by the Tartars. 
 It is very difficult of access, and the precautions 
 taken by the czar had rendered it almost im- 
 pervious ; but nothing appeared impossible to 
 Charles, and he depended upon marching to 
 Moscow, as soon as he had made hmself master 
 of Pultowa : with this view he laid siege to that 
 town in the beginning of May. 
 
 H
 
 170 HISTORY OF 
 
 CHAP. XVIII. 
 
 Battle of Pultowa. 
 
 H' 
 
 [ERE it was that Peter expected him ; he had 
 disposed the several divisions of his army 
 at convenient distances for joining each other, 
 and marching all together against the hesiegers: 
 he had visited the countries which surround the 
 I'kraine ; namely the duchy of Severia, watered 
 by the P'esna, aheady made famous by his vic- 
 tory : the country ol Bolcho, in which the Occa 
 has its source ; the deserts and mountains leading 
 to the Palus Maeotis ; and lately he had been in 
 the neighbourhood of Azoph, where he caused 
 that harbour to be cleansed, new ships to be built, 
 and the citadel of Taganroc to be repaired. Thus 
 did he employ the time tha' passed between the 
 battles of Lesnau and Pultowa, in preparing for 
 the defence of his dominions. As soon as he 
 heard the Swedes had laid siege to the town, he 
 ^:uslered all his forces ; the horse, dragoons, in- 
 fantry, Cossacks, and Calmucks, advanced from 
 diflferent quarters. His army was well provided 
 with necessaries of every kind ; large cannon, 
 iield pieces, ammunition of all sorts, provisions, 
 and even medicines for the sick : this was another 
 degree of superiority which he had acquired over 
 his rival. 
 
 On the loth day of June, 1709, he appeared 
 before Pultowa, with an army of about sixty 
 thousand effective men ; the river Worsklaw 
 was between him and Charles. The besiegers 
 vvfie encamped on the uorth-weet side of thai 
 r!v< r, iIr- Russians on the south-east. 
 
 Peter ascends the river above the town, fixes 
 Ins barges, marches over with his army, and 
 draws a long line of intreachments, (July 3.)
 
 PEfER THE GREAT. I7i 
 
 which were begun and completed in one night, 
 in the face of the enemy. Charles might tben 
 judge, whether the person, whom he had so 
 much despised, and whom he thought of de- 
 throning at Moscow, understood the art of war. 
 "This disposition being made, Pe'er posted his 
 cavalry between two woods, and covered it with 
 several redoubts, lined with artillery. Having 
 thus taken all the necessary measures, (July 6.) 
 he went to reconnoitre the enemy's camp, in 
 order to form the attack. 
 
 This battle was to decide the fate of Russia, 
 Poland, and Sweden, and of two monarchs, on 
 whom the eyes of all Europe were fixed. The 
 greatest part of those nations, who were atten- 
 tive to these important concerns, were equally 
 ignorant of the place where these two princes 
 where, and of their situation : but knowing that 
 Charles XII. had set out from Saxony, at the 
 head of a victorious army, and that he was 
 driving his enemy everywhere before him, they 
 no longer doubted that he would at length en- 
 tirely crush him ; and that, as he had already 
 given laws to Denmark, Poland, and Germany, 
 he would now dictate conditions of peace in the 
 Kremlin of Moscow, and make anew czar, after 
 having already made anew king of Poland. I 
 have seen letters from several public; ministers 
 to their respective courts, confirming this general 
 opinion. 
 
 The risk was far from being equal between 
 these two great rivals, if Charh s lost a life, 
 which he had so often and wantonly exposed, 
 theri" would after all have been but one hero less 
 in the world. The provinces of the Ukraine, 
 the frontiers of Lithuania, and of Russia, would 
 tht^n rest from their calamities, and a stop would 
 be put to the general devastation which had eo
 
 irS HISTORY OF 
 
 long been their scourge. Poland would, to- 
 gether with her tranquillity, recover her lawful 
 prince, who had been lately reconciled to the 
 czar, his benefactor ; and Sweden, though ex- 
 hausted of men and money, might find motives 
 of consolation under her heavy losses. 
 
 But, if the czar perished, those immense 
 labours, which had been of such utility to man- 
 kind, would be buried with him, and the most 
 extensive empire ic the world would again re- 
 lapse into the chaos from whence it had been so 
 lately taken. 
 
 There had already been some skirmishes be- 
 tween the detached parties of the Swedes and 
 Russians, under the walls of the town. In one 
 of these rencounters, (June 27.) Charles had been 
 wounded by a musket-ball, which had shattered 
 the bones of his foot : he underwent several 
 painful operations, which he bore with his usual 
 fortitude, and had been confined to his bed for 
 several days. In this condition he was in- 
 formed, that Peter intended to give him battle ; 
 his notions of honour would not suflPer him to 
 wait to be attacked in his intrenchments. Ac- 
 cordingly he gave orders for quitting them, and 
 was carried himself in a litter. Peter the Great 
 acknowledges, that the Swedes attacked the 
 redoubts, lined with artillery, that covered his 
 cavalry, with such obstinate valour, that, not- 
 withstanding the strongest resistance, supported 
 by a continual fire, the enemy made themselves 
 masters of two redoubts. Some writers say, 
 that when the Swedish infantry found them- 
 selves in possession of the two redoubts, they 
 thought the day their own, and began to cry 
 out — Victory. The chaplain, Norberg, who was 
 at some great distance from the field of battle, 
 amongst the baggage (which wai indeed his
 
 PETER THE GREAT. 173 
 
 propel place) pretends, that this was a calumny ; 
 but, whether the Swedes cried victory or n»t, it 
 is certain they were not victorious. The fire 
 from the other redoubts was kept up without 
 censing, and the resistance made bv the Russians, 
 in every part, was as firm as the attack of their 
 enemies was vigorous. They did not make one 
 irregular movement ; the czar drew up his army 
 without the intrenchraents in excellent order, 
 and with surprising dispatch. 
 
 The battle now became general. Peter acted 
 as major-general ; Baur commanded the right 
 wing, Menzikolf the left, and iSheremeto the 
 centre. The action lasted about two hours : 
 Charles, with a pistol in his hand, went from 
 rank to rank, carried in a litter, on the shoulders 
 of his drabans ; one of which was killed by a 
 cannun-ball, and at the same time the litter was 
 shattered in pieces. He then ordered his men 
 to carry him upon their pikes ; for it would 
 have been difficult, in so smart an action, let 
 Norberg say as he pleases, to find a fresh litter 
 ready made. Peter received several shots 
 through his clothes and his hat ; both princes 
 were continually in the midst of the fire, during 
 the whole action. At length, after two hours 
 desperate engagement, the Swedes were taken 
 on all sides, and fell into confusion ; so that 
 Charles was obliged to fly before him, whom 
 he had hitherto held in so much contempt. 
 This very hero, who could not mount his saddle 
 during the battle, now fled for his life on horse- 
 hack ; necessity lent bini strength in his retreat; 
 he suffered the most excruciating pain, which 
 was increased by the mortifying reflection of 
 being vai;quisli{d without resource. The Rus- 
 sian^i reckoned nine thousand two hundred and 
 t^^'ent}'-four Swedes left dead on the field ot
 
 174 HISTORY OF 
 
 battle, and between two and three thousand 
 made prisoners in the action, the chief of which 
 was cavalry. 
 
 Charles XII. fled with the greatest precipita- 
 tion, attended by the remains of his brave army, 
 a few field-pieces, and a very small quantity of 
 provisions and ammunition. He directed his 
 march southward, towards the Boristhenes, be- 
 tween the two rivers Workslaw and Psol. or 
 Sol, in the country of the Zaporaviaus. Be- 
 yond the Boristhenes, are vast deserts, which 
 lead to the frontiers of Turkey. Norberg affirms, 
 that the victors durst not pursue Charles ; and 
 yet be acknowledges, that prince Menzikoff 
 appeared on the neighbouring heights, (.'ulv 12.) 
 with ten thousand horse, and a considerable 
 train of artillery, while the king was passing 
 the Boristhenes. 
 
 Fourteen thousand Swedes surrendered them- 
 selves prisoners of war to these ten thousand 
 Russians ; and Levenhaupt, who commanded 
 them, signed the fatal capitulation, by which he 
 gave up those Zoporavians who had engaged in 
 the service of his master, and were then in the 
 fugitive army. The chief persons taken pri- 
 soners in the battle, and by the capitulation, 
 were count Piper, the first minister, with two 
 secretaries of state, and two of the cabinet; 
 field marshal Renschild, the generals Leren- 
 haupt, Slipenbak, Rozen, Stakelber, Creuiz, 
 and Hamilton, with three general aides-de- 
 camp, the auditor-general of the army, fifty- 
 nine staff-officers, five colonels, among whom 
 was the prince of Wirtemberg ; sixteen thou- 
 sand nine hundred and forty-two private men 
 and non-commissioned officers : in short, reck, 
 oning the king's own domestics, and others, the 
 conqueror had no less than eiglUeen thousand
 
 PETER THE GREAT. 175 
 
 teven hundred and forty-six prisoners in his 
 power; to whom, if we add nine thousand 
 two hundred and twenty-four slain in battle, and 
 nearly two thousand that passed the Boristhenes 
 with Charles, it appears, plainly, that he had, on 
 that memorable day, no less than twenty-seven 
 thousand eflfective men under his command.* 
 
 Charles had begun his march from Saxony with 
 forty-five thousand men, Levenhaupl had brought 
 upwards of sixteen thousand out of Livonia, and 
 yet scarce a handful of men was left of all this 
 powerful army ; of a numerous train of artillery, 
 part lost in his marches, and part buried in the 
 morasses; he had now remaining only eighteen 
 brass cannon, two howitzers, and twelve mor- 
 tars; and, with inconsiderable force, he had un- 
 dertaken the siege of Pultowa, and had attacked 
 an arni}^ provided with a formidable artillery. 
 Therefore he is, with justice, accused of having 
 shewn more courage than prudence, after his leav- 
 ing Germany. On the side of the Russians, 
 there were no more than fifty-two officers and one 
 thousand two hundred and ninety- three private 
 men killed ; an undeniable proof, that the dispo- 
 sition of the Russian troops was better than those 
 of Charles, and that their fire was infinitely su- 
 perior to that of the Swedes. 
 
 We find, in the memoirs of a foreign ministei 
 to the court of Russia, that Peter, being informed 
 of Charles's design to take refuge in lurkey, 
 wrote a friendly letter to him, iiitreating him not 
 to take so desperate a resolution, but rather to 
 
 • The Memoirs of Ptter llie Great, by the pretended 
 boyard I wan Nestesuranoj-, printed at Amsterdano, in 
 17S0, eay, that the king of Sweden, before lie passed the 
 Boristhenes, sent a general officer with proposals of 
 peace to the ciar. Tl-.e four volumes of these MemoiJi 
 are either a collection of untruths and absurdities, or 
 uijmpilationfi from common newspapers.
 
 176 HISTORY OF 
 
 trust himself in his hands, than in those of the 
 natural enemy of all Christian princes. Me gave 
 him, at the same time, his word of honour, not 
 to detain him prisoner, but to terminate ali their 
 diflferences by a reasonable peace. This letter 
 was sent b} an express as far as the river Bug, 
 which separates the deserts of the Ukraine from 
 the grand seignior's dominions. As the messenger 
 did not reach that place till Charles had entered 
 Turkey, he brought back the letter to his master. 
 The same minister adds further, that he had this 
 account from the very person who was charged 
 with the letter.* This anecdote is not altogether 
 improbable ; but I do not meet with it either in 
 Peter's journals, or in any of the papers entrusted 
 to my care. What is of greater importance, in 
 relation to this battle, was its being the only 
 one, of the many that have stained the earth 
 with blood, that, instead of producing only de- 
 struction, has proved beneficial to mankind, by 
 enabling the czar to civilize so considerable a 
 part of the world. 
 
 There have been fought more than two hun- 
 dred pitched battles in Europe, since the com- 
 mencement of this century to the present year. 
 The most signal, and the most bloody victories, 
 have produced no other consequences than the 
 reduction of a few provinces ceded afterwards 
 by treaties, and retaken again by other battles. 
 Armies of a hundred thousand men have fre- 
 quently engaged each other in the field ; but the 
 greatest efforts have been attended with only 
 slight and momentary successes ; the most trivial 
 causes have been productive of the greatest ef- 
 fects. There is no instance, in modern historyj 
 of any war that has compensated, by even a 
 
 • This fact is likewise found in a. letter, primed 
 bftforethe Anecdotes of R'a3sia> p. 23-
 
 PETER THE GREAT. 177 
 
 better good, for the many evils it has occHsioned: 
 but, from the battle of Pultowa, the greatest em- 
 pire under the sun has derived its present happi- 
 ness and prosperity. 
 
 CHAP. XIX. 
 
 Consequences of the battle of Pultowa. — Charles Xll. 
 takes refuge among the Turks. — Augustus, whom he 
 had dethroned, recovers his dominions. — Conquests of 
 Peter the Great. 
 
 1709. 'T'HE chief prisoners of rank were now 
 presented to the conqueror, who 
 ordered their swords to be returned, and invited 
 them to dinner. It is a well known fact, that, 
 on drinking to the officers, he said, ' 'I'o the 
 health of my masters in the art of war.' How- 
 ever, most of his masters, particularly the subal- 
 tern officers, and all the private men, were soorj 
 afterwards sent into Siberia. 'Ihere was no car- 
 tel established here for exchange of prisoners be- 
 tween the Russians and Swedes ; the czar, in- 
 deed, had proposed one before the siege of Pul- 
 towa, but Charles rejected the offer, and his 
 troops were in every thing the victims of his in- 
 flexible pride. 
 
 It was this unseasonable obstinacy that occa- 
 sioned all the misfortunes of this prince in Tur- 
 key, and a series of adventures, more becoming 
 a hero of romance than a wise or prudent king ; 
 for, as soon as he arrived at Bender, he was ad- 
 vised to write to the grand-vizier, as is the custom 
 among the Turks ; but this ho thought would be 
 demeaning himself too far. The like obstinacy 
 embroiled him with all the ministers of the Porte, 
 >ne after another, in short, he knew not bov 
 H 2
 
 178 HISTORY OF 
 
 to accommoaate himself either to times or cir- 
 cumstances.* 
 
 The first news of the battle of Pultowa pro- 
 duced a general revolution in minds and affairs 
 in Poland, Saxony, Sweden, and Silesia. Charles,' 
 while all powerful in those parts, had obliged 
 the emperor Joseph to take a hundred and five 
 churches from the catholics in favour of the Sile- 
 siaus of the confession of Augsburg. The ca- 
 tholics then no sooner received news of the de- 
 feat of Charles, than they repossessed themselves 
 of all the Lutheran temples. The Saxons now 
 thought of nothing but being revenged for the 
 extortions of a conqueror, who had robbed them, 
 according to their own account, of twenty-three 
 millions of crowns. 
 
 The king of Poland, their elector, immediately 
 protested against the abdication that had been 
 extorted from him, and being now reconciled to 
 the czar (Aug. 3.), he left no stone unturned to 
 reascend the Polish throne. Sweden, overwhelm- 
 ed with consternation, thought her king for a 
 long time dead, and in this uncertainty the se- 
 nate knew not what to resolve. 
 
 Peter in the mean lime determined to make 
 the best use of his victory, and therefore dis- 
 patched marshal Sberemeto with an army into 
 Livonia, on the frontiers of which province that 
 general had so often distinguished himself. 
 Prince Menzikoff was sent in haste with a nume- 
 rous bivdy of cavalry to second the few troops left 
 in Poland, to encourage the nobles who were in 
 
 • La Motraye, in the relation of his travels, quotes 
 a letter froai Charles XIT. to the grand vizier; but this 
 letter is false, as are most of the relations of that mer- 
 cenary writer ; and Norberg himself acknowledges that 
 the king of Sweden never could be prevailed on lo writa 
 to the grand vizier.
 
 PETER THE GREAT. 179 
 
 the intferest of Augustus to drive out his competi- 
 tor, who was now consiklered in no better light 
 than a rebel, and to disperse a body of Sw^edes 
 and troojts that were still left in that kingdom 
 under the command of general Crassau. 
 
 The czar soon after sets out in person, marches 
 through the province of Kiow, and the palatinates 
 of Chelm and Upper Volhinia, and at length ar- 
 rives at Lublin, where he concerts measures with 
 the general of Lithuania. He then reviews the 
 crown troops, who all take the oath of allegiance 
 to king Augustus, from thence he proceeds to 
 Warsaw, and at Thera enjoyed the most glorious 
 of all triumphs (Sept. 18.), that of receiving the 
 thanks of a king, whom he had rei'istated in his 
 dominions. There it was that i^ concluded a 
 treaty against Sweden, with the kings of Den- 
 mark, Poland, and Prussia (Oct. 7.): in which 
 he was resolved to recover from Charles all the 
 conquests of Gustavus Adolphus. Peter revived 
 the ancient pretensions of the czars to Livonia, 
 Ingria, Carelia, and part of Finland ; Denmark 
 laid claim to Scania, and the king of Prussia to 
 Pomerania. 
 
 Ihus had I'harles XIL by his unsuccessful va- 
 lour, shook the noble edifice that had been erected 
 by the ])rosporous bravery of his ancestor Gusta- 
 vus Adolphus. The Polish nobility came in on 
 all sides to renew their oatis to their kmg, or to 
 a«k pardon for having deserted him ; and almost 
 the whole kingdom acknowledged Peter for its 
 protector. 
 
 To the victorious arms of the czar, to these new 
 treaties, and to this sudden revolution, Stanislau* 
 had nothing to oppose but a voluntary resigna- 
 tion : he published a writing called Universale, 
 in which he declares himself ready to resign thfl 
 crown, if the republi : required it.
 
 laa HISTORY of 
 
 peter, having concerted all the necessary mea- 
 sures with the king of Poland, and ratified the 
 treaty with Denmark, set out directly to finish his 
 negotiation with the king of Prussia. It was not 
 then usual for sovereign princes to perform the 
 function of their own ambassadors Peter was 
 the first who introduced this custom, which has 
 been followed by very few. The elector of Bran- 
 denburg, the first king of Prussia, had a con- 
 ference with the czar at ]Marienverder, a small 
 town situated in the western part of Pomerania, 
 and built by the old Teutonic knights, and in- 
 cluded in the limits of Prussia, lately erected 
 into a kingdom. This country indeed was poor, 
 and of a small extent ; but its new king, when- 
 ever he travelled, displayed the utmost magni- 
 ficence ; xvith great splendour he had received 
 czar Peter at his first passing through his domi- 
 nions, when that prince quitted kis empire to go 
 in search of instruction among strangers. But 
 he received the conqueror of Charles XII. in 
 a still more pompous manner. (Oct. 20.) Peter 
 for this time concluded only b. defensive treaty 
 with him which afterwards, however, comDleted 
 tlie rum of Sweden. 
 
 Not an instant of time was lost. Peter, ns^ 
 ing proceeded with the greatest dispatch in his 
 negotiations, which elsewhere are wont to take 
 up so much time, goes and joins his army, then 
 before Riga, the capital of Livonia ; he began by 
 bombarding the place (Nov. 21.), and fired off 
 the three first bombs himself ; then changed the 
 siege into a blockade ; and, when well assured 
 that Riga could not escape him, he repaired to 
 his city of Petersburg, to inspect and forward the 
 works carrying on there, the new buildings, 
 and finishing of his lieet ; and having laid the 
 keel of a ship of fifty-four guns, (Dec. ?.) vvith
 
 PETER THE GREAT. 181 
 
 Lis own hands, he returned to Moscow. Here 
 he amused himself with assisting in the prepa- 
 rations for the triumphal entry, which he ex- 
 hibited in the capital. He directed everj thing 
 relating to that festival, and was himself the 
 principal contriver and architect. 
 
 He opened the year 1710 with this solemnity, 
 60 necessary to his subjects, whom it inspired 
 with notions of grandeur, and was highly pleas- 
 ing to every one who had been fearful of seeing 
 those enter their walls as conquerors, over whom 
 they now triumphed. Seven magnificent arches 
 were erected, under which passed in triumph, 
 the artillery, standards, and colours, taken from 
 the enemy, with their officers, generals, and mi- 
 nisters, who had been taken prisoners, all on foot, 
 amidst the ringing of bells, the sound of trum- 
 pets, the discharge ofahundred pieces of cannon, 
 and the acclamations of an innumerable concourse 
 of people, whor-e voices rent the air as soon as 
 the cannon ceased firing. The procession was 
 closed by the victorious army, with the generals 
 at its head; and Peter, who marched in his 
 rank of major-general. At each triumphal arch 
 stood the deputies of the several orders of the 
 state ; and at the last was a chosen band of 
 young gentlemen, the sons of boyards, clad in 
 Roman habits, who presented a crown of laurels 
 to their victorious monarch. 
 
 This public festival was followed by another 
 ceremony, which proved no less satisfactory than 
 the former. In the year 1708 happened an ac- 
 cident the more disagreeable to Peter, as his arms 
 were at that time unsuccessful. .Mattheof, his 
 ambassador to the court of London, having had 
 hisaudience of leave of queen Anne, was arrested 
 for il( l)t, at the mit of some English merchanta, 
 anl carried before a justice of jeace to give bo-
 
 182 HISTORY OF 
 
 curity for the monies he owed there. The mer- 
 chants insisted that the laws of commerce Ought 
 to prevail before the privileges of foreign minie- 
 ters ; the czar's ambassador, and with him all the 
 public ministers, protested against this proceed 
 ing, alleging, that their persons ought to be al- 
 ways inviolable. The czar wrote to queen Anne, 
 demanding satisfaction for the insult offered him 
 in the person of his ambassador. 
 
 But the queen had it not in her power to gratify 
 him ; because, by the laws of England, trades- 
 men were allowed to prosecute their debtors, and 
 there was no law that excepted public ministers 
 from such prosecution. The* murder of Patkul, 
 
 • The czar, says the preface to lord Whitworth's ac- 
 count of Prussia, who had been absolute enough to civilize 
 savages, had no idea, could conceive none, of the privileges 
 of a nation civilized ia the only rational manner bj-lawg 
 and liberties. He demanded immediate and severe pu- 
 nishment of the offenders : he demanded it of a priuci-ss, 
 whom he thought interested, to assert the sacredness 
 of the persons of monarchs, even in their representatives ; 
 and he demanded it with threats of wreaking his ven- 
 geance on all English merchants and subjects established 
 in his dominioas. In this light the menaces were formi- 
 dable ; otherwise, happily, the rights of the whole people 
 were more sacred here than the persons of foreign minis- 
 ters. The czar's memorials urged the queen with the 
 satisfaction which she herself had extorted, when only 
 the boat and servants of the earl of Manchester had been 
 insulted at Venice. That state had broken through the 
 fundamental laws, to content the queen of Great Britain. 
 How noble a picture of government, when a monarch, that 
 can force another nation to infringe its constitution, dar« 
 not violate his own r One may imagine with what diffi- 
 culty our secretaries of state must have laboured through 
 all the ambages of phrase in English, French. German, and 
 Kuss, to explain to Muscovite ears and Muscovite under- 
 standings, the meaning of indictments, pleadings, preoe- 
 dfiQis, -uries, and verdicts; and how impatiently Peter ina«
 
 PETER THE GREAT. 183 
 
 the czar's ambassador, who had been executed 
 the year before by the order of Charles XII. had 
 encouraged the English to shew so little regard to 
 a character which had been so cruelly profaned. 
 The other public ministers who were then at the 
 court of Loudon, were obliged to be bound for 
 the czar's ambassador; and at length all the 
 queen could do in his favour, was to prevail on 
 her parliament to pass an act, by which no one 
 for the future could arrest an ambassador for 
 debt ; but after the battle of Pultowa, the Eng- 
 lish court thought proper to give satisfaction to 
 the czar. 
 
 The queen made by a formal embassy an ex- 
 
 have listened to promises of a hearing next term ? With 
 what astonishment must he have beheld a p;reat queen, en- 
 gaging to endeavour to prevail on her parliament to pass 
 an act to prevent any such outrage for the future ? What 
 honour does it not reflect on the memory of that princess 
 to own to an arbitrary emperor, that even to appease him 
 «he dare not put the meanest of her subjects to death un- 
 oondemned bj' law ! — There are, says she, in one of her 
 dispatches to him, insuperable difficulties, with respect 
 to the ancient and fundamental laws of the government 
 of our people ; which we fear do not permit so severe 
 and rigorous a sentence to be given, as your imperial 
 majesty at first seemed to expect in this case ; and we 
 persuade ourself, that j'our imperial majesty, who are a 
 prince famous for clemency and exact justice, will not 
 require us, who are the guardian and protectress of the 
 laws, to inflict a punishment upon our subjects, which 
 the law does not impower us to do. Words so venerable 
 and heroic, that this broil ouf^ht to become liistor)-, and 
 h« exempted from the oblivion due to the silly s-quabblea 
 of ambassadors and their privileges. If Anne deserved 
 praise for her conduct on this occasion, it reflects still 
 greater glory on Peter, that thil fcocious man should 
 listen to these details, and had moderation and juati'-e 
 CQOQgh to be persuaded by the reason of them.
 
 184 HISTORY OF 
 
 case for what had passed. IMr. Whitwonh,* th* 
 person charged with this coiiimissio.i, began bis 
 harangue with the following words. — (Feb. 16.) 
 ' Most high and mighty emperor." He told the 
 czar that the person who had presumed to arrest 
 his ambassador, had been imprisoned and ren- 
 dered infamous. There was no truth in all this, 
 but it was sufficient that he said so, and the title 
 of emperor, which the queen had not given Peter 
 before the battle of Pultowa, shewed the con- 
 sideration he had now acquired in Europe. 
 
 This title had been already granted him in 
 Holland, not only by those who had been his 
 fellow-workmen in the dock-yards at Saardam, 
 and seemed to interest themselves most in his 
 glory, but likewise by the principal persons in 
 the slate, who unanimously styled him emperor, 
 and made public rejoicings for his victory, even 
 m the presence of the Swedish minister. 
 
 The universal reputation which he had acquired 
 by his victory of Pultowa, was still further in- 
 creased by his not suffering a moment to pass 
 without making some advantages of it. In the 
 first place, he laid siege to Elbing, a Hans town 
 of Regal Prussia in Poland, where the Swedes 
 had still a garrison. The Russians scaled the 
 walls, entered the town, and the garrison surren- 
 dered prisoners of war. (Mar. 11.) This was one 
 of the largest magazines belonging to Charles 
 XII. The conquerors found therein one hundred 
 and eighty-three brass cannon, and one hundred 
 and fifty-seven mortars. Immediately after the 
 reduction of Elbing, Peter re-marched from Mos- 
 cow to Petersburg (April 2.) ; as soon as he ar- 
 rived at this latter place, he took shij.pinsf under 
 his new fortress of Cronslot, coasted along the 
 
 ♦ Afterwnrds created lord Wlutworth. by kia^ George I
 
 PETER THE GREAT. 185 
 
 shore of Carelia, and notwithstanding a violent 
 storm, brought his fleet safely before VViburg, 
 the capital of Carelia in Finland ; while his land- 
 forces advanced over the frozen morasses, and in 
 a short time the capital of Livonia beheld itself 
 closely blockaded (June 23.) : and after a breacn 
 was made in the walls, Wiburg surrendered, 
 and the garrison, consisting of four thousand 
 men, capitulated, but did not receive the honours 
 of war, being made prisoners notwithstanding 
 the capitulation. Peter charged the enemy with 
 several infractions of this kind, and promised to 
 set these troops at liberty, as soon as he should 
 receive satisfaction from the Swedes, for his com- 
 plaints. On this occasion the king of Sweden was 
 to be consulted, who continued as inflexible as 
 ever; and those soldiers, whom, by a little con- 
 cession, he might have delivered from their con- 
 finement, remained in captivity. Thus did king 
 William 111. in 169.T, arrest marshal Boufflers, 
 notwithstanding the capitulation of Namur. There 
 have been several instances of such violations of 
 treaties, but it is to be wished there never had 
 been any. 
 
 After the taking of this capital, the blockade 
 of Riga was soon changed into a regular siege, 
 and pushed with vigour. 'Ihey were obliged to 
 break the ice on the river Dwina, which waters 
 the walls of the city. An epidemical disorder, 
 which had raged some time in those parts, now 
 got amongst the besiegeis, and carried off nine 
 thousand ; nevertheless, the siege was not in the 
 least slackened ; it lasted a considerable time, 
 but at length the garrison capitulated i^ July 15. ) ; 
 and were allowed the honours of war ; but it was 
 stipulated by the capitulation, that all the hivo- 
 nian officers and soldiers should enter into the 
 Russian service, as natives of a country that had
 
 186 HISTORY OF 
 
 been dismembered from that ernpire, and usurp- 
 ed by the ancestors of Charles XIL But the Li- 
 Tonians were restored to the privileges of which 
 his lather had stripped them, and all the officers 
 entered into the czar's service : this was the 
 most nobl^e satisfaction that Peter could take for 
 the n\urder of his ambassador, Patkul, a Livo- 
 nian, who had been put to death, for defending 
 those privileges. The garrison consisted of near 
 five thousand men. A short time afterwards the 
 citadel of Pennamund was taken, and the be- 
 siegers found in the town and fort above eight 
 hundred pieces of artillery of different kinds. 
 
 Nothing was now wanting, to make Peter en- 
 tirely master of the province of Carelia, but the 
 possession of the strong town of Kexholm, built 
 on an island in the lake of Ladoga, and deemed 
 impregnable ; it was bombarded soon after, and 
 surrendered in ashort time. (Sep. 19.) The island 
 of Oesel in the sea, bordering upon the north of 
 Livonia, was subdued with the same rapidity. 
 (Sep. 23.) 
 
 On the side of Esthonia, a province of Livonia, 
 towards the north, and on the gulf of Finland, 
 are the towns of Pernau and Revel : by the re- 
 duction of these Peter completed the conquest of 
 all Livonia. Pernau surrendered after a siege of 
 a few days (Aug. '.\'>.), and Revel capitulated 
 (Sep. 10.) without waiting to have a single can- 
 non fired against it ; but the besieged found means 
 to escape out of the hands of the conquerors, at 
 the very time that they were surrendering them- 
 selves prisoners of war : for some Swedish ships, 
 having anchored in the road, under favour of the 
 eight, the garrison and most of the citizens em- 
 barked on board, and when the besiegers entered 
 the town, they were surprised to find it deserted. 
 When Charles XIL gained the victory of Narva
 
 PETER THE GREAT. 187 
 
 tittle did he expect that his troops would one 
 day be driven to use such artifices. 
 
 In Poland, Stanislaus finding his party entirely 
 ruined, had taken refuge in Pomerania, which 
 etill belonged to Charles XII. Augustus resumed 
 the government, and it was difficult to decide who 
 had acquired most glory, Charles in dethroning 
 him. or Peter in restoring him to his crown. 
 
 The subjects of the king of Sweden were still 
 more unfortunate than that monarch himself. The 
 contagious distemper, which had made such ha- 
 vock over Livonia, passed from thence into Swe- 
 den, where, in the city of Stockholm, it carried 
 off thirty thousand persons : it likewise desolated 
 the provinces, already thinned of their inhabit- 
 ants ; for during the space of ten years succes- 
 sively, most of the able-bodied men had quitted 
 their country to follow their master, and perished 
 *in foreign climes. 
 
 Charles's ill fortune pursued him also in Pome- 
 rania : his army had retired thither from Poland, 
 to the number of eleven thousand ; the czar, the 
 kings of Denmark and Prussia, the elector of Han- 
 over, and the duke of Holstein, joined together 
 to render this army useless, and to compel gene- 
 ral Crassau, who commanded it, to submit to 
 neutrality. The regency of Stockholm, hearing no 
 news of their king, and distracted by the morta- 
 lity that raged in that city, were glad to sign this 
 neutrality, which seemed to deliver one of its 
 provinces at least from the horrors of war. The 
 emperor of Germany favoured this extraordinary 
 convention, by which it was stipulated, that the 
 Swedish army then in Pomerania should not march 
 from thence to assist their monarch in any other 
 part of the world ; nay, it was furthermore re- 
 solved in the German empire, to raise an army 
 Ut enforce the execution of this unparalleled con*
 
 188 HISTORY OF 
 
 vention. The reason of this was, that the empe- 
 ror of Germany, who was then at war with France, 
 was in hopes to engage the Swedish army to enter 
 into his service. This whole negotiation was 
 carried on while Peter was subduing Livonia, 
 Esthonia, and Carelia. 
 
 Charles XII. who was all this tinoe at Bender, 
 putting every spring in motion to engage the 
 divan to declare war against the czar, received 
 this news as one of the severest blows his unto- 
 ward fortune had dealt him : he could not brook, 
 that his senate at Stockholm should pretend to 
 tie up the hands of his army, and it was on this 
 occasion that he wrote them word, he would send 
 one of bis boots to govern them. 
 
 The Danes, in the mean time, were making 
 preparations to invade Sweden ; so that every 
 nation in Europe was now engaged in war, Spain, 
 Portugal, Italy, France, Germany, Holland, and 
 England, were contending for the donanions left 
 by Charles II. of Spain; and the whole North 
 ■was up in arms against Charles XII. There want- 
 ed only a quarrel with the Ottoman empire, for 
 every village in Europe to be exposed to the ra- 
 vages of war. This quarrel happened soon after- 
 wards, when Peter had attained to the Eummit 
 of his glory, and precisely for that reason. 
 
 CHAP. XX. 
 
 Campaign of Pruth. 
 
 CULTAN Achmet III. declared war against 
 Peter I. not from any regard to \he king of 
 Sweden, but, as mav readilv be supposed, merely 
 from a view to his own interest. The Khan of 
 the Crim Tartars could not without dread, be-
 
 PETER THE GREAT. 189 
 
 hold a neighbour so powerful as Peter T The 
 Porte had, for some time, taken umbrage at the 
 number of ships which this prince had on the 
 Palus Mffiotis, and in the Black Sea, at his for- 
 tifying the city of Azoph, and at the flourishing 
 state of the harbour of Taganroc, already become 
 famous ; and, lastly, at his great series of suc- 
 cesses, and at the ambition which success never 
 fails to augment. 
 
 It is neither true, nor even probable, that the 
 Porte .should have begun the war against the 
 czar, on the Palus Maeotis, for no other reason 
 than because a Swedish ship had taken a bark ou 
 the Baltic, o;i board of which was found a letter 
 from a minister, whos.? name has never been 
 mentioned. Norberg tells us, that this letter 
 contained a plan for the conquest of the Turkish 
 empire ; that it was carried to Charles XII. who 
 was then in Turkey, and was by him sent to the 
 divan ; and that immediately after the receipt of 
 this letter, war was declared. But this story 
 carries the mark of fiction with it. It \vas the 
 remonstrances of the khan of Tartary, who was 
 'more uneasy about the neighbourhood of Azoph, 
 than the Turkish divan, that induced this latter 
 to give orders for taking the field.* 
 
 • The account this chaplain gives of the demands of 
 the grand seignior is equall)' false and puerile He 
 says, that sultan Achmct, previous to his declaring; war 
 against the czar, sent to that prince a paper, containing 
 the conditions oQ which he was willing to grant him 
 peace. These conditions, Norberg tells us, were as fol- 
 lows : ^fhat Peter should renounce liis alliance with 
 Aogiistus. reinstate Stanislaus in the possession of the 
 crown of Poland, restore all I.ivonia to Charlen XII., and 
 pay that prince the value in ready money of what he had 
 taken from him at the battle of Pultowa ; and. lastly, 
 that the cz.ar should demolish his newlybuiU city of Pe
 
 190 HISTORY OF 
 
 It was in the month of August, and before the 
 czar had completed the reduction of Livonia, 
 when Achmet 111. resolved to dechire war against 
 him. Tbe Turks, at that time, could hardly have 
 had the news of the taking of Riga; and, there- 
 fore, the proposal of restoring to the king of 
 Sweden the value in money, of the eSVcts he 
 had lost at the battle of Pultowa, would have 
 been the most absurd thing imaginable, if not 
 exceeded by that of demolishing Petersburg. The 
 behaviour of Charles XII. at Bender, was suffi- 
 ciently romantic ; but the conduct of the Turkish 
 divan would have been much more so, if we sup- 
 pose it to have made any demands of this kind. 
 
 Nov. 1710.] The khan of Tartary, who was 
 the principal instigator of this war, paid Charles 
 a visit in his retreat at Bender. They were con- 
 nected by 'he same interests, inasmuch as Europe 
 makes part of the frontiers of Little Tartary. 
 Charles and the khan were the two greatest suf- 
 ferers by the successes of the czar ; but the khan 
 did not command the forces of the grand seig- 
 nior. He was like one of the feudatory princes 
 of Germany, who served iu the armies of the 
 empire with their own troops, and were subject 
 to the authority of the emperor's generals for the 
 time being. 
 
 Nov. 29, 1710 ] The first step taken by the 
 divan, was to arrest Tolstoy, the czar's ambas- 
 sador at the Porte, in the streets of Constanti- 
 nople, together with thirty of his domestics, who, 
 with their master, were all conhnedin the prison 
 
 lereburg.' This piece was forged by one Brazej, a half- 
 starved pamphleteer, and antbor of a work entitled. Me- 
 moirs, Satirical, Historical, and Entertaining. It was 
 from this fountain Norberg drew his intelligence; and 
 howcTer he may have been the confessor of Charles XII. 
 he certainly does not appear to have been his confidant.
 
 PETER THE GREAT. 191 
 
 of the Seven Towers. This barbarous custom, 
 at which even savages would blush, is owing to 
 the Turks having always a number of foreign 
 ministers residing amongst them from other 
 courts, whereas they never send any in return. 
 They look upon the ambassadors of Christian 
 princes in no other light than as merchants or 
 consuls ; and, having naturally as great a con- 
 tempt for Christians as they have for Jews, they 
 seldom condescend to observe the laws of na- 
 tions, in respect to them, unless forced to it ; at 
 least, they have hitherto persisted in this barba- 
 rous pride. 
 
 The famous vizier, Achmet Couprougli, the 
 same who took the island of Candia, under Maho- 
 met IV., insulted the son of the French ambas- 
 sador, and even carried his brutality so far as to 
 strike him, and afterwards to confine him in 
 prison, without Lewis XIV'., proud and lofty as 
 he was, daring to resent it, otherwise than by 
 sending another minister to the Porte. The 
 Christian princes, who are so remarkably deli- 
 cate on the point of honour amongst themselves, 
 and have even made it a part of the law of na- 
 tions, seem to be utterly insensible on this head 
 in regard to the Turks. 
 
 Never did a crowned head suffer greater af- 
 fronts in the persons of his ministers, than czar 
 Peter. In the space of a few years, his ambas- 
 sador at the court of London was thrown into 
 jail for debt, his plenipotentiary at the courts of 
 Poland and Saxony was broke upon the wheel, 
 by order of the king of Sweden ; and now his 
 minister at the Ottoman Porte was seized and 
 thrown into a dungeon at Constantinople, like ;i 
 common felon.* 
 
 • The new vizier embraced every opportaniiy of 
 nfTroDtini; the czar, io the persou of his >'.a\oy, and par.
 
 192 HISTORY OF 
 
 We have already observed, in the first part of 
 this history, that he received satisfaction from 
 queen Anne, of England, for the insult offered 
 to his ambassador at London 'J'he horrible af- 
 front he suffered, in the person of Patkul, was 
 washed away in the blood of the Swedes slain at 
 the battle of Pultowa ; but fortune permitted the 
 violation of the law of nations by the Turks to 
 pass unpunished. 
 
 Jan. 1711.] The czar now found himself ob- 
 liged to quit the theatre of war in the west, and 
 march towards the frontiers of Turkey. He be- 
 gan by causing ten regiments, which he had in 
 Poland, to advance towards Moldavia. t He then 
 ordered marshal Sheremeto to set out from 
 Livonia, with his body of forces ; and, leaving 
 prince Menzikoff at the head of affairs at Pe- 
 tersburg, he returned to IMoscow, to give orders 
 for opening the ensuing campaign. 
 
 Jan. 18.] He now establishes a senate of re- 
 gency : the regiment of guards begin their march, 
 he issues orders for all the young nobility to fol- 
 low him to the field, to learn the art of war, and 
 
 ticularly in giving the French ambassador the preference. 
 It was customary, on the promotion of the grar.d vizier, 
 for all the foreign ministers to 'equest an audience of 
 congratulation. Connt Tolstoy was the first who de- 
 manded that audience ; but was answered — That the 
 precedence had always been given to the ambassador of 
 France : whereupon Tolstoy informed the viaier — That 
 te must be deprived of the pleasure of waiting on him 
 at all: which, being maliciously represented, as express- 
 ing the utmost contempt cf his person, and the khan of 
 Tartary being at the same time instigated to make several 
 heavy complaints acrainst the conduct of the Russians on 
 the frontiers, count Tolstoy was immediaieiy committed 
 to the castle of tbe Seven Towers. 
 
 t It is very strange that so many writers always con- 
 found Walachia and Moldavia together.
 
 PETER THE GREAT. 193 
 
 places some of them iu the station of cadets, and 
 others in that of subaltern officers. Admiral 
 Apraxin goes to Azoph to take the command by 
 sea and land. These several measures being 
 taken, the czar publishes an ordonnance in Mos- 
 cow for acknowledging a new empress. This 
 was the person who had been taken prisoner in 
 Marienburg, in the year 1702. Peter had, in 
 1696, repudiated his wife Eudoxia Lopoukin (or 
 Lapouchin) by whom he had two children. 'Jhe 
 laws of his church allow of no divorces ; but, had 
 they not, Peter would have enacted a new law 
 to permit them. 
 
 The fair captive of Marienburg, who had 
 taken the name of Catherine, had a soul superior 
 to her sex and her misfortunes. She rendered 
 herself so agreeable to the czar, that this prince 
 would have her always near his person. She 
 accompanied him in all his excursions, and most 
 fatiguing campaigns : sharing in his toils, and 
 softening his uneasiness by her natural gaiety, 
 and the great attention she shewed to oblige him 
 on all occasions, and the indifference she ex- 
 pressed for the luxury, dress, and other indul- 
 gences, of which the generality of her sex are, in 
 other countries, wont to make real necessities. 
 She frequently softened the passionate temper of 
 the czar, and, by making him more clement and 
 merciful, rendered him more truly great. In a 
 word, she became so necessary to him, that he 
 married her privately, in 1707. He had already 
 two daughters by her, and the following year she 
 bore him a third, who was afterwards married 
 to the duke of Holstein.* 
 
 • This duke of Holstein, at the time he married the 
 daughter of Peter I. was a prince of very inconsiderable 
 power, though of one of t.'ie most ancient houses in Ger- 
 maoy. Ilia ancestors had been strijiped of great part of
 
 194 HISTORY OF 
 
 March 17, 1711.] The czar made this private 
 inaniage known the very day he set out with her 
 to trr the fortune of his arms against the Turks. 
 The several dispositions he had made seemed to 
 promise a successful issue. The hetman of the 
 Cossacks was to keep the Tartars m awe, who 
 had already began to commit ravages in the Uk- 
 
 their dominions by the kings of Denmark ; eo that, at 
 the time of this marriage, he found himself srreaily cir- 
 cumscribed in point of possessions ; bat, from this epoch 
 of his alliance with the czar of Muscovy, «-e may date 
 the rise of the ducal branch of Holsiein, which now fillg 
 the thrones of Russia and Sweden, and is likewise in pos- 
 session of the bishopric of Lubec, which, iu all probabi- 
 lity, will fall to this house, notwithstanding the late 
 election, which at present is the sutject of litigation, the 
 iss'ie of which will, to all appearance, terminate in favour 
 of the prince, son to the present bishop, through the pro- 
 tection of the courts cf Vienna and Petersburg. The 
 empress Catherine, who now sits on the throne of Russia 
 is herself descended from this aujrtist house, by the side 
 of her mother, who was sister to the king of Sweden, to 
 the prince-bishop of Lubec, and to the famous prince 
 George of Holstein, whose achievements made so msch 
 noise during the war. This princess, whose name was 
 Elizabeth, married the reigning prince of Anbak Zerbst, 
 whose house was indisputably the most ancient ; and, in 
 former times, the most powerful in all Germany, since 
 they can trace thoir pedigree from the dukes of Ascanis, 
 who were formerly masters of the two electorates of Sax- 
 ony and Brandenburg, as appears by their armorial bear- 
 ings, which are, quarterly, the arms of Saxony and Bran- 
 denburg. Of this branch of Zerbst there is remaining 
 onlj' the present reigning prince, brother to the empresi 
 Catherine, who, in case he should die without issue, wiU 
 succeed to the principality of Yevern, in East f riesland ; 
 from all which it appears already, that the family of 
 Hclstein is at present the most powerful in Europe, a« 
 being in possession of three crowns in the Korth. — [Since 
 the above was written important changes havotaken place.]
 
 PETER THE GREAT. 195 
 
 raine. The main body of the Russian army was 
 advancing towards Niester, and another body of 
 troops, under prince Galitzin, were in full march 
 through Poland. Every thing went on favourably 
 at the beginning : for Galitzin having met with a 
 numerous body of Tartars near Kiow, who had 
 been joined by some Cossacks and some Poles of 
 king Stanislaus' party, as also a few Swedes, he 
 defeated them entirely, and killed near five thou- 
 sand men. These Tartars had, in their ma«ch 
 through the open country, made about ten thou- 
 sand prisoners. Is has been the custom of the 
 Tartars, time immemorial, to carry with them a 
 much greater number of cords than scimitars, in 
 order to bind the unhappy wretches they surprise. 
 The captives v/ere all set free, and those who had 
 made them prisoners were put to the sword. 
 The whole Russian army, if it had been assem- 
 bled together, would have amounted to sixty 
 thousand men. It was t*o have been farther aug- 
 mented by the troops belonging to the king of 
 Poland. This prince, who owed every thing to 
 the czar, came to pay him a visit at Jaroslaw, on 
 the river Sana, the 3d of June, 1714, and pro- 
 mised him powerful succours. War was now 
 declared against the Turks, in the name of these 
 two monarchs : but the Polish diet, not willing 
 to break with the Ottoman Porte, refused to ra- 
 tify the engagement their king had entered into. 
 It was the fate of the czar to hav«, in the king 
 of Poland, an ally who could never be of any ser- 
 vice to him. He entertained the same hopes of 
 assistance from the princes of Moldavia and Wa- 
 lachia, and was, in the like manner, disappointed. 
 These two provinces ought to have taken this 
 opportunity to shake off the 'I'urkish yoke. These 
 countries were those of the ancient Daci, who, 
 together with the Gepidi, with whom they were
 
 196 HISTORY OF 
 
 intermixed, did, for a long time, di-rur't the 
 Roman empire. They were at leiij^tii subdued 
 by the emperor Trajan, and Constaniine the First 
 made them embrace the Christian religion. Dacia 
 was cue of the provinces of the eastern empire ; 
 but shortly after these very people contributed 
 to the ruin of that of the west, by serving under 
 the Odoacers and Theodorics. 
 
 They afterwards continued to be subject to the 
 Greek empire ; and when the Turks made ihem- 
 se ves masters of Constantinople, were governed 
 and oppressed by paiticular princes; at length 
 they were totally subjected by the Padisha, or 
 Tu'kish emperor, who now granted them an in- 
 vestiture. The Hospodar, or Waiwod, chosen 
 by the Ottoman Porte to govern these provinces, 
 is always a Christian of the Greek church. Tho 
 Turks, by this choice, give a proof of their tolera- 
 tion, while our ignorant declaimers are accusing 
 them of pei-secution. The prince, nominated, by 
 the Porte, is tributary to. or rather farms these 
 countries of the grand seignior ; this dignity being 
 alwavs conferred on the best bidder, or him who 
 makes the greatest presents to the vizier, in like 
 manner as the Greek patriarch, at Constanti- 
 nople. Sometimes this government is bestowed 
 on a dragoman, that is to say, the interpreter to 
 the divan. These provinces are seldom under 
 the government of the same Waiwod, the Porte 
 choosing to divide them, in order to be more sure 
 of retaining them in subjection. Demetrius Can- 
 temir, was at this time ^Vaiwod of Moldavia. 
 This prince was said to be descended from Ta- 
 merlane, because Tamerlane's true name waa 
 Timur, and Timur was a Tartarian khan ; and 
 so, from the name Tamurkau, say they, cwne 
 the family of Canterair. 
 
 Bassaraba Brancovan had been invested ic**^
 
 PETER THE GREAT. 197 
 
 the principality of Walachia, but had not found 
 any genealogist to deduce his pedigree from the 
 Tartarian conqueror. Cantemir thought the time 
 now come to shake off the Turkish yoke, and 
 render himself independent by means of the czar's 
 protection. In this view he acted in the very 
 same manner with Peter as Mazeppa had done 
 with Charles XII. He even engaged Bassaraba 
 for the present to join him in the conspiracy, of 
 which he hoped to reap all the benefit himself: 
 his plan being to make himself master of both 
 provinces. The bishop of Jerusalem, who was 
 at that time at Walachia, was the soul of this 
 conspiracy. Cantemir promised the czar to fur- 
 nish him with men and provisions, as Mazeppa 
 did the king of Sweden, and kept his word no 
 better thin he had done. 
 
 General Sheremeto advanced towards Jassi. 
 the capital of Moldavia, to inspect and occasion- 
 ally assist the execution of these great pro- 
 •ects. Cantemir came thither to meet him, and 
 was received with all the honours due to a 
 prince : but he acted as a prince in no one cir- 
 cumstance, but that of publishing a manifesto 
 against the I'urkish empire. The hospodar of 
 Walachia, who soon discovered the ambitious 
 views of iiis colleague, quitted his party, and re- 
 turned to his duty. I'he bishop of Jerusalem 
 dreading, with reason, the punishment due to his 
 perfidy, fled and concealed himself: the people 
 of Walachia and Moldavia continued faitliful to 
 the Ottoman Porte, and those, who were tohav« 
 furnished provisions for the Russian army, carried 
 them to the Turks. 
 
 The vizier, Baltagi Mahomet had already 
 crossed the Danube, at the head of onfe hundred 
 thousand men, and was advancing towards Jassi, 
 along the banks of the river Prutli (formerly iho
 
 198 HISTORY OF 
 
 Hierasus), whicli falls into the Danube, and 
 which is nearly the boundary of Moldavia and 
 Bessarabia. He then dispatched count Ponia- 
 towsky,* a Polish gentleman, attached to the for- 
 
 • This same count Poniatowsky, who was at that time 
 in the service of Charles XII. died afterwards castellan 
 ofCracovia, and first seDator of the republic of Poland, 
 after having enjoyed all the dignities to which a noblbman 
 of that country can attain. His connexions with Charles 
 XII. during that prince's retirement at Bender, first made 
 tim taken notice of; and, it is to be wished, for the honour 
 of his memory, that he had waited till the conclusion of a 
 peace between Sweden and Poland, to be reconciled to 
 ' king Augustus ; but following the dictates of ambition, 
 rather than those of strict honour, he sacrificed the in- 
 terests of both Charles and Stanislaus, to the care of his 
 own fortune ; and, while he appeared the most zealous in 
 their cause, he secretly did them all the ill services he 
 could at the Ottoman Porte : to this double dealing he 
 owed the immense fortune of which he was afterwards 
 possessed. lie married the princess Czartoriski, daugliter 
 of the castellan of Vilna, a lady, for her heroic spirit, 
 worth}' to have been born in the times of ancient Rome : 
 when her eldest son, the present grand chamberlain of the 
 crown, had that famous dispute with Count Tarlo, pala* 
 tine of Lublin ; a dispute which made so much noise in all 
 the public papers in the year 1742, this lady, after having 
 made him shoot at a mark every day, for three weeks, in 
 order to be expert at firing, said to him, as he was mount- 
 ing his horse, to go to meet his adversar}' — ' Go, mv son ; 
 but, if you do not acquit yourself with honour in this 
 affair, never appear before me again.' This anecdote may 
 ierre as a specimen of the character of our heroine, i he 
 family of Czartoriski is descended from the ancient Jagel- 
 lins, who were, for several ages, in lineal possession of 
 the crown of Poland ; and is, at this day. extremely rich 
 and powerful, by the alliances it has coinracied, but they 
 have never been able to acquire popularity ; and so long 
 as count Tarlo ^^^who was killed in a duel with the young 
 count Poniatowsky) lived, had no influeuce in the die- 
 tinea, i;r lesser assembly of the statos, because Tarlo,
 
 PETER THE GREAT. 199 
 
 uineBof the king of Sweden, to desire that prince 
 to make him a visit, and see his army. Charles, 
 whose pride always got the better of his interest, 
 would not consent to this proposal : he insisted 
 that the grand vizier should make him the first 
 visit, in his asylum near Bender. When Ponia- 
 towsky returned to the Ottoman camp, and en- 
 deavoured to excuse this refusal of his master, 
 the vizier, turning to the khan of the Tartars, said, 
 ' This is the very behaviour I expected from this 
 proud pagan.' This mutual pride, which never 
 fails of alienating the minds of those in power 
 from each other, did no service to the king of 
 Sweden's affairs ; and indeed that prince might 
 have easily perceived, from the beginning, that 
 the Turks were not acting for his interest, but for 
 their own. 
 
 While the Turkish army was passing the 
 Danube, the czar advanced by the frontiers of 
 Poland, and passed the Boristhenes, in order to 
 relieve marshal Sheremeto, who was then on the 
 banks of the Pruth, to the southward of Jassi, 
 and in danger of being daily surrounded by an 
 army of ten thousand Turks, and an army of 
 Tartars. Peter, before he passed the Boristhenes, 
 was in doubt whether he should expose his be- 
 loved Catherine to these dangers, which seemed 
 to increase every day ; but Catherine, on her side, 
 looked upon this solicitude of the czar, for her 
 ease and safety, as an affront offered to her love 
 and courage ; and pressed her consort so strongly 
 on this head, that he found himself under a ne- 
 cessity to consent that she should pass the river 
 with him. The army beheld her with eyes of joy 
 
 who was the idol of the nobles, and a sworn enemy to the 
 Czartorisli family, carried every tiling before him, and 
 nothing was done but according to his pleasure.
 
 200 HISTORY OF 
 
 and admiration, marching on horseback at the 
 head of the troops, for she rarely made use of a 
 carriage. After passing the Boristhenes, they 
 had a tract of desert country to pass through, and 
 then to cross the Bog, and afterwards the river 
 Tiras, now called the Niester, and then another 
 desert to traverse, before they came to the hanks 
 of the Pruth. Catherine, during this fatiguing 
 marv"h, animated the whole army by her cheer- 
 fulness and affability. She sent refreshments to 
 such of the oflBcers who were sick, and extended 
 her care even to the meanest soldier. 
 
 July4, 1711.] At length the czar brought his 
 army in sight of Jassi. Here he was to establish 
 his magazine. Bassaraba, the hospodar of Wa- 
 lachia, who had again embraced the interest of 
 the Ottoman Porte, but still, in appearance, con- 
 tinued a friend to the czar, proposed to that 
 prince to make peace with the Turks, although 
 he had received no commission from the grand 
 vizier for that purpose. His deceit, however, was 
 Boon discovered ; and the czar contented himself 
 with demanding only provisions for his army, 
 which Bassaraba neither could nor would furnish. 
 It was very difficult to procure anv supplies from 
 Poland ; and these, which prince Cantemir had 
 promised, and which he vainly hoped to procure 
 from Walachia, could not be brought from thence. 
 These disappointments rendered the situation of 
 the Russian army very disagreeable ; and, as an 
 addition to their aflflictions, they were infested 
 with an immense swarm of grasshoppers, that 
 covered the face of the whole country, and 
 devoured, or s-poiled, every thing where they 
 alighted. Thev were likewise frequently in want 
 of water during their march through sandy de- 
 serts, and beneath a scorching sun : what little 
 they could procure, they were obliged to have
 
 PETER THE GREAT. ?01 
 
 brought in vessels to the camp, from a consider- 
 able distance. 
 
 During this dangerous and fatiguing march, 
 the czar, by a singuhir fatality, found himself in 
 the neighbourhood of his rival and competitor, 
 Charles ; Bender not being above twenty-five 
 leagues from the place where the Russian army 
 was encamped, near Jassi. Some parties of Cos- 
 sacks made excursions even to the place of that 
 unfortunate monarch's retreat ; but the Crim Tar- 
 tars, who hovered round that part of the country, 
 sufficiently secured him from any attempt that 
 might be made to seize his person ; and Charles 
 waited in his camp with impatience, and did not 
 fear the is:>ue of the war. 
 
 Peter, as soon as he had established some ma- 
 gazines, marched in haste with his army to the 
 right of the river Pruth. His essential object 
 was to prevent the Turks, who were posted to 
 the left, and towards the head of the river, from, 
 crossing it, and marching towards him. This 
 effected, he would then be master of Moldavia 
 and Walachia : with this view, he dispatched 
 general Janus, with the vanguard of the army, 
 to oppose the passage of the Turks ; but the ge- 
 neral did not arrive till they had already began 
 to cross the river upon their bridges ; upon which 
 he was obliged to retreat, and his infantry was 
 closely pursued by the Turks, till the czar came 
 jp in person to his assistance. 
 
 The grand vizier now marched directly along the 
 river towards the czar. The two armies were very 
 nnequal in point of numbers : that of the Turks, 
 which had been reinforced by theTartarian troops, 
 consisted of nearly two hundred and fifty thou- 
 sand men, while that of the Russians hardly 
 amounted to thirty-five thousand. There was 
 indeed a considerable body of troops, headed by 
 It
 
 202 HISTORY OF 
 
 general Renne, on their march from the other 
 side of the Moldavian mouutains ; but the 
 Turks bad cut off all communication with those 
 parts. 
 
 The czar's army now began to be in want of 
 provisions, nor could, without the greatest diffi- 
 culty, procure water, though encamped alaverj 
 small (iisumce from the river; being exposed to 
 a furioiii discharge from the batteries, which 
 the grand vizier had caused to be erected on 
 the left ^ide of the river, under the care of a 
 body of troops, that kept up a constant fire 
 against the Russians. By this relation, which 
 is strictly circumstantial and true, it appears 
 that Baltagi Mahomet, the Turkish vizier, far 
 from being the pusillanimous, or weak com- 
 mander, which the Swedes have represented him, 
 gave proofs, on this occasion, tiiat he perfectly 
 ■well understood his business. The passing the 
 Pruth in the sight of the enemy, obliging him to 
 retreat, and harassing him in that retreat ; the 
 cutting off all communication between the czar's 
 army, and a body of cavalry that was marching 
 to reinforce it ; the hemming in tbis army, 
 without the least probability of a retreat ; and 
 the cutting off all supplies of water and pro- 
 visions, by keeping it constantly under the 
 check of the batteries on the opposite side of 
 the river, were manoeuvres that in no ways be- 
 spoke the unexperienced or indolent general. 
 
 Peter now saw himself in a situation even 
 worse than that to which he had reduced his 
 rival, Charles XII. at Pultowa ; being, like him, 
 surrounded by a superior army, and in greater 
 want of provisions ; and, like him, having con- 
 fided in the promises of a prince, too powerful 
 to be bound by those promises, he resolved 
 aoon a retreat : and endeavoured to return to-
 
 PETER THE GREAT. 203 
 
 wards Jassi, in order to choose a more advan- 
 tageous situation for his camp. 
 
 JuJy'20, 1711] He accordingly decamped under 
 favour of the night; but his array bad scarcely 
 begun its march, when, at break of day, the Turks 
 fell upon his rear ,: but the Preobrazinski regi- 
 ment turning about, and standing firm, did, for 
 a considerable time, check the fury of their 
 onset. The Russians then formed themselves, 
 and made a line of intrenchments with their 
 waggons and baggage. The same day (July 21.) 
 the I urks returned a^in to the attack, with the 
 "whole body of their army ; and, as a proof that 
 the Russians knew how to defend themselves, 
 let what will be alleged to the contrary, they 
 also made head against this very superior force 
 for a considerable time, killed a great number 
 of their enemies, who in vain endeavoured to 
 break in upon them. 
 
 There were in the Ottoman army two officers 
 belonging to the king of Sweden, namely, count 
 Poniatowsky and the count of Sparre, who had 
 the command of a body of Cossacks in that 
 prince's interest. My papers inform me, that 
 these two generals advised the grand vizier to 
 avoid coming to action with the Russians, and 
 content himself with depriving them of supplies 
 of water and provisions, which would oblige 
 them either to surrender prisoners of war, or to 
 perish with famine . other memoirs pretend, on 
 the contrary, that these oflScers would have per- 
 suaded Mahomet to fall upon this feeble and 
 half-starved army, in a weak and distressed con- 
 dition, and put all to the sword. The first of 
 these eeems to be the most prudent and circum- 
 Bpect ; but the second is more agreeable to the 
 character of generals who had been trained up 
 under Charles XII.
 
 S04 HISTORY OF 
 
 The real fact is, that the grand vizier fell 
 upon the rear of the Russian army, at the dawn 
 of day, which was thrown into confusion, and 
 there remained only a line of four hundred men 
 to confront the Turks. This small body formed 
 itself with amazing quickness, under the orders 
 of a German general, named Alard, who, to hia 
 immortal honour, made such rapid and excellent 
 dispositions on this occasion, that the Russians 
 withstood, for upwards of three hours, the re- 
 peated attack of the whole Ottoman army, with- 
 out losing a foot of ground. 
 
 The czar now found himself amply repaid for 
 the immense pains he had taken to inure his 
 troops to strict discipline. At the battle of 
 Marva, sixty thousand men were defeated by 
 only eight thousand, because the former were 
 undisciplined ; and here we behold a rear-guard, 
 consisting of only eight thousand Russians, sus- 
 taining the efforts of one hundred and fifty 
 thousand Turks, killing seven thousand of tbem, 
 and obliging the rest to return back. 
 
 After this sharp engagement, both armies in- 
 trenched themselves for that night : but the 
 Russians still continued enclosed, and deprived 
 of all provisions, even water ; for notwithstand- 
 ing they were so near the river Pruth, yet they 
 did not dare approach its banks ; for as soon as 
 any parties were sent out to find water, a body 
 of Turks, posted on the opposite s-hore, drove 
 them back by a furious discharge from their 
 cannon, loaded with chain shot : and the body 
 of the Turkish army, which had attacked that 
 of the czar the daj before, continued to play 
 upon them from another quarter, with the whole 
 force of their artillery. 
 
 The Russian army appeared now to be lost be- 
 yond resource, by its position, by the inequality
 
 PETER THE GREAT. 206 
 
 of numbers, and by the want of provisioas. 
 The skirmishes on both sides were frequent and 
 bloody : the Russian cavalry being almost ail 
 dismounted, could no longer be of any service, 
 unless by fighting on foot: in a word, the situa- 
 tion of affairs was desperate. It was out o! 
 their power to retreat, they had nothing left but 
 to gain a complete victory ; to perish to the last 
 man, or to be made slaves by the infidels. 
 
 All the accounts and memoirs of those times 
 unanimously agree, that the czrar, divided within 
 himself, whether or not he should expose his 
 wife, his army, his empire, and the fruits of all 
 his labours, to almost inevitable destruction ; re- 
 tired to his tent, oppressed with grief, and seized 
 with violent convulsions, to which he was 
 naturally subject, and wliich the present despe- 
 rate situation of his affairs brought upon him 
 with redoubled violence. In this condition he 
 remained alone in his ten.t, having g'uven posi- 
 tive orders, that no one shonld be admitted to 
 be a witness to the distraction of his mind. 
 But Catherine, hearing of his disorders, forced 
 her way in to him ; and, on this occasion, Peter 
 found how happy it was for him that he had 
 permitted his wife to accompany him in this ex- 
 pedition. 
 
 A wife, who, like her, had faced death in its 
 most horrible shapes, and had exposed her per- 
 son, like the meanest soldier, to the fire of the 
 Turkish artillery, had an undoubted right to 
 apeak to her hushand, and to be heard. The 
 czar accordingly listened to what she had to say, 
 and in tho end suffered himself to be persuaded 
 to try and send to the vizier with proposalt 
 of peace. 
 
 It has !.een a custom, from time immemorial, 
 thruughout the East, that when any people ap«
 
 206 HISrORY OF 
 
 ply for an audience of the sovereign, or his re- 
 presentative, they must not presume to approach 
 them without a present. On this occasion, 
 therefore, Catherine mustered the few jewels 
 that she had brought with her, on this military 
 tour, in which no magnificence or luxury were 
 admitted ; to these she added two black foxes' 
 skins, and what ready money she could collect ; 
 the latter was designed for a present to the 
 kiaia. She made choice herself of an officer, on 
 whose fidelity and understanding she thought 
 she could depend, who, accompanied with two 
 servants, was to carry the presents to the grand 
 vizier, and afterwards to deliver the money in- 
 tended for the kiaia into his own hand. This 
 officer was likewise charged with a letter from 
 marshal Sheremeto to the grand vizier. The 
 memoirs of czar Peter mentions this letter, but 
 they take no notice of the other particulars of 
 Catheriue's conduct in this business ; however, 
 they are sufficiently confirmed by the declara- 
 tion issued by Peter himself, in ITi^S, when he 
 caused Catherine to be crowned empress, 
 wherein we find these words : — ' She has been 
 of the greatest assistance to us in all our dangers, 
 and particularly in the battle of Pruth, when our 
 army was reduced to twenty-two thousand men.' 
 If the cz:ir had then indeed no more men capa- 
 ble of bearing arms, the service which Catherine 
 did him, on that occasion, was fully equivalent 
 to the honours and dignities conferred upon her. 
 The MS. journal of Peter the Great observes, 
 that on the dav of the bloody battle (on the 20th 
 July), he had thirty-one thousand five hundred 
 and fifty-four foot, and six thousand si.t hundred 
 aad ninety-two horse, the latter almost all dis- 
 mounted ; he must then have lost sixteen thou- 
 sand two hundred and fortv-six men in that en-
 
 PETER THE GREAT. 207 
 
 gagement. The same memoirs affirm, the loss 
 sustained hy the Turks greatly exceeded that of 
 the Russians ; for as the former rushed upon 
 the czar's troops pell-mell, and without observ- 
 ing any order,' hardly a single fire of the latter 
 missed its effect. If this is fact, the affair of 
 • he iOth and i'lst of July, was one of the most 
 bloody that had been known for many ages. 
 
 We must either suspect Peter the Great of 
 having been mistaken, in his declaration at the 
 crowning of the empress, when he acknowledges 
 ' his obli^'ations to her of having saved his 
 army, which was reduced to twenty-two thou- 
 sand men,' or accuse him of a falsity in his 
 journal, wherein he says, that the day on which 
 the above battle was fought, his army, exclusive 
 of the succours he expected from the other side 
 the Moldavian mountains, amounted to thirty- 
 one thousand five hundred and fifty-four foot, 
 and six thousand six hundred and nine two 
 horse. According to this calculation, the battle 
 of Pruth must have been by far more terrible 
 than the historians or memorials have repre- 
 sented on either side. There must certainly be 
 some mistake here, which is no uncommon thing 
 in the relation of campaigns, especially when 
 the writer enters into a minute detail of cir- 
 cumstances. The surest method, therefore, on 
 these occasions, is to confine ourselves to the 
 principal events, the victory and the defeat ; as 
 we can very seldom know, with any degree of 
 certainty, the exact loss on either side. 
 
 IJut however here the Russian army might be 
 reduced in point of numbers, there were still 
 hopes that tlie grand vizier, deceived by their 
 vigorous and obstinate resistance, might be in- 
 duced to grant them peace, upon such terms as 
 might be honourable to his master's arms, and
 
 808 HISTORY OF 
 
 at the same time not absolutely disgraceful to 
 those of the czar. It was the great merit of 
 Catherine to bdve perceived this possibility, at a 
 time when her ccnsort and his generals expected 
 nothing less than inevitable destruction. 
 
 Norberg, in his History of Charles XII. quotes 
 a letter, sent by the czar to the grand viiier, in 
 which he expresses himself thus : — ' If, con- 
 trary to my intentions, I hive been so unhappy 
 as to incur the displeasure of his highness. I am 
 ready to make reparation for any cause of com- 
 plaint he may have against me ; I conjure you, 
 most noble general, to prevent the further effu- 
 sion of blood ; give orders, I beseech you, to put 
 a stop to the dreadful fire of your artillery, and 
 accept the hostage I herewith send you' 
 
 This letter carries all the marks of falsity with 
 it, as do indeed most of the random pieces of 
 Norberg: it is dated 11th July. N. S. whereas 
 no letter was sent to Baltagi Mahomet till the 
 21st, N. S. neither was it the czar who wrote to 
 the vizier, but his general Sheremeto : there 
 were no such expressions made use of as — ' if 
 the czar has had the misfortune to incur the dis- 
 pleasure of his highness ;' such terms being suit- 
 able only to a subject, who implores the pardon 
 of his sovereign, whom he has offended. There 
 was no mention made of any hostage, nor was 
 any one sent. The letter was carried by an 
 officer, in the midst of a furious cannonade on 
 both sides. Sheremeto, in his letter, only re- 
 minded the vizier of certain overtures of peace 
 that the Porte had made at the beginning of the 
 campaign, through the mediation of the Dutch 
 and English ministers, and by which the divan 
 demanded that the fort and harbour of Taganroc 
 should be given up, which were the real subject* 
 of the war.
 
 PETER THE GREAT. 209 
 
 fist July, 1711.] Some hours elapsed before 
 the messenger received an answer from the grand 
 vizier, and it was apprehended that he had either 
 been killed by the enemy's cannon, or that they 
 detained him prisoner. A second courier was 
 therefore dispatched, with duplicates of the for- 
 mer letters, and a council of war was immedi- 
 ately held, at which Catherine was present. At 
 this council ten general officers signed the follow- 
 ing resolution : — 
 
 ' Resolved, If the enemy will not accept the 
 conditions proposed, and should insist upon our 
 laying down our arms, and surrendering at dis- 
 cretion, that all the ministers and general officers 
 are unanimously of opinion, to cut their way 
 through the enemy sword in hand.' 
 
 In consequence of this resolution, a line of in- 
 trenchments was thrown round the baggage, and 
 the Russians marched some few paces out of their 
 camp, towards the enemy, when the grand vizier 
 caused a suspension of arms to be proclaimed 
 between the two armies. 
 
 All the writers of the Swedish party have 
 treated the grand vizier as a cowardly and infa- 
 mous wretch, who had been bribed in sell the 
 honour of his master's arms. In the same man- 
 ner have several authors accused fount Piper of 
 receiving money from the duke of Marlborough, 
 to persuade the king of Sweden to continue the 
 war against the czar ; and have laid to the charge 
 of the French minister, that he purchased the 
 peace of Seville for a stipulated sum. Such ac- 
 cusations ought never to be advanced but on 
 very strong proofs. It is very seldom that a mi- 
 nister will stoop to such meannesses, which are 
 always discovered, sooner or hiter, by those who 
 have been entrusted with the payment of the 
 money, or by the public registers, which never
 
 210 HISTORY OF 
 
 lie. A minister of state stands as a public objecf 
 to the eyes of all Europe. His credit and influ- 
 ence depend -wholly upon his character, and he 
 is always sufficiently rich to be above the temp- 
 tation of becoming a traitor. 
 
 The place of viceroy of the Turkish empire is 
 so illustrious, and the profits annexed to it, in 
 time of war, so immense, there was such a pro- 
 fusion of every thing necessary, and even luxuri- 
 oas, in the camp of Baltagi Mahomet, and, on 
 the other hand, so much poverty and distress in 
 that of the czar, that surely the grand vizier was 
 rather in a condition to give than to receive. Tht 
 trifling present of a woman, who had nothing tc 
 send but a few skins and some jewels, in com- 
 pliance with the established custom of all courts, 
 or rather those in particular of the East, can 
 never be considered in the light of a bribe. The 
 frank and open conduct of Baltagi Mahomet 
 seems at once to give the lie to the black accu- 
 sations with which so many writers have stained 
 their relations. Vice chancellor Shaffiroflfpaid 
 the vizier a public visit in his tent :' every thing 
 was transacted in the most open mantier, on 
 both sides ; and indeed it could not be other- 
 wise. The very first article of the negotiation 
 was entered upon in the presence of a person 
 wholly devoted to the king of Sweden, a do- 
 mestic of count Poniatowsky, who was himself 
 one of that monarch's generals. This man served 
 as an interpreter, and the several articles were 
 publicly reduced to writing by the vizier's chief 
 secretary, Hummer EfFendi. Moreover, count Po- 
 niatowsky was there in person. The present sent 
 to the kiaia was offered probably in form, and 
 every thing was transacted agreeable to the ori- 
 ental customs. Other presents were made by the 
 Turks in return : so that there was not the least
 
 PETER THE GREAT. 211 
 
 appearance of treachery or contrivance. The mo- 
 tives which determined the vizier to consent to the 
 proposals offered him, were, first that the body of 
 troops under the command of general Renne, on 
 the borders of the river Sireth, in Moldavia, had 
 already crossed three rivers, and were actually 
 in the neighbourhood of the Danube, where Renne 
 had already made himself master of the town and 
 castle of Brahila, defended by a numerous gar- 
 rison, under the command of a basha. Secondly, 
 the czar had likewise another body of troops ad- 
 vancing through the frontiers of Poland ; and, 
 lastly, it is more than probable that the vizier was 
 not fully acquainted with the extreme scarcity 
 that was felt in the Russian camp. One enemy 
 seldom furnishes another with an exact account 
 of his provisions and ammunition ; on the con- 
 trary, either side are accustomed rather to make 
 a parade of plenty, even at a time when they are 
 in the greatest necessity. There can be no arti- 
 fices practised to gain intelligence of the true 
 state of an adversaiy's affairs, by means of spies, 
 between the Turks and the Russians. The dif- 
 ference of their dress, of their religion, and of 
 their language, will not permit it. i'hey are, 
 moreover, strangers to that desertion which pre- 
 vails in most of our armies ; and, consequently, 
 the grand vizier could not be supposed to know 
 the desperate condition to which the czar's army 
 was reduced. 
 
 Baltagi, who was not fond of war, and who, 
 nevertheless, had conducted this very well, 
 thought that his expedition would be sufficiently 
 successful, if he put his master in possession of 
 the towns and harbours which made the subject 
 of the war, stopt the progress of the victorious 
 army under Uenne, and obliged that general to 
 qmt the banks of the Danube, and return back
 
 212 HISTORY OF 
 
 into Russia, and for ever shut the entrance of the 
 Falus Mffiotis, the Cimmerian Bosphorus, and 
 the Black Sea, against an enterprising- prince ; 
 and, lastly, if he avoided taking these certain 
 advantages, on the hazard of a new battle (in 
 which, after aM, despair might have got the bet- 
 ter of superiority of numbers). The preceding 
 day only he had beheld his janissaries repulsed 
 with loss ; and there wanted not examples ol 
 many victories having been gained by the weaker 
 over the strong. Such then were Mahomet's 
 reasons for accepting the proposals of peace. 
 His conduct, however, did not merit the appro- 
 bation of Charles's officers, who served in the 
 Turkish army, nor of the khan of Tartary. It 
 was the interest of the latter, and his followers, 
 to reject all terms of accommodation which would 
 deprive them of the opportunity of ravaging the 
 frontiers of Russia and Poland. Charles XIL 
 desired to be revenged on his rival, the czar : 
 but the general, and the tirst mihister of the Ot- 
 toman empire, was neither influenced by the pri- 
 vate thirst of revenge, which animated the Chris- 
 tian monarch, nor by the desire of booty, which 
 actuated the Tartar chief. 
 
 As soon as the suspension of arms was agreed 
 to, and signed, the Russians purchased of the 
 Turks the provisions, of which they stood in 
 need. The articles of the peace were not ^signed 
 at that time, as is related by La Motraye, and 
 which Norberg has copied from him. The vizier, 
 among other conditions, demanded that the czar 
 should promise not to interfere any more in the 
 Polish affairs. This was a point particularly in- 
 sisted upon by count Poniatowsky ; but it was, 
 in fact, the interest of the Ottoman crown, thai 
 the kingdom of Poland should continue in its 
 then defenceless and divided state j accoidingly
 
 PETER THE GREAT. 213 
 
 this demand was reduced to tliat of the Russian 
 troops evacuating the frontiers of Poland. The 
 khan of Tartary, on his side, demanded a tribute 
 of forty thousand sequins. This point, after 
 being long debated, was at length given up. 
 
 The grand vizier insisted a long time, that 
 prince Cantemir should be delivered up to him, 
 as Patkul had been to the king of Sweden. Can- 
 temir was exactly in the same situation as Ma- 
 zeppa had been. ihe czar caused that hetman 
 to be arraigned and tried for his defection, and 
 afterwards to be executed in effigy. The Turks 
 were not acquainted with the nature of such pro- 
 ceeding ; they knew nothing of trials for contu- 
 macy, nor of public condemnations. The affixing 
 a sentence on any person, and executing him in 
 effigy, were the more unusual amongst them, as 
 their law forbids the representation of any human 
 ikeness whatever. The vizier in vain insisted 
 on Cantemir's being delivered up ; Peter pe- 
 remptorily refused to comply, and wrote the fol- 
 lowing letter with his own hand, to his vice-chan- 
 cellor Shaffiroff. 
 
 ' I can resign to the Turks all the country, as 
 far as Carlzka, because 1 have hopes of being able 
 to recover it again ; but 1 will, by no means, vio- 
 late my faith, which, once forfeited, can never be 
 retrieved. I have nothing I can properly call 
 my own, but my honour, if 1 give up that, I 
 cease to be longer a king.' 
 
 At length the treaty was concluded, and signed, 
 at a village called Falksen, on the river Pruth. 
 Among other things, it was stipulated, that .-Vzoph, 
 and the territories belongi:ig thereto, should be 
 restored, together witli all the ammunition and 
 artillery that were in the place, before the czar 
 made himself master thereof, in 1596. That the 
 harbour of Taganroc, in the Zabach Sea, should
 
 814 HISTORY OF 
 
 be demolished, as also that of Samara, on the 
 river of the same name ; and several other for- 
 tresses. There was likewise another article 
 added, respecting the king of Sweden, wl)ich ar- 
 ticle alone, sufficiently shews the little regard the 
 vizier had for that prince ; for it was therein 
 stipulated, that the czar should not molest Charles, 
 in his return to his dominions, and that after- 
 wards the czar and he might make peace with 
 the other, if they were so inclined. 
 
 It is pretty evident by the wording of this ex- 
 traordinary article, that Baltagi .Mahomet had 
 not forgot the haughty manner in which Charles 
 XII. had behaved to him a short time before, and 
 it is not unlikely that this very behaviour of the 
 king of Sweden might have been one inducement 
 with Mahomet to comply so readily with his ri- 
 val's proposals for peace. Charles's glory de- 
 pended wholly on the ruin of the czar : but we 
 are seldom inclinable to exalt those who express 
 a contempt for us : however, this prince, who 
 refused the vizier a visit in his camp, on his in- 
 vitation, when it was certainly his interest to have 
 been upon good terms with him, now came thither 
 in haste and unasked, when the work which put 
 an end to all his hopes was on the point of being 
 concluded. The vizier did not go to meet 
 him in person, but contented himself with send- 
 ing two of his bashas , nor would he stir out of 
 his tent, till Charles was within a few paces of 
 him. 
 
 This interview passed, as every one knows, 
 in mutual reproaches. Several historians have 
 thouglit, that the answer which the vizier made to 
 the king of Sweden, when that prince reproached 
 him with not making the czar prisoner, when he 
 might h.ave done it so easily, was the reply of a 
 weak man. * If I had taken him prisoner,' said
 
 PETER THE GREAT. 215 
 
 Mahomet, ' who would there be to govern hi» 
 domiuions V 
 
 It is very easy, however, to comprehend, that 
 this was the answer of a mau who was piqued 
 with resentment, and these words which he added 
 — ' For it is not proper that every crowned head 
 should quit his dominions' — sufficiently shewed 
 that he intended to mortify the refugee of Bender. 
 
 Charles gained nothing by his journey, but the 
 pleasure of tearing the vizier's robe with his spurs; 
 while that officer, who was in a condition to make 
 him repent this splenetic insult, seemed not to 
 notice it, in which he was certainly greatly su- 
 perior to Charles. If any thing could have mad'e 
 that monarch sensible, in the midst of his life, 
 how easily fortune can put greatness to tlie blush, 
 it would have been the reflection, that at the bat- 
 tle of Pultowa, a pastry-cook's boy had obliged 
 his whole army to surrender at discretion ; and 
 iu this of Pruth a wood-cutter was the arbiter of 
 his fate, and that of his rival the czar : for the 
 vizier, Baltagi Mahomet, had been a cutter of 
 wood in tiie grand seignior's seraglio, as his name 
 implied ; and, far from being ashamed of that 
 title, he gloried in it : so much do the manners 
 of the eastern people differ from ours. 
 
 When the news of this treaty reached Constan- 
 tinople, the grand seignior was so well pleased, 
 that he ordered public rejoicings to be made for 
 a whole week, and Mahomet, the kiaia, or lieu- 
 tenant general, who brought the tidiniis to the 
 divan, was instantly raised to the dignity of bou- 
 iouk imraour, or master of the horse : a certain 
 proof that the sultan did not think himself ill 
 perved by his vizier. 
 
 Norberg seems to have known very little of the 
 Turkish government, when he says, that ' the 
 grand ueignior was obliged to keep fair with
 
 216 HISTORY OF 
 
 Baltagi ISIahomet, that vizier having rendered 
 himself formidable.' The janissaries indeed have 
 often rendered themselves formidable to their 
 sultans ; but there is not one example of a vizier, 
 who has not been easily sacrificed to the will or 
 orders of his sovereign, and Mahomet was in no 
 condition to support himself by his own power. 
 Besides, Norberg manifestly contradicts himself, 
 by affirming in the same page, that the janissaries 
 were irritated against INIahomet, and that the 
 sultan stood in dread of his power. 
 
 The king of Sweden was now reduced to the 
 necessity of forming cabals in the Ottoman court ; 
 and a monarch, who had so lately made kings by 
 his own power, was now seen waiting for audi- 
 ence, and offering memorials and petitions which 
 were refused. 
 
 Charles ran through all the ambages of intrigue, 
 like a subject who endeavours to make a minister 
 suspected by his master. In this manner he 
 acted against Mahomet, and against those who 
 succeeded him. At one time he addressed him- 
 self to the sultana Valide by means of a Jewess, 
 who had admission into the seraglio ; at another, 
 he employed one of the eunuchs for the same 
 purpose. At length he had recourse to a man 
 who was to mingle among the grand seignior's 
 guards, and, by counterfeiting a person out of his 
 senses, to attract the attention of the sultan, and 
 by that means deliver into his own hand a me- 
 morial from Charles. From all these various 
 schemes, the king of Sweden drew only the 
 mortification of seeing himself deprived of his 
 thaim ; that is to say, of the daily pension which 
 the Porte of its generosity had assigned him for 
 his subsistence, and which amounted to about one 
 tfaoosaud five hundred French livres.* The grand 
 • About seventy pounds sterling.
 
 PETER THE GREAT. 217 
 
 viiier, instead of remitting this allowance to him 
 a« usual, sent him an order, in the form of a friendiy 
 advice, to quit the grand seignior's dominions. 
 
 Charles, however, was absolutely determined 
 not to depart, still flattering himself with the vain 
 hope, that he should once more re-enter Poland 
 and Russia with a powerful army of Turks. Every 
 one knows what was the issue of his inflexible 
 boldness in the year 1714, and how he engaged 
 an army of janissaries, Spahis, and Tartars, with 
 only himself, his secretaries, his valet de chambre, 
 cook, and stable men ; ihat he was taken prisoner 
 in that country, where he had been treated with 
 the greatest hospitality ; and that he at length got 
 back to his own kingdom in the disguise of a 
 courier, after having lived five years in 1 urkey : 
 from all whirh it remains to be acknow edged, 
 that if there was reason in the conduct of thia 
 extraordinary prince, it was a reason of a yery 
 different nature to that of other men.
 
 THB 
 
 HISTORY 
 
 PETER THE GREAT, 
 
 EMPEROR OF RUSSIA. 
 
 fROM THE FRENCH OF VOLTAIRI. 
 
 BY SMOLLETT. 
 
 VOL. II 
 
 NEW YORK: 
 LEAVITT & ALLEN 
 
 379 BROADWAY. 
 
 1857.
 
 THE 
 
 HISTORV 
 
 OF 
 
 PETER THE GREAT. 
 
 CHAP. XXL 
 
 Conclusion of the Affairs of Pruth. 
 
 TT is necessary in this place to repeat an 
 event already related in the History of 
 Charles XH. It happened during the suspen 
 sion of arms which preceded the treaty of 
 Pruth, that two Tartarian soldiers surprised 
 and took prisoners two Italian officers belong- 
 ing to the czar's army, and sold them to an 
 officer of the Turkish janissaries. The vizier 
 being informed of this breach of public faith, 
 punished the two Tartars with death. How are 
 we to reconcile this severe delicacy with the 
 violation of the law of nations in the person of 
 Tolstoy, the czar's ambassador, whom this very
 
 218 HISTORY OF 
 
 vizier caused to be arrested iu the streets of Con- 
 stantinople, and afterwards imprisoned in the 
 CJistle of the Seven Towers 1 There is always 
 some reason for the contradictions we find in the 
 actions of mankind. Baltagi Mahomet was in- 
 censed against the khan of Tartary, for havin>j 
 opposed the peace he had lately made, and was 
 resolved to shew that chieftain that he was hi* 
 master. 
 
 The treaty was no sooner concluded, than the 
 czar quitted the borders of the Pruth, and returned 
 towards his o-wn dominions, followed by a body 
 of eight thousand Turks, whom the vizier had sent 
 as an army of observation to watch the motions 
 of the Russian army during its march, and also 
 to serve as an escort or safeguard to them against 
 the wandering Tartars which infested those parts. 
 
 Peter instantly set about accomplishing the 
 treaty, by demolishing the fortresses of Samara 
 and Kamienska ; but the restoring of Azoph, and 
 the demolition of the port of Taganroc, met with 
 some difficulties in the execution. According to 
 the terms of the treaty it was necessary to dis- 
 tinguish the artillery and ammunition which be- 
 longed to the Turks in Azoph before that place 
 was taken by the czar, from those which had 
 been sent thither after it fell into his hands. The 
 governor of the place spun out this affair to a 
 tedious length, at which the Porte was greatly 
 incensed, and not without reason : the sultan was 
 impatient to receive the keys of Azoph. The 
 vizier promised they should be sent from time to 
 time, but the governor always found means to 
 delay the delivery of them. Baltagi Mahomet 
 lost the good graces of his master, and with them 
 his place. The khan of Tartary and his other 
 enemies made such good use of their interest with 
 the sultan, that the grand vizier was deposed,
 
 PETER THE GREAT. 219 
 
 •everal bashaswere disgraced at the same time ; 
 but the grand seignior, well convinced of thia 
 minister's fidelity, did not deprive him either of 
 his life or estate, but only sent him to IMytilene 
 to take on him the command of that island. This 
 simple removal from the helm of afiFairs (Nov, 
 1711,), and the continuing to him his fortunes, 
 and above all the giving him the command in 
 Mytilene, sufficiently contradicts all that Norberg 
 has advanced, to induce us to believe that this 
 vizier had been corrupted with the czar's money. 
 Norberg asserts furthermore, that the Bostangi 
 basha, who came to divest him of his office, and 
 to acquaint him of the grand seignior's sentence, 
 declared him at the same time, ' a traitor, one 
 who had disobeyed the orders of his sovereign 
 lord, had sold himself to the enemy for money, 
 and was foand guilty of not having taken proper 
 care of the interests of the king of Sweden.' In 
 the first place, this kind of declarations are not 
 at all in use in Turkey : the orders of the grand 
 seignior always being issued privately, and exe- 
 cuted with secresy. Secondly, if the vizier had 
 been declared a traitor, a rebel, and a corrupted 
 person, crimes of this nature would have been 
 instantly punished with death in a country where 
 they are never forgiven. Lastly, if he was punish- 
 able for not having sufficiently attended to the 
 interests of the king of Sweden, it is evident that 
 this prince must have had such a degree of in- 
 fluence at the Ottoman Porte, as to have made 
 the other ministers to tremble, who would con- 
 sequently have endeavoured to gain his good 
 graces ; whereas, on the contrary, the hasha 
 Jussuf, aga of the janissaries, who succeeded 
 Mahomet Baltagi as grand vizier, had the same 
 sentiments as his predecessor, in relation to 
 Charles's conduct, and was so far from doing him
 
 220 HISTORY OF 
 
 any service that be thought of nothing but bow 
 to get rid of so dangerous a guest ; and when 
 count Poniatowsky, the companion and confidant 
 of that monarcii, went to compliment the vizief 
 on bis new dignity, the latter spoke to him thus . 
 * Pagan, I forewarn thee, that if ever 1 find thee 
 batching any intrigues, I will, upon the first notice, 
 cause thee to be thrown into the sea with a stone 
 about thy neck.' 
 
 This compliment count Poniatowsky himself 
 relates in the memoirs which he drew up at my 
 request, and is a sufiicieut proof of the little in- 
 fluence his master had in the Turkish court. All 
 that Norberg has related touching the aflfairs of 
 that empire, appear to come fiom a prejudiced 
 person, and one who was very ill informed of the 
 circumstances he pretends to write about. And 
 we may count among the errors of a party-spirit 
 and political falsehood^, every thing which this 
 writer advances unsupported bv proofs, concern- 
 ing the pretended corruption of a grand vizier, 
 that is, of a person who had the disposal of up 
 wards of sixty millions per annum, without being 
 subject to the least account.* I have now be- 
 fore me the letter which count Poniatowsky wrote 
 to King Stanislaus immediately after the signing 
 the treaty of Pruth, in which he upbraids Bal- 
 tagi IMahomet with the slight he shewed to the 
 king of Sweden, bis dislike to the war, and the 
 unsteadiness of bis temper ; but never once hints 
 the least charge of corruption : for he knew too 
 well what the place of grand vizier was, to enter- 
 tam an idea, that the czar was capable of setting 
 a pnce upon the infidelity of the second person 
 in the Ottoman empire. 
 
 Schaffirow and Sheremeto, who remained at 
 
 * French money, which is always counted by livrea 
 and makes about three millions sterling.
 
 PETER THE GREAT. 221 
 
 CouBtantinopIe as hostages on the part of the era? 
 for his jie-formance of the treaty, were not used 
 in the nianner they would have been if known to 
 have purchased this peace, and to have joined 
 with the vizier in deceiving his master. They 
 were left to go at liberty about the city, escorted 
 by two companies of janissaries. 
 
 The czar's ambassador Tolstoy having been re- 
 leased from his confinement in the Seven lowers, 
 immediately upon the signing of the treaty of 
 Pruth, the Dutch and English ministers inter- 
 posed with the new vizier to see the several arti- 
 cles of that treaty put into execution. 
 
 Azoph was at length restored to the Turks, and 
 the fortresses mentioned in the treaty were de- 
 molished according to stipulation. And now the 
 Ottoman Porte, though very little inclinable to 
 interfere in the differences between Christian 
 princes, could not without vanity behold himself 
 made arbitrator between Russia, Poland, and the 
 king of Sweden ;and insisted that the czar should 
 withdraw his troops out of Poland, and deliver 
 the Turkish empire from so dangerous a neigh- 
 bour; and, desirous that the Christian princes 
 might continually be at war with each other, 
 wished for nothing so much as to send Charles 
 home to his own dominions, but all this while 
 had not the least intention of fumisliing him with 
 an army. 1 he Tartars were still for war, as an 
 artificer is willing to seize every opportunity to 
 exercise his calling. The janissaries likewise 
 wished to be called into the field, but more out 
 of hatred against the Christians, their naturally 
 restless disposition, and from a fondness for ra- 
 pine and licentiousness, than from any other 
 motives. Nevertheless, the English and Dutch 
 ministers managed their negotiations so well, 
 tha^. they prevailed over the opposite party : the
 
 99S HISTORY OF 
 
 treaty of Pruth was confirmed, but with the atl- 
 dition of a new article, by which it was stipulated 
 that the czar should withdraw his forces from 
 Poland within three months, and that tlie sultan 
 should immediately send Charles XII. out of his 
 dominions. 
 
 We may judge from this new treaty whethei 
 the king of Sweden hu.d that interest at the Porto 
 ■which some writers would have us to believe. 
 He was evidently sacrificed on this occasion bj 
 the new vizier, basha Jussuf, as he had been be- 
 fore by Baltagi Mahomet. The historians of his 
 party could find no other expedient to colour over 
 this fresh affront, but that of accusing Jussuf of 
 having been bribed like his predecessor. Such 
 repeated imputations, unsupported by any proofs, 
 are rather the clamours of an impotent cabal, 
 than the testimonies of history ; but faction, 
 Twhen driven to acknowledge facts, will ever be 
 endeavouring to alter circumstances and motives ; 
 and, unhappily, it is thus that all the histories of 
 our times will be handed down to posterity so 
 altered, that they will be unable to distinguish 
 truth from falsehoods. 
 
 CHAP. xxn. 
 
 Marriage of the czarowitz. — The marriage of Pet«r and 
 Catherine publicly Bolemnized. — Catherine Qndi her 
 brother. 
 
 n^HIS unsuccessful campaign of Pruth proved 
 more hurtful to the czar than ever the battle 
 of Narva was ; for after that defeat he had found 
 means not only to retrieve his losses, but also to 
 wrest Ingria out of the hands of Charles XII. ; 
 but by the treaty of Falksten, in which he con* 
 sented to give up to the sultan his forts and bar*
 
 PETER THE GREAT. 223 
 
 boars on the Palus Maiotis Le for ever lost his 
 projected superiority in the Black Sea. He had 
 besides an infinite deal of work on his hands ; 
 his new establishments in Russia were to be per- 
 fected, he had to prosecute his victories over the 
 Swedes, to settle king Augustus firmly on the 
 Polish throne, and to manage affairs properly 
 with the several powers with whom he was in 
 alliance ; but the fatigues he had undergone 
 having impaired his health, he was obliged to go 
 to Carlsbad* to drink the waters of that place. 
 While he was there he gave orders for his troops 
 to enter Pomerania, who blockaded Stralsund, 
 and took five other towns in the neighbourhood. 
 
 Pomerania is the most northern province of 
 Germany, bounded on the east bj Prussia and 
 Poland, on the west by Brandenburg, on the 
 south by INIecklenburg, and on the north by the 
 Baltic Sea. It has changed masters almost 
 every century : Gustavus Adolphus get posses- 
 sion of it in his famous thirty years war, and it 
 was afterwards solemnly ceded to the crown of 
 Sweden by the treaty of Westphalia: with a re- 
 servation of the little bishopric of Camin, and a 
 few other small towns lying in Upper Pomerania. 
 The whole of this province properly belongs to 
 the elector of Brandenburg, in virtue of a family 
 compact made with the dukes of Pomerania, 
 whose family being extinct in 1637, consequently 
 by the laws of the empire the house of Branden- 
 burg had an undoubted right to the succession; 
 bat necessity, the first of all laws, occasioned 
 this family compact to be set aside by the treaty 
 of Osnaburg ; after which, almost the whole of 
 Pomerania fell to the lot of the victorious Swedes, 
 
 The czar's intention was to wrest from Sweden 
 
 * A town io Bohemia famoo« for iu mineral tprlog*
 
 M4 HISTORY OF 
 
 Jtll the provinces that crown was possessed of 
 in Germany ; and, in order to accomplish hifl 
 design, be found it necessary to enter into a 
 confederacy with the electors of Hanover and 
 Brandenbarg, and the king of Denmark. Peter 
 drew up the several articles of the treaty he 
 projected with these powers, and also a com- 
 plete plan of the necessary operations for ren- 
 dering him master of Pomerania. 
 
 In the meanwhile he went to Torgau, to be 
 present at the nuptials of his son the czarowitx 
 Alexis with the princess of Wolfenbuttel (Oct. 
 23, 1711.), sister to the consort of Charles VI. 
 emperor of Germany ; nuptials which, in the 
 end, proved fatal to his own peace of mind, and 
 to the lives of the unfortunate pair. 
 
 The czarowitz was born of the first marriage 
 of Peter the Great to Eudocia Lapoukin, to whom 
 he was espoused in 1689: she was at that time 
 shut up in the monastery of i^usdal; their son 
 Alexis Petrowitz, who was born the 1st of 
 March, 1690, was now in his tweaty-second 
 year: this prince was not then at all known ia 
 Europe ; a minister, whose memoirs of the court 
 of Russia have been printed, says in a letter he 
 writes to his master, dated August 2.j, 1711, 
 that ' this prince was tall and well made, re- 
 sembled his father greatly, was of an excellent 
 disposition, very pious, had read the Bible five 
 times over, took great delight in the ancient 
 Green historians, appeared to have a very quick 
 apprehension and understauding, was well ac- 
 quainted with the mathematics, the art of war, 
 navigation, and hydraulics •, that he understood 
 the German language, and was then learning 
 the French, but that his father would never suffer 
 him to go through a regular course of study.' 
 
 Thie character h very differen* frcrm tf.i'
 
 PETER THE GREAT. 225 
 
 which the czar himself gives of his son some time 
 afterwards, in which we shall see with how mucli 
 grief he reproaches him with faults directly op- 
 posite to those good qualities, for which this 
 minister seems so much to admire him. 
 
 We must leave posterity, therefore, to deter- 
 mine between the testimony of a stranger, who 
 may have formed too slight a judgment, and the 
 declaration of a parent, who thought himself 
 under a necessity of sacrificing the dictates of 
 nature to the good of his people. If the minister 
 was no better acquainted with the disposition of 
 Alexis than he seems to have been with his out- 
 ward form, his evidence will have but little 
 weight; for ho describes this prince as tall and 
 well made, whereas the memoirs sent me from 
 Petersburg say, that he was neither the one nor 
 the other. 
 
 His mother-in-law, Catherine, was not pre- 
 sent at his nuptials ; for though she was already 
 looked upon as czarina, yet she had not been 
 publicly acknowledged as such : and moreover, 
 as she had only the title of highness given her 
 at the czar's court, her rank was not sufficiently 
 settled to admit of her signing the contract, or to 
 appear at the ceremony in a station befitting the 
 consort of Peter the Great. She therefore re 
 mained at Thorn in Polish Prussia. Soon after 
 the nuptials were celebrated, the czar sent the 
 new-married couple away to VVolfenbuttel (Jan. 
 9, 171'2), and brought back the czarina to Pe- 
 tersburg with that dispatch and privacy which 
 he observed in all his journies. 
 
 Feb. 19, 1711'.] Having now disposed of his 
 son, he publicly solemnized his own nuptials 
 with Catherine, which had been declared in pri- 
 vate before. This ceremony was performed with 
 as much magnificence as could be expected in a 
 K 2
 
 2*6 HISTORY OF 
 
 city but yet in its infancy, and from a revennc 
 exhausted by the late destructive war against 
 the Turks, and that which he was still engaged 
 in against the king of Sweden. The czar gave 
 orders for, and assisted himself in, all the prepa- 
 rations for the ceremony, according to the usual 
 custom ; and Catherine was now publicly de- 
 clared czarina, in reward for having saved ber 
 husband and his whole army. 
 
 The acclamations with which this declaratioa 
 was received at Petersburg were sincere : the 
 applauses which subjects confer on the actions 
 of a despotic sovereign are generally suspected ; 
 but on this occasion they were confirmed by the 
 united voice of all the thinking part of Europe, 
 who beheld with pleasure, on the one hand, the 
 heir of a vast monarchy with no other glory than 
 that of his birth, married to a petty princess ; 
 and, on the other hand, a powerful conqueror, 
 and a law-giver, publicly sharing his bed and his 
 throne with a stranger and a captive, who had 
 nothing to recommend her but her merit : and 
 this approbation became more general as the 
 minds of men grew more enlightened by that 
 sound philosophy, which has made so great a 
 progress in our understandings within these last 
 forty years : a philosophy, equally sublime and 
 discerning, which teaches us to pay only tlie 
 exterior respect to greatness and authority, whil»- 
 we reserve our esteem and veneration for shining 
 talents and meritorious services. 
 
 And here I think myself under an obligation 
 to relate what I have met touching this marriage 
 in the dispatches of count Bassewitz.aulic coun- 
 sellor at Vienna, and long time minister from 
 Holstein at tl.e court of Russia ; a person of great 
 merit, and whose memory is still held in the 
 highest esteem in Germany. In some of hi?
 
 PETER THE GREAT. 227 
 
 letters he speaks thus : ' The czarina had not 
 only been the main instrument of procuring the 
 czar that reputation which he enjoyed, but was 
 likewise essentially necessary in the preservation 
 of his life. This prince was unhappily subject to 
 violent convulsion fits, which were thought to 
 be the effects of poison which had been given 
 him while he was young. Catherine alone had 
 found the secret of alleviating his sufi'crings by 
 an unwearied assiduity and atteiaion lo what- 
 ever she thought would please liira, and made it 
 the whole study of her life to preserve a health 
 30 valuable to the kingdom and to herself, inso- 
 much, that the c^ar finding he could not live 
 without her, made her the companion of his 
 throne and bed.' I here only repeat the express 
 words of the writer himself. 
 
 Fortune, which has furnished us with many 
 extraordinary scenes in this part of the world, 
 and who had raised Catherine from the lowest 
 abyss of misery and distress to the pinnacle of 
 humaa grandeur, wrought another extraordinary 
 incident in her favour some few years after hei 
 marriage with the czar, and which I find thus 
 related in a curious manuscript of a person who 
 was ut that time in the czar's service, and who 
 speaks of it as a thing to which he was eye- 
 witness. 
 
 An envoy from king Augustus to the court of 
 Peter the Great, being on his return home 
 through Courland, and having put up at an inn 
 by the way, heard the voice of a person who 
 seemed in great distress, and whom the people 
 of the house were treating in that insulting 
 manner which is but too common on such occa- 
 sions : the stranger, with a tone of resentment^ 
 made answer, that they would not dare to use 
 Lim thus, if he could but odco get to the speech
 
 SS8 HISTORY OF 
 
 of the czar, at whose court he had perhaps more 
 powerful protectors than they imagined. 
 
 The envoy, upon hearing this, had a curiosity 
 to a&k tlie man some questions, and, from cer- 
 tain answers he let fail, and a close examination 
 of his face, he thought he found in him some re- 
 semblance of the empress Catherine ; and, wheu 
 he came to Dresden, he could not forbear writing 
 to one of his friends at Petersburg concerning it. 
 This letter, by accident, came to the czar's 
 hands, who immediately sent an order to prince 
 Repnin, then governor of Riga, to endeavour to 
 find out the person mentioned in the letter. 
 Prince Repnin immediately dispatched a mes- 
 senger to Mittau, in Courland, who, on inquiry, 
 found out the man, and learned that his name 
 was Charles Scavronsky; that he was the son of 
 a Lithuanian gentleman, who had been killed in 
 the wars of Poland, and had left two children 
 then in the cradlo, a boy and a girl, who had 
 neither of them received any other education than 
 that which .simple nature gives to those who are 
 abandoned by the world. Scavronsky, who had 
 been parted from his sister while they were both 
 infants, knew nothing further of her than that 
 she had been taken prisoner in Marienburg, 
 in the year 1704, and supposed her to be still in 
 the household of prince Menzikoff, where he ima- 
 gined she might have made some little fortune. 
 
 Prince Repnin, agreeable to the particular 
 orders he had received from the czar, caused 
 Scavronsky to be seized, and conducted to Riga, 
 under pretence of some crime laid to his charge ; 
 and, to give a better colour to the matter, at his 
 arrival there, a sh.ira information was drawn up 
 against him, and he was soon after sent from 
 thence to Petersburg, under a strong guard, with 
 orders to treat him well upon the road.
 
 PETER THE GREAT. 229 
 
 When he cama to that capital, he was carried 
 • to the house of an officer of the emperor's palace, 
 named Shepleff, who, having been previously 
 instructed in the part he was to play, drew se- 
 veral circumstances from the young man in re- 
 lation to his condition ; and, after some time, 
 told him, that although the information, which 
 had been sent up from Riga against him, was of 
 a very serious nature, yet he would have justice 
 done him ; but that it would be necessary to pre- 
 sent a petition to bis majesty for that purpose ; 
 that one should accordingly be drawn up in his 
 name, and that he (Shepleff) would find means 
 that he should deliver it into the czar's own 
 hands. 
 
 The next day the czarcame to dine with Shep- 
 leff, at his own house, who presented Scavronsky 
 to him ; when his majesty, after asking him 
 abundance of questions was convinced, by the 
 natural answers he gave, that he was really the 
 czarina's brother ; they had both lived in Livonia, 
 when young, and the czar found every thing that 
 Scavronsky said to him, in relation to his family 
 affairs, tally exactly with what his wife had told 
 him concerning her brother, and the misfortunes 
 which had befallen her and her brother in the 
 earlier part of their lives. 
 
 The czar, now satisfied of the truth, proposed 
 the next day to the empress to go and dine with 
 him at Shepleff's ; and, when dinner was over, 
 he gave orders that the man, whom he had ex- 
 mained the day before, should be brought in again. 
 Accordin^'Iy he was introduced, dressed in the 
 pame clothes he had wore while on his journey 
 to Riga; the czar not being willing that he 
 should ajtpear in any other garb than what his 
 unhappy circumstances had accustomed him to. 
 
 He interrogated him again, in the presence of
 
 U30 HISTORY OF 
 
 his wife ; and the MS. adds, tbat, at the end, 
 he turned about to the empress, and said these 
 very words : — ' This man is your brother ; come 
 hither, Charles, and kiss the hand of the empress, 
 and embrace your sister.* 
 
 The author of this narrative adds further, that 
 the empress fainted away with surprise ; and 
 that, when she came to herself again, the czar 
 said, ' There is nothing in this but what is very 
 natural. This gentlemen is my brother in-law ; 
 if he has merit, we will make something of him ; 
 if he has not, we must leave him as he is.' 
 
 I am of opinion, that this speech shews as 
 much greatness as simplicity, and a greatness not 
 very common. My author says, that Scavronsky 
 remained a considerable time at Sheplefl~s house ; 
 that the czar assigned him a handsome pension, 
 but that he led a very retired life. He carries his 
 relation of this adventure no farther, as he made 
 use of it only to disclose the secret of Catherine's 
 brother : but we know, from other authorities, 
 that this gentleman was afterwards created a 
 count ; that he married a young lady of quality, 
 by whom he had two daughters, who were mar- 
 ried to two of the principal noblemen in Russia. 
 I leave to those, who may be better informed of 
 the particulars, to distinguish what is fact in this 
 relation, from what may have been added ; and 
 shall only say, that the author does not seem to 
 have told this story out of a fondness for enter- 
 taining his readers with the marvellous, since his 
 papers were not intended to be published. He 
 is writing freely to a friend, abouta thing of which 
 he says he was an eye-witness. He may have 
 been mistaken in some circumstances, but the 
 fact itself has all the appearance of truth ; for 
 if this gentleman had kr-iown that his sister was 
 raised to so great dignity and power, he would
 
 PETER THE GREAT. 231 
 
 not certuinly have remained so many years with- 
 out having made himself known to her. And 
 this discovery, however extraordinary it may 
 seem, is certainly not more so than the exalta- 
 tion of Catherine herself; and both the one and 
 the other are striking proofs of the force of des- 
 tiny, and may teach us to be cautious how we 
 treat as fabulous several events of antiquity, 
 •which perhaps are less contradictory to the com- 
 mon order of things, than the adventures of this 
 empress. 
 
 The rejoicings made by the czar Peter for his 
 own marriage, and that of his son, were not of 
 the nature of those transient amusements which 
 exhaust the public treasure, and are presently 
 lost in oblivion. He completed his grand foundry 
 for cannon, and finished the admiralty buildings. 
 The highways were repaired, several ships built, 
 and others put upon the stocks ; new canals were 
 dug, and the finishing hand put to the grand 
 warehouses, and other public buildings, and the 
 trade of Petersburg began to assume a flourishing 
 face. He issued an ordinance for removing the 
 senate from Moscow to Petersburg, which was 
 executed in the month of April, 1712. By this 
 step he made liis new city the capital of the em- 
 pire, and early he employed a number of Swedish 
 prisoners in beautifying this city, whose foun- 
 dation had been laid upon their defeat. 
 
 CHAP. XXIII. 
 
 Taking of Stetin. — De8cent upon Fialaod. - -Event 
 of the year 1712. i 
 
 TDKTFR, now seeing himself happy in his own 
 
 family, and in his state, and successful in his 
 
 war against Charles XII. and in the several ne-
 
 232 HISTORY OF 
 
 gotiations which he had entered into with other 
 powers, who were resolved to assist him in driv- 
 ing out the Swedes from the continent, and coop- 
 ing them up for ever within the narrow isthmus 
 of Scandinavia, began to turn his views entirely 
 towards the north-west coasts of Kurope, not 
 laying aside all thoughts of the Palus iMjeotis, or 
 Black Sea. The keys of Azoph, which had been 
 so long withheld from the basha, who was to 
 have taken possession of that place for the sultan, 
 his master, were now given up ; and, notwith- 
 standing all the endeavours of the king of 
 Sweden, the intrigues of his friends at the Otto- 
 man Porte, and even some menaces of a new 
 war on the part of the Turks, both that nation 
 and the Russian empire continued at peace. 
 
 Charles XII. still obstinate in his resolution 
 not to depart from Bender, tamely submitted his 
 hopes and fortunes to tke caprice of a grand 
 vizier ; while the czar was threatening all his 
 provinces, arming against him the king of Den- 
 mark, and the elector of Hanover, and had al- 
 most persuaded th« king of Prussia, and even 
 the Poles and Saxons, to declare openly for 
 him. 
 
 Charles, ever of the same inflexible disposi- 
 tion, behaved in the like manner towards his 
 enemies, who now seemed united to overwhelm 
 him, as he had done in all his transactions with 
 the Ottoman Porte ; and, from his lurking-place 
 in the deserts of Bessarabia, defied the czar, the 
 kings of Poland, Denmark, and Prussia, the 
 elector of Hanover (soon afterwards king of 
 England), and the emperor of Germany, whom 
 he had so greatly offended, when he was travers- 
 ing Silesia with his victorious troops, and who 
 now shewed his resentment, by abandoning him 
 to bis ill fortune, and refused to take under hia
 
 PETER THE GREAT. 233 
 
 protection any of those countries, which as yeC. 
 belonged to the Swedes in Germany. 
 
 1711:!.] It would have been no difficult matter 
 for him to have broken the league which wai 
 forming against him, would he have consented ti 
 cede Stetin, in Pomerania, to Frederick (the first!, 
 king of Prussia, and elector of Brandenburg 
 who had a lawful claim thereto ; but Charles 
 did mt then look upon Prussia as a power ot 
 any consequence : and indeed neither he, nor 
 any other person, could at that time foresee, that 
 this petty kingdom, and the electorate of Bran- 
 denburg, either of which were little better than de- 
 serts, would one day become formidable. Charles 
 therefore would not listen to any proposal of ac- 
 commodation, but determined rather to stake all 
 than to give up any thing, sent orders to the re- 
 gency of Stockholm, to make all possible resist- 
 ance, both by sea and laud : and these orders 
 were obeyed, notwitlistanding that his dominions 
 were almost exhausted of men and money. The 
 senate of Stockholm fitted out a fleet of thirteen 
 ships of the line, and every person capable of 
 bearing arms came voluntarily to offer their ser- 
 vice : in a word, the inflexible courage and pride 
 of Charles seemed to be infused into all his sub- 
 jects, who were almost as unfortunate as their 
 master. 
 
 It can hardly be supposed, that Charles's con- 
 duct was formed upon any regular plan. He had 
 still a powerful party in Poland, which assisted 
 by the Crim i'artars, might indeed have desola- 
 ted that wretched country, but could not have re- 
 placed Stanislaus on the throne ; and his hope 
 of engaging the Ottoman Porte to espouse his 
 cause, or convincing the divan that it was their 
 interest to send ten or twelve thousand men to 
 the assis .ance of his friends, under pretence that
 
 2S4'^ HISTORY OF 
 
 the C7.ar was supporting his ally, Augustus, in 
 Poland, was vain and chinaericah 
 
 Sep. 171/2.] Nevertheless, he continued still 
 at Bender, to wait the issue of these vain pro- 
 lects, while the Russians, Danes, and Saxons, 
 were overrunning Pomerania. Peter took his 
 wife with hiin on this expedition. The king of 
 Denmark had already made himself master of 
 Stade, a sea-port town in the duchy of Bremen, 
 and the united forces of Russia, Saxony, and 
 Denmark, were already before Stralsund. 
 
 Oct. 17l'J.] And now king Stanislaus, seeing 
 the deplorable state of so many provinces, the 
 impossibility of his recovering the crown of Po 
 land, and the universal confusion occasioned by 
 the inflexibility of Charles, called a meeting ot 
 the Swedish generals, who were covering Po- 
 merania with an army of eleven thousand men, 
 as the last resource they had left in those pro- 
 vinces. 
 
 When they were assembled, he proposed to 
 them to make their terms with king Augustus, 
 offering himself to be the victim of this recon- 
 ciliation. On this occasion, he made the follow- 
 ing sj)eech to them, in the French language, which 
 he afterwards left in writing, and which was 
 signed by nine general officers, amongst whom 
 happened to be one Patkul, cousin-german to 
 the unfortunate Patkul, who lost his life on the 
 wheel, by the order of Charles XII. 
 
 ' Having been hitherto the instrument of pro- 
 curing glory to the Swedish arms, I cannot think 
 of proving the cause of their ruin. I therefore 
 declare myself ready to sacrifice the crown, and 
 my personal interests, to the preservation of the 
 sacred person of their king, as I can see no other 
 method of releasing him from the place where bo 
 now is.'
 
 PEIER THE GREAT. 235 
 
 Having made this declaration (which is here 
 given in his own words), he prepared to set out 
 for Turkey, in hopes of being able to soften the 
 inflexible temper of his benefactor, by the sacri- 
 fice he had made for him. His ill fortune would 
 have it, that he arrived in Bessarabia at the very 
 time that Charles, after having given his word 
 to the sultan, that he would depart from Bender, 
 and having received the necessary remittances 
 for his journey, and an escort for his person, took 
 the raad resolution to continue there, and opposed 
 a whole army of Turks and Tartars, with only 
 his own domestics. The former, though they 
 might easily have killed him, contented them- 
 selves with taking him prisoner. At this very 
 juncture, Stanislaus arriving, was seized himself; 
 80 that two Christian kings were prisoners atone 
 time in Turkey. 
 
 At this time, when all Europe was in commo- 
 tion, and that France had just terminated a war 
 equally fatal against one part thereof, in order to 
 settle the grandson of Lewis XIV. on the throne 
 of Spain, England gave peace to France, and the 
 victory gained by Rlarshal Villars at Denain in 
 Flanders, saved that state from its other enemies. 
 France had been, for upwards of a century, the 
 ally of Sweden, and it was the interest of the 
 former, that its ally should not be stript of his 
 possessions in Germany. Charles, unhappily, 
 was at such a distance from his dominions, that 
 he did not even know what was transacting in 
 France. 
 
 The regency of Stockholm, by a desperate 
 effort, ventured to demand a sum of money from 
 the French court, at a time when its financea 
 were at so low an ebb, that Lewis XIV. had 
 hardly money enough to pay bis household ser- 
 rants. Count Sparre was sent with a commission
 
 2S6 HISTORY OF 
 
 to negotiate this loan, in which it was not to \ts 
 supposed he would succeed. However, on his 
 nrrival at Versailles, he represented to the mar- 
 quis de Torci the inability of the regency to pay 
 the little army which Charles had still remaining 
 in Pomerania, and which was ready to break up 
 and dispute of itself on account of the long arrears 
 due to the znen ; and that France was on the point 
 of beholding the only ally she had left, deprived 
 of those provinces which were so necessary to 
 preserve the balance of power; that indeed his 
 master, Charles, had not been altogether so at- 
 tentive to the interests of France in the course of 
 his conquests as might have been expected, but 
 that the magnanimity of Lewis XIV. was at least 
 equal to the misfortunes of his royal brother and 
 ally. The French minister, in answer to this 
 speech, so effectually set forth the incapacity of 
 his cosirt to furnish the requested succours, that 
 count Sparre despaired of success. 
 
 It so happened, however, that a private in- 
 dividual did that which Sparre had lost all hopes 
 of obtaining. There was at that time in Paris, a 
 banker, named Samuel Bernard, who had ac- 
 cumulated an immense fortune by making remit- 
 tances for, the government to foreign countries, 
 and other private contracts. This man was in- 
 toxicated with a species of pride very rarely to 
 be met with from people of his profession. He 
 was immoderately fond of every thing that made 
 an eclat, and knew very well, that one time or 
 another the government would repay with interest 
 those who hazarded their fortune to supply its 
 exigencies. Count Sparre went one day to dine 
 with him, and took care to flatter his foible so 
 well, that before they rose from table the banker 
 put six hundred thousand livres * into his hand ; 
 * About fifty thousand poouds sterling.
 
 PETER THE GREAT. 237 
 
 and then immediately waiting on the marquis Ae 
 Torci, he said to him — ' 1 have lent the crown 
 of Sweden six hundred thousand livres in your 
 name, which you must repay me when you are 
 able.' 
 
 Count Steinbock, who at that time commanded 
 Charles's army in Pomerania, little expected so 
 seasonable a supply ; and seeing his troops ready 
 to mutiny, to whom he had nothing to give but 
 promises, and that tlie storm was gathering fast 
 upon him, and being, moreover, apprehensive of 
 being surrounded by the three different armies 
 of Russia, Denmark, and Saxony, desired a ces- 
 sation of arms, on the supposition tliat Stanislaus' 
 abdication would soften the obstinacy of ('harles, 
 and that the only way left him to save the forces 
 under his command, was by spinning out the 
 time in negotiations. He therefore dispatched a 
 courier to Bender, to represent to the king of 
 Sweden the desperate slate of his finances and 
 affairs, and the situation of the army, and to ac- 
 quaint him that he had under these circumstances, 
 found himself necessitated to apply for a cessation 
 of arms, which he should think himself very happy 
 to obtain. The courier had not been disp itched 
 above three days, and Stanislaus was not yet 
 set out on his journey to Bender, when Steinbock 
 received the six hundred thousand iivres from 
 the French banker above-mentioned ; a sum, 
 which was at that time an immense treasure in a 
 country so desolated. Thus unexpecltdly rein- 
 forced with money, which is the grand panacea 
 for all disorders of state, Stf inbock found means 
 to revive the drooping spirits of his soldiery ; he 
 supplied them with all they wanted, raised new 
 recruits, and in a short time saw himself at the 
 head of twelve thousand men, and dropping his 
 former intention of procuring; a suspension ol
 
 238 HISTORY OF 
 
 arms, he sought only for an opportunity of en* 
 
 gaging the enemy. 
 
 This 'w as the same Steinbeck, who in the year 
 1710, after the defeat of Pultowa, had revenged 
 the Swedes on the Danes by the eruption he 
 made into Scania, where he marched against and 
 engaged them with o.ly a few militia, whom he 
 had hastily gathered together, with their arms 
 elung round them with ropes, and totally defeated 
 the enemy. He was, like all the other generals 
 of Charles XII. active and enterprising , but his 
 valour was sullied by his brutality : as an instance 
 of which, it will be suflBcient to relate, that hav- 
 ing, after an engagement with the Russians, 
 given orders to kill all the prisoners, and per- 
 ceiving a Polish officer in the service of the czar, 
 who had caught hold on king Stanislaus' stirrup, 
 then on horseback, in order to save his life, he, 
 Steinbock, shot him dead with his pistol in that 
 prince's arms, as has been already mentioned 
 in the life of Charles XII. and king Stanislaus 
 has declared to the author of this History, that 
 had he not been withheld by his respect and 
 gratitude to the king of Sweden, he should im- 
 mediately have shot Steinbock dead upon the 
 spot. 
 
 Dec. 9, 1712.] General Steinbock now march- 
 ed by the way of Wi&mar to meet the combined 
 forces of the Russians, Danes, and Saxons, and 
 soon found himself near the Danish and Saxon 
 army, which was advanced before that of the 
 Russians about the distance of three leagues. 
 'J he czar sent three couriers, one after another, 
 to the k'ing of Denmark, beseeching him to wait 
 his coming up, and thereby avoid the danger 
 which threatened him, if he attempted to engage 
 the Swedes with an equality of force ; but tie 
 Danish monarch, not willing to share with any
 
 PEfER THE GREAT. ^39 
 
 cue the honour of a victory which he thought 
 ■ore, advanced to meet the Swedish general, 
 ■whom be attacked near a place called Gadebusch. 
 This day's affair gave a further proof of the»na- 
 tural enmity that subsisted between the Swedes 
 and Danes The officers of these two nations 
 fought with most unparalleled inveteracy against 
 each other, and neither side would desist till 
 death terminated the dispute. 
 
 Steinbeck gained a complete victory before the 
 Russian army could come up to the assistance of 
 the Danes, and the next day received an order 
 fnm his master, Charles, to lay aside all thoughts 
 of a suspension of arms, who, at the same time, 
 upbraided him for having entertained an idea so 
 injurious to his honour, and for which he told him 
 ae could make no reparation, but by conquering 
 or perishing. Steinbockhad happily obviated the 
 orders and the reproach by the victory he had 
 gained. 
 
 But this victory was like that which had for- 
 merly brought such a transient consolation to king 
 Augustus, when in the torrent of his misfortunes 
 he gained the battle of Calish against the Swedes, 
 who were conquerors in every other place, and 
 which only served to aggravate his situation, as 
 this of Gadebusch only procrastinated the ruin of 
 Steinbock and his army. 
 
 When the king of Sweden received the news of 
 Steinbock's success, he looked upon his affairs as 
 retrievjed, and even flattered himself with hopes 
 to engage the Ottoman Porte to declare for him, 
 who at that time seemed disposed to come to a 
 new rupture with the czar : full of these fond ima- 
 ginations, he sent orders to general Steinbock to 
 fall upon Poland, being still ready to believe, 
 upon the least shadow of success, that the day of 
 Narva, and those in which he gave laws to his
 
 840 HISTORY OF 
 
 enemies, were again returned. But unhappily 
 he too soon found these flattering hopes ntterly 
 blasted by the affair of Bender, and his own cap- 
 tivity amongst the Turks. 
 
 The whole fruits of the victory at Gadebusch 
 were coufined to the surprising in the night-time, 
 and reducing to ashes, the town of Altena, inha- 
 bited by traders and manufacturers, a place 
 wholly defenceless, and which, not having been 
 in arras, ought, by all the laws of war and na- 
 tions, to have been spared ; however, it was 
 utterly destroyed, several of the inhabitants pe- 
 rished in the flames, others escaped with their 
 lives, but naked, and a number of old men, wo- 
 men, and children, perished with the cold and 
 fatigue they suffered, at the gates of Hamburg. 
 Such has too often been the fate of several thou- 
 sands of men for the quarrels of two only ; and 
 this cruel advantage was the only one gained by 
 Steinbock ; for the Russians, Danes, and Saxons 
 pursued him so closely, that he was obliged to 
 beg for an asylum in Toningen, a fortress in the 
 duchy of Holstein, for himself and army. 
 
 This duchy was at that time subjected to the 
 most cruel ravages of any part of the North, 
 and its sovereign was the most miserable of 
 all princes. He was nephew to Charles XII. 
 and it was on his father's account, who had 
 married Charles's sister, that that monarch car- 
 ried his arms even into the heart of Copenha- 
 gen, before the battle of Narva, and for whom 
 he likewise made the treaty of Travendahl, 
 by which the dukes of Holstein were restored 
 to their rights. 
 
 This country was in part the cradle of the 
 Cimbri, and of the old Normans, who overrun 
 the province of Neustria, in France, and conquer- 
 ed all England, Naples, and Sicily ; and yet, at
 
 PETER THE GREAT. 241 
 
 this present time, no state pretends less to make 
 conquests than this part of the ancient Cimbrica 
 Chersonesus, which consists oniy of two petty 
 duchies ; namely, that of Sleswic, belonging in 
 common to the king of Denmark and the duke 
 of Hoistein, and that of Gottorp, appertaining 
 to the duke alone. Sleswic is a sovereign prin- 
 cipality ; Hoistein is a branch of the German 
 empire, called the Roman empire. 
 
 The king of Denmark, and the duke of Hol- 
 stein-Gottorp, were of the same family ; but the 
 duke, nephew to Charles XII. and presumptive 
 heir to his crown, was the natural enemy of the 
 king of Denmark, who had endeavoured to crush 
 him in the very cradle. One of his father's bro- 
 thers, who was bishop of Lubec, and administra- 
 tor of the dominions of his unfortunate ward, now 
 beheld himself in the midst of the Swedish army, 
 whom he durst not succour, and those of Russia, 
 Denmark, and Saxony, that threatened his coun- 
 try with daily destruction. Nevertheless, he 
 thought himself obliged to try to save Charles's 
 army, if he could doit without irritating the king 
 of Denmark, who had made himself master of 
 his country, which he exhausted, by raising con- 
 tinual contributions. 
 
 This bishop and administrator was enlircly 
 governed by the famous baron Gortz, the most 
 artful and enterprising man of his age, endowed 
 with a genius amazingly penetrating, and fruit- 
 ful in every resource : with talents ocjual to the 
 boldest and most arduous attempts ; he was as 
 insinuating in his negotiations as he was liardy 
 m his projects ; he had the art of pleasing and 
 persuading in the highest degree, and knew liow 
 to captivate all hearts by the vivacity of his 
 genius, after he had won them by the softness ol 
 hia eloquence. He afterwards gained the aama 
 
 Li
 
 e4fi HISTORY OF 
 
 ascendant over Charles Xll. which he had then 
 over the bishop ; and all the world knows, that 
 he paid wilh his life the honour he had of govern- 
 ing the most ungovernable and obstinate prince 
 that ever sat upon a throne. 
 
 Gortz had a private conference with general 
 Steinbock,* at which he promised to deliver him 
 up the fortress of Toningen.t without exposing 
 the bishop administrator, his master, to any dan- 
 ger : and, at the same time, gave the strongest 
 assurances to the king of Denmark, that he would 
 defend the place to the uttermost. In this man- 
 ner are almost all negotiations carried on, affairs 
 of state being of a very different nature from those 
 of private persons ; the honour of ministers con- 
 sisting wholly in success, and those of private 
 persons in the observance of their promises. 
 
 General Steinbock presented himself before 
 Toningen : the commandant refused to open the 
 gates to him, and by this means put it out of the 
 king of Denmark's power to allege any cause of 
 complaint against the bishop administrator ; but 
 Gortz causes an order to be given in the name of 
 the young duke, a minor, to suffer the Swedish 
 army to enter the town. The secretary of the 
 cabinet, named Stamke, signs this order in thci 
 name of the duke of Holstein : by this means 
 Gortz preserves the honour of an infant who had 
 not as yet any power to issue crders; and he at 
 once serves the king of Sweden, to whom he was 
 desirous to make his court, and the bishop ad- 
 ministrator his master, who appeared not to have 
 consented to the admission of the Swedish troops. 
 The governor of Toningen, who was easily gaic- 
 
 • Private memoirs of Bassowitz, Jan. 21, 1712. 
 t A town of Sleswic; in Denmark, situated on the rive: 
 E^der, fourteen miles from the German Ocean, haviQR • 
 rcry commodious harbour.
 
 PETER THE GREAT. S43 
 
 ed, delivered up the town to the Swedes, and 
 Gortz excused himself as well as he could to the 
 king of Denmark, by protesting that the whole 
 had been transacted without his consent. 
 
 The Swedes retired partly within the walls, and 
 partly under the cann in of the town : but this 
 did not save them : f jr general Steinbock was 
 obliged to surrender himself prisoner of war, to- 
 gether with his whole army, to the number of 
 eleven thousand men, in the same manner as 
 about sixteen thousand of their countrymen had 
 done at the battle of Pultowa. 
 
 By this convention it was agreed, that Stein- 
 bock with his officers and men might be ransomed 
 or exchanged. The price for the general's ran- 
 som was fixed at eight thousand German crowns ;* 
 a very trifling sum, but which Steinbock however 
 was not able to raise ; so that he remained 
 a prisoner in Copenhagen till the day of his 
 death. 
 
 The territories of Holstein now remained at 
 the mercy of the incensed conqueror. The 
 young duke became the object of the king of 
 Denmark's vengeance, and was fated to pay for 
 the abuse which Gortz had made of his name : 
 thus did the ill fortune of Charles Xll. fall upon 
 all his family. 
 
 Gortz perceiving his projects thus dissipated, 
 and being still resolved to act a disiiiii;ui.>hed 
 part in the general confusion of affairs, recalled 
 to mind a scheme which he had formed to 
 establish a neutrality in the Swedish territories 
 in Germany. 
 
 The king of Denmark was ready to t;»ke pos- 
 session of I'oningen ; George.ehclor of Hanovcl, 
 was about to seize Bremen and Verden, vtiih the 
 city of Stade ; the new-made king of Prussia, 
 * About twelve tundred paunds sterlmg.
 
 244 HISTORY OF 
 
 Frederick William, cast his views upon Stetin, 
 and czar P#ter was preparing to make himself 
 ma.ster of Finland ; and all the territories of 
 Charles XII. those of Sweden excepted, were 
 going to become the spoils of those who wanted 
 to sh^re them. How then could so many dif- 
 ferent interests be rendered compatible with a 
 neutrality 1 Gortz entered into negotiation at 
 one and the same time with all the several 
 princes who had any views in this partition ; he 
 continued night and day passing from one pro- 
 vince to the other ; he engaged the governor of 
 Bremen and Verden to put those two duchies 
 into the bands of the elector of Hanover by way 
 of sequestration, so that the Danes should not 
 take possession of them for themselves : he pre- 
 vailed with the king of Prussia to accept jointly 
 with the duke of Holstein, of rhe sequestration 
 of Stetin and Wismar, in consideration of 
 which, the king of Denmark was to act nothing 
 against Holstein, and was not to enter Toningen. 
 It was most certainly a strange way of serving 
 Charles XII. to put his towns into the hands of 
 those who might choose if they %vouid ever re- 
 store them ; but Gortz, by delivering these places 
 to them as pledges, bound them to a neutrality^ 
 at least for some time ; and he was in hopes ta 
 be able afterwards to bring Hanover and Bran- 
 denburg to declare for Sweden : he prevailed 
 on the king of Prussia whose ruined dominions 
 stood in need of peace, to enter into his views, 
 and in short he found means to render himself 
 necessary to all these princes, and disposed of 
 the possessions of Charles Xll. like a guardian, 
 who gives up one part of his ward's estate to 
 preserve the other, and of a ward incapable of 
 managing his affairs himself ; and all this with- 
 out any regular authority or rommission, or othcs
 
 PETER THE GREAT. 245 
 
 •warrant for his conduct, than full powprs given 
 him by the bishop of Lubec, who had no 
 authority to grant such powers from Charles 
 himself. 
 
 Such was the baron de Gortz, and such his 
 actions, which have not hitherto been sufficiently 
 known. There have been instances of an Oxen- 
 stiern, a Richlieu, and an Alberoni, influencing 
 the aftairs of all parts of Europe ; but that the 
 privy counsellor of a bishop of Lubec should do 
 the same as they, without his conduct being 
 avowed by any one, is a thing hitherto un- 
 heard of. 
 
 June, 1713.] Nevertheless he succeeded to 
 his wishes in the beginning ; for he made a 
 treaty with the king of Prussia, by which that 
 nlonarch engaged, on condition of keeping Stetiu 
 in sequestration, to preserve the rest of Pome- 
 rania for Charles XII. In virtue of this treaty, 
 Gortz ma<le a proposal to the governor of Pome- 
 rania, AJeyerfeld, to give up the fortress of 
 Stetin to the king of Prussia for the sake of 
 peace, thinking that the Swedish governor of 
 Stetin would prove as easy to be persuaded as 
 the Holsteiner who had the command of Tonin- 
 gen ; but the officers of Charles XII. were not 
 accustomed to obey such orders. IVleyerfeld 
 made answer, that no one should enter Stetin 
 but over his dead body and the ruins of the 
 place, and immediately sent notice to his master 
 of the strange proposal. The messenger at bis 
 arrival found Charles prisoner at Uemirlash, in 
 consequence of his adventure at Mender, and it 
 was doubtful, at that time, whether he would 
 not remain all his life in confmement in Turkey, 
 or else be banished to some of the islands in the 
 Archipelago, or some part of Asia under the 
 dominion of the Ottoman Porte. Howovor
 
 846 HISTORY OF 
 
 Charles from his prison sent the same orders to 
 Meyerfeld, as he had before done to Steinbock ; 
 namely, rather to perish than to submit to his 
 enemies, and even commanded him to take his 
 inflexibility for his example. 
 
 Gortz, finding that the governor of Stetin had 
 broke in upon his measures, and would neither 
 hearken to a neutrality nor a sequestration, took 
 it into bis head, not only to sequester the town 
 of Stetin of his own authority, but also the city 
 of Stralsund, and found means to make the 
 same kind of treaty (June, 1713,) with the king 
 of Poland, elector of Saxony, for that place, 
 which he had done with the elector of Branden- 
 burg for Stetin. He clearly saw how impossible 
 it would be for the Swedes to keep possession 
 of those places without either men or money, 
 while their king was a captive in Turkey, and he 
 thought himself sure of turning aside the scourge 
 of war from the North by means of these se- 
 questrations. The king of Denmark himself at 
 length gave into the projects of Gortz : the latter 
 had gained an entire ascendant over prince 
 Menzikoff, the czar's general and favourite, 
 whom he had persuaded that the duchy of 
 Holstein must be ceded to his master, and 
 flattered the czar with the prospect of opening 
 a canal from Holstein into the Baltic Sea ; an 
 enterprise perfectly conformable to the inclina- 
 tion and views of this royal founder : and, above 
 all, he laboured to insinuate to him, that he 
 might obtain a new increase of power, by con- 
 descending to become one of the powers of the 
 empire, which would entitle him to a vote in the 
 diet of Ratisbon, a right that he might afterwards 
 for ever maintain by that of arms. 
 
 In a word, no one could put on more different 
 appearances, adapt himself to more opposite
 
 PETER THE GREAT. «47 
 
 interests, or act a more complicated part, than 
 did this skilful negotiator ; he even went so far 
 as to engage prince Menzikoff to ruin the very 
 town of Stetin, which he was endeavouring to 
 save ; and in which, at length, to his misfortune, 
 be succeeded but too well. 
 
 When the king of Prussia saw a Russian army 
 before Stetin, he found that place would be lost 
 to him, and remain in the possession of the 
 czar. This was just what Gortz expected and 
 waited for. Prince IMenzikoff was in want cJ. 
 money ; Gortz got the king of Prussia to lend 
 him four hundred thousand crowns : he after- 
 wards sent a message to the governor of the 
 place, to know of him — whether he would rather 
 choose to see Stetin in ashes, and under the 
 dominion of Russia, or to trust it in the hands 
 of the king of Prussia, who would engage to 
 restore it to the king, his master '' — The com- 
 mandant at length suffered himself to be per- 
 suaded, and gave up the place, which iMenzi- 
 kofF entered ; and, in consideration of the four 
 hundred thousand crowns, delivered it after- 
 wards, together with all the territories thereto 
 adjoining, into the hands of the king of Prussia, 
 who, for form's sake, left therein two battalions 
 of the troops of Holstein, and has never since 
 restored that part of Pomerania. 
 
 From this period, the second king of Prussia, 
 successor to a weak and prodigal father, laid the 
 foundation of that greatness, to which his state 
 has since arrived by military discipline and 
 economy. 
 
 The baron de Gortz, who put so many springn 
 iu motion, could not, however, succeed in pre- 
 vailing on the Danes to spare the duchy o( 
 Holstein, or forbear taking possession of Tonin- 
 geb. He failed in what appeared to have been
 
 948 HISTORY OF 
 
 his first object, though he succeeded in all hia 
 Other views, and particularly in that of making 
 himself the most important personage of the 
 North, which, indeed, was his principal object. 
 The elector of Hanover then had secured to 
 Himself Bremen and Verden. of which Charles 
 XII. was now stripped. The Saxon army was 
 aefore Wismar (Sept. 1715); Steiin was in the 
 hands of the king of Prussia ; the Russians were 
 "eady to lay siege to Straisund, in conjunction 
 with the Saxons ; and these latter had already 
 landed in the island of Rugen, and the czar, in 
 the midst of the numberless negotiations on all 
 sides, while others were disputing about neu- 
 tralities and partitions, makes a descent upon 
 Finland. After having himself pointed the artil- 
 lery against Straisund, he left the rest to the care 
 of his allies and prince Menzikoff, and, embark- 
 ing in the month of May, on the Baltic Sea, en 
 board a ship of fifty guns, which he himself caused 
 to be built at Petersburg, he sailed for the coast 
 of Finland, followed by a fleet of nmety-two 
 whole, and one hundred and ten half-gallies, 
 having on board near sixteen thousand troops. 
 He made his descent at Elsingford, (May 2^. 
 N. S. 1713.) the most southern part of that cold 
 and barren country. lying in 61 degrees north la- 
 titude ; and, notwithstanding the numberless dif- 
 ficulties he had to encounter, succeeded in his 
 design. He caused a feint attack to be made on 
 one side of the harbour, while he landed his 
 troops on the other, and took possession of the 
 town. He then made himself master of Abo, 
 Borgo, and the whole coast. The Swedes now 
 seemed not to have one resource left ; for it was 
 at this very time, that their army, under the 
 command of general Steinbock, was obliged to 
 mrreader prisoners of war at Toningen,
 
 PETER 1 HE GREAT. 249 
 
 These repeated disasters which bt'ft-l Charley, 
 were, as we have already sliewn, followed by tlie 
 loss of Bremen, Verdeu, Stelin, and a part of 
 Pomerania ; and that prince himself, with his 
 ally and friend, Stanislaus, were afterwards both 
 prisoners in Turkey : nevertheless, he was 6ot to 
 be undeceived in the flattering notion he had en- 
 tertained of returning to Poland, at the head of 
 an Ottoman army, replacing Stanislaus on the 
 throne, and once again making his enemies 
 tremble. 
 
 CHAP. XXIV. 
 
 Saocessta of Peter the Great.— Return of Charles XII. 
 into bU own dominioDS, 
 
 "pETER, while he was following the 
 course of his conquests, completed 
 the establishment of his navy, brought twelve 
 thousand families to settle in Petersburg, kept al. 
 his allies firm to his person and fortunes, not • 
 withstanding they bad all different interests and 
 opposite views ; and with his fleet kept in awe 
 all the sea-ports of Sweden, on the gulfs of Fin- 
 land and Bothnia. 
 
 Prince Galitzin, one of his land-generals, whom 
 he had formed himself, as he had done all his 
 other officers, advanced from Elsingford, where 
 the czar had made his descent, into the midst of 
 the country, near the village of Tavasthus, which 
 was a post that commanded the gulf of Both- 
 nia, and was defended by a few Swedish regi- 
 ments, and about eight thousand militia. Id 
 this situation, a battle was unavoidable. (Mar. 1."j, 
 1714.) the event of which proved favourable to 
 die Russians, who entirely routed the whole 
 L2
 
 £50 HISTORY OF 
 
 Swedish army, aud penetrated as far as Vaza 
 so that they were now masters of about eighty 
 leagues of country. 
 
 The Swedes were still in possession of a fleet, 
 with which they kept the sea. Peter had, for 
 a considerable time, waited with impatience for 
 an opportunity of establishing the reputation of 
 his new marine. Accordingly he set out from 
 Petersburg, and having got together a fleet of 
 sixteen ships of the line, and one hundred and 
 eighty galleys, fit for working among the rocks 
 and shoals that surround the island of Aland, 
 and the other islands in the Baltic Sea, border- 
 ing upon the Swedish coast, he fell in with the 
 fleet of that nation near their own shores. This 
 armament greatly exceeded his in the largeness 
 of the ships, but was inferior in the number of 
 galleys, and more proper for engaging in the 
 open sea, than among rocks, or near the shore, 
 'i he advantage the czar had in this respect was 
 entirely owing to himself: he served in the rank 
 of rear-admiral on board his own fleet, and re- 
 ceived all the necessary orders from admiral 
 Apraxin. Peter resolved to make himself mas- 
 ter of the island of Aland, which lies only twelve 
 leagues oiF the Swedish coast; and, though 
 obliged to pass full in view of the enemy's fleet, 
 he effected this bold and hazardous enterprise. 
 His galleys forced a passage through the enemy, 
 whose cannon did not fire low enough to hurt 
 them, and entered Aland ; but as that coast ie 
 almost surrounded with rocks, the czar caused 
 eighty small galleys to be transported by men 
 over a point of land, and launched into the sea, 
 at a place called Hango, where his large ships 
 were at anchor. Erenschild, the Swedish rear- 
 admiral, thinking that he might easily take or 
 sink all these galleys, stood in shore, in order to
 
 PETER THE GREAT. 2j1 
 
 reconnoitre iheir situation, but was received with 
 80 brisk a fire from the Russian fleet, that most 
 of his men were killed or wounded ; and all the 
 galleys and praams he had brought with him 
 •were taken, together with his own ship. (Aug. 8.) 
 The admiral himself endeavoured to escape iu a 
 boat, but being wounded, was obliged to sur- 
 render himself prisoner, and was brought on 
 board the galley where the czar was, navigating 
 it himself. The scattered remainsof the Swedish 
 fleet made the best of their way home ; and the 
 news of this accident threw all Stockholm into 
 confusion, which now began to tremble for its 
 own safety. 
 
 Much about the same time, colonel Scouvalow 
 Neuschlof attacked the only remaining fortress 
 on the western side of Finland, and made him- 
 self master of it, after a most obstinate resistance 
 on the part of the besieged. 
 
 This affair of Aland was, next to that of Pul- 
 towa, the most glorious that had ever befallen 
 the arms of Peter the Great, who now saw him- 
 self master of Finland, the government of which 
 he committed to prince Galitzin, and retuined u\ 
 Petersburg (Sept. 15.)', victorious over the whole 
 naval force of Sweden, and more than ever re- 
 spected by his allies; the stormy season now 
 approaching, not permitting him to remain longer 
 with his ships in the Finlandish and Bothnic seas. 
 His good fortune also brought him back to his 
 capital, just as the czarina was brought to bed of 
 a princess, who died, however, about a year 
 afterwards. He then instituted the order of St. 
 Catherine, in honour of his consort,* and cele- 
 
 • In the preamble lo this institution, the czar declared, 
 that it was to perpetuate the memory of her love in bia 
 distresaed condition on the banks of the river Pruth. He
 
 «53 HISTORY OF 
 
 brated the birth of his daughter by a triumphal 
 entry, which was of all the festivals w which he 
 had accustomed his subjects, that which they 
 held in the greatesc esteem. This ceremony was 
 ushered in by bringing nice Swedish galleys, and 
 seven praams filled with prisoners, and rear-ad- 
 miral Erenscbild's own ship, into the harbour of 
 Cronstadt. 
 
 The cannon, colours, and standards, taken 
 in the expedition to Finland, and which had 
 come home in the Russian admiral's ship, were 
 brought on this occasion to Petersburg, and en- 
 tered that metropolis in order of battle. A 
 triumphal arch, which the czar had caused to be 
 erected, and which, as usual, was made from a 
 model of his own, was decorated with the insig- 
 nia of his conquests. Under this arch the victors 
 marched in procession, with admiral Apraxin, at 
 their head ; then followed the czar in quality of 
 rear-admiral, and the other officers according to 
 their several ranks. They were all presented 
 one after another to the vice-admiral Rodamo- 
 noski, who, at this ceremony represented the 
 sovereign. This temporary vice-emperor dis- 
 tributed gold medals amongst all the officers, and 
 others of silver to the soldiers and sailors. The 
 Swedish prisoners likewise passed under the 
 triumphal arch, and admiral Erenschild followed 
 immediately after the czar, his conqueror. When 
 they came to the place where the vice-czar was 
 seated on his throne, admiral Apraxin presented 
 to him rear-admiral Peter, who demanded to be 
 
 invested her with full power to bestow it oti such of her 
 own sex as she should think proper. The ensigns of 
 this order are, a broad white riband, and wore over the 
 right shoulder, with a medal of St. Catherine, adorned 
 with precious stones, and the motto, ' Out of love and 
 fidelity.*
 
 PETER THE GREAT. 253 
 
 made vice-admiral, in reward for his services. 
 It was then put to the vote, if his request should 
 be granted ; and it may easily be conceived that 
 he had the majority on his side. 
 
 After this ceremony was over, which filled every 
 heart with joy, and inspired every mind with 
 emulation, with a love for his country, arfti a thirst 
 of fame, the czar made the following speech to 
 those present : a speech which deserves to be 
 transmitted to the latest postesity. 
 
 ' Countrymen and friends ! what man is there 
 among you, who could have thought, twenty years 
 ago, that we should one day fight together on the 
 Baltic Sea, in ships built by our own hands ; and 
 that we should establish settlements in countries 
 conquered by our own labours and valour? — 
 Greece is said to have been the ancient seat of 
 the arts and sciences: they afterwards took up 
 their abode in Italy, from whence they spread 
 themselves through every part of Europe. It is 
 now our turn to call them ours, if you will second 
 my designs, by joiniii^j study to obedience. The 
 arts circulat* in this globe, as the blood does in 
 the human body ; and perhaps they may establish 
 their empire amongst us, on their return back to 
 Greece, their mother country ; and I even venture 
 to hope, that we may one day put the most civi- 
 lized nations to the blush, by our noble labours 
 and the solid glory resulting therefrom.' 
 
 Here is the true substance of this speech, so 
 every way worthy of a great founder, and which 
 has lost its chief beauties in this, and every other 
 translation ; but the principal merit of this elo- 
 quent harangue is, its having been spoken by a 
 Tictorious monarch, at once the founder and law- 
 giver of his empire. 
 
 The old boyards listened to this speech with 
 grcp/^r regret for the abolition of their ancient
 
 S54 HISTORY OF 
 
 customs, than admiration of their master's glory j 
 but the young ones could not hear him without 
 tears of joy. 
 
 The splendour of these times were further 
 heightened by the return of the Russian ambas- 
 sadors from Constantinople, (Sept. 15, 1714.) 
 with a confirmation of the peace with the Turks : 
 an ambassador sent by Sha Hussein from Persia, 
 had arrived some time before witb a present to 
 the czar of an elephant and five lions. He re- 
 ceived, at the same time, an ambassador from 
 IMahomet Bahadir, khan of the Usbeck lartars, 
 requesting his protection against another tribe of 
 Tartars ; so that both extremities of Asia and 
 Europe seemed to join to offer him homage, and 
 add to his glory. 
 
 The regency of Stockholm, driven to despaii 
 by the desperate situation of their affairs, and the 
 absence of their sovereign, who seemed to have 
 abandoned his dominions, had come to a resolu- 
 tion no more to consult him in relation to their 
 proceedings ; and, immediately after the victory 
 the czar gained over their navy, they sent to the 
 conqueror to demand a passport, for an officer 
 charged with proposals of peace. The passport 
 was sent ; but. just as the person appointed to 
 carry on the negotiation was on the point of set- 
 ting out. the princess Ulrica Eleonora, sister to 
 Charles XII. received advice from the king her 
 brother, that he was preparing, at length, to quit 
 Turkey, and return home to fight liis own battles. 
 Upon this news the regency did not dare to send 
 the negotiator (whom they had already privately 
 named) to the czar ; and, therefore, resolved to 
 support their ill-fortune till the arrival of Charles 
 to retrieve it. 
 
 In effect, Charles, after a stay of five years and 
 some months in Turkey, set out from that King-
 
 PETER THE GREAT. 255 
 
 dom in the latter end of October, 1714. Every 
 one knows that he observed the same siuguiaritv 
 in his journey, wHlch characterized all the actions 
 of his life. He arrived at Stralsund itn '■22d of 
 November following. As soon as he got there, 
 baron de Gortz came to pay his court to him ; 
 and, though he had been the instrument of one 
 part of his misfortunes, yet he justified his con- 
 duct with so much art, and filled the imagination 
 of Charles with such flattering hopes, that he 
 gained his confidence, as he had already done that 
 of every other minister and prince with whom he 
 had entered into any negotiations. In short, he 
 made him believe, that means might be found to 
 draw off the czar's allies, and thereby procure an 
 honourable peace, or at least to carry on the vear 
 upon an equal footing ; and from this time Gortz 
 gained a greater ascendancy over the mind of the 
 king of Sweden than ever count Piper had. 
 
 The first thing which Charles did after his arri- 
 val at Stralsund was to demand a supply of money 
 from the citizens of Stockholm, who readily parted 
 with what little they had left, as not being able 
 to refuse any thing to a king, who asked only to 
 bestow, who lived as hard as the meanest soldier, 
 and exposed his life equally in defence of his 
 country. His misfortunes, his captivity, his re- 
 turn to his dominions, so long deprived of his 
 presence, were arguments which prepossessed 
 alike his own subjects and foreigners in his fa- 
 vour, who could not forbear at once to blame and 
 admire, to compassionate and to assist him. His 
 reputation was of a kind totally diflfering from that 
 of Peter the Great : it consisted not in cherishing 
 the arts and sciences, in enacting laws, in esta- 
 blishing a form of government, nor in introducing 
 commerce among his subjects ; it was confined 
 entirely to his own person. He placed bis chief
 
 S56 HISTORY OF 
 
 merit in a valour supcri-^r to what is coirjnoiily 
 called courage. Hs detendedl^ dominions ■with 
 a greatness of soal equal to that \alour, and 
 aimed only to inspire other nations with awe and 
 respect for him : hence he had more partizans 
 than allies. 
 
 CHAP. XXV. 
 
 State of Europe at the return of Charles ^I. 
 Siege of Stralsund. 
 
 "Wi^HEN Charles XII. returned to his dominions 
 in the year 1714, he found the state of af- 
 fairs in Europe very diflferent from that in which 
 he had left them. Queen Anne of England was 
 dead, after having made peace with France. 
 Lewis XIV. had secured the monarchy of Spain 
 for his grandson the duke of Anjou, and had 
 obliged the emperor Charles VI. and the Dutct 
 to agree to a peace, which their situation rendered 
 necessary to them ; so that the affairs of Europe 
 bad put on altogether a new face. 
 
 Those of the north had undergone a still greater 
 change. Peter was become sole arbiter in that 
 part of the world : the elector of Hanover, who 
 had been called to fill the British throne, had 
 views of extending his territories in Germany, at 
 the expense of Sweden, who had never had any 
 possessions ia that country, but since the reign of 
 the great G ustavus. The king of Denmark aimed 
 at recovering Scania, the best province of Swedei:, 
 which had formerly belonged to the Danes. The 
 king of Prussia, as heir to the dukes of Pome- 
 rania, laid claim to a part of thar province. On 
 the other hand, the Holstein family, oppressed 
 Dy the king of Denmark, and the duke of Meek-
 
 PETER THE GREAT. 2r>7 
 
 Icnburg, almost at open war with his subjects, 
 v\-ere suin-^ to Peter the Great to take them under 
 his protection. The king of Poland, elector of 
 Saxony, was desirous to have the duchy of Cour- 
 land annexed to Poland ; so that, from the Elbe 
 to the Baltic Sea, Peter the First was considered 
 as the support of the several crowned heads, as 
 Charles XII. had been their greatest terror. 
 
 Many negotiations were set on foot after the 
 leturn of Charles to his dominions, but nothing 
 had been done. That prince thought he could 
 raise a sufiBcient number of ships of war and pri- 
 vateers, to put a stop to the rising power of the 
 czar by sea ; with respect to the land war, he de- 
 pended upon his own valour ; and Gortz, who 
 was on a sudden become his prime minister, 
 persuaded him, that he might find means to de- 
 fray the expense, by coining copper money, to 
 be taken at ninety six limes less than its real 
 value, a tKing unparalleled in the histories of 
 any state ; but in the month of April, 1715, the 
 v^ first Swedish privateers that put to sea were 
 taken by the czar's men of war, and a Russian 
 army marched into the heart of Pomeratfia. 
 
 'Ihe Prussians, Danes, and Saxons, now sat 
 down with their united forces before Stralsund, 
 and Charles XII. beheld himself returned from 
 his confinement at Demirtash and Demirtoca on 
 the Black Sea, only to be more closely pent up 
 on the borders of the Baltic. 
 
 *\Ve have already shewn, in the histor)' of this 
 extraordinary man, with what haughty and un- 
 embarrassed resolution he braved the united 
 forces of his enemies in Stralsund ; and shall 
 therefore, in this place, only add a single circum- 
 stance, which, though trivial, may serve to shew 
 the peculiarity of his characte •. The greatest 
 part of his officers having beer either killed or
 
 f58 HISTORY OF 
 
 wounded during the siege, the duty fell bard 
 upon the few who were left. Baron de Reichel, 
 a colonel, having sustained a long engagement 
 upon the ramparts, and being tired out by re- 
 peated watchings and fatigues, had thrown him- 
 self upon a bench to take a little repose ; when 
 he was called up to mount guard again upon the 
 ramparts. As he was dragging himself along, 
 hardly able to stand, and cursing the obstinacy 
 of the king his master, who subjected all those 
 about him to' such insufferable and fruitless fa- 
 tigues, Charles happened to overhear him. Upon 
 which, stripping off his own cloak, he spread it 
 on the ground before him, saving, ' My dear 
 Reichel, you are quite spent : come, I have had 
 an hour's sleep, which has refreshed me, I'll take 
 the guard for you, while you finish your nap, and 
 will wake you when I thick it is time ;' and so 
 saying, he wrapt the colonel up in his cloak ; and, 
 notwithstanding all his resistance, obliged him to 
 lie down to sleep, and mounted the guard himself. 
 
 It was during this siege that the elector of 
 Hanover, latel v made king of England, purchased 
 of the king of Denmark the province of Bremen 
 and Verden, with the city of Stade. (Oct. 1715.) 
 which the Danes had taken from Charles XII. 
 This purchase cost king George eight hundred 
 thousand German crowns. In this manner were 
 the dominions of Charles bartered away, while 
 he defended the city of Stralsund, inch by inch, 
 till at length nothing was left of it but a heap of 
 niins, which his officers compelled him to leave ; 
 (Dec. 1713.) and, when he was in a place of 
 safety, general Ducker delivered up those ruins 
 to the king of Prussia. 
 
 Some time afterwards, Ducker, being presented 
 to Charles, that monarch reproached him with 
 having capitulated with his enemies ; whee
 
 PETER THE GREAT. 259 
 
 Ducker replied, ' I had too great a regard for 
 your majesty's honour, to continue to defend a 
 place which you was obliged to leave.' How- 
 ever the Prussians continued in possession of it 
 no longer than the year 1721, when ttey gave it 
 up at the general peace. 
 
 During the siege of Stralsund, Charles received 
 another mortification, which would have been 
 still more severe, if his heart had been as sensi- 
 ble to the emotions of friendship, as it was to 
 those of fame and honour. His prime minister, 
 count Piper, a man famous throughout all Europe, 
 and of unshaken fidelity to his prince (notwith- 
 standing the assertions of certain rash persons, 
 or the authority of a mistaken writer) : this Piper, 
 I say, had been the victim of his master's am- 
 bitiou ever since the battle of Pultowa. As there 
 was as that time no cartel for the exchange of 
 prisoners subsisting between the Russians and 
 Swedes, he had remained in confinemect at 
 Moscow , and though he had not been sent into 
 Siberia, as t-he other prisoners were, yet his situ- 
 ation was greatly to be pitied. The czar's finances 
 at that time were not managed with so much 
 fidelity as they ought to be, and his many new 
 establishments required an expense which he 
 could with difiiculty answer. In particular, he 
 owed a considerable sum of money to the Dutch, 
 on account of two of their merchant-ships which 
 had been burnt on the coast of Finland, in the 
 descent the czar had made on that country. Peter 
 pretended that the Swedes were to make good 
 the damage, and wanted to engage count Piper 
 to charge himself with this debt : accordingly he 
 was sent for from Moscow to Petersburg, and his 
 liberty was offered him, in case he could draw 
 upon Sweden letters of exchange to the amount 
 of sixty thousand crowns. It is said he actually
 
 HGO HISTORY OF 
 
 did draw b.lls for this sum upon his wife at Stock 
 holm, but that she being unable or unwilling to 
 take them up, they were returned, and the king 
 of Sweden never gave himself the least concern 
 about paying the money. Be this as it may, count 
 Piper was closely confined in the castle of Schlus- 
 selburg, where he died the year after, at the age 
 of seventy. His remains were sent to the king 
 of Sweden, who gave them a magnificent burial ; 
 a vain and melancholy return to an old servant, 
 for a life of suffering, and so deplorable an end ! 
 
 Peter was satisfied with having got possession 
 of Livonia, Esthonia, Carelia, and Ingria, which 
 he looked upon as his own provinces, and to 
 ■which he had, moreover, added almost all Fin- 
 land, which served as a kind of pledge, in case 
 his enemies should conclude a peace. He had 
 married one of his nieces to Charles Leopold, 
 duke of Mecklenburg, in the month of .April of 
 the same year, (1715.) so that all the sovereigns 
 of the north were now either his allies or his 
 creatures. In Poland, he kept the enemies of 
 king Augustus in awe; one of his armies, con- 
 sisting of about eight thousand men, having, 
 without any loss, quelled several of those con- 
 federacies, which are so frequent in that country 
 of liberty and anarchy : on the other hand, the 
 Turks, by strictly observing their treaties, left 
 him at full liberty to exert his power, and execute 
 his schemes in their utmost extent. 
 
 In this flourishing situation of his affairs, scarcely 
 a day passed without being distinguished by new 
 establishments, either in the navy, the army, or 
 the legislature : he himself composed a military 
 code for the infantry. 
 
 Nov 8] He likewise founded a naval academy 
 at Petersburg ; dispatched Lange to Chma and 
 Siberia, with a commission of trade ; set mathe-
 
 PETER THE GREAT. 201 
 
 maticians fo work, in drawing charts of the 
 whole empire ; built a summer's palace at Peters- 
 hoflF ; and at the same time built forts on the 
 banks of the Irtish, stopped the incursions and 
 ravages of the Bukari * on the one side, and, on 
 the rther, suppressed the Tartars of Kouban. 
 
 iri5.] His prosperity seemed now to be at its 
 zenith, by the empress Catherine's being de- 
 livered of a son, and an heir to his dominions 
 being given him, in a prince born to the czarovvitz 
 Alexis ; but the joy for these happy events, which 
 fell out within a few days of each otlier, was 
 soon damped by the death of the empress's son; 
 and the sequel of this history will shew us, that 
 the fate of the czarowitz was too unfortunate, for 
 the birth of a son to this prince to be looked upon 
 as a happiness. 
 
 The delivery of the czarina put a stop for some 
 time to her accompanying, as usual, her royal 
 consort in all his expeditions by sea and land ; 
 but, as soon as she was up again, she followed 
 bim to new adventures. 
 
 CHAP. XXVI. 
 
 New travels of the czar. 
 
 "'^T^ISIMAR was at this time besieged by the 
 czar's allies. This town, ivhich belonged 
 of right to the duke of Mecklenburg, is situated 
 on the Baltic, about seven leagues distant from 
 Lubec, and might have rivalled that city in its 
 extensive trade, being once one of the most con- 
 siderable of the Hans Towns, and the duke of 
 Mecklenburg exercised therein a full power of 
 
 • Inhnbitantsnf a fiuiall town oflluncrarian Dalmatia« 
 with a harbour, from wlience llio neighbouring sea take^ 
 the name of Golfo di Hickanna.
 
 969 HISTORY OF 
 
 protection, rather than of sovereignty. This was 
 one of the German territories yet remaining to 
 the Swedes, in virtue of the peace of Westphalia : 
 but it was now obliged to share the same fate 
 with Stralsund. The allies of the czar pushed 
 the siege with the greatest vigour, in order to 
 make themselves masters of it before that prince's 
 troops should arrive ; but Peter himself coming 
 before the place in person, after the capitulation. 
 (Feb. 1716,) which had been made without his 
 privacy, made the garrison prisoners of war. He 
 was not a little incensed, that his allies should 
 have left the king of Denmark in possession of a 
 town which was the right of a prince, who had 
 married his niece ; and his resentment on this 
 occasion (which that artful minister, de Gortz, 
 soon after turned to his own advantage) laid the 
 first foundation of the peace, which he meditated 
 to bring about between the czar and Charles XII. 
 
 Gortz took the first opportunity to insinuate 
 to the czar, that Sweden was sutiiciently humbled, 
 and that he should be careful not to suffer Den- 
 mark and Prussia to become too powerful. The 
 czar joined in opinion with him, and as he had 
 entered into the war, merely from motives of 
 policy, whilst Charles carried it on wholly on the 
 principles of a warrior ; he, from that instant, 
 slackened in his operations against the Swedes, 
 and Charles, every where unfortunate in Ger- 
 many, determined to risk one of those desperate 
 gtrokes which success only can justify, and car- 
 ried the war into Norway. 
 
 In the meantime, Peter was desirous to make 
 a second tour through Europe. He had under- 
 taken his first, as a person who travelled for in- 
 struction in the arts and sciences : but this second 
 he made as a prince, who wanted to dive into the 
 secrets of the several courts. He took the czarina
 
 PETER THE GREAT. 2G3 
 
 with him to CopenLigen, Lubec, Schwerin, and 
 Nystadt. He had an interview with the kin.; of 
 Prussia at the little town of Aversborg, from 
 thence he and the empress went to Hamburg, arid 
 to Altena, which had been burned by the Swedes. 
 and which they caused to be rebuilt. Descend- 
 ing the Elbe as far as ^tade, they passed throuj^h 
 Bremen, where the magistrates prepared a firt- 
 work and illuminations for them, which formed, 
 in a hundred diflfc>reat places, these words — ' Our 
 deliverer is come amongst us.' At length he ar- 
 rived once more at Amsterdam, (Dec. 17, 1716,) 
 and visited the little hut at Saardam, where he 
 had first learned the art of ship-building, about 
 eighteen years before, and found his old dwelling 
 converted into a handsome and commodious 
 house, which is still to be seen, and goes by the 
 name of the Prince's House. 
 
 It may easily be conceived, with what a kind 
 of idolatry he was received by a trading and sea- 
 faring set of people, whose companion he had 
 heretofore been, and who thought they saw in the 
 conqueror of Pultowa, a pupil who had learned 
 from them to gain naval victories ; and had, after 
 their example, established trade and navigation 
 in his own dominions. In a word, they looked 
 upon him as a fellow-citizen, who had been 
 raised to the imperial dignity. 
 
 The life, the travels, the actions of Peter the 
 Great, as well as of his rival, Charles of Sweden, 
 exhibit a surprising contrast to the manners which 
 prevail amongst us, and which are, perhaps, 
 rather too delicate ; and this may be one reason, 
 that the history of these two famous men so much 
 excites our curiosity. 
 
 The czarina had been left behind at Schwerin 
 indisposed, being greatly advanced in hei preg- 
 nancy ; nevertheless, as soon as she was able to
 
 264 HISTORY OF 
 
 travel, she set out to join the czar in Holland., 
 but -was taken in labour at Wesel, and there de- 
 livered of a prince, (Jan. 14, 1717.) who lived 
 but one day. It is not customary \\-ith us for a 
 lying-in-woman to stir abroad for some time ; 
 but the czarina s^t out, and arrived at Amsterdam 
 in ten days after her labour. She was very de- 
 sirous to see the little cabin her husband Lad 
 lived and worked in. Accordingly, she and the 
 czar went together, without any state or attend- 
 ance, excepting only two servants, and dined at 
 the house of a rich shipbuilder of Saardam, whose 
 name was Kalf, and who was one of the first who 
 had traded to Petersburg. His son had lately 
 arrived from France, whither Peter was going. 
 The czar and czarina took great pleasure in hear- 
 ing an adventure of this young man, which 1 
 should not mention here, only as it may serve to 
 shew the great difference between the manners 
 of that country and ours. 
 
 Old Kalf, who had sent this son of his to Paris, 
 to learn the French tongue, was desirous that he 
 should live in a genteel manner during his stay 
 there ; and accordingly had ordered him to lay 
 aside the plain garb which the inhabitants of 
 Saardam are in general accustomed to wear, and 
 to provide himself with fashionable clothes at 
 Paris, and to live, in a manner, rather suitable 
 to his fortune than his education ; being safl5- 
 ciently well acquainted with his son's disposition 
 to know, that this indulgence would have no bad 
 effect on his natural frugality and sobriety. 
 
 As a calf is in the French language called 
 veau, our young traveller, when he arrived at 
 Paris, took the name of De Veau. He lived iu 
 a splendid manner, spent his money freely, and 
 made several genteel connexions. Nothing is 
 more common at Paris, than to bestow, without
 
 PETER THE GREAT. 265 
 
 reserve, the title of count and marquis, whether 
 a person has any claim to it or not, or even if he 
 is barely a gentleman. This absurd practice has 
 been allowed by the government, in order that, 
 by thus confounding all ranks, and consequently 
 humbling the nobility, there might be less danger 
 of civil wars, which, in former times, were so 
 frequent and destructive to the peace of the state. 
 In a word, the title of marquis and count, with 
 possessions equivalent to that dignity, are like 
 those of knight, without being of any order ; or 
 abb6, without any church preferment ; of no con- 
 sequence, and not looked upon by the sensible 
 part of the nation. 
 
 Young Mr. Kalf was always called the count 
 de Veau by his acquaintance and his own ser- 
 vants : he frequently made one in the parties of 
 the princesses ; he played at the duchess of 
 Berri's, and few strangers were treated with 
 greater marks of distinction, or had more general 
 invitations among polite company. A young 
 nobleman, who had been always one of his com- 
 panions in these parties, promised to pay him a 
 visit at Saardam, and was as good as his word : 
 when he arrived at the village, he inquired for 
 the house of count Kalf; when, being shewn into 
 a carpenter's work-shop, he there saw his former 
 gay companion, the young count, dressed in a 
 jacket and trowsers, after the Dutch fashion, 
 with an axe in his hand, at the head of his father's 
 workmen. Here he was received by his friend, 
 in that plain manner to which he had been ac- 
 customed from his birth, and from which he never 
 deviated. The sensible reader will forgive this 
 little digression, as it is a satire on vanity, and a 
 jianegyric on true manners. 
 
 The czar continued three months in Holland, 
 during which he passed his time in matters of a 
 M
 
 26& HISTORY OF 
 
 more serious nature than the adventure just re- 
 lated. Since the treaties of Nimeguen, Ryswic 
 and Utrecht, the Hague had preserved the repu- 
 tation of being the centre of negotiations in Eu- 
 rope. This little city, or rather village, the most 
 pleasant of any in the North, is chiefly inhabited 
 by foreign ministers, and by travellers, who corae 
 for instruction to this great school. They were, 
 at that time, laying the foundation of a great re- 
 volution in Europe. The czar, having gotten 
 ^intelligence of the approaching storm, prolonged 
 his stay in the Low Countries, that he might be 
 nearer at hand, to observe the machinations going 
 forward, both in the North and South, and pre- 
 pare himself for the part which it might be ne- 
 cessary for him to act therein. 
 
 CHAP. XXVII. 
 
 Continuation of the Travels of Peter the Great. — Con- 
 spiracy of baron Gortz. — Reception of the czar in 
 France. 
 
 XJE plainly saw that his allies were jealous of 
 his power, and found that there is often more 
 trouble with friends than with enemies. 
 
 Mecklenburg was one of the principal subjects 
 of those divisions, which almost always subsist 
 between neighbouring princes, who share in con- 
 quests. Peter was not willing that the Danes 
 should take possession of Wismar for themselves, 
 and still less that they should demolish the for- 
 tifications, and yet they did both the one and the 
 other. 
 
 He openly protected the duke of Mecklenburg, 
 who had married his niece, and whom he re- 
 garded like a son-in-law, against the nobility of 
 the country, and the king of England as openly
 
 PETER THE GREAT. 267 
 
 protected these latter. On the other hand, he 
 was greatly discontented with the king of Poland, 
 or rather with his minister, count Flemming, who 
 wanted to throw off that dependance on the czar, 
 which necessity and gratitude had imposed. 
 
 The courts of England, Poland, Denmark, 
 Holstein, Mecklenburg, and Brandenburg, were 
 severally agitated with intrigues and cabals. 
 
 Towards the end of the year 1716, and begin- 
 ning of 1717, Gortz, who, as Bassewitz tells us 
 in his Memoirs, was weary of having only the 
 title of counsellor of Holstein, and being only 
 private plenipotentiary to Charles XII. was the 
 chief promoter of these intrigues, with which he 
 intended to disturb the peace of all Europe. His 
 design was to bring Charles XII. and the czar 
 together, not only with a view to finish the war 
 between them, but to unite them in friendship, 
 to replace Stanislaus on the crown of Poland, 
 and to wrest Bremen and Verden out of the 
 hands of George I., king of England, and even 
 to drive that prince from the English throne, in 
 order to put it out of his power to appropriate to 
 himself any part of the spoils of Charles XII. 
 
 There was at the same time a minister of his 
 own character, who had formed a design to over- 
 ^vrn the two kingdoms of England and France : 
 this was cardinal Alberoni, who had more power 
 at that time in Spain, (ban Gortz had in Swe- 
 den, and was of as bold and enterprising a spirit 
 as himself, but much more powerful, as being at 
 the head of affairs in a kingdom infinitely more 
 rich, and never paid his creatures and deuendants 
 in copper money. 
 
 Gortz, from the borders of the Baltic Sea, 
 poon formed a connexion with Alberoni in Spain. 
 The cardinal and he both held a correspondence 
 with ail the wandering English who were in the
 
 £66 HISTORY OF 
 
 interest of the house of Stuart. Gortz made 
 visits to every place where he thought he was 
 likely to find any enemies of king George, and 
 went successively to Germany, Holland, Flan- 
 ders, and Lorrain, and at length came to Paris, 
 about the end of the year 1716. Cardinal Albe- 
 roni began, by remitting to him in Paris a mil- 
 lion of French livres, in ord^er (tc use the cardi- 
 nal's expression) to set fire to the train. 
 
 Gortz proposed, that Charles XII. should 
 yield up several pla:^es to the czar, in order to 
 be in a condition to recover all the others from 
 his enemies, and that he might be at liberty to 
 make a descent in Scotland, while the partisans 
 of the Stuart family should make an effectual 
 rising in England : after their form^ r vain at- 
 tempts to effect these views, it was necessary to 
 deprive the king of England of his chief sup- 
 port, which at that time was the regent of France. 
 It was certainly very extraordinary, to see 
 France in league with England, against the 
 grandson of Lewis XIV., whom she herself had 
 placed on the throne of Spain, at the expence of 
 her blood and treasure, notwithstanding the 
 strong confederacy formed to oppose him ; but 
 it must be considered, that every thing was now 
 out of its natural order, and the interests of the 
 regent not those of the kingdom. Alberoni, at 
 that time, was carrying on a confederacy in 
 France against this very regent.* And the 
 
 • The conspiracy carried on in France by cardinal 
 Alberoni, was discovered in a xery singular manner. 
 The Spanish ambassador's secretary, who used frequently 
 to go to the house of one La FoUon, a famous procures* 
 of Paris, to amuse himself for an hour or two after the 
 fatigues of business, had appointed a youug nymph, 
 whom be was fond of, to meet him there at nme o'clock 
 in the evening-, but did no: come to her till near twe
 
 PETER THE GREAT. 269 
 
 foundations of this grand project were laid al- 
 most as soon as the plan itself had been formed. 
 Gortz was the first who was let into the secret, 
 and was to have made a journey into Italy in 
 disguise, to hold a conference with the pretender, 
 
 o'clock in the morning. The lady, as may be supposed, 
 reproached liim with the little regard he paid to her 
 charms, or his own promise ; bat he excused himself, by 
 Baying, that he had been obliged to stay to finish a long 
 dispatch in ciphers, which was to be sent away that very 
 night by a courier to Spain : so saying, he undressed 
 and threw himself into bed, where he quietly fell asleep. 
 In pulling oflfhis clothes, he had, by accident, dropped a 
 paper out of his pocket, which, by its bulk, raised in the 
 nymph that curiosity so natural to her sex. She picked 
 it up, and read it partly over, when the nature of its con- 
 tents made her resolve to communicate them to La Fol- 
 lon : accordingly, she framed some excuse for leaving the 
 room, and immediately went to the apartment of the old 
 lady, and opened her budget. La Follon, who was a 
 woman of superior understanding to most in her sphere, 
 immediately saw the whole consequence of the afifair ; and, 
 after having recommended to the girl, to amuse her gal- 
 lant as long as possible, she immediately went to waken 
 the regent, to whom she had access at all hours, for mat- 
 ters of a very different nature to the present. This prince, 
 whose presence of mind was equal to every exigency, im- 
 mediately dispatched different couriers to the frontiers ; in 
 consequence of which, the Spanish ambassador's mes- 
 senger was stopped at Bayonne, and his dispatches taken 
 from him ; upon deciphering of which, the^' were found 
 exactly to agree with the original delivered to the regent 
 by La Follon ; upon this the prince of Cellamar, the Spa- 
 nish ambassador was put under an arrest, and all his papers 
 seized ; after which be was sent under a strong guard to 
 the frontiers, where they left him to make the best of hU 
 way to his own country. Thirs an event, which would haye 
 brought the kingdom of France to the verge of destruction, 
 was frustrated by a TOtary of V^enus, and a prieAUeaa of the 
 temple of pleasure.
 
 870 HISTORY OF 
 
 in the neighbourhood of Rome ; froa- thence he 
 was to have hastened to the Hague, to have an 
 interview with the czar, and then lo have settled 
 every thing with the king of Sweden. 
 
 The author of this History is particularly well 
 informed of every circumstance here advanced, 
 for baron Gortz proposed to him to accompany 
 him in these journies ; and, notwithstanding he 
 was very voung at that time, he was one of the 
 first witnesses to a great part of these intrigues. 
 
 Gort2 returned from Holland in the latter 
 part of 1716, furnished with bills of exchange 
 from cardinal Alberoni, and letters plenipoten- 
 tiary from Charles XII. It is incontestable that 
 the Jacobite party were to have made a rising in 
 England, while Charles, in his return from Nor- 
 way, was to make a descent in the north of 
 Scotland. This prince, who had not been able 
 to preserve his own dominions on the continent, 
 was now going to invade and overrun those of big 
 neighbours, and just escaped from his prison in 
 Turkey, and from amidst the ruins of his own 
 city of Stralsund, Europe might have beheld 
 him placing the crown of Great Br tain on the 
 head of James II. in London, as he had before 
 done that of Poland on Stanislaus at Warsaw. 
 
 The czar, who was acquainted with a part of 
 Gortz's projects, waited for the unfolding of the 
 rest, without entering into any of his plans, or 
 indeed knowing them all. He was as fond of 
 great and extraordinary enterprises as Charles 
 XII. Gortz, or Alberoni ; but then it was as the 
 founder of a state, a lawgiver, and a sound poli- 
 tician ; and perhaps Alberoni, Gortz, and even 
 Charles himself, were rather men of restless 
 souls, who sought after great adventures, tban 
 persons of solid understanding, who took their 
 measures with a just precaution ; or perhajos.
 
 PETER TF^E GREAT. 271 
 
 after all, their ill successes may have subjected 
 them to the charge of rashness and impradence. 
 
 During Gortz's stay at the Hague, the czar did 
 not see him, as it would have given too much 
 umbrage to his friends the stales -general, who 
 were in close alliance with, and attached to, the 
 party of che king of England ; and even his mi- 
 nisters visited him only in ])rivate, and with 
 great precaution, having orders from their master 
 to hear all he had to offer, and to flatter him 
 with hopes, without entering into any engage- 
 ment, or making use of his (the czar's) name in 
 their conferences. But, notwithstanding all these 
 precautions, those who understood the nature of 
 affairs, plainly saw by his inactivity, when he 
 might have made a descent upon Scania with the 
 joint fleets of Russia and Denmark, by his visible 
 coolness towards his allies, and the little regard 
 he paid to their complaints, and lastly, by thi? 
 journey of his, that there was a great change 
 in affairs, which would very soon manifest itself. 
 
 In the month , of January, 1717, a Swedish 
 packet-boat, which was carrying letters over to 
 Holland, being forced by a storm upon the coast 
 of Norway, put into harbour there. The letters 
 were seized, and those of baron de Gortz and 
 some other public ministers being ojjened, fur- 
 nished sufficient evidence of the projected revo- 
 lution. The court of Denmark communicated 
 these letters to the English ministry, who gave 
 orders for arresting the Swedish minister, Gillem- 
 bourg, then at the court of Loudon, and seizing 
 his papers ; upon examining which they disco- 
 vered part of his correspondence with the Ja- 
 cobites. 
 
 Feb. 1717.] King George immediately wrote 
 to the states-general, requiring them to cause tlie 
 person of baron Oortz to be arrested, agreeable
 
 «7« HISTORY OF 
 
 to the treaty of union subsisting between Eng- 
 land and that republic for their mutual security. 
 But this minister, who had his cieatures and 
 emissaries in every part, was quickly informed 
 of this order; upon which he instantlv quitted 
 the Hague, and was got as far as Arnheim, a 
 town on the frontiers, when the officers and 
 guards, who were in pursuit of him, and who 
 are seldom accustomed to use such diligence in 
 that country, came up with and took him, toge- 
 tiier with all his papers: he was strictly confined 
 and severely treated ; the secretary Stank, the 
 person who had counterfeited the sign manual of 
 the young duke of Holstein_, in the affair of 
 Toningen, experienced still harsher usage. In 
 fine, the count of Gillembourg, the Swedish envoy 
 to the court of Great Britain, and the baron de 
 Gortz, minister plenipotentiary from Charles 
 XII. were examined like criminals, the one at 
 London, and the other at Arnheim, while all the 
 foreign ministers exclaimed against this violation 
 of the law of nations. • 
 
 This privilege, which is mucn more insisted 
 upon than understood, and whose limits and ex- 
 tent have never vet been fixed, has, in almost 
 every age, received violent attacks. Several mi- 
 nisters have been driven from the courts where 
 they resided in a public character, and even 
 their persons have been more than once seized 
 upon, but this was the first instance of foreign 
 ministers being interrogated at the bar of a court 
 of justice, as if they were natives of the country. 
 The court of London and the states-general laid 
 aside all rules upon seeing the dangers which 
 menaced the house of Hanover ; but, in fact, this 
 danger, when once discovered, ceased to be any 
 longer danger, at least at that juncture. 
 
 The historian Xorbergmusi have been Tcry ill
 
 PETER THE GREAT. 273 
 
 informed, and have had a very indifferent know- 
 ledge of men and things, or at least have been 
 slrans^ely blinded by partiality, or under severe 
 restrictions from his own court, to endeavour to 
 persuade his readers, that the king of Sweden 
 had not a very great share in this plot. 
 
 The affront offered to his ministers fixed 
 Charles more than ever in his resolution to try 
 every means to dethrone the king of England. 
 But here he found it necessary, once in his life 
 time, to make use of dissimulation. He dis- 
 owned his ministers and their proceedings, both 
 to the regent of France and the states general; 
 from the former of whom he expected a subsidv, 
 and with the latter it was for his interest to keep 
 fair. He did not, however, give the king of 
 England so much satisfaction, and his ministers, 
 Gortz and Gillembourg, were kept six months in 
 confinement, and this repeated insult animated 
 in him the desire of revenge. 
 
 Peter, in the midst of all these alarms and jea- 
 lousies, kept himself quiet, waiting with patience 
 the event of all from time ; and having esta- 
 blished such good order throughout his vast do- 
 minions, as that he had nothing to foar, either at 
 home or from abroad, he resolved to make a 
 journey to France. Unhappily he did not un- 
 derstand the French language, by which means 
 he was deprived of the greatest advantage he 
 might have reaped from his journey ; but ho 
 thought there might be something there worthy 
 observation, and he had a mind to be a nearer 
 witness of the terms on which the rei;ent stood 
 with the king of England, and wheilier that prince 
 was staunch to his alliance. 
 
 Peter the Great was received in France as 
 such a monarch ought to be. .Marshal Tess^ was 
 sent to meet him, with a number of the principal 
 M 2
 
 £74 HISrORY OF 
 
 Jords of the court, a company of guards and the 
 king's coaches ; but he, according to his usual 
 custom, travelled with such expedition, that he 
 •was at Gournay when the equipages arrived at 
 Elbeuf. Entertainments were made for him in 
 every place on the road where he chose to par* 
 take of them. On his arrival he was received in 
 the Louvre, where the royal apartments were 
 prepared for him, and others for the priuces 
 Kourakin and Dolgorouki, the vice-chancellor 
 Shaffiroff, the ambassador Tolstoy, the same who 
 had suffered in his person that notorious viola- 
 tion of the laws of nations in Turkey, and for the 
 rest of his retinue. Orders were given for lodg- 
 ing and entertaining him in the most splendid 
 and sumptuous manner : but Peter, who was 
 come only to see what might be of use to him, 
 and not to suflfer these ceremonious triflings, 
 w'hichwerea restraint upon his natural plainness, 
 and consumed a time that was precious to him, 
 went the same night to take up his lodgings at 
 the other end of the city in the hotel of Les- 
 digui^re, belonging to marshal Villeroi, where he 
 was entertained at the king's expense in the 
 same manner as he would have been at the 
 Louvre. The next day (May 8, 1717.) the re- 
 gent of France went to make him a visit in the 
 before mentioned hotel, and the dav afterwards 
 the young king, then an infant, was sent to him 
 under the care of his governor, the marshal de 
 Villeroi, whose father had been governor to 
 Lewis XIV. On this occasion, they, by a po-' 
 lite artifice, spared the czar the troublesome re- 
 .■^traint of returning this visit immediately after 
 receiving it, by allowing an interview of two 
 days for him to receive the respects of the several 
 corporations of the city ; the second night he 
 vent to visit the king: the household were all
 
 PETER THE GREAT. 275 
 
 nndei a?ms, and they brought the young king 
 quite '•> the door of the czar's coach. Peter, sur- 
 prised and uneasy at the prodigious concourse 
 of people assembled about the infant monarch, 
 took him in his arms, and carried him in that 
 manner for some time. 
 
 Certain ministers, of more cunning than un- 
 derstanding, have pretended in their writings, 
 that marshal de Villeroi wanted to make the 
 young king of France take the upper hand on this 
 occasion, and that the czar made use of this stra- 
 tagem to overturn the ceremonial under the ap- 
 pearance of good nature and tenderness ; but this 
 notion is equally false and absurd. The natural 
 good breeding of the French court, and the re- 
 spect due to the person of Peter the Great, would 
 not permit a thought of turning the honours in- 
 tended him into an aflfront. The ceremonial 
 consisted in doing every thing for a great monarch 
 and a great man, that he himself could have de- 
 sired, if he had given any attention to matters of 
 this kind. The journeys of the emperor Charles 
 IV. Sigismund, and Charles V. to France, were 
 by no means comparable, in point of splendour, 
 to this of Peter the Great. They visited this king- 
 dom only from motives of political interest, and 
 at a time when the arts and sciences, as yet in 
 their infancy, could not render the era of their 
 journey so memorable : but when Peter the Great, 
 on his going to dine with the duke d'Antin, in the 
 palace of Petitbourg, about three leagues out of 
 Paris, saw his own picture, which had been 
 drawn for the occasion, brought on a sudden, and 
 placed in a room where he wa^, he then found 
 that no people in the world knew so well how to 
 receive such a guest as the French. 
 
 He was still more surprised, when, on going 
 to see them strike the medals in tlie long gallerj
 
 276 HISTORY OF 
 
 ef the LouTTe, where all the king's artists are sc 
 handsomely lodged; a medal, which they were 
 then striking, happening to fall to the ground, 
 the czar stooped hastily down to take it up, when 
 he beheld his own head engraved thereon, and 
 on the reverse a Fame standing with one foot upon 
 a globe, and underneath these words from Virgil 
 — • Vires acquirit eundo ;' an allusion equally 
 delicate and noble, and elegantly adapted to his 
 travels and his fame. Several of these medals in 
 gold were presented to him, and to all those who 
 attended him. Wherever he went to view the 
 -works of any artists, they laid the master-pieces 
 of their performances at his feet, which they be- 
 sought him to accept. In a word, when he visited 
 the manufactories of the Gobelins, the workshop 
 of the king's statuaries, painters, goldsmiths, 
 jewellers, or mathematical instrument-makers, 
 ■whatever seemed to strike his attention at any of 
 those places, were always offered him in the 
 king's name. 
 
 Peter, who was a mechanic, an artist, and a 
 geometrician, went to visit the academy of 
 sciences, who received him with an exhibition of 
 every thing they had most valuable and curious ; 
 but they had nothing so curious as himself He 
 corrected, with his own hand, several geographi- 
 cal errors in the charts of his own dominions, and 
 especially in those of the Caspian Sea. Lastly, 
 be condescended to become one of the members 
 of that academy, and afterw^ards continued a 
 correspondence in experiments and discoveries 
 ■with those among whom he had enrolled himself 
 as a simple brother. If we would find examples 
 of such travellers as Peter, we must go back to 
 the times of a Pythagoras and an Anacharsis, 
 and even they did not quit the command of a 
 mighty empire, to go in search of instruction.
 
 PETER THE GREAT. 277 
 
 And here we cannnct forbear recalling to the 
 mind of the reader the transport with which Peter 
 the Great was seized on viewing the monument 
 of cardinal Richelieu. Regardless of the beauties 
 of the sculpture, which is a master-piece of its 
 kind, he only admired the image of a minister 
 who had rendered himself so famous throughout 
 Europe by disturbing its peace, and restored tc 
 France that glory which she had lost after the 
 death of Henry IV. It is well known, that, em- 
 bracing the statue with rapture, he burst forth 
 into this exclamation — ' Great man ! I would 
 have bestowed one half of my empire on thee, 
 to have taught me to govern the other.' And 
 now, before he quitted France, he was desirous 
 to see the famous ra::dame de Mainteuon. whom 
 he knew to be, in fact, the widow of Lewis XIV". 
 and who was now drawing very near her end ; 
 and his curiosity vvas the more excited by the 
 kind of conformity he found between his own 
 marriage and that of Lewis ; though witli this 
 difference between the king of France and him, 
 that he hud nublickly married an heroine, whereas 
 Lewis X1V\ had only privately enjoyed an ami- 
 able wife. 
 
 The czarina did not accompany her husband 
 in this journey : he was apprehensive that the 
 excess of ceremony would be troublesome to her, 
 as well as the curio.sity of a court little capable 
 of distinguishing the true merit of a woman, who 
 had braved death by the side of her husband both 
 by sea and land, from the banks of the Prutb to 
 the coast of Finland.
 
 «78 HISTORY OF 
 
 CHAP. XXVIII. 
 
 Of the retam of the czar to his dominions. — Of hit 
 politics and occupations. 
 
 ^FHE behaviour of the Sorbonne to Peter, when 
 he went to visit the mausoleum of cardinal 
 Richelieu, deserves to be treated of by itself. 
 
 Some doctors of this university were desirous 
 to have the honour of brin-^ing about a union be- 
 tween the Greek and Latin churches. Those 
 who are acquainted with antiquity need not be 
 told, that the Christian religion was first intro- 
 duced into the west by the Asiatic Greeks : that 
 it was bom in the east, and that the first fathers, 
 tlie tirst councils, the first liturgies, and the first 
 rites, were all from the east ; that there is not a 
 single title or oflice in the hierarchy, but was in 
 Greek, and thereby plainly shews the same from 
 whence they zxe all derived to us. Upon the 
 division of the Roman empire, it was next to im- 
 possible, but that sooner or later there must be 
 two religious as well as two empires, and that 
 the same schism should arise between the eastern 
 and western Christians, as between the followers 
 of Osman and the Persians. 
 
 It is this schism which certain doctors of the 
 Sorbonne thought to crush all at once by means 
 of a memorial which they presented to Peter the 
 Great, and effect what Pope Leo XL and his 
 successors had in vain laboured for many ages to 
 bring about, by legates, coimcils, and even money. 
 These doctors should have known, that Peter the 
 Great, who was the head of the Russian church, 
 was not likely to acknowledge the pope's autho- 
 rity. They expatiated in thei;- memorial on the 
 liberties of the Galilean church, which the czar 
 gave himself no corcern about. J'hey asserted
 
 PETER THE GREAT. 279 
 
 that the popes ought to be subject to the councils, 
 and that a papal decree is not an article of faith : 
 but their representations were in vain ; all they 
 got by their pains, was to make the pope their 
 enemy by such free declarations, at the same 
 time that they pleased neither the czar nor the 
 Russian church. 
 
 There were, in this plan of union, certain poli- 
 tical views, which the good fathers did not under- 
 stand, and some points of controversy which 
 they pretended to understand, and which each 
 party explained as they thought proper. It wao 
 concerning the MolyGhost, which, according to the 
 Latin church, proceeds from the Father and Son, 
 and which, at present, according to the Greeks, 
 proceeds from the Father through the Son, after 
 Laving, for a considerable time, proceeded from 
 the Father only : on this occasion ihey quoted a 
 passage in St. Epiphanius, where it is said, ' That 
 the Holy Ghost is neither brother to the .">on, nor 
 grandson to the Father.' 
 
 But Peter, when he left Paris, had other busi- 
 ness to mind, than that of clearing up passatjes m 
 St. Epiphanius. Nevertheless, he received the 
 memorial of the Sorbonne with his accustomed 
 affability. That learned body wrote to some of 
 the Russian bishops, who returned a polite an- 
 swer, though the majorpartof them were offended 
 at the proposed union. It was in order to remove 
 any apprehensions of such a union, that Peter, 
 some time afterwards, namely, in 17 lo, when he 
 had driven the Jesuits out of his dominions, in- 
 stituted the ceremony of a burlesque conclave. 
 
 He had at his court an old fool, named Jotof, 
 who had learned him to write, and who thought 
 he had, by that trivial service, merited the highest 
 honours and most important posts : I'eter, who 
 aometimes softeneil the toihi of government, by
 
 280 HISTORY OF 
 
 indulging bis people in amusements, which befit- 
 ted a nation as yet not entirely reformed by his 
 labours, promised his -wiiting-^naster, to bestow 
 on him one of the highest dignities in the world ; 
 accordingly, he appointed him knez papa, or 
 supreme pontiff, with an appointment of two 
 thousand crowns, and assigned him a house to 
 live in, in the Tartarian quarter at Petersburg. 
 He was installed by a number of buffoons, with 
 great ceremony, and four fellows who stammered 
 were appointed to harangue him on the acces- 
 sion. He created a number of cardinals, and 
 marched in procession at their head, and the 
 whole sacred college was made drunk with brandy. 
 After the death of this Jotof, an ofl5cer, named 
 Buturlin, was made Pope : this ceremony has 
 been thrice renewed at Moscow and Petersburg, 
 the ridiculousness of which, though it appeared of 
 no moment, yet has by its ridiculousness confirm- 
 ed the people in their aversion to a church, which 
 pretended to the supreme power, and whose church 
 had anathematized so many crowned heads. In 
 this manner did the czar revenge the cause of 
 twenty emperors of Germany, ten kings of France, 
 and a number of other sovereigns j and this was 
 all the advantage the Sorbonne gained from its 
 impolitic attempt to unite the Latia and Greek 
 churches. » 
 
 The czar's journey to France proved of more 
 utility to his kingdom, by bringing about a con- 
 nexion with a trading and industrious people, 
 than could have arisen from the projected union 
 between two rival churches , one of which will 
 always maintain its ancient independence, and 
 the other its new superiority. 
 
 Peter carried several artificers with him out of 
 France, in the same manner as he had done out 
 of Elns^land i for every nation,, which he visited
 
 PETER THE GREAT. §81 
 
 thought it an honour to assist him in hi? (ie&ign 
 of introducing the arts and sciences into his new- 
 formed state, and to be instrumental in this 
 species of new creation. 
 
 In this expedition, he drew up a sketch of a 
 treaty of commerce with France, and which he 
 put into the hands of his ministers at Holland, as 
 soon as he returned thither, but it was not signed 
 by the Frencli ambassador, Chateauneuf, till the 
 l^th August, 1717, at the Hague. 'I'his treaty 
 not only related to trade, but likewise to bringing 
 about peace in the North. The king of France 
 and the elector of Brandenburg accepted of the 
 office of mediators, which Peter offered them. 
 This was sufficient to give the king of England 
 to understand, that the czar was not well pleased 
 with liim, and crowned the hopes of baron Gortz, 
 who from that time, left nothing undone to bring 
 about a union between Charles and Peter, to 
 stir up new enemies a^^ainst George I. and to 
 assist cardinal Alberoni in his schemes in every 
 part of Europe. Gortz now paid and received 
 visits publicly from the czar's ministers at the 
 Hague, to whom he declared, that he was in- 
 vested with full power from the court of Sweden 
 to conclude a peace. 
 
 The czar suffered Gortz to dispose all his bat- 
 teries, without assisting therein himself, and was 
 prepared either to make peace with the kmg of 
 Sweden, or to carry on the war, and continued 
 still in alliance with the kings of Denmark, Po- 
 land, and Kussia, and in appearance with the 
 elector of Hanover. 
 
 It was evident, that he had no fixed design, 
 but that of profiting of conjunctures and circum- 
 stances, and that his main object was to complete 
 the general establishments he had set on foot. 
 He well knew, that the negotiations and intereeta
 
 S83 HISTORY OF 
 
 of princes, their leagues, their friendships, theix 
 jeaJousies, and their enmities, were subject to 
 change with each revolving year, and that fre- 
 quently not the smallest traces remain of the 
 greatest efforts in politics. A simple manufac- 
 tory, well established, is often of more reai ad- 
 vantage to a state than twenty treaties. 
 
 Peter having joined the czarina, who was 
 waiting for him in Holland, continued his travels 
 with her. They crossed Westphalia, and anived 
 at Berlin in a private manner. The new kin^ of 
 Prussia was as much an enemy to ceremonious 
 vanities, and the pomp of a court, as Peter him- 
 self ; and it was an instructive lesson to the eti- 
 quette of Vienna and Spain» the punctilio of Itaiy, 
 and the politesse of the French court, to see a 
 king, who only made use of a wooden elbow- 
 chair, who went always in the dress of a com- 
 mon soldier, and who had banished from bis 
 table, not only all the luxuries, but even the more 
 moderate indulgences of life. 
 
 The czar and czarina observed the same plain 
 manner of living ; and had Charles been with 
 them, the world might have beheld four crowned 
 heads, with less pomp and state about them than 
 a German bishop, or a cardinal of Rome. Never 
 were luxury and effeminacy opposed by such 
 noble e.tamples. 
 
 It cannot be denied, that if one of our fellow- 
 subjects had, from mere curiosity, made the fifth 
 part of the journeys that Peter I. did for the good 
 of his kingdom, he would have been considered 
 as an extraordinary person, and one who chal- 
 lenged our consideration. From Berlin he went 
 to Dantzic, still accompanied by his wife, and 
 from thence to Mittau, where he protected his 
 niece, the duchess of Courland, lately become a 
 Madow. He visited all the places he had con-
 
 PETER THE GREAT. 283 
 
 quered, made several new and useful regulations 
 in Petersburg ; he then goes to Moscow, where 
 he rebuilds the bouses of several persons that 
 had fallen to ruin ; from thence he transports 
 himself to Czaritsin, on the river Wolga, to stop 
 the incursions of the Cuban lartars, constructs 
 lines of communication from the Wolga to the 
 Don, and erects forts at certain distances, be- 
 tween the two rivers. At the same time he 
 caused the military code, which he had lately 
 composed, to be printed, and erected a court of 
 justice, to examine into the conduct of his minis- 
 ters, and to retrieve the disorders in his finances ; 
 he pardons several who were found guilty, and 
 punishes others. Among the latter was the great 
 prince Menzikoflf himself, who stood in need of 
 the royal clemency. But a sentence more severe, 
 which he thought himself obliged tc utter against 
 Lis own son, filled with bitlernes*" those days, 
 which were, in other respects, covered with so 
 much glory. 
 
 CHAP. XXIX. 
 
 ProceedingB against prince Alexis Petrowitz. 
 
 DETER the Great, at the age of seventeen, haa 
 married, in the year 1689, Eudocia Theodora, 
 or Theodorouna Lapoukin. Bred up in the pre- 
 judices of her country, and incapable of sur- 
 mounting them like her husband, the greatest 
 opposition he met with in erecting his empire, 
 and forming his people, came from her : she was, 
 as is too common to her sex, a slave to supersti- 
 tion ; every new and useful alteration she looked 
 ttpon as a species of sacrilege ; and every foreigner, 
 whom the war employed to execute his great de-
 
 284 HISTORY OF 
 
 signs, appeared to Iier no better than as corrop'- 
 tors and innovators. 
 
 Her open and public complaints gave encon- 
 ragemeat to the factious, andthjse who were the 
 advocates for ancient customs and manners. 
 Her conduct, in other respects, by no means made 
 amends for such heavy imperfections. The czar 
 was at length obliged to repudiate her in 1696, 
 and shut her up in a convent at Susdal, where 
 they obliged her to take the veil under the nama 
 of Helena. 
 
 The son, whom he had by her in 1690, was 
 bom unhappily with the disposition of his mother, 
 and that disposition received additional strength 
 from his very first education. My memoirs say, 
 that he was encrusted to the care of superstitious 
 men, who ruined his understanding for ever. 
 'Twas in vain that they hoped to correct these 
 first impressions, by giving him foreign precep- 
 tors ; their very quality of being foreigners dis- 
 gusted him. He was not bom destitute of genius ; 
 he spoke and wrote German well ; he had a 
 tolerable notion of designing, and understood 
 something of mathematics : but these very me- 
 moirs affirm, that the reading of ecclesiastical 
 books was the ruin of hiin. The young Alexis 
 imagined he saw in these books a condemnation 
 of every thing which his father ha I done. There 
 were some priests at the head of the malcon- 
 tents, and by the priests he suflfered himself to 
 be governed. 
 
 They persuaded him that the whole nation 
 looked with horror upon the enterprises of Peter; 
 that the frequent illnesses of the czar promised 
 but a short life ; and that his Kon could not hope 
 to please the nation, but by testifying his aversion 
 for all changes of custom. These murmurs, and 
 these counsels, did not break out into an open
 
 PETER THE GREAT. 285 
 
 faction or conspiracy , but every thing seemed to 
 tend that way, and the tempers of the people were 
 inflamed. 
 
 Peter's marriage with Catherine in 1707, and 
 the children which he liad by her, began to sour 
 the disposition of the young priiice. Peter tried 
 every method to rechiim him : he even placed 
 him at the head of the regency for a year ; he 
 sent him to truvei ; he married him in 1711, at 
 the end of the campaign of Pruth, to the princess 
 of Brunswick. 'Jhis marriage was attended with 
 great misfortunes. Alexis, now- twenty years 
 old, gave himself up to the debauchery of youth, 
 and that boorishness of ancient manners he so 
 much delighted in. 'J'hese irregularities almost 
 brutalized liim. His wife, despised, ill-treated, 
 wanting even necessaries, and deprived of all 
 comforts, languished away in disappointment, and 
 died at last of grief, the first of November, 171.T. 
 
 She left the prince .■Mexis one son; and ac- 
 cording to the natural order, this son was one 
 day to become heir to the empire. Peter per- 
 ceived with sorrow, that when he should be no 
 more, all his labours were likely to he destroyed 
 by those of liis own blood. After the death of 
 the princess, he wrote a letter lo his son, equally 
 tender and resolute : it finished with these words : 
 ' I will still wait a little time, to see if you will 
 correct yourself; if not, know that 1 will cut you 
 off from the succession, as we lop off a useless 
 member. Don't imagine, that 1 mean only to 
 intimidate you ; don't rely upon the title of being 
 my only sou ; for if I spare not my own life for 
 my country, and the good of rny people, how shall 
 I spare you 1 I will rather choose to leave my 
 kingdom to a foreign^-r who deserves it, than to 
 my own son, who makes himself unworthy of it.' 
 
 This is the letter of a father, but it is still more
 
 ?86 HISTORY OF 
 
 ih' letter of a legislator ; it sbews us, besides 
 that the order of succession was not invariably 
 established in Russia; as in other kingdoms, by 
 those fundamental laws which take away from 
 fathers the right of disinheriting their children ; 
 and the czar believed he had an undoubted pre- 
 rogative to dispose of an empire which he had 
 founded. 
 
 At this very time the empress Catherine was 
 brought to bed of a prince, who died afterwards 
 in 1719. Whether this news sunk the courage 
 of Alexis, or whether it was imprudence or bad 
 counsel, he wrote to his father, that he renounced 
 the crown, and all hopes of reigning. * I take 
 God to witness,' says he, ' and 1 swear by my 
 soul that I will never pretend to the succession. 
 I put my children into your hands, and I desire 
 only a provision for life.' 
 
 The czar wrote him a second letter, as fol- 
 lows :* — 'You speak of the succession, as if I 
 
 • As these letters and answers afford the most strikinjj 
 evidence of the czar'ft prudence, and the prince's insin- 
 cerity, and will convey to the reader a clear idea of the 
 ground* and motives of this extraordinary transaction, 
 we have inserted the following translation of them. The 
 lirst letter from the czar to his son, is dated the £7th of 
 October, 1715, and displays a noble spirit of religior., 
 with the most ardent desire of leaving a successor who 
 should perpetuate his nanoe and glory to future ages 
 
 ' Son,' says the czar to him, ' you cannot be igaoratit 
 of what is known to all the world, that our people groaned 
 under the oppression of the Swedes, before the beginning 
 of this present war. By the usurped possession of many 
 of our maritime ports, so necessary to our state, they cut 
 us ofiF from ail commerce with the rest of mankind ; and 
 we saw, with deep regret, that they had even cast a mist 
 over the eyes of persons of the greatest discernment, who 
 tamely brooked their slaverj-, and made no complainu to 
 «. You know how much it cost us at the beginning of
 
 PETER THE GREAT. 287 
 
 fitood in need of your consent in the disposal 
 thereof. I reproached you with the aversion you 
 
 this war, to make ourselves thoroughly experienced, and 
 to stand onr ground in spite of all the advantages which 
 oorirreconcileable enemies gained over us. The Almighty 
 alone has conducted us by his hand, and conducts us still. 
 We submitted to that probationary state with resignation 
 to the will of God, not doubting but it was he who made 
 us pass through it : he has accepted our submission ; and 
 the same enem^-, before whom we were wont to tremble, 
 LOW trembles before us. These are efiTccts, which, under 
 Gods's assistance, we owe to our labour, and those of our 
 faithful and affectionate sons, and Russian subjects. But 
 while I survey the successes with which God has blessed 
 ourai-ms, if I turn m3' eyes on the posterity that is to suc- 
 ceed me, my soul is pierced with anguish ; and I have no en- 
 joyment of my present happiness, when 1 carry my views 
 into futurity. All my felicity vanishes away like a dream, 
 since you, my son, reject all means of rendering yourself 
 capable of governing well after me. Your incapacity is 
 voluntary ; for you cannot excuse yourself from want of 
 genius : it is inclinatioa alone you want. Far less can 
 you plead the want of bodily strength, as if God had not 
 furnished you suflBcientl3' in ihat respect : for though your 
 constitution be none the strongest, it cannot be reckoned 
 weak. Yet you will not so much as hear of warlike 
 exercises ; though it is by those means we are risen from 
 that obscurity in which we were buried, and have made 
 ourselves known to the nations about us, whose esteem 
 we now enjoj'. I am far from desiring you to cherish in 
 yourself a disposition to make war for its own sake, and 
 without just reasons: all I demand of you is, that you 
 would apply yourself to learn the military art; because, 
 Krithout uijderstanding the rules of war, it is impossible 
 \o be qualified for government. 1 might set before your 
 eyes many examples of what I propose to yon ; but shall 
 onl^- mention the Greeks, with whom we are united by 
 the same profession of faith. Whence came the declen- 
 sion of their empire, but from the neglect of arms } Sloth 
 and inaction have subjected them to tyrants, and that 
 davery ocder which thej have groaned. Yoa are mtiol:
 
 266 HISTORY OF 
 
 have shewn to all kind of business, and sigriified 
 to you, that I was highly dissatisfied with your 
 
 mistaken if you imagine it is enough for a prince that he 
 have good generals to act under his orders : no, my son, 
 it is upon the chief himself that the eyes of the world 
 are fixed ; they study his inclinations, and easily slide 
 into the in:iiation of his manners. My brother, during 
 his reign, loved magnificence in dress, and splendid 
 equipages, and horses ricklj- caparisoned ; the taste of this 
 country was not much formed that way ; but the pleasures 
 of the prince soon became those of the subjects, who are 
 readily led to imitate him both in the objects of his love 
 and disgust. If people are so easily disengaged from things 
 that are only for pleasure, will they not be still more prone 
 to forget, aud in process of time wholly to lay aside the 
 use of arms, the exercise of which grows the more irksome 
 the less they are habituated to them ? You have no in- 
 clination to learn the profession of war ; yon do not apply 
 yourself to it; and consequently will never know it. How 
 then will you be able to command others, and to judge of 
 the rewards which those subjects deserve who do their 
 duty, or of the punishment due to such as fall short of 
 obedience ? You must judge only by other people's eyes ; 
 and will be considered as a young bird, which reaching 
 out its beak, is as ready to receive poison as proper 
 nourishment. You say, the iufirm state of your health 
 makes you unfit to bear the fatigues of war ; but that is a 
 frivolous excuse. 1 desire you not to undergo the fatigues 
 of that profession, though it is there that all great 
 captains are begun ; but I wish you had aa inclination to 
 the military art; and reason may give it 3'ou, if you have 
 it not from nature. Had you once this inclination, it 
 would occupy your thoughts at all times, even in your 
 hours of sickness. Ask those who remember my brother's 
 reign : his state of health was much more infirm than 
 your's ; he could not manage a horse of never so little 
 mettle, nor hardly mount him: yet he loved horses, and 
 perhaps there never will be in the countrj' liner stables 
 -han his. Hence you see, that success does not always 
 depend upon personal labour, but upon the inclination. 
 If you think that there are princes, whose affairs fail not
 
 PETER THE GREAT. 289 
 
 conduct in general ; but to these particulars you 
 iiave given me no answer. Paternal exhorta- 
 
 <o succeed, though they go not to war in person, yoa are 
 la the right ; bu-t if they go not to the field of battle, the^ 
 iare, however, an inclination to go, and are acquainted 
 with tho military art. For instance, the late king of 
 France did not always take the field himself; but we 
 know to what a degree he was a lover of war, and how- 
 many glorious exploits he performed therein ; which 
 made his campaigns be called the theatre and school of 
 the world. The bentoffhat prince's mind was not turned 
 to military afifairs only, he had also a taste for the polite 
 arts, for manufactures, and other institutions, wtiich have 
 made his kingdom more flourishing than any other. After 
 all these remonstrances which I have laid before you, I 
 return to my first subject, which immediately concerns 
 yourself. I am a man, and consequently must die : to 
 whom shall I leave the care of finishing what, b}' God's 
 grace, I have begun, and of preserving what 1 have in 
 pan recovered ? To a son who, like that slothful servant 
 in the gospel, buries his talent iu the earth, and neglects 
 to improve what God has committed to his trust ? How 
 often have I reproached 30U for your sulk-nness and in- 
 docility ? I have been obliged to chastise you on that 
 account. For these several years past I have hardly 
 spoke to 3'ou, because I almost despair of bringing you 
 back to the right way ; discouraged and disheartened by 
 the fruitlessuess of all mj' endeavours. You loiter on in 
 •upine indolence ; abandoning yourself to shameful plea- 
 sures, without extending j-our foresight to the dangerous 
 consequences which such a conduct must produce both 
 to yourself and the whole slate : you confine yourself to 
 the government of your own house, and in that station 
 you acquit j'ourself verj' ill ; St. Paul has told us, ' he 
 that knows not how to govern his own house, how shall 
 he be able to rule the church of God ?' In like manner 
 I say to you, since j'ou know not how to manage your 
 domestic afifairs, how can you be able to govern a king- 
 dom r I am determined, at last, to signify to you my 
 final purpose ; being willing, however, to defer the ex» 
 ctUioQ of it for a short time, to see if you will reform 
 N
 
 <90 HISTORY OF 
 
 dons make no impression on you, wherefore I 
 resolved to write you this once for the last time. 
 
 if not, know iLat 1 am resolved to deprive voii of tli« 
 Boccession, as I would lop off a useless branch. Do not 
 imagine, that because 1 have no other child but yon,* I 
 mean by this only to intimidate you : I will most cer- 
 tainly execute my resolution ; and God requires it of me : 
 for, since I spare not my own life for the sake of my 
 country, and the welfare of my people, why should I 
 allovr an effeminate prince to ascend the throne after me, 
 who would sacrifice the interest of the subject to his 
 pleasures.' and should he be obliged to expose his life in 
 their behalf, would leave them to perish, rather than re- 
 dress their grievances. I will call in a mere stranger to 
 the crown, if he be but worthj' of that honour, sooner 
 than my own son, if he is unworthy. 
 
 ' PETER.' 
 
 To this letter the czarowitz replied : ' Most gracious 
 sovereign and father, I have read the letter which your 
 majesty sent me of the 27th of October, 1715, after the in- 
 terment of my wife ; and all the answer I can make to it 
 is, that if your majesty is determined to deprive me of the 
 succession to the crown of Russia, on account of my inabi- 
 lity, your will be done, i eveii request it of you very 
 earnestly ; because I judge not myself fit for government. 
 My memory is greatly impaired; and without memory 
 there is no managing affairs. The powers both of my 
 bodj- and mind are much weakened bj- the diseases to 
 which I have been incident, and 1 am thereby incapaci- 
 tated for the rule of so great a people. Such a charge 
 requires a man far more Tigorous than 1 am. For these 
 reasons I am not ambitious to succeed you (whom God 
 preserve through a length of years) in the crown of 
 Russia, even though I had no brother, as I have one at 
 present, whom God long preserve. As little will I for the 
 future set up any claim to the succession : to the truth ot 
 which I solemnly swear, tcking God it bo my witneM; 
 
 • This letter was written about eight days oefore tl» 
 birth of Peter Petro?.-itz, the czar's second 6cn»
 
 PETER TPIE GREAT. 291 
 
 If you despise the advice I give you while I am 
 alive, what regard will you pay to them after 
 my death? But though you had the inclination 
 at present to be true to your promises, yet a 
 corrupt priesthood will be able to turn you at 
 pleasure, and force you to falsify them. They 
 have no depeudance but upon you. You have 
 no sense of gratitude towards hira who gave you 
 your being. Have you ever assisted him in toils 
 and labours since you arrived at the age of matu- 
 rity ? Do you not censure and condemn, nay, 
 even affect to hold in detestation, whatever I 
 do for the good of my people? In a word, I 
 have reason to conclude, that if you survive me, 
 you will overturn every thing that I have done. 
 Take your choice, either endeavour to make 
 yourself worthy of the throne, or embrace a mo- 
 nastic state. I expect your answer, either in 
 writing, or by word of mouth, otherwise 1 shall 
 treat you as a common malefactor.' 
 
 This letter was very severe, and it was easy 
 for the prince to have replied, that he would 
 alcer his conduct ; instead of which, he only re- 
 turned a short answer to his father, desiring 
 permission to turn monk.* 
 
 aud in testimony thereof I write and sign these presents. 
 1 put my children into your hands : and for myself I ask 
 no more of you than a bare maintenance daring my life, 
 leaving the whole to your pleasure. 
 
 ' Your hnmfr.'e servant and son, 
 
 'ALEXIS.' 
 
 Peter soon penetrated through the disguise his son bad 
 at-sumed, and therefore wrote him the above letter, dated 
 Jauuary ig, I716, and which he called his ' Last Admo- 
 nilion.* 
 
 • This letter was couched in the following terms : — 
 Most gracious sovereign and father, yesterday morning
 
 29^ HISTORY OF 
 
 This resolution appeared altogether unnar 
 tural ; and it may furnish matter of surprise, 
 that the czar should think of travelling, and 
 leaving a son at home so obstinate and ill-af- 
 fected ; but, at the same time, his doing so, is 
 next to a proof, that he thought he had no reason 
 to apprehend a conspiracy from that son. 
 
 The czar, before he set out for Germany and 
 France, w ent to pay his son a visit. The prince, 
 who was at that time ill, or at least feigned him- 
 self so, received his father in his bed, where he 
 protested, with the most solemn oaths, that he 
 was ready to retire into a cloister. The czar 
 gave him six months to consider of it, and then 
 set out on his travels with the czarina. 
 
 No sooner was he arrived at Copenhagen, 
 than he heard (what he might reasonably ex- 
 pect) that the czarowitz conversed only with 
 factious and evil-minded persons, who strove 
 to feed his discontent. Upon this the czar 
 wrote to him, that he had to choose between a 
 throne and a convent ; and that, if he had any 
 thoughts of succeeding him, he must immediately 
 set out and join him at Copenhagen. 
 
 But the confidants of the prince remonstrating 
 to bim how dangerous it would be to trust him- 
 self in a place where he could have no friends to 
 advise him, and where he would be exposed to 
 the anger of an incensed father, and the machi- 
 nations of a revengeful step-mother ; he, under 
 pretence of going to join his father at Copen- 
 
 I received your letter, of the IQth of this month : mj- in- 
 disposition hinders me from writing to you at large, but 
 I am willing to embrace the monastic state, and I beg 
 your gracious consent thereto. 
 
 ' Your servant, and unworhy son, 
 
 ' ALEXIS.'
 
 PETER THE GREAT. 293 
 
 hagen, took the road to Vie^.ia, and threw 
 himself under the protection of the emperor 
 Charles VI. his brother-in-law, intending to re- 
 main at hi? court till the death of the czar. 
 
 This adventure of the czarowitz was nearly 
 the same as that of Lewis XI. of Fiance, who. 
 when he was dauphin, quitted the court of his 
 father Charles VII. and took refuge with the 
 duke of Burgundy ; but the dauphin was muclj 
 more culpable than Alexis, inasmuch as he mar- 
 ried in direct opposition to his father's will, 
 raised an army against him, and threw himself 
 into the arms of a prince, who was Charles's de- 
 clared enemy, and refused to hearken to the re- 
 peated remonstances of his father, to return back 
 to his court. 
 
 The czarowitz, on the contrary, had married 
 only in compliance with his father's orders, had 
 never rebelled against him, nor raised an army, 
 nor taken refuge in the dominions of an enemy, 
 and returned to throw himself at his feet, upon 
 the very first letter he received from him; for, 
 as soon as Peter knew that his son had been at 
 Vienna, and had afterwards retired to Tyrol, 
 and from thence to Naples, which, at that time, 
 belonged to the emperor, he dispatched Iloman- 
 zoff, a captain of his guards, and the privy-coun- 
 sellor Tolstoy, with a letter written with his own 
 hand, and dated at Spa, the 21st of July, N. S. 
 1717. They found the prince at Naples, in the 
 castle of St. P2lme, and delivered to him his fa- 
 ther's letter, which was as follows : — 
 
 ' I now write to you for the last time, to ac- 
 quaint you, that you must instantly comply with 
 my orders, v/hich will be communicated to 'you 
 by Tolstoy and RomanzofF. If you obey, 1 give 
 you my sacred word and promise, that I will 
 not punish you ; and that, if you will return
 
 294 HISTORY OV 
 
 home, I will love you uiore than ever; but, i. 
 you do not, 1, as your father, and in virtue of 
 the authority which God has given me over you, 
 denounce against you my eternal curse ; and, as 
 your sovereign, declare to you, that I will find 
 means to punish your disobedience, in which I 
 trust God himself will assist me, and espouse 
 the just cause of an injured parent and king. 
 
 ' For the rest, remember that I have never 
 laid any restraint upon you. Was I obliged to 
 leave you at liberty to choose your way of life 1 
 Had I not the power in my own hands to oblige 
 ^ou to conform to my will 1 I had only to com- 
 mand, and make myself obeyed.' 
 
 The viceroy of Naples found it no difficult 
 matter to persuade the czarowitz to return to his 
 father. This is an incontestable proof that the 
 emperor had no intention to enter into any en- 
 gagements with the prince, that might give um- 
 brage to his father. Alexis therefore returned 
 with the envoys, bringing with him his mistress, 
 AphrosjTie, who had been the companion of his 
 elopement. 
 
 We may consider the czarowitz as an ill-ad- 
 vised young man, who had gone to Vienna and to 
 Naples, instead of going to Copenhagen, agree- 
 able to the orders of his father and sovereign. 
 Had he been guilty of no other crime than this, 
 which is common enough with young and giddy 
 persons, it was certainly very excusaWe. 'i'he 
 prince determined to return to his father, on the 
 faith of his having taken God to witness, that 
 he not only would pardon him, but that he would 
 love him better than ever. But it appears by 
 the instructions given to the two envoys who 
 went to fetch him, and even by the czar's jwn 
 letter, that his father required hina to declare the 
 •>ersons who had beer, his counsellors, and also
 
 PETER THE GREAT. 295 
 
 to fulfil the oath he had made of renouncing the 
 succession. 
 
 It seemed difficult to reconcile this exclusion 
 of the czarowitz from the succession, with the 
 other part of the oath, by which the czar had 
 bound himself in his letter, namely that of loving 
 his son better than ever. Perhaps divided be- 
 tween paternal love, and the justice he owed to 
 himself and people, as a sovereign, he might limit 
 the renevi-al of his affection to his son in a con- 
 vent, instead of to that son on a throne : per- 
 haps, likewise, he was in hopes to reduce hira 
 to reason, and to render him worthy of the suc- 
 cession at last, by making him sensible of the 
 loss of a crown which he had forfeited by his own 
 indiscretion. In a circumstance so uncommon, 
 so intricate, and so afflicting, it may be easily 
 supposed that the minds of both father and son 
 were under equal perturbation, and hardly con- 
 sistent with themselves. 
 
 The prince arrived at Moscow on the 13th of 
 February. N. S. 1717; and the same day went to 
 throw himself at his father's feet, who was re- 
 turned to the city from his travels. They had 
 along conference together, and a report was im- 
 mediately spread through the city, that the prince 
 and his father were reconciled, and that all past 
 transactions were buried in oblivion. But the 
 next day, orders were issued for the regiments 
 of guards to be under arras at break of day. and 
 for all the czar's ministers, boyards, and coun- 
 sellors, to repair to the great hall of the castle : 
 as also for the prelates, together with two monks 
 of St. Basile, professors of divinity, to assemble. 
 in the cathedral, at the tolling of the great bell. 
 The unhappy prince was then conducted to the 
 great castle like a j)risoner, and being come in 
 his father's presence, threw himself in tearn nt
 
 296 HISTORY OF 
 
 his feet, and presented a writing, containing a 
 confession of bisfaults, declaring himself unworthy 
 of the succession, and imploring only that his life 
 miglit be spared.* 
 
 The czar, raising up his son, withdrew with 
 him into a private room, where he put many ques- 
 tions to him, declaring to him at the same time; 
 that if he concealed any one circumstance relating 
 to his elopement, his life should answer for it. 
 The prince was then brought back to the great 
 hall, where the council was assembled, and the 
 czar's declaration, which had been previously 
 prepared, was there pubLcly read in his pre- 
 Bence.t 
 
 • The prince's renunciation was couched in the fol- 
 /owing terms : — ' I, the undernamed, declare upon the 
 holy gospel, that on account of the crimes I have com- 
 mitted against his czarish majesty, my father and bo- 
 vereijn, as set forth in his manifesto, I am, through my 
 own fault, excluded from the throne of Russia. There- 
 fore I confess and acknowledge that exclusion to be just 
 as having merited it by my own fault aud 'iuworihiness,: 
 and I hereby oblige myself, and swear in the presence of 
 Almighty God, in unity of nature, and trinity of persons, 
 as my supreme Judge, to submit in all things to my 
 father's will, never to set up a claim or pretension to the 
 succession, or accept of it under any pretext whatever, 
 acknowledging my brother Peter Petrowitz as lawful 
 successor to the crown. In testimony whereof, I kiss 
 the holy cross, and sign these presents with my own 
 hand. 'ALEXIS.' 
 
 t As this extraordinary piece cannot fail of being in- 
 teresting to most part of our readers, we have ventured 
 to subjoin the whole of it in a note, our author fcavin|f 
 on)»; given some few extracts. 
 
 The Czar's Declaration. 
 Peter 1. by the grace of God, czar, emperor of Russia, 
 ^1'. to all our faithful subject*, ecclesiastical, militar/,»n<l
 
 PETER THE GREAT. 29? 
 
 In tliis piece the czar reproaches his sou with 
 
 all those faults we have before related, namely, 
 
 ciTil, of all the states of the Russian nation. It is no- 
 torious, and well known to the greatest part of our faith- 
 ful subjects, and cliiefly to those who live in the places 
 of ourresidence, or who are iu our service, with how much 
 care and applicati n we have caused our eldest son Alexis 
 to be brought up and educated ; having given him for 
 that purpose, from his infancy, tutors to teach him the 
 Russian tongue, and foreign languages, and to instruct 
 him in all arts and sciences, in order not only to bring 
 him up in our Christian oriliodox faith of the Greek pro- 
 fession, but also in the knowledge of political and mili- 
 tary aflfairs, and likewise in the constitution of foreign 
 countries, their customs and languages; through the read- 
 ing of history, and other books, in all manner of sciences, 
 becoming a prince of his high rank, he might acquire the 
 qualifications worthy of a successor to our throne of Great 
 Russia. Nevertheless, we have seen with grief, that all 
 attention and care, for the education and instruction of 
 oar son, proved ineffectual and useless, seeing he always 
 Bwerved from his filial obed'.ence, shewing no application 
 for what was becoming a wtrthj* successor, and slighting 
 the precepts of the masters we had appointed for him ; 
 but, on the contrary, frequenting disordi.rlj-personB, from 
 whom he could learn nothing good, or that would be ad- 
 vantageous and useful to him. We have not m^glected 
 often to endeavour to reclaim, and bring him hnrY to hifl 
 duly, sometimes b3' caresees and gentle means, some- 
 times by reprimands, sometimes by paternal corrections. 
 We have more than once taken him witli us into our army 
 and the field, that he might be instructed in the art of war, 
 as one of tlie chief sciences for the defence of his coun- 
 try ; s.'uardin.; him, at the same time, from £.11 hazard of 
 the succession, though we exposed ourself to manifest 
 perils and dangers. We have ut other times left him at 
 Moscow, putting into his hands a sort of regency ia 
 the empire, in order to form him in the art of govern- 
 ment, and that he might learn how to reiijn after u«. Wc 
 have likewise sent Iiim into foreign cou;nries, in hopes 
 end expectation, iLst seeinu', in hi.s travels, governmon;*
 
 «99 HISTORY OF 
 
 his little application to study, his connexions with ' 
 the favourers of the ancient cuslonns and manners 
 
 BO well regulated, this •;vould excite in him some emo- 
 lation and an inciiaaiicn to apply )iimself to do well. 
 But all our care his been fruitless, and like the seed of 
 the doctrine fallen upon a rock ; for he Las not only re- 
 fused to follow that which is good, but even is come to 
 bate it, without shewing anj- inclination, or disposition, 
 either for military or political affairs; hourly and con- 
 tinually conversing with base and disorderly persons, 
 whose morals are rude and abominable. As we were re- 
 solved to endeavour, by all imaginable means, to reclaim 
 bira from that disorderly course, and to inspire him with 
 an inclination to converse with persons of virtue and 
 honour ; we exhorted him to choose a consort among 
 the chief foreign houses, as is usual in other countries, 
 and hath been practised by our ancestors, the czars of 
 Russia, who have contracted alHances by marriages with 
 other sovereign houses, and we have left him at liberty 
 to make a choice. lie declared his inclination for lh« 
 princess, grand-daughter of the duke of Wolfenbuttle, 
 then reigning, sister-in-law to his imperial majesty tbt 
 emperor of the Romans, now reigning, and cousin to the 
 king of Great Britain ; and having desired us to procure 
 him that alliance, and permit him to marry that princess, 
 we readily consented thereunto, without an"" regard to 
 the great expense which was necessarily occasioned by 
 that marriage : but, after its consummation , we found our- 
 selves disappointed of the hopes we had, that the change in 
 the condition of our son would produce good fruits, and 
 change his bad icclinations; for, notwithstanding his 
 spouse was, as far as we have been able to observe, a wise, 
 sprightly princess, and of a virtuous conduct, and that he 
 himself had chcsen her, he nevertheless lived with her in 
 the greatest disunion, while he redoubled his afTection for 
 lewd people, bringing thereby a disgrace upon our house in 
 the eyesof foreign powers to whom that princesswaa related, 
 which drew upon us many complaints and reproaches. 
 Our frequent advices ar.d exhortations to him, to reform 
 his conduct, proved ineffectual, and he at last violated th« 
 conjugal faith, and gave hie affection to a prostitute of
 
 PETER THE GREAT. 299 
 
 of the country, and bis ill-behaviour to his wife.' 
 — ' He has even violated the conjugal faith,' saith 
 
 t!ie most servile and low condition, living publicly in 
 that crime with her, to the great contempt of his lawfut 
 spouse, who soon after died ; and it was believed that 
 bcr grief, occasioned by the disorderly life of her hus- 
 band, hastened the end of her days. When we saw his 
 resolution to persevere in his vicious courses, we declared 
 to him, at tlie funeral of his consort, that if he did not 
 tor the future conform to our will, and apply himself to 
 things becoming a prince, presumptive heir to so great 
 an empire, we would deprive him of the succession, 
 without any regard to his being our only son (our second 
 Kon was not then born) and that he ought not to rely 
 upon his being such, because we would rather choose for 
 our successor a stranger worthy thereof, than an unwor* 
 thy son ; that we would not leave our empire to such a 
 successor, who would ruin and destroj- what we have, 
 by God's assistance, established, and tarnish the glory 
 and honour of the Russian nation, for the acquiring of 
 which we had sacrificed our ease and our health, and 
 willingly exposed our life on several occasions ; besides, 
 that the fear of God's judgment would not permit us to 
 leave the government of such vast territories in the hands 
 of one whose insufficiency and nnworthiness we were not 
 ignorant of. In short, we exhorted him in the most 
 pressing terms we could make use of, to behave himself 
 with discretion, and gave him time to repent and return 
 to his duty. His answer to these remonstrances was, 
 that he acknowledged himself guilty in all these points ; 
 but alleged the weakness of his parts and genius, which 
 did not permit him to apply himself to the sciences, and 
 other functions recommended to him : he owned himself 
 incapable of our s-uccessiun, and desired us to discharge 
 him from the same. Nevertheless, we continued to ex- 
 hort him with a paternal affection, and joining menaces 
 to our exliortations ; we forgot nothing to bring him back to 
 the right way. The operations of the war having ol)lige<l 
 us to repair to Denmark, we left him at Petersburg, to 
 five him time to return to his duty, and amend his waya; 
 Rod, afterwards, upon the repeated advices we received
 
 300 HISTORY OF 
 
 the czar in his manifesto, ' by giving his affection 
 to a prostitute of the nnost servile and low con- 
 
 of the continuauce of his disorderly life, we sent him or- 
 ders to come to us at Copenhagen, to make the campaign, 
 that he might thereby the better form himself. But, for- 
 getting the fear and commandments of God, who enjoins 
 obedience even to private parents, and much more to 
 those who are at the same time sovereigns, our paternal 
 cares had no other return than unheard-of ingratitude ; 
 for, instead of coming to us as we ordered, he withdrew, 
 with large sums of money, and his infamous concubine, 
 with whom he continued to live in a criminal course, and 
 put himself under the protection of the emperor, raising 
 against us, his father and his lord, numberless calumnies 
 and false reports, as if we did persecute him, and intended, 
 without cause, to deprive him of the succession ; alleging, 
 moreover, that even his life was not safe if he continued 
 with us, and desired the emperor not only to give him 
 refuge in his dominions, but also to protect him against 
 tis by force of arms. Every one maj- judge, what shame 
 and dishonour this conduct of our son hatb drawn upoo 
 us and our empire, in the face of the whole world ; the 
 like instance is hardly to be found in history. The em- 
 peror, though informed of his excesses, and how he had 
 lived with his consort, sister-in law to his imperial ma- 
 jesty, thought fit, however, upon these pressing instances, 
 to appoint him a place where he might reside ; and he 
 desired farther, that he might be so private there, that 
 we might not come to the knowledge of it. Meanwhile 
 his long stay having made us fear, out of a tender and 
 fatherly affection for him, that some misfortune had be- 
 fallen him, we sent persons several wars to get intelli- 
 gence of him, and, after a great deal of trouble, we were 
 at last informed bj' the captain of our guard, Alexander 
 RomanzofF, that he was privately kept in aa imperial 
 fortress at Tj-rol ; whereupon we wrote a letter, with our 
 owu hand, to the emperor, to desire that he might be 
 sent back to us : but, notwithstahding the emperor ac- 
 quainted him with our demands, and exhorted him to 
 rettirn to us, and submit to our will, as beiug his father 
 end lord ; yet he alUged, with a great many calumnies
 
 PETER THE GREAT. 301 
 
 dition, during the life-time of his lawful spouse.' 
 It is certain that Peter himself had repudiatea 
 
 agaiust us, that he ought not to ne delivered into our 
 hands, as if we had been his enemy, and a tyrant, from 
 whom he had notliing to expect but death. In short, he 
 persuaded liis imperial majesty, instead of sending him 
 back at that time to us, to remove him to some remote 
 place in his dominions, namely, Naples in Italj', and 
 keep him there secretly in the castle, under a borrowed 
 Dame. Nevertheless, we having notice of the place 
 where he was, did thereupon dispatch to the emperor our 
 privy-counsellor, Peter Tolstoy, aud the captain of our 
 guard, aforesaid, with a most pressing letter, representing 
 how unjust it would ^e to detain our son, contrary to all 
 laws, divine and human, according to which private 
 parents, atid with much more reason those who are be 
 sides invested with a sovereign authority as we are, have 
 an unlimited power over their children, independently 
 of any other judge ; and we set forth on one side, the 
 just and atfectionate manner with which we had alwayb 
 used our son, and, on the other, his disobedience ; re- 
 Dresenting, in the conclusion, the ill consequences and 
 animosities which the refusal of delivering up our son 
 to us might occasion, because we would not leave this 
 affair in that condition. We, at the same time, ordered 
 those we sent with that letter, to make verbal remon- 
 strances even in more pressing terms, and to declare that 
 we should be obliged to revenge, by all possible methods, 
 such detaining our sou. We wrote likewise a letter to 
 him with our own hand, to represent to him the horror 
 and impiety of his conduct, and the enormity of the crime 
 he had committed against us his father, and how God 
 t^reateued in his laws to punish disobedient children 
 with eternal death : we threatened him, as a father, with 
 our curses, and, as his lord, to declare him a traitor to his 
 country, unless he returned, and obeyed our commands ; 
 and gave him assurance, that if he did as we desired, and 
 returned, we would pardon his crime. Our envoj-s, after 
 many solicitations, and the above representation, made 
 by us in wriiiiij:. at last obtained leave of the emperor 
 10 go and speak to our »on, in order to dispose him to
 
 502 HISTORY OF 
 
 his own wife in favour of a captive, but that 
 captive was a person of exemplary merit, and 
 
 return home. The imperial minister gave them at the 
 sime time to understaad, that our son had informed the 
 ernperor that we persecuted him, and that his life was not 
 safe with us. whereby he moved the emperor's compas- 
 sion, and induced him to take him into his protection ; 
 out that the emperor, taking now into his consideration 
 our true and solid representations, promised to use his 
 utmost endeavour to dispose him to return to ns ; and 
 would, moreover, declare to him, that he could not in 
 >astice and equity refuse to deliver him to his father, or 
 have any difference with us on that account. Our en- 
 voys, upon their arrival at Naples, having desired to 
 deliver to him our letter, written with our hand, sent 
 us word, that he did rufuse to admit them ; but that the 
 emperor's viceroy had found means, by inviting him to his 
 house, to present them to him afterwards, much against his 
 will. He did then, indeed, receive our letter, containing our 
 paternal exhortation, and threatening our curse, but with- 
 OQt shewing the least inclinatioi to return ; alleging still 
 a great many falsities and calumnies against us, as if, 
 by reason of several dangers he had to apprehend from 
 us, he could not, nor would not return ; and boasting, 
 that the emperor had not only promised to defend and pro- 
 tect him against us, but even to set him upon the throne 
 of Russia against our will, by force of arms. Our en- 
 voys perceiving this evil disposition, tried all imaginable 
 ways to prevail with him to return, they intreated him, 
 they expatiated by turns upon the graciousness of our 
 assurances towards him, and upon our threats in case of 
 disobedience, and that we would even bring him away 
 by force of arms ; they declared to him that the emperor 
 would not enter into a war with us on his account, and 
 many other such-like representations did they make to 
 him. But he paid no regard to all this, nor shewed any 
 inclination to return to us, until the imperial viceroy, 
 convinced at last of his obstinacy, told him in the em- 
 peror's name, that he ought to return ; for that his im- 
 perial majesty could cot by any law keep him from ua, 
 tior, during the present war wiih Turkey, and also in Italy
 
 PETER THE GREAT. 303 
 
 the czar had just cause for discontent against his 
 wife, who was at the same time his subject. The 
 
 with Spain, embroil himself with U8 upon his account. 
 When he saw how the case stood, fearing he should be 
 deliTered up to us, whether he would or not, he at length 
 resolved to return home ; and declared his mind to our 
 envoys, and to the imperial viceroj' : he likewise wrote 
 the same thing to us, acknowledging himself to be a cri- 
 minal, and blameworthy. Now although our son, by so 
 long a course of criminal disobedience agairist us, his fa- 
 ther and lord, for many years, and particularly for the 
 dishonour he hath cast upou us in the face of the world, 
 by withdrawing himself, and raising calumnies against us, 
 as if we were an unnatural father, and for opposing his 
 sovereign, hath deserved to be punished with death ; yet 
 our paternal affection inclines us to have mercy upon him, 
 and we therefore pardon bis crimes, and exempt him from 
 all punishment for the same. But considering his un- 
 worthiness, we cannot in conscience, leave him after 
 us the succession to the throne of Russia ; foreseeing 
 that, by his vicious courses, he would entirel3' destroy 
 the glory of our nation and the safety of our dominions, 
 which, through God's assistance, we have acquired and 
 established by incessant application ; for it is notorious 
 and known to every one, how much it hath cost us, and 
 with what efforts we have not only recovered the provinces 
 which the enemy had usurped from our empire, but also 
 conquered several considerable towns and sountries, and 
 with what care we have caused our people fc be instructed 
 in all sorts of civil and military sciences, to the glory 
 and advantage of the nation and empire. Now, as we 
 •bould pity our states and faithful subjects, if, by such a 
 taccesBor, we should throw them back into a much worse 
 condition than ever they were yet ; so, by the paternal 
 authority', in virtue of which, b3' the laws of our empire, 
 any of our subjects m»y disinherit a son, and give his 
 Buccession to such other of his sons, as he pleases ; and, 
 in quality of sovereign prince, iu consideration of the 
 safety of our dominions, we do deprive our said soa 
 .Alexis, for his crimes and unwoniiiness, of the succession 
 after us to the throne of Russia, ereD though there should
 
 304 HISTORY OF 
 
 czarowitz, on the coutrary, had abandoned hie 
 pnncess for a young woman, hardly known to any 
 one, and who had no other merit but that of per- 
 sonal cuarms. So far there appears some errors 
 of a young man, which a parent onght to re- 
 primand in secret, and -which he might have 
 pardoned. 
 
 The czar, in his maiiifesto, next reproaches his 
 son with his flight to Vienna, and his having 
 put himself under the emperor's protection ; and 
 adds, that he had calumniated his father, by tell- 
 ing the emperor that he was persecuted by him ; 
 and that he had compelled him to renounce the 
 succession; and, lastly, that he had made inter- 
 cession with the emperor to assist him with an 
 armed force. 
 
 Here it immediately occurs, that the emperor 
 
 not remain one single person of our faniilj after us. 
 And we do constitute and declare successor to the said 
 throne after us, our second son Peter, though yet verj' 
 young, having no successor that is older. We lay upon 
 our said son Alexis our paternal curse, if ever at any time 
 he pretends to, or reclaims, the said succession ; and we 
 desire our faithful subjects, whether ecclesiastics or secu- 
 lars, of all ranks and conditions, and the whole Russian 
 nation, in conformity to this constitution and our will, to 
 acknowledge and consider our said son Peter, appointed 
 by our constitution, to confirm the whole by oath, before 
 the holy altar, upon the holy gospel, kissing the cross; 
 and all thobe who shall ever, at any time, oppose this our 
 will, and who, from this day forward, shall dare to con- 
 sider our son Alexis, as successor, or to assist him for 
 that purpose, declare them traitors to us and their country. 
 And we Lave ordered that these presents shall be every 
 where published and promulgated, to the end that no per- 
 •on may pretend ignorance. — Given at JIoscow, the third 
 of February, 1718. Signed with cur hand, and 
 with our seal. 
 
 ' PETER.'
 
 PETER THE GREAT. 305 
 
 could not. with any propriety, have entered into 
 a war with the czar on such an occasion ; nor 
 could he have interposed otherwise between an 
 incensed fatlier and a disobedient son, than by 
 his good offices to promote a reconciliation. Ac- 
 cordingly we find, that Charles VI. contented 
 himself with giving a temporary asylum to the 
 fugitive prince, and -eadily sent him back on the 
 first requisition of the czar, in consequence of 
 being informed of the place his son had chosen 
 for his retreat. 
 
 Peter adds, in this terrible piece, that Alexis 
 had persuaded the emperor, that he went in 
 danger of his life, if he returned back to Russia. 
 Surely it was in some measure justifying these 
 complaints of the prince, to condemn him to death 
 at his return, and especially after so solemn a 
 promise to pardon him ; but we shall see, in the 
 course of this history, the cause which afterwards 
 moved the czar to denounce this ever-memorable 
 sentence. For the present let us turn our eyes 
 upon an absolute prince, pleading against his son 
 before an august assembly. — 
 
 ' In this manner,' says he, ' has our son re- 
 turned ; and although, by his withdrawing him- 
 self and raising calumnies against us, he has 
 deserved to be punished with death, yet, out of 
 our paternal affection, we pardon his crimes ; but, 
 ctmsidering his unworthiness, and the series of 
 his irregular conduct, we cannot ul conscience 
 leave him the succession to the throne of Russia; 
 foreseeing that, by his vicious courses, he would, 
 after our decease, entirely destroy the glory of 
 our nation , and the safety of our dominions, which 
 we have recovered from the enemy. 
 
 ' Now, as we should pity our states and our 
 faithful subjects, if, by such a successor, we should 
 throw them back into a much worse condition
 
 o06 HISTORY OF 
 
 than ever they were yet ; so, by the paternal au- 
 thority, iind, in quality of sovereign prince, in 
 consideration of tbe safety of our dominions, we 
 do deprive our said son Alexis, for his crimes 
 and unvvorthirjess, of the succession after us to 
 our throne of Russia, even though there should 
 not remain one single person of our family 
 after us. 
 
 * And we do constitute and declare successor 
 to the said throne after us, our second son, 
 Peter,* though yet very young, having no succes- 
 sor that is older. 
 
 ' We lay upon our said son Alexis our pater- 
 nal curse, if ever at any time he pretends to, or 
 reclaims, the said succession. 
 
 ' And we desire our faithful subjects, whether 
 ecclesiastics or seculars, of all ranks and condi- 
 tions, and the whole Russian nation, in confor- 
 mity to this constitution and our will, to acknow- 
 ledge and consider our son Peter, appointed by 
 us to succeed, as lawful successor, and agreeably 
 to this our constitution, to confirm the whole by 
 oath before the holy altar, upon the holy gospel, 
 kissing the cross. 
 
 ' And all those who shall ever at any time op- 
 pose this our will, and who, fiom this day for- 
 ward, shall dare to consider our son Alexia as 
 successor, or assist him for that purpose, declare 
 them traitors to us and our country. And we 
 have ordered that these presents shall be every 
 where published and promulgated, to the end 
 that no person may pretend ignorance.' 
 
 It would seem that this declaration had been 
 prepared beforehand for the occasion, or that it 
 had been drawn up with astonishing dispatch : 
 
 • This was the son of the empress Catherine, 
 who died April 15, 1719-
 
 PETEIl THE GREAT. 307, 
 
 for the czarowitz did not return to Moscow till 
 the 13th of February, and his renunciation in 
 favour of the empress Catherine's son is dated 
 the 14th. 
 
 The prince on his part signed his renunciation, 
 whereby he acknowledges his exclusion to be 
 just, as having merited it by his own fault and 
 unworthiness ; ' And I do hereby swear,' adds 
 he, ' in presence of God Almighty in the Holy 
 Trinity, to subrai*^ in all thmgs to my father's 
 will,' Slc. 
 
 These instruments being signed, the czar went 
 in procession to the cathedral, where they were 
 read a second time, when the whole body of 
 clergy signed their approbation with their seals 
 at the bottom, to a copy prepared for that pur- 
 pose.' No prince was ever disinherited in so 
 authentic a manner. There are many states in 
 
 • At tho same time confirming it by an oath, the form 
 of which was asfollowt* : ' I swear before Almighty God, 
 and upon his holy i^ospel, that whereas our most gracious 
 sovereign, the czar Peter Alexiowitz, has caused circular 
 letters to be published through his empire, to notify thai 
 he has thought fit to exclude Ins son, prince Alexis Pe- 
 trowitz, from the throne of Russia, and to appoint for his 
 successor to the crown his second son, the prince royal 
 Peter Petrowitz ; I do acknowledge this order and regu- 
 lation made by his majesty in favour of the said princ« 
 Peter Petrowiiz, to ho just and lawful, and entirely con- 
 form and submit myself to the same ; promising always 
 to acknowledge the said prince royal Peter Petrowitz for 
 big lawful successor, and to stand by him on all occa- 
 sions, even to the loss of my life, against all such as 
 ■hall presume to oppose the said succession ; and that 1 
 nev*r will, on any pretence whatsoever assist the prince 
 Alexi<» Petrowitz, nor in any manner whatsoever contri- 
 bate to procure him the succession. And this I so- 
 lemnly promise by my oath on the joly gospel, bi«<)ifig 
 th« holy crost thereupon.'
 
 308 HISTORY OF 
 
 which an act of this kind \^ luld be of no vali- 
 ility ; but ia Russia, as in ancient Rome, every 
 father has a power of depriving his son of his 
 succession, and this power was still stronger in a 
 sovereign than in a private subject, and especi- 
 ally in such a sovereign as Peter. 
 
 But; nevertheless, it was to be apprehended, 
 that those who had encouraged the prince in his 
 opposition to his father's will, and had advised 
 him to withdraw himself from his court, might 
 one day endeavour to set aside a renunciation 
 which had been procured by force, and restore to 
 the eldest son that crown which had been vio- 
 lently snatched from him to place on the head 
 of a younger brother by a second marriage. In 
 this case it was easy to foresee a civil war, and a 
 total subversion of all the great and useful pro- 
 jects which Peter had so much laboured to esla- 
 blish ; and therefore the present matter in ques- 
 tion was to determine between the welfare of near 
 eighteen millions of souls (which was nearly the 
 number which the empire of Russia contained 
 at that time), and the interest of a single person 
 incapable of governing. Hence it became ne- 
 cessary to find out those who were disaffected, 
 and accordingly the czar a second time threat- 
 ened his son with the most fatal consequences if 
 he concealed any thing : and the prince was 
 obliged to undergo a judicial examination by hia 
 father, and afterwards by the commissioners ap- 
 pointed for that purpose. 
 
 One principal article of the charge brought 
 against him, and that which served chiefly to his 
 condemnation, was, a letter from one Beyer, the 
 emperor's resident at the ccart of Russia, dated 
 at Petersh'.iicj, after the flight of the prince. Thia 
 letter makes mention of a mutiny in the Russian 
 army then assembled at Mecklenburg, and thai
 
 PETER THE GREAT. 809 
 
 several officers talked of clapping up Catherine 
 and her son in the prison where the late empress, 
 whom Peter had repudiated, was then confined, 
 and of pla:ing the czarowitz on the throne, as 
 soon as he could be found out and brought 
 back. These idle projects fell to the ground of 
 themselves, and there was not the least appr-ar- 
 auce that Alexis had ever countenanced them. 
 The whole was only a piece of news related by a 
 foreigner ; the letter itself was not directed to 
 the prince, ana he had only a copy thereof trans- 
 mitted him while at Vienna. 
 
 But a charge of a more grievous nature appear- 
 ed against him, namely, the heads of a letter 
 written with his own hand, and which he ha.l 
 sent, while at the court of Vienna, to the senators 
 and prelates of Russia, in which were the fol- 
 lowing very strong assertions : — ' The continual 
 ill-treatment which I have suffered without hav- 
 ing deserved it, have at length obliged me to 
 consult my peace and safety by flight. I have 
 narrowly escaped being confined in a convent, 
 by those who have already served my mother in 
 the same manner. I am now under the protec- 
 tion of a great prince, and I beseech vou not to 
 abandon me in this conjuncture.' 
 
 The expression, in this coujunctiire, which 
 might be construed into a seditious meaning, ap- 
 peared to have been blotted out, and then in- 
 aerted again by his own hand, and afterwards 
 blotted out a second time : which shewed it to 
 be the action of a young man disturbed in bin 
 mind, following the dictates of his resentment, 
 and repenting of it at the very instant. There 
 were only the copies of these letters found ; 
 they were never sent to the persoiis they were 
 designed for, the court of Vienna having taken 
 care to stop tliem ; a convincing proof that tli*
 
 310 HISTOR\ OF 
 
 emperor never intended to break with the czar, 
 or to assist the son to take up arms against his 
 father. 
 
 Several -witnesses were brought to confront the 
 prince, and one of them, named Afanassief, de- 
 posed, that he had formerly heard him speak 
 ihppe words, — ' I shall mention something to the 
 bishops, who will mention it again to the lower 
 clergy, and they to the parish pjiests, and the 
 crown w ill be placed on my head whether I will 
 or not.' 
 
 His own mistress, Aphrosyne, was likewise 
 brought to give evidence against him. The 
 charge, however, was not well supported in all 
 its parts; there did not appear to have been any 
 regular plan formed, any chain of intrigues, or 
 any thing like a conspiration or combination, nor 
 the least shadow of preparation for a change in 
 the government. The '-vhole affair was that of a 
 son, of a depraved and factious disposition, who 
 thought himself injured by his father, who fled 
 from him, and who w ished for his death ; but 
 this son was heir to the greatest monarchy incur 
 hemisphere, and in his situation and place be 
 could not be guilty of trivial faults. 
 
 After the accusations of his mistress, another 
 witness was brought against him, in relation to 
 the former czarina his mother, and the princess 
 jMary his sister. He was char^ied with having 
 ironsulted the former in regard to his flight, and 
 of having mentioned it to the princess Mary. 
 The bishop of Rostow, who was the confidant of 
 all three, having been seized, deposed, that the 
 two princesses, who were then shut up in a con- 
 vent, had expressed their wishes for a n-volu- 
 tion in affairs that might restore them their li» 
 berty, and had even encouraged the prince, hf 
 clieir advice, to withdra.v himseh" out of th<"
 
 PETER THE GREAT. 311 
 
 kingdom. The more natural their resentment 
 was, the more it was to be apprehended. We 
 shall see, at the end of this chapter, what kind 
 of a person the bishop of Rostow was, and what 
 had been his conduct. 
 
 The czarowitz at first denied several facts of 
 this nature which were alleged against him, and 
 by this very behaviour subjected himself to the 
 punishment of death, with which his father had 
 threatened him in case he did not make an open 
 and sincere confession. 
 
 At last, however, he acknowledged several 
 disrespectful expressions against his father, 
 which were laid to his charge, but excused him- 
 self by saying, he lr>d been hurried away by 
 passion and drink. 
 
 The czar himself drew up several new interro- 
 gations. The fourth ran as follows : — 
 
 ' When you found by Beyer's letter that there 
 was a mutiny among the troops in Mecklenburg, 
 you seemed pleased with it ; you must certainly 
 have had some reason for it ; and 1 imagine you 
 woald have joined the rebels even during my 
 life-time V 
 
 i'his was interrogating the prince on the sub- 
 ject of his private thoughts, which, though they 
 might be revealed to a father, who may, by his 
 advice, correct them, yet might they also with 
 justice be concealed from a judge, who decides 
 only upon acknowledged facts. The private 
 sentiments of a man's heart have nothing to do 
 in a criminal j)roce8s, and the ])rince was at 
 liberty either to deny them or disguise them, 
 in such manner as he should think best for his 
 own safety, as being under no obligation to lay 
 open his heart, and yet we find him returning the 
 following answer : ' If the rebels had called 
 upon me during your life-time, 1 do verily be-
 
 318 HISTORY OF 
 
 lieve 1 should have joined them, supposing I had 
 found them suflBciently strong.' 
 
 It is hardly conceivable tliat he could have 
 made this reply of himself, and it would be full 
 fts extraordinarv, at least according to the custom 
 In our part of the world, to condemn a person 
 for confessing that he might have thought in a 
 certain manner in a conjuncture that never 
 happened. 
 
 To this strange confession of his private 
 thoughts, which had till then been concealed in 
 the bottom of his heart, they added proofs that 
 rould hardly b« admitted as such in a court of 
 justice in any other country. 
 
 The prince, sinking under his misfortunes, and 
 almost deprived of his senses, studied within 
 himself, with all the ingenuity of fear, for what- 
 ever could most effectually serve for his destruc- 
 tion ; and at length acknowledged, that in pri- 
 vate confession to the archpriest James, he had 
 wished his father dead ; and that his confessor 
 made answer, ' God will pardon you tins wish •. 
 we all wish the same.' 
 
 The canons of our church do not admit of 
 proofs resulting from private confession, inas- 
 much as they are held inviolable secrets between 
 God and the penitent : and both the Greek and 
 Latin churches are agreed, that this intimate and. 
 secret correspondence between a sinner and the 
 Deity are beyond the cognizance of a temporal 
 court of justice. But here the welfare of a 
 kingdom and a king were concerned. The arch- 
 priest, being put to the torture, confirmed all 
 that the prince had revealed ; and this trial fur- 
 nished the unprecedented instance of a confessor 
 accused by his penitent, and that penitent by 
 bis own mistress. To this may be added another 
 singular circumstance, namely, the archbishop
 
 PETER THE GREAT. 313 
 
 of Rezan having been involved in several accu- 
 sations on account of having spoken too favour- 
 ably of the young czarowitz in one of his sermons, 
 at the time that his father's resentment first 
 broke out against him ; that weak prince de- 
 clared, in his answer to one of the interroga- 
 tions, that he had depended on the assistance of 
 that prelate, at the same time that he was at the 
 head of the ecclesiastical court, which the czar 
 had consulted in relation to this criminal pro- 
 cess against his son, as we bhall see in the course 
 of this chapter. 
 
 There is another remark to be made in this ex- 
 traordinary trial, which we find so very lamely 
 related in the absurd History of Peter the Great, 
 by the pretended bojar Nestersuranoy, and that 
 is the following : 
 
 Among other answers which the czarowitz 
 Alexis made to the first question put to him by 
 his father, he acknowledges, that while he was 
 at Vienna, finding thai he could not be admitted 
 to see the emperor, he applied himself to count 
 Schonborn, the high chamberlain, who told him, 
 the emperor would not abandon him, and that as 
 soon as occasion should offer, by the death of 
 his father, that he would assist him to recover 
 the throne by force of arms. ' Upon which,' 
 adds the prince, ' I made him the following 
 answer : " This is what I by no means desire : if 
 the emperor will only grant me his protection 
 for the present, I ask no more." ' This deposi- 
 tion is plain, natural, and carries with it strong 
 marks of the truth ; for it would have been the 
 height of madness to have asked the emperor 
 for an armed force to dethrone his father, 
 and no one would have ventured to have made 
 such an absurd proposal, either to the emperor, 
 prince Eugene, or to the council. This deposi- 
 O
 
 314 HISTORY OF 
 
 tion bears date in the month of February, and 
 four months afterwards, namely, after the lat of 
 July, and towards the latter end of the proceed- 
 ings against the czarowitz, that prince is made 
 to say, in the last answers he delivered in writ- 
 ing :— 
 
 ' Being unwilling to imitate my father in any 
 thing, I endeavoured to secure myself the suc- 
 cession by any means whatever, excepting such as 
 were just. 1 attempted to get it by a foreign 
 assistance; and, had I succeeded, and that the 
 emperor had fulfilled what he had promised me, to 
 replace me on the throne of Russia even by force 
 of arms, I would have left nothing undone to 
 have got possession of it. For instance, if the 
 emperor had demanded of me, in return for his 
 services, a body of my own troops to fight for 
 him against any power whatever, that might be 
 in arms against him, or a large sum of money 
 to defray the charges of a war, I should have 
 readily granted every tbing he asked, and should 
 have gratified his ministers and generals with 
 magnificent presents. I would at my own ex- 
 pense have maintained the auxiliary troops he 
 might have furnished to put me in possession of 
 the crown ; and, in a word, I should have thought 
 nothing too much to have accomplished my ends.' 
 
 This answer seems greatly strained, and ap- 
 pears as if the unhappy deponent was exerting 
 his utmost efforts to appear more culpable than 
 he really was ; nay, he seems to have spoken 
 absolutely contrary to truth in a capital point. 
 He says the emperor had promised to procure 
 him the cro.vn by foree of arms. This is ab- 
 solutely false : Schonborn had given him hopes 
 that, after the death of his father, the emperor 
 might assist him to recover his birth-right ; but 
 the emperor himself never made him any pro-
 
 PETER THE GREAT. 315 
 
 mise. And lastly, the matter in question wa« 
 not if he should take arms against his father, but 
 if he should succeed him after his death! 
 
 By this last deposition he declares what he 
 believes he should have done, had he been ob- 
 liged to dispute his birth-right, vrhich he had 
 not formally renounced till after his journey to 
 Vienna and Naples. Here then we have a 
 second deposition, not of any thing he had al- 
 ready done, and the actual commission of which, 
 would have subjected him to the rigorous in- 
 quiry of the law, but of what he imagines he 
 should have done had occasion offered, and 
 which consequently is no subject of a juridical 
 inquiry- Thus does he twice together accuse 
 himself of private thoughts that he might have 
 entertained in a future time. The known world 
 does not produce an instance of a man tried 
 and condemned for vague and inconsequential 
 notions that came into his head, and which he 
 never communicated to any one ; nor is there 
 a court of justice in Europe that will hear a 
 man accuse himself of criminal thoughts ; nay, 
 we believe that they are not punished by God 
 himself, unless accompanied by a fixed resolu- 
 tion to put them in practice. 
 
 To these natural reflections it may be an- 
 swered, that the czarowitz had given his father 
 a just right to punish him, by having withheld 
 the names of several of the accomplices of hig 
 flight. His pardon was promised him only on 
 condition of making a full and open confession, 
 which he did not till it was too late. Lastly, 
 after so public an affair, it was not in human 
 nature that Alexis should ever forgive a brother 
 in favour of whom he had been disinherited ; 
 therefore, it was thought better to punish one 
 guilty person, than to expose a whole nation to
 
 316 HISTORY OF 
 
 danger, and herein the rigour of justice and rea- 
 sons of state acted iu concert. 
 
 We must not judge of the manners and laws of 
 one nation b^- those of others. The czar was 
 possessed cf the fatal, but incontestable right of 
 punishing his son ■with death, for the single crime 
 of having withdrawn himself out of the kingdom 
 against his consent ; and he thus explains himself 
 in his declaration addressed to the prelates and 
 others, who composed the high courts of justice. 
 ' Th.ugh, according to all laws, civil and divine; 
 and especially those of this empire, which grant 
 an absolute jurisdiction to fathers over their 
 children (even fathers in private life) we have 
 a full and unlimited power to judge our son for 
 his crimen according to our pleasure, without 
 asking the advice of any person whatsoever; yet, 
 as men are more liable to prejudice and partiality 
 in their own affairs, than in those of others, and 
 as the most eminent and expert physicians rely 
 not on their judgment concerning themselves, but 
 call in the advice and assistance of others ; so 
 we, under the fear of God, and an awful dread of 
 offending him, in like manner make known our 
 disease, and apply to you for a cure; being ap- 
 '^'ehensive cf eternal death, if ignorant perhaps 
 I f the nature of our distemper, we should attempt 
 to cure ourselves ; and the rather as in a solemn 
 appeal to Almighty God, I have signed, 3wom» 
 and confirmed a promise of pardon to my son, in 
 case he should declare to me the truth. 
 
 ' And though he has violated this promise, by 
 concealing the most important circumstances of 
 his rebellious design against us ; yet that we may 
 not in an) thing swerve from our obligations, we 
 pray you to consider this affair with seriousness 
 and attention, nnd report what punishment he 
 deserves without favour or partiality either to him
 
 PETER THE GREAT. 317 
 
 or me ; for should you apprehend that he deserves 
 but a slight punishment, it will be disagreeable 
 to me. I swear to you by the great God and his 
 judgments, that you have notliing to fear on this 
 head. 
 
 ' Neitlier let the reflection of your being to pass 
 sentence on the son of your prince have any in- 
 fluence on you, but administer justice without 
 respec* of persons, and destroy not your own 
 souls and mine also, by doing any thing to injure 
 our country, or upbraid our consciences in the 
 great and terrible day of judgment. ' 
 
 The czar afterwards addressed himself to the 
 clergy,* by another declaration to the same pur- 
 pose; so that every thing was transacted in the 
 most authentic manner, and Peter's behaviour 
 through the whole of this afi'air was so open and 
 
 • His declaration to the clergy concluded in this man- 
 ner : — ' Though this affair does not fall within the verge 
 of the spiritual, but of the civil jurisdiction, and we have 
 this day referred it to the imperial decision of the secular 
 court, but remembering that passage in the word of God, 
 which requires us on such occasions to consult the priests 
 and elders of the church, in order to know the will of 
 Heaven, and being desirous of receiving all possible in- 
 structions in a matter of such importance, we desire of 
 you, the archbishops, and the whole ecclesiastical state, 
 as teachers of tlie word of God, not to pronounce judg- 
 ment in this case, but to examine and give us your opinion 
 concerning it, according to the sacred oracles, from whom 
 we ma3' be best informed what punishment my son de- 
 serves, and that j-ou will give it us iu writiog under yoar 
 hands, that being properly instructed herein, we may lay 
 no burthen on our conscience. We therefore repose our 
 confidence in you, that, as guardians of the divine laws, as 
 faithful pastors of the Christian flock, and as well affected 
 t3ward8 your country, you will act suitable to your dig- 
 nity, conjuring you by that dignitj', and the holiness ot 
 your function, to proceed withou: fear or dissimulation.
 
 318 HISTORY OF 
 
 andisguised, as shewed him to be fully satisfied 
 of the justice of his cause. 
 
 On the first of July the clergy delivered their 
 opinion in writing. In fact, it was their opinion 
 only, and not a judgment, which the czar required 
 of them. The beginning is deserving the atten- 
 tion cf all Europe. 
 
 * This affair (say the prelates and the rest of the 
 clergy) does in no wise fall within the verge of 
 the ecclesiastical court, nor is the absolute power 
 invested in the sovereign of the Russian empire 
 subject to the cognizance of his people ; but he 
 has au unlimited powrr of acting herein as to 
 him shall seem best, without any inferior having 
 a right to intermeddle therein.' 
 
 Afier their preamble they proceed to cite 
 several texts of scripture, particularly Leviticus, 
 wherein it is said, ' Cursed be he that curseth his 
 father or mother ;' and the gospel of St. Matthew, 
 which repeats this severe denunciation. And 
 they concluded, after several other quotations,* 
 with these remarkable words : 
 
 • Besides the particular passages in holy writ cited on 
 this occasion, which were, Levit. sx. 1, 9- Dent. xxxi. 
 Matt. TX. 1. Mark vii. 9. Rom. i. 28. Ephes vi. 1. those 
 from the constitutions of the empire were as follows : * If 
 any person, by any ill design, forms any attempt against 
 the health of the czar, or does any thing to his prejudice, 
 and is found inclined to execute his pernicious designs, 
 let hioi be put to death, after he is convicted (hereof.* 
 Stat.l. ' la like manner, if any ODt, during the reign of 
 his czarian majesty, through a desire \o reign in the empire 
 of Russia, and put the czar to death, shall begin to raise 
 troops with this pernicious view ; or if any one shall form 
 an alliance with the enemies of his czarian majesty, or 
 hold a correspondence with th^m, or assist ihemlo arrije 
 at the goTernment, or raise any other disorder ; if any one 
 declare it, and the truth be found out upon such declara- 
 UoQ, lei the traitor suffer death npon conviction of tlM
 
 PETER THE GREAT. 319 
 
 • If his majesty is inclinable to puuish the of- 
 fender according to his deeds and the measure of 
 his crimes, he has before him the examples in the 
 Old Testament ; if on the other hand, he is in- 
 clined to shew mercy, he has a pattern in our 
 Lord Jesus Clirist, who receives the prodigal son, 
 when returning with a contrite heart, who set 
 free the woman taken in adultery, whom the law 
 sentenced to be stoned to death, and who prefers 
 mercy to burnt-oflferings. He has likewise the 
 example of David, who spared his son Absalom, 
 who had rebelled against and persecuted him, 
 saying to his captains, when going forth to the 
 fight, " Spare my son Absalom." The father was 
 here inclinable to mercy, but divine Justice suf- 
 fered not the offender to go unpunished. 
 
 ' The heart of the czar is in the hands of God ; 
 let him take that side to which it shall please the 
 Almighty to direct him.' 
 
 This opinion was signed by eight archbishops 
 and bishops, four archpriests, and two professors 
 of divinity ; and, as we have already observed, 
 the metropolitan archbishop of Rezan, the same 
 
 treason.' Stat. 2. From the military laws the following 
 citations were made ; chap. 3. art. 19- ' If any subject 
 raises men, and takes up arms against the czanan ma- 
 jesty ; or if any person forms a design of takin;; his majesty 
 prisoner, or killing him ; or if he offers any violence to 
 him; he and all his abettors and adherents shall be quar- 
 tered, as guiltj' of treason, and their goods confiscated.' 
 To which article ilie following explanation was added: 
 'They also shall suffer the ssme punishment, who, though 
 thejr have not been able to execute their crime, shall be 
 nonvictcd of inclination and desire to commit it ; and like- 
 wise, those who shall not have discovered it when it came 
 to their knowledge,' chap. 26. an. 37- ' He who forms a 
 design of co.TQmitiing any treason, or any other matter of 
 the like nature, shaU be punished with the same ca 
 punishmeats as if he bad actually executed hia deeigs.'
 
 S20 HISTORY OF 
 
 with whom the prince had held a correspondence, 
 was the first who signed. 
 
 As soon as the clergy had signed this opinion, 
 they presented it to the czar. It is easy to per- 
 ceive that this body was desirous of inclining 
 his mind to clemency ; and nothing can be more 
 beautiful than the contrast between the mercy of 
 Jesus Christ, and the rigour of the Jewish law, 
 placed before the eyes of a father, who was the 
 prosecutor of his oAvn son. 
 
 The same day the czarowitz was again exa- 
 mined for the last time, and signed his final con- 
 fession in writing, wherein he acknowledges him- 
 self ' to have been a bigot in his youthful days, 
 to have frequented the company of priests and 
 monks, to have drank with ihem, and to have 
 imbibed from their conversations the first impres- 
 sions of dislike to the duties of his station, and 
 even to the person of his father.' 
 
 If he made this confession of his own accord, 
 it shews that he must have been ignorant of the 
 mild advice the body of clergy, whom he thns 
 accuses, had lately given his father ; and it is a 
 still stronger proof, how great a change the czar 
 had wrought in the manners of the clergy of his 
 time, who, from a state of the most deplorable 
 ignorance, were in so short a time become capa- 
 ble of drawing up a writing, which for its wis- 
 dom and eloquence might have been owned, 
 without a blush, by the most illustrious fathers 
 of the church. 
 
 It is in this last confession that the czarowitz 
 made that declaration on which we have alreadj 
 commented, viz. that he endeavoured to secure 
 to himself the succession by any means what- 
 ever, except such as were just. 
 
 One would imagine, by this last confession, 
 that the prince was apprehensive he had not rea-
 
 PETER THE GREAT. 321 
 
 dered himself sufficiently criminal in the eyes of 
 his judges, by his former self-accusations, and 
 that, by giving himself the character of a dissem- 
 bler and a bad man, and supposing how he might 
 have acted had he been the master, he was care- 
 fully studying how to justify the fatal sentence 
 which was about to be pronounced against him, 
 and which was done on the jth of July. This 
 sentence will be found, at length, at the end of 
 this volume ; therefore, we shall only observe in 
 this place that it begins, like the opinion of the 
 clergy, by declaring, that ' it belongs not to sub- 
 jects to take cognizance of such an affair, which 
 depends solely on the absolute will of the sove- 
 reign, whose authority is derived from God 
 alone;' and then, after having set forth the se- 
 veral articles of the charge brought against the 
 prince, the judges express themselves thus : 
 ' What shall we think of a rebellious design, al- 
 most unparalleled in history, jqined to that of a 
 horrid parricide against him, who was his father 
 in a double capacity?' 
 
 Probably these words have been wrong trans- 
 lated from the trial printed by order of the czar ; 
 for certainly there have been instances in history 
 of much greater rebellions ; and no part of the 
 proceedings against the czarowitz discover any 
 design in him of killing his father. Perhaps, by 
 the word parricide, is understood the deposition 
 made by the prince, that one day he declared at 
 confession, that he had wished for the death of 
 his father. But, how can a private declaration 
 of a secret thought, under the seal of confession, 
 be a -double parricide ? 
 
 Be this as it may, the czarowitz was unani- 
 mously condemned to die, but no mention was 
 made in the sentence of tiie nianner in which be 
 was to puffer. Of one hundred and forty four 
 O L'
 
 322 HISTORY OF 
 
 judges, there was not one who thought of alessei 
 punishment than death. Whereas, an English 
 tract, which made a great noise at that time, ob- 
 serves, that if such a cause had been brought be- 
 fore an English parliament, there would not have 
 been one judge out of one hundred and forty-four, 
 that would have inflicted even a penalty. 
 
 There cannot be a stronger proof of the differ- 
 ence of times and places. The consul Maniius 
 would have been condemned by the laws of Eng- 
 land to lose his own life, for having put his son 
 to death : whereas he was admired and extolled 
 for that action by the rigid Romans : but the 
 same laws would not punish a prince of Wales 
 for leaving the kingdom, who, as a peer of the 
 realm, has a right to go and come when he 
 pleases.* A criminal design, not perpetrated, 
 is not punishable by the laws in England t or 
 France, but it is in Russia. A continued formal 
 and repealed disc^bedience of commands would, 
 amongst us, be considered only an error in con- 
 duct, \\hich ought to be suppressed ; but, in Rus- 
 sia^ it was judged a capital crime in the heir oi 
 a great empire, whose ruin might have been the 
 consequence of that disobedience. Lastly, the 
 czarowitzwas culpable towards the whole nation, 
 by his design of throwing h hack into that state 
 of darkness and ignorance, from which his father 
 had so latelv delivered it. 
 
 ;5uch was the acknowledged power of the czar, 
 that he might put his sou to death for disobedj- 
 "nce to him, without consulting any one ; nev»^r- 
 
 • M. de Voltaire is mistaken in this point ; for, by onr 
 laws, no peer of the realm can absent himself from ihr 
 service of the parliament during its session, without th« 
 liberi/ of the Icir.q: or the house. 
 
 •t This is another mistake ; for it is death by oor law 
 10 compass or imagine the death of the sover«ig».
 
 PETER THE GREAT. 323 
 
 theless, he submitted the affair to the judgmeat 
 of the representatives of the nation, so that it 
 ■was in fact the nation itself who passed sentence 
 on the prince ; and Peter was so well satisfied 
 with the equity of his own conduct, that he volun • 
 tarily submitted it to the judgment of every other 
 nation, by causing the whole proceedings to be 
 printed and translated into several languages. 
 
 The law of history would not permit us to dis- 
 guise or palliate aught in the relation of this 
 tragic event. All Europe was divided in its sen- 
 timents, whether most to pity a young prince, 
 prosecuted by his own father, and condemned to 
 Jose his life, by those who were one day to have 
 been his subjects ; or the father, who thought 
 himself under a necessity to sacrifice his own son 
 to the welfare of his nation. 
 
 It was asserted in several books, published on 
 this subject, that the czar sent to Spain for a copy 
 of the proceedings against Don Carlos, wlio bad 
 been condemned to death by his father, king 
 Philip II. But this is false, inasmuch as Don 
 Carlos was never brought to his trial : the con- 
 duct of Peter I. was totally different from that 
 of Philip. The Spanish monarch never made 
 known to the world the reasons for which he had 
 confined his son, nor in what manner that prince 
 died. He wrote letters on this occasion to the 
 pope and the empress, which were absolutely 
 contradictory to each other. William prince of 
 Orange accused Philip publicly of having sacri- 
 ficed his son and his wife to his jealousy, and to 
 have behaved rather like a jealous and cruel hus- 
 band, and an unnatural and murderous father, 
 than a severe and upright judge. Philip suffered 
 this accusation against him to pass unanswered: 
 Peter, on the contrary, did nothing but in the eye 
 of the wo:ld ; he openlj declared, that he pre-
 
 3S4 HISTORY OF 
 
 ferred his people to his own son, submittei his 
 cause to the judgment of the principal persons 
 of his kingdom, and made the whjle world the 
 judge of their proceedings and his o^-n. 
 
 There was another extraordinary circumstance 
 attending this unhappy aflfair, which was, that 
 the empress Catherine, who was hated by the 
 czarowitz, and whom he had publicly threatened 
 with the worst of treatment, whenever he should 
 mount the throne, was not in any way accessary 
 to his misfortunes ; and was neither accused, nor 
 even suspected by any foreign minister residing at 
 the court of Russia, of having taken the least step 
 against a son-in-law, from whom she had so 
 much to fear. It is true, indeed, that no one 
 pretends to say she interceded with the czar for 
 his pardon : but all the accounts of these times, 
 and especially those of the count de Bassewitz, 
 agree, that she was greatly aflfected with his 
 misfortunes. 
 
 I have now before me the memoirs of a public 
 minister, in which I find the following words : 
 
 • I was present when the czar told the duke of 
 Holstein, that the czarina Catherine, had begged 
 of him to prevent the sentence passed upon the 
 czarowitz, being i ublicly read to that prince. 
 
 • Content yourself,' said she, ' with obliging him 
 to turn monk ; for this public and formal con- 
 demnation of your son will reflect an odium on 
 your grandson.' 
 
 The czar, however, would not hearken to the 
 intercession of his spouse ; he thought there was 
 a necessity to have the sentence publicly read to 
 the prince himself, in order that he might have 
 no pretence left to dis; ute this solemn act, in 
 which he himself acquiesced, and that being dead 
 in law, he could never after claim a right to the
 
 PETER THE GREAT. 323 
 
 Nevertheless, if, after the death of Peter, a 
 formidable party had arose in favour of Alexis, 
 would his being dead )n law have prevented him 
 from ascending the throne 1 
 
 The prince then had his sentence read to him : 
 and the memoirs I have just mentioned observe, 
 that he fell into a fit on hearing these words : 
 ' The laws divine and ecclesiastical, civil and 
 tuilitary, condemn to death, without mercy, those 
 vrhose attempts against their father and their 
 sovereign have been fully proved.' These fits it 
 is said, turned to an apoplexy, and it was with 
 great difficulty he was recovered at that time. 
 Afterwards, when he came a little to himself, 
 and in the dreadful interval, between life and 
 death, he sent for his father to come to him : the 
 czar accordingly went, acd both father and son 
 burst into a flood of tears, llie unhappy culprit 
 asked his offended parent's forijiveness, which be 
 gave him publicly : then, being in the agonies of 
 dealh, ext'reme unction was administered to him 
 in the most solemn manner, and soon after be ex- 
 pired in the jire.sence of the whole court, the day 
 after the fatal sentence had been pronounced 
 upon him. His Ixxly was immediately carried 
 to the cathedral, where it lay in state, exposed to 
 public view for four days, alter vhich it was in- 
 terred in tlie church of tlie citadel, by the side of 
 his late princess; the czar and czarina assisting 
 at the funeral. 
 
 And here 1 think myself indispensably obliged 
 to imitate, in some measure, the conduct of the 
 crar ; that is to say, to submit to the judgment 
 of the public, the several facts which J have re- 
 lated with t.ie most scrupulous exactness, and not 
 only the facts themselves, but likewise the va- 
 rious reports which were propagated in relatioa 
 to them, by author* oi the fir«t credit. Lamberti,
 
 sue HISTORY OF 
 
 the most impartial of any -writer on this subject 
 and at the same lime the most exact, and who 
 has confined himself to tlie simple narrative of the 
 original and authentic pieces, relating to the af- 
 fairs of Kurope, seems in this matter to have de- 
 parted from that impartiality and discernment for 
 which he is so remarkable ; for he thus expresses 
 himself. 
 
 ' The czarina, ever anxious for the fortune of 
 her own son, did not suffer the czar to rest till 
 she had obliged him to commence the proceed- 
 ings against the czarow-itz, and to prosecute that 
 unhappy prince to death : and, what is still more 
 extraordinary, the czar, after having given him 
 the knout * -which is a kind of torture^ with his 
 0T\Ti hand, was himself his executioner, by cutting 
 off his head, -which was afterwards so artfully 
 joined to the body, that the separation could not 
 be perceived, when it was exposed to public 
 view. Some little time afterwards, the czarina's 
 son died, to the inexpressible regret of her and 
 the czar. This latter, whu had beheaded his own 
 son, coming now to reflect, that he had no suc- 
 cessor, grew exceedingly lil-tempered. Much 
 about that time also, he was informed, that his 
 spouse, the czarina, was engaged in a secret and 
 criminal correspondence with prince Menzikoff. 
 This, joined to the reflection, that she had been 
 the cause of his putting to death with his own 
 hand his eldest son, made him conceive a design 
 to strip her of the imperial honours, and shut hei 
 up in a convent, in the same manner as he had 
 done his first wife, who is still living there. It 
 "was a custom with the czar to keep a kind ol 
 diary of his private thoughts in his pocket book, 
 and he had accordingly entered therein a memo- 
 randum of this his intention. The czarina having 
 found mea:;s to oaia over to her interest all tha
 
 PETER THE GREAT. 327 
 
 pnges of the czar's bed-chamber, one of them 
 finding his pocket-book, which he had carelessly 
 left on the table, brought it to Catherine, who 
 upon reading this memorandum, immediately 
 sent for prince Menzikoff, and communicated it 
 to him, and, in a day or two afterwards, the czar 
 was seized with a violent distemper, of which he 
 died. Jhis distemper was attributed to poison, 
 on account of its being so sudden and violent, 
 that it could not be supposed to proceed from a 
 uatural cause, and that the horrible act of poison 
 ing was but too frequently used in Russia.' 
 
 These accusations, thus handed down by Lam- 
 berti, were soon spread throughout Europe; and, 
 as there still exist a great number of pieces, both 
 in print and manuscript, which may give a sanc- 
 tion to the belief of this fact to the latest poste- 
 rity, I think ii is ray duty to mention, in this 
 place, what is come to my knowledge from un- 
 exceptionable authority. 
 
 In the first place, then, I take it upon me to 
 declare, that the person who furnished Lam- 
 berti with this strange anecdote, was in fact a 
 native of Russia, but of a foreign extraction, and 
 who himsflf did not reside in that country, at the 
 time this event happened, having left it several 
 years before. I was formerly acquainted with 
 him ; he had been in company v-ith Lamberti, 
 at the little town of Nyon,* whither that writer 
 had retired, and where I myself have often been, 
 'J'his very n>an declared to me, that he bad 
 never told this story to Lamberti, but in the light 
 of a report, which had been handed about at that 
 time. 
 
 This example may suffice to shew, how easy it 
 
 * Or Kions, the capital of MoDtauban, in Dauphiue, 
 in France, situate on the river Aigues, over which is a 
 briilge, said to be a Roman work.
 
 328 HISTORY OF 
 
 was in former times, before the art of printing 
 was found out, for one man to destroy the repu- 
 tation of another, in the minds of vsliole nations^ 
 by reason that manuscript histories were in a few 
 hands only, and not exposed to general exami- 
 nation and censure, or of the observations of con- 
 temporaries, as they now are. A single line in 
 Tacitus or Sallust, nay, even in the authors of the 
 most fabulous legends was enough to render a 
 great prince odious to the half of mankind, and 
 to perpetuate his name with infamy to successive 
 generations. 
 
 How was it possible that the czar could have 
 beheaded his son with his own hand, when ex- 
 treme unction was administered to the latter in 
 the presence of the whole court ? Was he dead 
 when the sacred oil was poured upon his head 1 
 When or how could this dissevered head have 
 been rejoined to its trunk 1 It is notorious, that 
 the prince was not left alone a single moment, 
 from the first reading of his sentence to him to 
 the instant of his death. 
 
 Besides, tins story of the czar's having had re- 
 course to the sword, acquits him at least of hav- 
 ing made use of poison. I will allow, that it is 
 somewhat uncommon, that a young nian in the 
 vigour of his days should die of a sudden fright, 
 occasioned by hearing the sentence of his own 
 death read to him, and especially when it was a 
 sentence that he expected ; but, after all, physi- 
 cians will tell us that this is not a thing impos- 
 sible. 
 
 If the czar dispatched his son by poison, as so 
 many authors would persuade us, he by that 
 means deprived himself of every advantage he 
 might expect from this fatal process, in convincing 
 all Europe that he had a right to punish every 
 delinquent. He rendered all the reasons for pro-
 
 PETER THE GREAT. S29 
 
 nouncing the condemnation of the czarowitz sus- 
 pected ; and, in fact, accused himself. If he was 
 desirous of the death of his son, he was hi pos- 
 session of full power to have caused the sentence 
 to be put in execution : would a man of any pru- 
 dence then, would a sovereign, ou whom the 
 eyes of all his neighbours were fixed, have taken 
 the base and dastardly method of poisoning the 
 person, over whose devoted head he himself al- 
 ready held the sword of justice ? Lastly, would 
 he have suffered his memory to have been trans- 
 mitted to posterity as nn assassin and a poisoner, 
 when he could so easily have assumed the cha- 
 racter of an upright though severe judge 1 
 
 It appears then, from all that has been deli- 
 vered on this subject in the preceding pages, that 
 Peter was more the king than the parent ; and 
 that he sacrificed his own son to the sentiments 
 of the father and lawgiver of his country, and to 
 the interest of his people, who, without this 
 wholesome severity, were on the verge of re- 
 lapsing again into that state from which he had 
 taken them. It is evident that he did not sa- 
 crifice this son to the ambition of a step-mother, 
 or to the son he had by her, since he had often 
 threatened the czarowitz to disinherit him, be- 
 fore Catherine brought him that other son, whose 
 infirm infancy gave signs of a speedy death, 
 which actually happened in a very short time 
 afterwards. Had Peter taken this important 
 step merely to please his wife, he must have 
 been a fool, a madman, or a coward ; neither of 
 which, most certainly, could be laid to his charge. 
 But he foresaw what would be the fate of his es- 
 tablishments, and of Ids new-born nation, if he 
 had such a successor as wouKl not adopt hia 
 views, 'ihe event has verified this foresight • 
 the Russian empire is become famous and re*
 
 330 HISTORY OF 
 
 special fe throughout Europe, from which it was 
 before eiuirely separated ; whereas, had the 
 czarowitz succeeded to the throne, every thing 
 would have been destroyed. In fine, when this 
 catastrophe comes to he seriously considered, 
 the compassionate heart shudders, and the rigid 
 applauds. 
 
 This great and terrible event is still fresh in 
 the memories of mankind ; and it is frequently 
 spoken of as a matter of so much surprise, that 
 it is absolutely necessary to examine what con- 
 temporary writer? have said of it. One of these 
 hireling scribblers, who has taken on him the title 
 of historian, speaks thus of it in a work which 
 he has dedicated to count Bruhl, prime ministe) 
 to his Polish majesty, whose name indeed may 
 seem to give some weight to what he advances. 
 ' Russia was convinced that the czarowitz owed 
 his death to poison, which had been given him 
 by his mother-in-law.' But this accusation is 
 overturned by the declaration which the czar 
 made to the duke of Holstein, that the empress 
 Catherine had advised him to confine his son in 
 a monastery. 
 
 With regard to the poison which the empress 
 is said to have given afterwards to her husband, 
 that story is sufficiently destroyed by the simple 
 relation of the affair of the page and pocket-book. 
 What man would think of making such a memo- 
 randum as this, ' I must remember to confine my 
 wife in a convent V Is this a circumstance of so 
 trivial a nature, that it must be set down lest it 
 should be forgotten ? If Catherine had poisoned 
 her son-in-law and her husband she would have 
 committed crimes; whereas, so far from being 
 suspected of cruelty, she had a remarkable cha- 
 racter for lenity and sweetness of temper. 
 
 It may now be proper to shew what was 'be
 
 PETER THE GREAT. 331 
 
 first cause of the behaviour of the czarowitz, of 
 his flight, and of his death, and that of his ac- 
 complices, who fell by the hands of the execu- 
 tioner. It was owing then to mistaken notions 
 in religion, and to a superstitious fondness for 
 priests and monks. That this was the real 
 Bource from whence all his misfortunes were de- 
 rived, is sufficiently apparent from his own con- 
 fession, which we have already set before the 
 reader, and in particular, by that expression of 
 the czar in his letter to his unhappy son, ' A 
 corrupt priesthood will be able to turn vou at 
 pleasure.' 
 
 The following is, almost word for word, the 
 manner in which a certain ambassador to the 
 court of Russia explains these words. — Several 
 ecclesiastics, says he, fond of the ancient bar- 
 barous customs, and regretting the authority they 
 had lost by the nation having become more civi- 
 lized, wished earnestly to see prince Alexis on 
 the throne, from whose known disposition they 
 expected a return of those days of ignorance and 
 superstition which were so dear to them. In the 
 number of these was Dozitbeus, bishop of Ros- 
 tow. This prelate feigned a revelation from St. 
 Demetrius, and that the saint had appeared to 
 him, and had assured him as from God himself, 
 that the czar would not live above three months ; 
 that the empress Eudocia, who was then confined 
 in the convent of Sii8dal(and had taken the veil 
 under the name of sister Helena), and the prin- 
 cess iJary the czar's sis'.er, should ascend the 
 throne and reign jointly with prince Alexis. Eu- 
 docia and the princess Mary were weak enough to 
 credit this imposture, and were even so persuaded 
 of the truth of this prediction, that the former 
 quitted her habit and the convent, and throwing 
 aside the name of sister Helena, reassumed th«
 
 332 HISTORY OF 
 
 imperial title and the ancient dress cf the czar- 
 ina's, and caused the name of her rival Catherine 
 to he struck out of the form of prayer. And 
 when the lady abbess of the convent opposed these 
 proceedings, Eudocia answered her haughtily — 
 That as Peter had punished the streliizes who 
 liad insuited his mother, in like manner would 
 prince Alexis punish those who had offered aH 
 indignity to his. She caused the abbess to be 
 confined to her apartment. An officer named 
 Stephen Glebo was introduced into the convent; 
 this man Eudocia made use of as the instrument 
 of her designs, having previously won him over 
 to her interest by heaping favours on him. Glebo 
 caused Dozitheus's prediction to be spread over 
 the little town of Susdal, and the neighbourhood 
 thereof. But the three months being nearly ex- 
 pired, Eudocia reproached the bishop with the 
 czar's being still alive, ' My father's sins,' an- 
 swered Dozitheus, ' have been the cause of this : 
 he is still in purgatory, and has acquainted me 
 therewith.' Upon this Eudocia caused a thou- 
 sand masses for the dead to be said, Dozitheus 
 assuring her that this would not fail of having 
 the desired effect : but in about a month after- 
 wards, he came to her and told, that his father's 
 head was already out of purgatory ; in a month 
 afterwards he was freed as far as his waist, so 
 that i"hen he only stuck in purgatory by his feet ; 
 but as soon as they should be set free, which was 
 the most difficult part of the business, the czar 
 would infiillibly die. 
 
 The princess Marv, persuaded by Dozitheus, 
 gave herself up to him, on condition that his 
 father should be immediately released from pur- 
 gatory, and the prediction accomplished, and 
 Glebo continued bis usual correspondence with 
 the old czarina.
 
 PETER THE GREAT. 333 
 
 It was chiefly on the faith of these predictions 
 that the czarowitz quitted the kingdom, and re- 
 tired into a foreign country, to wait for the death 
 of his father. However the whole scheme was 
 SCO a discovered ; Dozitheus and Glebo were 
 seized ; the letters of the princess Mary to Dozi- 
 theus, and those of sister Helena to Glebo, were 
 read in the open senate. In consequence of 
 which, th« princess Mary was shut up in the for- 
 tress of Schusselbourg, and the old czarina re- 
 moved to another convent, where she was kept 
 a close prisoner. Dozithous and Glebo, together 
 with the other accomplices of these idle and su- 
 perstitious intrigues, were put to the torture, as 
 were likewise the confidants of the czarowitz's 
 flight. His confessor, his preceptor, and the 
 steward of his household, all died by the hands 
 of the executioner. 
 
 Such then was the dear and fatal price at 
 which Peter the Great purchased the happiness 
 of his people, and such were the numberless ob- 
 stacles he had to surmount in the midst of a long 
 and dangerous war without doors, and an un- 
 natural rebellion at home. He saw one half of 
 his family plotting against him, the majority of 
 the priesthood obstinately bent to frustrate his 
 designs, and almost the whole nation for a long 
 time opposing its own felicity, of which as yet it 
 was not become sensible. He had prejudices to 
 overcome, and discontents to sooth. In a word, 
 there wanted a new generation formed by his 
 care, who would at length entertain the proper 
 ideas of happiness and glory, which their fathers 
 were not abl* to comprehend cr support.
 
 334 HISTORY OF 
 
 CHAP. XXX. 
 
 Works and eatablishments in 1718, and the 
 
 following years. 
 
 THROUGHOUT the whole of the fcregoing 
 dreadful catastrophe, it appeared clearly, 
 that Peter had acted only as the father of his 
 country, and that he considered his people as 
 his family. The punishments he had been ob- 
 liged to inflict on such of them, who had endea- 
 voured to obstruct or impede the happiness of 
 the rest, were necessary, though melancholy sa- 
 crifices, made to the general good. 
 
 1718.] This year, which was the epoch of the 
 disinheriting and death of his eldest son, was 
 also that of the greatest advantage he procured 
 to his subjects, by establishing a general police 
 hitherto unknown ; by the introduction or im- 
 provement of manufactures and works of every 
 kind, bv opening new branches of trade, which 
 now began to flourish, and by the construction of 
 canals, which jo ned rivers, seas, and people, 
 that nature had separated from each other. We 
 have here none of those striking events which 
 charm common readers ; none of those court-in- 
 trigues which are the food of scandal and malice, 
 nor of those great revolutions which amaze the 
 generality of mankind ; but we behold the real 
 springs ot public happiness, which the philo- 
 sophic eye Jelights to contemplate. 
 
 He now appointed a lieutenant-general of 
 police over the whole empire, who was to hold 
 his court at Petersburg, and from thence pre- 
 serve order from one end of the kingdom to the 
 other. Extravagance in dress, and the still 
 more dangerous extravagance of gaming, wer«
 
 PETER THE GREAT. 335 
 
 prohibited under severe penalties ; schools for 
 teaching arithmetic, which had been first set on 
 foot in 1716. were now established in many 
 towns in Russia. The hospitals, which had been 
 began, were now finished, endowed, and filled 
 with proper objects. 
 
 To these we may add the several useful esta- 
 blishments which had been projected some time 
 before, and which were completed a few years 
 afterwards. The great towns were now cleared 
 of those innumerable swarms of beggars, who 
 will not follow any other occupation but that of 
 importuning those who are more industrious than 
 themselves, and who lead a wretched and shame- 
 ful life at the expense of others : an abuse too 
 much overlooked in other nations. 
 
 The rich were obliged to build regular and 
 handsome houses in Petersburg, agreeable to 
 their circumstances, and, by a master-stroke of 
 police, the several materials were brought car- 
 riage free to the city, by the barks and waggons 
 which returned empty from the neighbouring 
 provinces. 
 
 Weights and measares were likewise fixed 
 upon an uniform ])lan, in the same manner as 
 the laws. This uniformity, so much, but in vain 
 desired, in states that have for many ages been 
 civilized, was established in Russia without tiie 
 least difficulty or murmuring ; and yet we fancy 
 that this salutary regulation is impracticable 
 amongst us. 
 
 The prices of the necessaries of life were also 
 fixed ']"he city of Petersburg was well lighted 
 with lamps during the night ; a convenience 
 which was first introduced in Paris by Louis 
 XIV., and to which Rome is still a stranger. 
 Pumps were erected for supplying water in case* 
 of fire ; the streets were well paved, and rails
 
 336 HISTORY OF 
 
 put up for the security of foot passengers : in a 
 word, every thing was provided that could mi- 
 nister to safety, dec-ency, and good order, and 
 to the quicker dispatch and convenience of the 
 inland trade of the country. Several privileges 
 were granted to foreigners, and proper laws 
 enacted to prevent the abuse of those privileges. 
 In consequence of these useful and salutary re- 
 gulations, Petersburg and Moscow put on a new 
 face. 
 
 The iron and steel manufactories received ad- 
 ditional improvements, especially those which 
 the czar had founded at about ten miles distance 
 from Petersburg, of which he himself was the 
 first superintendant, and wherein no less than a 
 thousand workmen were employed immediately 
 under his eye. He went in person to give di- 
 rections to those who farmed the corn-mills, 
 powder-mills, and mills for sawing timber, and 
 to the managers of the manufactories for cordage 
 and sail-cloth, to the brick-makers, slaters, and 
 the cloth-weavers. Numbers of workmen in 
 every branch came from France to settle under 
 him ; these were the fruits he reaped from his 
 travels. 
 
 He established a board of trade, which was 
 composed of one half natives, and the other 
 half foreigners, in order that justice might oe 
 equally distributed to all artists and wc;krr>?i\, 
 A Frenchman settled a manufactory for making 
 fine looking-glass at Petersburg, with the assist- 
 ance of prince Menzikoff. Another set up a loum 
 for working curious tapestry, after the manner 
 of the Gobelins ; and this manufactory still meets 
 with great encouragement. A third succeeded 
 in making of gold and silver thread, and the 
 czar ordered that no more than four thousand 
 marks of gold or silver should be expended iu
 
 PETER THE GREAT. 337 
 
 these works in the space of a year ; by this 
 means to prevent the too great consumption of 
 bullion in the kingdom. 
 
 He gave thirty thousand rubles, that is, about 
 one hundred and fifty thousand French livres,* 
 together with all the materials and instruments 
 necessary for making the several kinds of woollen 
 stuffs. By this useful bounty he was enabled to 
 clothe all his troops with the cloth made in his 
 own country ; whereas, before that lime, it was 
 purchased from Berlin and other foreign king- 
 doms. 
 
 They made as fine linen cloth in Moscow as 
 in Holland ; and at his death there were in that 
 capital and at .Taroslaw, no less than fourteen 
 linen and hempen manufactories. 
 
 It could certainly never be imagined, at the 
 time that silk sold in Europe for iis weight in 
 gold, that one day there would arise on the 
 banks of the lake Ladoga, in the midst of a frozen 
 region, and among unfrequented marches, a mag- 
 nificent and opulent city, where the silks of 
 Persia should be manufactured in as great per- 
 fection as at Ispahan. Peter, however, under- 
 took this great phenomenon in commerce, and 
 succeeded in the attempt. The working of iron 
 mines was carried to their highest degree of 
 perfection ; several other mines of gold and 
 silver were discovered, and the council of mines 
 was appointed to examine and determine, whe- 
 ther the working of these would bring in a profit 
 adequate to the expense. 
 
 But, to make so many different arts and ma- 
 nufactures flourish, and to establish so many 
 various undertakings, it was not alone suflficient 
 to grant patents, or to appoint inspectors : it wa« 
 
 • Ai tweufj-four to the pound sierliiig. 
 P
 
 338 HISTORY OF 
 
 necessary that our great founder should behold 
 all these pass under his own eye in their begin- 
 nings, and work at them with his own hands, in 
 the same manner as we have already seen him 
 working at the construction, the rigging, and the 
 sailing of a ship. When canals were to be dug 
 in marshy and almost impassable grt>unds, he 
 was frequently seen at the head of the workmen 
 digging the earth, and carrying it away himself. 
 
 In this same year (1718) he formed the plan 
 of the canal and sluices of Ladoga : this was 
 intended to make a communication between the 
 Neva and another navigable river, in order for 
 t*he more easy conveyance of merchandize to 
 Petersburg, without taking the great circuit of 
 the lake Ladoga, which, on account of the storms 
 that prevailed on the coast, was frequently im- 
 passable for barks or small vessels, Peter 
 levelled the ground himself, and they still pre- 
 serve the tools which he used in digging up and 
 carrying off the earth. The whole court fol- 
 lowed the example of their sovereign, and per- 
 sisted in a work, which, at the same time, they 
 looked upon as impracticable ; and it was 
 finished after his death : for not one of his pro- 
 jects, which had been found possible to be ef- 
 fected, was abandoned. 
 
 The great canal of Cronstadt, which is easily 
 drained of its waters, and wherein they careen 
 and clean the men of war, was also began at the 
 same time that he was engaged in the proceed- 
 ings against his son. 
 
 In this year also he built the new city of 
 Ladoga. A short time afterwards, he made the 
 canal which joins the Caspian Sea to the giilf 
 of Finland and to the ocean. The boats, after 
 sailing up the Wolga, came first to the commu- 
 nication of two rivers, which he joined for thai
 
 PE'J'ER THE GREAT. 339 
 
 purpose; from thence, by another canal, they 
 enter into the lake of llmen, and then fall into 
 the canal of Ladoga, from whence goods and 
 merchandizes may be conveyed by sea to all 
 parts of the world. 
 
 lu the midst of these labours, which all passed 
 under his inspection, he carried his views from 
 Kamschatka to the most eastern limits of his 
 empire, and caused two forts to be built in these 
 regions, which were so long unknown to the 
 rest of the world. In the meantime, a body of 
 engineers, who were draughted from the marine 
 academy established in 171*), were sent to make 
 the tour of the empire, in order to form exact charts 
 thereof, and lay before mankind the immense 
 extent of country which he had civilized and 
 enriched. 
 
 CHAP. XXXI. 
 
 Of the trado of Rnssia. 
 
 'T'HE Russian trade without doors was m a 
 manner annihilated before the reign of Peter. 
 He restored it anew, after his acce.^sion to the 
 throne. It is notorious, that the current of trade 
 has undergone several changes in the world. The 
 south part of Rust«ia was before the time of Ta- 
 merlane, the staple of Greece, and even of the 
 Indies ; and the Genoese were the principal fac- 
 tors. The Tanais and the Boristhenes were 
 loaded with the productions of Asia : but when 
 Tamerlane, towards the end of the fourteenth 
 century, had conquered the Taurican Cherso- 
 nesus, afterwards called Crimea or Crim Tartary, 
 and when the Turks became masters of Azoph, 
 this great branch of trade was totally destroyed. 
 Peter formed the design of reviving it, by get*
 
 340 HISTORY OF 
 
 ting possession of Azoph ; but the unfortunate 
 campaign of Pruth wrested this city out of his 
 hands, and with it all his views on the Black 
 Sea : nevertheless he had it still in his power to 
 open as extensive a road to commerce through 
 the Caspian Sea. The English who, in the end 
 of the fifteenth, and beginning of the sixteenth 
 century, had opened a trade to Archangel, had 
 endeavoured to do the same likewise by the Cas- 
 pian Sea, but failed in all their attempts for this 
 purpose. 
 
 It ha<» been already observed, that the father 
 of Peter the Great caused a ship to be built in 
 Holland, to trade from Astracan to the coast of 
 Persia. This vessel was burnt by the rebel 
 Stenkorazin, which put an immediate stop to 
 any views of trading on a fair footing with the 
 Persians. The Armenians, who are the factors 
 of that part of Asia, were received by Peter the 
 Great into Astracan : every thing was obliged to 
 pass through their hands, and they reaped all 
 the advantage of that trade ; as is the case with 
 the Indian traders, and the Banians, and with 
 the Turks, as well as several nations in Christen- 
 dom, and the Jews : for those who have only one 
 waj of living, are generally very expert in that 
 art on which they depend for a support ; and 
 others pay a voluntary tribute to that knowledge 
 in which they know themselves deficient. 
 
 Peter had already found a remedy for this 
 inconvenience, in the treaty which he made with 
 the sophi of Persia, by which all the silk, which 
 was not used for the manufactories in that king- 
 dom, was to be delivered to the ."Armenians of 
 Asiracan, and by them to be transported into 
 Russia. 
 
 The troubles which arose in Persia soon over- 
 turned this arrangement ; and in the course of
 
 PETER THE GREAT. 341 
 
 this history, we shall see how the sha, or em- 
 peror of Persia, Hussein, when persecuted by the 
 rebels, implored tiie assistance of Peter; and how 
 that monarch, after having supported a difficult 
 war against the Turks and the Swedes, entered 
 Peisia, and subjected three of its provinces. But 
 to return to the article of trade. 
 
 Of the Trade with China. 
 
 The undertaking of establishing a trade with 
 China seemed to promise the greatest advan- 
 tages. Two vast empires, bordering on each 
 other, and each reciprocally possessing what the 
 other stood in need of, seemed to be both under 
 the happy necessity of opening a useful correB- 
 pondence, especially after the treaty of peace, so 
 solemnly ratified between these two empires in 
 the year 1639, according to our way of reckoning. 
 
 The first foundation of this trade had been laid 
 in the year 165:5. There was at that time two 
 companies of Siberian and Bukarian families 
 settled in Siberia. Their caravans travelled 
 through the Calmuck plains ; after they had 
 crossed the deserts of Chinese Tartary, and made 
 a considerable profit by their trade ; but the 
 troubles which happened in the country of the 
 Calmucks, and the disputes between the Rus- 
 sians and the Chinese, in regard to the frontiers, 
 put a stop to this commerce. 
 
 After the peace of 16^9, it was natural for the 
 two great nations to fix on some neutral place, 
 whither ail the goods should be carried. The 
 Siberians, like all other nations, stood more in 
 need of the Chinese, than these latter did of 
 them ; accordingly permission was asked of the 
 emperor of China, to send caravans to Pekin, 
 which was readily granted. This happened in 
 the beginning of the present century.
 
 842 HISTORY OF 
 
 It is worthy of observation, that the erajJeror 
 Camhi had granted permission for a Russian 
 church in the suburbs of Pekin ; which church 
 was to be served b}' Siberian priests, the whole 
 at the emperor's own expense, who was fo indul- 
 gent to cause t^is church to be built for the ac- 
 conamodation of several families of eastern Si- 
 beria ; some of whom had been prisoners before the 
 peace of 1680, and the others were adventurers 
 from their own country, who would not return 
 back again after the peace of Niptchou. The 
 agreeable climate of Pekin, the ob'.ij^ing manners 
 of the Chinese, and the ease with which they 
 found a handsome living, determined them to 
 spend the rest of their days in China. The small 
 Greek church could not become dangerous to the 
 peace of the empire, as those of the Jesuits have 
 been to that of other nations ; and moreover, the 
 emperor Camhi was a favourer of liberty of con- 
 science. Toleration has, in all times, been the 
 established custom in Asia, as it was in former 
 times all over the world, till the reign of the 
 Roman emperor Theodosius I. The Russian 
 families, thus established in China, having in- 
 termarried with the natives, have since quitted 
 the Christian religion, but their church still 
 subsists. 
 
 It was stipulated, that this church should he 
 for the use of those who come with the Siberian 
 caravans, to bring furs and other commodities 
 wanted at Pekin. The voyage out and home, 
 and the stay in the country, generally took up 
 three years. Prince Gagarin, governor of Siberia, 
 was twenty years at the head of this trade. The 
 jaravaiis were sometimes very numerous; and ic 
 was difficult to keep the common people, who 
 inade the greatest number, within proper bounds. 
 
 They passed through the territories of a Laman
 
 PETER THE GREAT. 34S 
 
 priest, who is a kind of Tartarian sovereign, 
 resides on the sea-coast of Orkon, and has the 
 title of Koutoukas : he is the vicar of the grand 
 Lama, but has rendered himself independent, by 
 making some change in the religion of the coun- 
 try, where the Indian tenet of metempsychosis is 
 the prevailing opinion. VVe cannot find a more 
 apt comparison fAr this priest than in the bishops 
 of Lubeck and Osnaburg who have 'shaken off 
 the dominion of tlie church of Rome. The cara- 
 vans, in their march, sometimes committed de- 
 predations on the territories of this Tartarian 
 prelate, as they did also on those of the Chinese. 
 This irregular conduct proved an impediment to 
 the trade of those parts ; for the Chinese threat- 
 ened to shut the entrance into their empire 
 against the Russians, unless a sto|> was put to 
 these disorders. The trade with China was at 
 that time verv advantageous to the Russians, 
 who brought from thence gold, silver, and pre- 
 cious stones, in return for their merchandize. 
 The largest ruby in the world was brought out 
 of China to prince Gagarin, who sent it to prince 
 MenzikofF; and it is now one of the ornaments of - 
 the imperial crown. 
 
 The exactions put in practice by prince Ga- 
 garin were of great prejudice to that trade, which 
 had brought liim so much riches ; and, at length, 
 they ended in his own destruction ; for he was 
 accused before the court of justice, established 
 by the czar, and sentenced to lose his head, a 
 year after the condemnation of the czarowitz, 
 and the execution of all those who had been his 
 accomplices. 
 
 About the same time, the emperor Camhi, per- 
 ceiving his health to decay, and knowing, by 
 experience, that the European mathematician* 
 were much more learned in their art than those ot
 
 344 HISTORY OF 
 
 his own nation, thought that the European physi- 
 cians must also have more knowledge than those 
 of Pekin, and therefore sent a message to the 
 czar, by some ambassadors who were returning 
 from China to Petersburg, requesting him to send 
 him one of his physicians. There happened at 
 that time to be an English surgeon at Petersburg, 
 who offered to undertake the journey in that 
 character ; and accordingly set out in company 
 with a new ambassador, and one Laurence Lange. 
 who has left a description of that journey. T.'iia 
 embassy was received, and all the expense of it 
 defrayed with great pomp, by Camhi. The 
 surgeon, at his arrival, found the emperor in 
 perfect health, and gained the reputation of a 
 most skilful physician. The caravans who fol- 
 lowed this embassy made prodigious profits ; but 
 fresh excesses having been committed by this very 
 caravan, the Chinese were so offended thereat, 
 that they sent back Lange, who was at that time re- 
 sident from the czar at the Chinese court, and with 
 him all the Russian merchants established there. 
 ' The enriperor Camhi dying, his son Yontchin, 
 who had as great a share of wisdom, and more 
 firmness than his father, and who drove the Jesuits 
 out of his empire, as the czar had done from 
 Russia in 1718, concluded a treaty with Peter, 
 by which the Russian caravans were no more to 
 trade on the frontiers of the two empires. There 
 are only certain factors, dispatched in the name 
 of the emperor or empress of Russia, and these 
 have liberty to enter Pekin, where they are lodged 
 in a vast house, which the emperor of China 
 formerly assigned for the reception of the envoys 
 from Corea : but it is a considerable time since 
 either caravans or factors have been sent from 
 Russia thither so that the trade is now in a de- 
 clining way, but may possibly soon be revived.
 
 PETER THE GREAT. S45 
 
 Of the Trade qf PETERSBURG, and the othtr 
 ports of the RUSSIAN EMPIRE. 
 
 There were at this time above two hundred 
 foreign vessels traded to the new capital, in the 
 space of a year. This trade has continued in- 
 creasing, and has frequently brought in five mil- 
 lions (French money) to the crown. This was 
 i^reatly more than the interest of the money 
 which this establishment had cost. This trade, 
 however, greatly diminished that of Archangel, 
 and was precisely what the founder desired ; for 
 the port of Archangel is too dangerous, and at 
 too great distance from other ports : besides that, 
 a trade which is carried on immediately under 
 the eye of an assiduous sovereign, is always the 
 most advantageous. That of Livonia continued 
 mill on the same footing. The trade of Russia 
 in general has proved very successful ; its ports 
 have received from one thousand to twelve 
 hundred vessels in a year, and Peter discovered 
 the happy expedient of joining utility to glory. 
 
 CHAP. XXXII. 
 
 Of the laws. 
 
 TT is well known, that good laws are scarce, 
 and that the due execution of them is still 
 more so. The greater the extent of any state, 
 and the variety of people of which it is composed, 
 the more difficult it is to unite tlicm by the same 
 body of laws. The father of czar Peter formed 
 a digest or code under the title of Oiilngenia, 
 which was actually printed, but it by no meanti 
 answered the end intended. 
 Pi
 
 546 HISTORY OF 
 
 Peter, in tbe course of his travels, had collected 
 materials for reparing this great structure, which 
 Tras falling to decay in many of its parts. He 
 gathered many useful hints from the governn^entg 
 of Denmark, Sweden, England, Germany, and 
 France, selecting from each of these different 
 nations what he thought most suitable to his own. 
 
 There was a court of boyards or great men, 
 who deteniuned all matters en dcrnin- ressort. 
 Rank a:ul birth alone gave a seat in this assembly ; 
 but the czar thought that knowledge was likewise 
 requisite, and therefore this court was dissolved. 
 
 He then instituted a procurator-general, assist- 
 ed by four assistors, in each of the governments 
 of the empire. These were to overlook the con* 
 duct of the judges, whose decrees were subject to 
 an appeal to the senate which he established. 
 Each of those judges was furnished with a copy 
 of the Oiil'if^enia, with additions and necessary 
 alterations, until a complete body of laws could 
 be formed. 
 
 It was forbid to these judges to receive any 
 fees, which, however moderate, are always an 
 abusive tax on the fortunes and properties of those 
 concerned in suits of law. The czar also took 
 care that the expenses of the court were moderate, 
 and tbe decisions speedy. The judges and their 
 clerks had salaries appointed them out of the 
 j)ublic treasury, and were not suffered to purchase 
 their offices. 
 
 It was in the year 1718, at the very time that 
 he was engaged in the process against his son, 
 that he made the ciiief part of these regulations. 
 The greatest part of the laws he enacted were 
 borrowed from those of the Swedes, and he made 
 no difficulty to admit to places in hs courts of 
 judicature such Swedish prisor.ers who were well 
 •versed K! ihe laws cf their own country, and who.
 
 PETER THE GREAT. 347 
 
 having learnt the Russian language, were willing 
 to continue in that kingdom. 
 
 The governor of each province and his assistors 
 had the cognizance of private causes within such 
 government ; from them there was an appeal to 
 the senate ; and if any one, after having been con- 
 demned by the senate, appealed to the czar him- 
 self, and such appeal was found unjust, he was 
 punished with death : but to mitigate the rigour 
 of this law, the czar created a master of the re- 
 quests, who received the petitions of those who 
 had affairs depending in the senate, or in the in- 
 ferior courts, concerning which the laws then in 
 force were not suflBciently explanatory. 
 
 At length, in 1722, he completed his new code, 
 prohibiting all the judges, under pain of death, 
 to depart therefrom in their decrees, or to set up 
 their o>yn private opinions in place of the general 
 statutes. This dreadful ordonnance was ])ublicly 
 fixed up, and still remains in all the courts o' 
 judicature of the empire. 
 
 He erected every thing anew ; there was not, 
 even to the common aflPairs of society, aught but 
 what was his work. He regulated the degrees 
 between man and man, according to their posts 
 and employments, from the admiral and the field- 
 marshal to the ensign, without any regard to birth. 
 
 Having always in his own mind, and willing 
 to imprint it on those of his subjc'cts, that services 
 are preferable to pedigree, a certain rank was 
 likewise fixed for the women ; and she who took 
 a seat in a public assembly, that did not properly 
 belong to her, was obliged to pay a fine. 
 
 By a still more useful regulation, every private 
 soldier, on being made an officer, instantly became 
 a gentleman ; and a nobleman, if his character 
 had been impeached in a court of justice, waa 
 degraded to a plebeian.
 
 348 HISTORY OF 
 
 After the settling of these several laws and re- 
 gulations, it happened that the increase of towns, 
 wealth,- and population in the empire, new under- 
 takings, and the creation of new employs, neces- 
 earilv introduced a multitude of new affairs and 
 unforeseen cases, which were all consequences of 
 that success which attended the czar in the ge- 
 neral reformation of his dominions. 
 
 The empress Elizabeth completed the body of 
 laws which her father had begun, in which she 
 gave the most lively proofs of that mildness and 
 clemency for which she was so justly famed. 
 
 CHAP. XXXIII. 
 
 Of Religion. 
 
 AT this time Peter laboured more than ever to 
 reform the clergy. He had abolished the 
 patriarchal office, and by this act of authority had 
 alienated the minds of the ecclesiastics. He was 
 determined that the imperial power should be 
 free and absolute, and that of the church re- 
 spected, but submissive. His design was, to es- 
 tablish a council of religion, which should always 
 subsist, but dependent on the sovereign, and that 
 it should give no laws to the church, but such as 
 should be approved of by the head of the state, 
 of which the church was a part. He was as- 
 sisted in this undertaking by the archbishop of 
 Novogorod, named Theophanes Procop, or Pro- 
 copowitz, i. e. son of Procop. 
 
 This prelate was a person of great learning 
 and sagacity : his travels through the different 
 parts of Europe had afforded him opportunities 
 o( remarks on the several abuses which reign
 
 PETER THE GREAT. 349 
 
 amongst them. The czar, who had himself been 
 a witness of the same, had this great advantage 
 in forming all his regulations, that he was pos- 
 sessed of an unlimited power to choose what was 
 useful, and rejoct what was dangerous. He la- 
 boured, in concert with the archbishop, in the 
 years 1718 and 1719, to effect bis design. He 
 established a perpetual synod, to be composed 
 of twelve members, partly bishops, and partly 
 archpriests, all to be chosen by the sovereign. 
 This college was afterwards augment*'d to four- 
 teen. 
 
 The motives of this establishment were ex- 
 plained by the czar in a preliminary discourse. 
 The chief and most remarkable of these was, 
 ' That under the administration of a college of 
 priests, there was less danger of troubles and in- 
 surrections, than under the government of a sin- 
 gle head of the church ; because the common 
 people, who are always i)rone to superstition, 
 might, by seeing one head of the church, and 
 another of the state, be led to believe that they 
 were in fact two different powers.' And here^ 
 upon he cites as an example, the divisions which 
 80 long subsisted between the empire and the 
 papal see, and which stained so many kingdoms 
 with blood. 
 
 Peter thought, and openly declared, that the 
 notion of two powers in a state, founded on the 
 allegory of the two swords, mentioned in the 
 apostles, was absurd and erroneous. 
 
 This court was invested with the ecclesiastical 
 power of regulating all penances, and examining 
 into the morals and capacity of those nominated 
 by the court to bishoprics, to pass judgment en 
 dernier ressort in all causes relating to religion, in 
 which it was the custom formerly to appeal ta 
 the patriarch, and also to take coguizance of the
 
 350 HISTORY OF 
 
 revenues of monasteries, and the distribution of 
 alms. 
 
 This synod had the title of most holy, the 
 same which the patriarchs were wont to assume, 
 and in fact the czar seemed to have preserved 
 the patriarchal dignity, but divided among four- 
 teen members, who were all dependant on the 
 crown, and were to take an oath of obedience, 
 which the patriarchs never did. The members 
 of this holy synod, when met in assembly, had 
 the same rank as the senators ; but they were 
 like the senate, all dependant on the prince. 
 But neither this new form of church administra- 
 tion, nor the ecclesiastical code, were iu full vi- 
 gour till four yea;s after its institution, namely 
 in 1722. Peter at first intended, that the synod 
 should have the presentation of those whom they 
 thought most worthy to fill the vacant bishop- 
 rics. These were to be nominated by the em- 
 peror, and consecrated by the synod. Peter 
 frequently presided in person at the assembly4 
 One day that a vacant see was to be filled, the 
 synod observed to the emperor, that they had 
 none but ignorant persons to present to his ma- 
 jesty : ' Weil, then,' replied the czar, ' you have 
 only to pitch upon the most honest man, he will 
 be worth two Inarned ones.* 
 
 It is to be observed, that the Greek church has 
 none of that motley order called secular abbots. 
 The petit collet is unknown there, otherwise than 
 by the ridiculousness of its character, but by 
 another abuse (as every thing in this world must 
 be subject to abuse) the bishops and prelates are 
 all chosen from the monastic orders. The first 
 monks were only laymen, partly devotees, and 
 partly fanatics, who retired into the deserts, 
 where they were at length gathered together by 
 St. Basil, who gave them a body of rules, and
 
 PETER THE GREAT. 351 
 
 then they took vows, and were reckoned as the 
 lower order of the church, which is the first step 
 to be taken to arise at higher dignities. It was 
 this that filled all Greece and Asia with monks. 
 Russia was overrun with them. 1 hey became 
 rich, powerful, and though excessively ignorantj 
 they were, at the accession of Peter to the throne, 
 almost the only persons who knew how to write. 
 Of this knowledge they made such an abuse, 
 when struck and confounded with the new regu- 
 lations which Peter introduced in all the depart- 
 ments of government, that he was obliged in 1703 
 to issue an edict, forbidding the use of pen and 
 ink to the monks, without an express order from 
 the archimandrite, or prior of the convent, who 
 in that case was responsible for the behaviour of 
 those to whom he granted this indulgence. 
 
 Peter designed to make this a standing law, 
 and at first he intended, that no one should be 
 admitted into any order under fifty years of age ; 
 but that appeared too late an age, as the life of 
 man being in general so limited, there was not 
 time sufficient for such persons to acquire the 
 necessary qualifications for being made bishops ; 
 and therefore, with the advice of his synod, he 
 placed it at thirty years complete, but never 
 under; at the same time expressly prohibiting 
 any person exercising the profession of a soldier, 
 or an husbandman, to enter into a convent, with- 
 out an immediate order from the emperor, or the 
 synod, and to admit no married man upon any 
 account, even though divorced from his wife ; 
 unlese that wife should at the same time embrace 
 a religious life of her own pure will, and that 
 neither of them had any children. No person in 
 actual employ under government can take the 
 habit, without an express order of the state foi 
 ikat purpose^ Every monk ia obliged to work
 
 352 HISTORY OF 
 
 with his own hands at some trade. The nuna 
 are never to go without the walls of their con- 
 vent, and at the age of fifty are to receive the 
 tonsure, as did the deaconesses of the primitive 
 church ; but if, before undergoing that ceremonj, 
 thev have aa inclination to marry, they are 
 not' only allowed, but even exhorted so to do. 
 An admirable regulation in a country where poi- 
 pulation is of infinitely greater use than a mo- 
 nastic life. 
 
 Peter was desirous that those unhappy fe- 
 males, whom God has destined to people a 
 kingdom, and who, by a mistaken devotion, an- 
 nihilated in cloisters that race of which they 
 would otlierwise become mothers, should at 
 least be of some service to society, which they 
 thus injure ; and therefore ordered, that they 
 ahould all be employed in some handy works, 
 suitable to their sex. The empress Catherine 
 took upon herself the care of sending for several 
 handicrafts over from Brabant and Holland, 
 whom she distributed among these convents, 
 and, in a short time, they praduced several 
 kinds of work, which the empress and her ladies 
 always wore as a part of their dress. 
 
 There cannot perhaps be any thing coneeived 
 more prudent than these institutions ; but what 
 merits the attention of all ages, is the regulation 
 which Peter made himself, and which he ad- 
 dressed to the synod in 172-k The ancient ec- 
 clesiastical institution is there very learnedly ex- 
 plained, and the indolence of the monkish life 
 admirably well exposed \ and he not only re- 
 commends an application to labour and industry,, 
 but even commands it ; and that the principal 
 occupation of those people should be, to assist 
 and relieve the poor. He likewise orders, that 
 :iick and infirm soldiers shall he quartered in tisA
 
 PETER THE GREAT. 353 
 
 convents, and that a certain number of monks 
 shall be set apart to take care of them, and that 
 the most strong and healthy of these shall culti- 
 vate the lands belonging to those convents. He 
 orders the same regulations to be observed in the 
 monasteries for women, and that the strongest of 
 these shall take care of the gardens, and the 
 rest to wait on sick or infirm women, who shad 
 be broughi from the neighbouriuj^ country into 
 the convents for that purpose. He also enters 
 into the minutest details relating to these ser- 
 vices ; and lastly, he appoints certain monaste- 
 ries of both sexes for the reception and education 
 of orphans. 
 
 In reading this ordinance of Peter the Great, 
 which was published the 31=t January, 17'J4, one 
 would imagine it to have been framed by a minister 
 of state and a father of the church. 
 
 Almost all the customs in the Russian church 
 are different from those of ours. As soon as a 
 man is made a sub-deacon, we prohibit him from 
 marrying, and he is accounted guilty of sacrilege 
 if he proves instrumental to the population of his 
 country. On the contrary, when any one has 
 taken a sub-deacon's order in Russia, he is 
 obliged likewise to take a wife, and then may 
 rise to the rank of priest, and arch-priest, but he 
 cannot be made a bishop, unless he is a widower 
 and a monk. 
 
 Peter forbid all parish-priests from bringing up 
 more than one son to the service of the church, 
 anleas it was particularly desired by the parish- 
 ioners ; and this he did, lest a numerous family 
 might in time come to tyrannize over the parish. 
 We may perceive in these little circumstances re- 
 lating to church-government, that the legislator 
 had always the good of the state in view, and that 
 he took every precaution to make the clergy
 
 554 HISTORY OF 
 
 properly respected, with out being dangerous, acd 
 
 that they should be neither contemptible nor 
 
 powerful. 
 
 In those curious memoirs, composed by an of- 
 ficer who was a particular favourite of Peter the 
 Great, I find the following anecdote : — One day 
 a person reading to the czar that number of the 
 English Spectator, in which a parallel is drawn 
 between him and Lewis XIV. '1 do not think,' 
 said Peter, ' that I deserve the preference that is 
 here given me over that monarch ; but I have 
 been fortunate enough to have the superiority 
 over him in one essential point, namely, that of 
 having obliged my clergy to live in peace and 
 submission ; whereas mv brother Lewis has suf- 
 fered himself to be ruled bv his.' 
 
 A prince, whose days were almost wholly spent 
 in the fatigues of war, and his nights in the com- 
 piling laws for the better government of so large 
 an empire, andm directing so many great labours, 
 through a space of two thousand leagues, must 
 stand in need of some hours of amusement. Diver- 
 sions at that time were neither so noble or elegant 
 as they now are, and therefore we must not wonder 
 if Peter amused himself with the entertainment 
 of the sham conclave, of which mention has been 
 already made, and other diversions of the same 
 stamp, which were frequently at the expense of 
 the Romish church, to which he had a great dis- 
 like, and which was very pardonable in a prince 
 of the Greek communion, who was determined to 
 be master in his own dominions. He likewise 
 gave several entertainments of the same kind at 
 the expense of the monks of his o'wn country ; but 
 of the ancient monks, whose follies and bigotry 
 he wished to ridicule, while he strove to reform 
 tlie new. 
 
 We have already seen that previous to hispob*
 
 PETER THE GREAT. 355 
 
 lisliiag bis church-laws, he created one of his fools 
 pope, and celebrated the feast of the sham con- 
 clave. This fool, whose name was Jotof, was 
 between eighty and ninety. The czar took it into 
 bis head to make him marry an old widow of his 
 own age, and to have their nupiia!s publicly so- 
 lemnized ; he caused the invitation to the mar- 
 riage guests to be made by four persons who were 
 remarkable for stammering. The bride was con- 
 ducted to church by decrepit old men, four of the 
 most bulky men that could be found in Russia 
 acted as running footmen. The music were seated 
 in a waggon drawn by bears, whom they every 
 now and then pricked with goads of iron, and 
 who, by their roaring, formed a full base, per- 
 fectly agreeable to the concert in the cart. The 
 married couple received the benediction in the 
 cathedral from the hands of a deaf and blind 
 priest, who, to appear more ridiculous, wore a 
 large pair of spectacles on his nose. The pro- 
 cession, the wedding, the marriage-feast, the un- 
 dressing anil putting to bed of the bride and bride- 
 groom, were all of a piece with the rest of this 
 burlesque ceremony. 
 
 We may perhaps be apt to look upon this as a 
 trivial and ridiculous entertainment for a great 
 prince ; but is it more so than our carnival ? or 
 to see five or six Imndred persons with masks on 
 their faces, and dressed in the most ridiculous 
 manner, skipping and jumping about togetlier, 
 for a whole night in a large room, without speak- 
 ing a word to each other ? 
 
 In fine, were the ancient feasts of the fools and 
 the ass, and the abbot of the cuckolds, which 
 were formerly celebrated in our churches, much 
 superior, or did our comedies of the foolish mo- 
 ther exhibit marks of a greater genius?
 
 356 HISTORY OF 
 
 CHAP. XXXIV. 
 
 The congress of Aland or Oeland. Death of 
 Charles Xr I., Sec. The treatv of Nystadt. 
 
 T^HESE immense labours, this minute review of 
 the v/hole Russian empire, and the melan- 
 choly proceedings against his unhappy son, were 
 not the only objects which demanded the atten- 
 tion of the czar ; it was necessary to secure hira- 
 aelf without doors, at the same time that he was 
 «ettling order and tranquillity within. The war 
 with Sweden was still carried on, though faintly, 
 in hopes of approaching peace. 
 
 It is a known fact, that in the year 1717, car- 
 dinal Alberoni, prime minister to Philip V. of 
 Spain, and baron Gortz, who had gained an en- 
 tire ascendant over the mind of Charles XII. had 
 concerted a project to change the face of affairs 
 in Europe, by effecting a reconciliation between 
 this last prince and the czar, driving George I. 
 from the English throne, and replacing Stanislaus 
 on that of Poland, while cardinal Alberoni waa 
 to procure the regencv of France for his master 
 Philip. Gortz. as has been already observed, 
 had opened his mind on this head to the czar him- 
 self. Alberoni had begun a negotiation with 
 prince Kourakin, the czar's ambassador at the 
 Hague, by means of the Spanish ambassador, 
 Baretti Landi, a native of Mantua, who had, 
 like the cardinal, quitted his ovna country to live 
 in Spain. 
 
 Thus a set of foreigners were about to overturn 
 the general system, for masters under whose 
 dominion they were not born, or rather for them- 
 selves. Charles XII. gave into all these project*, 
 and the czar contented himself with examining 
 them in private. Since the year 1716 be had
 
 PETER THE GREAT. 357 
 
 made only feeble efforts against Sweden, and 
 those rather with a view to oblige that kingdom 
 to purchase peace by restoring those places it 
 had taken in the course of the war, than with an 
 intent to crush it altogether. 
 
 The baron Gortz, ever active and indefatiga- 
 ble in his projects, had prevailed on the czar to 
 send plenipotentiaries to the island of Oeland to 
 set on foot a treaty of peace. Bruce, a Scotch- 
 man, and grand master of the ordnance in Russia, 
 and the famous Osterman, who was afterwards 
 at the head of affairs, arrived at the place ap- 
 pointed for the congress exactly at the time that 
 the czarowitz was put under arrest at Moscow. 
 Gortz and Gillembourg were already there on the 
 part of Charles XII. both impatient to bring about 
 a reconciliation between that prince and Peter, 
 and to revenge themselves on the king of Eng- 
 land It was an extraordinary circumstance that 
 there should be a congress, and no cessation of 
 arms. The czar's fleet still continued cruising 
 on the coasts of Sweden, and taking the ships of 
 that nation. Peter thought by keeping up hosti- 
 lities to hasten the conclusion of a peace, of 
 which he knew the Swedes stood greatly in need, 
 and which must prove highly glorious to the con- 
 queror. 
 
 Notwithstanding the little hostilities which 
 still continued, every thing bespoke the speedy 
 approach of peace. The preliminaries began 
 by mutual acts of generosity, which produce 
 stronger efl^ecls than many hand-writings. The 
 czar sent back without ransf)m marshal Erens- 
 child, whom he had taken prisoner with his own 
 hands, and Charles in return did the same bv 
 Trubetskoy and Gallowin, who bad continued pri- 
 soners in Sweden ever since the battle of Narva. 
 
 The negotiations now advanced apace, and a
 
 •J58 HISTORY OF 
 
 total change was going to be made in the afikirt 
 of the North. Gortz proposed to the czar to pot 
 the duchy of !Mecklenburg into his hands. Duke 
 Charles, its sovereign, who had married a daughter 
 of czar John. Peter's elder brother, was at vari- 
 ance with the nobility of the country, who had 
 taken arms against him. And Peter, who looked 
 upon that prince as his brother-ia-law, had an 
 army in Mecklenburg reaSy to espouse his cause. 
 Thf king of England, elector of Hanover, declared 
 on the side of the nobles. Here was another 
 opportunity of mortifying the king of England, 
 by putting Peter in possession of Mecklenburg, 
 who, being already master of Livonia, would by 
 this means, in a short time, become more powerful 
 in Germany than any of its electors. 1 he duchy 
 of Courland was to be given to the duke of ^leclc- 
 lenburg, as an equivalent for his own, together 
 with a part of Prussia at the expense of Poland, 
 who, was to have Stanislaus again for her king. 
 Bremen and Verden were to revert to Sweden ; 
 but these provinces could not be wrested out of 
 the hands of the king of England but by force of 
 arms ; accordingly Gortz's project was (^as we 
 have already said) to effect a firm union between 
 Peter and Charles XII., and that not only by the 
 bands of peace, but by an offensive alliance, in 
 v/hich case they were jointly to send an anny 
 into Scotland. Charles XII. after having made 
 himself master of Norway, was to make a des- 
 cent on Great Britain, and he fondly imagined 
 he should be able to set a new sovereign on the 
 throne of those kingdoms, after having replaced 
 one of his own choosing on that of Poland. Car- 
 dmal Alberoni promised both Peter and Charles 
 to furnish them with subsidies. The falj of the 
 king of England would, it was supposed, draw 
 vith it that of his ally, the regent of France,
 
 PETER THE GREAT. 359 
 
 wbo being thus deprived of all support, was to 
 fall a victim to the victorious arms of Spain, and 
 the discontent of the French nation. 
 
 Alberoni and Gortz now thought themselves 
 secure of totally overturning the system of Europe, 
 when a cannon ball from the bastions of Frede- 
 ricksbal in Norway confounded all their mighty 
 projects. Charles XII. was killed, the Spanish 
 fleet was beaten by that of England, the con- 
 spiracy which had been formed in France was dis- 
 covered and quelled, Alberoni was driven out of 
 Spain, and Gortz was beheaded at Stockholm; 
 and of all this formidable league, so lately made, 
 the czar alone retained his credit, who by not 
 having put himself in the power of any one, gave 
 law to all his neighbours. 
 
 At the death of Charles XII. there was a 
 total change of measures in Sweden. Charles 
 had governed with a despotic power, and his 
 sister Ulrica was elected Queen on express con- 
 dition of renouncing arbitary government. Charles 
 intended to form an alliance with the czar against 
 England and its allies, and the new government 
 of Sweden now joined those allies against the 
 czar. 
 
 The congress at Oeland, however, was not 
 broken up ; but the Swedes, now in league with 
 the English, flattered themselves that the fleets of 
 that nation sent into the Baltic would procure 
 them a more advantageous peace. A body of 
 Hanoverian troops entered the dominions of the 
 duke of Mecklenburg (Feb. 1716.), but were 
 soon driven from thence by the czar's forces. 
 
 Peter likewise had a body of troops in Poland, 
 which kept in awe both the party of Augustus, 
 and that of Stanislaus ; and as to Sweden, he 
 had a fleet always ready, either to make a des- 
 cent on their coasts, or to oblige the Swedish
 
 360 HISTORY OF 
 
 government to hasten mitters in tbe congress. 
 This fleet consisted of twelve large ships of the 
 line, and several lesser ones, besides frigates and 
 galleys. The czar served on board this fleet as 
 vice-admiral, under the command of admiral 
 Apraxin. 
 
 A part of this fleet signalized itself in the be- 
 ginning against a Swedish squadron, and, after 
 an obstinate engagement, took one ship of the 
 line, and two frigates. Peter, who constantly en- 
 deavoured, bv everr possible means, to encou- 
 rage and improve the navy he had been at so 
 much pains to establish, gave, on this occasion, 
 sixty thousand French livres* in money among 
 the officers of this squadron, with several gold 
 medals, besides conferring marks of honour on 
 those who principally distinguished themselves. 
 
 About this time also the English fleet under 
 admiral Norris came up the Baltic, in order to 
 favour the Swedes. Peter, who well knew how 
 far he could depend on his new navy, was not to 
 be frightened by the English, but boldly kept the 
 sea, and sent to know of the English admiral if 
 he was come only as a friend to the Swedes, or as 
 an enemy to Russia? The admiral returned for 
 answer, that he had not as yet any positive orders 
 from his court on that head : however Peter, not- 
 withstanding this equivocal reply, continued to 
 keep the sea with his fleet. 
 
 The English fleet, which in fact was come 
 thither only to shew itself, and thereby induce 
 the czar to grant more favourable conditions of 
 peace to the Swedes, went to Copenhagen, and 
 the Russians made some descents on the Swedish 
 coast, and even iu the neighbourhood of Copen- 
 hagen, (July 1719.) where they destroyed some 
 copper mines, burnt about fifteen thousand hooses, 
 • About three thousand pounds sterling.
 
 PETER THE GREAT. 361 
 
 and did mischief enough to make the Swede* 
 heartily wish for a speedy conclusion of the peace. 
 Accordingly the new queen of Sweden pressed 
 a renewal of the negotiations ; Osterman hina- 
 self was sent to Stockholm, and matters con- 
 tinued in this situation during the whole of the 
 pear 1719. 
 
 The following year the prince of Hesse, husband 
 to the queen of Sweden, and now become king, in 
 Tirtue of her havin g yielded up the sovereign power 
 in his favour, began bis reign by sending a minister 
 to the court of Petersburg, in order to hasten the 
 80 much desired peace ; but the war was still 
 carried on in the midst of these negotiations. 
 
 The English fleet joined that of the Swedes, 
 but did not yet commit any hostilities, as there 
 was no open rupture betwet^n the courts of Rus- 
 sia and England, and admiral Norris even offered 
 his master's mediation towards bringing about a 
 peace ; but as this offer was made with arms in 
 hand, it rather retarded than facilitated the nego- 
 tiations. The coasts of Sweden, and those of 
 the new Russian provinces in the Baltic, are so 
 situated, that the former lay open to every insult, 
 while the latter are secured by their diflScult ac- 
 cess. This was clearly seen when admiral Nor- 
 ris, after having thrown off the mask, (June 1720.) 
 made a descent in conjunction with the Swedish 
 fleet on a little island in the province of Estho- 
 nia, called Narguen, which belonged to the czar, 
 where they only burnt a peasant's house ; but 
 the R\is8itins at the same time made a descent 
 near Wasa, and burnt forty-one villages, and up- 
 wards of one •housand houses, and did an infinite 
 deal of damage to the country round about. 
 Prince Galitzin boarded and took four Swedish 
 frigates, and the English admiral seemed to have 
 tome only to be spectator of that pitch of glory
 
 362 HISTORY OF 
 
 to which the czar had raised his infant navy ; for 
 he had but just shewn himself in those seas, when 
 the Swedish frigates were carried in triumph into 
 the harbour of Cronslot before Petersburg.* On 
 this occasions methinks the English did too much 
 if they came only as mediators, and too little if 
 as enemies. 
 
 Nov. 17'20.] At length, the new king of 
 Sweden demanded a cessation of arms ; and as 
 he found the menaces of the English had stood 
 him in no stead, he had recourse to the duke of 
 Orleans, the French regent ; and this prince, at 
 once an ally of Russia and Sweden, had the 
 honour of effecting a reconciliation between 
 them. (Feb. i7'/l.) He sent Campredon, his 
 plenipotentiary, to the court of Petersburg, and 
 from thence to that of Stockholm. A congress 
 was opened at Nystadt,+ but the C2ar would not 
 agree to a cessation of arras till matiers were on 
 the point of being concluded and the })lenipotcn- 
 tiaries ready to sign. He had an army in Fin- 
 land ready to subdue the rest of that province, 
 and his fleets were continually threatening the 
 Swedish coasts, so that he seemed absolute 
 master of dictating the terms of peace ; accord- 
 ingly they subscribed to whatever he thought fit 
 to demand. By this treaty he wa« to remain in 
 perpetual possession of all that his arms had 
 conquered, from the borders of Courland to the 
 extremity of the gulf of Finland, and from thence 
 again of the whole extent of the country of Kex- 
 
 • The czar celebrated this victory by a naval triamph 
 ut Petersburg, caused a gold medal lo be struck to per- 
 petuate the glory of the action, presented prince Galitzia 
 with a aword set with diamonds, and distributed a large 
 •am of money among the officers and sailors who bad 
 given such signal proofs of their valour. 
 
 t A iutle to vn of the Eothnick gull" in Isorth FinlaBc)
 
 PETER THE GREAT. 363 
 
 holm, and that narrow slip of Fiuland which 
 stretches out to the northward of the neighbour- 
 hood of Kexholm ; so that he remained master 
 of all Livonia, Esthonia, Ingria, Carelia.with the 
 country of Wybourg, and the neighbouring isles, 
 which secured to him the sovereignty of the sea, 
 as likewise of the isles of Oessel, Dago, Mona, 
 and several others : the whole forming an ex- 
 tent of three thousand leagues of country, of un- 
 equal breadth, and which altogether made a 
 large kingdom, that proved the reward of twenty 
 years' immense pains and labour. 
 
 The peace was signed at Nystadt the lOtli 
 September, 1721, N. S. by the Russian ministei 
 Osterman, and general Bruce. 
 
 Peter was the more rejoiced at that event, as 
 it freed him from the necessity of keeping such 
 large armies on the frontiers of Sweden, as also 
 from any apprehensions on the part of England, 
 or of the neighbouring states, and left him at full 
 liberty to exert his whole attention to the model- 
 ling of his empire, in which he had already 
 made so successful a beginning, and to cherish 
 arts and commerce, which he had introduced 
 among his subjects, at the expense of infinite la- 
 bour and industry. f 
 
 In the first transports of his satisfaction, we 
 find him writing in these terras to his plenipo- 
 tentiaries ; ' You have drawn up the treaty as if 
 we ourself had dictated and sent it to you to offer 
 the Swedes to sign. This glorious event shall be 
 ever present to our remembrance.' 
 
 All degrees of people, throughout the Russian 
 empire, gave proofs of their satisfaction, by the 
 most extraordinary rejoicings of all kinds, and 
 particularly at Petersburg. The triumphal fes- 
 tivals, with which the czar had entertained hia 
 people during the course of the war, were no-
 
 364 HISTORY OF 
 
 thing to compare to these rejoicipgs for (he peace, 
 which every one hailed with unutterable satia« 
 factioE. Th° peace itself was the most glorious 
 of all his triumphs ; and what pleased more than 
 all the pompous shows on the occasion, was a 
 free pardon and general release granted to all 
 prisoners, and a general remission of all sums 
 due to the royal treasury for taxes throughout 
 the whole empire, to the day of the publication 
 of the peace. In consequence of which a mul- 
 titude of unhappy wretches, who had been con- 
 fined in prison, were set at liberty, excepting 
 only those guilty of highway-robbery, murder, or 
 treason.* 
 
 • Notwithstanding the great rejoicings made on this oc- 
 casion, Peter was no«-ays inattentive to the aflfairs of state ; 
 but held frequent councils thereon : and being desirous, 
 as Lis son Peter Peirowitz was dead, to settle the sncces- 
 8ion on a prince who would follow his maxims, and pro- 
 secute the great designs which he had begun for civilizing 
 his people, he ordered public notice to be given, on the 
 £3d of February, to all his subjects inhabiting the city of 
 Moscow, to repair the next daj' to Castle-church ; which 
 they having done, printed papers were delivered to them 
 all, signifj ing, ' That it was his imperialmajesty's pleasure, 
 that every man should swear, and give under his hand, 
 that he would not only approve the choice his majesty 
 would make of a successor, but acknowledge the person 
 he should appoint as emperor and sovereign.' An order 
 was likewise published a few days after at Petersburg, 
 requirinjr the magistrates and all persons to subscribe the 
 same declaration ; and all the grandees of the empire wer« 
 commanded, on pain of death and confiscation, to repair 
 to Moscow by the latter end of March for that purpose, 
 except tliose inhabiting Astracan and Siberia, who, \iving 
 at too great a distance, were excused from giving their 
 personal attendance, aad permitted to subscribe before 
 their respective governors. This oath was readily taken 
 by all ranks and degrees of the people, who were well
 
 PETER THE GREAT. 365 
 
 It was at this time that the senate decreed 
 Peter the titles of Great, Emperor, and Father cf 
 his Country. Count Golofkin, the high chan- 
 cellor, made a speech to the czar in the great 
 catJiedral, in the name of ail the orders of the 
 6tate, the senators crying aloud, Long live our 
 emperor and faiher ! in which acclamations they 
 were joined by the united voice of all the people 
 present. The ministers of France, Germany, 
 Poland, Denmark, and the states-general, waited 
 on him, with their congratulations, on the titles 
 lately bestowed on him, and formally acknow- 
 ledged for emperor him who had been always 
 publicly known in Holland by that title, ever 
 since the battle of Pultowa. The names of Fa- 
 ther, and of Great, were glorious epithets, 
 which no one in Europe could dispute him ; that 
 of Emperor was only a honorary title, given by 
 custom to the sovereigns of Germany, as titular 
 kings of the Romans ; and it requires time be- 
 fore sucli appellations come to be formally adopt- 
 ed by those courts where forms of state and real 
 glory are different things. But Peter was in a 
 short time after acknowledged emperor by all 
 the states of Europe, excepting only that of Po- 
 land, wliich was still divided by factions, and the 
 pope, whose suffrage was become of very little 
 significance, since the court of Rome had lost its 
 credit in proportion as other nations became 
 more enlightened. 
 
 assnred that their emperor would mak« choice of on* 
 who was every wa3' won h J of the succesaion, and capable 
 of 6upf»orii:ifj the dignity intended for him : but they 
 were still in the dark as to the identical person, though it 
 was generally believed to be prince Nari^kin, who wa« 
 nearly related to the emperor, and allowed to have all the 
 qnalitifs requisite for his successor : but a little tinM 
 fhf v/1 tlirm, that tb's conjecture was groundless.
 
 366 HISTORY OF 
 
 CHAP. XXXV. 
 
 Couqueats in Persia. 
 
 T^HE sita\tion of Russia is such, as necessarily 
 obliges her to keep up certain connexions 
 with all the nations that lie in the fifth degree of 
 north latitude. When under a bad administra- 
 tion, she was a prey by turns to the Tartars, the 
 Swedes, and the Poles ; but when governed by a 
 resolute and vigorous prince, she became formi- 
 dable to all her neighbours. Peter began his 
 reign by an advantageous treaty with the Chinese. 
 He had waged war at one and the same time 
 against the Swedes and the Turks, and now pre- 
 pared to lead his victorious armies into Persia. 
 
 At this time Persia began to fall into that de- 
 plorable state, in which we now behold her. Let 
 us figure to ourselves the thirty years' war in 
 Germany, the times of the league, those of the 
 massacre of St. Bartholomew, and the reigns of 
 Charles VI. and of king John in France, the civil 
 wars in England, the long and horrible ravages 
 of the whole Russian empire by the Tartars, or 
 their invasion of China ; and then we shall have 
 some slight conception of the miseries under 
 which the Persian empire has so long groaned. 
 
 A weak and indolent prince, and a powerful 
 and enterprising subject, are sufficient to plunge a 
 whole nation into such an abyss of disasters. Hus 
 sein, sha, shaic, or sophi of Persia, a descendant 
 of the great sha Abbas, who sat at this time on 
 the throne of Persia, had given himself wholly up 
 to luxury and eflFeminacy : his prime minister 
 committed acts of the greatest violence and in- 
 justice, which this great prince winked at, and 
 this gave rise to forty years' desolation and blood- 
 shed.
 
 PETER THE GllEAF. 367 
 
 Persia, like Turkey, has several provinces, all 
 governed in a different manner ; she has subjects 
 immediately under her dominion, vassals, tribu- 
 tary princes, and even nations, to whom the court 
 was wont to pay a tribute, under the name of 
 subsidies ; for instance, the people of Daghestan, 
 who inhabit the branches of mount Caucasus, to 
 the westward of the Caspian Sea, which was 
 formerly a part of the ancient Albania ; for all 
 nations have changed their appellation and their 
 limits. These are now called Lesgians, and are 
 mountaineers, who are rather under the protec- 
 tion, than the dominion, of Persia ; to these the 
 government paid subsidies for defending the 
 frontiers. 
 
 At the other extremity of the empire, towarde 
 the Indies, was the prince of Candahar, who com- 
 manded a kind of martial militia, called Aghwans. 
 This prince of Candahar was a vassal of the Per- 
 sian, as the hospodars of Walachia and Moldavia 
 are of the Turkish empire : this vassalage was 
 not hereditary, but exactly the same with the 
 ancient feudal tenures established throughout 
 Europe, by that race of Tartars who overthrew 
 the Roman empire. 'J'he Aghwan militia, of 
 which the prince of Candahar was the head, was 
 the same with the Albanians on the coasts of the 
 Caspian Sea, in the neigbourhood of Daghestan, 
 and a mixture of Circassians and Georgians, like 
 the ancient .Mamelucks who enslaved Egypt. The 
 name of Aghwans is a corruption ; Timur, whom 
 we call Tamerlane, had led these people into 
 India, and they remained settled in the province 
 of Candahar, which sometimes belonged to t\n- 
 Mogul empire, and sometimes to that of IVrsia- 
 It was these Aohwans and Lesgians who begar 
 the revolution. 
 
 Mir-Weis, or Meriwitz, intendant of the pro-
 
 368 HISTORY OF 
 
 vince, whose office was only to collect (he tributes, 
 assassinated the prince of Candahar, armed the 
 militia, and continued master of the province till 
 his death, which happened in 1717. His brother 
 came quietly to the succession, by paying a slight 
 tribute to the Persian court. But the son of Mir- 
 Weis, who inherited the ambition of his father, 
 assassinated his uncle, and began to erect him- 
 self into a conqueror. This young man was called 
 Mir-Mahmoud, but he was known in Europe only 
 by the name of his father, who had begun the re- 
 bellion. Mahmoud reinforced his Aghwans, by 
 adding to them all the Guebres he could get to- 
 gether. These Guebres were an ancient race of 
 Persians, who had been dispersed by the caliph 
 Omar, and who still continued attached to the re- 
 ligion of the Magi (formerly flourished in the 
 reign of Cyrus), and were always secret enemies 
 to the new Persians. Having assembled his forces, 
 Mahmoud marched into the heart of Persia, at 
 the head of a hundred thousand men. 
 
 At the same time the Lesgians or Albanians, 
 who, on account of the troublesome times, had not 
 received their subsidies from the court of Persia, 
 came down from their mountains with an armed 
 force, so that the flames of civil war were lighted 
 up at both ends of the empire, and extended them- 
 selves even to the capital. 
 
 These Lesgians ravaged all that country which 
 stretches along the western borders of the Caspian 
 bea, as far as Derbent, or the Iron Gate. In 
 this country is situated the city of Shamache, 
 atjout lifteen leagues distant from the sea, and is 
 Kaid to have been the ancient residence of Cyrus, 
 and by the Greeks called Cyropolis, for we know 
 nothing of the situation or names of these coun- 
 tries, but what we have from the Greeks ; butM 
 the Persians never had a prince called Gym*,
 
 PETER THE GREAT. 369 
 
 much less had they any city called CyropoJis It 
 i^ much iu the same manner that the Jews, who 
 commenced authors when they were settled in 
 Alexandria, framed a notion of a city called 
 Scythopolis, which, said they, was built by the 
 Scythians in the neighbourhood of Judea, as if 
 either Scythians or ancient Jews could iiave 
 given Greek names to their towns. 
 
 The city of Shamache was very rich. The 
 Armenians, who inhabit in the neighbourhood of 
 this part of the Persian empire, carried on an 
 immense traffic there, and Peter had lately esta- 
 blished a company of Russian merchants at his 
 own expense, which company became very 
 flourishing. The Lesgians made themselves 
 masters of this city by surprise, plundered it, and 
 put to death all the Russians who traded there 
 under the protection of shah Hussein, after hav- 
 ing stripped all their warehouses. The loss on 
 this occasion was said to amount to four millions 
 of rubles. 
 
 Peter upon this sent to demand satisfaction of 
 the emperor Hussein, who was then disputing the 
 throne with the rebel Mahmoud, who had usurped 
 it, and likewise of IMahmoud himself, 'ihe former 
 of these was willing to do the czar justice, tlie 
 other refused it ; Peter therefore resolved to nght 
 himself, and take advantage of the di.stractiona 
 in the Per.'^ian empire. 
 
 Alir-Mahmoud still pushed bis conquests in 
 Persia. The soj)hi hearing that the emjiero^ of 
 Russia was prejiaring to enter the Caspian Sea, 
 iu order to revenge the murder of his Mjhjects at 
 Shamache, made private apjilicati(;n to him, by 
 jueans of an Armenian, to take upon him at the 
 same lime the deff-nre of Persia. 
 
 Peter had for a considerable time formed <^ 
 urojert to mak? himself master of the Caspi:ui
 
 370 HISTORY OF 
 
 Sea, by ntians of a powerful naval force, and to 
 turn the tide of commerce from Persia and apart 
 of India through his own dominions. FTe had 
 caused several parts of this sea to be sounded, 
 the coasts to be surveyed, and exact charts made 
 of the whole. He then set sail for the coast of 
 Persia the 15th day of May, 172'.^. Catherine 
 accompanied him in this voyage, as she had done 
 in the former. They sailed down the Wolga as 
 far as the city of Astreican. From thence he 
 hastened to forward the canals which were to 
 join the Caspian, the Baltic, and the Euxine 
 seas, a work which has been since executed in 
 part under the reign of his grandson. 
 
 While he was directing these works, the neces- 
 sary provisions for his expedition were arrived 
 in the Caspian Sea. He was to take with him 
 twenty-two thousand foot, nine thousand dra- 
 goons, fifteen thousand Cossacks, and three thou- 
 sand seamen, wlio were to work the ships, and 
 occasionally assist the soldiery in making descents 
 on the coast. The horse were to march over 
 land through deserts where there was frequently 
 no water to be had, and afterwards to pass over 
 the mountains of Caucasus, where three hundred 
 men are sufficient to stop the progress of a whole 
 army ; but the distracted condition in which 
 Persia then was, warranted the most hazardous 
 enterprises. 
 
 The czar sailed about a hundred leagues to the 
 .southward of Astracan, till he came to the little 
 town of Andrewhoff. It may appear extraordi- 
 nary to hear of the name of Andrew on the coasts 
 of the Hyrcanian Sea ; but some Georgians, who 
 were formerly a sect of Christians, had built this 
 town, which the Persians afterwards fortified ; 
 but it fell an easy prey to the czar's arms. From 
 thence he continued advancing by land into the
 
 PETER THE GREAT. 371 
 
 province of Daghestau, and caused manifestoes 
 to be circulated in the Turkish and Persian lan- 
 guages.* It was necessary to keep fair with the 
 Ottoman Porte, who reckoned among its sub- 
 jects, not only the Circassians and Georgians, 
 who border upon this country, but also several 
 powerful vassals, who had of late put themselves 
 under the protection of the grand seignior. 
 
 Among others there was one very powerful, 
 named Mahmoud d'Utmich, who took the title 
 of sultan, and had the courage to attack the czar's 
 troops, by which he was totally defeated, and 
 the story says, that his whole country was made 
 a bonfire on the occasion. 
 
 Sept. 14, 1722.] In a short time afterwards 
 Peter arrived at the city of Derbent, by the Per- 
 sians and Turks called Demir Capi, that is, the 
 Iron Gate, and so named from having formerly 
 had an iron gate at the south entrance. The 
 city is long and narrow, its upper part joins to a 
 rocky branch of IMount Caucasus, and the walls 
 of the lower part are washed by the sea, which 
 in violent htorms make a breach over them. These 
 walls might jjass for one of the wonders of an- 
 tiquity, being forty feet in height, and six in 
 breadth, defended with square towers at the dis- 
 tance of every fifty feet. The whole work seems 
 one uniform piece, and is built of a sort of brown 
 free-stone mixed with pounded shells, which 
 
 • These be published and distributed along the bor- 
 ders of the Caspian Sea, therein declaring — That h« 
 came not npoa the frontiers of Persia, with an intention 
 of reducing any of the provinres of that kingdom to bis 
 obedience, but only to maintain the lawful possessor of 
 them on bis throne, and to defend him jjowerfully, toge- 
 Mrilh his faithful subjects, against the tyranny of Mir 
 IVlahmoud, and to obtain satisfaction from him and his 
 Tartars, fur the robberies and mittchiL-fs which they had 
 ooinmitted in the Russian empire.
 
 372 HISTORY OF 
 
 served as mortar, so that the whole forms a mass 
 harder than marble. The city lies open from the 
 sea, but part of it next the land appears impreg- 
 nable. There are still some ruins of an old wall 
 like that of China, which must have been built 
 in the earliest times of antiquity, and stretched 
 from the borders of the Caspian Sea to the Pon- 
 tus Euxiuus ; and this was probably a rampart 
 raised by the ancient kings of Persia against 
 those swarms of barbarians which dwelt between 
 those two seas. 
 
 According to the Persian tradiiion, the city of 
 Derbent was partly repaired and fortified by 
 Alexander the Great. Arrian and Quintus Cur- 
 tius tell us, that Alexander absolutely rebuilt this 
 city. They say indeed that it was on the banks of 
 the Tanais or Don, but then in their time the 
 Greeks gave the name of Tanais to the river Cy- 
 rus, which runs by the city. It would be a con- 
 tradiction to suppose that Alexander should build 
 a harbour in the Caspian Sea, on a river that 
 opens into the Black Sea. 
 
 There were formerly three or four other porta 
 in different parts of the Caspian Sea, all which 
 were probably built with the same view ; for the 
 several nations inhabiting to the west, east, and 
 north of that sea, have in all times been barba- 
 rians, who had rendered themselves formidable 
 to the rest of the world, and from hence princi- 
 pally issued those swarms of conquerors who sub- 
 jugated Asia and Europe. 
 
 And here I must beg leave to remark, how 
 much pleasure authors in all ages have taken to 
 impose upon mankind, and how much they have 
 preferred a vain show of eloquence to matter of 
 fact. Qaintus Curtius puts into the mouths of 
 Scythians an admirable speech full of moderation 
 and philosophy, as if the Tartars of those regiont
 
 PETER THE GREAT. 373 
 
 had been all so many sages, and that Alexander 
 had not been the general nominated by the Ureeks 
 against the king of Persia, sovereign of the great- 
 est part of southern Scythia and the Indies. Other 
 rhetoricians, thinking to imitate Qiiintus Cur- 
 tius, have studied to make us look upon those 
 savages of Caucacus anJ its dreary deserts, who 
 lived wholly upon rapine and bloodshed, as the 
 people in the world most remarkable for austere 
 virtue and justice, and have painted Alexander, 
 the avenger of Greece, and the conqueror of those 
 who would have enslaved him and his country, 
 as a public robber, vvho had ravaged the world 
 without justice or reason. 
 
 Such writers do not consider, that these Tar- 
 tars were never otlier than destroyers, and that 
 Alexarider built towns in the very country which 
 they inhabited •, and in this respect 1 may ven- 
 ture to coaipare Peter the Great to Alexander , 
 like him he was assiduous and indefatigable in 
 his pursuits, a lover and friend of the useful arts ; 
 he surpassed him as a lawgiver, and like him 
 endeavoured to change the tide of commerce in 
 the world, and built and repaired at least as 
 many towns as that celebrated hero of antiquity. 
 
 On the approach of the Russian army, the 
 governor of Derbent resolved not to sustain a 
 siege, whether he thought he was not able to de- 
 fend the place, or that he preferred the czar's 
 protection to that of the tyrant Mahmoud ; 
 brought the keys of the town and citadel (which 
 were silver) and presented them to Peter, whose 
 army pea':eably entered the city, and then en- 
 ramped on the sea- shore. 
 
 riie usurper, Mahmoud, already master of 
 great part of Persia, in vain endeavoured to pre- 
 vent file czar from taking possession of Derbent : 
 he stirred up the neighbouring Tartars, and
 
 374 HISTORY OF 
 
 marched into Persia to the relief of the place ; 
 but, too late, for Derbent was already in the hands 
 of the conqueror. 
 
 Peter hov/ever was not in a condition to push 
 his successes any further at this time. The ves- 
 sels which were bringing him a fresh supply of 
 provisions, horses, and recruits, had been cast 
 away near Astracan, and the season was far 
 spent. He therefoie returned to Moscow, Jan. 5. 
 which he entered in triumph ; ajid after bis arri- 
 val (according to custom) gave a strict account 
 of his expedition to the vice-czar Romadanowski, 
 thus keeping up this extraordinary farce, which, 
 says his eulogium, pronounced in the academy of 
 sciences at Paris, ought to have been performed 
 before all the monarchs of the earth. 
 
 The empire of Persia continued to be divided 
 between Hussein and the usurper Mahmoad. 
 The first of these thought to find a protector in 
 the czar, and the other dreaded him as an 
 avenger, who was come to snatch the fruits of 
 his rebellion out of his hands. Mahmoud ex- 
 erted all his endeavours to stir up the Ottoman 
 Porte against Peter, and for this purpose sent an 
 embassy to Constantinople, while the princes of 
 Daghestan, who were under the protection of 
 the grand seignior, and had been stript of their 
 territories by the victorious army of Peter, cried 
 aloud for vengeance. The divan was now alarmed 
 for the safety of Georgia, which the Turks reckon 
 in the number of their dominions. 
 
 The grand seignior was on the point of de- 
 claring war against the czar, but was prevented 
 by the courts of Vienna and Paris. The empe- 
 ror of Germany at the same time declared, that 
 if Russia should be attacked by the Turks, he 
 must be obliged to defend it. The marquis de 
 Uonac, the French ambassador at Constantinople,
 
 PETER THE GREAT. 375 
 
 made a dextrous use of the menaces of the Im- 
 perial court, aud at the same time insinuated, 
 that it was contrary to the true interest of the 
 Turkish empire, to suffer a rebel and an usurper 
 to set the example of dethroning sovereigns, and 
 tliat the czar had done no more than what the 
 grand seignior himself ought to have done. 
 
 During these delicate negotiations, Mir Mah- 
 moud was advanced to the gates of Derbent, and 
 had laid waste all the neighbouring country in 
 order to cut off all means of subsistence from the 
 Russian army. That part of ancient Hyrcania, 
 now called Ghilan, was reduced to a desert, and 
 the inhabitants threw themselves under the pro- 
 tection of the Russians, whom they looked upon 
 as their deliverers. 
 
 In this they followed the example of the sophi 
 himself, i hat unfortunate prince sent a formal 
 embassy to Peter the Great, to request his as- 
 sistance ; but the ambassador was hardly de- 
 parted, when the rebel, Alir Mahmoud, seized 
 on Ispahan and the person of his master. 
 
 Ihamaseb, the son of the dethroned sophi, 
 who was taken prisoner, found means to escape 
 out of the tyrant's hands, and got together a body 
 of troops, with which he gave the usurper battle. 
 He seconded his father's entreaties to Peter the 
 Great for his protection, and sent to the ambas- 
 sador the same instructions which Shah Hussein 
 nad given him. 
 
 This ambassador, whose name was Ishmael 
 Beg, found that his negotiations had proved suc- 
 cessful, even before he arrived in person ; for, 
 on landing at Asiracan, he learnt that general 
 Matufkin was going to set out with fresh recruits 
 to reinforce the army in Daghealan. The dey of 
 Baku or Baclin, whiih with the Persians givea 
 to the Ca-^pian Sea the name of the Sea of Bai ou.
 
 376 HISTORY OF 
 
 was not yet taken. The ambassador therefore 
 gave the Russian general a letter for the inha- 
 bitants, in which be exhorted tliem in his mas- 
 ter's name to submit to the emperor of Russia. 
 The ambassador then ])roceeded to Petersburg, 
 and general Matufkin departed to lay siege to 
 the city of Bachu. (Aug. 17-23.) The Persian 
 ambassador arrived at the czar's court the verr 
 day that tidings were brought of the reduction 
 of that city. 
 
 Baku is situate near Shamacbe, but is neitner 
 so Well peopled, nor so rich as the latter. It is 
 chic fly remarkable for the naptba, with which it 
 furni.shes all Persia. Never was treaty so 
 speedily concluded as that of Ishmael Beg. 
 (Sept. 1723.) Czar Peter promised to march 
 with his forces into Persia, in order to revenge 
 the death of his subjects, and to succour Thama- 
 seb against the usurper of his crown, and the 
 new sophi in return was to cede to him, not only 
 the towns of Bachu and Derbeut, but likewise 
 the provinces of Ghilan, Mazanderan, and As- 
 terabath. 
 
 Ghilan is, as we have already observed, the 
 ancient South Hyrcania ; Mazanderan, which 
 joins to it, is the covmtry of the Mardi, or Mar- 
 dians ; and Asterabath borders upon Mazan- 
 deran. These were the three principal provinces 
 of the ancient Median kings ; so that Peter be- 
 held himself, by the means of arms and treaties, 
 in possession of the original kingdom of Cyrus. 
 
 It may not be foreign to our subject to observe, 
 that by the articles of this convention, the prices 
 of necess.Hries to be furnished to the army were 
 settled. A camel was to cost only sixty franks 
 (about twelve rubles) a pound of bread no more 
 than five farthings, the same weight of beef about 
 six. These prices furnish a convincing proof of
 
 PETER IHE GREAT. 377 
 
 the plenty he found in these countries, that pos- 
 sessions in land are of the most intrinsic value, 
 and that money, which is only of nominal worth, 
 was it that time very scarce. 
 
 Such was the deplorable state to which Persia 
 was then reduced, that the unfortunate sophi 
 Thamaseb, a wanderer in his own kingdom, and 
 flying before the face of the rebel, Mahmoud, who 
 had dipt his hands in the blood of his father and 
 his brothers, was necessitated to entreat the 
 court of Russia and the Turkish divan to accept 
 of one part of his dominions to preserve for him 
 the rest. 
 
 It was agreed then, between czar Peter, sultan 
 Achmet III. and the sophi Thamaseb, that the 
 first of these should keep the three provinces 
 above-named, and that the Porte should have 
 Casbin, Tauris, and Erivan, besides what she had 
 already taken from tlie usurper. Thus was this 
 noble kingdom dismembered at once by the 
 Russians, the Turks, and the Persians them- 
 selves. 
 
 And now the emperor Peter might be said to 
 extend his dominions from the furthest part of the 
 Baltic Sea, beyond the southern limits of the 
 Caspian. Persia still continued a prey to viola- 
 tions and devastations, and its natives, till then 
 opulent and polite, were now sunk in poverty and 
 barbarism, while the Russian people had arisen 
 from indigence and ignorance to a state of riches 
 and learning. One single man, by a resolute 
 and enterprising genius, had brought his country 
 out of obscurity ; and another, by his weakness 
 and indolence, had brought destruction upon his. 
 
 Hitherto we know very little of the private cala- 
 mities which for so long a time spread desolation 
 over the face of the Persian empire. It is said, that 
 shah Hussein was so pusillanimous as to place
 
 378 HISTORY OF 
 
 Avith his own hands the tiara or crown of Persia 
 on the head of the usurper Mahnioud, and also 
 that this Mahmoud afterwards went mad. Thus 
 the lives nf so many thousands of men depenij on 
 the caprice of a madman or a fool. I'hey add 
 furthermore, that AJahmoud, in one of his fits of 
 frenzy, put to death with his own hand all the 
 sons and nephews of the shah Hussein to the 
 number of a hundred ; and that he caused the 
 gospel of Sr. John to be read upon his head, in 
 order to punfv himself, and to receive a cure for 
 his disorder. These and such like Persian fables 
 have been circulated by our monks, and after- 
 wards printed in Paris. 
 
 The tyrant, after having murdered his uncle, 
 was in his turn put to death by his nephew EshreflF, 
 who was as cruel and bloody a tyrant as Mab- 
 moud himself. 
 
 Shah Thamaseb still continued imploring the 
 assistance of Russia. 'I'his I'hamaseb or shah 
 Thomas, was assisted and afterwards replaced 
 on the throne by the famous Kouli Khan, and was 
 again dethroned by the same Kouli Khan. 
 
 The revolutions and wars which Russia bad 
 afterwards to encounter against the Turks, and 
 in which she proved victorious, the evacuating 
 the three provinces in Persia, which cost Russia 
 more to keep than they were worth, are events 
 which do not concern Peter the Great, as they 
 did not happen till several years after his death ; 
 it may suffice to observe, that he finished bis mi- 
 litary career by adding three provinces to bis 
 empire on the part next to Persia, after having 
 just before added the same number on that side 
 next to Sweden.
 
 PETER THE GREAT. 379 
 
 CHAP. XXXVI. 
 
 Of the Coronation of the Empress Catherine I. and 
 the Death of Peter the Great. 
 
 T)ETER, at his return from his Persian expe- 
 dition, found himself in a better condition 
 than ever to be the arbiter of the North. He 
 now openly dechired himself the protector of 
 Charles XII. whose professed enemy he had 
 been for eighteen years. He sent for the duke of 
 Holstein, nephew to that monarch, to his court, 
 promised him his eldest daughter in marriage, 
 and began to make preparations for supporting 
 him in his claims on the duchy of Holstein 
 .Sleswick, and even engaged himsoif so to do by 
 a treaty of alliance, (Feb. 17^4.) wiiich he con- 
 cluded with the crown of Sweden. 
 
 He continued the works he had begun all over 
 his empire, to the further extremity of Kamt- 
 shatka, and for the bettc-r direction of them, es- 
 tablished an academy of sciences at Petersburg. 
 'Ihe arts began now to flourish on every side : 
 manufactures were encouraged, the navy was 
 augmented, the army well provided, and the 
 laws properly enforced. He now enjoyed his 
 glory in full rej)Ose ; but was desirous of sharing 
 it in a new manner with her who, according to 
 his own declrtration, by remedying the disaster 
 of the cam])aign of Pruth. had been in some 
 measure the instrument of his acquiring that 
 glory. 
 
 Accordingly, the coronation of his consort 
 Catherine was performed at Moscow, in pre- 
 sence of the ducliess of (^ourland, his eldest bro- 
 ther's daughter, and the duke of Holstein, hi>i in- 
 tended son- in law. (May 28. 17^4.) 'Iho de-
 
 580 HISTORY OF 
 
 claration which he published on this occasion 
 merits attenlion : he therein cites the examples 
 of several Christian princes who had placed the 
 crown on the beads of their consorts, as likewise 
 those of the heathen e-mperors, Basilides, Justi- 
 nian, Heraclius, and Leo, the philosopher. He 
 enumerates the services Catherine had done to the 
 state, and in particular in the war against the 
 Turks, — ' Where mv army,' says he, ' which had 
 been reduced to 22,000 men, had to encounter an 
 army above 200,000 strong.' He does not ear, 
 in this declaration, that the empress was to suc- 
 ceed to the crown after his death ; but this cere- 
 mony, which was altogether new and unusual in 
 the Russian empire, was one of those means by 
 which he prepared the minds of his subjects for 
 8uch an event. Another circumstance that might 
 perhaps furnish a stronger reason to believe that 
 he destined Catherine to succeed him on the 
 throne, was. that he himself marched on foot 
 before her the day of her coronation, as captain 
 of a new company, which he had created under 
 the name of the knights o^^" the empres-i. 
 
 When they arrived at the cathedral, Peter him- 
 self placed the crown on her bead ; and when she 
 would have fallen down and embraced his xnees, 
 he prevented her ; and. at their return from the 
 church, caused the sceptre and globe to be car- 
 ried before hc^r. The ceremony was altogether 
 worthy an emperor • for on every public occasion 
 Peter shewed as mv.ch pomp and magnificence 
 AS he did plainness and simplicity in his private 
 manner of living. 
 
 Having thus crowned his spouse, he at length 
 determined to give his eldest daughter, Anna 
 Petrowna, in marriage to the duke of Holstein. 
 This princess greatlv resen.»t>led her father in tho 
 face, was very majestic, and of a singular beauty
 
 PETER THE GREAT. r,8l 
 
 Slip was betrothed to the duke of Hoi stein on the 
 ?4th of November, 1724, but with very little 
 ceremony. Peter having for some time past 
 found his }iealth greatly impaired, and this, to- 
 gether with some family uneasiness, tliat perhaps 
 rather increased his disorder, which in a short 
 time proved fatal, permitted him to have but very 
 little relish for feasts or public diversions in this 
 latter part of his life. 
 
 •The empress Catherine had at that time a 
 young man for the chamberlain of her household, 
 whose name was Moens de la Croix, a native of 
 Russia, but of Flemish parents, remarkably hand- 
 some and genteel. His sister, madame de Bale, 
 was bed-chamber-woman to tlie empress, and 
 these two had entirely the management of her 
 household Being both accused of having taken 
 presents, they were sent to prison, and afterwards 
 brought to their trial by express order of the czar ; 
 who, by an edict in the year 1714, had forbidden 
 any one holding a place about court to receive 
 any present or other gratuity, on pain of being 
 declared infamous, and suffering death ; and this 
 prohibition had been several times renewed. 
 
 The brother and sister were foimd guilty, and 
 received sentence, and all those who had either 
 purchased their services or given them any gra- 
 tuity in return for tlie same, were included therein, 
 except the duke of Holstein and his minister 
 count Bassewitz : as it is probable that the pre- 
 sents made by that prince, to those who had a 
 share in bringiiig about his marriage with the 
 czar's daughter, were not looked upon in a cri 
 minal light. 
 
 Moens was condemned to be beheaded, and his 
 sister (who was the empress's favourite) to re- 
 ceive eleven strokes of the knout. The two sons 
 • Memoirs of Basnewitz.
 
 SSe HISTORY OF 
 
 of this lady, one of \vhom was an officer in the 
 household, and the other a page, were degraded, 
 and sent to serve as private soldiers in the army 
 in Persia. 
 
 These severities, though they shock our man- 
 ners, were perhaps necessary in a country where 
 the observance of the laws is to be enforced only 
 by the most terrifying rigour. The empress soli- 
 cited her favourite's pardon ; but the czar, of- 
 fended at her application, peremptorily refused 
 her, and, in the heat of his passion, seeing a fine 
 looking-glass in the apartment, he, with one blow 
 of his fist, broke it into a thousand pieces ; and, 
 turning to the empress, ' Thus,' said he, ' thou 
 seest I can, with one stroke of my hand, reduce 
 this glass to its original dust.' Catherine, in a 
 melting accent, replied, ' It is true, yoa have de- 
 stroyed one of the greatest ornaments of your 
 palace, but do you think that palace is the more 
 charming for its loss V This answer appeased the 
 emperor's wrath ; but all the favour that Catherine 
 could obtain for her bed-chamber-woman was, 
 that she should receive only five strokes of the 
 knout instead of eleven. 
 
 I should not have related this anecdote, had it 
 not been attested by a a public minister, who was 
 •^ye-witness of the whole transaction, and who, 
 by having made presents to the unfortunate 
 brother and lister, was perhaps himself one of ihe 
 principal causes of their disgrace and sufferings. 
 It was this affair that emboldened those who 
 judge of every thing in tlie worst light, to spread 
 the report that Catherine hastened the death of 
 her husband, whose choleric disposition filled her 
 with apprehensions that overweighed the grati- 
 tude she owed him for the many favours he had 
 heaped upon her. 
 
 These erne sut^picions were confirmed by
 
 PETER THE GREAT. 383 
 
 Catherine's recalling to court her won.an of the 
 bed-chamber immediately upon the death of the 
 czar, and reinstating her in her former influence. 
 It is the duty of an historian to relate the public 
 reports which have been circulated in all times 
 in states, on the decease of princes who have been 
 snatched away by a premature death, as if nature 
 was not alone sufficient to put a period to the 
 existence of a crowned head as well as that of a 
 beggar ; but it is likewise the duty of an historian 
 to shew how far such reports were rashly or un- 
 justly formed. 
 
 There is an immense distance between the mo- 
 Uientary discontent which may arise from the 
 morose or harsh behaviour of a husband, apd 
 the desperate resolution of poisoning that hus- 
 band, who is at the same time our sovereign and 
 benefactor in the highest degree. The danger 
 attending such a design would have been as great 
 as it was criminal. Catherine had at that time 
 a powerful party against her, who epoused the 
 cause of the son of the deceased czarowitz. 
 Nevertheless, neither that faction, nor any one 
 person about tiie court, once suspected the czar- 
 ina ; and the vague rumours which were spread 
 on this head were founded only on the mis- 
 taken notions of foreigners, who were very im- 
 ])erfectly acquainted with the affair, and who 
 chose to indulge the wretched pleasure of accus- 
 ing of lieinous crimes those whom they thought 
 interested to commit them. B>it it was even 
 very doubtful whether this was at ail the case 
 with Catherine. It was far from being certain that 
 she was to succeed her husband. She had been 
 crowned indeed, but only in the character of wife 
 to the reigning sovereign, and not as one who waa 
 to enjoy the sovereign authority after his death. 
 Peter in his declaration, had only ordered this
 
 384 HISTORY OF 
 
 coronation as a matter of ceremony, and not aa 
 conferring a righ* of governing. He therein only 
 cited tlie examples of emperors, who had caused 
 their consorts to be crowned, but not of those who 
 had conferred on them the royal authority. In 
 fine, at the very time of Peter's illness, several 
 persons believed that the princess Anna Petrowna 
 would succeed him jointly with her husband the 
 duke of Holstein, or that the czar would nomi- 
 nate his grandson for his succei^sor ; therefor*-, 
 so far from Catherine's being interested in the 
 death of the emperor, she rather seemed con- 
 cerned in the preservation of his life. 
 
 It is undeniable, that Peter had, for a consi- 
 d«rable time, bet^n troubled with an abscess in the 
 bladder, and a stoppage of urine. The mineral 
 waters of OInitz, and some others, which he had 
 been advised to use, had proved of very little ser- 
 vice to him, and he had found himself growing 
 sensibly weaker, ever since the beginning of the 
 year l7!i;4. His labours, from which h would 
 not allow himself any respite, increased his dis- 
 order, and has<ened his end: (Jan. 1723.) his 
 malady became now more and more desperate , 
 he felt burning pains, which threw him into an 
 almost constant delirium,* whenever he had a 
 moment's interval, he endeavoured to write, but 
 he could only scrawl a few lines that were wholly 
 unintelligible ; and it was with the greatest dif- 
 ficulty that the following words, in the Russian 
 language, could be distinguished: — * Let every 
 thing be given to ' 
 
 He then called for the princess Anna Petrowna. 
 in order to dictate to her, but by that time she 
 could come to his bed-side, he had lost his speech, 
 and fell into a fit, which lasted sixteen Lours. 
 The empress Catherine did not quit his bed-side 
 * MS. memoirs of count de Ba&sewuz.
 
 PETER IHE GREAT. 385 
 
 for three nights together. At length, he breathed 
 his last in her arms, on the '28th of Jan. 1725. 
 about four o'clock in tlie morning. 
 
 His body was conveyed into the great hall of 
 the palace, accompanied by all the imperial fa- 
 mily, the senate, all the principal personages of 
 state, and an innumerable concourse of people. 
 It was there exposed on a bed of state, and every 
 one was permifted to approach and kiss his hand, 
 till the day of his interment, which was on the 
 10-21st of March, 17Si5.* 
 
 * Catherine paid the last duties to her husband's ashea> 
 with a pomp becomiag the greatest monarch that Russia, 
 or perhaps any other country, had ever known ; and 
 thou<;h there is no court of Europe where splendour and 
 magnificence is carried to a greater height on these occa- 
 sions than in that of Russia, yet it may with great truth 
 be said, that she even surpassed herself in the funeral 
 hoiiotirs paid to her great Peter. She parcliased the 
 most precious kinds of marble, and einpltj^'c-d some of 
 the ablest sculptors of Italy to erect a mausoleum to this 
 hero, which Oiighl, if possible, transmit the remembrance 
 of his ?reat actions to the most distant ages. Tsot satis- 
 fied with this, she caused nmeJal to be struck, worthy of 
 the ancients. On one side was represented the bust of 
 the late crupiror, with these words — ' Peter the Great, 
 Emjertr and Sovereign of all Russia, horn Muy SO, 
 1672. On the reverse was '.he empress sitting, with the 
 crown on her head, the globe and sceptre by her side on 
 a table, and before her were a sphere, sea charts, plans, 
 mathematical instruments, arras, anJ a caduceus. At 
 distances, in ihn e different places, were represented an 
 edifice on the sea coast, with a platform before it, a ship 
 and galley &t sen, and the late emperor in liie clouds, sup- 
 ported by fcttruity, looking on the empress, ond shewiug 
 her with his right hand all the treasures he had left 
 her, with these word.*, ' Behold wljat I iiaveleft you.' In 
 the exergue, ' Deceased 28 Junuarj', 17?5.' Several ot 
 these medals she ordered to be struck in gold, to tb4 
 weight of fifty ducats, and distributed amoi g the foreign 
 
 R
 
 386 HISTORY OF 
 
 It has been thought, and it has been assert- 
 ed in pnnt, that be had appointed his wife C» 
 
 miniaterfi, and all the grandees of the empire, aa a testi. 
 moDj of her respect aud gratitude to the memory of hei 
 late husband, to whose generosity she took a pleasure ii 
 owning herself indebted for her present elevated station, 
 Mottley gives us the following, as the czar's epitaph : 
 
 Here lieth, 
 
 All that could die of a mau immortal, 
 
 PETER ALEXIOWITZ: 
 
 It is almost superfluous to add, 
 
 Great Emperor of Russia .' 
 
 A title, 
 
 Which, instead of adding to his glory, 
 
 Became glorious by his wearing it. 
 
 Let antiquity be dumb, 
 
 Not boast her Alexander, cr her Caesar. 
 
 How easy was victory 
 
 To leaders who were followed by heroes ! 
 
 And whose soldiers felt a noble disdain 
 
 At being thought less vigilant than their generals! 
 
 But he, 
 
 Who in this place first knew rest. 
 
 Found subjects base and inactive, 
 
 Uuwarlike, unlearned, uniractable; 
 
 Neither covetous of fame, nor fearless of danger; 
 
 Creatures with the names of men, 
 
 But with qualities rather brutal than rational ! 
 
 Yet, even these 
 
 He polished from their native ruggedness; 
 
 And, breaking oat like a new sun. 
 
 To illuminate the minds of a people. 
 
 Dispelled their night of hereditary darknes* ; 
 
 And, by force of his invincible influence, 
 
 Taught them to conquer 
 
 Even the conquerors of Germany. 
 
 Otb«r princes have commanded victorious armies; 
 
 This commander created them. 
 
 Blush, O Art! at a hero who owed thee nothinf 
 
 EjoI*. Nature ! for thine was this prodigj'.
 
 PETER THE GREAT. 387 
 
 therine to succeed him in the empire, by his last 
 will, but the truth is, that he never made any 
 will, or at least none that ever appeared ; a most 
 astonishing negligence in so great a legislator, 
 and a proof that he did not think his disorder 
 mortal. 
 
 No one knew, at the time of his death, who 
 was to succeed him : he left behind him his 
 grandson Peter, son of the unfortunate Alexis, 
 and his eldest daughter Anna, married to the 
 duke of [Jolstein. There was a considerable fac- 
 tion in favour of young I'eter ; but prince Men- 
 zikoff, who had never had any other interests 
 than those of the empress Catherine, took care 
 to be beforehand with all parlies, and their de- 
 signs ; and accordingly, when the czar was upon 
 the point of giving up the ghost, he caused the 
 empress to remove into another apartment of 
 the palace, where all their friends were assem- 
 bled ready : he had the royal treasures conveyed 
 into the citadel, and secured the guards in his 
 interest, as likewise the archbishop of Novogo- 
 rod ; and then they held a private council, in 
 presence of the empress Catherine, and one 
 I^Iacarof, a secretary, in whom they could con- 
 fide, at which the duke of Holstein's minister as- 
 sisted. 
 
 At the breaking up of this council, the empress 
 returned to the czar's bed-side, who soon after 
 yielded up the ghost in her arms. As soon as 
 his death was made known, the principal senators 
 and general officers repaired to the palace, where 
 the empress made a speech to them, which 
 prince Menzikoft' ansv/ered in the name of all 
 present. The empress being withdrawn, they 
 proceeded to consider the proper forms to be ob- 
 served on tl»e occasion, when Theophaues, arch- 
 bishop of Pleskow, told the assembly, that, ua
 
 388 HISTORY OF 
 
 the eve of the corouation of the empress Catherine, 
 the deceased czar had declared to him, that his 
 sole reason for placing the crown on her head, 
 was, that she might wear it after his death ; 
 upon which the assembly unanimously signed 
 the proclamation, and Catherine succeeded her 
 husband on the throne the verj- day of his death. 
 Peter the Great was regretted by all those 
 whom he had formed, and the descendants of 
 those who had been sticklers for the ancient cus- 
 to:iiS soon began to look on him as their father ; 
 foreign nations, who have beheld the duration of 
 his establishments, have always expressed the 
 highest admiration for his memory, acknowledg- 
 ing that he was actuated by a more than common 
 prudence and wisdom, and not by a vain desire 
 of doing extraordinary things. All Europe knows 
 that though he was fond of fame, he coveted it 
 only for noble principles ; that though he had 
 faults, they never obscured his noble qualities, 
 and that, though, as a man, he was liable to 
 errors, as a monarch he was always great : he 
 every way forced nature, in his subjects, in him- 
 self, by sea and land : but he forced her only to 
 render her more pleasin-g and noble. The arts, 
 which he transplanted with his own hands, into 
 r^3untries, till then in a manner savage, have 
 flourished, and produced fruits which are lasting 
 testimonies of his genius, and will render his 
 memory immortal, since they now appear as na- 
 tives of those places to which he introduced 
 them. The civil, political, and military go- 
 vernment, trade, manufactures, the arts and the 
 sciences, have all been carried on, according to 
 his plan, and by an event not to be paralleled 
 m history : we have seen four women succes- 
 sively ascend the throne after him, who have 
 raAintained, in full vigouti all th? great designs
 
 PETER THE GREAT. 389 
 
 be accomplished, and have completed those 
 which he had begun. 
 
 The court has undergone some revolutions 
 since his death, but the empire has not suffered 
 one. Its splendour was increased by Catherine 1. 
 It triumphed over the Turks and the Swede* 
 under Anna Petrowna ; and under Elizal)eth it 
 conquered Prussia, and a part of Pomerania ; and 
 lastly, it has tainted the swi-f^ts of peace, and has 
 seen the arts flourish in I'uiness and security in 
 the reign of Catheriue the Second.* 
 
 Let the historians of that nation enter into the 
 minutest circumstances of the new creation, the 
 wars and undertakings of l*eter the Great : let 
 them rouse the emulation of their countrymen, 
 by celebrating those heroes who assisted this 
 
 * The digtingui^hed regard which this princess shews 
 for the arts and sciences, aud her endeavours to attract 
 the great geniuses of all nations to reside in her dominions, 
 by every possible encouragement, affords the strongest 
 presumptions, that in hiir reign we shall see a second 
 age of Louis XIV. and of this we have had a recent 
 proof, in the obliging letter which this august princess 
 wrote with her own hand to M. d'AIembert, and the 
 choice she has since made of M. Duplex, a member of 
 the roj'al academy of sciences at Paris, when the before- 
 mentioned gentleman thought fit to decline the gracious 
 offers she made him. In which choice slie has shewn 
 that it is not birth nor rank, but true merit and virtue, 
 which she considers au the essential qualidcations in a 
 person to whom she would conCde the most sacred of 
 all trusts, that of the education of ihe grand duke, her 
 son. What then may not be expected from the admi- 
 nistration of a sovereign so superior to vulgar prejudice' 
 And especially' when assisted by a Woronzoff and a Oa- 
 litiin. both the proft-ssed friends and patrons of literatar« 
 and the fine arts, which they thenselves have not dis- 
 dained to cultivate, when business and the weighty af- 
 fair* of state have allowed them a few moments leisurat
 
 ?90 HISTORY OF 
 
 monarch in ais labours, in the field, and in the 
 cabinet. It is sufficient for a stranger, a disin- 
 terested admirer of merit, to have endeavoured 
 to set to view that great man, who learned of 
 Charles XII. to conquer him, who twice quitted 
 his dominions, in order to govern them the better, 
 who worked with his own hands, in almost all 
 the useful and necessary arts, to set an examp.e 
 of instruction to his people, and who was the 
 founder and the father of his empire.* 
 
 • The following anecdote, communicated by a noble- 
 man of the strictest probity, who was himself an eye-wit- 
 ness of the fact, will give us a clear in8i<,'ht into the cha- 
 racter and disposition of Peter I. In one of the manj 
 plots which was formed against the life and government 
 of this monarch, there was among the number of those 
 seized a soldier, belonging to his own regiment of 
 guards. Peter being told by his officers that this man 
 had always behaved extremely well, had a curiosity to 
 see him, and learn from his own mouth what might have 
 been his inducement to be concerned in a plot against him; 
 and to this purpose he dressed himself in a plain garb, 
 ftnd so as not to be known by the man again, and went 
 to the prison where he was confined, when, after soma 
 conversation, '1 should he glad to know, friend,' said Peter, 
 ' what were your reasons for being concerned in an at- 
 tempt against the emperor your master, as I am certain 
 that he never did you any injury, but on the contrary, 
 has a regard for you, as being a brave soldier, and one 
 who have always done your duty in the field ; and there- 
 fore, if you were to shew the least remorse for what you 
 have done. I am persuaded that the emperor would for- 
 give you : but before I interest mj'self in your behalf, 
 you must tell me what motives you had to join the muti- 
 neers ; and repeat to you again, that the emperor is natu- 
 rally so good and compassionate, that I am certain he 
 will give you your pardon." 
 
 ' 1 know little or nothing of the emperor," replied th« 
 soldier, ' for I never saw him but at a distance ; but he 
 <s6used my father's head to be cnt off some time ago, for
 
 PETER THE GREAT. 391 
 
 Princes, who reign over states long eince civi- 
 lized, may sajto themselves, ' If a man, assisted 
 only by Lis own genius, has been capable of doing 
 such great things in the frozen climes of ancient 
 Scythia, what may not be expected from us, in 
 kingdoms where the arcuraulated labours of many 
 ages have rendered the way so easy V 
 
 being concerned in h former rebellion, and it is the duty 
 of a Bon to revenge the death of his father, by that of the 
 p«r8on who took away his life. If then the emperor is 
 really so good and merciful as you have represented him. 
 counsel him, for his own safety not to pardon me; for 
 were he to restore me my liberty, the first use I shoald 
 make of it would be, to engage in some new attempt 
 against his life, nor should I ever rest till I had accom- 
 plished m^' design ; therefore the securest method he 
 can take, will be to onier my head to be struck oflf imme- 
 diately, without which his own life is not in safety.' The 
 czar in vain used all the arguments he could think of, to 
 ■et befonj this desperado the foUj' and injustice of snck 
 sentiments ; he still persisted in what he had declared, 
 and Peter departed, greatly chagrined at the bad succeM 
 of his visit, and gave orders for the execution of tbuaDAO 
 Mid the reit of hU accomplioeft.
 
 392 
 
 ORIGINAL PIECES 
 
 ■ ILATITE TO THIS HISTORY, AGREB4BLE TO THB 
 TRANSLATIONS MALE AT THEIR FIRST PUBLICA- 
 TION, BY ORDER OF CZAK PETER 1. 
 
 SENTENCE 
 
 Pronounced against the Czarowitz ALSXit, 
 June (14th, 1718. 
 Br Tirtue of an express ordinance issued bj- his czariah 
 majesty, and signed by his own hand, on the I3th of Jane, 
 for the judgment of the czarowitz Alexis Petrowita, 
 in relation to his crinaes and transgressions against hii 
 father and sovereign ; the undernamed ministers and se. 
 nators, estates military and civil, after having assembled 
 several times in the regency chamber of the senate of 
 Petersburg, and having heard read the original writings 
 and testimonies given against the czarowitz, as also bis 
 majes<y'8 admonitory letters to that pr'nce, and his an- 
 swers to them in his own writing, and other acts relating 
 to the process, and likewise the criminal informations, de- 
 clarations and confessions of the czarowitz, partly written 
 with his own hand, and partly delivered byword of mouth 
 to his father and sovereign, before the several persons 
 anderuamed, constituted by his czarish majesty's autho- 
 rity to the effect of the present jurigment, do acknowledge 
 and declare, that though according to the laws of the 
 Russian empire, it belongs not to them, the natural sub- 
 jects of his czarish majesty's sovereign dominions, to take 
 cognizance of an affair of thi? nature, which for its im- 
 portance depends solely on the absolute will of the sove- 
 reign, whose power, unlimited by any law, is derived 
 from God alone ; yet, ia submission to his ordinance who 
 hath given them this liberty, and after mature reflection, 
 observing the dictates of th^ir consciences without fear, 
 flatter^', or respect of persons, having nothing before their 
 •yes but the divine laws applicable to the present case, the 
 sanons and rules of councils, the authority of the holy 
 and doctors of the church, and taking also for tbaif
 
 PETER THE GREAT. 393 
 
 nile tke instruction of tfie archbishops and c iergj' assembled 
 at Petersburg on this occasion, and conforming themselve* 
 to the laws and constitutions of this empire, which art 
 agreeable to those of other nations, especially the Greeks 
 and the Romans, and other Christian princes ; they una- 
 nimously atrreed and pronounced the c/.arowitz Alexis 
 Petrowitz to be worthy of death, for the aforesaid crimes 
 and capital transgressions against his sovereign and father, 
 he being his czarish majesty's son aod subject ; and that, 
 notwithstanding the promise given by his czarish majesty 
 to the czarowitz, in a letter sent by M. Tolstoj' and cap- 
 tain Romanzofif, dated from Spaw, the lOth of July, 171? , 
 to pardon his elopement if he voluntarily returned, asth^ 
 czarowitz himself acknowledges with gratitude, ia hi6 
 answer to that letter, dated from Naples, the 4th of Oc- 
 tober, 1717, wherein he returns thanks to his majesty for 
 the pardon he had promised him solely on condition of his 
 speedy and voluntar- return ; 3'et he bath forfeited and 
 rendered himself unworthy of that pardon, by renewing 
 and continuing his former transgressions, as is fully set 
 forth in his majesty's manifesto of the 3d.of February, in 
 this present year, and for not returning voluntarily and 
 of his own accord. 
 
 And although his majesty did, upon the arrival of the 
 czarowitz at Moscow, and his humbly confessing in writ- 
 ing his crimes, and asking pardon for tljcm.take pity on 
 him, as is natural for every father to act towards a son, 
 and at the audience, held in the great hall of the castle, 
 dated the said 3d day of February, did promise him full 
 pardon for all his crimes and transgressions, it was only 
 on condition that he would declare, without reserve or re- 
 striction, all his designs, and who were his counsellors 
 and abettors therein, but that if he concealed any one per- 
 son or thing, that in such case the promised pardon should 
 be null and void, which conditions the czarowitz did at that 
 time accept and receive, with all outward tokens of grati- 
 tude and obedience, solemnly swearing on the holy cross 
 and the blessed evangelists, and in the presence of all those 
 assembled at that time and for that purpose in the cathedral 
 church, thai he wo"jld faithfuUj', and without reserve, de- 
 clare the whole truth 
 
 His majesty d- i also the next day conlirm to t'je czar- 
 K C
 
 894 :|ISIORY OF 
 
 owitzin writing the said promise, in the interrogatoriet 
 which hereafter follow, and which his majesty caused to be 
 delivered to him, having first written at the begining what 
 follows : 
 
 ' As you did yesterday receive your pardon, oTV>coDdt 
 tion that j-ou would confess all the circumstances of youi 
 flight, and whatever relates tliereto ; but if j'ou concealed 
 any part thereof, j-ou should answer for it with your life; 
 and, as j'ou have already made some confessions, it is ex- 
 pected of you, for our more full satisfaction, and your own 
 safety, to commit the same to writing, in such order as 
 shall in the course of your examination be pointed out to 
 you.' 
 
 And at the end, under the seventh question, there was 
 again written, with his czarish majesty's own hand: 
 
 ' Declare to us, and discover whatever hath an^' relation 
 to this affair, though it be cot here expressed, and clear 
 yourself as if it were at confession ; for if you conceal any 
 thing that shall by any other means be afterwards disco- 
 vered, do not impute the consequence to us, since 3'ou have 
 been already' told, that in such case the pardon granted 
 you should be null and void.' 
 
 Notwithstauding all which, the answers and confessions 
 of the czarowitz were delivered without any sincerity ; he 
 not only concealing many of his accomplices, but also the 
 capital circumstances relating to his own transgressions, 
 particularly his rebellious design in usurping the throne 
 even in the life-time of his father, flatteriig himself that 
 the populace would declare in his favour ; all which hath 
 since been fully discovered in the criminal process, after 
 he had refused to make a discovery himself, as hath ap- 
 peared by the above presents. 
 
 Thus it hath appearedby the whole conduct of the czar- 
 owitz, as well as by the confessions which he both deli- 
 vered in writing, and by word of mouth, particularly', that 
 be was not disposed to wait for the succession in the man- 
 ner in which his father had left it to him after his death, 
 according to equity, and the order of nature which God 
 has established; but intended to take the crown off the 
 head of his father, while living, and set it upon his own, 
 not only by a civil insurrection, but by the assistance of ■ 
 foreign force, which he had actually requested.
 
 PETER THE GREAT. 396 
 
 fheczarowitz has hereby rendered himself unwortlqr 
 vif the clemencj- and pardon, promised him by the empe- 
 ror hisfather ; and siuce tlielaws divine and ecclesiastical, 
 civil and milltarj-, condemn to death, without mercy, not 
 only i«Lose whose attempts against their father and sove 
 reign have been proved bj' testimonies and writings ; but 
 even such as liave been convicted of an intention to rebel, 
 and of having formed a base design to kill their sovereign . 
 and usurp the throne; what shall we think of a rebellious 
 design, almost unparalleled in history, joined to that of a 
 horrid parricide, against him who was his father in a dou» 
 ble capacity ; a father of great lenity and indulgence, who 
 brought up the czarowitz from the cradle with more than 
 paternal care and tenderness ; who earnestly endeavoured 
 to form him for government, and with incredible pains, 
 and indefatigable application, to instruct him in the mi- 
 litary art, and qualify him to succeed to so great an empire? 
 with how much stronger reason does such a design dfl 
 serve to be punished with death ? 
 
 It is therefore with hearts full of aflBiction, and eyes 
 streaming with tears, that we, as subjects and servants, pro- 
 nounce this sentence; considering that it belongs not to 
 U8 to give judgment in a case of so great importance, and 
 especially to pronounce against the son of our most pre- 
 cious sovereign lord the czar. Is'evertheless, it being hit 
 pleasure that we should act in this capacity, we, by these 
 presents, declare our real opinion, and pronounce this 
 •entence of condemnation with a pure and Christian con- 
 science, as we hope to be able to answer for it at the just, 
 awful, and impartial tribunal of Almighty God. 
 
 We submit, however, this sentence, which we nowpass, 
 to the sovereign power, the will, and merciful revisal of 
 his czarish majesty, our most gracious sovereign. 
 
 THE PEACE OF NYSTADT. 
 
 In the name of the Most Holy and andivided 
 Trinity. 
 
 Bi it known by these presents, that whereas a bloody, 
 lon^.and expensive war has arisen and subsisted for se. 
 reral years past, between hia late majesty king Charles
 
 396 HISTORY OF 
 
 XII, of glorious memory, king of Sweden, of the Goths, 
 and Vandals, &c. &c. his successors to the throne of Swe- 
 den, the lady Ulrica queen of Sweden, of the Goths and 
 Vandals, &c. and the kingdom of Sweden, on the one part; 
 and between his czarish majesty Peter the First, emperor 
 of all the Ilussias, &c. and the empire of Russia, on the 
 other part; the two powers have thought proper to exert 
 their endeavours to find out means to put a period to those 
 troubles, and prevent the further etfusion of so much in- 
 nocent blood ; and it has pleased the Almighty to dispose 
 the hearts of both, powers, to appoint a meeting of their 
 ministers plenipctentiarj-. to treat of, aod conclude a firm, 
 sincere and lasting peace, and perpetual friendship be- 
 tween t'he two powers, their dominions, provinces, coun- 
 tries, vassals, subjects, and inhabitants ; namely', Mr. John 
 Liliensted, one of the most honourable privj'-council to 
 his majesty the king of Sweden, his kingdom and chancery, 
 and baron Otto Reinhold Stroemfeld,intendant of the cop. 
 per mines and iiefs of Dalders, on the part of his said ma- 
 jesty ; and on the part of his czarish majesty, count Jacob 
 Daniel Bruce, his general adjutant, president of the colleges 
 of mines and manufactories, and knight of the order of 
 St, Andrew and the White Zagle, and Mr. Henrj- John 
 Frederic Osterman,one of his said majesty's privy-coun- 
 sellors in his chancery : which plenipotentiary ministers, 
 being assembled at Nystadt, and having communicated 
 to each other their respective commissions, and imploring 
 the divine assistance, did enter upon this important and 
 salutary enterprise, and have, by the grace and blessing 
 of God, concluded the following peace between the crown 
 of Sweden and his czarish majesty. 
 
 Art. 1. There shall be now and henceforward a perpetual 
 and inviolable peace, sincere union, and indissoluble friend- 
 ship, between his majesty Frederic the First, king of Swe- 
 den, of the Goths and Vandals, his successors to the crowi 
 and kingdom of Sweden, his dominions, provinces, coun- 
 tries, villages, vassals, subjects, and inhabitants^ as well 
 within the Roman empire as out of said empire, on the 
 one side ; and his czarish majesty Peter the First, em- 
 peror of all the Russias,&c, his successors to the throne 
 of Russia, and all his countries, villages, vassals, subjects, 
 p.nrt inhabitants, oa the other side; in surh wise, that Inf
 
 PETEIl THE GREAT. 397 
 
 the future, neither of the two reconciled powers shall com- 
 mit, or suffer to be coMmitted, any hostility, either pri- 
 rately or publicly, direcv^y or indirectlj', nor shall in 
 any wise assist the enemies of each other, on any pretext 
 whatever, not contract any a.Uiance with them, that may 
 be contrary to this peace, but nhall always maintain and 
 preserve a sincere friendship towards each other, and as 
 much as in them lies, support their mutual honour, advan- 
 tage and safety ; as likewise prevent, to the utmost of their 
 power, any injury or vexation with which either of the 
 reconciled parties may be threatened bj' any other power. 
 
 Art. 2. It is further mutually aj^reed upon betwixt the 
 two parties, that a general pardon and act of oblivion for 
 all hostilities committed during tlie war, either by arms 
 or otherwise, shall be strictly observed, so far as that nei- 
 ther partj' shall ever henceforth either call to mind, or 
 take vengeance for the same, particularly in regard to 
 persons of state, and subjects whc have entered into the 
 service of either of the two parties during the war, and 
 have thereb3- become enemies to the other, except onljr 
 the Russian Cossacks, who enlisted in the service of the 
 king of Sweden, and whom his crarish majesty will not 
 consent to have included in the said general pardon, not- 
 withstanding the intercession made for them by the king 
 of Sweden. 
 
 Art. .3. All hostilities, both b^* sea and land, shall ceasa 
 both here and in the grand duchy of Finland in fifteen 
 days, or sooner, if possible, after the regular exchange of 
 the ratifications ; and to this intent the conclusion of the 
 peace shall be published without delay. And in case that, 
 after the expiration of the said term, any hostilities should 
 be committed by either partj-, either by sea or land, in 
 any manner whatsoever, through ignorance of the cou- 
 elusioa of the peace, such offence shall by no means pre- 
 judice the conclusion of said peace ; on the contrary, each 
 ■ball make a reciprocal exchange of bo'h men and effects 
 that may be taken after the said term. 
 
 Art. 4. !lis majesty the king of Sweden does, by the 
 present treaty, as well for hims<<lf as for his successors 
 to the throne and kingdom of Sweden, cede to his caarish 
 majesty, atid his succesgois to tiio Kussiun empire, in full, 
 irreTocabieaud everlasting possession, the provinces whic/i
 
 898 rii STORY Of 
 
 have been taken by his czarish majesty's arms from th<i 
 crown of Sweden during this war, viz. Livonia, Esthonia, 
 Ingria, and a part of Carelia, as likewise the district of 
 the fiefs of Wybourg specified hereafter in the article for 
 regulating the limits ; the towns and fortresses of Riga, 
 Dunamund, Pernau. Revel, Dorpt, Nerva, Wybourg, 
 Kexholm, and the other towns, fortresses, harbours, coun- 
 tries, districts, rivers, and coasts, belonsring lo the pro- 
 vinces : as likewise the islands of Oesel, Dagoe, Moen, 
 and all the other islands from the frontiers of Courland, 
 towards the coasts of Livonia, Esthonia, and Ingria, and 
 on the east side of Revel, and in the road of Wybourg, 
 towards the south-east, with all the present inhabitants of 
 those islands, and of the aforesaid provinces, towns, and 
 countries ; and in general, all their appurtenances, de. 
 pendencies, prerogatives, rights, and advantages, without 
 exception, in like manner as the crown of Sweden pos- 
 sessed them. 
 
 To which purpose, his majesty the king of Sweden re- 
 nounces for ever, in the most solemn manner, as well for 
 his own part, as for his successors, and for the whole 
 kingdom of Sweden, all pretensions which they have 
 hitherto had, or could have, to the said provinces, islands, 
 countries, and towns ; and all the inhabitants thereof shall, 
 by virtue of these presents, be discharged from the oath 
 of allegiance, which they have taken to the crown or 
 Sweden, in such wise as that his Swedish majesty, and 
 the kingdom of Sweden, shall never hereafter either claim 
 or demand the same, on any pretence whatsoever ; but, on 
 the contrary, they s4iall be and remain incorporated fo» 
 ever into the empire of Russia. Moreover, his Swedish 
 majesty, and the kingdom of Sweden, promise by these 
 presents to assist and support from henceforth his czarish 
 majesty, and his successors to the empire of Russia, in 
 the peaceable possession of the said provinces, islands, 
 countries, and ;owns ; and that they will find out and 
 deliver up to the persons authorized by his czarish majesty 
 for that purpose, all the records and papers principally 
 belonging to those places which have been taken away 
 and c-;rried into Sweden during the war. 
 
 Art 5. His czarish majesty, in return, promiaes to 
 evacuate and restore to his Swedish majesty,and the kinf-
 
 PETER THE GREAT. 399 
 
 4om of Sweden, within the space of four weeks after the 
 exchange of the ratifications of this treaty, or sooner if 
 possible, the grand duchy of Finland, except only that 
 part thereof which has been reserved by the following 
 regulation of the limits which shall belong to his czarish 
 majesty, so that his said czarish majesty, and his succe»- 
 Bors, never shall have or bring the least claim or demand 
 on the said duchy, on any p.-etence whatever. His czarish 
 majesty further declares and promises, that certain and 
 prompt pajment of two millions of crowns shall be made 
 without any discount to the deputies of the king of Sweden, 
 on condition that thej* produce and give sufficient receipts, 
 as agreed upon ; and the said payment shall be made ia 
 such coin as f?hall be agreed upon b}' a separate article, 
 which shall be of equal force as if inserted in the body of 
 this treaty. 
 
 Art. 6. His majesty the king of Sweden does further 
 reserve to himself, in regard to trade, the liberty of buy- 
 ing corn yearly at Riga, Revel, and Arensbourg, to the 
 amount of fifty thousand rubles, which corn sliall be 
 transported from thence into Sweden, withou! paying duty 
 or any other taxes, on producing a certiticate, shewing that 
 Buch corn has been purchased for the use of his Swedish 
 majesty, or by his subjects, chnrged with tlie care of mak- 
 ing this purchase by his said majesty ; uiid such right 
 shall not be subject to, or depend on any exigency, where- 
 in his czarish maj'-stj' may tind it necessary, eitlier on ac- 
 count of a bad harvest, or some other important reasons, 
 to prohibit in general the exportation of corn to any other 
 nation. 
 
 Art. 7. His czarish majesty does also promis*', in the 
 most solemn manner, that he will in no wisi; interfere with 
 the private affairs of thn !:ingdom of Sweden, nor with the 
 form of government, which has been regulated and esta- 
 blished by the oath of allegiance, and unQiiiroons consent 
 of the states of said kingdom ; neitlier will he nnsist therein 
 any person whatever, in any manner, directly or indirectly; 
 but, on the contrary, will endeavour to hinder and prevent 
 any disturbance happening, provided bis czarish majesty 
 has timely notice of the same, who will on all such oc- 
 casions act as a sincere friend and good neighbour to tne 
 crown of Sweden.
 
 400 KISTORY OF 
 
 Art. 3. And as thej mutually intend lo estallisli a fi' m, 
 •incere and lasting peace, to whicli purpose it is very uo- 
 cessary to regTilate the limits so, that neither of the partiea 
 cau harbour auy jealousy, but that each shall peaceably 
 possess whatever has beeu surrendered to him bj- tnis 
 treaty of peace, they have thought proper to declare, that 
 the two empires shall from henceforth and for ever have 
 the following limits, beginning on the northern coast of the 
 Bothnic gulf, near Wickolax, from whence they shall ex- 
 tend to within half a league of the sea- coast inland, and 
 from the distance of half a league from the sea as far as 
 opposite to Willaj-oki, and from thence further inland ; so 
 that from the sea-side, and opposite to Rohel, there shall 
 be a distance oi about three-quarters of a league, in a di- 
 rect line, to the road which leads from AVibourg to Lap- 
 strand, at three leagues distance from Wibourg, and which 
 proceeds the same distance of three Ungues towards the 
 north by 'sVibourg, in a direct line to the former limits 
 between Russia and Sweden, even before the redaction oi 
 the district of Kexholm under the government of the king 
 of Sweden. Those ancient limits extend eight leagues 
 towards the north, from theiice they run in a direct line 
 through the district of Kexholm, to the place wherethe har- 
 bour of Porogerai, which begins near the town of Kuduma- 
 gube, joins to the ancient limits, between Prussia and Swe- 
 den, so that his majesty the king and kingdom of Sweden, 
 shall henceforth possess all that pan lying west and north 
 beyond the above specified limits, and his czarish majesty 
 and the empire of Russia all that part which is situated 
 east and south of the said limits. And ai his czarish ma- 
 jesty surrendtrs from henceforth tn his Sweiii^h majesty 
 and the kingdom of Sweden, a part of the district of Kes- 
 holna, which belonged heretofore to the empire of Russia, 
 he promises, in the most solemn manner, in regard to 
 himself and successors to the throne of Russia, that he never 
 will make any future claim to this said district of Kex- 
 holm, on any account whaterer ; but the said district shall 
 hereafter be and remain incorporated into the kingdomof 
 Sweden. As to the limits in the country of Lamparque, 
 they shall remain on the same footing as thej- were before 
 the beginning of this war between the two empires. It 
 is nirther agreed upon, that comtrissaries shall be ap-
 
 PETER THE GREAT. |01 
 
 pointed by each party, immediately after the ratificBtion 
 of this treaty to regulate the limits as aforesaid. 
 
 Art. 9. Ills czarish majesty further promises to main- 
 tain all the inhabitants of the provinces of Livonia, Ea- 
 tbonia, and Oesel, as well nobles as plebeians, and the 
 town«, magistrates, companits, and trades, in the full en- 
 joyment of the said privileges, customs and prerogatives, 
 which they have enjoyed under the dominion of his Swe. 
 dish majesty. 
 
 Art. 10. There shall not hereafter be anj' violence of- 
 fered to the consciences of the inhabitants of the ceded 
 countries ; on the contrarj', his czarish majesty engages 
 on his side to preserve and maintain the evangelical (Lq- 
 theran) religion on the same footing as under the Swedish 
 government, provided there is likewise a free liberty of 
 conscience allowed to those of the Greek religion. 
 
 Art. 11. In regard to the reductions and liquidations 
 made in the reign of the late king of Sweden in Livonia, 
 Esthonia, and Oesel, to the great injury of the subject* 
 and inhabitants ofthose countries, which, conformable to 
 the justice of the affair in question, obliged his late ma- 
 Jestj' the king of Sweden, of glorious memory, to promise, 
 by an ordinance (which was published the 13th day of 
 April, 1700, that if any one of his subjects could fairly 
 prove, that the goods which had been confiscated were 
 their property justice should be done them, wherebj* seve- 
 ral subjects of the said countries have had such their con- 
 fiscated efifects restored to them) his czarish majesty en- 
 gages and promises, that justice shall be done to every 
 person, whether residing or not, who has a jiust claim or 
 pretension to any lands in Livonia, Esthonia, or the pro- 
 vince of Oesel, and can make full proof thereof, and that 
 such person shall be reinstated in the possession of his 
 lands and effects. 
 
 Art. 12 There shall likewise be immediate restitution 
 made, conformable to the general amnesty regulated and 
 agreed b3- the second article, to such of the inhabitants 
 of Livonia, Esthonia, and the island of Oesel, who may 
 during this war hare joined the king of Sweden, to- 
 gether with all their efifects, lands, and bouses, which 
 have been confiscated and given to others, as well in 
 the towns of those provinces, as in those of Narva and Wi«
 
 402 HISTORY OF 
 
 bourg, notwitl«tanding they may have passed during the 
 said war by inheritance or otherwise into other hands, with 
 any exception or restraint, even though the proprietors 
 Btiould be actually in Sweden, either as prisoners or other- 
 wise; and such restitution shall take place so soon as each 
 person is re-naturalized by his respective government, and 
 produces his documents relating to his right ; on the other 
 hand, these proprittors shall by no means laj- claim to, or 
 pretend lo any part of, the revenues, which may have beea 
 received bj- those who were in possession in consequence 
 of the confiscation, nor to any other compensation for their 
 losses in the war or otherwise. And all persons, who are 
 thus put in repossession of their effects and lands, shall 
 be obliged to do homage tohisczarish majestj', their pre- 
 sent sovereign, and farther to behave themselves as faith- 
 ful vassals and subjects; and when they hare taken the 
 usual oath of allegiance, they shall be at liberty to leave 
 their own country to go and live in any other, which isia 
 alliance and friendship with the Russian empire, as also 
 to enter into the service of neutral powers, or to continue 
 therein, if already engaged, as they shall think proper. 
 On the other hand, in regard to those, who do not choose 
 to do homage to his czarish majesty, they shall be allowed 
 the space of three years from the publication of the peace, 
 to sell or dispose of their effects, lands, and all belonging 
 to them, to the best advantage, without paying any more 
 than is paid by everj- other person, agreeably to the laws 
 and statutes of the country. And if hereafter, it should 
 happen that an inheritance should devolve to any person 
 according to thelaws of the country, and that such person 
 shall not as yet have taken the oath of allegiance to his 
 czarish maj-^sty, he shall in such case be obliged to take 
 the same at the time of entering on the possession of his 
 inheritance, otherwise to sell off all his effects in the space 
 of one year. 
 
 Also tho*:e who have advanced money on lands in Livo- 
 nia, Esihonia, and the island of Oesel, and have lawful se- 
 curity for the same, shall enjoy their mortgages peaceably, 
 nntil both capital and interest are discharged ; on the 
 othe» hand, the mortgages shall not claim any interest, 
 wKch expired during the war, and which have not been 
 >l«liiaiid«^ or paid; but those who in either of these cases
 
 PETER THE GREAT. 403 
 
 have the ailministr;ition of the said effects, shall be obliged 
 to do homage to his czarish majesty-. This likewise ex 
 tends to all those who remain in his czarish majestj-'s do- 
 minions, and who shall have the same liberty to dispose 
 of their effects in Sweden, and in those countries which 
 have been surrendered to that crown by this peace. 
 Moreover, the subjects of each of the reconciled powers 
 shall be mutually supported in all their lawful claims 
 and demands, whether on the public, or on individuals 
 within the dominions of the two powers, and immediate 
 justice shall be done them, so that every person may 
 be reinstated in the possession of what justly belongs to 
 bim. 
 
 Art. 13. All contributions in money shall from the sign- 
 ing of this treaty cease in the grand duchj' of Finland, 
 which his czarish majesty by the fifth article of this treaty 
 cedes to his Swedish majesty and the ivinf.;dom of Sweden ; 
 on the otlier hand the duchy of Finland shall furnish his 
 czarish majesty's troops with the necessary provisions and 
 forage gratis, until thej* shall have entirely evacuated the 
 said duchy, on the said footing as has been practised here- 
 tofore ; and his czarish majesty shall prohibit and forbid, 
 nnder the severest penalties, tlie dislodging any ministers 
 or peasants of the Finnish nation, contrarj' to their incli- 
 nations, or that the least injury be done to them. In con- 
 sideration ofwiiich, and as it will be permitted his cTiarish 
 majesty, upon evacuating the said countries and towns, to 
 take with him his great and small cannon, wiin their car 
 riages and other appurtenances, and the magazines and 
 other warlike stores which he shall think fit. The inha- 
 bitants shall furnish a sufficient number of horse and wag- 
 gons OS far as tlie frontiers; and also, if the whole of this 
 cannot be executed according to the stipulated terms, and 
 that any part of such artillcrj*, &c. is necessitated to be 
 left behind, then, and in such cases, that which is so left 
 •hall be properly taken care of, and afterwards delivered 
 to his czarish majesty's deputies, whenever it shall be 
 agreeable to them, and likewise be transported to the fron- 
 tiers in manner as above. If his czarish majesty's troops 
 ■hall havefound and sent oi>! of the country any deeds or 
 papers belonging to tlie grand duchy of Finland, strict 
 eearch shall bem3dcfor the sirae.and all of them tliatcaa
 
 404 HISTORY OF 
 
 be founij shall oe faithfully restored to deputies of hia 
 Swedish majesty. 
 
 Art. 14. All the prisoners on each side, of whatsoever 
 nation, rank, and condition, shall be set at liberty imme- 
 diately after the ratification of this treaty, without any 
 ransom, at the same time eyery prisoner shall either pay or 
 give sufficient security for the payment of all debts by 
 them coatracted. The prisoners on each side shall be fur- 
 nished with the necessary horses and waggons gratis dnr- 
 ing the time allotted for their return home, in proportion 
 to the distance from the frontiers. In regard to such pri. 
 Mners, who shall have sided with one or the other party, 
 or who shall choose to settle in the dominions of either cf 
 the two powers, they shall have full liberty goto do with- 
 out restriction : and this liberty shall likewise extend to 
 all those who have been compelled to serve either party 
 during the war, who may in like manner remain where 
 they are, or return home ; except such who have volunta- 
 rily embraced the Greek religion, in compliance to his 
 czarish majesty; for which purpose each party shall order 
 that the edicts be published and made known ia their re- 
 spective dominions. 
 
 Art. 15. His majesty the king, and the republic of Po- 
 land, as allies to his czarish majesty, are expressly com- 
 prehended in this tr«aty of peace, and have equal right 
 thereto, as if the treaty of peace between them andthe crown 
 of Sweden had been inserted here at full length: to which 
 purpose all hostilities whatsoever shaU cease m general 
 throusrhout all the kingdoms, countries, and patrimonies 
 beloacingto the two reconciled parties, whether situated 
 within or out of the Roman empire, and there shall be a 
 solid acd lasting peace established between the two afore- 
 said powers. And as no plenipotentiary on the part of 
 his Polish majesty and the republic of Poland has assisted 
 at this treaty of peace, held at Nystadt, and that conse- 
 quently they could not at one and the same time renew 
 the peace by a solemn treaty between his majesty' the king 
 of Poland and tke crown of Sweden, his majesty the king 
 of Sweden does therefore engage and promise, that he will 
 send plenipotentiaries to open the conferences, so soon as 
 a place shall be appointed for the said meeting, in 
 order to conclude, through the mediation of his cxarsh
 
 PETER THE GREAT. 406 
 
 maietty.a laslinj; peace between the two crowns, pro- 
 vided nothing is therein contained which may be pre- 
 judicial to the treaty of perpetual peace made witli his 
 czarish majesty. 
 
 Art, 16. A free trade shall be regulated and established 
 as soon as possible, which shall subsist both by sea and 
 laud between the two powers, their dominions, subjects, 
 an J !riJi-3ibitant8,by meansof a separate treaty on this head, 
 to the qood and advantage of their respective dominions ; 
 and in the mean time the subjects of Russia and Sweden 
 ■hall have leave totrade freely in the empire of Russia and 
 kingdom of Sweden, so soon as the treaty of peace is ra- 
 tided, at'ter paj'ing the us lal duties on the several kinds 
 of merchandise; so that the subjects of Russia and 
 Sweden sliall reciprocally enjoy the same privileges and 
 prerogatives as are enjoyed by the closest friends of either 
 of the said states. 
 
 Art. 17. Restitution shall be made on both sides, after 
 the ratiticatio;i of the peace, not onh- of the magazines 
 which ^^•e^e before the commencement of the war esta- 
 blished iii certain trading towns belongitjg to the two 
 powers, but also liberty shall be reciprocally granted to the 
 subjects of his czarish majesty and ihe king of Sweden to 
 establish magazines in the towns, harbours, and other 
 places subject to both or either of the said powers. 
 
 Art. 18. If any Swedish ships of war or msrchant ves- 
 sels shall have the misfortune te be wrecked, or cast away 
 by stress of weather, or any other accident, on the coasts 
 and harbours of Russia, his czarish majesty's subjects 
 shall be obliged to give them all aid and assistance in 
 their power to save their rigging and efTects, and faith- 
 fullj' to restore whatever may be drove on shore, if de- 
 manded, provided they are properly rewarded. And the 
 subjects of his majest3- the king of Sweden shall do the 
 same in regard to such Russian sliipsand efTects as may 
 have the misfortune to be wrecked or otherwise lost on 
 the coasts of Sweden ; for which purpose, and to prevent 
 all ill treatment, robbing, and plundering, which com 
 monly happens on such melancholy occasions, his czar- 
 ish majesty and th« king of Sweden will cause a most ri- 
 gorous prohibitioii tube issued, and all whoshall be found 
 traDSgres'ing in tliis point shall be punished on the spot.
 
 405 UlSTORY OF 
 
 Art. 19. And to piaveDt all possible cause or occasion 
 oI'misunderstandiiiK between the two parties, in relatiot 
 to sea affairs, they have concluded and determined, that 
 finy Swedish ships of war, of whatever number or size, ihat 
 shall hereafter pass by any of his czarish majesty's forts or 
 castles, shall salute the same with their cannon, which 
 compliment shall be directly returned in the same man- 
 ner by the Russian fort or castle : and, vice versa, any 
 Russian ships of war, of whatever number or size, that 
 shall hereafter pass by any fort or castle belongicp to his 
 Swedish majesty, shall salute the same with a discharge 
 of their cannon, which compliment shall be instantly re- 
 turned in the same manner by the Swedish fort ; and iu 
 case any one or more Swedish and Russian ships shall meet 
 atsea,orin any harbour or elsewhere, they shall sa'.uie each 
 other with a common discharge, as is usually practised on 
 •uch occasions between th-- ships of Sweden and Denmark. 
 
 Art. 20. It is mutually agreed between the two powers, 
 no longer to defray the expenses of the ministers of the 
 two powers, as have been done hitherto ; but their repre- 
 sentative ministers, plenipotentiaries, and envoys, shall 
 hereafter defray their own expenses and those of their 
 own attendants, as well on their journey as during their 
 stay, and back to their respective place of residence. On 
 the other hand, either of the two parties, on receiving 
 timely notice of the arrival of an envoy, shall order that 
 their subjects give them all the assistance that may be 
 necessary to escort them safe on their journey. 
 
 Art 21. Ilis majesty the king of Sweden does on his 
 part comprehend his majestj- i\e king of Great Britain 
 in this treaty of peace, reserving only the differences sub- 
 sisting between their czarish and his Britannic majesties, 
 which they shall immediately endeavour to terminate iu 
 a friendly manner ; and such other powers, who shall be 
 named by the two reconciled parties within the space of 
 three months, shall likewise be included in this treaty of 
 peace. 
 
 Art. 22. In case any misunderstanding shall hereafter 
 arise between the states and subjects of Sweden and Rns- 
 sia, it shall by no means prejudice this treaty of perpetual 
 peace ; which shall nevertheless always be and remain m 
 fall foro^ agreeable to its intent, and commissaries sbal
 
 PETER THE GREA V, 407 
 
 without delay be appointed on each side to inquire into and 
 •dJDBt all diBputes. 
 
 Art. 23. All those who have been guilty of high trea- 
 son, murder, theft, and other crimes, and those who de- 
 serted from Sweden to Russia, and from Russia to Sweden, 
 either singly or with their wives and children, shall be 
 immediately sent back, provided the complaining party of 
 the country from whence they made their escape, shall 
 think fit to recal them, let them be of what nation soever, 
 and in the same condition as they were at their arrival, 
 together with their wives and children, as likewise with 
 all they had stolen, plundered, or taken away with them 
 in their flight. 
 
 Art. 24. The exchange of the ratification of this treaty 
 of peace, shall be reciprocally made at Nystadt within 
 the space of three weeks, after the daj' of sig ->ing the same, 
 or sooner, if possible. In witness whereof, two copies of 
 this treaty, ekactlj' corresponding with each other, have 
 been drawn up, and confirmed by the plenipotentiary mi- 
 nisters on each side, in virtue of the authority tliey have 
 received from their respective sovereign.s ; which copies 
 they ha^e signed with their own hands, and sealed with 
 their own seals. Done at Nystadt. this 30tli day of Au- 
 gust m the y«>ar of our Lord 1721. O. S. 
 
 Jean I.iliensted. 
 
 Otto Reinhold Stroemfeld. 
 
 Jacob Daniel Bruce. 
 
 Henry-John-Frederic Ostermau. 
 
 Ordinanct of the Emperor Peter I. for the crowning 
 of the Empress Catherine. 
 
 We, Peter the First, emperor and autocrator of all the Ruv 
 6>as, &c. to all our oflScers ecclesiastical, civil, and mili- 
 tary, and all others of the Russian nation, our faithful 
 subjects. 
 
 No one can be ignorant that it has been a constant and 
 invariable custom amoni; the monarchs of all Christian 
 states, to caitsf their consorts to be crownerl.and thnttbs 
 same is a» present practised, and hatb fieqviently been in 
 &jrmer times by those emferon who proftssed the holy
 
 408 HISTORY OF PEl ER THE GREAT. 
 
 faith of the Greek charch ; to wit, by the emperor Ba?U 
 Ijdes, who caused his wife Zenobia to be crowned ; the 
 emperor Justinian, his wife Lucipina; the emperor Hera- 
 cliua, his wife Martina : the emperor Leo, the philosopher, 
 his wife Mary ; aod many others, who have in like man- 
 ner placed the imperial crown on the head of taeir con- 
 sorts, and whom it would be too tedious here to enumerate. 
 It is also well known to every one how much we have 
 exposed our person, and faced the greatest dangers, fol 
 the good of our country during the one and twenty years' 
 course of the late war, which we have by the assistance 
 of God terminated in so honsurable and advantageous a 
 manner, that Russia hath never beheld such a peace, nor 
 ever acquired so great glory as in the late war. Now 
 the empress Catherine, our dearly beloved wife, having 
 greatly comforted and assisted us during the said war, and 
 also m several other our expeditious, wherein she volun- 
 tarily and cheerfully accompanied us, assisting us with her 
 counsel and advice in every exigence, notwithstanding the 
 weakness of her sex, particularly in the battle against the 
 Tuiks, on the hanks of the river Pruth, wherein our army 
 was reduced to twenty thousand men, while that cf the 
 Turks amounted to two hundred and seventy thousand, 
 and on which desperate occasion she sismalized herself in 
 a particular manner, by a courage and presence of mind 
 superior to her sex, which is well known to all our army, 
 and to the whole Russian empire: therefore, for these rea- 
 sons^ and in virtue of the power which God has given us, 
 we have resolved to hoaour our said consort Cath^rina 
 with the imperial crown, as a reward for her painful ser- 
 vices ; and we propose, God willing, that this ceremony 
 stall be peiformed the ensuing winter at >loacow. And 
 we do hereby give notice of this our resolution to all 
 who are faithful subjects, in favour of whom our iscyi- 
 tial affection ii unalterable.
 
 B 000 
 
 002 689 8 
 
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